User Define Button

[pepegota]

Why is the "User Define" Button grayed out under share/create video file/various HD selections and only the SD 720X480 max and lower available?

[Ken Berry]

I might be feeling particularly thick this morning, but I don't recall ever seeing a "User Define" button in VS, unless you are translating from a language other than English. Do you mean "Custom" or the "Options" button under it? I ask since you specifically give the sequence as using Share > Create Video File > "Various HD selections" -- if by that you mean specifically selecting, say, HDV or AVCHD or Blu-Ray -- and that sequence will come up with an Options button as well. However that does not even mention a frame size and never has in any version. So I sort of assume the sequence you really meant was Share > Create Video File > Custom, and then trying to set Options for HD output...

In other words, we need a more detailed, step by step description of what you are trying to do.

[pepegota]

The correct location is Share/Create Video File/custom/options/general. If I have, for example, a 1280×720, 59.94-p, 16:9 video and the custom button is grayed out, then options button allows (Standard) 720X480 and lesser. I cannot change it to 1280X720. Why is the "user define" button unavailable to me? This seem to be an egregious error.

[Ron P.]

It's not just you, it's everyone. That's just the design of the program. Corel decided that they will allow the frame sizes to be set by the user, on only a few video formats.

[Ken Berry]

For your particular format, if you are using X4, after you go to Custom, you have to select "MPEG Transport Stream files (.m2t)", and not just the vanilla MPEG option. That will then allow you to customise, selecting either AVCHD or mpeg-2 HD as the output, 1280 x 720 as the frame size and 59.94p as the speed.

[pepegota]

I tried a NEW 1980X1280, 29.97fps Clip, under custom, with MPEG Tranport stream Files (*.m2ts) and got a good playable clip as you suggested. I made another clip using HDV 1080 (for HDV) instead of Custom and was successful. But, now I tried Blu-Ray (1920x1280) and the clip was bad. I had sound and the first part of the clip a photo was not visible in VLC. However, the second part of the clip was normal with video and sound. The Transport stream, I noticed was *.m2ts. There was no H264 or AVCHD so why the bad clip? It should have been like Custom-playable.

[Ken Berry]

Sorry to sound thick again, but I just don't understand what you are doing. You said:

I tried a NEW 1980X1280, 29.97fps Clip, under custom, with MPEG Tranport stream Files (*.m2ts) and got a good playable clip as you suggested.

But what were you trying to produce? A 1280 x 720p file? If so, why would you do that if you had a 1920 x 1080i file to begin with?

You also say you successfully made a HDV clip using the default settings, but what format/properties did your *input* file have?

As for the unsuccessful Blu-Ray, again what were you using as the input video?

I am also confused when you say that the TS file in that was .m2ts, but that there was no H.264 or AVCHD. But .m2ts video IS AVCHD/H.264!!!

[pepegota]

I am experimenting with HD, so I make small test clips with various profiles to see how the software functions.
File specs: Format info: Blu Ray
File size 86.5MB
Format:MPEG Video
GOP:M=3, N=15
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution:1920X1280
Duration: 31sec.
Frame Rate 29.07
Scan type: interlaced
Audio: AC-3
Bit rate 224
When I made this into a Blu Ray I got the problem alluded to above. Also, I made a same as first video clip and it does not play well-not in VS or VLC. Some of the video plays without sound in VLC and not at all in VS.
The real problem is the technology is way ahead of tthe capability. Panasonic came out with a 60P recorder for $1300 and creates more problems. I don't blame Corel. This is a world of organized chaos. Too many choices-unlike DVD and impossible to cover all the bases today. This needs to be standardized. Things will have to improve before I go HD-that's one reason why I experiment-to see what's up!
Now, perhaps the prior post will make more sense. You guys do a good job and I deeply appreciate your efforts! For me this is a learning curve.

[Ken Berry]

Thanks for the explanation, and yes, it now makes more sense of what you are doing. Another small question, though: you say the resolution is 1920 x 1280... Is that a typo for 1080? If not, then it could be part of the reason for poor output of your Blu-Ray clip since a conversion would have to take place, throwing about 200 vertical pixels. This would IMHO make the resulting image rather unclear. But if it *is* 1280, where did it come from?

[pepegota]

Yes, it's a typo and a puzzlement..