DVD burn settings

KevinK wrote on 5/9/2005, 8:40 PM
I had a few questions on dvd burn questions? What are the best settings to get the best quality, but not have other problems? I'm burning it as mpeg 2 and then giving it to someone else who is going to be doing the burning. I have DVD architect, but they want to do it, so I'm just going to give them the data files, then they will burn it. What is the best settings to get the best video quality and audio. How about sampling rates, etc... Thanks!
Kevin

Comments

Orcatek wrote on 5/10/2005, 7:04 AM
Depending on what they are using to burn, I would consider giving them the files as DV-AVI. If their software recompresses the mpeg2 files you provide they will look like crap.

If you are using surround you can still send an AC-3 file too.

johnmeyer wrote on 5/10/2005, 8:26 AM
I have a different take on this. If they are NOT going to be doing any editing after you give them the files, then YOU should definitely do the encoding, since Vegas can encode with higher quality than many other applications. Settings for best compatibility / best quality (which is a tradeoff) would be:

1. Use the DVD Architect NTSC template (or PAL if you live in Europe).
2. Leave all the default settings as is, but change the encoding rate to somewhere between 6,500,000 and 7,200,000.

That's it!

Whatever you do, NEVER use the "Default Template."

Finally, if they are going to edit the files, find some way to get them the original AVI files. Do not encode to MPEG-2 (just as Orcatek already recommended).
pjrey wrote on 5/10/2005, 10:33 AM
i think his friend is just gonig to burn.. no?
he didnt say he was going to further edit...

if no more editing is going to happen.. sending it mpg would be fine wouldnt it?

p
johnmeyer wrote on 5/10/2005, 11:53 AM
if no more editing is going to happen.. sending it mpg would be fine wouldnt it?

Yes, that's the point we both tried to make.
KevinK wrote on 5/10/2005, 10:32 PM
Why shouldn't I change it to best? Second, the audio is important should I change the sampling rate? Thanks!
Kevin
Guy S. wrote on 5/11/2005, 6:43 AM
I export as *.m2v, NOT *.mpg.

*.mpg files exported with the Main Concept encoder using the NTSC DVD template have mpeg2 audio embedded in the file, and mpeg2 audio is NOT part of the DVD spec.

In my experience, DVDs with mpeg2 audio will not play on many set-top players. Also, because it's out of compliance with the DVD spec, some authoring software (DVD Studio Pro, for example) will not import *.mpg files.

My workflow in Vegas 5 is to export the video as an .m2v file, then export the audio separately as a .wav file at 44.1kHz.

johnmeyer wrote on 5/11/2005, 7:32 AM
Why shouldn't I change it to best?
Because it is a waste of time. "Best" should really be labeled "still photo rendering." If you read the help or the manual, you will see that the function of this feature is to help when downsampling high-res images. It will not improve the quality of renders when the source material is video, but it WILL really slow down the render times.

Second, the audio is important should I change the sampling rate?

Sure. Change it from 192 to 224.
John_Cline wrote on 5/11/2005, 7:59 AM
"In my experience, DVDs with mpeg2 audio will not play on many set-top players."

In the USA, in order to be "DVD spec compliant" you must use either AC3 or PCM audio. In Europe, it's MP2 or PCM. U.S. DVD players are not guaranteed to play MP2 audio and European DVD player are guaranteed to play AC3 audio, both, however, will play uncompressed PCM audio.

"then export the audio separately as a .wav file at 44.1kHz."

You should be using 48k audio, not 44.1.

John
chrisconleyradio wrote on 5/11/2005, 6:15 PM
I've tried each type file. The absolute best quality is .mov (use the animation codec). However, the files will be huge. So, if you have more than say a minute of video, then still use .mov but use sorrenson compression.

Using DVD Architecht (not sure about other programs), this looks better than mp2, wmv AND uncompressed .avi (which tends to get wavey for some reason).

CC