Premeire Pro CS3 to DVD Help!

[GooseGuy]

Hey Guys - Im really new at editing and this is our first mass production dvd - We used Adobe Premier Pro CS3 to edit all of our video clips and now are trying to get the best quality DVD. Our first attemp was to use Adobe's program but that didnt work out very well. Our end goal is to create a dvd with great quality to send off to our reproduction company. I believe we are losing the quality when we render the project. Are there certain settings that we want to make sure to do this in and what format would we want to convert to?

We have exported our adobe project to an .avi file which is 26 gigs and have been told to use either xvid2dvd program or to use nero to burn it to a DL DVD. When we watch it thru windows media the video is really shakey.

I'm sure there are some very knowlegable whizz kidzz here. Please give me any information that could help.

[filmboss80]

You are very far from the right track. If your final distribution format is DVD, then your product must be DVD-compliant. (See WHAT IS > DVD in the top left column of this page.) Premiere is a video editor, not a DVD authoring program. You bring all your audio and video clips into Premiere to edit them into a coherent movie. That is only the first step. After the movie is made, the second step is to bring it into a DVD authoring program for the creation of navigation menus, subtitles, chapter points, extras, etc. (Adobe's DVD Authoring program is Encore, not Premiere -- although there are better alternatives.)

There are many forms of AVI files. Premiere is great with DV-AVI, the type that comes off MiniDV camcorders. However, no type of AVI file is DVD-compliant. After you edit in Premiere, you must export the project timeline as a DVD-compliant MPEG-2 file. That MPEG-2 will thereafter be imported into the DVD Authoring program that will create all the proper elements for playback across a wide variety of DVD units. (A proper DVD structure will have a VIDEO_TS folder containing VOB, IFO, and BUP files.)

I would not use Nero for ANYTHING, much less creating or burning a double layer DVD master for a duplication or replication company. You are just courting disaster. Look in the Tools section of this site for DVD encoding, authoring, and burning programs (actually, ImgBurn is the only reliable burner for DL discs).

One other thing. Your footage is HDV. DVD-compliant discs are Standard Definition only. You can create a widescreen 16:9 DVD, but not in High Definition.

[GooseGuy]

Thank you very much - you obviously know what you are talking about - do you have any recomendations for an authoring program? Also if you have done this before do you recommend any special settings when we are exporting the file to mpeg 2?

[filmboss80]

Since I don't know how complex your DVD will be--and since I don't know how much of a learning curve you're willing to accept--it is difficult for me to know which authoring program might be best for you. Two very popular ones are linked here:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVD-lab_PRO

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Ulead_DVD_Workshop

Others can be examined in the Tools section of this site.

Much of the MPEG-2 encoding settings will depend on total video running time, whether your audio will be PCM or AC3, and whether your final product will go on a DVD-5 or a DVD-9. (You can do a search for bitrate calculators that can help you find optimum settings based on your specific situation.)

When you say, "mass production DVD," do you mean more than 500 copies, or less? There are 2 processes: replication and duplication. Hollywood-produced, store-bought DVDs (with silver playing surfaces) are "replicated." That is, they are stamped out from glass masters at a replication factory. "Duplicated" DVDs are simply burned DVD+R or DVD-R discs (with pinkish-purple playing surfaces). If you are sending a master to a replicating plant, you will likely be requested to submit a master on DLT tape (especially true for DVD-9 projects). Only a few DVD authoring programs will export to DLT, so this may be a consideration in your selection.

[minidv2dvd]

if you have cs3 it comes with encore, doesn't it???

[kimco52]

Not necessarily. He could have bought just Premiere. That does not come with Encore. If he got the CS3 Production Suite or some other bundle (not creative suite), then he would have Encore.
Even with just Premiere, he could export to DVD-Compliant MPEG-2 as mentioned by filmboss80 and used the subsequent mentioned programs for burning.

I agree in not using Nero for anything related to burning DVD's. I do use Nero 6 for burning CD's, however..... music and data only. I have tried later versions but did not like them.
I do have Encore but use DVDit Pro. Not because it is any better or worse but that is what I have used for some time and am use to it. So far, it has been adequate for what I do.

[GooseGuy]

It is about a 2 hour long dvd that we plan on making 4,000 to 5,000 copies on. These will be replicated dvd's with the silver surface. We do have encore with our CS3 suite but have been told by others to stay away from that program. Is this not true? The replication plant just asked us to submit a master copy to them on DL. Again thanks guys for you help.

[filmboss80]

Please tell me your replication house will produce a sample copy that you can review THOROUGHLY on a variety of DVD players before they stamp out 4k-5k discs. If you sign off on the deal with an error-filled DVD that won't play right on customers' DVD players, you will have to eat the whole batch. My company has NEVER sent a master to a replication house on anything other than DLT. (How do they generate a DDP report from a DL disc?) My only guess is that the replicators you are using will take the VIDEO_TS folder from the disc you provide and correctly master it to DLT with the DDP image, layer break info, etc. before replicating. (Check with them! In most cases, their only responsibility is to exactly copy what you send them, and won't be liable for bad discs if there is the slightest error on the master you provide.)

If I was somehow forced to turn in a replication master on DL disc, I would not burn to any other type of dual layer disc than Verbatim DVD+R DL. And I would not use any other burning software than ImgBurn. (Certainly not Nero! It is a disaster when burning to DL.)

This path you have taken is not one that I am familiar with, but I do know that others have posted in this forum reporting all sorts of problems with mass-produced DVDs that were replicated from a disc. Perhaps others with better experiences can weigh in here. (There are also reports of bad experiences with Encore. My crew doesn't that one, so I cannot comment.)

Since your master is on a disc, I would consider encoding the 2-hour movie to a bitrate that would allow it to fit on a DVD-5 disc. You lessen your potential for disaster going the single-layer route if not mastering to DLT.

Be careful.

[lordsmurf]

Times are changing, filmboss. The last few masters I submitted for replication with DVD-R or DVD+R DL too. There have been zero reports of bad discs from users, and the replication house has burned-media sources built into their workflow now. About time, to be honest. DLT is pain in the ass.

[filmboss80]

I guess times are changing REALLY FAST, lordsmurf. I was just searching through old posts where people were having problems with replicators, and many were singing a different tune then. Less than a year ago, in this thread:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic351713.html?highlight=gear%20dlt
...some person I always trusted posted this comment:
"A DVD-9 needs to be submitted on DLT. A DVD-5 needs to be submitted on one of several formats: DVD-R(A), DVD-R(G), DVD+R, DLT, few others"

In my previous post I did say, "Perhaps others with better experiences can weigh in here." And so, your newer insights with replication masters may be more helpful to GooseGuy than my own.

But as long as my company's got DLT, that's what we'll be submitting. I go with what has worked.