Best Vegas to DVDA workflow (AC3/MPEG rendering)

johnmeyer wrote on 4/2/2003, 12:33 PM

I'm trying to figure out the best way to go from the Vegas timeline to a finished DVD with the fewest steps.

I've tried rendering in Vegas to an AVI, and then importing that to DVD Architect and letting it render. I've tried rendering in Vegas to separate MPEG-2 files and AC3 files and then letting DVD Architect simply mux these during the final output. Does anyone have other comments or ideas on the best way to go? I've looked both here and in the Vegas forum and have not found anything that quite answers the question.

Thanks!

John

Comments

SonyEPM wrote on 4/2/2003, 2:34 PM

Rendering your MPEG & AC-3 files in Vegas and bringing those files into DVDA is, I think, the best way to go. It is slightly more complicated to render outside of DVDA, but

a) you'll get more control of the encoder parameters in Vegas (if needed) and

b) you will not be re-encoding your source media every time you do a test burn in DVDA. This could wind up saving you a huge amount of time if you do multiple burns of the same project.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/2/2003, 3:20 PM

Thanks. I'm coming to the same conclusion. FWIW, if this is the best workflow, it would be nice to have a way to encode both the separate MPEG-2 and the AC3 file in one step in Vegas. I haven't explored scripting yet, so perhaps there is a way to script this operation.

John

SonyEPM wrote on 4/2/2003, 3:55 PM

There is a script that does this already- works like a mini-batch encoder.

yirm wrote on 4/2/2003, 7:59 PM

Another thing that would be nice would be if there was an option in DVDA to save MPEG2 and AC3 files to disc after they are rendered. That way, if you want to re-render some files, but not others, you save that rendering time.

But I agree with the conclusions here that the best way is to render in Vegas. What would have been nice was a tutorial that takes you through this workflow so you don't have to figure it out by trial and error.

The one nice thing about the DVDA process over Vegas is the estimate for disc space. (Only problem is that it isn't that accurate, but it's better than nothing). So the workflow is now to estimate how much you need to compress the files using DVDA, render in Vegas, and then bring into DVDA. Kinda clumsy.

I also don't understand why you don't have all the MC plugin parameters available in DVDA.

Another interesting thing is what happens when you convert files using Batch Converter. You can see the MPEG2 templates for Vegas as well as DVDA. This is useful if you're wondering what DVDA is actually doing, cuz you can see all the parameters.

One other thing about the workflow -- I think it may be better to set the chapter points in Vegas than in DVDA. I find it frustrating that (as far as I can tell), you can't play the DVDA timeline like you can in Vegas -- you have to switch back and forth with Preview -- very awkward and time consuming. Next time I'm going to try to set up my markers in Vegas and see how that works.

Speaking of chapter points, why can't you rename the first chapter? Not a big deal, since you can type whatever you want in the menu, but it's weird.

I think the workflow, and documentation thereof could be improved, and that Vegas and DVDA could be better integrated.

But I'm starting to get the hang of DVDA, and despite room for improvement, I'm liking it.

-Jeremy

johnmeyer wrote on 4/2/2003, 9:14 PM

"The one nice thing about the DVDA process over Vegas is the estimate for disc space. "

The solution for this I have used prior to switching to Vegas/DVDA is to use a bitrate calculator (VCDHELP.COM has a Java applet that does this). I just put in the length of the total movie, and it tells me the bitrate I need to encode to just make it fit. You need to allow a little bit for menus, etc.

DigVid wrote on 4/3/2003, 6:18 AM

"...why can't you rename the first chapter?"

It IS possible to rename "Chapter 1" in DVDA.

To do so just use the little clapbord Icon. Be sure your marker is over chapter 1 and then press the clipboard Icon (Insert Chapter). This action will allow you to rename the first chapter to your liking. It will also provide you with a box that will allow you to rename thereafter.

Enjoy!

BillyBoy wrote on 4/4/2003, 10:51 PM

For Yirm and others that missed it.

I put up a basic how-to tutorial on how to make a DVD with a chapters using DVD-A.

http://www.wideopenwest.com/%7Ewvg/tutorial-menu.htm

One thing I point out that is different is the scrubber. In Vegas you have that nice big button you can drag. In DVD-A you simply move the cursor anywhere on the timeline and drag. In others words there is no 'visible' scrubber, unless you count a one pixel wide thick vertical line that by default sits on the extrme left of the ADA-D timeline.

No need to jump back and forth between preview to scumb the video. Also unlike Vegas, to go a frame at a time you need to hold down three keys, Ctrl/Atl and then use the keyboard arrow keys. I missed that too until SPOT pointed it out. :-)