format that doesn't recompress in DVDA
 

Hello.

I'm going to do some work in Vegas and bring the final movie file into DVD Architect. Are there any formats out of Vegas for a standard DVD that DVD Architect will not recompress? Or is DVDA just recompressing the audio from the mpeg2 file that I've been rendering from Vegas?

Thanks,
Rich

Taken directly from Vegas help:

MPEG-2 video files rendered with the DVD NTSC or DVD PAL templates will not need to be recompressed. Audio will not need to be recompressed if rendered as stereo or surround AC-3 files with a bit rate of less than 448 kbps.

Or if you use wave files rendered as as stereo, 48-kHz, 16-bit, WAV (PCM) files.

Rich, you also need to check your DVD project settings before making DVD. If you are using ac3 files, then your audio properties need to be ac3. If your using wav files you need to to change your audio properties in DVDA to pcm.

Also, you can see what is being recompressed specifically in DVDA. click make DVD, then click on burn (or prepare). If you have messages that something is being re-rendered, click on the optimize button to view details. There will also be a project properties box there also which will allow you to change your audio settings.

It does get a tad more complicated though.

If you use a short video for your DVDA menu, it will be recompressed, unless you render that video using progressive settings first, as DVDA menu items must be progressive to be compliant.

There is one more thing I know of that gets recompressed. If you use butttons with motion that are derived from your main video, DVDA will do some rendering to create those buttons. I don't know if it actually rerenders your whole video, but I think it might, therefore I don't use those buttons anymore. They don't fit my personal style anyway, so it is no loss.

Thanks for the lesson Jeff. Much appreciated. Going to apply it all today.

Rich

One thing Rich: If DVDA is recompressing something for your menu, it doesn't specify that is what it is doing.

Rich, in addition to Jeff's suggestions, the length of the program is a consideration.
I recommend that folks grab a copy of Vol. 1 Issue #7 of Edward Troxel's free newsletter.
This particular issue deals with preparing files for DVD Architect.
While it was written for older versions of Vegas and DVD Architect, the principles remain the same.
It includes a bitrate chart that might be necessary, depending on the length of your program.
Here's a link (to a zipped file) to the bitrate calculator I've used for a number of years.
It should be straight-forward but, if you need any help configuring it, please let me know.

Mike is correct, of course. If your movie is longer than 1:30 or up to 1:45 it could end up being "too long" for DVDA and it would need to be recompressed in DVDA, but as Mike is alluding to it is much better to render it out at a lower bitrate in Vegas to fit than to let DVDA recompress it.

You seem to be trying to avoid re-compresssion, which shows you might already know that there is a good quality hit when DVDA recompresses, so you are on the right track for sure.

Oh there is definitely a noticeable quality hit when decompression is done. And we don't all invest in good TV hardware to watch sub-par video.

Fortunately, my video projects are just home movies. Very short. But thanks for the pointers on longer running videos.

Actually, it all depends on the amount of compression. I consistantly use an average bitrate in the mid 4's for long projects and frankly on a 52 inch TV it looks just fine. Of course you want to keep the bitrate as high as possible but going to a lower rate won't really hurt the quality (depending on the subject matter.)

The DVD NTSC template worked like a charm. Thanks for all the help guys.

Rich