Encoding quality - ADS Instant DVD v. iDVD4?

[cbkilner]

I have started transfering analog video to DVD. Right now I use a Dazzle Hollywood-DV, iMovie4 and iDVD4. I can slightly improve the A->D by using the analog input of my Canon MiniDV camera, but can't see enough difference after encoding to MPEG2 with iDVD4 (Best Quality) to justify tying up the camera.

I also know that a $250-300 Canopus A->D box would give better A->D results than the Dazzle, but was also thinking about the ADS Instant DVD for Mac (for $180) since this could also be used on a G3. I know that iDVD has better menus, etc., but I'm looking for the best quality on <60min. per disk.

It sounds like both are capable of 6Mbps VBR (single pass for ADS, 2-pass for iDVD4).

Anybody have any opinions on this or hardware encoding v. software encoding?

[bilestyle]

well for one u get instant mpeg-2 with ads instant dvd, plus you arent stuck using idvd (arguably the worst dvd authoring tool on the mac) but then again u need to have another author program then, u have your choice of the free tool sizzle (nothing special but its free) capty dvd (comes with ads insant dvd, i still dont use it) or dvd studio pro, its pricey but its the best. Personally even if the quality would be better from idvd, u still get 0 control over the dvd and u get alot less content on your dvd using idvd, plus it only accepts dv format whereas dvd studio pro accepts mpeg-1 and mpeg-2.. alot more flexability with how much content u can put on the dvd... i have an ads instant dvd and have to say im more than satisifed with the quality it offers.

[cbkilner]

I'm not sure why you dislike iDVD4? I can get 2 hours of video on a DVD, I can make "autoplay" DVDs, I can add extras (photos, etc), do slide shows, use slick motion menus, etc. I also think it is good that I can't produce shitty looking MPEG2 with iDVD because Apple takes away most control (I can only choose best quality VBR or faster CBR).

OK, with iDVD I'm limited with my source material, but if you read my post, I'm only doing analog transfer. With an analog-DV-iMovie-iDVD conversion, I have 2 conversions (A->DV->MPEG2), but frame level editing control, nice menus-titles-transitions, and 2-pass VBR encoding. With the ADS hardware, I'd have one conversion step, analog-MPEG2-CaptyDVD with cut-splice editing at I-frame level with cheesy menus, no titles, and no transitions.

At the moment, iDVD is one of the positives of using the software encoding -- I'm willing to give some of its features up to get better quality if that is what a hardware MPEG encoder will get me. My main Mac encodes at about 2 hours per hour of video, so the time savings with the ADS isn't a big deal...the ability to capture and burn with a spare iMac DV is a bigger deal...but I don't want to spend $ if I'm not going to get noticeably better DVDs.

[bilestyle]

well capty dvd is the software that is included with ads instant dvd, but since i own dvd studio pro (which makes stuff 100x better than idvd or capty dvd could ever dream of) i stick with that, if you are satisfied with the menus and options u get from crappy idvd then if you can get dvd studio pro on top of ads its the better option in my opinion... i would never go back to using anything less. I used to cap with my ati rage vr pro 128 back in the day to lossless quicktime movie and then re-encode b4 i got my ADS.. and the quality was excellent.. and the quality i get with my ADS is excellent as well.. for me the better option is a no brainer ads + dvd studio pro 2.0 = one of the best options available.

[cbkilner]

Yep, DVD SP would be nice...but adds another $500 to my equation. Supposedly, iDVD4 uses a basic version DVD SP's Compressor encoder and I can see a clear improvement over iDVD3.

A 2 hour disk encoded at best quality (VBR) in iDVD4 is vastly superior to the 90 minute CBR setting from iDVD3 and seems to be the about the same quality as the <60 minute CBR setting from iDVD3 for converted analog material (which can be a bit noisy to begin with).

Does the ADS hardware produce clearly better results than DVD SP's encoder, or is it just faster?

[AntnyMD]

It sounds like you've already answered your own question -- You prefer the layers of control iDVD4 gives you. However, getting to the MPEG2 stage is faster with the ADS USB Instant DVD box.

I-frame editing is not as sloppy as people would lead you to believe. Authoring with CaptyDVD isnt as unprofessional as some would lead you to believe, even though it has quirks. I use DVD Studio Pro, Toast and CaptyDVD to author content, depending on what I want to do with the material, how much time I have, and how much available disk space I have to screw around with the files. Also, since I am not a big fan of fancy menus (I spend all of five seconds ever with a menu -- who watches DVDs for the frickin' menus?!), I prefer DVD Studio Pro for authoring as I can drop in a simple menu that appears at the end of the first play item, and can be accessed at any time. I almost never want the menu to be the first thing I see ... I like the movie to start first.

[cbkilner]

Thanks AntnyMD -

You are correct that I like the control of my software solution (and btw, iDVD4 now includes a map feature that lets you Autoplay the movie, with a menu at the end)

I have also read (I think on Bob Hudson's FastCoder page) that the ADS Instant DVD for Mac has some problems with source material that has drop-outs. Can anyone confirm this / enlightlen me?

The Dazzle's ability to handle video drop-outs is why I use it for A->D instead of the better A->D converter in my Canon ZR (which causes iMovie to give a "No Tape" error when the ZR hits drop-outs). If the ADS unit has problems with drop-outs, it wouldn't be an option for me.

[AntnyMD]

I think I recall people reporting the PixeDV, the capture software for the ADS box, will quit when it experiences dropouts. I've been using the "update" of PixeDV that allows bypass of Macrovision, and I've captured some horrible tapes recorded at SLP speed with dropouts here and there, and the software didnt crash ...

[cbkilner]

Thanks for the input.

At the moment, it sounds like the ADS device is a viable alternative, but not clearly superior enough to warrant spending a couple of hundred bucks.

I'm only doing this for a few friends and my family, so I don't have much of a backlog. If it picks up as a business, I'll probably pick up the ADS hardware so that I can double my output by pressing the iMac DV or my iBook 800 into service. I also might look at the Capty FastCoder, which has lower software requirements than the ADS USB Instant DVD and still lets me capture and edit material in iMovie (no learning curve!).