ProCoder/Quality

[rando]

I have a 42 inch LCD t.v. When shoot a wedding (DV) and edit with Edius then export using ProCoder then I burn using DVDSP 4 it looks like theres alot of compression in the video. I use a 2 pass VBR at 5000 min and 7000 Max. I never like to go over 7000 because I heard certain players wont handle it I dont know if thats true or not. Is this quality problem because im taking DV and the set is scaling it? Is there anything I can do to make it better or am I screwed until HD?

Randy

[antonsvideo]

I use 7700 bitrate, 2000 min and 8000 max with ac3 audio at 256

all players play the above assuming good disks such as Tayo Yuden are used and burning speed was not too high

I have 42" Fujitsu Plasma and the result looks great (LCD may not look as good)

as with all DVDs, you may see compression artifacts during dissolves, using mastering quality improves this phenomenon

[STORMDAVE]

From my experience, ProCoder2 is a really good MPEG2 encoder. Like Anton said, always try to use the Mastering setting, even if you have a high bitrate. I also have Cinemacraft Encoder Basic, which does upto 2 pass VBR max, and it is comparable to PC2...albeit a bit better if you use the right settings.

You will always see compression artifacts, especially when you use a connection type such as component.

Also you're forgetting that your TV is UPCONVERTING your SD input...unless your DVD player has upconverting capability. Not all TV's have good upconverting capabilities.

I have 42" Fujitsu Plasma and the result looks great (LCD may not look as good)

Not true, Anton. LCD's have higher resolution and better color accuracy, and the newer ones such as the more expensive Bravias have blacks deep enough to compare with Plasmas. Plasmas are phasing out and LCD's are taking over the market.

[rando]

Im getting artifacts just playing video, I get them in the menu as well maybe I should try DVDWS maybe I dont have something right in DVDSP 4.

Randy

[STORMDAVE]

Are you letting DVDSP compress your menus? Make sure you use proper settings. If you use around 7000kbps for menus, I don't really think it will look THAT bad especially with DVDSP's built in encoder (was it Compressor???)

Check DVDSP settings.

Also what brand is your LCDTV? Cheaper ones have bad upconvertors. Bravias and Samsungs have good upconverters. I recommend that you buy an upconverting DVD player with an HDMI out. They usually cost around $50-$150.

[antonsvideo]

yes, the expensive LCD are great, I bought a 14" Sony LMD 1420 for location work, it has no lag whatsoever and has the same quality as CRT, but it cost 2k for 14inch

the same model in 24" is 9k

[STORMDAVE]

Originally Posted by antonsvideo

yes, the expensive LCD are great, I bought a 14" Sony LMD 1420 for location work, it has no lag whatsoever and has the same quality as CRT, but it cost 2k for 14inch

the same model in 24" is 9k

Well Plasmas are "consumer" TV's. Even the Panasonic "industrial" plasma is using consumer panel.

I wasn't comparing broadcast Sony LCD's to consumer LCDs....obviously the more expensive, the better quality it has...and if a broadcast group is releasing an LCD screen, then it's done for a reason...but for consumers, you can't get any better than the Sony Bravias, Samsungs, etc. Offbrand LCD's in the lower price range use cheaper lcd screens and parts....all things in life follow this rule, anyway.

[rando]

<Also you're forgetting that your TV is UPCONVERTING your SD input...unless your DVD player has upconverting capability. Not all TV's have good upconverting capabilities> Thats one of the thing I was asking about, I am currently using a Xbox 360 to play this DVD, Since I did some tests I converted the video to HD WMV and played it on the 360 and it looked great the DVD looked awfull in comparison. I dont really care about the menus its the video thats important. I dont have master settings in the wizard although I cant see it making that much diffenrance over highest. The DVD looks great on a 4:3 normal set its when I put it on my Sharp aquas that it looks bad.

[THoff]

Are you using Procoder or Procoder Express for Edius? Procoder Express (PCE) doesn't have a "Mastering Quality" setting, that may be why you don't see it.

I don't think it is fair to compare WMV HD and the MPEG2 used by DVDs. The former offers higher resolution, more efficient compression, higher bitrates, and I believe better color sampling (MPEG2 on DVD is only 4:2:0). If you will always play back video on the XBox and don't need menus, just use WMV HD.

[rando]

I ran a couple more tests and it must be the Xbox 360 I played it in a cheap suround sound DVD player I have and it looks o.k., not as sharp as the tube but not compressed like when I played it on the 360. I wonder why, I even set the 360's output to 480 so that it wasnt trying to upconvert the disc. Is there anything in ProCoder I can do to upconvert the disc to optimise it for these new big t.v.s or am I waiting for blue ray? also would it help if I shot and editied in HDV then exported to mpeg-2 at the end?

Randy