Best Quality?
 

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?

What codec and bitrate are you using for delivery?

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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)

[QUOTE=Wajahat Abbasi;1138548]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 you shot AND edited in 16:9, then render in that mode (NTSC DV 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.

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.

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?

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?

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

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.

initally they asked me for this (cut pasting it from email i recieved) "(720 x 576 DV PAL AVI / MOV), to ensure good resolution for broadcast."

but now i asked them if i can send video in NTSC to maintain quality and they will get back to me on that , letterboxed version is fine with them so i wont be needing to go pan and scan editing gladfully .. any other pointers?

so tape or DVD souldnt matter quality wise?

Maintaining quality is really a matter of how well the NTSC to PAL conversion is done. I would think the broadcaster can probably do that well (if they are willing). If you do deliver NTSC material, don't letterbox it. That would result in two resizings - downsizing to letterbox in NTSC fullscreen format, and then another to upsize the image to fit a PAL screen (which will soften the image). Let them do it as a single resizing (downsizing) and the result should be a sharp image.

I am hoping they let me deliver NTSC ... so that means i should check the Stretch video to fill output frame size (do not letter box) option when rendernig correct?

If you are delivering an AVI, using DV as the codec, I don't think it really matters what aspect ratio you specify in the project settings. I don't think the DAR information is stored in the stream. If the person doing the NTSC to PAL conversion is competent, it won't really matter anyway. The number of pixels you deliver, and their color, will be exactly the same. DAR simply determines whether the image is stretched or compressed horizontally, upon display.

To answer your other question about DVD disk or tape. It doesn't matter which one (quality wise), if you are delivering digital video. Personally, I'd prefer delivering a file on a DVD disk (it's easier).

Yes i think delivering on DVDs is easier as well! ... one thing i noticed if my project settings in DV NTSC and i render with DV NTSC windscreen my letterbox windows on 4:3 Tvs becomes even smalls (i mean the viewable part gets smalls ...smalls box) ... is this cause my project is not windscreen and rendiing is ?

I'm not sure exactly what you are saying. You are rendering 720x480 pixel frames. How that gets displayed on a television depends on what DAR is specified in the file (if at all) and then how the player sends out the signal and how the television interprets the signal.

IF i render DV NTSC Widescreen and play back the box appears smaller on 4:3 display (area where video is being displayed), and black area on top and bottom gets bigger covering more are.

but if i reneder DV NTSC(no widescreen) the letter box appers fine .

what am i doing wrong?

I'm not sure exactly what you are doing. Are you talking about rendering an MPEG-2 file, and then creating a DVD from it, and then popping that into a DVD player and watching on a standard definition, analog television?

ok this is what i am doing

shot footage in 16:9 , 30 p with Canon XL2

project in vegas which is NTSC DV

renderding .AVI , NTSC DV widescreen.

when i watch video the black part of the letter box takes most of the screen .

if i reneder .AVI NTSC DV the video looks fine , meaning letterbox black area looks normal.

playing it any where windows media player, or draving the rendered video on timeline and displaying on 2nd monitor .. same output ...

It's been a long time since I used Vegas. Without reinstalling Vegas or asking more questions, I can't be 100% sure, precisely what the project and rendering settings might be doing (or not doing) with the aspect ratio and letterboxing, and I've got to get ready to get out the door here. Somebody who is currently using Vegas specifically, might be able to help you with figuring out what is happening with this better.

i want to make sure when i render and watch footage in widescreen there is no box and when played on a 4:3 display it should letterbox ...

my footage is in 16:9 how can i make sure this happens?

in the "render as" 4th box at the bottom should be CHECKED? right