Motion Menu Background - crappy rendering issue

[Bobby C]

Hi all, ok I've got an odd issue here, my motion background renders bad ( pixelated) quality and also makes the buttons, and fonts (any font) render bad when either viewing (rendered motion menu) with the Simulation window and when burnt and viewed on TV screen. But when a still image is used for a background everything renders as expected, nice and clear background still and sharpe fonts.

 

Edit: Have also tried the same setup using Sony DVD Architect 4 and the motion background renders perfect with image/buttons and text over it. So why is DvDit pro doing this? suggestions most welcome.

 

 

Spec and setup:

 

DVDit Pro 6.1

Intel P4 3.0ghz

Win XP Pro SP2 - up todate.

DX9.0c Dec 2006 update.

2Gb Ram.

Leadtek A6600 TDH VGA card.

All latest drivers, clean from spyware and virus.

Spybot, NAV2007.

 

 

Project:

 

Pal, Widescreen 16:9

x2 TV shows, pre converted in maincocept MPEG encoder 1.5.0 (DVD Legal),

VBR min2500, avg8000, max9300

x2 Audio Streams, AC3 2/0 192 (DVD legal)

 

Menu.

32:00 Sec MPEG2 (DVD legal) motion background slideshow created in Sony Vegas7, stills created to full 16:9 pixel size for Pal (1024x5766) then rendered out from Sony Vegas 7 Pal 720x576 Widescreen using the vegas mainconcept (default) Mpeg2 dvd plugin. Bitrate VBR (also tried CBR) Min2500, Avg8000, Max9300.

32:00 Sec wma menu audio track.

x2 buttons - default from corp template with still video frames as sub picture, NOT animated.

 

 

Everything imported into DVDit Pro 6.1 with no transcode non dvd legal warnings and disc burnt in just 5 minutes or less.

DvDit pro transcode setting, not needeed but still set to VBR min2500, avg8000, max9300. ac3 192.

 

even set the transcode quality to BEST.

 

with all these settings I still get crappy render of motion background and especially the buttons/frame/subpic/ and fonts (white).

 

swap out the motion background which is really high quality mpeg2, for a still, and everything renders perfect.....

 

so theres the problem, I use a perfectly good motion background, any motion background infact, and I get a crappy render of everything in the menu, but get a good render when I just use a still for the background.

 

Why is this , can anyone help and shed some light on this issue for me.

 

thankz

-Bobby C

[SS Scott]

first off, don't use an MPEG. that is compressed and then you are recompressing it when you are compositing buttons on top of it. Also, you may actually be going too high on your menus...playing a DVD-R disc with that bit rate on a DVD player can actually result in poor results.

[Bobby C]

Thanks for the reply scot,

 

 

So when I import the mpeg2 menu motion background into dvdit pro, even tho its legal and the program does'nt say it will transcode it, it will actually still transcode it becusase of the buttons being added ontop?

 

Its odd becuase when I make the dvd the burn window status message never says transcoding, it just says buliding menu. All my media is legal.

 

if this is the case what format should I be using for the motion background movie? and what bitrate, instead of 8000avg should I try 6K ? should I leave the max and min bitrate?

 

-Bob

[SS Scott]

try an AVI. try QuickTime. You'll have to play with the settings, but I wouldn't go any higher than 7000 kbs.

 

Scott

[Bobby C]

ok, I tried Avi and Quicktime, Avi with deafult output from Sony Vegas 7, and then Uncompressed (big file) and then QUicktime with a few different codecs. I even output another lower bitrate Mpeg2,

 

I set DvDit pro transcode to 6000 avg bitrate,

 

with all these test motion backgrounds, nothing different, the simulation window renders the same pixelated menu, and the same gets burnt to dvd disc.

 

 

If I try any of these motion menu backgrounds in Sony DVD Architect 4 they all preview perfect and look the same on disc on a tv screen, but dvdit pro looks terrible.

 

 

I am at a loss to why this is happening Scot. Sony DVD Architect 4 does'nt seem to complain or show any degrad in quality when previewed or burnt to dvd, but dvdit pro menu background (motion) and buttons and text just looks bad.

 

 

-Bob

[Bobby C]

Scot.

 

I've tried all sorts of other formats and bitrates, legal - non legal, dvdit transcoding the background movie and not, again at 5k up to 7k for the avg bitrate, but every time it comes out the same when viewed on the tv, the lower quality background movie and badly pixelated buttons/sub picture and fonts, and not looping very well.

 

I tried every single test in my other software sony dvd architect v4 and the background loops perfect and renders perfect with buttons etc onver it.

 

so whats the problem here? has anyonme else here had simular issues with using menu background movies?

 

 

can anyone help please.

 

-bob

[SS Scott]

where did you get this copy of DVDit Pro 6.1?

[Bobby C]

where did you get this copy of DVDit Pro 6.1?

I got this copy from you Scott last month, I PM'd you about a 5.1 audio issue and updating DVDit pro back in March 12 (2007). Solved my audio issue, this motion background is the only issue i have, everything else is good.

 

 

I have no issue with the actual movies, I get very good MPEG converts from the mainconcept mpeg encoder, and am enjoying fine tuning putting two 43minute tv shows on to one 4.7 DVD with a sinple menu, couple of buttons and this motion background.

 

everything is 100% when I use a still for a BG but change to a avi/ quicktime/ MP4/ MPEG , progressive, upper/lower field first, etc, and at low/med/high bitrates and it comes out a bit blured and the buttons and fonts all look like there half the res and somewhat pixelated, a real odd issue I never expected to have, and has wasted a bunch of discs.

 

I changed background movie's as well, some i created, some I shot myself as a test, but mostly just the stills slideshow running as a background is what I want, every movie I add to the menu background seems to cause low quality render, in both the simulation window and on disc viewed on widescreen tv, but looks perfect on a tv when make with another dvd program. thats the odd thing, this test must mean my source clips are ok.

 

I've had dvdit's transcode settings on VBR, CBR, 4k to 7k avg bitrate, and the quality set to med and best, but everytime I get the exact same resulting look for the motion menu background and buttons. Yet if I just re-drag a still onto the background icon, everything renders 100% no issues what so ever.

 

at first I thought I must have forgot some setting in the program or in my background movie, but after going over everything I can think off Its got me real stumped.

 

-bob

[Bobby C]

Update on my menu background problem, well I've gone back over some old ground and found I did'nt check one thing properly, I did'nt check a 4:3 background MPEG/AVI, turns out this was the issue, I heard what Scott siad about 6.1 not supporting 16:9 menus, but just thought that was buttons and stuff, NOT the background,

 

infact 6.1 behaves strangely (as in renders badly with buttons etc) when you use a 16:9 background movie with a DAR of 1.77. as soon as I changed my movie background project in Sony Vegas to 4:3 PAL 720x576, it worked ok

 

although it still does'nt loop smoothly 100%, even tho I made it so it would loop smothly, but I've yet to try output progressive instead of lower field first.

 

 

it seems solved, I just did'nt think a 16:9 background would be an issue and did'nt perofrm a 4:3 test properly to start with.

 

 

-bob