Dvd studio pro bitrate compression

Hi, does anyone know how I can compress 2 hours of footage plus 400 photos in DVD Studio Pro 3? I can't compress anything in FCP because I'm missing mpeg-2 compression ability. So I need to compress it all in DVD SP. Is it possible to compress 2 hours and fit it onto one disc? And if so, what bitrates should I choose? Thank-you!

Calculate the approximate bitrate to use, then drop it down some because of the photos and to be safe.
http://dvd-hq.info/Calculator.html
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm
Before starting your project, go to the preferences for DVD SP set the bitrate to 2 Pass VBR based on the calculation. Quit DVD SP, restart it (just to make sure the change takes, check that it has) then start your new project.
Do you have Compressor and/A.Pack app installed still somewhere? You should. Alot better off encoding there.
PS You should be aable to get 2 hours aand the photos on a DVD-5, depending on the source quality and its nature (race cars vs lecture) it can still look good

Similar Messages

DVD Studio Pro Newbie Needs Help!

I have a presentation deadline approaching and I need help desperately. I created my presentation using Keynote 3 (800*600 slides) and exported it to a Quicktime movie using H.264 compression at 29.97 fps (high quality settings). I then proceeded to use iDVD 6 and imported the Quicktime movie and created a simple menu using the templates provided.
I saved the entire project as a disk image and used the DVD player to check the disk image file. The quality of the DVD disk image file looked nothing like the original Quicktime movie. The images and text looked blurry and unprofessional.
I've spend quite some time on the iDVD and Keynote discussion forums and can't find a solution to my problem. The conclusion I've come is that the mpeg-2 encoder that iDVD 6 uses is problematic.
I don't want to start using DVD Studio Pro but I will in order to preserve the quality of my original Keynote presentation. So here are my questions...thank you in advance for your help guys....I really need it:
- I plan on playing the DVD on a 42" Plasma display at a sales office and also distributing it to potential buyers. Are my Keynote export settings optimal for iDVD use? Should I be using H.264 @ 29.97?
- If I must use DVDSP then what export/compression settings should I use in Keynote to preserve the quality? Keynote doesn't give me an option to use mpeg-2. I have ffmpegX so I can encode different formats...just need to know the correct one.
- Keynote exports separate audio and video files. I combined them using Quicktime. Is it possible to use the combined file in DVDSP or do they need to be separate.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any reading material pertaining to this matter please provide link.
~Eddie~
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

You can use a mov file that contains both audio and video. DVD Studio Pro will compress the mov itself. I am not overly familiar with the codec H.264 but either way its a codec that compresses the video, and if I am right that codec is used for compressing video to web based file sizes, which means heavy compression. When I create DVD material I use M2V format which is what DVD SP wants anyways so it cuts time and drive space in half. If you export an mov and import it into DVD SP, DVD SP compresses the file again which is M2V. Now you have two files, with twice the compression time. When creating M2V the only thing that you need o be aware of is the bit rate, which needs to be adjusted pending the duration of the video. Use 29.97 if you are NTSC and full frame rate, which you should be.
If you can not create an M2V file with associated aiff audio file, than export your QT file as uncompressed or as a QT Movie. The file itself will be huge but DVD SP will compress it properly.
I hope this helps

DVD studio pro comes up choppy

with DVD studio pro's compression, it seems to
repeat frames, so the film goes in choppy slow motion
on the DVD. Anyone know how I can fix that problem or
how I should be converting from the quicktime for DVD
studio pro?

Your question belongs on the DV Studio Pro forum.

Propper Compressions: from Final Cut Pro to DVD Studio Pro?

Ok, so i have a project on Final Cut Pro, what are the right compressions that i would need to do to get my project to DVD Studio Pro?

First take a long look at the manual and the tutorial.
Then elect the preset in Compressor that fit to the total length of your movie. Less than 90 minutes = 90 minute preset for video. Whatever yours is.
Then encode audio in compressor to Dolby 2.
Best to do the DVD SP tutorial. Your question is basic.
good luck

HELP how do I compress my DV Video into DVD Studio Pro??

Thank you in advance for taking your time out to even read this!
I have a 40 minute 4:3 DV format video in final cut pro and I need to fit it on a DVD (4.7 gig) using DVD studio Pro. I have the whole FInal Cut Pro package (compressor, live type, etc...) so how would I compress the video and then put it in DVD studio pro, with the highest video quality possible?
Again thanks to all you people taking time out to just help!!!! Darin.

Take a look at these liks also
http://dvdstepbystep.com/faqs_7.php
http://dvdstepbystep.com/faqs_3.php
http://dvdstepbystep.com/qc.php (Compressor 2 but concepts apply)
http://dvdstepbystep.com/fasttrackover.php (General workflow, but you can send from Final Cut without rendering exporting, more for settings)

Why does DVD Studio Pro compress my 3GB video?

I thought since the original Quicktime movie I made with FCP was under the 4.7(?) capacity of a DVD, that Studio Pro wouldn't compress my 3GB movie. But after import to DVD Studio Pro the whole project only shows up as using 350MB of space. And when burned and played back the video looks horrible! Artifacting (?), etc.
Do I need to go into Compressor and select a setting there BEFORE bringing it into Studio Pro? What setting is recommended? (8 min, wide screen, HD).
Thanks!

>I thought since the original Quicktime movie I made with FCP was under the 4.7(?) capacity of a DVD, that Studio Pro wouldn't compress my 3GB movie.
Unfortunately, you thought wrong. The DVD video specification requires MPEG-2 video and either AC3 or PCM audio, specially multiplexed and formatted as VOB files. So the size of the source file doesn't really matter.
>Do I need to go into Compressor and select a setting there BEFORE bringing it into Studio Pro?
That would be preferable.
>What setting is recommended?
Duplicate one of the DVD presets and adjust the bit rate to increase the quality ... but do not exceed 8.0mbps or the disc may stutter in some players. Encode the audio as Dolby Digital (.ac3).
>8 min, wide screen, HD
You're out of luck there ... DVD is a standard definition format only. If you want to deliver HD content on an optical disc, it will have to be Blu-ray - not DVD.
-DH

Compressed film to big for dvd studio pro - help

I have a wedding film which is 2 hrs and 6 mins long at final edit... it was a long wedding!
I used the 150min preset in compressor for audio and video but when i add it to DVD studio pro it takes up 5.3gb, far to much for the single layer DVD. Can anyone give advice to get the down so that it is under 4gb and not on the red?

Hi Allister,
Did compressor make a AC3 file ?
If not, encode your audio to AC3 and the file size will srink quite a lot.
Here's a good Bitrate calculator to have for future encodes:
http://www.railheaddesign.com/index.php/software/bitratecalc/
Better to set the bitrate yourself.
Bill

"Video Bitrate too high" message - DVD Studio Pro

I have been using the workflow of; video from FCP, through Compressor (best 60 minutes & Dolby Audio) and then on to the build & burn format in DVD Studio Pro and a final burn through Disk Utility for about two years with flawless success.
4 days ago I got the following "failed" message in the build & burn process in DVD SP: "Video Bitrate too high."
I have been trying to solve this problem with these solutions:
I threw away my DVD SP .plist file(s), exported new video from Compressor at a lower bit rate, Followed all the suggestions on the DVD SP troubleshooting basics web page, checked the discussions on this topic and followed some suggestions, uninstalled and reinstalled the whole FCP Studio, deleted files so my hard drive has more space, to no avail... I still get the message.
I have tried everything and can't imagine what else I can do. Would really appreciate if anyone has any suggestions.

Welcome to the boards
Take a look at these couple of things
http://dvdstepbystep.com/faqs_3.php
http://dvdstepbystep.com/faqs_7.php
Try deleting the MPEG and PAR files that were made and/or create a newly named M2v after re-encoding, could be something in those were corrupted. If you dropped in Dolby audio and using the preset without having changed it, it should work, but something can be glitchy. Also a chance there is a spike somewhere in the encoding...

Importing Compressed Video into DVD studio Pro: PROBLEM WITH SYNC

Hello,
This post regards software from Final Cut Studio 3
So, I have made a 2 minute clip in FCP7, exported it, compressed it using compressor, and then opened up dvd studio in order to burn it.
I have made sure the lengths of the audio and video were equal in FCP.
The problem is that when i drag the M2v and AC3 files into the DVD studio pro timeline, The audio is slightly longer than the video track.
I am creating a loop and want to duplicate the tracks within DVD studio to make use of the full dvd....so after i have added the files into the timeline a few times, there is a noticable lag, due to the discrepency between the length of audio and the length of the video.
I have even tried to change the length, under 'duration'in the track menu, but this makes no difference.
any help much appreciated.
THanks, Bradley

Bradley Zero wrote:
The looped clip in question is APPROXIMATELY 2 minutes. Infact, the DVDs are for an art installation, with numerous clips all Approx 2 minutes long, set to loop using dvd studio to around 20 minutes. (snip) However the loop is fine tuned so cutting frames to allow for the different frame rates of Ac3 and M2v is not an option.
So far I have only made a test batch, next time to avoid these problems I will Loop the files within FCP7 before exporting and compressing to avoid frame rate discrepancies. good idea??
I'm not surprised to hear that the clips are for an Art installation. I once helped my partner with multiple looped VHSs for a Degree Show & believe me DVDs make life a whole lot easier!
In conclusion I would recommend that you do a separate sound & vision edit, so to speak. Once you have finished your vision edit, lay down the single (compressed) vision clip on a track in DVD SP. Loop it to taste, and make a pencil note of the number of loops. Go back to FCP & duplicate your original final edit (ie the 'lock down') & loop the sound to match. Play out just the complete soundtrack at the new ~20 minutes and encode the resulting mix to AC3. Add it into DVD SP3. Voila! Really this is no different from making a movie; when the sound is going to be worked on by a whole different set of people from the pictures and both added together when complete.
... is there an alternative sound format to export in that is compatible with dvd studio pro that will sync perfectly in the sequence?
Of course uncompressed .aiffs don't suffer from the frame-based problem and are compatible with DVD SP. However using uncompressed sound is not recommended as this can lead to playback problems - especially with DVD-Rs - because of the high bit-rate.
BTW where is the show? Regards, Stedman.

Compression quality: iDVD vs DVD Studio Pro vs others?

I am merrily editing along in FCE, and looking to eventually compress and burn onto DVD. Since I can use all the quality I can get, and don't have spare money (so what else is new?), I am wondering about the differences in compressing software. Is there a visible difference in the final product using DVD Studio Pro vs iDVD? Is there something else out there that is better than iDVD but doesn't cost as much as DVDSP? Any opinions or experience welcomed!
Thank you!

If your project is under an hour, iDVD will give you very satisfactory results (use the Best Performance settings).
You can create an up to 2 hour movie with iDVD but personally (with Best Quality), I think the quality begins to slide off a bit over an hour
DVD Studio Pro, with Compressor, gives you many more compression options. Compressor has lots more compression pre-sets and you can go in and tweak bit rates, single or double passes, etc. You can do that inside DVD Studio Pro as well. Overall, Studio Pro just gives you a lot more options and control.
Roxio Toast is a relatively cheap (around 80 bucks Cdn) piece of software that will compress your FC movies. You are way limited in terms of things like menus and chapters but compression wise it does a fairly nice job ... again, you don't have the versatility of iDVD. With Popcorn, it will allow you to cram a big movie onto a single layer DVD but the quality begins to hurt
Personally, no matter what you use, two hours is the reasonable quality limit for a single layer DVD

Burn in DVD Studio Pro only says Video Bitrate too high

My camera is a Sony Ex1 and I have a 1 hour and 7 minute video that I have sent through Compressor to DVD Studio Pro, which I have done many times before upgrading to FCP 7, and now when I try to build it, it always tells be that the video bitrate is to high. I have gone though preferences and reduced the bitrate to 3 and max 5 and it still does it. I have also made a Quicktime movie and tried to build and burn it in DVD Studio Pro and that does not work either. I have no problem viewing it in DVD Studio Pro when I simulate it.
I would appreciate any help you guy could give me. This is just a hobby, but I have been doing it for over 5 years and have never had this problem.

Dexil Rold wrote:
When I got DVD Pro 7, I installed 10.6 on a new 1 Tb hard drive and then installed DVD Pro 7, so it was installed on a completely new drive. When I ran my movie through Compressor, I did it two times. One with the DVD 90 Best, one with a suggestion by the new book on Studio Pro 4 (average 4.5 Mbps, Max 7.5 Mbps. I also made a Quicktime Movie. I did have to try several times to get it through Compressor, after hours FCP would quit before it was finished, but I did get it to work
It could be spiking with the 7.5, doubtful, but could be even with AC3 audio.
Try this to see if it works - Export the Final Cut movie as self contained movie (is that what the QuickTime Movie was, the entire timeline self contained?) Sorry I am a bit unclear as to whether you got that to go through Compressor or was it the timeline from FCP, which quit, but successfully went through Compressor. Perhaps it is related to Snow Leopard.
When you look at the build files on your hard drive, is it crashing out at the same point?
Take a look here http://dvdstepbystep.com/vts.php at the image at the bottom, does the build get to the same spot and/or does it throw the error in the log at the same part? Anything else in the log?
Anyway, there would be a few things to try.
I would think the easiest is to
1.) Export a small section of the movie from Final Cut as a self contained movie.
2.) Bring that movie into Compressor and run Compressor on it (including AC3 files) then bring that into DVD SP to see if it builds.
If it does, it would seem to be that there may be a spike causing the error (are you using multiple video streams, subtitles or anything else or is is a straight one video/one audio on the track.)
If that works it would seem to be a spike issue, especially if the error is thrown at the some spot in the building process.
If it gets past that, export the entire timeline and run it through Compressor and see if that works, dial down the top bitrate a bit for the video.
You could also do some other things (make another partition for an install of Leopard, not Snow Leopard, try a new user, etc.) but the above may be the easiest to start with.
When you say it takes hours to send from Final Cut, is that sending from Final Cut to Compressor or Final Cut to a self contained movie? Of course alot of this depends on your Final Cut timeline, codecs, color corrections, renders and the rest, but on a Octo it should not be painfully long for a 1 hour few minutes movie. I ave Final Cut 7 on a laptop and it does a pretty good job speedwise on some HDV timelines, which are a pain to send out. You may want to check things like where you set your scratch disks, when you are putting the media etc. (More as an aside FYI)

Thoughts on BEST COMPRESSION for use with iDVD and DVD Studio Pro...

Hi all...
I'm having an issue with some visual artifacts that are present after burning a dvd using either idvd or dvd studio pro.
My sequence containts footage (h.264) and photographs with titles. The photos (w/moves) look great, very crisp. So do the titles.
However, the video looks awful. Pans and tilts creating streaking, so does any action with the frame.
I don't see this streaking while viewing in the qt window or when previewing the dvd...
I'm exporting as a qt reference using the dv/dvc pro setting, when I check the dvd on an ntsc monitor, the image is very streaky.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Mark

Are you using FCP?? Then I see why you said QT reference movie... which is the best way. Being more descriptive about your setting when posting a question will return more helpful answers. (editing tool, source materials, machine spec...etc) You said that your footage was h264 and you posted your question in iMovie forum so I couldn't have guessed FCP and DV...
If your sequence is DV on FCP I can't think of anything else but QT reference movie route. I don't understand why your video won't show interlacing in QT player or DVD preview, but perhaps they force deinterlacing for preview, who knows.
You said your DVD looks 'very streaky' on ntsc tv. Is it to the point that it looks unnatural? Is overall motion jerky? If so, perhaps the field order had been messed with and changed. But I'm not quite sure about the exact nature of your problem. Visual problem in a subjective verbal description can be hard to communicate

I can't get the audio compressed small enough for DVD Studio Pro

It's only 89 or 96MB.It always ends up 1GB in DVDSP 4. I have Compressor 2 on a Mac G5 The video for 1.5 hours is a desirable size and quality but even when I make the audio file small, when I bring it into DVD Studio Pro it comes out 1GB or more. Is there any way to change the way DVD sees this asset? I am working on a Mac G5 Dual Proces. from 2003 / 8GB memory

Look to see if you still have A.Pack installed on your computer; it should be in the Applications folder on your boot drive. That's what was used for AC3 encoding prior to Compressor 3. In the meantime, you could lower the bit rate of the video in order to use the AIF audio file on your DVD.
-DH

FCP Pro Res Super 16mm -- Compressor -- DVD Studio Pro (Nightmare Workflow Critique)

Hello,
I figured I post here rather than the DVD Studio Pro forum; I've posted on Creative Cow as well but haven't gotten any responses yet.
Before I mention my problem, I'd like to mention that I've tried several types of compression methods and bitrates and unfortunately, my disk still freezes in my player, generally around the same area.
(I have two, minute long clips with Smoothcam there).
I'll try to be as specific about my work-flow as I can and I've posted the photos of my FCP and Compressor settings below.
30 Minutes. Super 16mm.
2K DPX Scans -- > Graded In Color --> Pro Res 4444 23.976 --> Sent To Compressor --> Mpeg 2 + AC3 --> Build & Format With DVD Studio Pro
I set blue compression markers at the start of each Smoothcam clip.
I've recompressed my footage without Smoothcam as well - with the same end result.
I've sent my timeline to Compressor and used both the 5.5-7 VBR setting and the 6.5 CBR settings (with everything under Frame Controls set to the highest quality).
(I've also used the 6.2-7.7 built in settings with the ninety-minute high quality preset).
I am using Sony DVD-R disks. 16X/1X. When I play them in my PS3, the film freezes at different points in the first two-three minutes - then skips ahead exactly to the same point in my film - about halfway.
I've set Chapter markers and it skips to the halfway one; from there it plays fine.
1. I wanted to ask if I should maybe export my entire sequence first through FCP (an .mov file) and try Compressing that?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
2. Should I set it to Pro Res 422 HQ first?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
3. Perhaps I should just try to Compressor with the 90Min-HQ setting without changing anything?
(I've done this and the result is still the same)
4. Should I remove the Smoothcam?
I'm currently compressing the entire sequence void of all Smoothcam.
When I bring the files into DVD Studio Pro, I see under preferences that Studio Pro also has VBR settings. Do those have any effect on my DVD encode? There is no CBR there - only VBR set from 5.5-7.
5. Is there anything I'm doing wrong with regards to my workflow? There are several options that may be causing this; I'm not sure if its the progressive footage to interlaced standard definition disk, or modifying field dominance, gop structure, etc.
Any help would be greatly (that's greatly) appreciated.
Thanks!
-Boris

My first impression is you're trying to make this too hard...
You have a high quality timeline which is downconverted to 1080, no problem. Once rendered, SmoothCam
should not represent a problem. If anything, SmoothCam will reduce the sudden movement that can cause problems. Any scenes where you have a high rate of change per frame (like in an explosion or a background of leaves flapping in the wind) should be marked with compression markers.
Export as a QT movie using sequence settings (include markers for DVDSP) so you have a completed source file for compression. I'm not aware of anything that will improve the quality beyond what is in the timeline, so current sequence settings are fine. Test this for playback issues.
If you are having playback problems with the sequence after export and compression, the most probable cause is excessively high bandwidth requirements. Try using the DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes preset. It generally produces a very good quality product. Any attempt to increase the quality will likely increase the bandwidth requirements that are the probable cause of the skipping.
While Sony is a big name, their DVD substrate is only mediocre. If you think the substrate is a problem, switch to Verbatim or JVC/Taiyo-Yuden.
If you are dissatisfied with the quality of the Compressor output, look into the Cinema Craft encoding products.
Hope this helps.

Setting in compressor to DVD Studio pro

Hello
Need some help with compressor.
The matter is that I have a QT video ( Video Format: RLE. Codec ID: rle. 35min. Bit rate 226Mbps 720 x 576 PAL. Display ratio 5:4. Frame rate mode: variable. Frame rate: 25. 55GB. Bits( Pixelframe): 22,217. Audio 16 bits, 48 khz, stream size. 385Mb) which I want to burn in a DVDSP in DVD Studio Pro.
To do so I am trying to compress in compressor first.
I have tried with these setting: video CBR one pass 8 bitrate ( he first try was with 7, but almost with the same results= lines or pixels in the parts with camara movements), format: M2V 720 x 576 PAl CCIR 601 (16:9) Open GOP. GOP structure: IBP 6. Audio AIFF 16 bits, 48 KHz
To try to avoid lines in the moving parts of the video I also selected desenlaced filter (to convert to progressive), the result is pixels in the parts of the video when the camara moves...
I have selected CBR one past because I have read in several forums that is the best option in compressor, I have tried VBR with no goog results...
I used AIFF adio because the first time I used AC3, the audio of the video had an error. In addition there are space in the dvd as the video ony take 2,6 GB aprox.
So, my questions are:
1. What is the best solution to avoid this lines/ pixels in the part of the video with movements?
2. Do do think I am doing something that could be improve ( should I change some settings?)
3. Is it maybe to use VBR with compressor marks the best solution? Where are these marks in the compressor interface?
Thanks a lot, I will really appreciatte any suggestion
Sincerely,
jey

Hi Jerry,
To respond to your info request: my "settings" indicate my Editing Timebase is 23.98.
Moreover...
Editing Timebase: 23.98
1920x1080 HDTV 1080i 16:9
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
XDCAM EX 1080p24 VBR 35Mb/s
Quality: 100%
Audio: 48khz
Audio Depth: 16bit
Indeed, to achieve a film look I undertook the following steps in production and post...
shot 24p
shot with a Letus Adapter and Zeiss lenses
created an appealing depth of field where possible
avoided various "videofying" shots, like fast pans and so forth
crushed the blacks in color correction
used Nattress and adjusted the S curves in certain areas
I'm just wondering if I missed a step somewhere when it came down to designating the frame rate in Apple Compressor. When I saw the 29.97 frame rate designation in DVD Studio Pro, it surprised me. And then watching my movie on DVD (which is always a slightly difficult experience) I was really feeling like I was seeing an undesirable crisp video-ish feel that I hadn't seen before outputing to DVD.
obliged for the help,
Shanked

Dvd studio pro bitrate compression

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