Edit: I don't know if any of the below comments make sense, so I'm editing it down to this question: What is the highest quality bitrate that I can render HDV footage to in mp4, wmv9, and mpg-2?
I typically just render my 24p HDV footage to 720p mp4 files for my customers, as that's all they need. But I'm finalizing a documentary I'll be showing in various venues, and I want the highest quality render I can get. I need to render to mpg-2, mp4, or wmv9 format, as I'll be showing this via a Western Digital Media Player. My camera was a Sony V1U if that makes a difference for the following question.
1. Unless I'm wrong, my options appear to be A) Sony AVC/mp4, template "Blu-Ray 1440-1080-60i 15 mbps" (switching the framerate to 24) or B) MainConcept mp4 (there is not even a template for HD or HDV, so I'm assuming I'll be okay if I set frame size to 1440 x 1080). The Sony AVC template has bitrate of 15 mbps... why is that so low when the mpg-2 HDV setting can be for 25 mbps? What is the highest quality HDV bitrate that is available and shouldn't have trouble playing?
2. Pre-render question: as I understand it, I can "prerender" a portion of a file or render another veg into HD MXF or mpg-2 format, and as long as the settings are the exact same as the full new veg project properties, and have the "Enable no-recompress long-GOP" box checked in Preferences, it won't need re-rendering? What happens to the audio track(s) in this situation?
I typically just render my 24p HDV footage to 720p mp4 files for my customers, as that's all they need. But I'm finalizing a documentary I'll be showing in various venues, and I want the highest quality render I can get. I need to render to mpg-2, mp4, or wmv9 format, as I'll be showing this via a Western Digital Media Player. My camera was a Sony V1U if that makes a difference for the following question.
1. Unless I'm wrong, my options appear to be A) Sony AVC/mp4, template "Blu-Ray 1440-1080-60i 15 mbps" (switching the framerate to 24) or B) MainConcept mp4 (there is not even a template for HD or HDV, so I'm assuming I'll be okay if I set frame size to 1440 x 1080). The Sony AVC template has bitrate of 15 mbps... why is that so low when the mpg-2 HDV setting can be for 25 mbps? What is the highest quality HDV bitrate that is available and shouldn't have trouble playing?
2. Pre-render question: as I understand it, I can "prerender" a portion of a file or render another veg into HD MXF or mpg-2 format, and as long as the settings are the exact same as the full new veg project properties, and have the "Enable no-recompress long-GOP" box checked in Preferences, it won't need re-rendering? What happens to the audio track(s) in this situation?