I'm a bit confused. Since my original camera format was 720/60p, and I converted the footage to Pro Res422 in order to edit in Final Cut Pro 7, should I convert back to a higher quality format before sending the file to DVD Studio Pro?

I'm a bit confused. Since my original camera format was 720/60p, and I converted the footage to Pro Res422 in order to edit in Final Cut Pro 7, should I convert back to a higher quality format before sending the file to DVD Studio Pro? If so, which Compressor codec is best to use in order to preserve the original 720/60p? How do I maintain the highest quality?

No...ProRes is a high quality format. Finishing format. Many TV networks take that as a final deliverable.
BUT...DVDs aren't high definition...they are SD. You cannot make a 720p60 DVD with DVD Studio Pro. Any DVD you make will be SD...720x480. The only HD DVD format out there is BluRay, and for that you need a BluRay burner.
As for making a high quality DVD...using the BEST QUALITY settings in Compressor will work:
#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 HD QUALITY SETTINGS IN COMPRESSOR TO EXPORT TO DVD STUDIO PRO

I shot in HD, and edited with FCP. I am now trying to use compressor to make a DVD, but first I am trying to figure out what settings I should use in compressor to get the best quality for my DVD?? I wil be completing the DVD process in DVD studio pro.... Thank you!

Unless you have HD-DVD media and an HD-DVD burner, you are doing an SD DVD. As in, what most DVDs are these days (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD still being quite cost prohibitive on the user end). If you have standard 4.7GB DVD-R or DVD+R this is SD DVD.
As far as settings, depending on how many audio tracks you have and what format they are, I would take one of the two-pass MPEG-2 settings (e.g. MPEG-2 Best Quality 90 Minutes) in compressor, go to the Encoder pane -> Quality tab and raise the Average/Max bitrates. Set Motion Estimation to Best.
Keep in mind you want all your bandwidth usage (audio, video, subtitles, etc) to go no higher than ~9.5Mbps lest you run the risk of players choking.
If your HD source is real clean, even at the default 6.2 Mbps you should get great quality, but some extra bits in there will give more room to avoid artifacts...
Hope that helps.

How do I keep the quality when I bring a video into Dvd studio pro 3

just curious, the quality is really bad when I burn a dvd. the m2v movie that comes out is really bad, just curious if you would know how to fix this. It looks fine when I export it from fcp6 but when I bring it in to DSP3 it looks like something that's gone through the system of an old women.

whatever that means.
why not detail your complete workflow along with bit rate settings, treatment of audio, original source codec, length of the video in total minutes.

High quality format conversion for .mod files?

I'm using MPEG Streamclip to convert .mod files to formats acceptable to FCE 3.0. I've tried a few dozen possibilities, but the files are either unreasonably huge (687 MB for 23 seconds of video) or of poor quality. Does anyone know of a high quality format that requires something on the order of 3.6 MB/min? A previous post (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4815749&#4815749) recommends DV or HDV, but MPEG Streamclip gives many options for DV. Any help would be much appreciated.

They come from a Panasonic SDR-H200. The .mod clip in MPEG Streamclip looks great. Here's the information MPEG Streamclip gives for the clip:
Type: MPEG program stream
Duration: 0:00:23
Data Size: 12.48 MB
Bit Rate: 4.45 Mbps
Video Tracks:
224 MPEG-2, 704 × 480, 4:3, 29.97 fps, 9.54 Mbps, upper field first
Audio Tracks:
128 AC3 2/0, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
Stream Files:
MOV001.MOD (12.48 MB)

DVD Studio Pro not playing back audio of asset converted from FCP via compressor.

I exported project via compressor:
File Extension: m2v
Estimated file size: 4.34 GB
Video Encoder
    Format: M2V
    Width: 720
    Height: 480
    Pixel aspect ratio: NTSC CCIR 601/DV
    Crop: None
    Frame rate: 29.97
    Frame Controls: Off
    Aspect ratio: 4:3
    Field dominance: Bottom first
    Average data rate: 3.6 (Mbps)
    2 Pass VBR enabled
        Maximum data rate: 7.5 (Mbps)
    High quality
    Best motion estimation
    Closed GOP Size: 15, Structure: IBBP
    DVD Studio Pro meta-data enabled
This took about 7.5 hours. I exported the audio separately as AC3. Finder plays it sound & pictures. Quicktime plays the video. DVD Studio Pro, when I drag the assets (video, audio) to the timeline editor, so I can play it in the viewer, it plays the audio the video is black. No setting in view or any other setting will get it to play the video. This project is due to ship today and I don't want to re import it if I don't have to.
I exported this project before the MPEG2 export as a Qicktime with .mov suffix. This plays alright, but there is artifacting around motion. I think this is due to low VBR, but don't know. Can ayone help?
Dix Moser
[email protected]
FCP Studio
PowerMac 1.8G 3G mem 250G HD
750 G ext. Firewire drive (where media is stored)

If I may chime in...
I'm a little confused on the "what plays what" part, but all that really matters is what DVDSP sees/plays.
I've worked on a system like yours and what I'd recommend is:
1. NEVER export via Compressor. It's just ungodly slow on anything less than a Quad. Export a self contained QuickTime Movie using the first export option and use that to feed Compressor.
2. Segment your output into manageable clips (I like 15-20 minutes) both to perfect the encoding and so you aren't re-encoding the whole show if something goes sour. It will all play fine as long as it's all in the same DVDSP timeline.
From what you describe, I'm thinking you're on an early version of Compressor that had A-Pack as the AC-3 encoder. This is no biggie, I mention it mostly to verify. Early Compressor was good too.
Make maybe a 5 minute piece to tune up. Just export as normal, then into Compressor. Your encoding values seem about right. Get the AV pair into DVDSP and it should play. I'm guessing that part of your problem is that the processor is fighting to handle the project size. Build the test clip project and look at it in DVD Player to view what would have been burned. If all looks OK, go for it. If not, bring back the results for discussion. This should be a snap, it's just a really big project. Keep your head up, I had a friend do a 225-minute disk on his G5...

I have a problem with mail. the spelling and grammer check box before sending the messege is no longer there. I did everything but cannot get it back. is ther anyone who knows how to get the box with spelling and grammer checks before sending

i have a problem with mail. the spelling and grammer check box before sending the messege is no longer there. I did everything but cannot get it back. is ther anyone who knows how to get the box with spelling and grammer checks before sending the mail.
Also the mail is acting very funny by not getting the rules work in a proper method. Is ther a software to repair mail.

i did both of them, but still the while sending the mail the diolog box is not showing up and also the spelling and grammer does not do the spelling check.
This problem just started for about 3 to 4 days now. earlier it was working normally.

Please, I am in a very big problem I designed the project by Adobe director And you test the software on the computers on Windows and works with high quality When I tested the project on Apple Macintosh operating system, Li appeared a number of problems

Please, I am in a very big problem
I designed the project by Adobe director
And you test the software on the computers on Windows and works with high quality
When I tested the project on Apple Macintosh operating system, Li appeared a number of problems and you dissolve a large part of them
But I have a problem too big
The project works on some devices and others show me messages mistakes and why chasm different operating system version
Apple's Macintosh and these messages
"biosegnatures" can't be opened becouse it 's from undefined developer "
others
shokwave player error
pleas what can i do

Welcome to the Support Communities.
m.raslan wrote:
I tested the project on Apple Macintosh operating system
Click on the  menu at top left of your screen, choose About This Mac and, in the panel that appears, note the Version no. in the form 10.n.n. Then update your product list so we can see what version of OS X you're running on the Mac — see this tutorial:
Update your product list
m.raslan wrote:
"biosegnatures" can't be opened becouse it 's from undefined developer "
This Apple doc may help:
OS X: About Gatekeeper
m.raslan wrote:
shokwave player error
Is Shockwave Player installed?...
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/
...If not, get it here:
http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/

What is the best product for converting MTS files (NOT on camera or in root directory) for editing in Final Cut

Hello all,
I have read the forums and know that I cannot use the Log and Transfer function on Final Cut Express 4.0 for my AVCHD files (from my Panasonic HC-V700) AFTER I have transfered the files out of the original root directory. Unfortunately, I did not know this until recently and I have a bunch of old footage in .mts form that I copied onto my harddrive WITHOUT the root directory. I now must get it into Final Cut Express 4.0.1. and I would like to use a Log and Transfer style program so that I can select what I need and erase the rest. I know about the program VoltaicHD which can be used for this purpose. I have not yet purchased it, but I will if this is my best option. The downsides to it are that it takes a lot of time to process the files (i hear from this forum) and that it creates extremely large files (hearsay from this forum, though I would like to know just how big those files are and how they compare to the size of files final cut creates). When I tried the trial version, I also noticed that unlike the log and transfer function in Final Cut Express 4.0.1, you cannot capture multiple subclips from a single clip. Well you can, but you have to load the clip into the viewing window again, which is not ideal.
I would love some more advice on this. I imagine other people have made this same mistake and have had to figure their way out of it.
I was also wondering is it possible to use Final Cut Express's Log and Transfer program directly from files if they are in a different file format. So far my experiments with this have failed. But if this is possible, I suppose I can also just convert all the backlogged files wholesale into a format that Final Cut Express supports more easily for Log and Transfer (What file format would this be? Sorry I am new to this). My new harddrive has a lot of free space, so I could probably handle the huge amount of storage that this would require for the raw footage and then I could erase it after I log and transfer just what I need. In which case, do folks have recommendations for a file convertor. I am dealing with over hundreds of files and I don't think the free online convertors would work. This product has been suggested to me, but I know very little about it.
Thanks!
Mira

I am also finding, when I use Voltaic trial version, that the quicktime movies it creates are of inferior quality than those created through log and transfer into final cut express and imovie, particularly during rapid movement. There's a lot of visible lines running horizontally around areas of rapid movement (not sure what the lingo is for this).
Anyway, now I am getting accustomed to the idea that my best bet is probably just a high quality converter to get my mts files into something more useable by final cut. At this point, I am willing to sit through the render time that it will take on final cut express while I edit. I am just trying to get my footage into workable format without losing quality.
Thank you!
Mira

Line 21 CC in DVD Studio Pro...is there a way to simulate before burn?

Hey all I had a question about closed captioning for a DVD I am producing for a client. We had some TV Spots closed captioned and now the client wants these closed captioned videos on a playable DVD, so they can share them with others (not for broadcast purposes). Our company sent out to get the CC done and they sent as back an .mov that has CC and an .scc file to be used in DVD Studio Pro. I imported the .mov into DVD SP as my asset and on the track timeline i right clicked and added the Line 21 file. But I was wondering if there is any way to check and test to see if this works before I actually burn a dvd. I want to make sure the CC is synced up and working before i start burning 200 copies of this thing and it's important to the client that the CC is working. Does anyone know how to simulate the CC or Subtitles for a Line 21 file?
-Mike

You DO NOT need to burn a copy of the DVD just to test it.
BTW - If the MOV file has the cc already inserted, you may not need to use the .scc file..
1. Leave the scc file out of the project and simply BUILD the DVD to you HDD. Use DVD Player to test the DVD build with Closed Captions turned on. In DVD Player v5, the option is under the "Features" menu. In DVD Player v4, the option is under the "Controls" menu.
If the captions were encoded properly in the mov file, then they should now be displayed by DVD Player.
2. Using Compressor, create m2v & ac3 files from the mov, and use those for the Track in DVDSP. Build the DVD, and test for cc as outlined previously.
3. If you still don't have cc displayed, attach the scc file to the track, build the DVD (using m2v/ac3 files) and test with DVD Player.
The cc should be displayed in DVD Player unless there was a problem with the scc file, which should have resulted in an error/warning message in the build log.
I highly recommend using files generated by Compressor, as (in my experience) audio will badly drift when mov files are converted to DVD mpeg2 format in DVDSP. Besides, you will have much more control of the conversion, and better results from compressor generated files. Also, a rebuild with m2v/ac3 files will only take a couple minutes as opposed to several hours when using an mov.
Good luck

Converting Nokia N95 video for editing in Final Cut Pro?

I have some .mpeg4 videos shot with a Nokia N95 mobile phone that I want to edit in Final Cut Pro.
I read everywhere that .mpeg4 is not an "editing format".
I want to use Quicktime Pro (or Mpeg Streamclip) to convert the footage to something I can use in FCP *without degrading the original quality* but I am completely lost as to what settings I should use.
Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have done some test conversions but a side by side comparison in Quicktime of the original and converted footage showed the latter to be softer, less contrasty and with different colours. Not at all what I wanted.
I've posted this question on th eFCP and iMovie forums but haven't had any definitive replies. Is this really so complicated?
Thanks in advance!

I've been using iMovie 09 with these files but because the image quality is pretty poor I need the image correction functions of FCP. I can import the .mpeg4 files to FCP OK and work with them but I seem to spend all my time rendering. This is why I began to wonder if my initial file format and sequence settings were what they should be (and I am completely lost here).
The edited film will be uploaded to blip.tv and then embedded in websites. My concern is not to degrade the quality during my workflow.

What is my best hardware/software to convert vhs to digital so I can edit in Final Cut Pro X

What is my best hardware/software to convert vhs to digital so I can edit in Final Cut Pro X? Wondering if there is a solution under 100.00 or do I need to think a bit more. Thank you.

Have been doing this for some time, my setup:
I use an ancient "Symphonic" VCR player connected to an Elgato Eyetv Hybrid USB dongle. That plugs into my G5 Mac, 10.5.8, which runs Eyetv software v. 2.5.3.
Recording is dead simple after fiddling around a bit with software settings for channel, etc. Start the player, hit "record" on the software and wait for the end.
The recording is saved in some obscure ".eyetv" format with file size about 4 GB per hour of recording. The software has export to a variety of formats including QT Movie which results in a substantially larger file size.
Quality? Well, it's viewable and usable for archive purposes. I'm fine with it but more discriminating folks may want something better. I end up burning the video on a DVD using iDVD and that's not the greatest anyway.
There are various Elgato units available, and the Eyetv Hybrid seems to run bout $130.
Hope that helps.

Should I use Compressor 4 before sending over to DVD Studio Pro

I am making a FCP X movie and when it's finished I want to put it on a DVD using DVD Studio Pro. I have done this before but now I'm wondering if I should first export it to Compressor 4 and then to DVD Studio Pro. I understand that if I was puting it on YouTube or an iPod device I would need to Compress it however why would I need to go to Compresss 4 first if ultimately going to DVD Studio Pro? Would I get a better Codec quality then what I get from exporting in FCP X using their default Compression format i.e. Quicktime? Should I use an Apple ProRes Compression from Compressor 4? I guess I really don't understand the encoding quality options very well however I do want the best quality on my finished DVD. The DVD or Sequence is somewhere around 20 - 25 minutes if that makes any difference in your response.

This is (at least) a triple post. It's best not to ask the same questions multiple times in multiple forums.
Russ H

Quality issues in iDVD - is DVD Studio Pro the answer?

Hi all,
I am having a problem producing a high quality DVD with iDVD. I know this is the DVD studio forum but I am wondering if I need to switch form iDVD to get the results I want. So, this is what I am doing in iDVD.
I am using 13 QT (.mov) movie files that were made using the "Best" quality setting. Their size is 720 X 480. I am using the "Professional Quality" encoding in the Preference dialog and the Project settings dialog. The theme I am using is Revolution. (This is all in iDVD)
I have burned a few DVDs (Memorex DVD+RW, 4X) and at first used the "Best Performance" encoding. It took about 20 min to burn the DVD. The results were too pixelated. Then I read about the other settings, and used the "Professional Quality". This higher setting took over 40 min to burn the DVD. Unfortunately,the results were not that much better.
Can someone help me to figure out what is wrong? I am looking to produce the crisp quality I see when I view the QT movie files (before I incorporated them into my iDVD project).
What I am thinking is that iDVD is not capable of producing the high crisp quality I am looking for and that DVD Studio Pro might be my answer. Or, could it be my QT movie files (thou they look great when I just play them on my computer in the QT player.
Thanks
PS: I posted a similar topic in the iDVD forum but no answers as of yet and I am on a strict deadline (aren't we all...lol)

You didn't mention that you were doing screen captures. That makes a difference. Camtasia is compressing your screen captures. All DVDs use MPEG-2 compression. So you are in fact double compressing your videos (which always results is lower quality).
To get better results see if you can get Camtasia to record uncompressed, or using the Animation codec at Best. This will result in a absolutely huge file, which is what you want. You bring that into iDVD for good results. Or bring it into Compressor and then DVD SP for better results. Or a third party MPEG-2 encoder like BitVice and then DVD SP for best results. Of course using anything other than iDVD will require a couple of weeks training.

DVD Studio Pro translated subtitle files (Spanish) - which format?

I have an option to receive one of the following subtitle file formats from a subtitler/translator for DVD Studio Pro:
- Spruce Text .stl file (text-based file, it will have font size information but you can edit if necessary; color is not specified – you can edit on your end)
- .stl navigation file with TIFFs or BMP files – the .stl file will contain time code information for each of the TIFFS or BMP (bitmaps). You will not be able to edit the text, font, color, etc. since the TIFFS or BMP files are set graphic images.
Which is the best path?
Thanks,
Chris

Chris,
Both are good or bad - it depends on what you intend to do.
With the text files you're way more flexible, but the quality of the subtitles is a bit below rendered titles and some fonts do either not work with DVDSP or kerning is not that nice. Rendered titles text can't be changed easily except they are 'Layered TIFFs'.
I always would go the text route as it takes less space and is more flexible.
In any case you should have a good subtitle editor as a change of timing or text is no real fun within DVDSP.
I do have an app called TitleExchange which allows to use subtitles both with FCP and DVDSP and you can use FCP to make new timing, text changes, font changes, size changes and view that real time and then send it to DVDSP as an STL text file.
But there are other apps out there which can do something similar.
Hope this helps
Andreas

Will DVD studio Pro convert Real Media

I have some real media clips and I want to convert them and burn them to DVD. Will DVD studio Pro convert them. IF they will how long will it take for 50 mins of video. Thanks

To convert RealVideo you will need to download a shareware tool named ffmpegX located at http://www.ffmpegx.com
When you venture down this path get your favorite beverage, and make sure you have plenty of time to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!
On the download page near the bottom you find will instructions and links that will eventually lead you to the libraries you need for RealVideo which have to be downloaded separately.
Once you d/l them, locate your ffmpegX support folder located at:
systemHD>Library>ApplicationSupport>ffmpegX
and install the libraries
You will then be able to convert RealVideo using the mencoder to something that's useable in DVDSP or FCP.
I have had extremely good results to date. Basically same old story... garbage in, garbage out. if the RealVideo is good or excellent quality you will get like results!
Hope this helps! Post back.
G5 Dual 2.7 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

I'm a bit confused. Since my original camera format was 720/60p, and I converted the footage to Pro Res422 in order to edit in Final Cut Pro 7, should I convert back to a higher quality format before sending the file to DVD Studio Pro?

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