Video File settings Western Digital Media Player

maxfrost01 · Post by **maxfrost01** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:58 pm

I've just bought a Western Digital HD Media Player to play back my VS edited films. Impressed so far - seems like great value.

It plays back my High Def mpeg2 files without a hitch but I'm struggling with my older AVI files. These are standard definition.

The Western Digital Media Player manual says that AVI files can be played with the following codecs:
Video: mpeg4, AVC, WMV3
Audio: mpeg audio, Dolby Digital, pcm(Microsoft)

When I check the properties of an AVI clip in my project timeline it tells me that the compression is 'DV Video Encoder Type 1' and the Audio is 'DV Audio PAL'. I use these properties as the default when I create the video file.

I'm not looking to create a DVD - just files that will play back nicely on my new Western Digital gadget.

Any of you gurus tell me what settings I should be using in VS to create a video file that will meet these Western Digital criteria?

Have to confess that I'm a bit out of my depth on codecs.......and I don't want to end up with something that compromises on quality.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 7:18 pm

Sorry, I shouldn't have moved your post. It does relate to Video Studio.

If I move it back now, it will probably cause more confusion...

DV/AVI (13GB per hour) is apparently not supported. so, you'll need to save your file as MPEG-4, AVC, or WMV3. (I'd generally avoid AVC, because it seems to be trouble prone.)

And, choose one of the supported audio formats too. Your DV file is PCM. This is uncompressed, so it's the best quality and it takes the most disk space.

maxfrost01 · Post by **maxfrost01** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 8:11 pm

Doug,

Thanks for the reply.

I did wonder if the title of my topic might cause a momentary problem - but I agree that it is VS relevant.

Can you be a bit more specific on HOW to get one of the compressions you mention?

If I go:
Create Video File/Custom/Options/AVI I can find the PCM setting in the Audio dropdown but I don't recognise any of the options on the Compression dropdown.

Can you point me to the right one?

RickMenHome · Post by **RickMenHome** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:44 pm

I also have the WD media streamer which plays all my rendered HD & SD clips. For the DV AVI files I rendered them with the following settings

MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-PAL), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

and the rendered mpg files play back on the WD streamer just fine. I believe these settings are a standard setting within VS X2 Pro.

maxfrost01 · Post by **maxfrost01** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 2:48 am

Rick,

Thanks for responding. I've tried the settings you suggest on one of my (formerly) AVI files and it now seems to play just fine.

The High Def files are working well too - I only seem to get a problem if I made an error in the settings when I created the video file. I seem to have some High Def VSPs that have the Project Preferences set as 720 x 576 and these do not play. I end up with a message on the WD HD Media Player that there is a problem with the file type. If I switch it to 1440 x 1080 it seems to work just fine.

Have you had any problems like this?

I'm still thinking that the WD HD Media Player is a great piece of kit for playing Hi Def files without the cost of an expensive streaming media player. How about you?

maxfrost01 · Post by **maxfrost01** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:35 pm

I've tried the settings suggested by Rick (MPEG) and the file plays fine on the WD HD Media Player but it looks to me like there is significant quality loss compared to the AVI file I started with.

I'm not yet convinced that I've found the best solution to the problem.

I'm playing with some different settings to see what the result looks like but meantime - any other ideas on the best settings to use in VS?

Doug - I'd still like some specific guidance on how to get to the settings you suggested in your earlier posting. Can you help?

RickMenHome · Post by **RickMenHome** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:14 am

My HD files are JVC TOD with properties:-

MPEG files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 25 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-PAL), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 28000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, Stereo

In turn when I create my movie files I use exactly the same settings & WD HD media player plays them just fine, the HD quality is just amazing and I skip the need to purchase an expensive Blu Ray burner,discs and Player (whoa!). To top it off I use my logictech universal remote instead of the dicky remote that comes with WD media player. I'd suggest that when converting your HD files to HD mpeg try to stay as close as possible to the original file's properties. I made a template using Make Movies Template based upon my TOD settings. What are your HD file's properties?

With the SD AVI file when I convert them to SD mpeg I happy with the quality, and best of allWD HD media player plays them just file.

RickMenHome · Post by **RickMenHome** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:19 am

Maxfrost01,

what are the properties for you raw AVI files?

When rendering your raw AVI files you should try to stick are close as possible to the orginal settings.

maxfrost01 · Post by **maxfrost01** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:33 am

Rick,

Thanks for staying with this thread.

AVI FILES
My raw AVI files have the following properties:
Compression: DV Video Encoder -- type 1
Attributes: 24 bits, 720 x 576 4:3
Audio: DV Audio -- PAL
Attributes: 32,000 kHz, 12 Bit, Stereo

I tried (last night) creating a video file using the WMV HD 720 25p setting from the drop-down menu. This file plays well on the WD Media Player and the quaility looks good - but it's all guesswork on my part!

Any suggestions?

MPEG FILES
My HD files are coming from my Sony HDR HC1E camcorder with the following properties:
MPEG2
24 bits, 1440 x 1080, 16:9
Video data rate: 25,000 kbps
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
MPEG audio layer 2, 48 KHz, 16 bit, Stereo

Which means our HD files are almost identical but you seem to be getting a higher quality input from your camera - is that right? Time for me to upgrade?

I too am staying as close as I can to these same original HD settings when creating the video file for the WD Player. When they play they are great but some have failed to play. Strangely, if I create a new copy of these 'faulty' files they then play fine. I THOUGHT the settings were identical but I guess I must have been doing something different in the first version which was causing the problem.

Can you tell me more about the Make Movies Template you created? That sounds like a great idea. How did you do that?

RickMenHome · Post by **RickMenHome** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:54 pm

Max,

To not re-invent the wheel can I suggest that you do 2 things;

a) have a look at the various tutorials about VS on this site, that's where I started to get a better understanding of how to use VS, and while those Tutorials are focused on AVI (SD and not HD) they are a great source of info & learning.

b) I also use the search tool to find useful insights, I recollect a thread by a senior member that listed step by step instructions how to use the Template Manager. I think there is a tutorial on that as well.

Everyone's setup is unique and I have found that its best to learn how to use VS properly and then apply it to your own situation.

For the AVI files you should be using the standard PAL DVD 4:3 options. For the HD files go with Movies template path to create your own template that matches the settings on your HD file. I have not found the need to use the WMV option.