Basic Output questions
 

Hello, I am new here and to video editing in general. I am editing videos (home videos) from two basic sources: 8mm recorded through a Canopus ADVC110 in DV format and a Sony SR11 recording in 1080i. I am using Vegas Pro 9 x64. For space and convenience, I am putting all videos on Blu-ray. Due to my ignorance, I am confused about settings from one step to the next in the process. I was hoping that I could go through the steps and ask for you guys to let me know what I am doing wrong, or what you would do differently. I am afraid that I am going to get the files all edited and rendered, only to find that I will need to do them again because they were rendered wrong or something else.

8mm videos:

I am recording the 8mm videos into the Canopus ADVC110 using the DV mode of Sony Vegas Capture 6 as a 720x480 avi. Once in the computer, I load the entire video into Vegas and split each section and render it separately. This is one place that I am confused. I have set the project settings up using the HDV 720-30p template (which I know is higher resolution than the original, I figure that it would be better for the output???), and the PAR changes to 1.000. I then go to the file properties and set them as Progressive and 1.000. If I set it to .9091 then it looks more natural and not as stretched, but I don't know which is "technically" correct. I am also confused about the relationship (or difference) between project settings and file settings. Are the file settings the incoming settings? Either way, what settings would you use that would not stretch the videos for both the project and file settings. I am ok with the black bars on the sides, as I would like to keep the original aspect ratio as close as possible. Also, what would you render these videos as? Should I be keeping these in the original 720x480, or is it ok to up-convert them?

SR11 videos:

I use neo scene to change the AVCHD to avi. I then edit the videos in Vegas and render each major section separately using project settings for HD 1080-60i, UFF, 1.000.
Authoring:

I use DVDA to author both the 8mm and AVCHD renders to Blu-ray using default settings. When authoring, does DVDA try to make all of the videos in the project fit the 1980x1080 project properties? I would like to see each video maintain whatever resolution it came in with.

Sorry if these questions are too basic, but any suggestions would be great. I have a lot of videos to go through, and I don't want to have to do this more than once!

If you use the BluRay presets, then, yes, everything will try to be converted to that format. The DV footage *should* have the bars on the left and right. If they don't, the footage is being stretched which you don't want.

With your DV footage, I'm not exactly sure how will it will up-res the footage to the higher resolution. It definitely won't "add" resolution. You'd have to test and see the difference between up-ressing to BluRay versus creating a standard DVD.

Thanks for the input. Sorry it took so long to get back here. So, is there any way to keep the videos at their native resolutions when burning them onto Blu-ray? Also, does anyone have any answers concerning the other questions? I would be forever indebted.

Joe,

First there are a couple programs out there for up rezing and they are not half bad.

One thing I did is I built a nice back ground to fit the hd and used the Sd image as a picture in a picture. they actually look pretty nice that way as they lose nothing, you do not have the black bars which are so dramatic.

you can be as creative as you like with the back ground.

I don't really mind if it has the black bars, as long as it keeps the original aspect ratio. If I can make the resolution better, then that's ok, but I really just need to make sure that the settings that I am using are appropriate. I guess my questions are as follows:

1. What settings should I use for properties for the DV that is coming through the ADVC110?

2. If I want to maintain aspect ratio, should I use PAR 1.000 or .9091 (1.000 seems to be stretched)?

3. What resolution should I use as I split up the video into seperate files?

4. Will DVDA change all of this when I put the files on Blu-ray? I am only transferring to Blu-ray for longevity and space, and I am not expecting to make my low res video HD quality. What settings should I use when I make the Blu-ray in DVDA?

Thanks for all of the help!

To maintain your aspect ratio of the DV video. You'll need to use .9091. Use 1.000 for your 1920 x1080 video

Then why not just burn the original unmodified video files to the BD as data?

Well, I meant that I want them to play on a Blu-ray player and have menus and such, but if I use DVDs then I will end up making more DVDs than I would like to. I didn't mean just for archiving, but I see where that was unclear.

What resolution would you recommend for rendering on the DV, and once I put the videos in DVDA, should I just use the Blu-ray template and let it convert everything, or should I modify it in some way? I will be doing them by year, so there is little chance that the DV will end up on a disc with the 1080 filmed video.