HDV to DVD at DVinfo.net

David Kovalev · November 12th, 2009, 10:58 AM

Okay I'm in need of major help with converting HDV footage to DVD disc. I've spent over 20 hours researching and trying to export different ways and burning clips for testing. So far I got nothing and I'm ready to drop it all and call it quits but I cant I got clients waiting! (very frustrating)

I use adobe premiere cs4 and I know many have had this issue with cs4.

Things I've tried:
-Dan Iasaac's method... really confusing and can't wrap my brain around it. If someone had success with this method I'd appriciate it if you can help guide me through it.

-Exporting to different formats... (once burned to DVD)
mpeg2-dvd: bad quailty
mpeg: bad quailty
h.264 : horizontal lines appear (but with the progressive setting give me an error)
numerous formats/options: error during export

-Tried the dynamic link method... fails to export in encore.

-Tried exporting mpeg2-dvd with "maximum render quality" but for some reason it will not let me choose that option, and I heard the exported file sizes are huge anyway!

I think my next wedding video I will have to down-convert to DV before editing. We started shooting in HD but I see now it might not have been a good idea (most people dont have bluray yet)

Again thanks for your time,
David

Stephen Armour · November 12th, 2009, 11:12 AM

Do you use Cineform? Since this is a Cineform forum, most answers here will be for those using that workflow.

Marty Baggen · November 12th, 2009, 11:13 AM

David... I haven't seen Dan's method, but here's what I do with very nice results, the caveat, it requires TMPGenc ($100 the last time I checked).

Output your edit to a CFHD file
Import into TMPGenc
Use the DVD preset
Set your data rates
Apply any filters.... some prefer to "always deinterlace". TMPGenc is one of the best at that task in my opinion
Set your output to seperate AC3 and MPG2 files.... and off you go.

David Kovalev · November 12th, 2009, 11:34 AM

Stephan: I do not use Cineform but if thats the way to go, I would buy they software. (How much is it?) I heard cineform is the best way to go thats why i posted here, should I post this somewhere else also to get more exposure?

Marty: Are you saying its that easy? If thats the case I would have to buy cineform... which one do I get because they have different versions it seems for different purposes.

Thanks again.
David

Marty Baggen · November 12th, 2009, 11:58 AM

Cineform is not essential to the DVD process. I say I output to a CFHD because that is the format in which I do my edits.

Just output your edit in whatever format will offer the best result.... whether the native format of your acquisition, edit, or even something uncompressed..... TMPGenc will be able to handle it.

TMPGenc is the key because it is an excellent rescaler, an important step in the process from an HD source to an SD disc. Second, its MPEG encoding seems to be very good.... certainly better than anything the Adobe Media Encoder has ever dreamed of. Third, if you opt for a progressive format, TMPGenc is a superb delinterlacer.

If you are CS4, you can check out a myriad of threads on this board to see if Cineform is the right ingredient for you at this time, but regardless of that choice.... TMPGenc is like a Swiss-Army knife of encoding, and for $100, it does everything it says it will do.

David Kovalev · November 12th, 2009, 12:22 PM

I'll download the trial and update you guys later tonight.

Thanks for the tips!

Marty Baggen · November 12th, 2009, 12:24 PM

Keep us posted David.... I believe the TMPGenc site has some useful tutorials as well.

The guiding strategy for many of us when producing DVD is to get out of Premiere as unscathed as possible and turn over the encoding to pretty much anything else.

Simon Zimmer · November 12th, 2009, 12:25 PM

I agree. TMPGenc is amazing. I use it with cineform .avi files.

I use to use Dan Iasaacs method which is good but TMPGenc is better and much easier.

Simon

Ray Parkes · November 12th, 2009, 01:35 PM

[QUOTE=David Kovalev;1446329]Okay I'm in need of major help with converting HDV footage to DVD disc.

I don't often do this but an actress we used recently asked me for a DVD of a scene for her portfolio and website. I found that this simple task is a lot more difficult than it should be. Because I do a lot of compositing I use After Effects more than Premier and I found that in fact AE can reduce and output to SD in most formats quite easily. Its also much quicker.

Perrone Ford · November 12th, 2009, 02:15 PM

There are many ways to do it Ray... but doing it and maintaining the quality... that's the tricky bit.

David Kovalev · November 12th, 2009, 09:57 PM

Hey guys... Okay I got the software and its AMAZING! Its very easy to use and everything you dream of is on there! I'm messing around with some format options to burn to DVD.

Question: From premiere what format should I export to? I'm thinking eihter mpeg2-bluray or h.264 bluray... then this will convert it to mpg (which I've already done a test and its amazing... I just want the best of the best out of it.) However the file sizes are huge in bluray format... :(

What would you recommend. Thanks again.

David

Marc Salvatore · November 12th, 2009, 10:43 PM

I'm also using TMPEG for HD to DVD conversions from Cineform master files and love the quality.

David Kovalev · November 13th, 2009, 08:13 AM

Latest Update:

Okay looks like it all paid off and I have you guys to thank! I messed around with some settings in both premiere export and TMPGEnc export... and I believe I may have some astonishing results.

My settings are: Export from premiere cs4 with the preset of "h.264 - 1440 x 1080i wide" then tweek the settings you need... i left most of it alone. Once exported, take it into TMPGEnc and export to standard DVD settings and I also checked progressive. Then from there once exported I took it into Encore and finished of the DVD... so far the best HD to DVD conversion I've seen yet... looks really good on my 42" LCD TV (compared to SD fottage I used to export before HD)

If you have any other suggestions, I would appriciate it... or if I'm doing a no-no, please let me know.

Thanks again for your help guys! You saved me from ripping my hair out ;)

Richard Eary · November 13th, 2009, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Salvatore

I'm also using TMPEG for HD to DVD conversions from Cineform master files and love the quality.

Do you believe the quality of the downscaled video is much better using TMPEG compared to resizing the video from within Premiere using Cineform?

Also, has anyone compared TMPEG to SQUEEZE?

I thought the SD downscale from Cineform HD using the Cineform AVI Exporter was good.

Marc Salvatore · November 14th, 2009, 01:08 AM

Richard I'm using Vegas and although Vegas does a decent job I get better results in TMPEG. TMPEG using the Lanzcos 3 scaling. I believe Cineform HDLink uses the same.

November 12th, 2009, 10:58 AM	#1
David Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Port, FL Posts: 96	HDV to DVD Okay I'm in need of major help with converting HDV footage to DVD disc. I've spent over 20 hours researching and trying to export different ways and burning clips for testing. So far I got nothing and I'm ready to drop it all and call it quits but I cant I got clients waiting! (very frustrating) I use adobe premiere cs4 and I know many have had this issue with cs4. Things I've tried: -Dan Iasaac's method... really confusing and can't wrap my brain around it. If someone had success with this method I'd appriciate it if you can help guide me through it. -Exporting to different formats... (once burned to DVD) mpeg2-dvd: bad quailty mpeg: bad quailty h.264 : horizontal lines appear (but with the progressive setting give me an error) numerous formats/options: error during export -Tried the dynamic link method... fails to export in encore. -Tried exporting mpeg2-dvd with "maximum render quality" but for some reason it will not let me choose that option, and I heard the exported file sizes are huge anyway! I think my next wedding video I will have to down-convert to DV before editing. We started shooting in HD but I see now it might not have been a good idea (most people dont have bluray yet) Again thanks for your time, David __________________ When your feeling down... grab a video camera! www.TouchDream.com

November 12th, 2009, 11:12 AM	#2
Stephen Armour Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Natal, RN, Brasil Posts: 900	Do you use Cineform? Since this is a Cineform forum, most answers here will be for those using that workflow. __________________ http://lightinaction.org "All in the view of the LION"

November 12th, 2009, 11:34 AM	#4
David Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Port, FL Posts: 96	Stephan: I do not use Cineform but if thats the way to go, I would buy they software. (How much is it?) I heard cineform is the best way to go thats why i posted here, should I post this somewhere else also to get more exposure? Marty: Are you saying its that easy? If thats the case I would have to buy cineform... which one do I get because they have different versions it seems for different purposes. Thanks again. David __________________ When your feeling down... grab a video camera! www.TouchDream.com

November 12th, 2009, 12:22 PM	#6
David Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Port, FL Posts: 96	I'll download the trial and update you guys later tonight. Thanks for the tips! __________________ When your feeling down... grab a video camera! www.TouchDream.com

November 12th, 2009, 12:25 PM	#8
Simon Zimmer Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Easton, Maryland Posts: 497	TMPGenc I agree. TMPGenc is amazing. I use it with cineform .avi files. I use to use Dan Iasaacs method which is good but TMPGenc is better and much easier. Simon

November 12th, 2009, 11:13 AM	#3
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	David... I haven't seen Dan's method, but here's what I do with very nice results, the caveat, it requires TMPGenc ($100 the last time I checked). Output your edit to a CFHD file Import into TMPGenc Use the DVD preset Set your data rates Apply any filters.... some prefer to "always deinterlace". TMPGenc is one of the best at that task in my opinion Set your output to seperate AC3 and MPG2 files.... and off you go.

November 12th, 2009, 11:58 AM	#5
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	Cineform is not essential to the DVD process. I say I output to a CFHD because that is the format in which I do my edits. Just output your edit in whatever format will offer the best result.... whether the native format of your acquisition, edit, or even something uncompressed..... TMPGenc will be able to handle it. TMPGenc is the key because it is an excellent rescaler, an important step in the process from an HD source to an SD disc. Second, its MPEG encoding seems to be very good.... certainly better than anything the Adobe Media Encoder has ever dreamed of. Third, if you opt for a progressive format, TMPGenc is a superb delinterlacer. If you are CS4, you can check out a myriad of threads on this board to see if Cineform is the right ingredient for you at this time, but regardless of that choice.... TMPGenc is like a Swiss-Army knife of encoding, and for $100, it does everything it says it will do.

November 12th, 2009, 12:24 PM	#7
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	Keep us posted David.... I believe the TMPGenc site has some useful tutorials as well. The guiding strategy for many of us when producing DVD is to get out of Premiere as unscathed as possible and turn over the encoding to pretty much anything else.

November 12th, 2009, 01:35 PM	#9
Ray Parkes Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Golden Bay New Zealand Posts: 46	[QUOTE=David Kovalev;1446329]Okay I'm in need of major help with converting HDV footage to DVD disc. I don't often do this but an actress we used recently asked me for a DVD of a scene for her portfolio and website. I found that this simple task is a lot more difficult than it should be. Because I do a lot of compositing I use After Effects more than Premier and I found that in fact AE can reduce and output to SD in most formats quite easily. Its also much quicker.

November 12th, 2009, 02:15 PM	#10
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	There are many ways to do it Ray... but doing it and maintaining the quality... that's the tricky bit. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

November 12th, 2009, 09:57 PM	#11
David Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Port, FL Posts: 96	Hey guys... Okay I got the software and its AMAZING! Its very easy to use and everything you dream of is on there! I'm messing around with some format options to burn to DVD. Question: From premiere what format should I export to? I'm thinking eihter mpeg2-bluray or h.264 bluray... then this will convert it to mpg (which I've already done a test and its amazing... I just want the best of the best out of it.) However the file sizes are huge in bluray format... :( What would you recommend. Thanks again. David __________________ When your feeling down... grab a video camera! www.TouchDream.com

November 12th, 2009, 10:43 PM	#12
Marc Salvatore Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Medford, OR Posts: 351	I'm also using TMPEG for HD to DVD conversions from Cineform master files and love the quality.

November 13th, 2009, 08:13 AM	#13
David Kovalev Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Port, FL Posts: 96	Latest Update: Okay looks like it all paid off and I have you guys to thank! I messed around with some settings in both premiere export and TMPGEnc export... and I believe I may have some astonishing results. My settings are: Export from premiere cs4 with the preset of "h.264 - 1440 x 1080i wide" then tweek the settings you need... i left most of it alone. Once exported, take it into TMPGEnc and export to standard DVD settings and I also checked progressive. Then from there once exported I took it into Encore and finished of the DVD... so far the best HD to DVD conversion I've seen yet... looks really good on my 42" LCD TV (compared to SD fottage I used to export before HD) If you have any other suggestions, I would appriciate it... or if I'm doing a no-no, please let me know. Thanks again for your help guys! You saved me from ripping my hair out ;) __________________ When your feeling down... grab a video camera! www.TouchDream.com

November 14th, 2009, 01:08 AM	#15
Marc Salvatore Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Medford, OR Posts: 351	Richard I'm using Vegas and although Vegas does a decent job I get better results in TMPEG. TMPEG using the Lanzcos 3 scaling. I believe Cineform HDLink uses the same.