Creating a video file & DVD help.

[Levy9]

Hi,

I'm using Corel Videostudio Pro X5 and have been filmimg in ACVHD.MTS format this year for the first time on motorsport events, I've edited all my 2013 footage and all is looking great.
and now i want to save the footage into a file on my PC to upload into Sony DVD Architect to make a quality DVD production.

I have done this routine with my SD footage for several years and had no issues at all and created some great DVDs but now i'm using HD footage i'm getting lost with all the video formats that are available.

Basically which is the best format to save my video file onto my PC before i upload it into Sony DVD Architect? I tried the first option HDV which looked great and a reasonable file size but then it started to flicker and freeze during play back on my PC.

Also, even though i've been filming in HD i still only want to make a standard DVD because i share my work with friends who do not have Bluray players, will this be an issue since i have filmed in HD all year? All i after after really is the best quality footage i can produce for my DVD.

Thanks

Kev

[BrianCee]

Since you have started with AVCHD why not stick with it while in VideoStudio - go "Share >> Create Video File >> AVCHD >> choose" - then at least you will know you are leaving VideoStudio with the best quality possible.

If you are going to burn standard DVD's then you will at some stage need to convert your AVCHD to mpeg-2 - you could do that in VS and export an .mpg from there but if Sony DVD architect is so good at making DVD's why not let that do the conversion while creating your DVD.

[Levy9]

Hi Brian,

Thank you for your reply, this is where things do get a little confusing for a HD novice like myself! So if I save the edited footage in the same format AVCHD is that just as good quality as the other formats that are on offer, WMV-HD, MPEG4-HD, HDV? (When using SD I just saved to a DV file) alao there is an Mpeg optimizer?

I use the Sony DVD software because I’m stuck in my ways and I understand how to work it, maybe it’s time to change the way I work and see what Corel can do with creating DVDs? It may be easier to keep my work all within Corel rather than using 2 different software applications.

Thanks

Kev

[BrianCee]

NO - all formats are different - that is why there are different formats available - if they were all just as good as each other then we would only need one.

There are different formats for different uses - some playback devices - phones or web pages for instance which cannot handle or want high quality (big file size) video - wmv for instance is relatively low quality (even HD) so you would only choose that for a mobile phone or playing on a web page or youtube say - of all the formats you mentioned AVCHD is probably the best anyrate.

if you want the best quality to transfer between software programmes then stick with the format you started with then there is no conversion with the usually loss of quality that often brings - which is why I said stick with AVCHD for you output - if you output wmv-HD and then convert that to mpeg for your DVD you are heading for a noticeable loss of quality - convert formats as little as you possibly can.

There is no problem in using a number of different software programme if you are comfortable doing that - if your Sony programme can accept AVCHD then use that - but if not then use the standard method you have used previously and create a DVD video file (not DV that is something different) in VideoStudio and import that to your Sony programme.

[lata]

Hi

Although I only use Video Studio there is no problems in using other editors as well.

Can you give more info regarding the properties of your AVCHD files.
Right click a clip in the timeline and select properties what are they?
Copy the window as an image and attach to your post.

[Levy9]

I will be back on the laptop tonight to carry on with the project so will report back with that info Lata.

Thanks for your replies, for some reason i had it in my head that AVCHD was not as good as other formats due to it being heavily compressed that's why i was looking at saving the project in a different format. To add to that some of the clips in the timeline are from a Hi8 digital camcorder so i'm not sure how this will affect saving project in AVCHD. I will just try it and see.

I've never tried the DVD authorizing within VS so it might be worth me trying that also, I had a bespoke template i liked to use each year within the Sony programme so just kept to what i liked and it worked but it's getting old now as i bought the software in 2008!

[lata]

Well your workflow will be the same.
To burn a disc………
You complete the project by creating a Mpeg2 DVD compliant video file.
Whether you need to create your own template or use a default one depends on the original properties or your video file., which is why I asked for the details.

To burn a DVD disc you need a DVD compliant Mpeg2 file, irrespective of the program used.

Once you have that you can use any program to burn a disc.

Using Video Studio you would start a new project (nothing in the timeline)
Share Create Disc DVD opens the burner/authoring module, top left is Insert media, Insert Video - browse for your Mpeg2 file.

Oh one more question, how long is your project/movie?

[Levy9]

Well your workflow will be the same.
To burn a disc………
You complete the project by creating a Mpeg2 DVD compliant video file.
Whether you need to create your own template or use a default one depends on the original properties or your video file., which is why I asked for the details.

To burn a DVD disc you need a DVD compliant Mpeg2 file, irrespective of the program used.

Once you have that you can use any program to burn a disc.

Using Video Studio you would start a new project (nothing in the timeline)
Share Create Disc DVD opens the burner/authoring module, top left is Insert media, Insert Video - browse for your Mpeg2 file.

Oh one more question, how long is your project/movie?

Thanks for that info, the project is 55 mins long and when i created a video file last night using the HDV option the file size was 10GB which is fine as the Sony DVD programme squeezes it onto a 4.7GB disk.

I think i'll give VS a try with the DVD menu creating side of things tonight, i know the look i like with using certain backgounds and fonts, i also like to put chapters into specific places and create sub menu's with thumbnails to these chapter points.

[lata]

Hi

The Sony DVD program squeezes it to 4.3 Gb (4.7Gb) by creating a Mpeg2 file, you can do that in Video Studio. Create an Mpeg2 to 4.3 Gb
I do not know if Video Studio will give you all the options you want when creating the menu.
You are best giving it a go, choose to create a Disc Image rather than burn a disc, at least you wont waste a disc, you can play the Disc Image ISO using VCL Media Player.

[Levy9]

Hi

The Sony DVD program squeezes it to 4.3 Gb (4.7Gb) by creating a Mpeg2 file, you can do that in Video Studio. Create an Mpeg2 to 4.3 Gb

Which out of these options creates an Mpeg2 file? I used to use the DV option when i filmed in SD so i tried the HDV last night but had screen flicker/freezing problems whilst playing back on my laptop. Part of my issue last night was the amount of options there was here which i realize is there to suit everyone's needs but is a tad confusing for me.

I need to remember i'm using HD video put creating a standard DVD.

Capture.PNG (8.21 KiB) Viewed 5401 times

[lata]

Hi

The operative word is DVD, so you choose DVD-DVD Video 16:9
The panel at the bottom of the window shows the properties being used as
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps
Upper Field First
(DVD-PAL), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

You may however wish to use Digital Dolby for the audio so may have to create your own template.
There are a few options to do this, editing the Project Properties is as easy as any.

Do this
Settings – project properties or press Alt+Enter to open the Project Properties window.
Select Edit File Format as "mpeg files".
Edit
Compression Tab
Set Variable to Constant 8000kbps (as your movie is under 60 minutes)
Set the Audio to use Digital Dolby
Leave all other settings as is.
Close the window and Ok to modify the project properties.

Now Share Create Video File –Same as Project Properties, notice the properties in the lower panel.
This will render the project to a mpeg2 file. At 55 minutes will be under 4.3 Gb and fit to disc without further rendering.

Post Updated

Some years ago I wrote some guides for editing DV and burning a DVD.
A little old but the workflow holds good for the latest versions.

http://lata.me.uk/video_studio/guides.htm

read the Quick Guide for DV-Avi
and if you imagine the DV video is AVCHD the process to create a standard disc is the same/ very similar.

[Levy9]

Brilliant, thank you very much for taking the time to assist me. Its good to know there's some knowledgeable people that are prepared to help others when in need

I've got a few things to try tonight and i'm fairly confident now of getting the results i'm after with this years project.

[Ken Berry]

Just to add my two cents worth, AVCHD is a very good format precisely because it achieves such high quality despite the compression it is subjected to. In effect it is high definition mpeg-4 made using a codec called H.264. Other codecs are used to produce other high def mpeg-4 formats.

While your notion of converting to HDV has some merits (as HDV is high def mpeg-2), one possible reason for the flickering you have seen is that your AVCHD was possibly made using fully progressive video i.e. depending where you are in the world, with either 50 or 60 full frames per second (or even 25 or 30 full frames per second). HDV does not use progressive video -- only the 'old fashioned' interlaced variety you are already familiar with in standard def video. (Think of progressive as being the same as standard def frame based.) HDV thus uses 50 or 60 half frames per second, which the human eye perceives as being equivalent to 25 or 30 full frames per second. But in converting it from 50 or 60 full frames per second down to 25 or 30 interlaced frames per second, one frame in every two is thrown away, and thus -- depending on the action in the video -- the end product will appear to flicker to the human eye.

That is another reason we need to know what the full Properties of your AVCHD are. If, for instance, they say it is Upper Field First, then we know that it is interlaced and not progressive. But if there is no mention of Upper Field First, then it is progressive.

This could well be a problem if you convert it to standard DVD properties, which normally would use Upper Field First for the standard def mpeg-2 it would be converted to. So you could produce a better result if you manually set the properties of your DVD to use Frame Based instead of Upper Field First.

[Levy9]

Hi,
Just a follow to what I’ve been trying over the last few days and I’ve seen some good results. First off I tried creating a file to the same settings as the project as mentioned by lata which worked fine but I felt that the quality of the video file wasn’t quite as good as I wanted. The file size was 3.25GB which I thought was a touch on the small side.

Whist doing all this id noticed I had a 2 rogue clips?! Every time I’d created a video file the sound on these 2 particular clips wouldn’t work even though the sound played fine on the timeline?! Anyway I decided to convert those 2 particular clips in Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate to mpeg2 and put them back in the time line which worked a treat. It was then I noticed just how good the quality of the 2 clips were when I converted them in Xilisoft compared to when I converted through VS.

So I decided to create a video file of my project in VS using the Mpeg optimiser which created a .m2t file or something like that which was just over 4GB but looked amazing in quality, then I put that into Xilisoft and converted that to mpeg2 and the quality difference is really clear to see compared to my mpeg2 from VS, also the file size was only 4.3GB so I can now take that to DVD Architect and make my project into a DVD without any more converting or loss of quality.

I got there in the end but by using a mixture of software, one last question would be for next year do I convert my clips to mpeg2 before I put them into the VS timeline?

[Ken Berry]

One problem is that not all mpeg-2s are created equal. There is standard definition mpeg-2, which you use on standard def DVDs and which generally has properties which include 720 x 576 (PAL) or 480 (NTSC), Upper (or rarely these days Lower) Field First (or even Frame Based), 25 or 29.97 frames per second, and a bitrate usually 8000 kbps or under.

Then there is is high def mpeg-2 -- but there again, there are varieties, and it would be interesting to know what exact properties your video created with Xilisoft have... If indeed they have the .m2t extension, then I would guess that you have converted to HDV format which would normally be 1440 x 1080i, Upper Field First, 25/29.97 fps and a bitrate of 25 Mbps. This is normally excellent quality (I use a HDV camcorder!!)

But of course there is also Blu-Ray mpeg-2 which uses the .m2ts extension and can have a variety of properties, especially in the frame size and bitrate areas. And it might be noted here that HDV is not Blu-Ray compatible and needs to be converted to that format of mpeg-2, just to muddy the waters...

Anyway, all I am meaning to show here is that we may be comparing apples to oranges here when we are talking about producing mpeg-2 with different programs without actually specifying what their exact properties are.