Blue Ray Help

OhMyGosh wrote on 2/22/2017, 12:28 AM

As long as I've been doing video projects, my final destination has always been DVD. I read an article the other day that made the great point of why shoot in beautiful HD if you are just going to ruin it with a DVD. They encouraged me to give Blue-Ray a try, but I have no idea where to start. Could someone please provide a link to a thread or video that would explain the best methods, templates, and rendering settings, and any tips for my first Blue-Ray? I'm really looking forward to seeing the difference and feel rather silly I've never done it before! Thanks as always. Cin.

PS. I shoot in HD 1080-60i 29.970fps

Comments

fr0sty wrote on 2/22/2017, 2:57 AM

You'll want to invest in a 1080p camera to get the full benefit of Blu-Ray. Most cell phones record 1080p or higher, so acquiring one shouldn't set you back too much. I'd recommend looking into Panasonic's G series cameras if you'd like a good pro-sumer camera for cheap that still has lots of pro features.

However, you can get started with 1080i. You'll use Vegas to edit the video, then render it using one of the Main Concept AVC or Sony AVC templates for Blu-Ray. You also have the option to use MPEG2's Blu-Ray templates, but that isn't as desirable quality-wise. From there just import those files into DVD Architect, set the project properties to blu-ray as the disc type, import your media, and build your disc.

I may be mistaken about this, but if my memory serves me right, you can have 1080i video on Blu-Ray at 60 frames (fields, actually, since they're not full frames) per second, but 1080p only allows 24fps. I'm sure newer versions of the BD spec have addressed this, but for maximum player compatibility, if you shoot 1080p, aim for 24fps. That said, even at the lower frame rate, 1080p will look better in most cases than 1080i on Blu-Ray, so I do recommend upgrading your camera if it cannot shoot 1080p natively.

Last changed by fr0sty on 2/22/2017, 2:58 AM, changed a total of 1 times.

Systems:

Desktop

AMD Ryzen 7 1800x 8 core 16 thread at stock speed

64GB 3000mhz DDR4

Geforce RTX 3090

Windows 10

Laptop:

ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 32GB (9980HK CPU, RTX 2060 GPU, dual 4K touch screens, main one OLED HDR)

vkmast wrote on 2/22/2017, 3:05 AM

In addition to fr0sty's good comment, you could read the old SCS KB/Help Center article "Render Settings for a Blu-ray Disc". A copy of it is here (with the original typo as well).

john_dennis wrote on 2/22/2017, 9:44 AM

To make a Blu-ray of media from your current camera, watch this:

OhMyGosh wrote on 2/22/2017, 10:10 AM

WOW, such great info and advice! Thank you sooo much, I can't wait! I've read dozens of articles on the difference between 'i' and 'p', and for whatever reason my brain just can't seem to wrap itself around it completely. Sometimes I feel like I finally understand, but other times I find myself still getting confused. I will study the above references and see what sticks. Thank you again.  :)  Cin

fr0sty wrote on 2/22/2017, 7:21 PM

I refers to "interlaced", which means it records 60 half-frames per second, with the first half frame being the even horizontal rows of pixels, the second being the odd (for DV, for HDV it's the opposite, odd first). So, you get this laced image that is missing every other row of pixels per frame, but when you see even and odd rows interlaced back to back, your brain fills in the missing gaps with the next frame's image, resulting in roughly 30 solid images per second. Because motion can be captured between one field and the next, that can lead to interlacing artifacts, namely jagged edges along diagonal lines, a stairstepping effect, and crawling lines on text and other fine details.

P means progressive, so every frame is saved as an entire frame, there is no interlacing going on and so you do not have those artifacts.

1080i would therefore be half the resolution of 1080p video at 60 frames per second. You're taking a 1080p60 video and removing every other row of pixels, odd rows first then even, to get 1080i. Doing so saves bandwidth at the expense of quality. They created interlaced video to reduce how much bandwidth was required to transmit analog video over the airwaves. in this day and age of digital transmissions, it is no longer necessary, though there currently is no broadcast format for 1080p that is used in America. The only mass distribution method to get 1080p video is online or with Blu-Ray. Same with 4K, online or UHD Blu-Ray only.

OhMyGosh wrote on 2/22/2017, 10:23 PM

Great explanation Frosty, thank you for taking the time. I just read my owners manual and it says it can record in 'p', but when I checked my video properties it showed 'i'. I don't have my camera at home with me at the moment, but tomorrow I will take a look and see if I can change the setting. After reading your explanation, I can't image why anyone would ever shoot in anything other than 'p'! I really hope my camera can, but if not I will check into one of the ones you mentioned. Thanks again. Cin

OhMyGosh wrote on 2/24/2017, 1:26 AM

Wow Frosty, just checked my camera and it does record at 60P, but didn't have it set there. Totally bummed that all that footage could have been so much better... The upside is that you were right and my phone does record in 'P', so at least I have all that. Really excited about the future though, and Blue Ray.

Really appreciated your explanation of the two formats, but it gave me another question. If each frame shows only the odd or even lines with interlaced, why when I look at the footage frame by frame do I see it all? Thanks again. Cin