Encoding Tips

[AlphaKilo615]

So i have Toast Titanium 9. I created a 1920 x 1080 .mov file, Photo-JPEG codec. I import it into toast to create a DVD, i messed with the bitrate, it still cames out crappy. I'm burning this onto a standard dvd. Any tips to get at least a good quality dvd? I have a screenshot showing the difference. Picture 1 is the raw video. Picture 2.png is the dvd video. It seems that it compressed it and downscaled the dimensions.

Picture 1

 

Picture 2

[tsantee]

Lots of things are working against you with this. Something that might work well is to open the source video in QuickTime (I presume you are running OS 10.6.x) and choose Save As... and save as a 480P HD video (one of QuickTime's presets at least in the U.S.). Then make you Toast video DVD from that file. Check how the video looks on a TV rather than on a computer display to determine its image quality. When viewing on a computer display make sure you are viewing at actual or normal size. I'm a little confused how the Toast-encoded video came out as about 900x550 pixels because that is too large for a video DVD.

[AlphaKilo615]

Lots of things are working against you with this. Something that might work well is to open the source video in QuickTime (I presume you are running OS 10.6.x) and choose Save As... and save as a 480P HD video (one of QuickTime's presets at least in the U.S.). Then make you Toast video DVD from that file. Check how the video looks on a TV rather than on a computer display to determine its image quality. When viewing on a computer display make sure you are viewing at actual or normal size. I'm a little confused how the Toast-encoded video came out as about 900x550 pixels because that is too large for a video DVD.

 

Hey, thanks for the reply. I am using MAC OS 10.5.x. Im not using quick time to save my videos. I edit my videos in Adobe After Effects and render the video there. The size to that video is 1920 x 1080. Then i dragged that file into toast and i have the maximum bitrate at 8, same to the average bitrate. That 2nd screenshot is what is confusing me also. I know for standard dvd, its 720 x 480 i believe. I haven't used toast much since i got it, now im actually using it and trying to get a little more advance with it.

 

I viewed it on the TV and its crappy. very crappy.

[AlphaKilo615]

Here are my encoding options by the way:

 

[tsantee]

Here are my encoding options by the way:

 

You would have a lot of trouble trying to play a DVD with the bit rate set so high. Most DVD players would just stutter. While you may set the maximum at 9 the average should be closer to 7. It also is good to turn on Half-Pel. Personally, choosing Best in the Automatic setting is an excellent choice rather than muck about with the manual bit rate settings.

 

But what I want you to try is to use your video editing application to resample the high definition video to a standard definition size rather than have Toast make that change. It is possible that your video editor will do a better job of rescaling leaving Toast with the job of MPEG 2 encoding and creating the anamorphic 16:9 ratio. Although standard definition is 720x480 an anamorphic 16:9 video is actually wider and shorter than that while the pixels are reshaped to fit the 720x480 space.

 

When you do export to a 16:9 standard definition preset with After Effects it is good to keep it progressive rather than interlaced, even though Toast will need to make it interlaced to comply with the video DVD specs.

 

Then again I'm unclear why you have this as a 16:9 ratio when the content appears to be 4:3 but in a 16:9 pillar box. If your original content is 4:3 just keep it that way and let the DVD player do any addition of side pillars to fit a 16:9 TV.