To be clear, the "Blu-ray 1920x1080 - 60i" encoding template is located in "Magix AVC/HEVC" render options.

Also in Sony AVC/MVC render options. At least in VP21.

Also in Sony AVC/MVC render options. At least in VP21.

Correct; and to round out the list, BluRay templates (in VP18) are to be found in

• Sony AVC
• Magix AVC
• MainConcept MPEG-2

I actually prefer the look and playability of MPEG-2, but it does take up more disc space.

@EricLNZ

When I was doing allot of blueray authoring, I found that using the plain vanilla Sony AVCHD 1920x1080-60i template gave me the cleanest results with no re-encoding from Vegas to Dvd Architect. Helped to select Reduce Interlace Flicker in clip switches and to not use any gpu-fx anywhere. Otherwise, blueray players caused snow to appear in shadows and on black objects which was invisible on my editing monitors. This was a big issue for me when I moved up from authoring dvds where that never happened.

I prefer to use Sony AVC over MAGIX AVC. MAGIX AVC has given me occasional small rendering glitches during transitions or at the end or beginning of scenes.

Plus you need to be careful using the default MAGIX templates for two reasons:

1. The maximum VBR of 40,000,000 is not liked by DVDA. There are posts on this. This high value is not necessary. 30,000,000 is more than adequate. I've even seen recommendations that with burnt discs it's best not to exceed 20,000,000.
2. The Encode mode is important. My system gives me a choice between Mainconcept AVC and NV Encoder. If I choose the latter DVDA finds my rendered file non-compliant and wants to recompress. No such problem if I choose Mainconcept AVC.

With Sony AVC I use the highest bitrate option of 21,999,616. To be honest I cannot see any quality difference to using the Sony AVCHD template mentioned by Howard which has a top bitrate of 16,000,000 and usually gives me an average of around 13,000,000 . It also has the advantage of including the audio stream making the file playable on your PC or TV. AVC is a more modern and efficient codec than MPEG-2 so AVC16,000,000 is quality wise probably equivalent to MPEG-2 at 20,000,000.

Sony AVC Blu-ray stream has never given me any problems. I hope it continues to be included in Vegas Pro.

@ChasMc I totally agree with @EricLNZ. Sony AVC is the best option, and is a whole lot better than Magix AVC in every manner.... A bit too extensive to get into all the details right now, but trust me on that.

Apparently it doesn't make any difference if the video was recorded 1080i or 1080p.

In this particular case it is somewhat moot as 1920x1080 specifications for bluray only allows for 23.976/24.00 fps progressive and 59.94 (60i) fields via interlaced.

Given your footage is 59.94fps, a 1080i template will work fine and if your footage is progressive, it should convert over well by dropping those frames into fields in the timeline.

If having your presentation be true progressive on bluray is an absolute must, another option is encoding at 1280x720 at 59.94fps progressive, but the obvious hit there is the resolution.

Apparently it doesn't make any difference if the video was recorded 1080i or 1080p.

I'll keep all your info in mind the next time I happen to use a AVC sourced recording. this one was from a rental (Canon MP4).

Thanks for all your suggestions.

@ChasMc

To be clear about the BluRay Specification, the Interlaced 59.94 Flag is the only legal specification allowed in the NTFS system.

It is possible to "spoof the spec," as you seem to have described, which is to burn 59.94p to BluRay, and Change the Flag to the legal NTFS 60i specification.

This is only a workaround, and not part of the official spefication.

Hope this helps with your inquiry.

NTFS=NTSC