Exporting HD footage for DVD

Happy New Year Everyone!

I shot a performance with the 7D. 720X1280.
I now have to make a DVD so the company can send it to potential presenters.
Few of these presenters have an HD DVD player, but it needs to play everywhere.

Questions:
Is it correct that I have to downgrade this footage to 720X480 for DVD?
If so, what settings do I use in compressor when exporting this footage for DVD keeping the same aspect ratio?

Thanks much,

Use any one of the 16:9 settings. That should also automatically resize the image to 720x480.

Also, HD DVD has been a dead format for almost three years. The High-Definition optical disc format you're referring to is Blu-Ray Disc (BD).


www.derekmok.com

Yes, it is correct, as Derek says, unless you want to make a Blue Ray HD DVD, and if you want to send it everywhere, then you don't want to do this. Knock it down to SD.

Also, make sure you transcode the 7D footage before cutting in FCP. You can use Compressor or Mpeg Streamclip to do this. I usually use the ProRes codecs to work with 5D or 7D footage. You CAN cut with the H.264 files, but you shouldn't.

If you shot 1280x720, especially at ~60p, then the difference with a 720x480 ~60i DVD might be so great that the Blu-Ray is a better idea. I.e., if half the potential presenters can play Blu-Ray, and if the probability that they choose to present is more than doubled, then you've made more hits.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

What is the uptake of Blue-ray there in the States, anyone? I know here it's very poor - almost everyone I know who has a Blue Ray player has it kind of co-incidentally in their game console.

Many places/people here have game consoles coincidently in their BluRay players. Not kidding. PS3's in racks with cable harness's zip tied for stability is not an uncommon sight. That and the stupid controller/remotes that make you feel like a right twit navigating menus with clients in the room. X? 0? trigger doodad? Left trigger doodad?

The rec room/client lounge is usually where the Wii/360 resides.
Someone who cares/knows more about games could tell you what that means.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Use any of the high quality DVD Settings. Compressor will automatically keep your project 16:9 which will play full screen on a 16:9 TV and in letterbox on a 4:3 TV.

We also create BluRay discs using Compressor to create very high quality HD MPEG-2 files which we then take into Encore (Play Only discs) or DoStudio for BluRay authoring.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
biscardicreative.com

It cost me $130.00 to install a Blue ray burner in my Mac Pro and about an hour of my time and I can slowly burn blue ray disks from FCP 7. Drive is a liteon from fry's.

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Dean

"When I see you floating down the gutter I'll give you a bottle of wine."
Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica.