[jroc]

I'm currently producing photo/video productions, i.e., slideshows with photos over video background or vice versa. My photos are digital but my video is a mix of standard video and/or HD video depending on where I obtain the video. I would like to upgrade my productions to the highest quality/resolution DVDs that anyone with an HD television can view. I'm currently working with EMC10. Many people do not have Blu-ray players or PS3 players but they do have HD televisions. What do I need in terms of hardware and software to produce HD productions for that majority of viewers? Thanks.
Jim

[Jim_Hardin]

DVD Movies only come is one flavor of HQ – 720 X 480 @ 8-9mbps. Nothing will make them better than that.

Any source of less quality will more than likely look worse if you try to Up-Render it!

Only when you move into BD can you produce anything better. There are a rare (very rare) few DVD Players that can play AVCHD which you can put on a DVD. Almost all BD Players can play it though.

[jroc]

DVD Movies only come is one flavor of HQ – 720 X 480 @ 8-9mbps. Nothing will make them better than that.

Any source of less quality will more than likely look worse if you try to Up-Render it!

Only when you move into BD can you produce anything better. There are a rare (very rare) few DVD Players that can play AVCHD which you can put on a DVD. Almost all BD Players can play it though.

So let me see if I have this straight -- the only way I can produce an HD DVD is with Blu-Ray and the only way someone can watch that disc on their TV is if they have a Blu-Ray player or a PS3. Correct?

[ggrussell]

Correct... There were very few regular DVD players that can read DivX HD or WMV HD data discs, but not very common.

MyDVD can burn AVCHD on standard DVD, but those are burned in the Bluray format and can only be played back on Bluray player or on a computer with Bluray software.

[jroc]

Correct... There were very few regular DVD players that can read DivX HD or WMV HD data discs, but not very common.

MyDVD can burn AVCHD on standard DVD, but those are burned in the Bluray format and can only be played back on Bluray player or on a computer with Bluray software.

So it looks like if I want to author effectively for a general market in HD I'm just going to have to wait a few years for player prices to come down so most people will have them. At which time some new technology will be out, soon to obsolete Blu-Ray. Sigh.

[Jim_Hardin]

I read an announcement that Blu-ray was just around the corner, 8+ years ago!!!

There are 2 International Standards for Video, DVD Movie and Blu-ray.

DVD Movie came on the scene about 12 years ago and BD last year.

And there is NOTHING waiting in the wings to bump these 2 out! Both of these Standards were written by the Movie companies and no matter how good something else is, it is going nowhere fast unless the movie companies sign on.

Yes there is TiVo, DivX and other proprietary wannabes but no one has ever been trampled trying to use one.

In my opinion, you want to concentrate on 16:9 DVD productions now using the highest quality source files you can find!

With 2009 you can burn to AVCHD to DVD now for the small base of BD Player owners. As that base increases, add a BD Burner when needed.

In video you cannot up-render successfully. In other words if you hang at DVD quality, then render it to AVCHD or BD the will be no gain in quality and perhaps it will even degrade it…

But if you are shooting and saving in HD, you can always render down to DVD.

[sknis]

Upconverting DVD players are inexpensive; my old one cost $40. If the up-converting DVD player is a good player, it will up-convert to close to 720 which is pretty good if the TV has a HMDI input. Not all do. It look much better than SD on a SD non-up-converting DVD player or non-HMDI.

I do both SD DVD and AVCHD DVD's. The SD DVD made with good quality photos and HD video are pretty close to AVCHD and at this time, are a lot less hassle. You can only get about 30-40 minutes on an AVCHD disc. As discussed above, some but not all Blu-ray players will play AVCHD discs.

[jroc]

Upconverting DVD players are inexpensive; my old one cost $40. If the up-converting DVD player is a good player, it will up-convert to close to 720 which is pretty good if the TV has a HMDI input. Not all do. It look much better than SD on a SD non-up-converting DVD player or non-HMDI.

I do both SD DVD and AVCHD DVD's. The SD DVD made with good quality photos and HD video are pretty close to AVCHD and at this time, are a lot less hassle. You can only get about 30-40 minutes on an AVCHD disc. As discussed above, some but not all Blu-ray players will play AVCHD discs.

Thank, guys. For now I guess I'll stick to using good digital photos (when using my own photos) and HD video. Thanks again.
Jim