Need Help with best rendering

akdoc wrote on 3/31/2005, 4:16 AM
What is the best method for a crisp video in DVD quality from HDV format. I use ConnectHD to transfer the raw m2 image and then in vegas open a project in 720x480 at 29.9FPS. This I figured would make the footage easier to edit as I learn. Got my little project done, but the video looks slightly blurry. I am still trying to figure out frame rates to use/respolutions to render. Can someone please enlighten me to the best method to 1) get a crisp clear video DVD from the original 1440x1080i @29.9FPS and 2) What is the best method to edit in. (ie. I would like to keep it HD and edit that way , only render the final project down to DVD for obvious reasons of one day producing the HD version) Any info is more than I have.. Thank You!

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 3/31/2005, 6:18 AM
Your footage looks blurry on what display?
Framerates? There are only 3 really available.
24fps
25fps
29.97 fps

You can do 50i or 60i, but if you're printing to camera/tape, you only have two choices. 50i or 60i, which is the same as 25fps or 29.97fps.
If you're going to DVD, you are halving the resolution once it's been rendered out, so it will lose some detail. What bit rate are you rendering to?
BillyBoy wrote on 3/31/2005, 6:54 AM
The meat of the issue is DVD quality isn't HD quality. If you start with 1440x1080 then at some point drop it to 720x480 to make a compliant DVD that's a fair amount of compression going on and the result may mean the resulting DVD may look a little flat, soft or blurry, whatever word you pick to describe it. Even for codecs that claim to be lossless when you change something from a larger size to a small one, something has got to give.

The good news is high capacity and higher resolution DVD players are right around the corner. The bad news is it will take a year, maybe two or three before they overtake the current lower crop of DVD player, so if you're doing stuff for others,
akdoc wrote on 3/31/2005, 7:19 AM
Looks blurry on any display, espcially on projector.

So, anyone able to give advice on the best method to do projects? I have heard a coupledifferent approaches. Should I edit from the raw m2, or format it to ? to then edit. I assume some forms use less memory than others. If that makes no sense, what should I render too for editing? .avi .mpg, etc...
Thanks for the replys

I figure there must be a way, afterall, DVD can look super crisp so is it my conversion mistake or just reality from doing the conversion that all will?
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/31/2005, 7:33 AM
You can edit the m2t file, but you'll find it painful to do so, since Vegas can't decode the m2t as easily as it can deal with/manage other formats. This is what Cineform's tool is for. Convert to the Cineform .avi before importing the media to the timeline.

Edit.

From there, to DVD in the USA, you'll want to render to an MPEG2 file, bitrate around 8Mbps depending on length of program.
Don't use the default MPEG template in Vegas. Either use the MPEG template for DVD Architect, or create a custom template of 8Mbps/lower field first. Depending on the footage, you might gain some clarity with two-pass, but only if it's high motion.
The finished DVD isn't going to look quite as good as the original m2t, simply because you're dealing with half the resolution. We're still a little ways off from being able to deliver HD on DVD unless you use a tool like Nero Digital, and package it with a player.
http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=31027 will get you more information on doing that.