[seanski44]

Hi all,

am hoping someone can help me. - Also, without blowing my trumpet, I work in broadcast and understand a fair amount about how this should work!

I have a video I have edited in avid (separate video editing software) that was shot 16:9 on a 16:9 camera, edited and then output as either a quicktime reference file or a quicktime DV stream with preserve aspect ratio on (DV420 25 if you need to know) - When I open these files in Quicktime it recognises that they are 16:9 and plays them in a 16:9 window.

I bring this file in to MyDVD (have a good old mess around with menus and stuff and get it just how I want, including a 16:9 menu etc) and then burn the disc.

When I play the DVD back on my DVD/TV the 16:9 menu is fine, but when I play back the video it forces the TV into 4:3 mode. Having checked in the properties (using a different Software DVD player on my computer) the video is set to 4:3 in the metadata.

Anyone know whether the transcoding (from DV to MPEG2) is stripping off my 16:9 flag or whether there's a hidden option somewhere in MyDVD to make this work?

Any help welcomed. and just before anyone starts, its not a DVD player or TV issue.

Cheers

Sean

p.s. I am in the UK and therefore the footage & project is PAL. Any other info gladly provided!

[ggrussell]

Most likely a problem with Quicktime conversion. I would never suggest using ANY proprietary format from ANY company. Stick with STANDARDS like DV AVI or MPEG 2. I use DV AVI 100% when possible and I have never had a problem creating 16:9 video DVDs.

I have created video DVDs with 4:3 menus and 16:9 video. Also 16:9 menu with 4:3 video. Everything has always worked as expected.

This post has been edited by ggrussell: 11 July 2007 - 07:20 PM

[seanski44]

Most likely a problem with Quicktime conversion. I would never suggest using ANY proprietary format from ANY company. Stick with STANDARDS like DV AVI or MPEG 2. I use DV AVI 100% when possible and I have never had a problem creating 16:9 video DVDs.

I have created video DVDs with 4:3 menus and 16:9 video. Also 16:9 menu with 4:3 video. Everything has always worked as expected.

No, having done extensive tests using different programmes, the MyDVD transcode seemed to be the error. (tried Avi with various, DV stream etc all worked OK formatwise before import into MyDVD)

I have now started using Sorenson (4.5) to do the Mpeg conversion and this works OK, but MyDVD insists on transcoding the video again resulting in an extremely poor playback quality - if I use my older version of Sonic MyDVD it doesn't re-encode it and the quality is fab. The Problem is I paid money to upgrade to the new version of MyDVD to do the whizzy menus and chapter marks etc.

So at present I have the choice of great menus and shoddy video, or great video and shoddy menus... Not great. Anyone any ideas or should I repost this??

[ggrussell]

(tried Avi with various, DV stream etc all worked OK formatwise before import into MyDVD)

Have you tried DV AVI like the kind that comes directly from capturing from a camcorder via firewire? Still sounds like you have a format problem.

Also try exporting from Avid to standard MPEG 2 with AC3 audio. MyDVD shouldn't re-encode those at all. Just keep the bitrate higher than 3Mbps. MyDVD doesn't support bitrates lower than that.

[seanski44]

Have you tried DV AVI like the kind that comes directly from capturing from a camcorder via firewire? Still sounds like you have a format problem.

Also try exporting from Avid to standard MPEG 2 with AC3 audio. MyDVD shouldn't re-encode those at all. Just keep the bitrate higher than 3Mbps. MyDVD doesn't support bitrates lower than that.

Yeah, Mpeg out of the Avid would be the best solution, unfortunately Avid stopped supporting MPEG2 export after Xpress v4.5 and I have XpressPro v5.5! - The way you suggest works a treat at my work where we have Avid 3.5 - I've been doubly burned by upgrading my home kit!!

And I get freezing and incorrect transcoding if I let MyDVD encode the DV stream to MPEG2, that's why I switched to Sorenson. To be clear, short videos are fine transcoded from DVstream to MPEG2 in MyDVD, but My epic (40mins) South Africa feature has sections which are montages of stills and MyDVD doesn't handle these well at all, the timing goes out (they're cut to a beat) and you get freezed partial mixes, flash frames and frozen video at the end of the stills sequence (when the live video is supposed to restart). Unfortunately I have found this out the hard way - each time I tried a new setting it'd take 2-3 hours to go through the transcoding process and burn a fresh DVD. Since these probs (and several days of my life wasted!) I'm happier keeping the processes separate. Nice as it would be to have an all-in-one solution it doesn't yet work!! (I'm fairly happy with Sorenson 4.5 so far)

Am at work now and the probs are all with my home kit, but will run some more experiments when I get
back there. -pref with short vids!!

[seanski44]

OK, I may well have cracked it.

I encoded my 4min test movie in sorenson in three ways. It seems that the previous problems were to do with having too many P frames, as when I returned to the 3 P frames setting (not as good quality as the 1 P frames setting as this doesn't use B frames) it worked.

I also switched the audio in sorenson to PCM and in MyDVD took 'fittodisc' off and changed the audio to LPCM, not sure if this had an effect, but as this is the first time I've got the thing to work it'll be how I do it from now on!

Also, there is a strange thing. MyDVD menus seem to be in 60HzPAL. Before anyone says PAL is 50Hz, there is a setting most TVs (in the UK at least) can deal with which is for watching NTSC videos on PAL equipment, most TVs therefore wouldn't reveal this, but when I put this through broadcast kit with a frame sync, it shows up that the video rolls. According to our format guru here at the BBC, this looks to be an NTSC menu which the domestic DVD player outputs as PAL at 60Hz...

anyway, I think I can live with that as domestic TVs will handle it fine (on the most part!)

phew.

anyway, if I discover anything new I'll keep posting!