Premiere CS6 to Encore DVD Best Workflows

What is the best workflow and export settings to go from Adobe Premiere CS6 to Encore to create DVDs (not Blu-Ray) at the highest quality? The recommendations are all over the place on the web. On one hand, you can embed chapters in your Premiere timeline, export MPEG2 and go straight into Encore, however quality is questionable. I export the Premiere sequence in it's native settings, bring into Sorenson Squeeze, then export for DVD - but this adds a good 2 hours to the workflow. Recommendations? I was a hardcore FCP/DVD Studio Pro user years so I'm still adjusting the the Adobe side of things...

Scot Dunlap
Editor/VFX Artist

Have you tried Adobe Media Encoder?

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
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Yeah, have a play with some of the presets in the browser in AME.

Yes I've worked with AME quite a bit. The Encore transcode engine is actually the same as AME according to Adobe... but when I do an MPEG2 export for DVD from PP CS6 and bring into Encore, the DVD quality is not the greatest, even adjusting the target bitrate. I realize this is all subjective depending on source footage, but I am comparing to equal bitrate results using compressor. So to circumvent, I've been exporting from PP and bringing into Sorenson Squeeze to deliver the DVD stream. Either way, the recommendations are all over the place. For instance, I see some recommendations that says export using "match sequence settings" whereas, for example, a DVinfo forum discussion says never use match sequence settings. Any recommendations for a workflow to get the optimal quality for DVDs? Right now I am working on a film telcined from Super 16mm; trying to get the highest quality DVD master possible (without of course going the industrial root...all comes down to funding

Scot Dunlap
Editor/VFX Artist

I've had mixed results with AME. It makes amazing Blu-rays but I've found that Compressor works better with lower bitrates most of the time (although I've had one or two instances where AME worked better).

The movie I've been working on has an animated logo at the beginning and several smoke / fog effects and I get various degrees of posterization on these with AME but Compressor works fine.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

This is interesting. It's been a good few months since I've done DVDs. How are you creating the mpeg 2 streams for Encore, Jon? With Compressor and the DVD presets? Does the m2v/AAC streams that Conpressor create work for Encore?



www.strypesinpost.com

I used Dolby instead of AAC but yes, Encore recognized them just fine. I can also play them in QuickTime Player, which I cannot do if I create them in AME.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Ah yea. Typo. Dolby would be ac3. Thanks for that. I may stick to Compressor if I need mpeg 2 for DVD.



www.strypesinpost.com

There is an Adobe Link function, SEND TO ENCORE.
It will import all chapters etc, and create a new Project in Encore.

It will bypass all the intermediate converts and in my opinion is the
quickest, and highest quality way to do it.

You mention "export Mpeg2", so I assume you are not using the
Adobe link function?

birdonarock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What is the best workflow and export settings to
> go from Adobe Premiere CS6 to Encore to create
> DVDs (not Blu-Ray) at the highest quality? The
> recommendations are all over the place on the web.
> On one hand, you can embed chapters in your
> Premiere timeline, export MPEG2 and go straight
> into Encore, however quality is questionable. I
> export the Premiere sequence in it's native
> settings, bring into Sorenson Squeeze, then export
> for DVD - but this adds a good 2 hours to the
> workflow. Recommendations? I was a hardcore
> FCP/DVD Studio Pro user years so I'm still
> adjusting the the Adobe side of things...

mark@avolution Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It will bypass all the intermediate converts and
> in my opinion is the
> quickest, and highest quality way to do it.

If you export directly from Premiere to Media Encoder it doesn't need to be transcoded when brought into Encore. You don't necessarily need an intermediate. It's always seemed to me that AME is faster at encoding than Encore.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...