Speedy Blu-Ray Creation

[commgames]

I can create a DVD using Videostudio X7 in 22 mins approx
A Blu-Ray 4 and a half hours..
Is there anyway this can be sped up?

Thanks

[Ken Berry]

Welcome to the forum!

You need to give us more detail about your projects: what format are the original video clips? Are you converting them to Blu-Ray compatible mpeg-2 or AVCHD mpeg-4 before beginning the burning process? How long does the project last? Are you using single or dual layer BD discs? What filters have you used?

[commgames]

OK i will give you an Example
I have a file with the following Specs

Untitled.m2ts
Length 01:48:05
1280x720
Data Rate 3151 kbps
Total Bitrate 3157 kbps
29 frames/sec

The Project setting in Videostudio is as follows:

MPEG files
24 bits, 1920 x 1080, 25 fps
Upper Field First
(HDMV-PAL), 16:9
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 35000 kbps)
Audio data rate: 384 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio, 48 KHz, 2/0(L,R)

Using Single Layer Discs

[Ken Berry]

My first guess is that the long rendering time is because you are putting in chalk but expecting to output cheese! The input file properties you give are AVCHD/mpeg-4, and NTSC -- though are you sure the frame rate is really 29 frames per second? The correct NTSC frame rate is 29.97 fps (or 59.54i)... Does that video clip come from a mobile phone? The bitrate is also low, though suitable for playback on a small screen.

Your output project Properties, on the other hand, are PAL (25 fps) and Blu-Ray compatible mpeg-2 with a bitrate ten or eleven times higher than the original. Your frame size, moreover, is going from 1280 x 720 to 1920 x 1080. And in addition your project is a long one -- close to two hours. To my mind, that is a very complex conversion which has to take place, so I am not at all surprised that it takes over twice as long as the project time to render out.

The question in my mind would not be the rendering time but whether the end quality is satisfactory... Personally, I would have my Project Properties set to AVCHD mpeg-4 with an NTSC frame rate if you live in an NTSC country, and a bitrate of no more than 15,000 kbps -- though even that may be unnecessarily high given the low original bitrate You could even keep the original frame size if all the original video is that size. Keeping the video type the same at AVCHD should reduce the rendering time, and perhaps do so significantly. And of course AVCHD -- including 1280 x 720 -- is already Blu-Ray compatible (as long as the frame rate is either 25 fps (if it is PAL) or 29.97 fps (NTSC) rather than 29 fps...

[commgames]

Videostudio pro X7 only gives me 4 options

Blu-Ray 1920x1080
Blu-Ray 1440x1080
Blu-Ray H.264 1920x1080
Blu-Ray H.264 1440x1080

I can go to customize
Encoder driver only has one option Ulead MPEG Now Encoder
Data Track has 2 options Audio and Video (Which is default) and Video Only
Frame Rate 25 frames/secons (can't be altered..
Frame Type Upper Field First (default) or Lower Field First
Frame Size has Standard selected 1920x1080 (default) with a selection of 1440x1080 or 720x576
There is a Selection for User-Defined but it cannot be changed
Display Aspect Ratio is 16:9 which also cannot be altered..

So not Really much of a choice?

[Ken Berry]

First off, in your Settings > Preferences > General, is there a tick beside the box "Show message when inserting first video clip into timeline"? IIRC VS X7 did not have that ticked automatically. Then, when you start a new project and drag one of your .m2ts files into the timeline, you should get a message asking if you want the project properties to match those of the clip. Say OK. I just opened my own X7 and tried that and got the message. Depending on how widely varying the bitrates and formats of other video in the project might be, you could, after editing simply choose Share > Same As Projecting Settings and produce a new video of the whole project with exactly the same properties as the first video. And since it is .m2ts, which is already Blu-Ray compatible, you should then be able to burn a BD disc using that new file. (In doing so, first check in the Project Settings box in the bottom left of the burning screen to make sure the box beside 'Do not convert compliant MPEG files' is ticked.)

If that does not please you and you want to Customise the output, then in my X7 at least I have more options than you seem to have. First I select Customize and then select MPEG transport stream files (*.m2t) as the format as this is Blu-Ray compatible. Then to change the settings I click on the little cogwheel icon to the right and the dialogue box with two options appears. I go first to the Compression tab and at the top change the Media Type to PAL HDMV (if you are in a PAL country) or leave it as NTSC if all or most of your video is NTSC. Then below that change the Video Format to H.264 Video (and/or tick the AVCHD box). Leave the rest of that tab alone (including the bitrate of 15,000 kbps).

Back on the General tab the frame rate should now off 25 fps if you change to PAL on the Compression tab. The frame size admittedly does not offer 1280 x 720, so I would choose 1920 x 1080. Then I would render a new file with these various properties, then use it to burn the disc.

[commgames]

what i usually do is click disc, blu-ray, add video files, create a menu then export
by fiddling with the quality speed bar reducing it from 90 to 50, it managed to knock an hour off the time so now it is only 3 hours
have ticked the show message but dont get any when adding my video clips also AVCHD is already ticked..

thank you

what i have noticed is that when creating a dvd it doesnt go through the convert stage only on blu-rays..

[Ken Berry]

have ticked the show message but dont get any when adding my video clips also AVCHD is already ticked.

Just to emphasise, this only works when you start a new project with the timeline empty. And you only get the message once when you insert the first clip. Curious that it didn't work, though, if you followed these two rules. It certainly works when the format of the clip you insert is *.mp4 -- though X7 is very limited in the high def formats it will show a message for, and it could be that it won't work if the extension is .m2t or .m2ts, even though the properties of the clips might otherwise be identical. (In fact I just tested my X7 with an .m2ts file, and no message showed.)

what i have noticed is that when creating a dvd it doesnt go through the convert stage only on blu-rays.

If it doesn't convert in the burn DVD process, that is because the files you inserted were DVD-compatible mpeg-2, so did not need conversion. The fact that you get convert in the BD process is because at least some of the clips you insert in the burning timeline -- or all of them -- are not strictly Blu-Ray compatible. Are you sure the 'Do not convert compatible MPEG files" box is ticked in the Project Settings icon in the bottom left of screen (the second one in from the left)?

And the most obvious indicator to me at least on current information is that clip frame speed of 29 fps you mentioned above. Can you confirm it is 29 and not 29.97 (which is what it is supposed to be)? Where did the video come from? But if it is really 29 fps then that is not BD compatible and would need to be converted.

The other important factor here is the clash between the apparently NTSC clip (or clips) and the PAL settings of your X7. If some or all of the clips in the project are NTSC but you are outputting to PAL settings, then of course the whole thing will need conversion, and thus the long rendering times. You could always, instead, try outputting an NTSC disc. Even though your X7 might be set to PAL, if you look at the first of those icons in the bottom left of the burning screen (Settings and Options) and click on the Disc Template Manager tab, you will see that you can change the format of the disc in the top left of the dialogue box from PAL to NTSC.

[commgames]

windows explorer shows it as 29 but it could be 29.97 i will check..

Ok Here is the codec information

Video
Codec H264 - MPEG-4 AVC
Display Resolution 1280x720
Frame Rate 29.97

Audio
Codec MPEG AAC Audio
Channels Stereo
Sample Rate 44100 Hz

ok will try and change my settings from Pal to NTSC and see what results I receive.

Thanks

[commgames]

Thanks Ken for all the help it must be the settings on my camera, plus my computer speed as if i try and use video redo to re-edit my 720 clips it says it is a major recode and slows down videostudio
at least i have a better understanding of videostudio and will keep working on settings to increase speed..

Darren