pixelation on dvd copies

When I burn copies of my movie, there are a lot of pixelated things, like blinds, curtains, corners of furniture. That wasn't the case when I first burnt it, and on the trailer which is also on the dvd, everything looks fine. But, on my actual movie, things look poor. I don't get it, because I've been doing the same thing I did the first time I made dvds of the movie. I'm exporting it as a quicktime file, using current settings, audio and video, without markers, and making the movie self-contained. Then, I bring it into iDVD and burn it. I don't mess with any settings on iDVD, but I didn't have to before. Thanks for any help, I've been dealing with this all day.

Does it have something to do with the file size? Because, like I said, the trailer is fine. But, the movie is 40 minutes long, so will it not go over a certain byte size or something? I know that sounds weird, but I can't explain it otherwise.

You're problem is most likely due to the length of your movie. The longer a movie is, the more compressed it has to be in order to fit onto a DVD.

40 minutes is not all that long. You should get good quality up to 90 minutes without any real difference between the trailer and the film. However, that's with DVDSP, not iDVD. I haven't used iDVD for a REALLY long time as I felt that the quality was overall poor to begin with and DVDs didn't always work with DVD players.

If you can, use Compressor's 90 min best preset and build the DVD in DVDSP for premium quality.

Andy

Ok, well I rebuilt the DVD in StudioPro, but I forgot to do the compressor's 90 min. best preset. I guess it's obvious that the DVD came out the same? Actually, do you mean the compression settings in FCP? Because that doesn't show up when I export as a quicktime file, only during quicktime conversion, which I haven't been using to export the file. I have been going in, just for good measure, and adjusting the settings on the conversion (making the compression "best" and fixing the aspect ratio) and THEN exiting out and exporting as quicktime, but I'm not sure if that does anything.

I noticed that you're probably talking about "Using Compressor", the separate program. So, I'm giving that a shot

Yeah, I am. Export out of FCP as a Quicktime Movie: Self Contained. Place it in Compressor and choose the 90 min Best preset.

DVD Studio Pro encodes, but uses defaults unless you adjust (and I wouldn't recommend it if you don't know what you're doing). Compressor comes with presets that give you great quality with maximum compatibility with DVD players.

I wouldn't recommend using the Export with Compressor option in FCP because it's never worked properly all the time and it ties up FCP.

Quote
radam04
I have been going in, just for good measure, and adjusting the settings on the conversion (making the compression "best" and fixing the aspect ratio)

Is your footage 16:9 or 4:3? I was confused about why you were messing with the aspect ratio.

Well, I compressed the final cut file of the movie (without exporting it as a quicktime, i mean), by mistake, and followed that through until I burnt a dvd, and it was exactly the same. I've tried a number of times to compress an pre-"exported as quicktime" file of the movie, as you directed, but when I click "Submit" in Compressor, nothing happens. But, I can notice the difference even before the DVD, in the Preview window of compressor, that the trailer looks good and the movie doesn't, so I feel like it has to be in the early stages of the export process or something. It doesn't make sense, though, because I cut the trailer from the project. Ugh, sorry about this.

My aspect ratio is 4:3, by the way. I would just change the dimensions to that when I would do that conversion settings-thing.

I'm guessing you've never used Compressor before, huh? After clicking the "submit" key, it sends the file to a program called Batch Monitor which does the compression. Above the main window there should be a button for the Batch Monitor. Click on that and then click on the My Computer icon on the left to view the progress of your movie.

Also, I would not adjust your dimensions in any way when compressing. Doing so will certainly affect the overall finished product.

Andy

Ok, I redid it, I saw what you said about Batch Monitor. It's still the same, though. The problem has to be before I export it even. It's compressing it, but what it compresses is not the highest quality, so it can't get better. So, any ideas on how this could be happening, within FCP? If the trailer didn't look noticeably better, it probably wouldn't even cross my mind, but knowing that the movie itself should look as good is making me want to figure this out.

Like, in the canvas screen in FCP, both look equal (the lower quality image that is normal in FCP), but when exported, it's like the trailer gets better, as it should, and the movie itself almost stays the same as it was in FCP. I don't know if that's actually the case, but just thought I'd mention it. Thanks

It'd be hard to even guess without seeing the discrepancy myself. I'm sorry. What codec was the movie edited in? If it was DV, then it's possible what you are seeing is the way the codec treats thin lines similar to aliasing problems you get with thin text. Did you double check the sequence settings for the full movie to make sure they matched the settings for the trailer?

Andy

I'm gonna have a link to a screen capture for you soon, a comparison of the two videos. But, yeah, it looks like the codec was DV, but I've made earlier versions of the DVD and the movie looks fine. But, I haven't created a new file or anything since then, I've just edited on that same file. The sequence settings all match, as well. So, something has gone wrong since I first made those DVDs that looked good. I'm editing on a MacBook Pro now, and before I was using a desktop Mac, would that have anything to do with it? And, if this picture doesn't lead to any possibilities, could I go about finding someone to send it to or hire or something? I don't even know, just out of curiosity and desparation. Okay, thanks Andy

Ok, here's the link to the comparison, the shot on the left is from the trailer which looks good, and the shot on the right is from the problematic movie: [rymo.org]

Does this help steer us in any sort of direction? Thanks

Did you change any of the audio files?
I know it may sound strange, but if you don't mixdown your audio, you can get artifacting.
Trust me, it's from experience.
Sequence/Render only/Mixdown.
HTH

Matt Murray
Lineside Productions
[www.edgesportfishing.com]
Fishing videos, DVD Production, Websites and more.

yes yes, mixdown before export!

www.markdavid.tv

Hm, it didn't work. I really have no idea what's going on here. Parts of the movie are fine, but other times, it's ridiculous how low the resolution is. I'm gonna try nesting, too, would that help? I don't know. I think I might try to take it to someone, because this is crazy how none of this is making any difference

By the way, does DVD Studio Pro eat up a lot of memory? Or, compressor? Because ever since I've been dealing with this my memory has been going fast. Okay, thanks

Okay, I got it! I did two things, one was just cutting the movie and pasting it into the trailer timeline. And, I exported using compressor instead of exporting it and then using compressor. But, yeah, thanks so much for all your help!

That's a strange outcome. I'm going to suggest that there is something different about your film's sequence from your trailer's sequence. Exporting using compressor and exporting a QT and then using compressor shouldn't create any difference unless you recompressed frames on the QT export. That leaves an issue with the film's sequence.

If you check the settings and there's absolutely no difference between the two, then I guess it's possible that you had a corrupt sequence which was giving you the headache.

Andy

Yeah, I figured it was the sequence. But, yeah, I guess, in the future a good thing to try is just putting it in a new seq. Thanks again andy