DV -> Mpeg2 DVD compliant

[Falcon500]

What settings do I need in ffmpeg to convert a DV stream to Mpeg2? Do I need to set the field order etc?

[major]

Currently the DV stream will be deinterlaced when encoding to mpeg-2 so you don't need to set the field order. Future versions of ffmpegX will support DV -> mpeg-2 with interlacing.

[Falcon500]

does it matter which engine I use? Do I have to set the video quality in quicktime to High Quality?

[major]

It will be automatically forced to High quality anyway.

[Falcon500]

Currently the DV stream will be deinterlaced when encoding to mpeg-2 so you don't need to set the field order. Future versions of ffmpegX will support DV -> mpeg-2 with interlacing.

I'm confused. Do I have to select deinterlace under the filter tab to convert DV -> DVD or does it deinterlace it automatically without setting it? Is this on both ffmpeg and mpeg2enc engines?

[major]

When "Decode with Quicktime" is used, the file is automatically deinterlaced by Quicktime.

[Falcon500]

Just to be clear, you said that if I am using the mpeg2enc I have to select deinterlace option but if I am using the ffmpeg engine it is done automatically if I am using Decode with Quicktime?

[major]

If using "Decode with Quicktime", deinterlacing is done no matter the engine used.

[Falcon500]

Major,
I have just tried the ffmpeg engine again (using ffmpegX 0.0.9p). Interlacing is still present in the output (streaks to the right when motion is present in the scene) in the output file. I haven't selected the deinterlace option as you said it wasn't necessary.

How do I prevent the black bars left and right when using ffmpeg engine? There is no letterbox option to deselect?

There also seems to be a 6000 Kbit limit on the video with ffmpeg? I thought the DVD standard allowed up to 9800Kbits for video?

[major]

In fact, the Quicktime deinterlacer uses a single field mode, so it is not optimal. In the next upgrade of the Quicktime decoder, full interlace support will be added so as forced deinterlacing will not be needed.

About the disable letterbox option, yes, I didn't add it still to ffmpeg engine but I could add it.

About the bitrate, ffmpeg will not use unnecessarily high values if the content does not need more bitrate.

[Falcon500]

Thanks for clearing all of that up for me...