HDV to SP DVD - Is there a definitive answer?

HDV to SD DVD:

I?ve read so many threads and contradictory, and/or confusing articles on this, perhaps this might be the definitive thread so all the other poor smucks who want to send HDV to an SD DVD can stop asking the same question. Or?if there is a definitive article hidden amongst the mass of opinions perhaps you could point me to it.

Larry Jordan, as usual, has easy to understand articles on Compressor and DVD SP but it doesn?t quiet cover this particular problem. I followed James Fields article on this subject regarding Compressor. Good clear article, step by step.

(I?m using FCP Studio, therefore DVD SP 4 etc. Edited in native HDV)
I exported my (PAL, 30 min) HDV sequence to a Qtime reference movie, Self Contained unchecked.
I selected ?Chap Markers? (not DVD SP markers ? although they worked in DVD SP ? perhaps this is a problem, but I doubt it.)

I dragged the QT file into the Compressor Batch window. DVD Best 90 min 2 pass.
I kept my bit rate at default ? Average 6.2 and Max 7.2.

I?m a little confused about the PAR folder so I left it alone and dragged the .m2v and .ac3 into DVD SP. I?m also a little confused how he ended up with a letterbox SD DVD, I guess he put it in a 4X3 aspect ratio. But? the final DVD looks very ordinary. (Add your favourite expletives between very and ordinary. )

As a test I exported the QT file directly into iDVD and cut a DVD. It looks decidedly better although not so flash with fast pans etc. and gave that to my client for a rough-cut check for now before I complete the final cut.

I?ve read masses of disgruntled HDV to SD DVD threads but find it hard to get that definitive answer. Many theories. Is there anyone out there who has worked with this format and has the problem solved?

1: Do I need to shell out more dough for BitVice and forget about Compressor? (I?ve read that a lot)
2: Do I need to deinterlace the HDV footage? (Some articles say so)
3: Is DVD SP re-compressing my already compressed QT file? (Perhaps I?m screwing up here)
4: Is there a more detailed article similar to James Fields? (i.e. step by step and clear) that includes the DVD SP setting to use?
5: Does anyone know a cheap, good psychiatrist I can pay with discarded DVDs?

Cheers

You did everything correctly.
When you "simulate" your dvd you have the choice of viewing 4:3 (default)
or 16x9 (selectable)
your dvd played on a 4:3 tv will be letter box
on a 16x9 it will default to widescreen

I don't do the QT Ref thing as I "send" the sequence to Compressor which then understands that every cut point is a compression marker
then
"import asetts" into DVD SP
Format & Burn

there's a little more to it but those are the basics

Sorry if I've posted this twice, can't see the reply in the thread.
Thanks for the reply Chris. I've noticed that most articles say not to send sequence to Compressor but to export a QT ref first. I'll give your method a go. So far my HDV to SD DVD looks far worse than my old DVcam to DVD. Cheers.

And there is this.

[www.kenstone.net]

--ken

Ken Stone is the man.





Ken Stone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And there is this.
>
> [www.kenstone.net]
> to_sd_dvd.html
>
> --ken

Yeah, he is ? except I honestly think that workflow is wrong-headed and unnecessary. I've taken tons of material from HDV to SD DVD, and I've never had complaint one. I just cut the material in a ProRes timeline like I normally would, master to a ProRes Quicktime like I normally would, drop that Quicktime onto Compressor and use the appropriate DVD encoding preset. Pop into DVD Studio Pro, burn, done. I'm very pleased with my results.

Of course, I only do this with 24p material. Maybe if I were trying to downconvert 60i material I'd find it necessary to similarly jump through hoops to get acceptable results. To me, though, that's just another reason never to shoot interlaced HD.

Hi Jeff,

There are some people who do have problems going from HDV to MPEG2 and get poor quality, loss of audio sync, artifacting, etc. I do believe that these people were shooting in 1080i. For those people this process is sucessful and as it works around the problems that they were having, they would not consider it to be 'wrong-headed'.

--ken

I didn't mean it personally at all, Ken. I was just saying that in my experience, that workflow is counter-productive. Again, my experience might not be typical; I work with one format, and everything is very simple. I've just seen too many instances where somebody follows a recipe without understanding what that recipe is for or why it is what it is. That's not an indictment of your recipe or your site or you as a person, just more an indictment of, well, people who just follow recipes without understanding them.

Group hug?