Rendering: did I do it correctly?
 

Yesterday I rendered my 1st ever project, I'm not sure if I had selected the correct options. Please let me know what you guys think. My objective is to have the best quality possible version on the hard drive, and then burn a DVD off that. From the Menu bar I chose:

File-->Render As(?)->>Save As Type(.avi)->>Template(Default: Uncompressed)

Properties of the finished .avi file:
13.11 minutes
30 GB size
720 x 480
Bitrate 1411 kbps
Audio Sample Size 16 bit PCM
Video Sample Size 32 bit
Video Compression: Uncompressed

I forgot what I selected for Render As, thus the (?) above. The choices were something like: DV Widescreen, a few HDVs, PALs, NTSCs,......

Should I have picked a different format than .avi? There were many other options including Quicktime, wmv, .......
So my next step is to open up DVD Architect and import this .avi file, and start burning?

Thanks a lot,

Mpg-2
 

DVD Architect will re-render the .avi file before it prepares it for DVD. It does not re-render .mpg

I render MPG-2 out of Vegas, which is more native to DVDA.

Well, this is a great start.

It would appear that you started from a standard-definition DV source? If so, there is no appreciable quality gain in selecting AVI-Uncompressed. AVI-DV will accomodate just fine at much smaller file sizes. It has been shown that Vegas can do 10 or more generations of DV to DV render without perceivable degradation.

Having said that, there's nothing wrong with AVI-Uncompressed as your source for DVDA until your hard drive fills up because the renders are 5x the size they need to be.

As you get more experience with the tools, one of the things you'll want to try is rendering directly to MPEG2 at the DVD standard from Vegas. This will give you more control of the MPEG2 render than DVDA offers.

I highly recommend that you review Edward Troxel's Excellent Newsletters. A great place to start.

Yes. You'll also have some choices about menus, buttons, chapters & such. Or, select play-first for your video, which will not require a menu, the video just plays when you insert the DVD in the player.

Norris.
My render template is on this thread
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=116196

,obviously you need to change a few this for NTSC.
I use the main concept mpeg-2 template and make sure on the "audio" tab,audio is checked.

Paul.

No, my source is HD from a Canon HV10.
Thanks,

Some more questions:

[1] If I rendered as MPEG-2, then the quality is not as good as uncompressed .avi, right? But realistically, can a person tell the difference?


[2] I also have Nero, should I use that or DVD Architect?

Thanks,

1. That's correct. MPEG-2 will compress the original file.
However, as long as your source material is of decent quality and, as suggested earlier, you render to MPEG-2 from Vegas with the proper bitrate, it'll be OK.
To put it another way. As the creator, you'll probably be able to see the differences. The average viewer won't notice a thing.

2. Yes, you can.
I do my "preparing" in DVD Architect and use RecordNow to do the actual burning.

If you started with DV-avi (which is about 5-1 compression ratio) and you rendered to uncompressed avi you effectively increased your file size 5x without increasing resolution (or losing resolution). If you would render DV-avi to DV avi you should get a bit for bit copy with no degradation. If you render from DV-avi to Mpeg 2 (which is necessary for DVDs) you will get increased compression and degradation but it may or may not be noticeable depending on how blind you are.

Mike: I am interested why you use Record Now to do the burning?

Terry, RecordNow came with my first DVD burner and I've stayed with it over the years.
I've played with earlier versions of Nero and Roxio but kept going back to RecordNow for it's simplicity and ease of use.

Thanks for that clarification. So the source video from my HV10 is DV-AVI, which is already compressed 5:1. That makes sense that I didn't need to render it to an "umcompressed" format, which will balloon it 5 times in size without increasing resolution. If I understand it correctly, this is sort of like when you blow up a picture to a larger size only to see pixelation.

What do you guys do when you want to store the final, edited video in the highest quality possible (to an average consumer, not a pro)? Do you print it back to tape in HDV format? And do you still keep the original raw footage on tapes?

Thanks,

BTW: I found Vegas Pro 8 for about $325, is that a good deal?