Trouble Rendering to DVD

[Rachel]

I'm having difficulty rendering a video I've created to DVD. The process completes. However, when I run the file, there are several places where the video seems to skip/repeat. For instance, a person says "My name is John." The rendering now says, "My name is, my name is " and skips the rest. There are several places this has happened. I've rendered the video more than once and it does it in the same places each time. Also, the overall video quality doesn't seem as good as when it was in edit mode.

The project is a series of interviews which were captured on DSLR and IPad mini (as backup). Most of the project is made up of the DSLR files with the exception of one of the interviews didn't turn out and I had to use the IPad footage with the audio captured on the DSLR. I used the mult-camera editor to put those together, and I cropped it to make it more visually appealing. I'm new to this software as well as to video editing. This project is for my son's Eagle Scout Service Project as he's having a premiere showing on Monday. I would very much appreciate any assistance you can offer. ~Rachel


I'm currently using VS X9
I just recently purchased the software and it indicates that it's up to date
Source Files: Nikon D7100 and IPad Mini
DSLR files transferred from SanDisk Extreme Pro
IPad files from Cloud
Files: Mov, jpg,
MPEG2 for standard video

Project Properties:
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Upper Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)

[lata]

Hi Rachel

And welcome to the forums

Thanks for the information but we need a little more.
First can you tell us which version of Video Studio are you using?
Can you give us the properties of your 2 video files, right click a clip on the timeline and choose properties, what are they?
You can create an image of those windows to attach to your post, if you wish.

It is most likely that the program does not like the mix of video especially the Ipad which may be using a variable frame rate.
Also I suspect the DSLR will use a progressive frame rate, whereas the project is set to Upper Field (interlaced) changing that could have impact on quality creating jagged lines etc.

My thoughts are to set the project properties to match the DSLR, I assume Mov video properties as those are the most used in your project.
Then I would render the project to same as DSLR video, play to check quality
Using the resultant video in a new project, render that to Mpeg2 24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps,
As your project properties but using Frame Based (progressive) not Upper Field First.

Finally when you select Share – deselect Smart Render before pressing start.
Smart Render although does a good job most of the time, but it is not magic, I think the different frame rates in your mix of video files may be a problem for Smart Render.

You can simply render without Smart Render to see how things go, but the Interlacing / Progressive mix may cause a reduction in quality.

If you are unsure about the above please ask, but giving those video properties is gonna help us.

[Ken Berry]

To get the Properties of the two types of video, right click a clip of each type while it is in the Video Studio timeline or library window and select Properties. Then either copy them manually here or take a screen shot of the Properties box and upload it here as an Attachment.

As for Trevor's question about which version you are using, I am assuming it is the X9 shown in your Profile...

Apart from the probable degradation in quality caused by the factors listed by Trevor, I am pretty sure your original video from both sources will be high definition. A DVD, however, is standard definition. So even if you get everything else right as suggested by Trevor, you should not be expecting that the final DVD will be anywhere near as good a quality as the original video. Quality is essentially governed by the bitrate used in the video. Your original video will probably have a bitrate of at least 16,000 kbps and probably much higher. However, a DVD can only have a maximum total bitrate of both its video and audio streams of 10,000 kbps -- in in practical terms, the video bitrate will need to be not much more than 8000 kbps since many (most) DVD players have difficulty playing home-made DVDs with a bitrate higher than that.

[Rachel]

Thank you for the replies. I had talked with a videographer who shoots commercial by trade and he was mentioning the exact things you are about the two formats not working well together. I had sent him a clip and he said that it was definitely an audio problem and not the video. I needed the project completed for my son's premiere showing by last night and was able to come up with a not-so ideal workaround. I was able to render a .wma audio file that was not distorted (other formats had same distortion). I split out the audio from an .m2t file, replacing it with the audio .wma audio file. I then could import that into myDVD to create a DVD. I plan to look more closely at your suggestions (this has been a real learning experience) and hopefully can come up something a little better.

Rachel