BEST COMPRESSION FOR DVD

HI,
I want to find out the BEST compression setting for a FCP project that is 1hr and 41min. I'm burning it to a DVD that is 120min long. It's NOT HD. And it's going to be shown on a wall when it's finished. What are the best settings for this?
Thank you for your help.
Andy

#42 - Quick and dirty way to author a DVD
Shane's Stock Answer #42 - David Roth Weiss' Secret Quick and Dirty Way to Author a DVD:
The absolute simplest way to make a DVD using FCP and DVDSP is as follows:
1. Export a QT movie, either a reference file or self contained using current settings.
2. Open DVDSP, select the "graphical" tab and you will see two little monitors, one blue, one green.
3. Select the left blue one and hit delete.
4. Now, select the green one, right click on it and select the top option "first play".
5. Now drag your QT from the browser and drop it on top of the green monitor.
6. Now, for a DVD from an HD source, look to the right side and select the "general tab" in the track editor, and see the Display Mode, and select "16:9 pan-scan."
7. Hit the little black and yellow burn icon at the top of the page and put a a DVD in when prompted. DVDSP will encode and burn your new DVD.
THATS ALL!!!
NOW...if you want a GOOD LOOKING DVD, instead of taking your REF movie into DVD SP, instead take it into Compressor and choose the BEST QUALITY ENCODE (2 pass VBR) that matches your show timing. Then take THAT result into DVD SP and follow the rest of the steps. Except you can choose "16:9 LETTERBOX" instead of PAN & SCAN if you want to see the entire image.

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Best compression for iDVD authoring and DVD playback?

I have some DV footage that I had captured into MPEG-2 files on my old PC, then recently got a Mac and I want to be able to edit the footage on the Mac software I have and put it onto DVD for standard playback on a TV.
I've got the latest Quicktime Pro with the MPEG-2 playback component, and MPEG Streamline that allows me to convert the MPEG-2 files into MOV files. I want to be able to edit them in iMovie and Final Cut Express, and then I want to drop them into iDVD.
I would like to know what the best compression to use would be in converting the MPEG-2 files into MOV files or other format that's compatible with iMovie and Final Cut Express that will result in the best quality for DVD playback. I don't have Final Cut Pro so I don't have Compressor, which I understand, already has a preset compression optimized for DVD authoring and playback later on.

So you have some already mpg-2 compressed files you want to edit in FCE. Using MPEG Streamclip, I suggest you convert them to DV video (which runs about 13 GB per hour) to work on them in FCE.
As far as recompressing the edited video, I really doubt the mpg-2 encoding mode used will make much difference since you took the real quality hit when you initially mpg-2 compressed to content.
If you want to take the additional time required, you can try the new 'Professional Encoding' option in iDVD 7, but I seriously doubt it will improve anything. (You know the old 'silk purse out of a sow's ear' thing...)

Best Quicktime compression for DVD playback later on?

I have some DV footage that I had captured into MPEG-2 files on my old PC, then recently got a Mac and I want to be able to edit the footage on the Mac software I have and put it onto DVD for standard playback on a TV.
I've got the latest Quicktime Pro with the MPEG-2 playback component, and another program I just found called MPEG Streamline that allows me to convert the MPEG-2 files into MOV files that can be edited in iMovie and Final Cut Express, of which I have, and then I plan on just using iDVD to put the projects on DVD.
I've converted some footage using 3 different compressions: Apple DV 25, JPEG Motion A, and H.264 at NTSC 720x480 resolution so far, and cannot see any noticeable difference in the picture quality between the three converted files when played full screen with Quicktime, but of course, there is considerable difference between the resulting file size for each video. With all three files played back in Quicktime, there was some faint pixelation around moving figures in the video, even after setting the video stream to play back high quality.
I would like to know if there is and what the best compression to use would be in converting the MPEG-2 files into MOV files or other format that's compatible with iMovie and Final Cut Express that will result in the best quality for DVD playback. I don't have Final Cut Pro so I don't have Compressor, which I understand, has a preset compression optimized for DVD playback later on.

Nevermind, I just used DV compression and the playback quality came out just fine on the DVDs I've burned from the footage.

Best compression for video with a lot of static text and graphics

Hello! I am producing an instructional DVD and am getting ready to output the files and was wondering what the best compression format would be for me to use.
About 1/3 of the clips consist of video shot in SD with very little movement (guy sitting at a desk talking to the camera.) The rest contains graphics created in After Effects and then imported back into Final Cut. The graphics are primarily text based, and don't change too often. There are some still images as well, but they are static for the most part save for some occasional panning. Oh, and the total length of all the video clips is about 70 minutes.
I would like to compress these videos so as to get the best possible quality in the text. I did a few tests, but the quality in the letters seemed a little worse than I had hoped. Is this just going to be an inevitability I have to live with, or is there a particular setting that would help me out?
Thanks for reading this; any help would be greatly appreciated!
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1.25 GB DDR SDRAM

You know--I really have no idea why I didn't do it that way. I exported uncompressed files from After Effects and then imported them into FCP; some of the files are huuuge, like 60 GB+
I think in the next version of this I will probably just edit in FCP then import it into AE, and then export from there. As it stands though, I've sort of made some changes and done stuff in FCP after importing the clips, so I'd like to just export using Compressor.
So are you saying it's better to export uncompressed from FCP and then import that into Compressor and go from there? I've been just selecting the 'Export Using Compressor' option in FCP and going from there...
Thanks!

Best Workflow for Dvd studio Pro

I am looking to get the best possible workflow for dvd output. I currently just export my FCE HD project as quicktime movie NOT self contained. I then pull it into DVD Studio Pro 3 and after i do all the menus I build and burn the dvd. The image quality is good, but after reading alot of posts here it seems alot of people put their projects through compression before dvd studio pro builds the project. Should i be doing this?
Thanks.

Well, use the best encoder you can get your hands on. If you can budget for other encoders then maybe do that. Compressor will give you more control so its a good place to start,
-jake

Best compression for exporting large files from iMovie for use in iDVD?

I have a doco that I've made as separate projects too slow to make it all in one project - which I then exported as Quicktime .mov files. When I assembled the .mov files in iDVD I ended up with 4.7GB of material which iDVD flipped out on and crashed.
What would be the best compression to apply to the large .mov files but reduce the overall file sizes by say 10%
Its sometimes taking up to 6 hours to render each project average total screentime per project is about 70 minutes and each project file size ranges from 1 to 6GB...
I feel like I'm a little out of my depth on this one!
Any suggestions for this dilemma?
Thanks
Tony

When I assembled the .mov files in iDVD I ended up with 4.7GB of material which iDVD flipped out on and crashed... Any suggestions for this dilemma?
Not sure if your 4.7GB reference is for the source files or the resulting "muxed" MPEG2/PCM encoded content. In any case a single layer DVD is limited to 4.7 GBs of total content. To be safe, this usually means you are limited to 4.2 to 4.3 GB of encoded movie and/or slideshow content depending on how many and what type of menus you are creating created. Thus, if you are encoding for a single-layer DVD and your project encoded content exceeds the capacity of your DVD, then this would likely explain your problem.
If your project size reference is for the source content being added to your iDVD project, then it is totally irrelevant and you need to concentrate on the total duration of your iDVD and the method of encoding instead of file size. Basically, for a single-layer DVD, only about 60 minutes content can be encoded using the "Best Performance" encode option, 90 minutes using the "High Quality" setting, or 2 hours in the "Professional Quality" encode mode. Thus, if your content duration exceeds the capacity of your encoding mode here, it would likely explain your problem.
In either case, the solution would be to either burn to higher capacity optical media/higher capacity encoding mode or burn your content to multiple DVDs as individual projects at the current media capacity/encoding mode.

Compression for DVD help

Hello,
I need some help using compressor.
I made an animated film using final cut pro. My finished project is 1440x960 which is a 3x2 aspect ratio with square pixels. These settings were used because my source material was still frames from a pro digital SLR camera.
I'm trying to make a DVD copy of it using DVD Studio Pro via Compressor. I realize I need to use the letterbox scale effect to get it to a 4x3 ratio without looking horizontally squashed on a TV, but I'm not sure how to figure out what percent to set it at. It's somewhere around 95 percent based on just looking at it, but is there a way to know EXACTLY what that percent should be?
If I use Quicktime to compress my movie, it automatically sets the correct letterbox scaling but it doesn't, at least not obviously, let you know what percent it uses. In addition, shouldn't Compressor do a better job compressing than Quicktime Compressor? Does it even output the required format for DVD's?
Thank you in advance for your help.

Use photoshop and make your photos 720 x 480, 72dpi.
Then import them into FCP.
Edit them up, export out as quicktime movie.
Then import them into Compressor.
Encode them with 7.0 mbps average, 8.2 max, 2 pass vbr, best.
For audio, use dolby digital, 224kbps, -31 normalization.
Should be fine.

Compression for DVD 24min short

I would like to get an idea of the best setting for compressing a 24min. short in1920x1080 for a DVD for festival submissions.

The short answer is, take a short but representative section and "test" and "re-test" until you get the best results you can attain.
Some further suggestions:
I assume that the festival specified DVD and that Blu-Ray is not an option.
The size of the file really doesn't matter to Compressor except that it somewhat reflects your movie's resolution and down-scaling from HD sizes to SD can introduce artifacts.
Start with the standard Disk Burning preset; duplicate it and save as custom settings; name them appropriately as you make adjustments so you can see at a glance what settings worked better or worse.
In Audio, set Dialogue Normalization to -31.
Don't judge the image quality on your computer. The Apple DVD Player may give you a rough idea of whether you have issues. But it's necessary to play out to a broadcast monitor or TV from a DVD player to see what it will truly look like.
Although it's possible that basic Disk Burning preset will give you what you want, I suggest turning opening Frame Controls (which should already be turned on) and setting the re-size filter to Best. You should also consider doing the scaling and the MPEG 2 encodes as separate steps (separate jobs).
The Encoder section of the Inspector allows you to adjust quality settings. You can test CBR and VBR settings at different bit rates. If VBR, use the Two Pass; the default bit rates are pretty good…you might be able to bump them up a little, but I wouldn't go above 8 Mbs.
BTW, how were you planning to burn them? If it's from Compressor, choose Hard Drive as Output Device to make a disk image. You can burn multiple copies from that disk image. You can also drag the Video TS folder into DVD Player to get a preliminary look at your results.
Good luck.
Russ

Best compression for Beta SP

Hello,
I need to export my film so I can take it someplace where I can put it on Beta SP. The FCP project is
HD1080 16:9.
What is the best compression method that will bring the best image to the Beta?
Thanks a lot.

No you shouldn't make it m2v .That's for DVD authoring.
You can't dump m2v to BETA from a fcp timeline.
a. export quicktime movie with current settings from fcp
b. drag movie in compressor
c. Choose preset Quicktime->Format->10 bit uncompressed
d. Choose proper frame size

4:3 vs 16:9, best choice for DVD?

What reasoning do I use in determining the best format for me to produce my DVD, 4:3 or 16:9? I'm just not sure of all the pros and cons to either, but it seems like 4:3 is going the way of the 8-track tape and with more and more TVs at 16:9, should I even bother with 4:3? Thanks.

fbcbootie wrote:
Since I can't produce both versions, I just want to satisfy the majority.
You can make it compatible with both formats. It will play full screen on a 16X9 monitor and letterboxed on a 4X3 monitor.
This is done all the time. It depends on your choice of authoring software, and the format choices you make within that software. In Toast, for example, you simply select "Automatic" for the Aspect Ratio. In DVD Studio Pro, you choose 16:9 Letterbox as the aspect ratio.
Most people think that seeing the letterboxed image on a 4x3 set gives the video a "cinematic" look.
MTD

Best compression for broadcast video

Hi
I need to compress a very short piece for broadcast (5 sec, no audio). What is the best compression to keep it around 25Mb?

It should be. 5 seconds at DV should be 125MB.
If you have to get under 25MB, then I'd suggest getting into h.264. It should give you a very good output at 25MB, though of course not the same as DV.
If you do use a different coded make sure to do it from a QT reference movie so your material doesn't get an extra DV compression.

Best compression for ken burns effect

Hey,
I am doing a 2 minute animation that is all ken burns effect. The size is 720 x 1280. On the images that have a lot of detail like brickwork, there is a noticeable pop where you can see compression for a few frames and then it clears up.
I am making a h264 mpg movie straight out of AE. Any ideas?
S. Houtzager

shoutzager wrote:
I am making a h264 mpg movie straight out of AE. Any ideas?
Yes. I have an idea. Don't do that.
AE is definitely not the best tool for making an H.264. Render an intermediate file out of AE (lossless or nearly lossless, such as Quicktime with the PNG codec, Quicktime with the PhotoJPEG codec, Cineform, or DNxHD). Then use the Adobe Media Encoder to make the H.264. Use multipass compression. Adjust the keyframe distance, etc. The cool thing is that you won't have to render your AE comp over and over again for each time you need to test a different setting in your compression. You're just running off of the already rendered intermediate file.

Best compression for web?

If client's need a video (usually under 5min) for a website, what is the best compression setting for that coming out of FCP (usually 960x720)? I usually do h.264 680x480...

Heather B wrote:
I just found that my video on my client's video is good quality, but studders & hardly plays. I was wondering if it was something that I could do differently on my end... but yes, I think I'm giving it to them correctly. I'll look into it further from their end. Thanks.
Heather
Stuttering and difficultly playing are bandwidth issues. Your bitrate is too high for their limited playback capabilities. when your reduce the bitrate, you will reduce the image quality. This is why we tell newbies at this to ask what the playback limitations are for their client's servers.
bogiesan

Best codec for DVD export for editing

If I want to burn DVDs for a client who will want to edit the footage later, what's the best codec for that?

What editing application will they be editing with?
DVD's aren't the best archival solution. They hold 4.7GB of info, and that is like 20 min of DV quality footage. Forget about HD quality...Oh, unless you use HDV. That's the same data rate
Shane

Best compression for video on web

i have a website (made with iWeb and published on .mac) and I have a few pages of video clips. They vary in length from 30 seconds to about 6 minutes or so.
What is the best compression to use? I've been using H.264 and the sizes of the files go from about 7Mb up to 12Mb - it just takes such a long time to load online.
How can I create video that looks good but loads quickly? For example, how do movie sites create their trailers for online use? They look great and you can see that the progress bar on the video loads up really quickly, meaning that the video start playing almost as soon as it loads.
With my site, it takes a good minute or two before it starts to play. Any ideas?

*how do movie sites create their trailers*
No offence meant, not on iMacs. They have more expensive hardware for this.
The subject of video compression for web has been discussed on this and adjacent fora many times and I suggest you use the search function. Also, googling would be a good idea, especially words like Brian Gary who is the Compressor guru.
The topic is too complex for a quick post. I apologize for not having the time to type more.
George

BEST COMPRESSION FOR DVD

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