Re Compress Audio for DVD

I have over time used Compressor to create my DVD files using the 90min preset. Now with Compressor 2 you can use the Dolby Digital setting to save some space.
Is it possible to take my existing audio files on my demo(Aiff) and re-compress them to dolby digital to free up some MBs on the DVD so I may add more work. I just would like to skip having to re open old projects and import tape etc.
Thanks

If you have an aiff audio file that you've used with the associated video, just drop it into compressor and use the DVD AC3/Dolby2 preset to encode it.
Then take the ac3 file and substitute it in your demo.

Similar Messages

Mixing audio for DVD

Hello, can I borrow a peck of wisdom please?
I'm experienced in mixing audio for UK broadcast standards, but I now find myself in need of producing DVCAM masters which will go on to be encoded to DVD.
Can anyone give me any tips / point out any obvious pitfalls?
So far the main issue seems to be that DVD authors expect a much smaller headroom for their audio e.g. 0.5-3 dB as opposed to 10dB for broadcast. Should I try to accomplish this on tape or should I ask them to normalise the material before they encode?
Do I generally need to compress more?
Is DVD more or less forgiving of peakiness and short sharp spikes in level.
Any recommendations for good texts / faqs etc for audio on DVD?
Thanks in advance for your thinking time.
Jim

I once made a DVD with levels at a bit below 0dB and I heard some distortion.
where did you hear the distortion?
AFAIK there's no technical reason why you shouldn't go to 0dB. But keep in mind that when using AC3 the audio has to be compressed. And depending on the material and AC3-settings the distortion might have occured in that step.
cheers
Martin

Compressing Video for DVD Burn Makes Text Look jagged

Hello,
I'm currently at the final steps of a lengthy video production project and am struggling to make the text elements of my finished video display correctly after compression prior to burning it to DVD.
I create and produce music for a living and don't have nearly as much experience with video editing. I'm a bit new to all of this and am using FCE 4.0.1 to create my video & Compressor and DVD Studio Pro 2 to compress and author video for DVD.
*My main issue is this:*
I'm using an imported still image as the title card for my film. It's a mixture of large plain Helvetica Neu font text with some additional stylized lettering created in Photoshop (which is why I'm not using FCE's built-in text generators for the title card). The typography isn't very wild and crazy, it's basically big bold letters and a few gentle curves. I exported the image (1200x600) from Photoshop as a .png and imported it into FCE.
When I export my finished video file (.png title card and all) out of FCE, I export it as a raw uncompressed Quicktime file:
Apple Intermediate Codec 1440x1080i
29.97 fps
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (Anamorphic not checked).
Field Dominance: Upper (Odd).
(It displays in quicktime at 1920x1080 though.)
After initially exporting from FCE, the title card image and all the other text in my movie created from FCE's built-in text generators look fine. It's only after I compress the finished movie in DVD Studio Pro or Compressor that I get jagged looking edges on the curves of my letters, primarily the title card image (the text generated by FCE's generators holds up okay).
In compressor I'm using the "MPEG-2 6.2 Mbps 2-pass settings for DVD" preset and in DVD Studio Pro. Using '2 pass VBR', 'Best' motion tracking, 'best' and 'highest quality' on all the compression settings I can find. I'm encoding at a total rate of 6.5Mb/sec max and 6Mb/sec average. These are standards for compressing to DVD and since I'm preparing a master for reproduction, I've been told I shouldn't increase the data rate over this or I'll run into player compatibility issues down the line.
Any ideas on how I can make this text image last through the compression process and still look clean and crisp without having to increase the data rate of compression? I'm going to play with different file formats for now, but it that doesn't work I don't know where to go from there.
Thank you for any help insights you can provide.

I started with a variety of HD raw footage (most of it gathered on Canon 5D Mkii SLR Digital camera in the form of: H.624 1920x1080) but converted all my raw footage prior to editing into:
Apple Intermediate Codec 1440x1080i
29.97 fps
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (Anamorphic not checked).
Field Dominance: Upper (Odd).
I edited everything in Final Cut Express 4.0.1 using the AVCHD Apple Intermediate Codec 1440x1080i60 at 29.97 fps sequence preset.
When I finished editing all my video I exported it as a raw uncompressed quicktime file which is also:
Apple Intermediate Codec 1440x1080i
29.97 fps
Pixel Aspect Ratio: HD (1440x1080) (Anamorphic not checked).
Field Dominance: Upper (Odd).
But when played in quicktime this finished video displays at 1920x1080, which I'm happy with. (I'm assuming this is the proper behavior of Apple Intermediate Codec? It seemed to take 1920x1080 footage, converted it to 1440x1080, and then spit it back out as 1920x1080 after the whole editing process.)
But seeing as how my issue is with an image file I'm creating in Photoshop and importing into my video sequence, I don't quite understand how the rest of my footage would really effect it. I've made sure to create the image using the same dimensions and pixel aspect ratio as my sequence frames by using one of the standard Photoshop screen templates (HD widescreen 1440x1080). I save my title card image as a non-interlaced .png file and import it into FCE.
When I place the imported image on the timeline, FCE doesn't resize it because it matches the frame dimensions of the sequence. When I view the image at 100% in FCE's viewer all of the image's lines, curves, and shapes display properly as they appear in my original photoshop file.
But for some reason FCE treats this imported .png image file as a 'rendered proxy.' So while it looks fine in FCE prior to rendering and exporting, when I export the video sequence containing this newly imported title card image, the resulting uncompressed quicktime file contains jagged horizontal lines across some of the characters in the title card image. It almost looks as if there's some interlacing issue going on.
However after much experimentation and trial and error I landed on a custom compression setting in Compressor that seemed to take care of this issue. I did as you recommended and selected a high quality 7.5 Mbps encoding preset (7.5 Mbps max/6.4 Mbps average), but noticed a 2 pass VBR rendered better results. What really seemed to do the trick was adding a deinterlace filter to the compression preset, and that miraculously seemed to eliminate the jagged lines in my title card image, restoring it to its original appearance (at least during my initial inspection in Compressor's preview mode).
After letting Compressor crank away, I looked at the finished compressed video in quicktime and the jagged interlaced-looking lines in my title card image have returned. Compressor's preview was somehow misguided.
Now my plan is to burn this compressed video to a DVD and view it on a TV to see if maybe these jagged lines in the final compressed version are only being caused by viewing on my computer's monitor. I'm hoping this is the case, otherwise I'm at a loss of what to do next.
If you need any more details please let me know. Otherwise I hope this is enough to give you a better idea of what issues I'm dealing with.
Thanks again for your insights.

Compressing video for dvd - which tool?

I am wondering what tool would give the best results (quality wise) for encoding for DVD - FCP, Compressor or DVDSP?

Yeah, I'm using Compressor now. I also have an older copy of BitVice Lite that I bought a couple years ago, but I haven't used it for quite some time (just getting back into the video thing). So I was also wondering if Compressor is comperable to it, or any other third party tools.
I just edit "film" for fun, so I'm aiming for the best quality possible, but it is not for professional purposes.
Thanks for your comments.

Audio for DVD

I know this might be a bit off-topic, but since I'm a Logic Pro user, I thought it would be ok to ask this here:
Does anyone know the maximum level for audio used in a movie on DVD?
I once made a DVD with levels at a bit below 0dB and I heard some distortion. But it does not have to be at -9dB, does it?
Thanks in advance!

I once made a DVD with levels at a bit below 0dB and I heard some distortion.
where did you hear the distortion?
AFAIK there's no technical reason why you shouldn't go to 0dB. But keep in mind that when using AC3 the audio has to be compressed. And depending on the material and AC3-settings the distortion might have occured in that step.
cheers
Martin

How do I lower or compress audio for ALL clips?

I'm early in this so bear with me...How do I lower the volume for all the clips at once or at least compress it and set a limit of how loud the volume can get to? Thanks much!

To adjust the gain for a group of clips, select (highlight) all the clips to be adjusted then go to Modify->Levels. The adjustment window will open where you can make either an "absolute" or "relative" adjustment (+ or -)
To add a Compressor/Limiter or Dynamic Processor filter, drag it to one clip then load that clip into the Viewer to make adjustments to the filter. Once you have the settings where you want them, copy that clip in the Timeline (Command c). Now select (highlight) all remaining clips to which you want the filter applied. Right-click on one and select Paste Attributes. When the attributes window opens, click the Filters button on the audio side.
-DH

Compressing video for DVD

Hi all
I want to put FCP sequence which is 1hr and 23 min video on to SD DVD.
I am using Compressor, what are the best settings in this case?
My sequence setting are:
Frame size- 720x576.
Aspect Ratio- CCIR 601/DV PAL(5:4) Anamorphic.
Field Dominance- Lower(Even).
Compressor- DV-PAL.
Audio- 48 kHz/16- bit
Thanks !

First Calculate your bitrate by using a bitrate dvd bitrate calculator - you can google for that as there are many. Everything else is pretty much self exclamatory. 16x9 Anamorphic, lower field dominate, PAL .
You should go through the manual first before doing anything...there are many tutorials online as well.

Compress video for DVD which one?

I have almost 9 hours video (instructional DVD, I have 6 units). I wonder if I use two dual layer to fit 9 hours. Possible? I use FCP Compressor. Which setting that will be good quality and same time to fit two dual layer? Should I use Sorenson software (I don't have one)? I know Compressor has many settings to select but not sure which one. Do you think will it fit 2 dual layer dvd? Thanks

If you use the 150 minute dual pass preset you can put that much on a simple menu'd DVD I know... But that's 4.7 gigs - a dual isn't twice that size, it's 8.5 gigs.. A VBR will vary a bit in size, depends on movement in the frame...
Jerry

Best Quicktime compression for DVD playback later on?

I have some DV footage that I had captured into MPEG-2 files on my old PC, then recently got a Mac and I want to be able to edit the footage on the Mac software I have and put it onto DVD for standard playback on a TV.
I've got the latest Quicktime Pro with the MPEG-2 playback component, and another program I just found called MPEG Streamline that allows me to convert the MPEG-2 files into MOV files that can be edited in iMovie and Final Cut Express, of which I have, and then I plan on just using iDVD to put the projects on DVD.
I've converted some footage using 3 different compressions: Apple DV 25, JPEG Motion A, and H.264 at NTSC 720x480 resolution so far, and cannot see any noticeable difference in the picture quality between the three converted files when played full screen with Quicktime, but of course, there is considerable difference between the resulting file size for each video. With all three files played back in Quicktime, there was some faint pixelation around moving figures in the video, even after setting the video stream to play back high quality.
I would like to know if there is and what the best compression to use would be in converting the MPEG-2 files into MOV files or other format that's compatible with iMovie and Final Cut Express that will result in the best quality for DVD playback. I don't have Final Cut Pro so I don't have Compressor, which I understand, has a preset compression optimized for DVD playback later on.

Nevermind, I just used DV compression and the playback quality came out just fine on the DVDs I've burned from the footage.

Optimal Audio Sample/ Bit Rate for DVD?

In using recorded material to add to DVDs for family and friends, that is, non-commercial, what is recommended formatting for the audio file? Soundbooth seems to default to 48000 Sample Rate/32 Bit but if I use that am I achieving anything over a simple 44100 Sample Rate/16 bit, since the human ear cannot detect above 20000Hz? I want the DVDs to sound as good as possible in STEREO.I don't want to cross-post, so sorry if this is wrong forum.
Thanks...

I'm not positive about this, but I think they used 48KHz simply because most professional audio/video gear uses that same sample rate. This makes it easier to tramsfer audio from DV, DAT, etc. without the need for resampling.
As for why 48 in the first place? This has to do with the Nyquist limit... and that's way too deep for this thread!
Higher bit depth is another thing all together: This represents the number of possible volume levels (dynamic range) of each sample. 16 bit has 65535 levels which is a dynamic range of 96 dB. This is fine for final delivery -- assuming that the audio was well-mastered at an appropriate volume level.
During recording and editing, however, where it is likely that adjustments to dynamics (compression, expansion, noise gating, fading) and effects will be applied, it is best to use a higher bit depth so that less information is lost (quantized) on successive transformations of the audio. It also will keep broadband noise from creeping in when the audio is amplified.
For example, if you have audio recorded in 16 bit and then you amplify it to be 20 dB louder, your dynamic range has decreased to 76 dB and the noise floor has been raised -- meaning there is a constant whitenoise "hiss" in the background.
32 bit audio is different. The dynamic range is sufficient enough so that moderately large amplification will not neccessarily result in audible background noise.
The 32 bit audio is then downsampled during mastering to 16 bit for final delivery (often with aid dithering, noise shaping, etc. to avoid distortion and give the "illusion" of greater dynamic range)
I do agree that 48 KHz is a little bit silly for DVD when the audio is AC3 compressed anyway. I am fairly certain that none of these ultrasonic frequencies will survive AC3 encoding -- even at high rates.

Compression for DVD help

Hello,
I need some help using compressor.
I made an animated film using final cut pro. My finished project is 1440x960 which is a 3x2 aspect ratio with square pixels. These settings were used because my source material was still frames from a pro digital SLR camera.
I'm trying to make a DVD copy of it using DVD Studio Pro via Compressor. I realize I need to use the letterbox scale effect to get it to a 4x3 ratio without looking horizontally squashed on a TV, but I'm not sure how to figure out what percent to set it at. It's somewhere around 95 percent based on just looking at it, but is there a way to know EXACTLY what that percent should be?
If I use Quicktime to compress my movie, it automatically sets the correct letterbox scaling but it doesn't, at least not obviously, let you know what percent it uses. In addition, shouldn't Compressor do a better job compressing than Quicktime Compressor? Does it even output the required format for DVD's?
Thank you in advance for your help.

Use photoshop and make your photos 720 x 480, 72dpi.
Then import them into FCP.
Edit them up, export out as quicktime movie.
Then import them into Compressor.
Encode them with 7.0 mbps average, 8.2 max, 2 pass vbr, best.
For audio, use dolby digital, 224kbps, -31 normalization.
Should be fine.

Audio and video compression preferences for export to DVDSP

Hi,
I have a few questions here. The first is regarding the internal use of compressor by DVD Studio Pro. It is my understanding from (limited experience with) past projects that quicktime movie files are automatically compressed to an mpeg2 format when imported into DVDSP. To what extent do I have control over the level of compression, and are the default mpegs that were made optimal quality? Where can I check this?
My second question is regarding compression of audio files. Whereas my video files were automatically compressed, I am not so sure about the audio. I was forced to compress the audio down to Dolby2 separately using the external compressor program, in order not to exceed the bitrate on my last project. Was this just a question of one or the other (video/audio) needing further compression than the default amount, or is there more to this issue?
I live and work with video in Europe, where I have recently been told that optimal audio is mp3? 4? rather than Dolby 5.1? Is this correct, and how much more space does dolby 5.1 take than dolby2? How significant an issue is this when making dvd's for musicians?
Lastly, can someone recommend the best quality audio-video compression solution for a dvd containing approx 40 minutes of audio and video footage for use in europe?? or explain how I might go about finding this out for myself?
Thanks a lot, and I look forward to reading your comments.
4 x 2.5 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 8 GB DDR2 SDRam
4 x 2.5 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 8 GB DDR2 SDRam

It is my understanding from (limited experience with) past projects that quicktime movie files are automatically compressed to an mpeg2 format when imported into DVDSP. To what extent do I have control over the level of compression, and are the default mpegs that were made optimal quality? Where can I check this?
Settings for DVDSP's internal encoder can be adjusted in DVDSP preferences. Press Command-, - that's the Apply and the comma keys - to bring those up, then select the Encoder tab. In your case, make sure you adjust the settings for SD DVD (and not HD-DVD). You will also be able to specify whether to encode in the background (basically, as soon as you import your file) or encode on build, at the bottom of that tab.
I was forced to compress the audio down to Dolby2 separately using the external compressor program, in order not to exceed the bitrate on my last project. Was this just a question of one or the other (video/audio) needing further compression than the default amount, or is there more to this issue?
I can't confess to have read any of your previous threads, but if you exceeded bit rate, that is a common reason to need to use Dolby compression for your audio. (unless you can afford to recompress your video files)
That is, if you video files use a high bit rate (say over 6 Mbps average), then it's usually necessity to use Dolby compression to make sure that all your footage fits on a single disc. (this is a simplification, of course, but I think you get the idea)
Or was there more to this question that I'm missing?
I live and work with video in Europe, where I have recently been told that optimal audio is mp3? 4? rather than Dolby 5.1? Is this correct, and how much more space does dolby 5.1 take than dolby2? How significant an issue is this when making dvd's for musicians?
Someone was mistaken when they told you that DVDs accept - let alone are optimized for - mp3 or mp4 files. That's flat out wrong.
As for the difference between Dolby 5.1 vs 2.0, that depends on your encoding rates. Typically, most folks encoder Dolby 2.0 at 192 kbps, with some choosing to up the bit rate to 224 kbps. Beyond 224 kbps, you're not actually improving audio quality for a 2.0 mix, you're just bloating your file size. When it comes to 5.1 audio, it's typical to encode your audio at 384 or 448 kbps.
When it comes to compressed audio vs uncompressed audio, it does matter when you're making DVDs for musicians. But that means that you'll probably need to lower the bit rate on your video files.
Lastly, can someone recommend the best quality audio-video compression solution for a dvd containing approx 40 minutes of audio and video footage for use in europe??
If you want to keep you audio as AIFF files, set your encode to 2 Pass VBR Best, with an Average bit rate of 5.0 Mbps and a Max bit rate of 7.0 Mbps. If you need things to happen a bit faster, use One Pass (not One Pass VBR) and use 5.5 Mbps as your bit rate.
If you want to have a firm grasp over how all these numbers work, there is a section at the back of DVDSP manual, that explains how to calculate bit rates (what we call bit budgeting in the business). Give that a quick once-over if you can.

What's the best compression setting for exporting video to DVD?

My QT self contained file from FCP is 13 GB (1:02 min long) when I use DV NTSC while exporting. When iDVD finished encoding it, it went down to 3.4 GB (that includes video files in my iDVD menus).
*Since the DVD media is 4.7 GB can I make better quality DVD by lessening compression while exporting from FCP?*
I don't think there is a way to tweak compression in iDVD. And my second question:
*Is "self contained" file better quality than just a reference file?*
*I would like to make the best possible quality DVD and am looking for some tips on what settings would help me achieve it.*

Hi Joby,
Compressor is what you need.
Import your file, choose DVD best quality 90 minutes from the settings tab (lower left window in Compressor). This will allow your movie to be converted as MPEG 2 and ac3 dolby stereo (best compression for DVD audio).
The inspector window (lower right window) will allow you to decide/arrange settings as you like.
If you are not sure about best bit rate choice use the [Bit Budget|http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/bitbudget.html]
As you can see the inspector window offers a range of customizable settings if you are not familiar with those the manual (main menu>help>user manual) will answer all your questions. Simply type a word or definition in the search area and most likely the manual will provide the info you seek.
Self contained means that you create a file with exact copies from your original frames and edit on the timeline, a self-contained file becomes independent from your timeline. A reference movie as the definition says totally refers to your FCP project and wouldn't work on a different machine without referenced media files.
There is no difference in quality between the two QTmovie options.
Hope that helps
G.
PS. Extra info about Compressor and h the best way to create your DVD [here|http://www.kenstone.net/fcphomepage/fcp_homepageindex.html#dvd]

Best quality conversion for DVD with audio?

This has to be easier than it seems. I have an hour long video I want to compress with the best resolution for DVD, but Compressor help tells me I "must convert the video into MPEG-2 (SD and HD projects)," but this is video only.
I just want to compress this 60GB video losing as little quality as possible and throw it on a DVD with audio, but I just can't make sense of Compressor to find the best way to do this.
Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the response. I did try this, save for the Create DVD Job Action, but it just creates one audio and one video file. I'm trying the Create DVD job action now, so hopefully that will work.
Here is a screenshot of my batch. Does this look correct?
Thanks again.

Premiere Pro CS3 DVD Compression Audio lag

I have a project which content several camera angles.
I synch them, then puts them in my timeline with other elements such as Lowerthirds, logos, and other sub captions.
Funny enough there is a lag when the whole project is compressed for DVD burning.
Video 1 has the live feed audio file and Video 2 is simply synched with video 1.
Ounce the compression is done, Video 2 is synched with audio but not Video 1. Video1 is late.
I do not understand why since, Video 1 has the original audio file for the entire project.
However when the project is compessed for windows media player the issue disappears.
Can anyone help me with this?
Dan
PS: CS3

Usually Premiere pro should send the compressed media directly to encore and burn it. But nop it doesn't work that way It bugg all the time doing that.
So I Export it via the Adobe Media Encoder then choose MPEG2-DVD
Range: Entire Sequence
Preset: NTSC Medium Quality
NTSC, 720x480, 29.97 drop frame (fps), lower, Quality 3.0
48 kHz, 16 bit, PCM
VBR, 1 Pass, min 1.50, Target 4.00, Max 7.00 (mbps)
The project is 28min 40 long and gives me a compressed file of about 2 GB.
Right there before I even burn to DVD with Encore (by importing the 2GB file as timeline),
There is an audio lag.
Then I shut Premiere pro, launch Encore, import the 2GB file as timeline hit the built key, disregard the error message and THe DVD id burned.
I don't think Encore is the problem, I think It comes from Premiere Pro. How can the Video contact the only audio file not be in synch with itself???
I am so confused...
THanks for your help!
Dan
PS: Do you know any good tutorial about compression tips so I can get better result

Re Compress Audio for DVD

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