Best workflow for producing bluray discs ?

[Zorro]

Of course I know that similar topics have been discussed before but I'd like to know which ist the best known workflow for producing bluray discs as of December 2009?

Since my customer's material is 720p he can't use the built in bluray authoring. So he has to output a mpeg2 first. Both Encore CS3 and MovieFactory sometimes accept the clip, sometimes not. Sometimes reencoding takes place, sometimes not. He never changes his output settings so it's a really depressing task for him.

What would YOU suggest?

- output setting
- authoring program
- speed is an issue since he has to output 6-8h projects

Any input is welcome! Thanks in advance!

[Khoi Pham]

Is this 720 60P?

[Zorro]

Is this 720 60P?

No, it's 720/50P.

[Khoi Pham]

Well I'm in the US so I use 720 60P many times to Encore CS3 and it works fine, don't know about 50P but I imagine it should be the same, make sure that his Edius project is set correctly because when you go into Edius MPEG2 Elementary export, the defaut settings in there is set to "current", which mean that if his current project settings is not set correctly and within blu-ray spec, the MPEG2HD that it encode from the timeline will be what it is, if it is not within spec then Encore will reencode it, I have been doing blu-ray for about 2 years now and I tell you the first 2 or 3 months is a pain in the you know what but most of it is from user errors. Good luck.

[Jerry]

Of course I know that similar topics have been discussed before but I'd like to know which ist the best known workflow for producing bluray discs as of December 2009?

Since my customer's material is 720p he can't use the built in bluray authoring. So he has to output a mpeg2 first. Both Encore CS3 and MovieFactory sometimes accept the clip, sometimes not. Sometimes reencoding takes place, sometimes not. He never changes his output settings so it's a really depressing task for him.

What would YOU suggest?

- output setting
- authoring program
- speed is an issue since he has to output 6-8h projects

Any input is welcome! Thanks in advance!

You have several options on how to make the files.
1. Use Edius to make the mpeg2HD file
2. Use Edius to output either an HQ or uncompressed file to bring into Encore
to let Encore encode.
3. Use Procoder 3, if you have it to create the Mpeg2HD file.
4. Use TMPGE to create the MPEG2HD file....I'm not sure if it will do
H.264.
5. If you have Encore CS4/Premiere Pro...it should have the Adobe Media
Encoder included with it. You can use the encoder to create either
Mpeg2HD files or H.264 files, that are compliant, to import into
Encore to create the disc.

I have been able to get the encoder(CS4) version to output files that look very much like ones created by Procoder 3.

These are various tools to use, you just have to make sure that you are providing the program the exact settings within those files that it requires.

[Zorro]

Hi guys, I'm still trying to find the easiest (and fastest) solution for creating a bluray disc. Unfortunately hardly anyone replied to this thread...

Anyway, here's what I need to do:

- Source ist 720/50p material

- Encoding should create mpeg2hd program stream (settings, please)

- Authoring software must handle program streams and should NOT reencode

- Speed is an issue since one project consists of four discs

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Jerry]

Hi guys, I'm still trying to find the easiest (and fastest) solution for creating a bluray disc. Unfortunately hardly anyone replied to this thread...

Anyway, here's what I need to do:

- Source ist 720/50p material

- Encoding should create mpeg2hd program stream (settings, please)

- Authoring software must handle program streams and should NOT reencode

- Speed is an issue since one project consists of four discs

Thanks in advance for your help.

1. Source material is the same as a BD requirement http://www.emedialive.com/articles/r...leid=11397#iif

2, Mpeg2 settings: What are you using to convert to MPEG2HD?
If you have PC3 you can download the settings from the Procoder forum and install. They work right out of the box
3. As I said in my previous post, If you have CS3 or CS4 you can create
compliant MPEG2HD streams from the Adobe Media Encoder.
4. Speed: Well that is your problem. It depends on your system. If you have a quad core system you should be able to cut through it pretty fast.

My settings for MPEG2HD are 35kmax, 25-30average, and 5000k min.
You can change those settings depending on the quality and space that you need. Personally, I wouldn't drop below 25k on max. It will work below 20k but
you will get motion artifacts.
If you use the CS4 Adobe Media Encoder you can create H.264 files that will take up less space and can be used in the 20k range with really good results.
It takes longer for this process, but you can load the files up and walk away while the system encodes for you.
Since you are using the 720p format, stick with 720 50p. It is one of the compliant settings for BD. You will also not need as much space as with a 1080 file.
Short of me doing your BD, I think you should have enough info to do the project.
If you don't think so, load your files into Encore and let Encore do the encoding(CS4).

[Zorro]

Dear Jerry, thanks for your quick reply. Some more info from my side:

Since speed is an issue an i7-950 is used for encoding straight off the timeline with the Edius' exporter. The settings here are similar to your suggestions. The tricky part is to find an authoring app which won't reencode the generated mpg2hd file (and accept program streams as well). Both CS3 and CS4 sometimes encode and sometimes not...can't find any logic...

So hopefully someone can name an authoring product which will satisfy my needs.

[Jerry]

Dear Jerry, thanks for your quick reply. Some more info from my side:

Since speed is an issue an i7-950 is used for encoding straight off the timeline with the Edius' exporter. The settings here are similar to your suggestions. The tricky part is to find an authoring app which won't reencode the generated mpg2hd file (and accept program streams as well). Both CS3 and CS4 sometimes encode and sometimes not...can't find any logic...

So hopefully someone can name an authoring product which will satisfy my needs.

I use PC3 and recently started using the Adobe Media Encoder CS4.
I do not use the exporter in Edius 5.x.
You can also use TMPGE.

All of these work with Encore and I only use elementary streams for DVD/BD.

By the way, I just did a test output for you. I used my settings and it output from my timeline(1920x1080) to a MPEG2HD program stream file. I imported that into Encore CS4 and it accepted it with the 'do not transcode' lable.
Some where you must be missing something.

[Bassman]

The tricky part is to find an authoring app which won't reencode the generated mpg2hd file (and accept program streams as well). Both CS3 and CS4 sometimes encode and sometimes not...can't find any logic...

What bitrates are you encoding at?

Anything over 40,000 kbps and Encore CS4 will want to transcode it, otherwise Encore CS4 accepts all of my Mpeg-2 files from Edius.

I do use elementary streams for my output.

[Raja]

Hi guys, I'm still trying to find the easiest (and fastest) solution for creating a bluray disc. Unfortunately hardly anyone replied to this thread...

Anyway, here's what I need to do:

- Source ist 720/50p material

- Encoding should create mpeg2hd program stream (settings, please)

- Authoring software must handle program streams and should NOT reencode

- Speed is an issue since one project consists of four discs

Thanks in advance for your help.

I'm in a similar sitaution to you Zorro. I have 6-9hrs projects. This is what I do and it works great, has NO re-encoding in Encore and I use less discs which save time. But if you have not got the Firecoder card, you will need to get one. Its will save you ALOT of time. I use Edius 5.12, Firecoder and Encore CS4.

1. Encode from the Edius timeline as H.264 using the 'Firecoder Blu-ray- preset. at 17Mbs. Quality is excellent and its twice as efficient as the MPEG2 HD codec. You can use MPEG2 HD at 17Mbs if you prefer. Quality is very good. You'll get 3hrs on a single layer BD disc.
2. Bring the encoded file in TSMuxer. Check 'demux', Uncheck the 2 boxes in the settings section and check 'change profile' and set to 4.1. This will output an .ac3 and .264 file.
3. Bring this into Encore. The files take about 10-15mins to import. It may seem as though Encore has crashed, but it doesn't. Leave it to import and it will appear there.
3. Author as usual and output a Blu-ray folder.
4. Use 'Imgburn' to burn the blu-ray folder to Blu-ray disc.

You can get 6-8 hrs on one dual layer bd disc, or 2-3 single layer discs. Single layers BDs cost me around £4 a disc and Dual layers around £7 a disc.

Hope this helps.

[Zorro]

What bitrates are you encoding at?

Anything over 40,000 kbps and Encore CS4 will want to transcode it, otherwise Encore CS4 accepts all of my Mpeg-2 files from Edius.

I do use elementary streams for my output.

Bitrates are between 25.000-35.000.

I'd like to use program stream because the files should also play fine on media players like the WD TV.

[antonsvideo]

authoring programs that support program streams will be slower, because they need to demux the program stream to ES before they can mux it to the final output

this process maybe part of the compiling and not visible to you, but the time difference should be there

[Zorro]

authoring programs that support program streams will be slower, because they need to demux the program stream to ES before they can mux it to the final output

this process maybe part of the compiling and not visible to you, but the time difference should be there

Hi, Anton! (or serwas, like we say in Vienna ;) )

Since I need a program stream for media player playback I have to live with it.

Anyway I look at your excellent pages frequently and have a question regarding mpg2hd encoding:

http://www.videoproductions.com.au/h...ay-export.html

You recommend 'Top Field First' but since 720p50 is used here this won't make sense or do I miss something? TIA.

[antonsvideo]

I only recommend top field first for interlaced footage

p footage, set to progressive

I have done lots of testing with progressive pal shooting and editing and authoring at pal 25fps, but I can't get fluid movement during pans, tilts, zooms, whereas 50i top field first footage is perfect for me and I will stick to it for now

I use DVDit Pro HD 6.4 for BD-R and the results are great, the ES streams from Edius or T4 (sharper) are accepted without further re-encoding, program streams are not accepted

can you send me a 5 sec p program stream BD ready file and I will see how DVDit reacts

Servus und pfiertegod aus Sydney