Video rendering to DVD not SHARP

[PoshLouis]

Hi Guys,
need some of your advice.
I am shot with a sony HDR-FX1E and download it onto a Imac via Premiere Pro CS5 and rendered it via Encore CS5 onto a DVD.

I work with Adobe products becoz it help with my work flow and everything from menu to chapter points are link together.

However when I compare my DVD with my colleague's DVD, I realized that his is much sharper than mine!

He's using a Canon AH1 and rendered with Sony vagas and burning it thru Nero.


I tried exporting it using AME onto mpeg2 so that the encore5 does not transcode for me when create the DVD , but still, it's not sharp.

Is Sony Vagas better than Premiere Pro in terms of clarity/sharpness?

Coz when I view my raw footage using VLC player, it's super sharp. I came to conclude that it's my premiere Pro OR encore that's not doing a good job at transcoding/converting the movie file onto a DVD disc.

Please , Please , Please advise.

 

[hanqiang1011]

TS, what is the resolution or format you used your FX1 to shoot?

By right, if set to HDV and downsize to SD DVD, should be sharp already. Maybe I am new to video, but I think like TS, I would like to know any solutions from the ghurus here.

Thanks.

 

[Jemhadar]

Hi,

For SD delivery, it is better to shoot with a SD camera.

For HD to SD, I'll shoot in 720p with reduced detail in my camera setting.
I edit in 720p in Sony Vegas and save it, then bring it into a new SD project.
i.e. I nested the 720p project in a SD timeline.
I'll add a sharpen filter before rendering out.
I get better result this way than direct rendering out to SD from a 720p timeline.

Sony Vegas is not better than Premiere Pro for HD to SD resize.
If you shoot in 1080 and resize to SD the result is crappy with aliasing and moire.
For 1080 to SD, I use VirtualDub for resizing.

 

[PoshLouis]

TS, what is the resolution or format you used your FX1 to shoot?

By right, if set to HDV and downsize to SD DVD, should be sharp already. Maybe I am new to video, but I think like TS, I would like to know any solutions from the ghurus here.

Thanks.

Hihi,
I set my to the highest res the FX1 can go. i.e 1080i 50, 16:9
When I don't compare, it looks sharp. But when I start comparing, mine is not sharp . =(

Hi,

For SD delivery, it is better to shoot with a SD camera.

For HD to SD, I'll shoot in 720p with reduced detail in my camera setting.
I edit in 720p in Sony Vegas and save it, then bring it into a new SD project.
i.e. I nested the 720p project in a SD timeline.
I'll add a sharpen filter before rendering out.
I get better result this way than direct rendering out to SD from a 720p timeline.

Sony Vegas is not better than Premiere Pro for HD to SD resize.
If you shoot in 1080 and resize to SD the result is crappy with aliasing and moire.
For 1080 to SD, I use VirtualDub for resizing.

Hi, thanks for your input.

1)What do you mean by shoot in 720p with reduce detail? Meaning you reduce your sharpness setting?
2) what's the effect of nesting? Do I need to unlink the video and audio in the timeline?
3) Do you also mean that I select a time line with a 720p resolution even if the original footage is shot in 1440?

Yes my DVD output is crappy by comparison.
How about those new DSLR and Video camera that's recording in 1920p. Will out putting to DVD SD format be the same result? Or worse?

Please advise.
Btw what is nest? How can I nest in Pr5

 

[Jemhadar]

1) I prefer to shoot in progressive, 720p is the lowest res in my camera.
The 'Detail' in my camera has alot of settings and sharpness is one of them.

2) I do not know about Pr5 or other NLE, nesting in Sony Vegas is you import another project into a new project.

3) If you shoot in 1440 you should work in 1440 res.

If I shoot in 1920x1080p with a HD cam or DSLR and use Vegas to resize to SD, the result will be crappy.

Perhaps other video professionals can also come in to share their work flow.
My current work flow for Full HD to SD(researhed from the web) is :

1) render out as uncompressed HD using the Largarith lossless codec.
2) bring into VirtualDub to resize to SD. Using Lanczos3 filter.
3) bring the resized SD into Vegas and render out to mpeg2 for DVD.
4) use DVDA for DVD output.

Your process and mileage may varies with other NLE.

 

[PoshLouis]

1) I prefer to shoot in progressive, 720p is the lowest res in my camera.
The 'Detail' in my camera has alot of settings and sharpness is one of them.

2) I do not know about Pr5 or other NLE, nesting in Sony Vegas is you import another project into a new project.

3) If you shoot in 1440 you should work in 1440 res.

If I shoot in 1920x1080p with a HD cam or DSLR and use Vegas to resize to SD, the result will be crappy.

Perhaps other video professionals can also come in to share their work flow.
My current work flow for Full HD to SD(researhed from the web) is :

1) render out as uncompressed HD using the Largarith lossless codec.
2) bring into VirtualDub to resize to SD. Using Lanczos3 filter.
3) bring the resized SD into Vegas and render out to mpeg2 for DVD.
4) use DVDA for DVD output.

Your process and mileage may varies with other NLE.

Hi,

So meaning you will normally export the entire edited vidoe into the highest original format and then downsize it to SD size.
Following by converting it to Mpeg2 DVD format before moving it to a software which burn the Mpeg2 DVD file into the disc?

I check out virtualDub but it's only for windows.
Any recommended downsizing software for Mac?
Thanks

 

[Bamboopictures]

If you are using DV PAL timeline, the quality loss will be quite noticeable. I have little experience with Premiere but if there is a preset for DVCPRO 50, you should use that instead.

My preferred workflow is shooti in 720p AVCHD, import to FCP7 as PRORES LT 720p, export as PRORES LT 720p and use Toast or iDVD for DVD encoding.

 

[iunspoken]

you're comparing 2 different camcorders to begin with. different manufacturers user different sensors, which results in different image quality. let's not say different manufacturers, even for different camcorders of the same brand, their image quality differs too. different sensors results in different "sharpness" quality in your case.

in my own experience, the resolution, whether HD, or SD, or 1920, or 1440 doesn't make a heck of a difference. Try shooting on a EX1 and HDVCam. Both HD right? My ass. The quality is world's apart.

anyhow if I recall correctly, the Canon AH1 has a slightly larger sensor than that of a HDR-FX1E.. :/

 

[Urban Knot]

Hi PoshLouis,

I also use a FX1E to shoot. Like you, I experienced the said problem 2 years ago, when my mainstream editing software is Premeir Pro. Back then, Premeir Pro will render the footage and export it out to whatever burning software for burning. Be in Encore or other, a re-rendering process will take place to convert the file for burning it into DVD. Thru this repeated process, the unedited footage which I have experiment is less sharp compare to using the same edited footage and process it using Vegas, which render it only once - directly to the format burnable to DVD, afterwhich burned straight using Sony DVD Architect. Comparing the vast difference, I decided to switch over to Vegas and I am happy with the product from the last 2 years to now. Hope this help.

 

[Confaderal]

I think the first thing you should keep in mind is that your aim is to keep your codec as lossless as possible. Edit in a high res lossless codec and then export out to a codec that is original to the one you were editing with or a lossy format that is least compressed. Also note that when burn to dvd, check the advanced settings on your dvd burner software and understand what functions compress what part of your video. e.g. Most lossy formats sacrifice color space etc.

Have you watched your video on the tv? coz computer screens are not made to view dvds. Oh and remember to do INTERLACING coz if you de-interlace, the video will skip the even or odd lines, making your video less 'pristine'