MPEG-2 Settings

I currently export mpeg-2 versions of a TV show I edit for two stations using these settings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56854455@N05/5247391155/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56854455@N05/5247391195/in/photostream/
I just added a new station that said the test file I sent using those same settings would not work. They gave me these charts to determine what file types would work with their server:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56854455@N05/5247386325/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56854455@N05/5247988670/in/photostream/
I can not make heads or tails of this chart. I'm wondering if anyone knows what I might need to change to comply with these standards. Any help would be appreciated.
Message was edited by: jgoodnight

Make sure to make the audio AC3 that will help with rate issues.
Usually there is no one set rate, but 8.5 sounds too high for discs burned from a computer. You should aim for the lowest rate that gives an acceptable result. Often you will not really be able to see the difference between an average of 6.5 with a maximum of 7.5, for instance, when compared to the 7.2/8.5, but it depends
http://dvdstepbystep.com/faqs_7.php

Similar Messages

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.

Best MPEG Streamclip settings

I've looked at the prior discussions of this subect on these forums and they are several years old, therefor may not be accurate for FCPx, and some refer to screenshots of settings which are no longer available.
I am having to import video from disc sources since the original source material is no longer available. I want to bring the best possible quality into FCP possible so as not to degrade the video/audio quality any further. I have been advised to use an uncompressed intermediate format but some of the previous posts on the subject indictate this is not an option when bringing video into FCP.
So, what are the best settings for MPEG Streamclip for this purpose. Most of the video in question was what would be classified as standard def, some as high def (at least 720p, possibly some 1080p). Output will likely be in various formats and viewed on various devices, up to (and including) 1080p screens. So I'd rather keep the quality at as high a level as possible throughout the process.
Thank you in advance.

Tom, I had this same question last week. I'd like you to expound, if you could. Two Q's:
1.) What is the difference between "HQ" (obviously "high-quality") and "LT?"
2.) When converting MPEG-2 for edit in FCPPX, I found "Apple FCP Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 worked VERY well. So, is "422LT" better?

320 vs. 480 width for MPEG Handbrake settings

I have been using Handbrake for a while now and have used the exact settings recommended on the following site:
http://howto.diveintomark.org/ipod-dvd-ripping-guide/
However, after reading several posts, I now know that you can set the width to 480 in MPEG (I haven't tried h.264 yet because it didn't work the first time I tried it and now that I've read enough to understand some of my settings might have been off, I'm not sure the extra encoding time and possible battery drainage is worth it).
My question is, is there a noticeable difference in video quality on the ipod between MPEG files using 480 as the width and files using 320? Or is it only on a TV that you'd notice? And how much would the file size increase by changing that one setting? Right now I'm able to get about 2 movies per GB, with an average length per movie about 132 minutes.
I have been reasonably happy with the video quality of what I've encoded so far, though I do notice occasional pixelation. Any particular settings I need to change to improve that problem?
Thanks.

Thanks for the test results. Very interesting, looking at tests 3 and 5. I imagine that the 2 pass encoding had a little to do with it (not only can it improve image quality, but it it does that by eliminating un-needed data in any given frame and adding them when needed, making for a slightly smaller file size and better image quality). But that doesn't fully explain the file sizes for test 3 and 5, with their different sampling rates.
Well, remember that when you select an averege bitrate, it's just that...an average. You can select 1000 kbps, but that doesn't mean that every frame is encoded at that rate. It's just that HandBrake will keep that as a target and will sample around that number. You could have one third of your movie sampled at 900 kbps, one third sample at your set target 1000kbps, and another third at 1100 kbps. That's still an average of 1000kbps, but a total size of 3000 kb. Something happened with either test 3 or five (or both) that made them have the same file size. Still though, that's amusing.
As for the pixelation, I'm really stumped as to why any of them have pixelation. Apple says those formats (at those exact sizes) should work. But, seeing the little blocks in movies (like a wall or ther sky) isn't new. If you look closely (in iTunes), I'll bet that the blocks seem to be different colors. That might be because of HandBrake detecting different shades of color on a solid object (a wall or something). So, it tries to compensate (with the limited space it has in the screen) to display different colors. This is how you get blocks.
It's still strange though, and I don't know of any setting that might fix it. Play around with it a little bit and you might find something. I don't know how bad you pixelation is so I can't really get more specific than that. But hey, it's better than the guys who's movies won't even show up (or play) on their video iPods!
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

MPEG Streamclip Settings for Canon 7D

I'm struggling to successfully render the raw Canon 7D video into an acceptable codec for Final Cut Express. I imported the video to my hard drive via memory card. We shot 1080i.
In MPEG Streamclip I use the following settings:
- Export as Quicktime
- Apple Intermediate Codec
- 24fps
- Uncheck interlacing
- Tried both sizes of 1080i and 1920 X 1080 (unscaled), and also unlikely sizes
-Other settings are default
When I import the video into FCE, the monitor says "unrendered." Any help is much appreciated.

Final Cut Express does not support 24fps; never has. If you must work with 24fps material, then you need Final Cut Pro.
To use the material in FCE, you can change the frame rate in MPEG Streamclip when you convert to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec. You will have to experiment to see what the results are. It will be better if you shoot your video in 60i since you are in Canada (an NTSC country).

Best MPEG Streamclip settings for exporting a .mov file? Please help!

Am really stuck... I have a 1.6GB VOB file (which also exists in copy as a 2GB and a 1GB .mov file). I need to make a quicktime copy of the movie to upload online, but the maximum limit is 500MB. Because it's for a contact for a film festival, it needs to be as high quality as humanly possible, but has to be sent online. What precise settings should I use? I'm in the UK. Can anyone help me? Would be seriously grateful.

We don't care how big the original is; it is the length that matters. Take your limit of 500MB and multiply by 1024 to get megabits. Divide that number by the length in seconds of your movie. That is your bitrate in megabits per second. Duplicate one of the best-quality presets and change the bitrate. Make sure all the high quality options are on.

MPEG Steamclip settings for AppleTV

Using MPEG Streamclip, I'm converting VIDEO_TS files for Apple TV. The native resolution of the files are SD 720x480. In Streamclip here is what I do:
1) File/Export to other formats/AppleTV
2) iTunes Setting/AppleTV 4:3 (SD) OK
3) Frame Size 720x480 (unscaled)
With those setting, Streamclip saves the video as 960x540. Something I'm not doing correctly?? I can select "Export to MPEG-4" setting and the movie will be saved as 720x480. Any input would be appreciated.

Hope you don't mind one more question though. In the iTunes setting - AppleTv 4:3 SD, it saves the file size by default to 640x480. Does it do any harm to save at 720x480.
Yes if 720x480 is both the size of the encode matrix and the display matrix. This will distort the playback making people and objects look slightly fatter than normal. Example:
Here is what a VGA (640x480) display output should look like.
But here is what it would look like if encode the frame at 720x480.
Basically, a VGA (4:3 SD) movie starts off as a 640x480 "square pixel" clip. If encoded for DVD (i.e., as an MPEG-2 video) or NTSC DV for TV, the data is encoded to a 720x480 "rectangular pixel" data matrix with a PAR value that tells the player (DVD player or computer) how to display the picture as the aspect ratio equivalent of the original 640x480 movie. (I.e., on an old analog TV the file will display as a 720x480 rectangular pixel movie which is equivalent to a 640x480 "square pixel" display on an HDTV or computer monitor.) When you tell MPEG Streamclip to encode using 720x480 it assumes you mean "square pixels" and not "rectangular pixels" which then plays in a distorted fashion as compared to the original movie.
As previously stated, you can use HandBrake to automatically create a PAR encoded file if you insist on going that route. It is up to you, but I had assumed you wanted the display output file to look the same as the original input file. To give you an idea as to what I am talking about, here is what the HandBrake encode screen would look like for the same file using the anamorphic strategy.
If you expand the screen capture above, you will noted that the original 720x480 file is encoded using the same 720x480 data matrix but has a PAR setting that displays the final output at 636x480. The reason the output here is 636x480 instead of 640x480 is because my file had some black areas along the left and right edges would normally not be seen on an analog TV due to the overscan effect. However, HandBrake assumed i would want these areas cropped out but still preserve the original aspect ratio of the viewable content and thus I end up with the 636x480 display area which only includes the "active" portion of the original movie.
I hope you understood all of this.

What settings for new clips in my project?

I have some new clips that I need to add to an existing project. The info for the existing project is
DV PAL anamorphic preset and the footage that has been imported and editited to the project was taken from my standard def DVD's and exported to quicktime using MPEG streamclip with these settings
*Compression: Apple DV-PAL*
*Frame-Size: 720x576*
*Frame-Rate: 25*
*Sound: Uncompressed Stereo 48kHz*
I have some new clips to add, which are HD and this is the info
Video Tracks:
h264, 1280 × 720, 30 fps, 9.69 Mbps
Is it best to use the same MPEG streamslips settings and export to Quicktime as per the original footage or is there a better way to preserve the higher quality of the HD file that will still work with the original footage in the project?
Many thanks

I have followed the steps above but the quality is noticably worse than the rest of my footage in the project. I wonder if I am doing it correctly or if I should start a new project?
I export from mpeg streamclip to Apple DV/DVCPRO NTSC :Quality 100% 30 Frames Frame size 720 x 480
I then use JesDinterlacer to perform the standards conversion. I select output then export to quicktime movie and use these settings

Urgent!! Problems muxing .m2v files and audio!! MPEG Streamclip/Compressor

Hello!
I am under an urgent deadline to upload a short 6 min documentary clip for a client to review for screening this week. The footage was shot in 1080/60i HDV.
Usually, I find the best quality and fastest way to do this is to export directly from my FCP sequence using the '150 min Best Quality' DVD settings in compressor to get an .m2v video file and .ac3 audio file. Then I open the .m2v files in MPEG Streamclip which links it with my .ac3 file, then do 'Export MPEG with MP-2 audio". This gives me a single, muxed file that I can then upload to YouTube or Vimeo.
However, with this project, when I open up my .m2v file in MPEG Streamclip, it's recognizing the .ac3 file and I can see the info for it in the MPEG Streamclip window, but when I play the file in MPEG Streamclip or mux it, I don't hear any audio. Furthermore, after about 5 seconds into the clip, the playhead will continue moving, but the video will freeze, then maybe pick up again later. The .m2v video will play back smoothly in VLC player or Quicktime player, but not in MPEG Streamclip.
I've tried exporting different little sections of the timeline to see if maybe I had some corrupted footage or whatnot. I even exported a small clip from an older HDV project to test. But no matter where I export from, I am running into the same problem. I can bring the .m2v file and .ac3 file into DVD Studio Pro and burn a DVD with no problem, but I can't mux them. If I build the DVD file in DVD SP and try to open the .VOB file with MPEG Streamclip, I get the same problem. I even tried using a different software to mux (ffmpegX) but to no avail. When I try with ffmpegX, it either tells me I'm dropping frames, or if it works and it muxes it, when I open the MPEG file, it'll stutter at about 5 seconds in as well and I can't hear any audio, even though there is supposed to be audio in the muxed file.
I think I might have updated my Quicktime a few days ago with the system update, and maybe updated a few other things, so I don't know if this has any bearing on the problems I'm running into. But I was able just a few days ago to export HDV 1080/60i using this workflow without any problems.
I realize I have other export options, but this always seems to me to be the best quality and fastest way of doing it vs. encoding an H.264 which, on my machine is RIDICULOUSLY slow...I need to be uploading multiple versions of the cut to the client, and really need help! Thanks so much in advance!
J

what you want is an m2v program file. Export a reference copy from FCP (uncheck Make Movie Self Contained") That's very fast. Bring it into Compressor. In the settings panel find the MPEG-2 settings folder. Select Program Stream. Adjust to your liking and run. The audio and video will already be "muxed" when it's done and using compressor 3 you can set it to upload to YouTube, Mobile or similar sites.

Bad Quality blu ray disc, no matter what settings I use.

I hope somebody has a solution for this issue:
I exported a .m2t file from premiere using the mainconcept pro hd plugin. the video is a 1920 x 1080i 29.97 fps .m2t video at the highest mpeg quality settings on the plugin. The file its 29 gigs on size and looks great when played back directly, it is 1 hour and 45 minutes long. Then I imported the file to encore cs3 and made a nice set of menus and chapters, etc. Then I set the quality settings for transcoding to the best quality mpeg for 1920 x 1080 interlaced video, and check the project settings as well to the best quality. And here is when I notice a few strange things: 1.- The disc info bar, in the Build section, shows that the blu ray disc is using only 2.7 gigs of space, even when the .m2t file is 29 gigs and I`m using the best quality settings. 2.- the preview image in the monitor section looks choppy and very low quality. 3.- finally, after hours of transcoding and burning, the quality of the finished blu ray disc is very, very bad, and the total size of the files burned into the disc is about 7 gigs total. I tried many different quality settings in the program, but the results are the same or worst. I tried burning the original 29 gigs file using other program (cyberlink power producer) with no menus, and the results are far superior. (the things is I need the menus and chapters in this project, so I HAVE to do it in encore). Is there a way to get a decent quality blu ray using my video file in encore ? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I had a couple of other thoughts.
Are you using an Apple possibly with Leopard OS?
If a PC which OS.
How do you view the 29 GB file when you say it "looks great when played back directly"?
Have you ever successfully burned a bluRay disk with your system?
29 GB seems too big for that amount of footage (at least to me).
You might check out this thread (particularly post #7 of 9)
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?128@@.59b5bb15
which describes a workflow revolving around H.264. and the possible role of "forced interlacing" by Encore.
I don't know if Jeff would agree, but there are a lot of problems with BluRay authoring. All you have to do is look up and down the list of posts. Personally, I think I bypassed all that by using Cineform.
John

Need help MPEG-2 thing

SOMEONE HELP PLEASE
I have QT Pro then I got the MPEG-2 to export movies to my ipod with audio which is the main problem.
1) When you export movies to the ipod, say its about 20 mins, how long should it take? It takes hours for me and then it didnt even work.
2) When you install MPEG-2 component, it says: You have installed software that may not be available for currently open movies. If ay movies are open, you may need to close and reopen them before they play correctly.
3)How do you use the MPEG-2 component?
4)I think I am missing something because I exported a "mixed" movie to mpeg format and still no sound came out.
anyone who can help-thanks

The MPEG-2 Playback Component has certain limits:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/faq.html
If you are trying to encode a DVD formatted file (MPEG-2 to QuickTime) you'll need other third party software to export the audio portion of the file. QT Pro doesn't export the audio from any muxed track file format.
If you're using the new H.264 video codec settings you should allow at least 5 minutes for each minute of video. MPEG-4 settings are much faster at exporting.

Best FC settings for broadcast?

Hello everyone,
I am relatively new at this, and I am looking for a better workflow and FC/compressor/ settings for our productions, and to solve a sound issue.
We use a set of Panasonic AG-HMC150P to capture external videos, so the footage is in HD (imported through ProRes)... sometimes we use our older Panasonic DVXs connected to a Tricaster to produce on-location multi-camera programs, and finally we record our studio programs on DV mini-tapes and/or recorded DVDs.
We need to produce each program in two formats: DVDs, and Mpeg-2 muxed to feed our video server (Cablecast), which in turns feeds a fiber-optic transmitter to the cable company.
At present what we do is import everything into a preset NTSC DV (3:2) 720x480 sequence (QuickTime Video Settings Compressor set at DV/DVPRO - NTSC) with 48 kHz- 16-bit audio. Then we basically send the finished product to compressor and export it to a standard best-quality 90-min DVD. We use that for our DVD copies of the program. Then what we do is grab the .ac3 and .m2v files created by compressor, and feed them to MPEG-Streamclip, exporting them as an Mpeg with MP2 audio stream; which creates the mpeg-2 file for our cablecast server.
So the first question is this: is there a better/efficient sequence setting or workflow we should use? Should we use one sequence setting for DVD production and then copy the content onto a different sequence with different settings for broadcast/mpeg-2 encoding?
The quality of the mpeg file (when played from the server onto our monitor) is quite good, although I am noticing a loss of quality when I watch the program on TV at home (some visual artifacts and occasional pixellations), but my main problem is sound crackling when the program displays lower thirds (occasionally), more pronounced when PPT files converted to jpeg graphics are displayed in the program. I am VERY careful to keep white levels below 90 IRE (or whatever the scopes indicate as being 90%) and apply broadcast safe filters (chroma and brightness). I keep my average sound level at about -12 dBFS with peaks not exceeding -6 dBFS (sound is compressed in SoundPro).
Any idea what might be causing the crackling? Thank you for any help you can provide...

I found the custom settings that I'd made from the DVD Best 90 minute preset and pasted them below. I made these based on a screen shot that my client provided of an MPEG Streamslip settings window.
Stefan, you should be able to start from any of the DVD presets in the Settings window. Then click "Duplicate Selected Setting" (just below the Settins tab, 3rd button over) to add a copy to the "Custom" settings folder. Select the copy, make changes in the Inspector window and then click "Save" (at the bottom right of the Inspector window).
My settings were for PAL, but the same settings should apply to NTSC minus frame rate and frame size differences. The key changes that I made were the number of encoding passes (I changed 2-pass to 1-pass) and the bit rate (the average bit rate and the maximum bit rate were increased). Also, I was encoding from DV source which has the same picture dimensions at its MPEG2 counterpart so there was no need to change the width and height.
After you've made your custom preset, encode a short test file and send it to the broadcaster to see if it's compliant with what they can broadcast before committing an entire program to it.
-Warren
Name: MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 1-pass Custom
Description: Custom settings based on screen shot provided by client.
File Extension: m2v
Estimated size: 9 GB/hour of source
Type: MPEG-2 video elementary stream
Usage:generic
Video Encoder
Format: M2V
Width and Height: Automatic
Pixel aspect ratio: Default
Crop: None
Padding: None
Frame rate: (100% of source)
Frame Controls: Automatically selected: Off
Start timecode from source
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Field dominance: Automatic
Average bit rate: 20 (Mbps)
1 Pass VBR enabled
Maximum bit rate: 23.5 (Mbps)
Best motion estimation
Closed GOP Size: 1/2 second, Structure: IBBP

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.

Speech Analysis doesn't work on MPEG clips...?

A few months ago, I was able to analyse my MPEG clips, now for some reason, it doesn't work. Out of curiosity, I made a quick video in Photo Booth and that worked fine. I then converted an MPEG to an MOV and that worked fine too.
I realize I sort of found the solution to my own problem but there has to be a way to make MPEG clips work. Right? Three months ago, it worked fine. What changed?

Yes, you are right, MPEG-4 is far better than MJPEG...Ideally MPEG-4 should work on your Camera, kindly state what made you think it does not work(kindly explain) ?
Set the MPEG-4 Settings (Resolution) to 640x480, 30fps max and see if it works(it should work)...
Here are the advantages of MPEG-4 -
Key Advantages of MPEG-4 :
-- Reduces the amount of storage needed
-- Increases the amount of time video can be stored
-- Reduces the network bandwidth used by the surveillance system
Examples of MPEG-4 applications :
-- An example of a situation where MPEG-4 could be utilized to solve a bandwidth issue is if the video traffic was going be part of an existing 100Mbs network. The network would be saturated sooner if MJPEG cameras were put on it.
-- Another example of where MPEG-4 could be the solution is if the storage on the NVR was relatively small
and archiving could only be done once a day.
-- A third example of utilizing MPEG-4 benefits would be if the length of time desired to store archives was unusually long, or just too long, if MJPEG images were stored.

Mpeg-2 bitrates and specs for broadcast

Need some advice please for a new "ad server" system I wil be using soon..
1.Spec preference is for 25Mbps .
Is that achieved via Target Bit rate or Maximum Bit rate in the AME export settings?
2. Spec preference is 50i Upper field dominant.
AME does not have that option.
Is 25 Progressive effectively the same?
3. Spec preference is 4:2:2 (MPEG-2)
No option in AME for that... so what does one do?
4. Any advice on other MPEG 2 settings GOP N /M frames etc...for best results?
BTW- will be doing a workflow and pipeline test with faciilty. Just wanted a starting point.

Check this Apple Compressor help section - it contains quite good explanation of GOP.
In regard to best settings for M and N I don't have an unequivocal answer...
P- and B-frames require to store less data than I-frame. Hence, the longer the GOP, the higher the compression (the lesser the file size). That also implies that with the same overall bit rate you can get I-frame of a better quality, 'cos larger fraction of data will be allocated to each I-frame.
On the other hand, longer GOP is more sensitive to data damage, error propagation etc. Not to mention that P- and B-frames are of a slightly worse quality, which results in subtle flickering - have a look at e.g. this AVC-Intra vs H.264 blind test:
According to religious beliefs (see Apple help section above), GOP sequence duration equal to 1/2 second provides balanced compression/stability ratio. Hence Jim's suggestion about N=12. Also repeating P- every other frame with M=2 improves both resistance to data damage and picture quality. Therefore, choosing between Jim's and Joe's suggestion I'd be more inclined to M=2 and N=12 (sorry Joe... )
However, I can be completely wrong. So, happy confusion! (© Joe Bloe Premiere)

MPEG-2 Settings

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