Trouble making dvd from 3 different camera sources

[flahagan]

I've completed a video project made of videos and stills from 3 different cameras. The video is 34 minutes long. The resultant dvd is of poor quality, video is highly pixilated, stills aren't very sharp.
The three source cameras are:
(1) Samsung Note2 phone, Properties: MPEG4, 24 bits 1920 x 1080, 30.023 frames/sec, data rate 17013 kbps

(2) GoPro camera, Properties: MPEG4, 24 bits 1920 x 1080, 29.970 frames/sec, rate 29,999 kbps

(3) GoPro camera, Properties: MPEG4, 24 bits 640 x 360, 59,940 frames/sec, rate 691 kbps

Camera #1 is mine, and provides the vast majority of the still photos as well as a few videos
Camera #2 is a grandson's and provides the majority of the videos
Camera #3 is another grandson's and provides 2 short video clips

The settings for my first attempt were 29.97 fps, upper field first, 24 bits, 720 x 480, data rate 8000 kbps variable, DVD-NTSC 16:9
I tried again switching to frame-based, 8000 Kbps constant, increased the speed quality to 100%. The picture quality seemed a bit clearer but the video kept freezing up, so I didn't even attempt to burn a dvd.

I just have a standard burner, and I use the VideoStudio burner to burn to DVD. I always create a video file before attempting to burn a dvd.

I realize that I will lose quality rendering to MPEG2, but are there any custom settings I could use to improve the quality? This is a project from a trip that we took these grandchildren on this summer, and I'm just trying to put a little movie together so that they will be able to always remember it.

I'm pretty stupid about all of this technology, but by some miracle I've always succeeded on my previous attempts at these projects and everyone thinks I really know what I'm doing! Actually, I just always do exactly what you wonderful people on this forum tell me to do. Is there any hope for this project?

[lata]

Hi flahagan
What version of VS are you using?
Go to Settings – Preferences and set Resampling Quality to “Best”.

Your project properties should be the same as your Camera 1, given that camera 1 has the most footage.

Convert the project to same settings as camera 1, that will give you a HD video, play to check quality.
You could save the HD video file to USB memory stick, which may play on the tv? That depends on the format your tv supports. But USB route will retain the quality, you may not need to burn a DVD?

To burn a DVD you have to render / convert to Mpeg2, Convert the HD Video file to Mpeg2
Your cameras record to progressive, I would use Frame Based, also for 35 minutes I use Constant bit rate not variable.

Camera 3 is the lowest quality, is recording to 59fps, ok for internet playback but needs 29fps for dvd. Maybe the 29fps camera option will give the larger HD frame size? Just a thought….

[flahagan]

Sorry, I forgot to add that I'm using Pro x6. I do have the resampling set to "best". I'll re-check everything and try again. Thanks - I'll post back with the outcome.

[flahagan]

I decided to start from scratch, quickly jotted down the order of my pics, videos and audio and went to "new project."
However, when I go to preferences, nearly every option is greyed out and I'm left with default options when I'm trying to set preferences to camera one. About the only thing I can change by clicking "edit" is upper field first to frame-based, variable to constant rate and film-width (16:9).

For instance, there's no option for me to get any higher frame size than 720 x 480, while camera one's frame size is 1920 x 1080. Also, what about the data rate, should it still be 8000?

I'm REALLY feeling stupid now. What am I doing wrong, and how can I get the settings to match camera one? This is what happens when I go 2 years without a project!

[flahagan]

I think I can answer part of my own question. I seem to recall that I'm stuck with the 720 x 480 unless I go to Blu-ray, which isn't possible.

So, in what other way should I use the properties of camera one as my project settings? Other than the data rate, camera one and camera two are pretty much the same.
Am I over-thinking this? I'm so discouraged by the low quality of the dvd I burned yesterday that I just feel like I want to scrap everything and start fresh, but I don't want to make the same mistakes. It was really difficult to watch on our HD large-screen tv. My last video project was made up almost entirely of camera one and it looks good on this same tv. Could it be the GoPro footage that is messing it up? Unfortunately, the footage is pretty necessary for this project.

[Ken Berry]

The settings for my first attempt were 29.97 fps, upper field first, 24 bits, 720 x 480, data rate 8000 kbps variable, DVD-NTSC 16:9

Unfortunately, those are the required Properties for a standard definition NTSC DVD -- though it could also be Frame Based as you have already tried.

As for having Project Properties match those of camera 1 (or for that matter 2), VS X6 doesn't have a way of automatically matching the video clip's Properties to those of the Project. That came in X7 and X8. But in any case, Project Properties are largely irrelevant when it comes to rendering the project to a DVD-compatible (i.e. standard definition) mpeg-2. Unfortunately, what you have to accept is that you are going from high quality high definition video from cameras 1 and 2, to standard def video of less than half the quality in the final mpeg-2 in terms of frame size and bitrate. And this unfortunately obvious loss in quality is further compounded by camera 3 which provided fairly low quality video in the first place (in terms of frame size) which has been notionally "upgraded" to a larger frame size mpeg-2 format by the rendering, but at the same time has had half of its frames in effect thrown away by dropping the frame rate from 59.94 full fps to 29.97 fps interlaced (when using Upper Field First) or for marginally better output if using Frame Based. But any slight defects in the camera 3 footage will only become magnified by the "upgrading".

Plus, of course, degrading the camera 1 and 2 footage down to standard def but then watching the whole thing on a large screen HDTV will only compound the degradation further -- especially when you compare the final footage to the original high def footage from cameras 1 and 2 as seen on the same HDTV. It might also be noted in this regard that many smartphones these days, such as your Note 2, are using variable frame rates such as the 30.023 fps you mention. This is, of course, not far off the 'normal' NTSC frame rate of 29.97 fps, so the effect may not be particularly noticeable, but rendering it to 29.97 fps could nevertheless produce a faint, even subliminal flicker in that footage.

FWIW, I -- and no doubt thousands of other home video enthusiasts -- have a drawer full of standard def home-made DVDs of my many travels and adventures, in my case filmed originally in very high quality, though standard def DV/AVI format. They looked marvellous back in the day when played back on a 30" standard definition TV. But now I have difficulty watching them even on a 46" HDTV. But I'm afraid that is the nature of the beast, and you either learn to live with it, or else -- as I did -- move up to Blu-Ray.

The other thing you might think about -- at least for yourself if your grandsons' families don't have HDTVs and/or Blu-Ray players -- would be to render your project first to AVCHD format (1920 x 1080, UFF and, say, a bitrate of 18,000 kbps). Depending on how old your HDTV is, many of them have USB ports where you can plug in either a USB stick drive or external HDD and play AVCHD and other types of video directly in their native format. And if your HDTV does not allow it, most Blu-Ray players connected to the HDTV will allow it. That is what I mostly do these days with my own HD footage, from my HDV camcorder, GoPro Hero 3 and Samsung Galaxy 3 smartphone. The result is outstanding. (In my case, I plug the USB drive into my Sony PlayStation 3 which apart from being a game console, is also an excellent Blu-Ray player...) In any case, Blu-Ray players these days are pretty cheap. So having a high def version of your project would at least give you greater pleasure, and be useful when your grandsons visit if they don't have Blu-Ray players in their own homes.

[lata]

Hi

Just to add to the USB comments, when you render the video to Bluray or Avchd it will use an extension MTS , M2ts or similar.
My Standard DVD player will not recognise that, but if I rename the file to use an extension of Mpg then it plays ok.
To re-name the extension you have to set Show extensions of known file types, via any folder – tools – view tab.

No problems of course when using the Bluray player.

I assume when you render the project to avchd then the quality is good.