The more I learn, the less I know. Recently, having successfully burned two projects to DVD in AVCHD I saved the respective files as .VSP in my separate hard drive
I am using VS10 ultimate so anything within it's excellent capabilities should be possible?
Now I wish to burn both of the afore-mentioned projects on to one DVD and since their individual file size is only about 1.37Gb, capacity should not be an issue
My two projects are inter-related but I do not want them combined and would like to retain separate entities on the DVD with their respective titles
How do I go about this since the files are .VSP it seems the only way is through VS but what is the recommended procedure?
Please assume nothing and provide information in terms understandable to any novice - that way I might just learn something
Thanks in advance -Skipper
You will have to render each project to DVD-compatible mpeg-2. Then when you open the burning module, remove anything that may be in the timeline, then go to the Add Media button in the top left of the burning screen, and navigate to where you new mpeg-2 clips are stored and add them to the burning timeline. You can then if you want add chapters to each clip. Prepare the menu in the usual way, then burn.
Given that you live in Australia, you would use Share > MPEG-2 to convert the project, and you select one of the options which includes a frame size of 720 x 576, a bitrate of 8000 kbps, Upper Field First, and either LPCM or Dolby audio.
In the burning module, click on the Options cogwheel icon in the bottom left of screen and make sure the box beside "Do not convert compatible MPEG files" is ticked.
Just be aware that if the video in your projects is something like mpeg-4, this is more compressed than mpeg-2. So in converting to mpeg-2 expect the new clips to be larger than the 1.37 GB you mention. As long as the total is under 4.3 GB you are right to go. But if they total more than that, you might need to go back and do the conversion again, using a lower bitrate e.g. 7000 or even 6000 kbps. The quality will still be good, but a lower bitrate also means a smaller sized clip.
Thanks Ken. Just a question on the Mpeg 2 - doesn't this mean I loose my full HD playback? If so, is there another path I could follow to retain 1920 x 1080 resolution?
Not if you are wanting to burn a video DVD -- maximum PAL frame size under the international DVD standard is 720 x 576. To keep your original HD frame size, the only ways are either the AVCHD disc which I guess you have already tried, or else a Blu-Ray disc -- though the latter would waste an awful lot of space on a 25 GB BD disc if your two project are small. Both the AVCHD disc and the BD disc both require Blu-Ray players for playback. And to get two projects onto one disc, be it a DVD disc for the AVCHD burn, or the full BD burn, would still require your two projects to be converted to HD AVCHD or BD-compatible mpeg-2 (at 1920 x 1080) to be able to burn both to one disc.
The only other option would be simply to convert your projects into high def AVCHD/mp4 and store them on an external hard disc USB drive or stick drive, and play them directly by plugging the drive directly into a HDTV if it can accept video; or else plugging the drive into a Blu-Ray player connected to the HDTV. An increasing number of people, including myself, are doing this. You can even distribute cheap USB stick drives to friends as long as they too have HDTVs which can play video or Blu-Ray players connected to their HDTVs.
Remember when I said about "novice" -well I was not joking, I am still confused:
When I burned these two projects through "share" I selected DVD then from the top of the page AVCHD, which told me the files would be 1920 x 1080
There was no apparent need to use my precious Blu-Ray discs so I didn't. When the disc was burned I saved the files to my library
The discs play in high res on the TV through my Panasonic BMR-BWT955 recorder/player (BD device) without fuss - so what standard are they recorded in???
I note that when the disc is first engaged, something about Blu-Ray flashes up on the screen then is gone before one has time to contemplate the significance
And when I pop the disc into the PC to check properties it says BDMV
(I had a standard definition video which I played this morning on the same system and it looks crap by comparison)
The two projects are in fact part one and two of an overseas holiday, cut down into bite sized movies since it has been my experience that people tire quickly of watching other's home movies
Hence my desire to retain the full separation between the project, but I do not want to compromise the quality -they were shot using 1920 x 1080 (50.00P) and it would be a shame to waste this?
If that means I must use BD disc, then I guess that is what I must do but still the question remains - how?
An AVCHD disc is a hybrid one: it is Blu-Ray but burnt to a standard DVD blank disc instead of a Blu-Ray blank disc. It has to be AVCHD (which is mpeg-4 made using the H.264 codec), and as you know, it has to be played on a Blu-Ray player. An ordinary DVD player cannot play it. The BDMV folder is identical to the BDMV folder you get on a Blu-Ray disc, and the video is contained in the STREAM sub-folder of that folder in .m2ts format. A DVD, on the other hand, will have a Video_TS folder and be filled with .vob, .ifo and .bup files.
An AVCHD hybrid disc can hold about 25 minutes maximum of HD video using the maximum bitrate allowed for such a disc, which is 18,000 kbps. You could lower the bitrate to, say, 16,000 kbps to get a bit more video on the disc and it would still be good quality. But the more you reduce the bitrate, the more you also reduce the final quality.
Thus your only other alternative would be a true Blu-Ray disc.
Essentially, the workflow for both a hybrid and a Blu-Ray disc is identical to that which I outlined above for a DVD, only the format of the video would be different. In both cases I would render each project to AVCHD (which is a Blu-Ray compatible format). For an AVCHD disc, the maximum bitrate can only be 18,000 kbps, but you could go up to 35,000 kbps if you intended to use the new video for an actual Blu-Ray disc.
After you have rendered each new AVCHD, you go to Share and select from the disc menu either AVCHD or Blu-Ray. When the burning module opens, remove anything which might be in its timeline, navigate to where your AVCHD files are located, and add them to the timeline. Build your menu and burn.
An excellent explanation thanks Ken - you Kiwi's are good!
I have just completed the task of 2 projects in AVCHD to a DVD and they play sharp and clear, and the menu works so you have taught me good
Now I am in the process of burning the two projects to Blu-ray disc just to see if I can tell the difference
If no, then I shall just burn all future projects via AVCHD onto the much cheaper discs - unless the files are too big to fit!
Kind regards, Skipper
Just to add. You mentioned “but I do not want to compromise the quality -they were shot using 1920 x 1080 (50.00P)”
Well Bluray and Avchd (hybrid) do not support 1920 x 1080 x 50P the video has to use 1920 x 1080 x 50i aka 25fps
There is an exception using 1280 x 720 x 50P is allowed.
All to do with Bluray international standards which probably needs updating.
So yep my Panasonic 900 records to 50P but if I wish to burn 50P I convert to 1280 x 720 x 50P--- or 1920 x 1080 x 25fps.
I have run a few tests rendering to both formats, playing the files on TV via USB memory stick, to be honest I don’t notice any difference.
If your TV or disc player has USB then maybe a good option to play your movies, at least to view before committing to disc.
New forum for PSP and VS users, register if you need help
Thank Trevor - your advice is helpful and I shall maybe try the new format next time
Meanwhile I did the Blu-ray burn in 1920 x 1080 (25P) and can observe an improvement over the AVCHD copy when played back on a big screen TV
I find it a very acceptable outcome for an home effort but it doesn't look like the BD discs are going to get any cheaper
Does anyone know if 1920 x 1080 (25P) played on one of the newer 4K TV's will raise the perceived clarity to another level?
Or the LG O-LED product, now licenced to other brands
I might just take a disc down to my local TV shop and get then to try it!
It might give me the excuse to tell the better half we need a new TV?
Skipper wrote:An excellent explanation thanks Ken - you Kiwis are good!
Glad it worked! And incidentally, I am Australian, and born, raised and educated in Brisbane to boot! I just retired in New Zealand seven years ago, and have since taken out Kiwi dual citizenship -- though I am not planning on standing for the Australian Federal parliament!
If you were to buy one of the very new models of HDTV, you would be able to play your videos back via the external USB hard drive or stick drive I mentioned above. Moreover, you would be able to do so in full 50P.
