Fitting Video File onto a DVD

[MIKEL]

Due to me having a newish Canon 7D mkII I had to upgrade from X7 to X9 due to format problems. Now I find myself confused when making a DVD. In the earlier versions I could change the quality/compression to fit the file on a DVD - what I have been doing now in X9 is definitely not helping. I have dutifully read the X9 User Guide DVD section (like they just added another application to the Share section) and I must admit I could not really explain to anyone what I read. I have a bit of red showing on the end of my video clip and hoped from the message I got when hitting the BURN button that this amazing app will sort it out - but I got a very sensitively written slightly sad error message instead. Basically there were rendering problems. So assuming red is not the new white - what did I miss when reading the instructions.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you anybody who answers as it would mean you could be surfing or playing golf instead.

Many thanks - mike

[Ken Berry]

By the sounds of it, you inserted the project file (vsp) into the burning timeline. That normally works, but sometimes does not. First off, with the burning module open, did you first click on the Options cogwheel icon in the bottom left of the burning screen? You can alter the Properties there e.g. by lowering the bitrate a little so that the red (indicating the file is too big to fit) should no longer show.

However, our preferred option would be to handle that in the Editing module. So when you finish your editing, you select Share > MPEG-2 which will produce a DVD-compatible mpeg-2 from your AVCHD original. And you can lower the bitrate for that by editing the Settings before you hit the blue Start button. You would be well aware of the general guidelines for this: if the project is 1 hour to 70 minutes long, use 8000 kbps; if its 90 minutes or a bit longer -- 6000 kbps; and if 2 hours then 4000 kbps...

Then when you have your new mpeg-2, you can play it to check it is OK. Once satisfied, start a new project. Don't worry about a name -- the objective is just to clear the timeline of your project. (Make sure you save that first.) Then go to Start > DVD. When the burning module opens, its timeline should be empty -- if there's anything there, delete it. Then use the Add Media button in the top left of screen to add your new mpeg-2. And proceed from there as you normally would.

[lata]

Hi Mike

The burner module used by X9 has not changed from the X7 version and should work the same.

I would suspect your project is longer that 70 minutes and that is causing the oversized yellow / red indications.

As Ken mentions rendering the project to a lower data rate will reduce the files size and allow it to fit to disc.
Also using Digital Dolby audio rather that LPCM audio will also help.

We have to manage our settings for rendering the Canon files to Mpeg2.
As a quality issue the Canon will record using frame Based (Progressive) you should use that when rendering your files, the default templates will use interlaced.

Typical settings I would use for the Canon files.

MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 576, 25 fps ( assuming your camera records to Pal)
Frame-based
(DVD-PAL), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps) (for upto 70 minutes of video)
Audio data rate: 256 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)


Oh, if you have not done this, go to Preferences - edit tab and change the Resample Quality option to Best.

[MIKEL]

You guys are more than helpful - this forum is pretty powerful.
I was thinking why people stick with one editor instead of changing (myself included) not exactly sure but thank goodness it is so.
Mike thanks you