Importing media into a BD project in DVDA5 seems a bit hit or miss, with mpg2 very possible, & AVC quite possibly broken. Importing either mpg2 or AVC works better on a new project (importing a file judged non-compliant seems to sometimes cause the next files you try not to work either), & you can have different results if you import the video into a video-only project vs a menu based one.
AVC files that worked one time can be refused the next. AVC files created in MeGUI using X264 with the BD profiles didn’t work. Using h264info.exe you might be able to get DVDA5 to accept an AVC file or not - it’s a bit more iffy since h264info.exe is in Alpha, & quite prone to crashing, if it’ll even run on your system & OS. There’s not a lot of tools available to give info on AVC files - the only thing I could find out so far is DVDA5 created AVCs are probably RAW (they have the AVC file extension) & they appear to be level 4. And of course for the moment there are no templates in Vegas, and few anywhere else for that matter.
Mpg2 files for BD projects follow in the footsteps of imported video for SD DVDs... When/if you check out the Custom dialog for the MainConcept encoder, the last tab is for the added data in an mpg file, vs the standard m2v variety most often used for DVD authoring. DVDA has always liked that information present, & BD projects are no exception... Having it present means files will load quickly, without the parsing & writing of index files that has caused so many SD DVD problems, especially when re-opening a more complex project that uses all non-Sony created media.
At the moment the only way I know to add that data to an existing m2v file is to mux it without providing an audio file - I use TMPGEnc’s Mpeg Tools - & it seems to work with BD rez mpg2 video as well. I mentioned that it can make a difference how you import video - importing m2v into a BD, single video project (no menus) can hang DVDA5, so if you don’t want menus, get rid of them after you import the video.
DVDA doesn’t like Transport Streams - if you have problems because of that or many other reasons you can try one of the many utilities to mod or fix your existing mpg2 file. Restream will re-write the headers, which can fool DVDA5 into accepting a 720 mpg2 for instance, that really is at 29.97 fps. How well it works after that is anyone’s guess... if your player handles it, and that’s all you’re worried about, go for it. Similar to hacks in the early days of DVD authoring, you could also try to substitute the original file with legit flags in your BD folders - change them to get DVDA happy, then put it right after DVDA does it’s job.
DVDA5 may have some odd BD media format choices... I say “may” because later stuff I’ve read suggests std. 720 video files aren’t welcome at the BD party now - surprising since earlier info included 29.97, & the now required 59.94 seems a footnote barely mentioned. So it may be that the developers might not have screwed up leaving 720 29.97 out of DVDA5. I’m too cynical as it is, so I won’t bother anyone with possibilities regarding marketing hype - I’m sure you can find that stuff on-line if you’re interested. At any rate, if you want to use the extremely practical 720 format - ideal for distro currently in far more circumstances than 1080 - you still can, & it looks very good too if you’ve got 1080i source.
If you spend the few minutes it takes to set the conversion up properly, the results are well worth it IMHO - better than simply rendering 1080i to 720 p at 59.95 fps in Vegas. Vegas like most every NLE goes a bit soft on this sort of thing; I’m not singling Vegas out for abuse... To do a better job you need DGIndex (optional), AviSynth, & VFAPI to help Vegas out a bit. And here’s the disclaimer: I’m terrible at scripting & that includes using AviSynth - hopefully some of the regular’s who aren’t will chime in with their usual great suggestions.
The first step is to get your 1080i video file opened in AviSynth - there are several direct show based filters you can use, or if your source is mpg2, DGIndex will create an index of the file that can be opened with AviSynth, giving you benefits you won’t have opening mpg2 directly. AviSynth works based on a plain text files with scripting - don’t worry, the stuff I’m including is cut & paste and very rudimentary... For a 1080i mpg2 file, it’ll look like this:
loadplugin("[Full File Path to:]\dgdecode.dll")
mpeg2source(".\your.d2v")
Bob(0.0, 1.0, 720)
BilinearResize(1280,720)
The first line loads the decoder file for DGIndex - you would replace this line if opening up another type of file directly. The second line refers to the DGIndex file you created - again this would be left off if you opened another type of file, skipping DGIndex. The third line does the majority of the work, converting 59.94 fields per second to fps, then shifting the frames to align them vertically. The fourth line shrinks your frame width to 720 spec. Loads of info and links to additional filters etc. is available along with AviSynth itself at avisynth.org.
If you use Prem/Pro or many other editors, you can open your text file, with the extension .avs, directly in place of an avi file. To work in Vegas you need to use VFAPI - you load the avs file in VFAPI, hit the convert button, and out pops a fake or pseudo avi video file that Vegas will be more than happy to work with. Put this fake avi right on the time line - for all practical purposes it’s a legitimate 720p video at 59.94 fps - and when you’re done editing, render using the MainConcept encoder. Setting up the encoder isn’t bad, regardless missing templates... on the last tab, regardless whether you include that data or not, you need to have Program Stream selected rather than Transport stream or DVDA will insist it’s bad. You can base any custom settings on what’s there for existing templates otherwise. As long as the file is not rendered to m2t (transport stream) you’re probably all right, but just to be sure render a 30 second or so clip & try it out in DVDA5. Using AviSynth to convert fields to frames, plus the bob & resize actually is a bit faster than doing it solo in Vegas.
I used Bilinear Resize because it was a little faster than other types, & with my samples, looked a little better than alternatives I tried. Someone better at AviSynth might come up with better choices. Don’t be afraid to try other filters as needed - a neat thing about using avs scripts & VFAPI is you can almost dynamically change your source video in Vegas, without losing your editing! With your project saved & closed, ALL you have to do is change or create another AviSynth script, with another VFAPI avi file, and name that VFAPI file the same as the original on your timeline. The same sort of procedures also work on 1080 that you want to stay 1080, but while this is very efficient for opening D1 &/or SD DVD mpg2 (especially in older versions of Vegas), if you have a 5.1 project all those audio tracks can kill smooth preview (even with mpg2 on the timeline they can kill preview).
Hope this might help
Have fun with some new possibilities.
AVC files that worked one time can be refused the next. AVC files created in MeGUI using X264 with the BD profiles didn’t work. Using h264info.exe you might be able to get DVDA5 to accept an AVC file or not - it’s a bit more iffy since h264info.exe is in Alpha, & quite prone to crashing, if it’ll even run on your system & OS. There’s not a lot of tools available to give info on AVC files - the only thing I could find out so far is DVDA5 created AVCs are probably RAW (they have the AVC file extension) & they appear to be level 4. And of course for the moment there are no templates in Vegas, and few anywhere else for that matter.
Mpg2 files for BD projects follow in the footsteps of imported video for SD DVDs... When/if you check out the Custom dialog for the MainConcept encoder, the last tab is for the added data in an mpg file, vs the standard m2v variety most often used for DVD authoring. DVDA has always liked that information present, & BD projects are no exception... Having it present means files will load quickly, without the parsing & writing of index files that has caused so many SD DVD problems, especially when re-opening a more complex project that uses all non-Sony created media.
At the moment the only way I know to add that data to an existing m2v file is to mux it without providing an audio file - I use TMPGEnc’s Mpeg Tools - & it seems to work with BD rez mpg2 video as well. I mentioned that it can make a difference how you import video - importing m2v into a BD, single video project (no menus) can hang DVDA5, so if you don’t want menus, get rid of them after you import the video.
DVDA doesn’t like Transport Streams - if you have problems because of that or many other reasons you can try one of the many utilities to mod or fix your existing mpg2 file. Restream will re-write the headers, which can fool DVDA5 into accepting a 720 mpg2 for instance, that really is at 29.97 fps. How well it works after that is anyone’s guess... if your player handles it, and that’s all you’re worried about, go for it. Similar to hacks in the early days of DVD authoring, you could also try to substitute the original file with legit flags in your BD folders - change them to get DVDA happy, then put it right after DVDA does it’s job.
DVDA5 may have some odd BD media format choices... I say “may” because later stuff I’ve read suggests std. 720 video files aren’t welcome at the BD party now - surprising since earlier info included 29.97, & the now required 59.94 seems a footnote barely mentioned. So it may be that the developers might not have screwed up leaving 720 29.97 out of DVDA5. I’m too cynical as it is, so I won’t bother anyone with possibilities regarding marketing hype - I’m sure you can find that stuff on-line if you’re interested. At any rate, if you want to use the extremely practical 720 format - ideal for distro currently in far more circumstances than 1080 - you still can, & it looks very good too if you’ve got 1080i source.
If you spend the few minutes it takes to set the conversion up properly, the results are well worth it IMHO - better than simply rendering 1080i to 720 p at 59.95 fps in Vegas. Vegas like most every NLE goes a bit soft on this sort of thing; I’m not singling Vegas out for abuse... To do a better job you need DGIndex (optional), AviSynth, & VFAPI to help Vegas out a bit. And here’s the disclaimer: I’m terrible at scripting & that includes using AviSynth - hopefully some of the regular’s who aren’t will chime in with their usual great suggestions.
The first step is to get your 1080i video file opened in AviSynth - there are several direct show based filters you can use, or if your source is mpg2, DGIndex will create an index of the file that can be opened with AviSynth, giving you benefits you won’t have opening mpg2 directly. AviSynth works based on a plain text files with scripting - don’t worry, the stuff I’m including is cut & paste and very rudimentary... For a 1080i mpg2 file, it’ll look like this:
loadplugin("[Full File Path to:]\dgdecode.dll")
mpeg2source(".\your.d2v")
Bob(0.0, 1.0, 720)
BilinearResize(1280,720)
The first line loads the decoder file for DGIndex - you would replace this line if opening up another type of file directly. The second line refers to the DGIndex file you created - again this would be left off if you opened another type of file, skipping DGIndex. The third line does the majority of the work, converting 59.94 fields per second to fps, then shifting the frames to align them vertically. The fourth line shrinks your frame width to 720 spec. Loads of info and links to additional filters etc. is available along with AviSynth itself at avisynth.org.
If you use Prem/Pro or many other editors, you can open your text file, with the extension .avs, directly in place of an avi file. To work in Vegas you need to use VFAPI - you load the avs file in VFAPI, hit the convert button, and out pops a fake or pseudo avi video file that Vegas will be more than happy to work with. Put this fake avi right on the time line - for all practical purposes it’s a legitimate 720p video at 59.94 fps - and when you’re done editing, render using the MainConcept encoder. Setting up the encoder isn’t bad, regardless missing templates... on the last tab, regardless whether you include that data or not, you need to have Program Stream selected rather than Transport stream or DVDA will insist it’s bad. You can base any custom settings on what’s there for existing templates otherwise. As long as the file is not rendered to m2t (transport stream) you’re probably all right, but just to be sure render a 30 second or so clip & try it out in DVDA5. Using AviSynth to convert fields to frames, plus the bob & resize actually is a bit faster than doing it solo in Vegas.
I used Bilinear Resize because it was a little faster than other types, & with my samples, looked a little better than alternatives I tried. Someone better at AviSynth might come up with better choices. Don’t be afraid to try other filters as needed - a neat thing about using avs scripts & VFAPI is you can almost dynamically change your source video in Vegas, without losing your editing! With your project saved & closed, ALL you have to do is change or create another AviSynth script, with another VFAPI avi file, and name that VFAPI file the same as the original on your timeline. The same sort of procedures also work on 1080 that you want to stay 1080, but while this is very efficient for opening D1 &/or SD DVD mpg2 (especially in older versions of Vegas), if you have a 5.1 project all those audio tracks can kill smooth preview (even with mpg2 on the timeline they can kill preview).
Hope this might help
Have fun with some new possibilities.