Rendering files to send

Tree Hahn wrote on 9/14/2015, 6:55 PM
Hi there,

I have done a few DVDs a few years ago (Vegas Movie Studio 10 Platinum), featuring our then toddler and sent them overseas to family. This process worked really well.

I have now made another 60 minute movie, but want to send it to my brother overseas via the internet (to save on dropbox), so he can download and burn for the family over there.

However, I'm really struggling to figure out which file format to use (and settings to render in). If I do it in .avi, everything works well but the file is 14GB! (I only have 2.5GB on my dropbox). MP4 works but the quality is terrible (only 486 MB). When I render and save it as MPEG-2, it works but suddenly the aspect ration changes to make "skinny faces". - using the default template. Then I opted for the PAL widescreen video stream template, and the aspect ration is fixed, but the sound suddenly disappears into thin air!

If anyone can give me the solution I would be very thankful, as I can't think what to try next, other than burning DVDs here and sending by snail mail (2 weeks min).

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/14/2015, 7:20 PM
Without knowing the properties of the mp4 you made, it is impossible to tell why you don't like the quality. Mp4 at smaller file sizes is not inherently worse than mpeg-2.

Mpeg-2, on the other hand, is less compressed and impractical for dropbox unless you have a large allocation.

Suggest you render in Handbrake and send that; you should get about 500 MB for an hour of material at excellent quality. 720p is suggested for lots of good reasons, quality vs. bandwidth being one.

Or just upload your videos to Youtube.

Bliss Video Productions wrote on 9/15/2015, 8:19 AM
If his final destination is DVD, why even render to 720p? Since DVD's are only SD, a simple NTSC DV or NTSC DV Widescreen render should be just fine for his purposes, I would think.
Bliss Video Productions wrote on 9/15/2015, 8:21 AM
" When I render and save it as MPEG-2, it works but suddenly the aspect ration changes to make 'skinny faces'. - using the default template."

Sounds like your footage is 16:9 aspect ratio, but the 'default template' you're using is 4:3. Try the "NTSC DV Widescreen" template, if you have one available.
Chienworks wrote on 9/15/2015, 8:22 AM
I don't see where DVD is mentioned as the final destination.

However, the source isn't specified either. If the source is SD then the output should also be.
MSmart wrote on 9/15/2015, 10:49 AM
...so he can download and burn...
Bliss Video Productions wrote on 9/16/2015, 7:17 AM
So if the intent is for his brother to download and burn DVD's, then there is no need to send him an HD file -- an SD file using the 'NTSC DV Widescreen' template should be fine, regardless of whether the original footage is SD or HD.

That being said, a 1-hour video file still may not render small enough for his 2.5GB capacity requirements. So some better compressor will likely have to be used. But again, the destination file should be 720x480, most likely with a PAR of 1.2121 or 1.333.
MSmart wrote on 9/16/2015, 9:27 AM
Sure he can, at about 4.5 Mbps. Since we don't know what software the brother has, it's best to create an ISO file after rendering the mpg and ac3 files.

Added: I just rendered a 1HR video using the DVD Architect Wide Screen template with these custom settings:

VQ: High
VBR
Two Pass
Maximum (bps): 8,072,000
Average (bps): 4,616,000
Minimum (bps): 2,768,000

It created an mpg file of 2.11GB

Rendered the Stereo DVD ac3 file using the default template for a 83.5 MB file.

Creating an ISO out of those two will be under 2.5 GB.