Color shift with Mainconcept mpg2 codec
 

I'm not sure whether to put this here or in the Vegas area.

The problem I am having is this. I edit my video on the timeline. I'm using Vegas, but I don't think it matters. When I render my web versions the color is excellent. I am rendering with Windows Media Codec v9, and to Quicktime with the Sorenson 3 Codec. The colors match what I see on the timeline preview on my computer screen.

When I render for DVD with the Mainconcept mpg2 codec, it's as though someone snuck in, turned up my saturation and shifted everything 10% more warm. I feel like I need to desaturate to try to get some natural looking colors in my Mpeg versions. I have also used the Sony h.264 codec and the colors come out nicely on it too.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any advice short of doing a desaturation prior to rendering for DVD?

Thanks.

That is because DVDs use a different color space. It has nothing to do with the Mainconcept MPEG-2 encoder. If you view your DVDs on a calibrated production monitor it should look fine. Software DVD players may not do the appropriate color space conversions. I know for a fact that PowerDVD does not.

Perhaps I was not clear in my "issue". I am aware of the colorspace variances between the two mediums. That is not where I am having the problem. I edit on a calibrated monitor.

My problem is this:

Assuming starting with the same color-corrected, AVI file and viewing the compressed file on the same computer monitor:

Render with WMV - Colors are fine
Render with Sorensen 3 - Colors are fine
Render with Sony H.264 - Colors are fine
Render with M.C. Mpg2 - Colors are oversaturated and shifted red.

When I drop the mpg2 file into my DVD authoring software, the change in colors are obvious both as I preview on the computer monitor, and as I scrub the timeline and view with the calibrated monitor.

I hate to belabor the point, but are you viewing this on your computer monitor or through a DVD player and a production monitor? When you mention scrubbing I get the impression that you are referring to your computer monitor.

I am viewing this on both my computer monitor AND my calibrated TV monitor. I am also viewing the finished DVD on 3 seperate televisions, all of which have been setup using color bars.

Since I have not encountered such a problem, my intuition would be to try a different MPEG-2 encoder for comparison.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I opened up Premier to do exactly that but realized I didn't have another mpeg2 encoder on the machine. Are there any freebies out there? Even as a trial?

You could try QuEnc.

OR ffmpeg.

QuEnc is based on ffmpeg.