For the most part the current build of PD8 adds mostly cosmetic changes and a few new features. However, the general workflow is the same in my opinion. Cyberlink is aware of the current bit rate limitation of their mpeg4 rendering and until that changes I will continue to render HD projects to MPEG2 at 25 Mb/s. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

Is the Mpeg2 BD 1920x1080 not the right one? the details list the bitrate as 25000000.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Yes, the MPEG2 BD profile is the format which I like to render to. Just be aware of the larger file size. If you want to make a DVD you still will need the DVDHQ profile.

Another option is the WMV HD High Quality format. You will need to create a new profile to make it 1920x1080. The default resolution is 1440x1080. If your camera records at 1440x1080 then you may not want to change it.

Here's the link to do this:

http://seemyworldonvideo.com/view/218/creating-wmv-templates/

The bit rate is 8 Mb/s vs 25 Mb/s for the MPEG2 format so the file size is much smaller, but the quality is excellent. This was an option in PD7 as well.
Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

Hi James - thanks for your ongoing responses.

Sorry I'm not quite getting all of this. I've read so much but it is all very technical and every camera is so different.

MY CAMERA:
~~~~~~~~
I have a newish Sony HDRXR500 video camera that records 1920x1080. I looked at some of the video files and the average bit rate is between 15 and 16mbps (which a frame rate of 25fps). The audio bitrate is 448 Kbps and sampling rate is 48KHz. [Note sure how much of this is relevant].

CREATION OF VIDEO:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm guessing that if I want to maintain as much quality as possible, then the profile I use should match the spec of my camera as closely as possible?

RAW QUALITY VS PD QUALITY:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've viewed raw footage written using Sony's PMB in AVCHD mode and also the same footage created through PD7 using MPEG2 BD and the quality difference is huge. The only AVCHD I have written wouldn't play on the BluRay player at all, so still have to figure out what went wrong there.

The raw footage was awesome ... the PD footage a bit pixelated and really nothing like the HD stuff generated from Sony's PMB.

Do you think this is something I'm doing wrong, or something I just have to put up with until quality of editing software improves??

MORE QUESTIONS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. in other threads I've picked up the suggestion that PD doesn't do a good job in disk creation ... is it simply that it isn't accurate at burning, or does it create poor quality compared to creating a disk in other software

2. if I'm creating a whole disk in PD, I'm guessing I just use "create disc" and not "produce". Is "produce" only used if you want the wmv or mpeg2 or mt2s file for direct use (ie. no menu etc?)

Sorry for the long response ... but I invest lots of time into editing my children's video collection, and want to get the best quality I can now that we have a good video camera.

Thanks,
Belinda.

Hi Belinda,

Are you viewing the MPEG2 BD files in your computer after they are produced or playing them on your TV. I just want to be clear in what you are doing. If you want to use PD for the entire project then I would first produce and then go to create disk. I like to produce my file in the target format first before dealing with creating the menu and burning. What others have found is that sometimes PD will crash when making the disk so they lose the produced video in the process. By producing first you will at least get your produced video file. When you click on create disk, I would also click on "Create DVD Folder" (or something like that assuming you are making a DVD). This will create the DVD files and put them on your hard drive if you want to use another program for the burning process.

As for BlueRay, I do not have a BlueRay player so I cannot comment on that. However, you did say that you tried to make an AVCHD file (mts extension). I assume you selected the MPEG4 profile. That profile is known to introduce rendering artifacts.

Part of the problem you may be having with the MPEG2 BD profile may be the difference in bit rate (I'm guessing here) . My camera records AVCHD at 24 Mb/s (although I can lower this if I want) which in theory is higher quality then yours at 15-16 Mb/s. Have you looked a the camera manual to see if you can change the settings? You can also try the HD high quality WMV profile that I mentioned in my previous post, but rendering is slow.

If you wish to try another video player for your PC I would recommend the Splash player. Its currently a free download online. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

I don't really play them on my computer ... just for TV. I need to have a disk that is playable on a normal DVD player + also have access to play discs on a bluray player.

If I use PD for the entire project (BTW we are using PD8 as we got a free ugrade under the 30 day grace period), then I should produce first, then create disk. To create disk, do you have to make a new project using the produced file, or does it automatically use that? I have always used the "create to disk" option.

Checked specs on my camera and it looks like 16mpbs is the max bit rate. I know the quality of the footage is fantastic raw, its just sorting out how to get the BEST quality I can after editing.

I checked out that tutorial on the wmv profile creation. I still wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be matching the values of my camera to the values in the profile? is that the general idea?

When I created the AVCHD one that didn't play, can't remember exactly what I did (it was in PD7). Have created another test one in PD8 using produce for AVC + AVCHD and then disk pref of AVCHD + HD 1920x1080 for create disk. Haven't been to my parents-in-law to check on their bluray player to see if it works yet.
Thanks so much for taking the time to help me sort this out.

For playing on a DVD player your pretty much stuck with the DVD HQ setting for best results. That will get you about 1 hr of video. You may want to do a search on blueray playback since I can't help you much with this. For the WMV profile, I left the bit rate at 8 Mb/s when I tried converting one of my raw camera videos and the quality was excellent. I created a new profile so that it would be 1920x1080 by following the tutorial. I play my highest quality video back on my computer monitor since it is 22" at 1080p. I see very little quality loss with the MPEG2 BD profile at 25 Mb/s or the WMV HD profile at 8 Mb/s.

For production I would render using the produce option first and then start a new project by inserting the produced video into the timeline. Now click on create disk and as long as the produced video is the same as the target disk then PD will not reencode the video (For example, DVD HQ). If you decide to make a menu then PD will encode the menu and burn it with your video. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

ok - I'll give all that a try. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me get this sorted - I really appreciate it.

Just to be sure, so I should set my MPEG2 BD profile at 16 Mb/s to match my footage? and keep the WMV HD profile at 8 Mb/s?

For the MPEG2 BD profile I would try one of each. Test this with a small clip since the render may take a long time depending on your system.

As for WMV, I've only tried the 8 Mb/s render. I'm not sure if it will be useful for you for showing on a TV since that format is intended for viewing on your computer. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT