Confusion over what files to render etc.

OldTimer wrote on 8/11/2003, 5:53 PM

Sorry for posting such a long question but I haven't seen the required information spelled out anywhere.

Im very confused as to just what files to create prior to importing them into DVA. I have a PAL project that I will soon be finished in Vegas which I estimated will be 105 minutes long. About 90% of the project is already finished as an AVI file & I was just going to add the last segment of the project onto the end save it as another AVI file of about 23.5 GB before rendering it using MPEG2.

I seem to recall that its preferable to have your MPEG2 file prior to importing into DVA. I'm also told that the file size for the audio is smaller if you have it as AC3. But doesn't an ordinary MPEG2 file already have the audio files so why would you bring it in again along with the AC3 files & isn't this just a duplication? If both MPEG2 & AC3 are imported into DVA how do the 2 seperate files get married up?

If you only have a stereo soundtrack & don't have an AC3 sound card, you can still render using the AC3 tool which will still give you a stereo file? This when played back on DVD player would play ok except that nothing would ever come out of the other speakers. Correct?

I know that both the audio & video files have to be compressed so that the maximum finished size of the file will be less than about 4.3 GB. In this 4.3 GB allowance you also have to make room for the DVA data. Just how big is this file is I have no idea but since it might only have to carry information about chapter markers, in & out points I imagine it must be quite small. Is this correct? Again I'm assuming that that the only extra file size that DVA adds are those already mentioned & that no extra space is necessary for diplays for instance associated with motion buttons since that information is already on MPEG2 file.

Prior to making the file for your DVD can I assume that if you check all of your buttons, links etc are working ok in DVA & that no problems are reported that the resulting file can be burned without you creating coasters?

So finally you render it out using DVA. Am I correct in assuming that this file can either go straight to a DVD burner or else be saved back to hard drive where it could be used by any burner in the future.

Thanks for any information that you might have in this regard.

Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 8/11/2003, 6:42 PM

You can use Vegas to create a DVD compatiable file. That would be a MPEG-2 file. For those in North America and Japan use the DV NTSC template, otherwise use the PAL template.

What's somewhat confusing probably is NTSC doesn't support the audio steam, AFAIK PAL does. So if making a NTSC DVD, DVD-A will recompress the audio portion. Surely what's bugging some people at first is WHY DVD-A warns that it will recompress. If you look closely under optimize it warns that it will recompress. Not the whole file, just the audio portion. Other DVD Authoring applications do the same thing. They simply don't warn you.

What may muddy the waters further is in version 4 of Vegas there is a seperate template intended for DVD-A. It only render the video. That means if you use it you'll also need to render the audio (as a AC3) seperately.

Confused yet?

DVD-A also excepts AVI as source. So if you use that then the AVI file will be converted in DVD-A. Does it matter which method you use? No. Just another choice. The one advantage of rendering the video and audio seperately in Vegas is you know at the menu building stage how big your project is. If you use MPEG-2 with audio in it and use NTSC then the project size shown prior to doing the finishing steps is bloated.

If you use the special DVD-A template for your video steam in Vegas and also render the AC3 seperately and name them BOTH EXACTLY THE SAME except for the file extension then DVD-A is smart enough to use the AC3 portion as the audio.

You don't need to mess with channels in DVD-A. In fact you can't. Set that prior to rendering in Vegas.

I haven't made any DVD coasters yet. If you're worried about that happening, try burning a few DVD-RW or DVD+RW so you can erase if something went wrong.

The files can be burned directly from DVD-A or saved a files to be processed by another application.

The amount of space needed for the DVD Authoring phase (what you do in DVD-A or with some similar product) varies depending on you add. In DVD-A you can have another video as a background for the menu plus automate the thumbnails, use custom backgrounds and add a seperate audio track for the main menu and a different one for each additional menu page. Don't discount the amount of space all that takes up. No, none of that is included in the source files you create in Vegas. Generally, unless you get carried away, it shouldn't add that much. The file structure to convert the source files into DVD format doesn't take much space.

JakeHannam wrote on 8/12/2003, 9:56 PM

WestAussie,

I agree 100 percent with Billyboy but would like to add one thing. The advantage of using AC3 for your audio is that it DOES compress your audio (with no audible quality loss) so that you can use a higher quality video encoding and still be able to fit them on your DVD. The standard audio, PCM, is fine but it takes up a lot more room than an AC3-encoded version.

And, you do not need an "AC3 card" to hear the file in stereo. There are two variants of AC3 - one is stereo (no special hardware needed) and AC3 5.1 Surround (compatible hardware IS required for that). I think that may have been what was confusing you.

Jake

OldTimer wrote on 8/13/2003, 2:41 AM

I understand some of that has been said. There is still a little confusion however. If I have one large AVI file that I want to render both the video & audio ,(in AC3 Stereo) prior to sending it to DVA what options under 'render as' do I use?

You have options that mention PAL with or without audio, an option to use a template for DVA video stream, (presumably no audio) & others.

What do I use to get the video content into MPEG2 & audio into AC3? Is this is done as 2 seperate operation or all done at once. If it's 2 operation how do the 2 files get married together?

JakeHannam wrote on 8/13/2003, 11:45 AM

From the Render As menu, you select MPEG-2 for the video (use one of the templates). If you want, you can have it render the audio at the same time or you can turn the audio off.

Then, you select Dolby Stereo AC-3 from the Render As menu which will render ONLY the audio. For simplicity, keep the name for the MPEG file and the AC3 files the same (video will have an extension of MPG and the audio will have an extension of AC3.

Then, in DVD Architect, create a menu screen. Select Insert - Media and select the MPG file you want. This will add a little thumbnail to your menu (e.g. a button). Select the menu button, go into Object Properties, and click the Modify button in the Link area. Here, you will see the name of the MPG file in the video box. Go to the audio box and select the AC3 file you just created in Vegas. If you don't insert the AC3 file here, DVD-A will automatically assume you want to include the audio (if any) from the MPG file.

Then, preview the project to see that all is well.