Exporting and compressing from FCP......??

[macmithos]

hi Pals...
I'm having 2 little doubts in my mind about which is the best way to export a file from FCP to DVDSP. I was thinking that the only way would be exporting as an MPEG2 file using QT conversion or COMPRESSOR. But yesterday after finishing the edits of a movie that I converted from a VHS tape using my Canopus 300, I by mistake exported it as a simple QT MOVIE and it opened in DVDSP I built, Formated and burned the DVD without any problems. Did DVDSP converted the movie to an MPEG2 file during the build process ? Or what ..?
Second doubt: When exporting using COMPRESSOR, do I have to choose the presets (60, 90 or 120 minutes) thinking on the duration of the movie that I'm exporting or in the final duration of the DVD with others movies and assets ?
Thanks Pals....

[terryj]

Ok, first pick up a copy of
either Jerry Hoffman's book (STF
to find the link) or VQS: DVD Studio Pro 3 by Martin Sitter,
as both
books cover what I'm going to say:

1. Yes, DVDSP will encode to Mpeg-2
upon Build any non encoded items such as Qt movies,
dv streams, aiffs, etc.
optimumally you want everything to already to be
in .m2v and .ac3 BEFORE importing into DVDSP3
to save time, but for short projects, its apples and
oranges really if you do it beforehand or not.

2. The preset you use will be one you custom build that
will be based on the TOTAL amount of video in your project,
including inbetweens, menu loops, intros, bonus tracks etc.
Go to versiontracker and get a Bit Rate Calculator to add
up and figure
the correct min Mbps you will need to set your preset to.
Take into account also if your video has a lot of action or
is something like a reality show. lots of action, you need
to go for a Variable Best setting in Compressor, reality
show, go for a Constant Bit Rate in Compressor.

Exporting from FCP should ALWAYS be done as
Export--> Quicktime Movie and make the file self contained.
Drag and Drop this into Compressor, set with your custom preset,
and your done.

[macmithos]

thanks for the tips....I will look foward for the books you mentioned at the amazon website, because as I'm not in US I think it would be difficult to find them around here.....
I'll also go to versiontracker to find a Bit Calculator.

[terryj]

Amazon.uk links:

Jerry Hoffman

DVDSP3 VQS

[Hans de Bijl]

Here is the best workflow:

http://home.wanadoo.nl/hansdebijl/pages/FCP%20to%20DVDSP.html

Regards
Hans