Best Quality?

[Wajahat Abbasi]

i am making a short 15 minutes video , which was shot in NTSC and my project properties are NTSC as well, my client wants PAL .avi and it will be broadcasted on TV ... i rendered the video by selecting 'default' PAL avi in vegas ... after reviewing it my client says it does not look that sharp! .... and if i can fix the quality ... what should i be doing here?

[Robert M Wright]

What codec and bitrate are you using for delivery?

[Mike Kujbida]

You're taking a video that was shot as 720 x 480 and uprezzing it to 720 x 576 as well as converting it from 29.97 fps to 25 fps so I'm not surprised that your client is saying that it doesn't look sharp.
If your client really wants it to looks as good as it can, they'l lhave to spend the money to have it converted through a standards converter box like a Snell & Wilcox (something you & I could never afford).
You won't be happy with the quality of the cheap ones that are available to the general public as Vegas can do a better job of it than most of them.
There should be several post houses in your city who can do this service for you.

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Robert M Wright

What codec and bitrate are you using for delivery?

i am not sure ! ... i just choose the default .AVI and then PAL DV .. and render it ... i am kinda new to this and trying to figure out how to produce the best quality

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

You're taking a video that was shot as 720 x 480 and uprezzing it to 720 x 576 as well as converting it from 29.97 fps to 25 fps so I'm not surprised that your client is saying that it doesn't look sharp.
If your client really wants it to looks as good as it can, they'l lhave to spend the money to have it converted through a standards converter box like a Snell & Wilcox (something you & I could never afford).
You won't be happy with the quality of the cheap ones that are available to the general public as Vegas can do a better job of it than most of them.
There should be several post houses in your city who can do this service for you.

so u are saying the best bet is to send them NTSC for the best quality ? ill check and see if they will except NTSC .. also ..i dont want to burn a DVD with DVDA i would like then to have .AVI or MPEG2 ... i believe MPEG2 is better in qulaity then AVI? that means i have to render audio and video in a one file correct? becase i usually render audio and video seprately for better quality and then burn with DVDA

[Mike Kujbida]

Originally Posted by Wajahat Abbasi

so u are saying the best bet is to send them NTSC for the best quality ? ill check and see if they will except NTSC ..

If they want to do the NTSC-PAL conversion at their end, then yes, DV-AVI is the best format to give them.
If they want you to do it (at their expense, of course), then check with a local post house to see what they require as each one will have different requirements.

also ..i dont want to burn a DVD with DVDA i would like then to have .AVI or MPEG2 ... i believe MPEG2 is better in qulaity then AVI?

Nope. DV-AVI is better quality as it's less compressed then MPEG-2.

that means i have to render audio and video in a one file correct? becase i usually render audio and video seprately for better quality and then burn with DVDA

Only if you're giving them a DVD which, for quality reasons, I don't recommend.
DV-AVI is a single stream with the audio already embedded in it.

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

Nope. DV-AVI is better quality as it's less compressed then MPEG-2.

great! that means i should render using AVI (NTSC DV) if they let me send them NTSC... also to make quality better do i change some thing in 'Custom' setting or just go by the default?

if i shot footage in 16:9 ...in project properties do i choose NTSC DV or NTSC Widescreen for correct results ... does it effect quality it my footage is in 16:9 and project properties is NTSC DV (not widescreen)

[Mike Kujbida]

[QUOTE=Wajahat Abbasi;1138548]

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

Nope. DV-AVI is better quality as it's less compressed then MPEG-2.
QUOTE]

great! that means i should render using AVI (NTSC DV) if they let me send them NTSC... also to make quality better do i change some thing in 'Custom' setting or just go by the default?

If all that's on the timeline is video clips, then the default is OK.
If you have any pictures or titles, then use BEST mode as this will help to maintain the quality.
BTW, if you do have any titles, open the FX box on each one and change the frame size from 720 x 480 to 1440 x 960.
It won't change anything visible but will help the titles to look a bit sharper.

if i shot footage in 16:9 ...in project properties do i choose NTSC DV or NTSC Widescreen for correct results ...

If you shot AND edited in 16:9, then render in that mode (NTSC DV Widescreen).

does it effect quality it my footage is in 16:9 and project properties is NTSC DV (not widescreen)

A good habit to get into before you start editing is to make sure your Project Properties match your source footage.
Since this is only a 15 min. video, I'd change the properties to widescreen and then fix anything that looks wrong.

[Robert M Wright]

AVI is a container, not a codec. DV compression will probably be okay. (I've got the impression that this isn't going to a major network or anything of the sort.) Don't use interframe compression, like MPEG-2.

Doing a quality conversion from NTSC to PAL isn't real simple. As far as resizing (from 720x480 to 720x576), Lanzcos 3 would probably work a lot better than whatever method Vegas is using (most NLEs don't resize images very well). You might want to look into using AVISynth to do the framerate conversion and resizing. AVISynth is freeware, but don't let that fool you. It's a very powerful tool. Be prepared to do some studying, if you want to do a quality conversion from NTSC to PAL.

If they will accept NTSC material, by all means, I'd suggest delivering NTSC. It will be a whale of a lot easier for you.

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Robert M Wright

AVI is a container, not a codec. DV compression will probably be okay. (I've got the impression that this isn't going to a major network or anything of the sort.) Don't use interframe compression, like MPEG-2.

i have heavely depending on u guys to get me thru this ! ... a mistake i did was i shot in 16:9 and my project is in NTSC DV (not in widescreen) i was thinking of starting a new project (NTSC DV widescreen) and copying every thing bit by bit .. to new project ... would it help ? btw there are 5 , 15 mins videos .... i need to work on..

also if i deliver on miniDV tapes . would it be better in any way quality wise??? i have never printed on tape ... there is any thing i need to know if i am printing on tape?

[Terry Esslinger]

Originally Posted by Wajahat Abbasi

a mistake i did was i shot in 16:9 and my project is in NTSC DV (not in widescreen) i was thinking of starting a new project (NTSC DV widescreen) and copying every thing bit by bit .. to new project ...?

Rather than starting a new project I believe that you can change your project settings midstream. The easiest way to make sure that your project settings and media settings match is to open the project properties box and click on the little folder for match medoa properties and choose one of the media files that you are using.

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Terry Esslinger

Rather than starting a new project I believe that you can change your project settings midstream. The easiest way to make sure that your project settings and media settings match is to open the project properties box and click on the little folder for match medoa properties and choose one of the media files that you are using.

oh that would be extremelly good to see ... yes ill try that ! ... when i get home ..

if i shot in 16:9 should i have DV NTSC widescreen?

[Terry Esslinger]

Originally Posted by Wajahat Abbasi

if i shot in 16:9 should i have DV NTSC widescreen?

Yes unless you shot with a 'fake wide screen' type camera (such as a PD170) Then I don't know.

[Wajahat Abbasi]

Originally Posted by Terry Esslinger

Yes unless you shot with a 'fake wide screen' type camera (such as a PD170) Then I don't know.

all our footage is shot with Canon XL2 on 16:9 mode

[Robert M Wright]

First thing really is to get precise specifications from the client, as to what is acceptable for delivery (NTSC and/or PAL, codec/container, media, etc.). It might be a REALLY good idea to consult directly with the broadcaster also (especially if the client is not crystal clear on what the broadcaster will accept).

So long as you are delivering digital video, it is simply a sequence of zeros and ones (at the core). Whether it is on tape or disk, the zeros and ones are the same (so long as there are no media errors). Find out what the client (and/or broadcaster) will accept.

The serious issue with video shot at a 16:9 aspect ratio, is how it will be broadcast. I assume it will be broadcast in analog - SD at a 4:3 DAR (display aspect ratio). Assuming that is correct, the question is, do they want to broadcast a letterboxed version, or do they want to broadcast a fullscreen version (requiring pan and scan editing). Make sure you are clear on what they expect in that regard also.