DVD Architect - Compression Question

[pbemer]

Ok, I just loaded up DVD Architect last night and worked on getting two episodes of farscape (edited down to roughly 45 minute uncompressed avi's) onto one 4.7 dvd with a small menu. I went through Architect's easy wizard and found out that I had to compress the entire project down about 14 percent to fit it onto the disk. No problem. I accept the settings and burn the dvd. (on another note - it took about 4.5 hours to convert the dvd and burn it. Is that typical?)

Once the DVD was done, I put it into my home dvd player and checked out the quality. I looks pretty damn good except when there's fast movement. Every now and then, there will be something like a shadow effect. It's something I can live with since it only intermittent, but is there something I can do to make that effect disappear?

[pbemer]

I'm just bumpin myself...

[pbemer]

One last bump,, no one here knows the answer to my dilema??

[txpharoah]

Sounds like blended/double deinterlace (the shadow effect). But that's a GUESS as I don't know details on your source, that software, and the final product. You'll have to figure that part out.

[pbemer]

blended/double whozits??? My source is comping from a AVI I captured from my satellite dish using my ADVC Capture card. The uncompressed AVI's looks great while that shadow or blur motion happens when I compress it down to 4.7 gb using the DVD Architect. I'm just using DA's preparation wizard to set the compression, and it comes down to 80-something percent, somewhere around a 15 percent compression of the capture.

I've made wmv files with higher compression that don't have that shadow effect, so that's where I'm concerned that I may be doing something wrong or missing something...

[2me2u]

Afetr you load the .dar file. Select the Make DVD at the top and then select prepare. If will give you some warnings and messages. Select the optmize tab and adjust the bitrate to fit your DVD. Also make sure the project settings are on "best"

You also might find it easier to convert the avi files to mpg2 in Vegas Video. If has several templates specially for DVD=A.
Video stream only, AC3 Audio stream only.

This is what I use and since I started I have never burned a coaster.

[pbemer]

2me2u - Thanks for the info! The question on converting it to mpeg2 before burning. Does Architect still do anything to the file other than compression??

[2me2u]

If your files are already mpeg2 then DVD-A will not compress the video, however it will still compress the audio. To keep it from doing that. When you render the files in vegas, select DVD-A NTSC Template video only. After the video has rendered, go back to the render as dialouge and select save as type to: Dolby Digital AC3. If the audio and video have the same file name. DVD-A will by default load the audio when you load the video.

AC3 files are already compressed so DVD-A will not have to.

DVD-A still might have to render any videos or music you put into the menu unless they are of the above mentioned format.

Vegas Video has one of the best mpeg2 encoder around. I would use that rather then Tmpgenc or the like.

[pbemer]

2me2u - Again, great info! Thanks again, I will try that tonight!

Many thanks!

[ben.franklin]

Every time I convert a DivX to DVD with TMPGEnc, DVD Architect always wants to recompress the file (both audio and video). Its a real pain as it takes like 13 hours. What can I do?

I had a look on Vegas to see about converting DivX to DVD on there but couldn't work out how to do it.

[Arky]

Vegas Video has one of the best mpeg2 encoder around. I would use that rather then Tmpgenc or the like.

It's actually the MainConcept encoding engine. Many people like it, but I prefer CCE. It's a good bet, though, especially if you're encoding from within DVD Architect. BTW, don't forget that that there is now a frameserver which works with Vegas, so you can choose virtually any standalone encoder you like, if you fancy giving another encoder a go at your encoding jobs. Check out the frameserver here: http://www.debugmode.com/pluginpac/frameserver.php

Every time I convert a DivX to DVD with TMPGEnc, DVD Architect always wants to recompress the file (both audio and video). Its a real pain as it takes like 13 hours. What can I do?

I had a look on Vegas to see about converting DivX to DVD on there but couldn't work out how to do it.

If encoding time is a problem for you then try CCE. It's fast as ****!


Arky ;o)

[TeFLoN]

Arky,

I know your big over on the doom 9 forums, and I have a question for you. Are you primarily using DVD Architect or Maestro or what? I finally learned Maestro, but I'm wondering if I shouldnt just stick with DVDArchitect, though I haven't learned it yet. I heard it can make motion menus and thumbnails easier.
Are you primarily using Architect and CCE now?
Where does Adobe After Effects fit into this picture?

I took a look at DVD Menu STudio and it is equally impressive. It has more features than I can begin to understand.

TeF

[Arky]

Are you primarily using DVD Architect or Maestro or what?

I am a massive fan of Maestro, but since all my work is my own (i.e. DVD Authoring is not (yet!) my career), there is an obvious dilemma to using this program. Without putting too fine a point on it, without making several thousand pounds per year from the program, there is no way of justifying the license fee. Therefore, as someone who has not yet, but wishes to sell a little work, on a small scale, in the near future, I am forced to bid a fond farewell to the program I have used on a strictly educational basis in the past. I have to be realistic and honest. This being the case, I have to look at programs that I can afford to buy licenses for, without breaking the bank, and bearing in mind that I will not be able to recoup large sums of money to cover the cost. This means my budget is somewhere in the region of <$1,000, and preferably a good deal cheaper. current options in the Windows market at this price point include DVD Architect, ReelDVD, DVDLab (ok, it's still in Beta, but it's got a hell of a lot of potential and I'm watching it very closely), Ulead DVD Workshop, Pinnacle Impression Pro, and now Pinnacle Edition 5 includes DVD authoring, ala DVD Architect. Adobe Encore is in the pipeline for the summer, too.

Since I am waiting for the Edition 5 upgrade to arrive from Germany, I have not tested it's DVD authoring capabilities, but I am unlikely to use this part of Edition anyway, since it's a fantastic NLE, but not so hot on MPEG2 encoding.

I got Impression Pro as part of my Edition 4.5 bundle, but do not like the program because it's a pig to use (if you don't believe me then just look at how much hassle subtitles are!).

So, given that I am still not working commercially, I still enjoy playing with Maestro on the hobby side of things, and I am going to buy an authoring program extremely soon, just as soon as I have decided which will be best for me.

# Ulead DVD Workshop is not bad, but I want more power if I'm going to spend money.

# ReelDVD is tempting, but it's not the best value - I suspect it may be updated once Adobe Encore hits the shelves and takes a big bite out of ReelDVD's market. ReelDVD is still one to watch and I have not turned my back on it yet.

# SF DVD Architect. Well, I must say that there are elements of this program that I do like (especially when combined with Vegas's excellent Dolby5.1 surround sound panning/mixing/encoding), but there is not enough to commend it over and above my existing investment in Edition 5, to make it worth the cash for me. If I were a Vegas user already, then the integration would, admittedly, be more appealing.

# DVDlab...hmmm...well, as I said above, I'm watching this one with great interest.

# Adobe Encore looks pretty decent, although I am nervous about stability, given that it is based upon a Sonic SDK (barring updates, ReelDVD and Scenarist are actually Daikin engineered, whereas DVDit! and MyDVD! are Sonic engineered and not at all stable, IMHO).

I'll be sure to let you know what decision I eventually make, but this may not be for a few months yet, since there is a lot happening in the sub $1000 DVD-authoring software market at the moment and I'm not going to be too hasty to jump in. One thing I am commited to, though, and will not back down from, is that I do not want integrated MPEG video encoding (got no problem with integrated audio encoding, particularly if it's Dolby 5.1, though). I like to be able to fully control my video encoding.

If you are a regular Doom9 forum visitor you will know that there has been much discussion recently, concerning the relative merits of the top four software MPEG encoders. Personally, I feel CCE Basic offers the best all round performance, particularly in a commercial environment.

I finally learned Maestro, but I'm wondering if I shouldnt just stick with DVDArchitect, though I haven't learned it yet. I heard it can make motion menus and thumbnails easier.

Yes, DVD Architect can make motion menus and thumbnails very easily indeed. Also, although you will note from my above remarks that I dislike integrated MPEG video encoding, Architect does currently offer (relatively-speaking!) the best implementation of integrated encoding of any of the DVD authoring tools I have seen - namely, the MainConcept codec, which has a fair balance of tweakability, output quality, and speed. Ulead DVD Workshop also uses this, but Architect is a better program.

Are you primarily using Architect and CCE now?

I am primarily using Pinnacle Edition to edit my footage, then using the excellent 'Fuse' function from the timeline, which is fast as hell, then importing the fused AVI file into CCE Basic, encoding it at 2passVBR, and importing the results into my DVD authoring app, which, as I said at the top of the post, is not the one I wll be using commercially in the longrun, so is as yet 'undecided'.

Where does Adobe After Effects fit into this picture?

Adobe After Effects is an excellent program but you do not need it for general DVD authoring, particularly if you have a competent NLE, such as Vegas, or Edition, for example. Premiere is ok, but if you are doing moving Picture In Picture effects, the motion is not smooth as the frames travel around the screen, and the same issue applies if you are doing moving/scrolling titles - they 'judder' a little across the screen. This is where the Pinnacle/Fast codec excels, because it renders on a sub-pixel level, giving extraordinary smoothness of motion in your rendered video. After Effects and Boris FX/Graffiti/RED also do such rendering jobs extremely smoothly.

After Effects is to video what Adobe Photoshop is to the world of graphics. Boris RED is to video what Adobe Illustrator is to graphics. There are numerous similarities between After Effects and Boris RED, but I draw the distinction between the two because Boris RED can handle vector files in video work, in much the same way that Illustrator can, in graphics work.

In short, unless you want to do some seriously professional motion graphics, and want to spend serious money, then trust me, you really needn't worry about what you're missing without After Effects.

I took a look at DVD Menu STudio and it is equally impressive. It has more features than I can begin to understand.

Well, I won't repeat what I said above, about this program, but if you want to legally learn a nice program at a bargain price, and with, potentially, a great deal of power, then I think this may prove to be the one to go for. 'Oscar' is a great programmer, and is not greedy. His software puts many big software comapnies to shame, and shows how greedy and inefficient they can be.

I hope some of the above made sense. It's difficult to be absolutely crystal clear when there are so many issues to cover in a short space!


Arky ;o)

[BJ_M]

boris red intergrated into vegas will be out soon (its not cheap though) .

there is a script on the sundance site (free registration) to better handle a seperate stream of mepg2 and ac3 for DVDA (from within vegas) in one shot instead of basicly having to render twice (once audio and once video).

because of the powerfull scripting function of Vegas , there are now 100's of scripts around to help out doing a lot of things .. almost all of which are free .. as well as mentioned, the satash plug-ins (and more coming)

[korth]

Every time I convert a DivX to DVD with TMPGEnc, DVD Architect always wants to recompress the file (both audio and video). Its a real pain as it takes like 13 hours. What can I do?

Without knowing your settings in tmpgenc that's hard to say.
For NTSC I use 720x480, 4:3 display, 29.97fps, interlaced, CQ 8000/2000 bitrate and AC3 audio. If I use 3:2 pulldown or film 23.976fps it wants to recompress video. If I use MPA or MP2 (which isn't allowed in the NTSC spec for primary audio anyway) it wants to recompress audio.