Problem making quality AVCHD DVD

[avpeterjohn]

I have just started using VSX2 to make AVCHD DVD from m2ts files made from using Pinnacle Studio (Don't like their DVD making section)
My previous experience was with DVD Workshop
OK, so I brought in a m2ts one minute file of size 110MB as a test & burned a DVD using AVCHD template. Result poor as it reduced the size
of the file to 23 MB with a bit rate of 2.45 whereas the original was around 12.
I tried both ticking & unticking the compatible file box - no difference. In any case even if it were not compatible why did it reduce the file size so much ?
I looked for something like a make highest quality option but didn't find one. Am I missing something?
Peter

[Ron P.]

I think your answer is in the bitrate you used, 2,300kbps. For DVDs (SD) you should have used a bitrate of around 8000kbps. DVDs can use a max combined (audio and video) bitrate of about 10,000kbps. However to be safe, so that it will play on the majority of DVD players, it's best to not exceed the video bitrate of around 8.

[avpeterjohn]

Ron---I'm not making a SD DVD but a AVCHD DVD playable on a Blu-Ray player. These DVDs can take about 35 minutes of HD but won't play on a DVD player.
My source file was VBR up to 17 to give best quality. It would seem that VSX2 is capable of making such AVCHD DVDs so what I need to know is what must I do to achieve this ?
Of course I might be wrong & perhaps it can only make SD DVDs. In which case I will with reluctance have to return to Pinnacle Studio.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Peter

Can you confirm just what you are trying to make.

A standard DVD.

A hybrid AVCHD DVD
Or
Maybe a BluRay disc?

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Peter

Sorry I missed your post.

First right click your video file and select properties, take note…or post here for us to see.

From Share Create Disc-AVCHD

Select the Project Settings Cogwheel – lower left
Change Mpeg settings to match your video files properties.
These are the settings that your video will be converted to.

[avpeterjohn]

Hi Trevor
File info from Right Click is as follows
Format PAL HDMV 111.936 KB
Type H.264 video
Attributes 24 bits 1440 X 1080 16:9
25f/s Variable bitrate
Audio Dolby Digital


Here's the File info from MediaInfo Program

Complete name : G:\Nov23 Test\60secAVCHD.m2ts
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
File size : 109 MiB
Duration : 1mn 2s
Overall bit rate : 14.6 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate : 16.9 Mbps

Video
ID : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Codec ID : 27
Duration : 1mn 2s
Bit rate : 13.9 Mbps
Width : 1 440 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : MBAFF
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.357
Stream size : 103 MiB (94%)

Audio
ID : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : 129
Duration : 1mn 2s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 1.43 MiB (1%)

Changing the project settings didn't change the output size much.The only significant change I could see was changing the bitrate from 15000 to 17000.
that changed the output size by less than a MB

Hope all this means more to you than to me !!!!

[Ken Berry]

I have burned a number of AVCHD hybrid discs using X2, and have been more than pleased with the results.

However, in doing so, I have ignored my usual advice when it comes to standard def DVDs to first produce a final video in the editing module after editing has been finished. Instead, with AVCHD hybrid discs, I have done my editing and jumped straight to Share > Create Disc > AVCHD.

When the burning module opens, the *project* file from the editing module is automatically inserted into the burning timeline. I then click on the cogwheel icon in the bottom left of the burning screen, and change the MPEG burning properties that appear in the large window of the new dialogue box which appears. I make sure that the frame size is 1920 x 1080 (my original video was also 1440 x 1080), and I choose a maximum bitrate of 18 Mbps. Then I return to the burning module, create the menu and burn.

As I said at the outset, this always produced an excellent quality hybrid DVD for me...

[avpeterjohn]

Ken - Many thanks for your advice. Putting the file on the timeline & then going to Share etc & altering the properties has made a difference and has increased the size closer to that expected.
I can't check the outcome yet as I decided to add another file (7+ minutes) to the menu & set it to burn without realising how long it would take-----Looks like up to 2 hours & this with an i5 Quad core !!!! Is this normal ?

All this has produced a few related questions:-
1. Why change the 1440 X 1080 to 1920 X 1080 ?
2. Why in my case is it recoding compatible files thus accounting for the long time expcted ?
3. Finally, when I went to Burn, the Create AVCHD folders & Create iso file were greyed out leaving only the Burn option live. Any idea why ?

[Ken Berry]

1. Why change the 1440 X 1080 to 1920 X 1080 ?

Changing the frame size is just something I do, though you don't have to. I use a lot of HDV video, which is anamorphic 1440 x 1080, so I upgrade the frame size in the burning module so that it converts to the full HD AVCHD during the burning process.

2. Why in my case is it recoding compatible files thus accounting for the long time expcted ?

If you are talking about the recoding during the burning process, that will only occur if the box below the burning properties, labelled 'Do not convert compliant MPEG files' is NOT ticked (something I forgot to mention above.) That is if you are using actual AVCHD files in the burning module. But if you are following my workflow, you are not burning AVCHD files, because it is the project VSP file which has been inserted. And a VSP file is not a video file, merely a text file pointing to where the edited videos are located on the computer and what editing has been done to them. Moreover, that has to be converted into video as part of the burning process -- which contributes to the long burning time (which is pretty normal, by the way). It is also a good way of *avoiding* SmartRender in the editing module. I always recommend people avoid using it with HD video, whether HDV or AVCHD, as a lot of users had problems when they used it, particularly with X2.

3. Finally, when I went to Burn, the Create AVCHD folders & Create iso file were greyed out leaving only the Burn option live. Any idea why ?

Neither ISO nor Folders can be "burned" with X2. If you want to test your final burn, you need to use an RW DVD...

[avpeterjohn]

Thanks Ken that's made it clearer. By the way the estimated 2 hours only turned out to be 42 minutes, but it still recoded the files.
What I am looking for is a workflow such as I used with DVD Workshop where I brought in compatible mpg files, authored & produced a DVD without the mpg files being recoded.
I've still some experimenting to do but will be away for a few days & will have a go when I return. I will report back.

[avpeterjohn]

Further tests did not alter the basic situation in that whatever I did to the project settings my m2ts files were not considered compatible & were reduced in size.

At that stage I gave up & purchased DVDMF 7 as it is closer in use to DVDWorkshop. Still got the recoding with file sizes being reduced by around 20%.

So now I'm stumped. I think I'll post in the DVDMF forum to see if anyone there has had the same problem with "compatible" files not being compatible !