After weeks and weeks of frustration in trying to get high quality DVDs from my Camcorder DV tapes, I read somewhere that DVD is only a distribution format, intended as a VHS replacement. -----As opposed to "professional" formats like Beta Sp , HI8 and DVCAM.---whatever that all means !!. All I Do know, is that when I watch commercial Movies on DVD the quality and detail is fantastic compared to VHS.--- I also know my DVDs made on my PC with various Software look like crap, compared to commercial DVDs. So what's the secret ??, how does a high quality image on DVD get produced. I'm told the secret lies in the decoding/encoding. : Having played with: Main concept, Virtual dub, TMPGEnc etc. I see no difference in the end result. Then there's the "Progressive" Terminology to ponder. Progressive scan DVD players ,were I guess an improvement over non-progressive when they were introduced. With Video camera footage you not supposed to encode in "progressive" mode but in Interlaced mode. Does the term "Progressive" change it's definition depending on the application??
Commercial DVD's are pressed, not burned. They are also up to 9 gig, your burns are half that, thus less room for the same quality. If you want commercial quality, burn no more than 40 minutes to each dvdr, and encode your files in a good encoder, then author them properly. DV is interlaced, and a TV plays interlaced properly. The only time you use progressive, should be for viewing on a PC monitor. Progressive scan players are something completely different, and a waste of time.
Thanks rebootjim, sounds like something I'd like to try. How would I fill a 4.7 Gb dvd with, for example, 1.0gb of mpeg-2. If that's a stupid question I apologise . Currently transferring DV via firewire to PC(using DVIO). From AVI-2 to MPEG-2 with TMPGEnc Express and Writing using Tsunami DVD Author. If these programs compress the AVI at a pre-determined compression rate, how do I "spread" 40 minutes over a full 4.7 gb. Hope you understand my meaning---Thanks again.
You don't "fill a 4.7 GB DVD with a 1 GB MPEG-2". You should take care not to compress your video too much. Most encoders (including TMPGENc) do not just compress at a pre-determined rate. Look for a setting called bitrate. At around 9000kb/s you should get very good quality quality. Personally I even go as low as 7000kb/s and with decent settings I still get very good quality DVD's from DV while getting 80 minutes on a single layer DVD.
If your source is DV-AVI, then it's barely compressed at all. This means good quality. If you use the wizard in tmpgenc, you'll see how much bitrate it takes, to fit your video onto one disk. As tpfkas has mentioned, you can usually stuff 80 minutes per disk at really good quality. Max would be 120, and any more than that, the quality starts to drop radically. This also depends on the TV used for viewing. If it's a 20", then you can probably put 240-360 minutes per disk, at 352x240 aspect, and have a decent picture. On a 32" TV, it's gonna look like crap.
Thanks guys----What do you think a full resolution (720x480) Should like on a 53 inch HDTV---or is this maybe part of my problem.
It should look like the source. If it's a good source, encoded properly, at a reasonable bitrate, it should be virtually identical. The bigger the TV, the more bitrate you should use, up to a max of about 8500+audio, so the total is no more than 9000, preferrably a bit less. Burn on good quality disks, at no more than 4x.
Thanks again rebootjim, closest I've come to as good as the source is today, when I installed and ran DvixtoDVD --a one click solution they claim. Well, I was truly amazed at what I saw. Then definition and detail is as good as the camera and it's fast. One problem though, it's encoding to MPEG-2 in Progressive mode. As long as nothing moves it looks outstanding. Comb teeth/mice teeth , whatever the terms are, are everywhere with movement and I cannot see anyway to change the options. Onward and upward eh !--still trying.
if your MPEG-2 is encoded to progressive and you see a combing effect, it means that the encoder has switched the field order while reading the original. I don't know the software, but you should be looking at such a setting somwhere. But, anyway, it is a petty that you encode to progressive, because you are loosing half the information. I note that previously you used TMPGEnc Express; with that you should be able to get the quality just as good as the orignal and interlaced. Try the standard DVD (PAL or NTSC) settings template but change to CBR 9000, and Motion Search Precision High Quality (slow).
Please don't use progressive for video. It's got absolutely nothing to do with "progressive scan" dvd players. DV-avi is interlaced. Encode it as interlaced. Yes, you'll see the combing effect, but ONLY on the PC monitor. It will look much better on TV.
Ok guys, I'll go around again with TMPGEnc CBR @9000 highest quality setting. Yes, I don't know why that other program encoded to progressive. I confirmed it using G-SPOT. Just to really make my day, I got my Sony AVD back from the warranty depot. Sound is fantastic but will not play anything generated on the Pc. Oh well !! Thanks again folks.
