Visual Effects - AVI to MPEG2 (NTSC DVD default or NTSC DVD Architect)

Cunhambebe wrote on 3/31/2004, 3:05 PM

Got a problem with mainconcept, hope u all can help.
I have learned with u all how to work with Vegas: render as avi first (so as to edit all the stuff) and later back in the timeline, render again (or would I say, convert) the whole thing to a final format such as MPEG2. OK, Let's see what my probl is...
I’ve rendered some clips (creating visual effects) as avi files. The work was done and perfect. Later, I’ve put them back in the Vegas timeline for editing purposes. After the work has been done, trying to render again as MPEG2 (DVD Architect or even Default) was very frustrating since everytime you’ve get fast movement on the screen, lots of lines can be perfectly noticed = horrible.
Question:
How about trying other software for rendering (such as mainconcept stand alone appl.) or TMPGsomething?
How about recording the avi file tru firewire with a dv or mini dv cam and later capture the same thing back in the timeline as mpeg2 or avi (in this case to render again as MPEG2 later….)? That’d do it all right? Is that the way they do in the movie and or tv industry?
THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Comments

rs170a wrote on 3/31/2004, 4:39 PM

Have you looked at the final product on a TV yet? Odds are you're seeing the progressive(computer) / interlace(TV) difference.

Cunhambebe wrote on 3/31/2004, 5:16 PM

Not yet. Would that be the problem - viewing the final thing on a pc monitor, even with Power DVD Software????????
Anyway, I'll have to try to set my dvd to region free before recording any dvd media - and I guess u know that this might be dangerous (and of course has nothing to do with this post).
Thanks for your tip.
C ya.

rs170a wrote on 3/31/2004, 5:32 PM

"Would that be the problem...?"
Probably is. Try it and see.
Save the DVD. Print it to back tape and watch the result.

"...set my dvd to region free..."
It's my understanding that DVDA does region-free burns.
Use an RW as a test first.

Cunhambebe wrote on 3/31/2004, 11:57 PM

Thanks rs170a for taking your time to respond.
Now let's see it:
1.Still do not know how to print to back tape. Sorry for my ignorance.
2."It's my understanding that DVDA does region-free burns.
Use an RW as a test first."
I am almost sure that DVDA as well as any other authoring software does burn media according to the region established by the dvd driver. Even if u have softwares installed such as dvd region free or dvd region killer, that'd only help when playing dvds and not when recording media. Recording dvd media as dvd region free u must hack your dvd drive with a new firmware that exactly fits it. It is a very tricky and unsafe procedure. Furthermore, even after hacking it, ya'll still have to use one of those 2 softwares: region free or region killer so as to bypass windows and the player (such as power dvd0 protection. Anyway, u can take a look at:
http://tdb.rpc1.org/#GSA4081B
Thanks for your help.

rs170a wrote on 4/1/2004, 5:34 AM

From the DVDA forum: "Any disc created with DVD-A will be region free".
You may be getting this issue confused with commercial DVDs which are region encoded for a different purpose. For example, not being able to watch a US release in Japan.

"Still do not know how to print to back tape."

Assuming you have a miniDV camera and a firewire card, the procedure starts on page 243 of the Vegas 4 manual. You'll also have to read your camcorder manual for the proper settings for it. HTH.

Cunhambebe wrote on 4/1/2004, 11:29 AM

Thanks again for taking time to respond. The thing is: I still don't have a digital cam. Anyway, thanks for the advice.
About the DVD: Well, now I'm getting more than confused. I've just bought an LG dvd recorder, region protected (region 4, Australia, the Pacific, Brazil and South America). Reading some articles on the web, I was planning to flash my dvd drive with a hacked firmware to make it region free: that means playing dvds from any part of the world and recording REGION FREE dvds. Now u say all my effort would be useless since DVDA is able to burn region free dvds.
Could u explain that a little bit more?
Would region protection be only for commercial dvds? (that means, when one burns a home dvd, it's always region free?)
Thanks.

johnmeyer wrote on 4/1/2004, 12:46 PM

You can get many artifacts from poor MPEG2 encoding, but horizontal lines are not among them. Something else is going on. Have your tried playing a commercial DVD in your computer's DVD drive using your PowerDVD software, and if so does it look OK?

Second, you cannot burn region encoding using DVDA, nor should you need to. The DVDs you produce will play on any machine, anywhere in the world.

I can't imagine why anyone, other than the major movie studios who are artifically trying to limit distribution of certain versions of movies to specific geographic areas, would want to add region encoding.

Cunhambebe wrote on 4/1/2004, 8:03 PM

Hi John, thanks for taking time to respond. (Guess u didn't understand the region free thing.....I am a newbie, trying to burn homemade region free dvds to share with other friends throughout the world). That's why I mention region free ;) Well, let's see what we have to discuss...

-I do agree with u about the mpeg encoding. Something may be wrong around here. I encode with Vegas Mainconcept plug-in. I open the avi file on the timeline and select render as, always cheking out for better video quality with the option NTSC DVDA video stream. The lines I talked about, appear around and on/over objects everytime we get fast movement on the screen (such as spaceships flying - I made a 2d animation myself - and with cartoons - on the characters' mouths, arms; fast body movement).
I haven't tried playing the final result on a tv monitor, what according to another fella, would be the problem - watching the video on a pc monitor will make lines appear. I haven't also watched a dvd yet because I haven't yet decided whether or not to flash my dvd drive for region free. But now, since YOU STATE THAT REGION FREE IS ONLY FOR "PLAYING" MOVIE INDUSTRY MEDIA (IS IT INFERED THAT IT'S NOT FOR RECORDING?), I SUPPOSE THAT EVEN AFTER SETTING MY DRIVE FOR A SPECIFIC REGION, I'LL BE BURNING HOME DVDS AS REGION FREE AND NOT AS THE REGION I SET. < AM I RIGHT>???????
IF I AM SO (I'LL BE WAITING FOR YOUR ANSWER), I'LL DROP THE FLASHING PROCEDURE AND WILL SET MY REGION AS R4. I'LL ALSO TRY TO FIND OUT IF THE LINES ARE THERE TOO, WHILE PLAYING A DVD. HOPE THAT WORKS JOHN...... ;)
THANKS AGAIN

johnmeyer wrote on 4/1/2004, 8:14 PM

Any DVD you create will be region free. It will play anywhere. I stated this in my last post as well.

Do not flash your DVD drive to a different region. This is a waste of time. The ONLY reason to do this is if you always have to play back DVDs from a region other than the one the DVD drive was originally programmed to play.

Horizontal lines on a PC display are often caused by having the playback interlacing set incorrectly. This has nothing to do whatsoever with the DVD. That is why you need to try playing a commercial DVD on your computer. The setting you need to change is the display interleave setting. I do not have PowerDVD, so I cannot tell you exactly where to go to change the setting. In WinDVD, it is the Display setting, and it can be set to Auto (which usually works, but not always); Bob, Weave, or Advance. On one of my computers, I always get horizontal lines, because WinDVD doesn't recognize my video card correctly. I then have to set the display manually to "Weave."

Try this and see what happens.

Cunhambebe wrote on 4/2/2004, 1:59 PM

Thanks again John for the valuable help. I won't flash my DVD driver anymore. I have installed DVD X GHOST - it deals well with those rpc1 'n 2 things. Even without setting a region for the first time, the dvd plays well without those lines. On the other hand, when I try to watch a non commercial dvd media (as a short dvd video footage), when u get fast movement on the screen, those lines appear (a little blurred) on/over and around the object moving fast.
Same thing happens when I play my avi converted to mpeg2 spaceflight animation - or any other that gets fast movement on the screen. Take note that according to Mr. (rs170a) this is due to "progressive pc monitor" or something like that. I guess, this is not a matter of configuring software such as power dvd since playing the same file with WinMePlayer or Power DVD, I always get the same results.
Thanks for your help.

Cunhambebe wrote on 4/2/2004, 2:20 PM

I guess, I said, I GUESS, I know what the problem might be: Mr. rs170a may be right. Back on Vegas timeline, I rendered 2 clips from the same avi file choosing on the Custom template guide, the option "Filed order - interlaced - bottom field first for the first clip", and "Filed order - progressive, for the second clipe". When I watch the clip rendered as progressive etc, it seems, I said, it seems, some of the lines were gone, while they remain in the interlaced clip. Any hints????????????
Thanks in advance.

rs170a wrote on 4/2/2004, 3:55 PM

If you're viewing it "only" on a computer monitor, then yes, progressive is the mode to use. However, if you plan to show it on a TV set, then you "have" to use interlaced.
I'm not going to get into the technical differences between the two formats and why you choose one over the other other than what I just stated above.
Instead, I suggest you read the explanation at http://www.100fps.com/ and see if it makes sense to you.

Mike

Cunhambebe wrote on 4/2/2004, 6:55 PM

Wow, that's it! Thank God for all the help we've got around here. Thank you very much for the valuable help, Mr. rs170a. Now I am almost ready to burn my frist dvd.
"C" u all around here!