Best Quality/Encoding Problems

Hi,
I recently got a Canon Vixia HG21 camcorder (it shoots in AVCHD format) and I tried using it with my Windows computer. The technical specifications of that computer didn't match with the requirements for Premiere Pro CS4, which was my number one choice for editing software. I ended up buying a new iMac (the specifications can be read here: http://www.apple.com/imac/specs.html.)
Now I have Premiere Pro CS4 and I really like all of the editing and effects features that are in it. I'm having a little trouble with importing the videos from the camera. I have been using the USB cord that came with the camera to save it on iMovie (in "full" quality) and then putting it into Adobe Premiere. My main problem though is with exporting the video. Since this is my first Mac I really don't know what format/codec is the best to export a video in. I tried exporting it in Mpeg-4 and H.264 formats but I'm really not sure if these are good choices. When I exported both of them the H.264 format had the best quality but I really think that it could have been better. I'm mainly interested in putting the videos on Youtube and occasionally on a DVD.
Another problem (sorry for so many questions) is that when I exported a 5-minute clip using the H.264 format, I left the computer running for a long part of the day and came back. It still had 2 hours to go after running for 7 hours! Is this right? Because it doesn't seem like it should be.
So basically I have three questions:
1. What is the best way to import videos from my camcorder to my iMac?
2. What are the best ways to export those videos from Premiere CS4 with the highest quality possible?
3. How long does encoding usually take and what is the best way to do it?
Thanks for all the help that I know I'll be able to find on this forum.

The Copying of the files to the HDD will be the route with the AVCHD material. The processing speed and ease of editing that footage will depend almost 100% on the speed of your CPU, with the remainder being handled by the RAM and the I/O sub-system (your HDD's).
For an Export format, especially for the Mac, I'd look into the H.264 CODEC. That should work well too for YouTube.
Good luck,
Hunt

Similar Messages

What is the best quality encoding ?

I am buring a DVD on iDVD8. I am trying to set the encoding. There are 3 options: Best Performance, High Quality and Professional Quality. Reading the iDVD quide, it was not clear at all, what would give me the best quality.
Set aside the background encoding, and all other factors, what would give the BEST quality out of the 3 options ?
Why Apple could not say that in simple words in the guide ?

Quoting F Shippey here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5248366&#5248366
iDVD 6 offers 'Best Performance' (under 60 minutes on a SL disc) and 'Best Quality' encoding (under 120 minutes on a SL disc).
iDVD '08 offers 'Best Performance' (under 60 minutes on a SL disc), 'Best Quality' encoding (under 120 minutes on a SL disc) and 'Professional Quality' encoding (under 120 minutes on a SL disc).
With either version, if your content is under 60 minutes 'Best Performance' will give you the best quality!
If your content is OVER 60 minutes and under 120 minutes 'Professional Quality' in iDVD '08 should give better overall quality than 'Best Quality'
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=5611104&#5611104
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

Best quality encode settings? Handbrake?

Hi Gang,
So, if I want to encode the best quality video for Apple TV, what settings would I want to use...say in Handbrake?
I want to make a true HD slideshow to show in our photo studio.
Thanks for any advice!
Rob

I've tried it, and it is quite good, but there is obviously quite a bit of compression. I want to display a slide show that is perfect.
Thanks!

FCProp 6: Which setting for the best quality encoding (capture)?

Hi everybody,
i am producing contents from HDV cam (Sony Z1) and i just saw one of my colleagues (journalist too) working on Adobe Premiere having a really better final report than my one (using the same tape).
i just wonder if someone could explain what would be the best workflow to get the best quality on a standard DVD (not the next generation)?
our reports are based on Fashion, so we are using some filters for some of the images. i heared about the RS422 or something like that wich is the new aple encoder ? am i right ? is this what should be used for the capture and rendering files ?
what about the export encoding setting? movies are all under 10min duration
Thank you very much for your hightlights
Sam

I use FCPX/iDVD regularly to make DVDs. Workflow is to edit 1080i project in FCPX, add chapter markers, and export video using Share -> Master File (default) with no changes.
The resulting .mov file is then imported to iDVD with various themes, etc. and "Save as Disk Image" is used to create a burnable file for creating DVDs with Disk Utility.
Be aware that the titling of chapter markers is flaky and you may have to retitle them in iDVD as the name from FCPX is not always saved. No big deal.
I also use MPEG Streamc;ip to create a 128//720 mp4 file which goes readily into iTunes and then i synced to my iPad for portable show and tell. Have to confess that I have Compressor too, but have never used it and from following the forums get the impression that it's not easy to use. MS works fine for my limited purposes

Best quality encoding?

When you import a music CD, what's the best setting for highest audio quality? I read somewhere that MP3 is not high quality?

Apple Lossless is the most compact of the three, but has very little support in non-Apple players and programs.
WAV and AIFF are similar to each other from a format and size perspective, and are widely accepted, but AIFF is more flexible as it allows tagging and art directly in the file.
All 3 give equivalent audio quality, as they are all "lossless" representations of the audio on the CD.

Optimizing dvd playback quality (macroblocking problems)- HELP!

Nothing is quite so frustrating as spending countless hours editing, encoding, and authoring a DVD and then discovering that the video has playback issues (macroblocking, digital artifacting, sometimes so serious it halts playback altogether) at some point in the stream.
I feel sure others must have some idea what I'm talking about, and yet I haven't found a thread on this forum or any other that addresses what is really the root cause here. As I figure it, there are a number of factors (variables) at work:
1. the media itself
2. the software used to create the disc (in my case DVDSP 4.0/Compressor usually at the "Best" quality encoding)
3. the hardware used to burn the disc (in my case the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-815 superdrive in my powerbook)
4. the DVD player used for playback
In my experience, a disc might do fine on one player but then have significant playback issues on another. On one occasion I even saw playback perfectly through an hour of video, and then the next day on the same player and the same DVD I got significant macroblocking through parts of it.
What gives!? Are there some DVD-R media that are way better than others? Or do I need to invest in a better drive to burn them? Or is this just the growing pains of emerging technology? Is there some other thread anywhere in cyberspace that addresses this issue?

Hi John
So you're saying that your mpegs are clean and clear of any macro blocking, and this is only introducted once you burn to DVD, and then only on some players, but also a disc that played fine one day on a deck, plays back bad the next day on the same deck.
Man, you've got some serious gremlins at work in your office. Before you pull your system apart, chack you mpegs again. If you're using Compressor 2 with any of the VBR presets you're going to get macro blocking because C2's VBR is not very good - I've not had one successful mpeg out of it. If your project is under 1hr try CBR at 7.5Mbps, that's been working fine for me.
Now, are you encoding your audio to .ac3, or .aiff. If you're using .aiff you might be hitting wall with your bitrate. Your .aiff will have a bitrate of 1.5Mbps, and if your using using a high max bitrate on your vision and you get a bitrate spike which Compressor is also known for then you could be blowing your bit budget (max of 9.8Mbps for vision and audio together), which could result in stuttered playback and freezes.
Next, are you burning out of DVDSP or are you using Toast. Some users report problems burning at higher than 2x speed (personally I burn at the limit of the media and haven't had a problem). As you can't control the burn speed out of DVDSP you might want to try just building in DVDSP and burning in toast at a low speed.
If you're burning from data on an external FW drive try moving it to the HD and try it again.
Try a few different brands of media. Keep it clean and out of the sun.
That's about all I can tell you at the moment - these are all the obvious things , maybe somone else can chime in with some more obscure causes.
Cheers
B

What are best Mpeg encoder settings for making DVDs?

In switching from PP1.5 to CS3 the procedure is different for making DVDs and we have to encode mpeg files that later get picked up by Encore DVD build proces. What are the best mpeg encode settings for making the DVDs?
Thanks,
Chuck Taylor

Question:
If you are doing a video that is small enough that you are not worried about size, what is the absolute best quality encoder settings? Would a Continous Bitrate result in a higher quality file generally? VBR is for trying to make a smaller file I assume.
I'm frustrated with even white letters on black titles that have some flicker. I just don't seem to get the smooth quality I desire.
Should I look at a different encoder?
If you output PP3 to an AVI and then import it into encore, isn't there a reduction of Q. due to the save to the AVI file?
thanks.

Opinions on Highest quality encode for DVD

I am doing a 16:9 Loop DVD for a tradeshow display. It will be shown on a 50" Plasma screen. I am trying to get the best quality encode on the screen. The project is 50 Sec long (storage & encode time not an issue) and contains both graphics and video elements. Video elements were shot on HDV. Compositing done in After Effects at 1920x1080. There does not seem to be a direct way to encode from AfterEffects to MPEG2, probably because the frame size is not MPEG2 standard. What would be the absolute best workflow to get to MPEG2 with as little artifacting as possible? I'm thinking uncompressed 10bit 4:2:2?
G5 2.5 Dual Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Someone here said once that 10 bit was overkill and that there may be issues with some encoders's conversions from 10-bit down to 8-bit.
Having said that, I'd use either 10-bit or 8-bit uncompressed codec. You probably want to resize your After Effects render down to 720x480 on export from your render queue, rather than have the MPEG2 encoder do it. Then take the uncompressed 720x480 file and MPEG2 encode away. Since it's only 50 seconds, I'd do a 7.5Mbps CBR 16:9 encode (if delivery is via DVD-R).

Best quality to go from 1920x1080 to 720x480

How do I take 1920x1080 footage and convert it to 720x480 and maintain best quality?
When I use mpeg streamclip and convert via DV-NTSC - the image is distorted. Is there something else I can do?
Will a different Compression other than Apple Motion JPEG A work any differently?

#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.

Problem with "Best Quality" DVDs

I put together a few DVDs using iDVD 6. One was a little under an hour and encoded fine with the default "Best Performance." This one plays in all the DVD players in my house, no problem. Two others were a little over an hour and iDVD 6 said there was too much information and to switch to "Best Quality." I did so and created the DVDs. They play fine on my PowerBook and iMac, but do not play in any other DVD players (which are pretty new). They appear not to be recognized ("No Disc Inserted" or it keeps spinning).
Short of cutting out some content to make things fit with "Best Performance" (not really an option), does anyone know how to get around this problem?
TIA
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Verbatim printable DVD-R
That's what I use and have very few problems with other people's players. Zero problems with my Sony players. Give it a try.
As far as burning speeds, the following includes info on how to do that by creating a disk image.
Suggest you create a disc image and then burn the DVD. File/Save As Disc Image...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=164927
This will isolate any encoding/burning issues you may encounter. Once the disc image is created, double-click the .img and burn the virtual disc that should appear on your desktop, using Toast to burn the DVD. Disk Utility to burn the .img file. Usually, you can select a burning speed in Disk Utility.
There are variations to this process based on which OS X you are using...
Open Disk Utility (in Utilities folder in Applications folder), click on the virtual disc (maybe the .img) in the left-hand window. Click the Burn icon. A new window should drop down and your SuperDrive tray will open after clicking the Burn icon. Insert a recordable DVD. (Verbatim DVD-R preferred by me.) Click the Close button. Wait. Select a burn speed. Then click the Burn button.
-->If the virtual disk selection won't allow you to click the Burn icon, use the .img file instead. This may have changed in 10.3.9 and did change in Tiger.
Also, you can use DVD Player to play the virtual disk to check your iDVD project before burning to DVD. Launch DVD Player. File/Open VIDEO_TS (Open DVD Media... in Player 4.6). Find the VIDEO_TS folder and open that. (The audio folder is for DVD-Audio disks.)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93006

REVISITED "DVD: best quality" & "MPEG-2 high quality encode"-difference??

Re-explain: I see "DVD best quality" and "MPEG-2 high quality encode" have all the same settngs. Not sure if there was a difference. Yesterday I was convinced no difference. After recompressing the same video at same settings MPEG-2 HQ encoding took three times longer to compress. going to work with it--this was home work--to view on monitor that, after reviewing, made me come home to recompress.
So--again--is there a difference fo the two choices???

which is what I did and there is no difference in seetings or what I have to choose for seetings. So, I guess--or confirmed--there is no difference???

Multiplexing Error Problem vs. Best Quality

I've been trying to make the .img file for a 29 minute iMovie which consist of 288 photos + beginning and end. I imported the 288 photos at 5 sec (no burns effect), created chapter marks, added audio and was able to create .img OK using Best Quality, as that's what I've always used in the past - many times. I added 4 sec subtitles to about half the photos which meant it created a second photo 1 sec long. When I tried to create the .img again, I got the multiplexing error. I've tried all combinations without success, UNTIL I tried Best Performance, and it created the .img file. I have over 40GB disk space, but only 786MB memory. All photos in iMovie really slows down iMovie after about 40-50 minutes worth, so I'm guessing memory availability might be an issue. I've done all the other things usually posted - run Onyx, delete iDVD.plist, restart before burn, etc. So why does a 29 minute iMovie of all photos create the iDVD .img file on Best Performance and not on Best Quality????. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks Terry
Power Mac G4 1 GHz Dual Mac OS X (10.4.8)

The size I gave on the photos was before they were imported to iMovie.
One of the problem photos was a scanned photo using a Canon N1240 scanner, which has since died and the other was with an Olympus D-450 digital camera. Both were edited (size, cropping, color, brightness, etc) in Adobe Photo Elements V3. Most of the time I import the pictures (in groups) into iMovie using the Import command, but sometimes I just drag them in. I do NOT use iPhoto. I've done several thousand photos this way (my wife is into genealogy)and I have created multiple DVDs of current family and family history. The problem photo had been used in other DVDs without problem. In one test I ran on this particular movie including the two problem images, the .img file was created OK until I added subtitles to each image in iMovie. I've sometimes had problems editing subtitles in that it deletes the image and adds the title to the next image. I do an Edit UNDO and then move the image to which the title is to be edited over 2 images, click the update and then move the image back to it's original position when update finished. It's annoying, but works. Don't remember if I did a title edit to the problem images or not. I think you're right in that one of many things could have happened when the image was imported. Right now I'm thinking something may have gone wrong when I added or edited the subtitle. Just wish the iDVD and iMovie error codes could be made more specific so it would be easier to identify and fix the problem photo(s). Thanks for your response. Terry

Encoding: Best Performance vs. Best Quality

So I have a project that if I select Best Performance it shows that the DVD will be 3.4GB, and if I select Best Quality it shows the DVD will be 2.0GB.
So my question is: isn't that contrary to logic? Why wouldn't Best Quality be the largest size? Is Best Quality going to give me the best possible video quality?

Since you have posted to the iDVD 6 forum, I asssume that is what you have.
iDVD 6 has two encoding modes: 'Best Performance' and 'Best Quality'. iDVD '08 adds: 'Professional Quality'.
People misunderstand the names and I wish Apple had used different names for all three modes.
The below applies to a single layer disc (double the times for a double layer disc):
'Best Performance' uses a fixed video encoding bit-rate that produces a DVD with a data playback bit-rate just about as high as a set-top DVD player can handle. This limits content to 60 minutes or less.
'Best Quality' uses a fixed video encoding bit-rate that is BASED ON THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF CONTENT BEING COMPRESSED and is best suited for content between 60 and 120 minutes. Note that all the content is encoded at the same bit-rate so that it can fit on a single layer disc. (Apple calls this single-pass variable bit-rate encoding because 120 minutes of content gets compressed more than 60 minutes of content.)
The new 'Professional Quality' uses a variable video encoding bit-rate that is BASED ON THE INFORMATION IN THE CONTENT BEING COMPRESSED. It uses a two-pass process to first evaluate the content and then encode it based on the motion/detail of individual clips. It is best suited for content between 60 and 120 minutes. Note that not all the content is encoded at the same bit-rate BUT the maximum data bit-rate on playback can not exceed the playback capability of a set-top DVD player. (This is two-pass, variable bit-rate encoding.) This means the BEST encoded quality should be about what is obtained with 'Best Performance' for content under 60 minutes.
If your content is under 60 minutes, use 'Best Performance'. If your content is between 60 minutes and 120 minutes, use 'Professional Quality' if your processor is fast enough and you don't mind waiting about twice the time required for 'Best Quality'.
About the only thing Apple can do to further improve the quality of DVD encoded video is to offer compressed audio instead of just the present uncompressed PCM audio because the audio 'eats up' part of the playback bit-rate a set-top DVD player can handle. Compressed audio would make more of the maximum playback bit-rate available for video.
In your case, with iDVD 6, use 'Best Performance' for content under 60 minutes and 'Best Quality' for content over 60 minutes. Remember that your menu content counts against the total time limit.
F Shippey

How do I render best quality in 1920x1080 / having problems.

Im at the end of a film.
Shot on Canon HV20 1940x1080.
Im trying to render a clip at full 1940x1080 BEST QUALITY, when I press match sequance it makes the settings 1440x1080 mpeg preview.
There is no custom setting under AVI.
Ive tried also H.264 HDTV 1080p 1920x1080 and it comes out the same as 1440x1080. Theres a lot of noise on the picture.
Is there a big difference between 1920 and 1440?
Im sure I set up the project HDV 1080.
Advice/ Help please!!

Just read 1920x1080 only renders in PF24 Mode...whats that??
Ive just read this
Oh boy! This is a big discussion, and I highly recommend that you read the HDMI threads, but I'll give you the short version.
First, let me tell you that the sensor is actually bigger than 1920x1080, which is 2 megapixels. It's actualy 3 megapixels for photographs, but it's masked off.
You are probably capturing through firewire off of your videotape. HD video is ALWAYS 1440 x 1080 with 4:2:0 colorspace and a 1.33 pixel ratio. The pixels are stretched to give the wider format.
That is the technical standard to fit the video stream within the data rate for the mini-DV tape. Every HD camera that records to mini-DV uses that format. You are not losing anything compared to any other camera.
The interesting thing is that the output from HDMI is 1920x1080 with 4:2:2 color space and square pixels. The HV20/HV30 is one of the few that has HDMI output.
There is much debate on whether the data stream is being intercepted before it's compressed (which is what it appears to be IMHO since there is more detail in the HDMI capture.) HDMI Comparison Thread.
HDMI is captured with an Intensity card by Black Magic Design. The biggest drawback of this is you need a computer running at the same time. That means indoors, or with an extension cord, or portable power. Portable Intensity Thread.
A big advantage is you get two videos at once. One on the computer and one on the video tape.
So its
1440 firewire max
1920 for HDMI.

"DVD: best quality" & "MPEG-2 high quality encode"--difference????

I've noticed the two settings under compression settings. I don't see any difference between the setting make up. Am I missing anyhing or is there really a difference if I use one over he other. I've always used DVD Best Quality.

which is what I did and there is no difference in seetings or what I have to choose for seetings. So, I guess--or confirmed--there is no difference???

Best Quality/Encoding Problems

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