Most suitable quality for video clips

[Berzelius]

I have a Panasonic TZ60 camera and, as well as taking photos, I use it for recording video clips. I have the choice of HD MP4 1280x720 25p or FHD MP4 1920x1080 25p. Now at present, and for the foreseeable future, I use these clips solely for producing standard DVDs. I never look at the clips on an HD TV and have no intention, at present, of producing Blu-ray discs.

As I understand it from various posts on this forum, the quality of a standard DVD is the same as mpeg-2, that is 720x576. I therefore decided to go for the HD (1280x720) quality. This was for what seemed to me the common sense argument that if you are ending up with a lower quality, then starting from a high quality or a very high quality should make no difference.

However, is this actually true? If I moved to the FHD quality (1920x1080) would I actually squeeze out a slightly higher quality for my final DVDs? I realise that this would require twice as much storage space, but I don't record enough to make this a serious issue. And are any other reasons for not going for the highest quality? For example, would it increase the rendering time of a project?

[Ken Berry]

I think only you will be able to answer the question to your own satisfaction in the end. Why don't you try filming a little in FD quality, then down-converting it to SD mpeg-2, and see if it does or does not give better quality than the HD setting, to your eyes at least.

One could make the argument that down-converting from higher quality HD (i.e. your FD) video should logically give you more chance of better SD mpeg-2. But equally it could probably also be argued that compressing a higher quality, larger-frame video gives more chance for errors, pixelation, distortion to creep in...

I don't think, though, that rendering your HD video to SD mpeg-2 would take (much) less time that the FD video. They are, after all, using the same codec and processes... though I guess there would be a larger volume of FD in terms of size of the original clips compared to HD...

So there's two lovely "on the fence" answers! Reminds me of our colleague Terfyn's signature block: "I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure"!!

[aljimenez]

The higher the resolution the better your final reduced resolution conversion will be. However this assumes the camera is able to record each with sufficient quality; in general, the higher the resolution, the more demand on the encoding by the camera. This means, how many mbps does your camera use for each resolution? I own a Panasonic high end camera and it adjust the mbps accordingly to deliver highest quality in any selected resolution. I am probably going into more detail than you want.

Other reasons for recording at the highest quality: 1) Archiving original clips for the future; 2) Cropping of clips retains the quality for your output; 3) Correcting clips that have lots of jitter and shake end up cropping and you retain quality this way.

Al

[lata]

Hi
Whatever option you choose as your source video ultimately you have to create that Mpeg2 to burn a DVD.
I would edit the project using the original files and then convert the project to same as original files properties to create a HD output file.
I can then play the HD video to check quality.

Then I would convert that HD to Mpeg2, that of course would be Standard Definition.
You can use Video Studio to do that, upto 60 minutes use 8000kbps data rate.
I think your original video will use Frame Based, whatever you should retain the original interlacing options.

Now you can use Video Studio to bun the Mpeg2 to disc.

Playing video on TV can be done via USB memory stick / SD card, no need for bluray disc.

[Berzelius]

Thanks for the replies. I'll give producing a project file the same quality as the clips a try. And I think It would probably be best if I now did a little experimentation.

[Thordell]

I've just gone through this very same thing, the best I found for me is,.... Do the editing on the timeline in 1920-1080, go into share and make Mpeg 2 in 720-576 and use this to make my DVD.

Alan