Best workflow from FCE 4.0 timeline to Blu Ray disk?

I'm almost done creating a video in FCE4.0.1 and I'm wondering what everyone's experience is in producing a quality blu Ray disk on the Mac.
I'm using an iMac I7 and FCE 4. I will be buying an external blu Ray writer (suggestions?) and I'm assuming I'll need Toast and the blu Ray plug in to create the disk.
Perhaps not. I know others have already fought this bleeding edge battle so I'm hoping I can learn from your experiences.
I'm looking to output 720P quality. So, suggestions? Ideas?
Thanks in advance.
DC

I have had satisfactory results burning short Blu-ray quality movies using Toast and standard DVDs. I export my work from FCE to QuickTime then import it into Toast. I select the Blu-ray video option (top left) and also select the standard DVD (bottom right). The results are quite good viewed on a HD TV using a Blu-ray disc player. It takes a long time to burn and patience is required, but I have compared the Blu-ray video to DVDs burned in the normal manner, and the results are pretty amazing. This process does not require an external Blu-ray writer, but it will only work for short videos of 20 minutes or so.

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How to burn Blu-ray disk from Encore?

My project was shot and edited in HD. The camera was a Sony AX2000 1920 X 1080 60i the highest resolution for the camera. The project has been exported to Encore (CS5.5 Production Premium)and is on the timeline there. How do I get in touch with "Chat" to get phone help to go from where I am to burning a Blu-ray disk? When I try to email Adobe Help I am routed round and round back to same place and I can never find anyplace to send an email to Adobe to ask a support question. When I click on "Help" from Premiere Pro or Encore the explanations use frequent links to videos elsewhere for explanations and none of the links are functional! Why is that? I can't find an explanation online or in Adobe's Classroom in a book or anywhere. I would appreciate some links to videos explaining the process or some basic instructions. Thank you.

Encore also has a very active forum too: http://forums.adobe.com/community/encore/encore_general
Good luck,
Hunt

How to read Blu-Ray disk from Encore

I shot footage in 1080i on a Sony HDR-HC7 camcorder. I edited it in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 V3.2.0 (374) running on XP home edition. I then created an Adobe Encore project (Encore CS3 V3.0.1.008). From Encore I burned 2 standard DVD's, one on the DVD burner & the other on my Blu-Ray burner (LG GGW-H20L, firmware YL05)). Both disks played perfectly on my Sony Blu-Ray player ( Sony BDP-S300).
From the same project I then burned a Blu-Ray disk using Verbatim BD-RE (2X) on the same LG drive. When I attempted to play this disk on the same Sony player I got the message 'Can't play'. I repeated the above process several times & each time I produced a Blu-Ray disk that can't be read.
Can anybody tell me how I can resolve this problem?

Many thanks! Updating the firmware on the Sony player did the trick (V2.1 to
V4.5). The earlier version could not read BD-R(E).
Regards,
redmondo

Best approach to convert HD camcorder footage to blue-ray (and archive)

I have a Canon Vixia HV30 camcorder that I have used to take HD footage. I would like to archive the tapes' raw footage (for backup purposes) and also burn a blue-ray for each tape. Prior to the Canon (and switching to Macs) I had been using Studio on a Windows system to do the same for footage from a standard def Sony camcorder. Despite reading through the material on this forum and elsewhere I am confused about a couple of items and am hoping someone can help me understand how to archive and burn the camroder footage to BD easily.
Coming from the Windows environment, I was used to Studio taking raw footage and converting the entire tape to one .avi file that I could then edit in a baisc manner (trim, add menus, add transitions, add chapters, etc. but not adding other audio, etc.) and burn...all in Studio. The Windows desktop I had been using for standard def is not powerful enough for HD (it's from 2004) so I have to explore other options.
I have a MacBook Pro with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo process and 4 GB memory and am using Mac OS X 10.6.8. I also have iMovie 08 (7.1.4 [585]) and Toast Titanium Pro with the HD/BD plug in (11.0.04). Toast will not recognize the Canon camcorder connected using the Firewire 400 connection (but will recognize the Sony). So I have used iMovie to download the camcorder footage to my MBP in HD (full quality).
Here are my questions:
1. when downloading, it appears that iMovie does not retain the raw/same format as used by the Canon but converts it to something called Apple Intermediate Codecc. Does this converstion affect the quality of the footage? I do not want to use the convered material as archival material if it's already been converted once.
2. If the answer to # 1 is yes, iMovie converts the raw footage, is there another program that I can use in a Mac-environment that will simply download the footage in it's original format?
3. iMovie also splits up the footage into clips vs. showing one file and I cannot combine the clips into one clip (to be analogous to the workflow I have been used to in Studio). Is there a way to do so? Short of backing up my entire laptop (which I do), how can I extract the original footage from iMovie and copy it for archiving on a NAS drive?
4. Where is the best "place"/approach to perform basic editing (adding menu, adding chapters for different sections of the disc, etc.) on the footage?
5. If the answer to #4 is iMovie, would I then simply burn the iMovie project in Toast to Blue-ray?
I had thought achieving my goals would have been easy in a Mac environment (like it is for everything else) but am surprised to find it so difficult compared to how easy it was in Studio. (Am I really better off getting a lower-end Windows 7 desktop and upgrading Studio and keep that just for converting our HD camcorder tapes to blue-ray? I would rather not do so of course.)
Thanks in advance for your help.

Calbe and AppleMan1958
Thanks for the replies. Based on your replies, I think I can stay in the Mac-environment.
1 and 2. I cannot archive as AppleMan1958 suggested to keep the original without conversion because the footage is HDV 1080i. I understand however that iMovie will import and convert using a lossles codec. (The camera is tape-based and doesn't show up in Finder.)
3. Having archived copy (if there is software that will let me do so for HDV) will negate the need to find the iMovie "version" but if necessary can do so directly.
4. One follow-up questions...if I use iMovies, do I simply use the project or the actual movie for purposes of burning to disc?
5. I agree Calbe...it's different so I'm thinking it's difficult. I am sure I'll get the hang of it once I better understand how the flow works from camera to disc!
AppleMan1958, is there another consumer level app that you can recommend that I can use for archiving HDV?
Thanks for the quick replies.
Hollistonma

Best format to export to Encore for a Blu-Ray disc ?

To All
My question is I shoot with a Canon Vixia HFR21. I am putting together a family vacation we all just had at Disney World. My computer is capable of handling everything very well.I had it built 2 years ago by ADK.I need to know once I have everything set on timeline and all is ready to export, what exact setting in Media Encoder would be best considering I will be bringing it then into Encore to burn on Blu ray disc.
I have Adobe cs6 Premiere and Encore.
Also after I make the Blu ray I will put exact same time line on regular dvd..from what I read for that I think I should export to mpeg-2 ..I'm not sure .
Also for both blue ray and dvd, which is better ipcm or dolby digital audio ?
Thanks a lot,
Ray Perry

Hi Ray,
From Premiere, export via AME and choose the "H.264 Blu-ray" format, and then for preset, get what best matches your footage, for instance maybe 1080i 29.97
You will need to choose a bitrate in line with the length of the program so that you don't exceed the disc capacity. Just search the web for "bitrate calculator" and plug in your details. No need to be in the 30-40 range, something like 25 using H.264 will look fantastic. I believe at "20" you can fit well over 2 hours on a Blu-ray disc. Dolby audio is the default.
For DVD, again Export via AME but choose "MPEG-2 DVD" and proper preset like "NTSC Widescreen", and set bit rate. Don't exceed 7 or 8 on that, and you can use 560/minutes=rate as a rule of thumb and round down slightly. For instance 560/120=4.66 so I encode at 4.5, again using default Dolby Audio.
I'm not keen on sharing the same Encore project for the Blu-ray and DVD, but that's up to you. Note that you can add DVD chapter marks in your Premiere timeline and when you export, those go with. In Encore, use "Import As > Timeline" and grab the audio and video clip at the same time and the chapter marks come along for the ride!
Thanks
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

Linksys e4200 - Best Connection for Streaming on Sony S580 wifi Blu ray Player

I have a new e4200 and I am trying to improve the signal for my blu ray player. The player is down one floor frm the router and I am able to get some reception on the blu ray. But there are times when I get spooling interuptions and drops of the network when I am doing something like Netflix. I have attended to all the potential physical contraints on the router that I can (ie, things in the way, barriers, etc), and have done basic setup changes like change the channel to remove interference.
I am not a techie but I learn stuff from internet and can fix a lot of problems. This one is a bit tougher. I think that I should be able to get a stronger signal with this router and want to know how I can optimize my setting to achieve this. With a signal meter I read a signal strength of approx -70dBm and speed of up to 12mbps on the onscreen meter...but this fluctuates from a low in the 3s, 4s and 5s. As I said the player is down a level and about 20ft east from the router with a few unmovable walls and the obvious staircase.
Any help of setting to solidify the signal would be appreciated. Thnx in advance for the help.

i just thought of another issue that may be helpful. the wireless receiver on the bd player is 802.11 b/g/n and is on 2.4 ghz band. sorry for all the adds, but i figure more info is better than less.
thanks
craigpicc wrote:
sorry...one things to add. When i do a speed test on the desktop wired to the router i get about 20 to 24 mbps, so think this would be the top out i get on speed from any wireless connection. hope this helps some.
thanks.
craigpicc wrote:
I have a new e4200 and I am trying to improve the signal for my blu ray player. The player is down one floor frm the router and I am able to get some reception on the blu ray. But there are times when I get spooling interuptions and drops of the network when I am doing something like Netflix. I have attended to all the potential physical contraints on the router that I can (ie, things in the way, barriers, etc), and have done basic setup changes like change the channel to remove interference.
I am not a techie but I learn stuff from internet and can fix a lot of problems. This one is a bit tougher. I think that I should be able to get a stronger signal with this router and want to know how I can optimize my setting to achieve this. With a signal meter I read a signal strength of approx -70dBm and speed of up to 12mbps on the onscreen meter...but this fluctuates from a low in the 3s, 4s and 5s. As I said the player is down a level and about 20ft east from the router with a few unmovable walls and the obvious staircase.
Any help of setting to solidify the signal would be appreciated. Thnx in advance for the help.

Best workflow from HDV sequence to DVD

I have a HDV sequence 55 minutes,
- export self-contained QT movie, about 10Gig. that takes about 2-3 hours,
- sent to compressor 3, 90 mins best quality,
and it want to take 40 hours!!! to do it......
also tried Visual Hub, took 120 minutes, wrote DVD with toast, image was quite good, but sound was broken,and only half of the movie was written, toast reported an error.
have also done a few short tests using compressor and the image quality was simply awful.
love to know what is the best way, and fairly quick, and good quality to get from the sequence to a DVD.
FCP 6

I'm still a bit blown away by the complexities of HDV editing. SD seemed so simple in comparison!
Everything I read related to taking a project from an HDV timeline to an SD DVD project is such a lengthy process. Which brings me to ask this question... I have captured 1080i footage shot with my Canon XH-A1 and with my Canon HV20 and edited the footage in HDV sequences in FCP. At the time I was unaware of there being processes (such as those mentioned in the posts above) for converting HDV projects to SD DVD projects. So, I simply continued the process of burning a DVD with the HDV sequence just as I always have with SD projects. I exported a QuickTime file of my edited sequence and then imported that QT file into iDVD to burn a DVD. I was very much aware that this DVD would not contain high def footage because I was not using a high def burner or high def discs, so I just assumed that the end result would be having my HDV project deliverable on DVD in standard def. And I wasn't disappointed. My iDVD project burnt successfully and soon thereafter I was able to watch the DVD from a standard DVD player. Granted this was not a long project - it was about 10 minutes worth of video - but is there anything wrong with using this process to go from an HDV sequence to a playable SD DVD? And would the process that I just described work for projects as long as 30 minutes or more?

Best workflow from InDesign to Edge Animate for DPS

I'm working on a DPS project and want to take an article that I designed in InDesign, and bring it into Edge Animate to animate.
What's the best way to do that?

There is no good way to do that but without seeing the layout it's pretty much impossible to give you any advice at all. BTW, The Edge and DPS forums would be way better places to post this.
Bob

Best workflow from print to web?

Hi all,
Let me apologise in advance if this is the wrong forum for this question, but it is Indesign related (kind of).
I sometimes need to make animated web banners that are based on existing print advertising, so the ads were originally put together using Indesign CS5.5 on a Mac.
The quickest way to make the banners is to use the basic animation tools available in Indesign and to export to a swf, but I'm sure there's a better way to do it for a couple of reasons:
1. I should think that the swf produced is probably larger and clumsier than something produced from scratch in Flash; and
2. Isn't the preloaded list of behaviours a bit limited? - producing something that looks a bit 'template' if you know what I mean.
Besides those reasons, if I understand it correctly, flash isn't supported on mobile devices anyway, so I'm going to need to look at a better approach.
So my question is - what should I be learning in order to be able to animate these fairly simple banners, as quickly as possible, using files that started out as print advertising, so that they can be viewed on the largest number of devices?
I have got the trial version of Edge and it seems fairly simple to use, but I can't copy and paste elements from Indesign - I suppose I'd have to export objects and/or groups of objects in my print ads to jpg, and then import them into Edge. That seems a shame.
Sorry it's such a rambling post - there's such a lot of conflicting information around that it's hard to know what you need to know if you see what I mean.
Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Use Edge or find another HTML5/CSS3 tool. Edge is still in beta but it's very solid.
Once it's in release it will be available by subscription or as part of Creative Cloud.
Bob

Best codec to Export AVCHD for Storage on Blu-ray

I'm just beginning to edit with Premiere Pro CS5 and I'm working with AVCHD footage natively for the first time (previously used FCP). I just shot a wedding and the client would like the Raw Footage that I shot. Normally I would just copy the AVCHD folders onto blu-ray discs and burn them as data discs with no issue. However, the Ceremony lasted longer than anticipated, so I have three 32GB cards that were filled up to about 26 GB (with only one clip on each camera as they just rolled the whole time. I actually have about an hour on each card that's worthless because the ceremony started an hour late since I did not have another Camera Op to go to the balcony to turn them off and back on.)
Instead of having to buy 50GB blu-ray discs (which I believe are a good bit more expensive than the 25GB discs I have), I would like to bring the AVCHD files into Premiere Pro, edit out the worthless hour of footage, then export it to a format that I can give to them on 25GB Blu-ray Discs. I have not figured out if I can export AVCHD footage and create new AVCHD files. I'm guessing that is not possible, and if it is not, what would be a recommended format to export to?
Basically I just need something that will be less than double the AVCHD file size and is an editable format that the client could potentially use again for editing if they want. My first thought was ProRes but I know that will be way too large. I've not worked with XDCAM, so I'm wondering if there is a type of XDCAM that might fit my situation? I'm open to any and all suggestions!
Thanks,
Mike

If it were me, I'd just give 'em what I have. At some point, I know I'd be using the 50 GB disks anyway, so having a stash lying around is not a bad thing.

Combine 720 x 480 & 1280 x 720 on Blu Ray - best settings?

What is the best way to combine mutliple formats on a Blu Ray disk. I need to dsplay SD & HD video (720 x 480 & 1280 x 720) clips on the same disk. I have both formats on separate sequences in Premiere Pro and Encore. The sequences are set up corresponding to there respective specs. When I burn a disk evrything goes fine but the playback of the SD is inferior to a standard DVD. If I just burn the SD sequence to a Blu Ray disk, without the HD sequence then the playback quality is better.
I realize that displaying SD in HD shows all the flaws but this is definitly not good quality, lots of artifacts in flat tonal areas with motion.
Anyone have any good ideas for tweaking the transcode settings for the SD sequence , etc?
CS4
Windows 7 64 bt

One way you can be certain that encodings of the SD material are up to snuff
Blue_Devil1 wrote:
Why don't you scale down the 1280x720 to SD. Hopefully, your SD footage is widescreen and you could make the 1280 widescreen as well (exporting from Ame) and burn a widescreen DVD in ENcore.
Then play the disc in an up converting DVD player.
John Rich
Sorry John, but downscaling HD to SD to play in an upscaled SD player makes little if any sense to me.
@the OP - are your problems from a burned disc, and if so what is your player and firmware revision?
BD should be able to handle mixed resolutions with no trouble at all, but you need to be careful.
Not all players can handle the switch between HD & Sd very well - we had this issue on a commercial title recently where the extras were all 720 x 480 SD against the main title of 1920 x 1080/24 - certain players connected via HDMI had definite issues switching between resolutions.
One way you can be sure your SD footage is up to par would be to encode all these assets to MPEG-2 before importing them into Encore project.
This way you can proof them all before importing - set the files to "Do not transcode" in Encore, and from then on all issues with quality are down to the player.

Best workflow to get good DVD from edited HDV

I have created a beautiful Blu-ray disc using the follwing workflow:
1. HDV tape
2. PE4 to edit.
3. PE4 output HD 1080i 30 creating mts files
3. Unwrap mts files to MPEG2 files with MPEG streamclip
4. Author and burn a Blu-ray disk using a group of these files using TMPGEnc AuthoringWorks 4
Results are great.
Now I need a workflow for DVD's. Simply having PE4 output to NTSC DVD Widescreen instead of HD 1080i, yields very poor results. I have read there are interlace issues and PE is not good at down conversion.
Is there some other path using PE4 or some other software operating on the output of PE4 (for example the HD 1080i MPEG2 files)?

Well from comments from over on Muvipix it would appear PE7 does a better job of exporting to standard definition DVD. A few folks have done comparisions and concluded that with PE7 the quality of burning a standard DVD from a high definition timeline is the same as using the downconvert in camera that Steve recommeded.
Also CS4 is reportly better at down converting to standard definition compared to earlier versions. I use Vegas Pro and get good results, although I dont do many down conversions as I mainly use a high definition workflow from import to export/burning.

Best workflow PAL (Avid DV) to NTSC

Hi friends,
I received a 2-hour concert video (I was informed that this is going to be 16:9) from Prague with the following Item Properties (from FCP):
Creator: QuickTime Player
Vid Rate: 25 fps
Frame Size: 720 x 576
Compressor Avid DV
Data Rate: 19.3 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: PAL - CCIR 601
Field Dominance: Upper (Odd)
Originally, this file shows from "Get Info":
Dimensions: 1024 x 576
Codecs: AVUI, AVdv, AV1x, Linear PCM, Timecode
I had to download the Avid QuickTime Codecs LE 2.1 from Avid's site to have FCP recognize and accept this PAL file.
Question...
What's the proper setting for FCP (7.0.2) prior to importing this file (Easy Setup, etc.)?
When selecting NTSC using DV-NTSC under Easy Setup then importing this PAL file, my canvas is showing squeezed image (the people appear much taller) knowing that the intended 16:9 is not properly displayed...
What is the best workflow from FCP to Compressor?
What is your recommended settings once in Compressor (with a 16:9 final output)?
I tried using the DV NTSC from Advanced Format Conversions but the preview still shows the squeezed video.
Any other tips for this noob greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!

You're good to go
I think you should leave the field filter alone, for now.
Now edit away.
when you're done export a MOV file, using "current settings." that leaved the codec as it is in the timeline. This file can be either self contained or non-self contained. The former is an archive and the latter a reference that can be deleted later.
Then bring the rendered MOV into Compressor. Apply the DVD presets for M2v audio and ac3 audio. Those two files will then go into DVD Studio Pro for authoring.
The settings for DVD video and audio can be adjusted for compression and other settings. You'll want to make sure that it's set for PAL and 16:9

Workflow from capture to publish

I am just starting in the world of Wedding and Event Videography. I love the excitement and emotion of weddings and feel privileged to be able to provide a record of the day. And I don't mind the long hours either. I am having trouble though with my project delivery. Viewing quality on DVD is not as good as I would expect - either pixelated or blurry. Looks fine in the camera and when viewing via the editor so I'm sure the problem lies in the project preset, interpretation/conversion, or the output preset.
I am shooting on a Canon HF G30, movie format: AVCHD, Recording Mode: 24 Mbps, frame rate: PF 29.97 (which manual says is progressive recorded as 59.94i), resolution at these settings is 1920x1080.
NLE is Adobe Premiere Elements 10. I have tried several project presets, tried interpretation options on source, and several options when sharing to DVD. None have provided a clear video when I ultimately burn to a DVD.
I am currently working on an event video (school Christmas program) which I am delivering on DVD to the parents. I do not know if they have DVD players, or Blu-Ray players so I am assuming low-tech on the parent's end (DVD Standard). So far the only thing I have been happy with is Project Preset: AVCHD Full HD 1080i 30 and output with Share\Disc\AVCHD preset H.264 1920x1080i NTSC Dolby, to a DVD which unfortunately will not play on a standard DVD player (only on a Blu-ray player).
Any insight to a proper workflow would be appreciated.

VDRAVES wrote:
So how do you suggest handling distribution of
this type of project without knowing what media the clients have?
Valerie,
You are touching on a major dilemma for videographers. The simple one media distribution method has disappeared with the prolification of HD TVs, Blu-Ray, YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook.
The videographer that shot my granddaughters last performance solved it buy selling a cheap DVD. I'm not sure, but when I looked at his camera it didn't even look like it could shoot HD.
An on line friend who lives and shoots in New York as a volunteer for school performances and amateur productions puts his very high quality work on Vimeo, then offers Blu-Ray disks and DVDs only when asked.
I have no intention of making any money with video. However, when I share my videos I usually do it on Vimeo. My primary audience is limited to close friends and family. Their dominate viewing habit is "streaming" with a Roku like device, so Vimeo works. The few times I've given away disks I provide both formats. From Amazon I bought "jewel cases" (plastic boxes) that hold two disks. I buy printable DVDs and BD disks. I print a nice title, a screen shot and clear marking as to what it is. ("Play on a Blu-Ray Player" or "Play on a DVD Player".
If I was trying to make money I might put a short "trailer" on Vimeo or a Facebook page ending in a credit screen that has "Order you complete DVD or Blu-Ray from xxxxxxxx".
If your videos are less than about 25 minutes in length, you don't need a Blu-Ray burner or the expensive disks. There is a unique format that makes Blu-Ray player compatible disks out of ordinary and cheap DVDs on ordinary DVD burners. In Premier Elements look for the third choice under Publish&Share > Disk. It should say "AVCHD".
Good luck!
Bill

Blu Ray Workflow: FCP7 to Toast Titanium 11

Good Afternoon,
I'm trying to get a grip on the workflow for burning a Blu Ray Disc for a client.
I'm working in FCP7 - have Roxio Toast Titanium 11 as well as a Buffalo Blu Ray Burner.
Can anyone provide me a step by step for taking a finished FCP7 project, running it through compressor with the correct settings and then how to take that and create a Blu Ray in Toast Titanium 11 with a menu.
Much appreciated! Cheers!
Keith

From FCP-7, export a QuickTime movie of your finished sequence, Self Contained and Without Conversion.
Go to the menu File > Export > QuickTime Movie . . . .
and in the navigation pane that opens make sure Settings is set to Current Settings and Make Movie Self Contained is checked.
Open Toast 11, click on the Video Tab and from the Drop Down menu choose Blu-Ray video.
Drag the QuickTime movie you exported from FCP-7 into the Toast Drop zone.
Select your destination media and buner at the bottom.
Set up your menu and other options in the right panel. Toast is not known for having great, or flexible, menus but the menu choices they offer are there.
When done click the Burn button and Toast will properly encode the video, and then burn the disc for use on most set-top Blu-Ray players. Early Blu-Ray players may or may not support home-made blu-ray discs, most players made in the last few years do.
MtD

Best workflow from FCE 4.0 timeline to Blu Ray disk?

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