Messages posted by Roy

Hi and thanks.

Was having the same issue with my i7 (system crashing - NOT ENOUGH MEMORY) Selecting 2 processors in the MSCONFIG Boot Advanced Options prevented crashes regardless of output quality or applied effects.

Unfortunately it also hobbles the system to such a degree that the benefit of the i7 processor is lost.

However, at least I know if I want to push the processing to the extreme, how to go about enabling my machine to cope.

In the meantime I will do my regular processing under the default i7 BIOS BOOT settings.

For interest a test encoding of a 3 minute video clip (MPEG2 720x576 average bit rate 5000, 25fps) produced these results:

BIOS BOOT Setting 2 processor mode
MPEG2 1920x1080i CBR 8000 Quality 7
Encode time 13:15 (mm:ss)
Enhance Video 85% Video Stabiliser 10%

Note 1 only possible to encode complex editing with these extreme settings in 2 processor mode
Note 2 not practical/possible to surf web or do anything else on computer while in this 2 processor mode

BIOS BOOT Setting for i7 default (no processor mode selected)
MPEG2 1920x1080i CBR 8000 Quality 7
Encode time 4:15 (mm:ss)
Enhance Video 85% Video Stabiliser 10%

Note 1 this is the absolute limit for my i7 machine before crashing, with either a longer clip, additional filters or effects.
Note 2 am able to do normal web surfing, you tube viewing etc in the normal i7 mode

BIOS BOOT Setting for i7 default (no processor mode selected)
MPEG2 1920x1080i CBR 8000 Quality 7
Encode time 0:54 (mm:ss)
No Enhance Video or video stabiliser

Note 1 fastest and most efficient use of the i7 multi-core. Am able to use the pc while encoding with no noticeable impact on other tasks.

Cheers

From my experimental mucking around, I believe that the Create Disk function within PD8 is a capable but limited disk burning tool - as you would expect. It does what it is supposed to do.... creates good looking menues for disks from edited projects to basic and fairly standard specifications that should play across most hardware. It is not a fully featured and customisable disk burning product, for something like that you will need to purchase a full disk burning/authoring product.

That said you can still get great results from it.

Like most settings in PD8 (and other programs as well for that matter), the default setting is not the extreme quality setting - and neither should it be, but rather the "average" settings most users would begin using the program with.

By fine tuning the customisable settings you will be able to increase the quality of your projects considerably.

For example I note the default AUDIO setting within CREATE DVD DISC on my installed version is MPEG-1. Since most of my Video Files have audio recorded as Dolby Digital, leaving this setting at its default value of MPEG-1 for audio would cause the audio for all projects to be re-encoded from Dolby Digital to MPEG-1 when burning to a disc, with a noticeable loss of audio quality

Same for the Video Files - to preserve quality it is better to keep the video files in their original format whenever possible (resolution, aspect ratio, bit rate etc). PD8's default setting is NOT to do this, but rather apply variable bit rate to processing to improve efficiency and file size. Unless your project is based on uncompressed AVI files - any unnecessary processing should be avoided to preserve original quality, ie upscaling resolution just for the sake of it.

If the source file is 720x576 and the final output is going to be displayed on a 1080i device, then I would argue that the device probably is better suited to upscaling the source file than having PD8 do it. I don't believe it is possible to increase the quality or add detail to a video just by upscaling it to a higher resolution. You will increase it's file size and the system requirements for the hardware that you will eventually be displaying the file on though, for no apparent " added " quality. So if your source file is 720x576 or something else, upscaling it to 1080i will not "add" detail or quality. It may just look better on a 1080i display if the upscaling was done with superior technology to what the 1080i display was going to upscale the original 720x576 file. Similarly if you are archiving 720x576 video, upscaling it with todays technology to 1080i is not going to add any detail to the file.

By setting your project values to the same resolution as your source file and CBR 8000 (Constant Bit Rate) with Speed/Quality setting at 7 (maximun) you will preserve/maintain video quality as you work on your project.

By following the above, when you come to create your disk, you should not have suffered any noticeable quality loss.

If your source file is MPEG-2 resolution 1080i then set your project to that. If something else, set it to exactly what your source file is (both audio and video)

When you go to burn it as a Standard DVD with PD8 it will be rescaled back to the Standard DVD Format specification of 720x576 (PAL)

The PD8 Ultra version allows you to burn to the higher Blue-Ray & AVCHD formats, but of course they will not be standard DVD's nor will they play back in standard 720x576 DVD Players.

If you have a source file that is 1080i, have edited it as 1080i and wish to burn it at that resolution, then you will need the Ultra version, or as you mentioned use another program (DVD Maker) to burn it. Note that it will not be a Standard DVD that will play in any DVD player, but may play perfectly well for you on your hardware and preserves your 1080i resolution. I haven't used Windows DVD Maker, but if it is set to burn a Standard DVD then it must resize the 1080i resolution to the Standard DVD specification of 720x576 (PAL)

Only a side-by-side test comparing 1080i rescaled back to 720x576 to Standard DVD specifications will tell you if DVD Maker creates a better disc than PD8

Cheers

Roy

Hi again,

I know what it is like to go through the frustration of editing, only to have the final production look average due to poor rendering/compression.

If you are going to use DVD profiles for your final output the customisable MPEG2 settings are accessed from here (see image)

Obviously the higher the settings (bitrate, speed quality etc) the higher quality you would expect - but be aware that once you start straying too far from the "standard" pre-set profiles, you may start to come across compatibility issues with the final file not working on hardware that only supports "standard" settings, or is not as powerful as your hardware.

I have been unable to successfully use the highest settings (for a number of the different profiles) as my hardware is not up to the task.

I note your system specifications are top notch, so you should have no difficulty using any of the extreme settings.

I have found from my mucking around the following to be important:

1. Try to always work with the same profile from start to finish and lock it in if possible or create your own customised profile.
2. Check (and re-check) constantly the aspect ratio, interlace settings, Bit Rate, audio profile etc as if they get out of whack (and they can from time to time) then your final result will be ruined
3. Save your project regularly - to recover from crashes, or to pick up from where you left off after trying yet another profile to try and raise the quality to something close to the source file!
4. The PD8 Ultra version has higher quality and more burning options than the Deluxe version
5. Best results for MPEG2 settings seem to come from:

Select preferred Resolution - I use default 720x576 (DVD PAL) - but your system should handle higher resolutions without a fuss.
Video Rate Control Mode - set to CBR (default is CVBR) 8000 kpbs
Speed/Quality - set to 7 (highest) (default is 6)
Audio - Dolby Digital Stereo 256 (default setting)
Frame Type - Top Field First for Interlaced video (default) or Progressive for Progressive framed video

By setting the Video Rate Control to CBR (Constant Bit Rate) and Speed/Quality setting to 7 you should be able to take advantage of SVRT as you work with your project, (as long as all the elements of of your project share the same settings) and be able to re-render effects and additional edits without losing quality. If the Video Rate Control is left on CVBR then each time you re-render or edit, the quality will drop.

6. Due to my systems poor specifications I have settled on using DIVX 720HD profile (similar to MP4 but seems to be more DIVX certified machines around at the moment compared to MP4 certified players) to get the best quality output vs rendering and file size. Most of my family have some sort of USB/DIVX compatible machine and it is a convienent format for me to work in. The 1080HD DIVX profile is not compatible/suitable for most of the older DIVX certified equipment I have come across in my family.
7. The best tool I've come across with PD8 to improve my videos has been the Video Stabilise option. Note that some of the FIX/ENHANCE tools work slightly different when using analogue captured video versus Digital Video.

I'm curious if anyone has experience with more specialised DVD authoring products - and if they make a noticeable difference when burning disks. I'm only now beginning to appreciate that every little thing you do with a piece of video has the potential to affect the final output.

I am guessing therefore that the basic disc burning function of PD8 is just that.... a basic disk burning solution that could be improved on with a more fully featured DVD authoring product.

Cheers

Roy

Thanks James,

You are correct, the HIGHLIGHT template I used for the old photos does "soften" them, which was good for that particular bunch of old photos.

Another template example (The CELL Template) is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0KQ7umEDuQ

and although not using the MAGIC MOTION you can see that the images are reproduced at a pretty high quality - considering the images were scanned using an old scanner many years ago.

I like the new PD8 template's because they are so customisable unlike the earlier versions.

Of course the original file is also much higher quality than the YOU TUBE copy above.

Cheers

Roy

Hi,

Have you changed the default setting for 3D Slideshow to BETTER QUALITY ?

The setting is located from:

EDIT > PREFERENCES > PRODUCE

I found that changing the default setting made a significant difference in the quality of photo slideshows and how PD8 handles any still photo used in a production.

Good luck

Hi,

When creating photo slideshows have you changed the default setting for 3D Slideshow to BETTER QUALITY ?

The setting is located from:

EDIT > PREFERENCES > PRODUCE

I found that changing the default setting made a significant difference in the quality of photo slideshows and how PD8 handles any still photo used in a production.

See example at:

http://directorzone.cyberlink.com/video/1187

Some of these photos are really old and tiny 5cm x 5cm originals, but they came out pretty good considering their age and size.

They looked lousy before increasing the quality setting though.

Good luck

After much mucking around have found that PD8 does have a wider variety of profile options when producing a project than I first realised.

I have previously been limiting myself to the preset profile template values that appear when you move your project to the PRODUCE stage.

However by opening up the options you get access to a wider range of profile choices, including a 1280 x 720 (720p) profile that is just perfect for the task of de-interlacing I am seeking. From here you can even customise further the profiles including quality settings and bit-rates etc.

The other cool aspect of this option is that as I am upscaling from the original 720 x 576 VOB the Video Enhacement filter is able to kick in.

I believe that the WMV conversion does a better job of de-interlacing than the conversion process achieved using the 1280 x 720 (720p) resolution. With WMV there is no hint of jagged or the see-sawing interlace problem, however with the 1280 x 720 resolution there is a small jagged look at certain times, however this can be completely filtered out during playback using the media players de-interlace filter.

With the 1280 x 720 option, rendering times are more than half what they are with WMV. EDIT===: Using the DIVX Profiles good quality and de-interlacing is also possible with the appropriate changes to the ADVANCED settings. The profiles include Home Theatre, High Definition Profile and a 1080HD mode that I am unable to render to due to my systems low specs.

By the way, I have never been able to render the full HD resolution of WMV 1440 x 1080, and have always been limited to the next lower profile of 1280 x 720 as my DELL 3Ghz 4MB RAM system is not powerful enough. (I also think my older and slower hard disk may be causing some of the high end processing problems)

The 3 steps to get to the customisable options are:

Your right the original filming environment was far from ideal. The final result is very very close to the original transferred film despite all the processing.

I did muck around with various settings such as lighting, video denoise, colour balance etc but really the most natural results seem to be achieved by leaving it natural.

The Video Stabiliser was the most noteable improvement, as was slowing the short film down. The original film was the first attempt at using a new movie camera and filmed by a family friend - so I suppose it wasn't bad for his first attempt.

After writing my last post I realised I think I could now do the whole process again sequentially without having to re-render at each stage. I may attempt that tonight after the Black Eyed Peas Concert!!

I'll let you know if the quality improves.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the actual final output quality from PD8 is noticeably higher quality than the posted You Tube upload. Colour and lighting is no different, just higher sharpness and definition at home as you would expect without the You Tube reprocessing.

Chow

Hi and thanks for your replies/responses.

I found my first post - it would help if I remembered where I have been surfing I guess!

Robert, the film transfer company did a great job "capturing" the film by scanning each frame as you said, and the results were very impressive for such an old film.

I think the interlace problem came about when they used "ordinary" DVD burning software to burn the final disk. I wish I had have asked for the original AVI file in addition to the DVD.

My semi-final result is here:

http://directorzone.cyberlink.com/video/3311

and although I am pleased with the result, I am really just curious if I could improve the final quality by eliminating the conversion to WMV.

I might add that I was pretty impressed with PD8's conversion to WMV as my previous experience using compressed WMV has always been disappointing, but PD8 didn't seem to lose any/much quality at all. The final result above was rendered about 4 times to get the various layered effects. (1. Convert to WMV, Edit video length, Stabilse picture, Slow video down from 3:15 to 4:11 2. Apply Wizard Wedding Template 3. Add Il Divo Sountrack 4. Speed up video to 4:00)

Good luck with your project.

Is there a way to deinterlace a VOB or MPEG file in PD8 before editing?

I have some old 8mm film that has been professionally transferred to DVD, and then imported to PD8 - however it is interlaced.

When trying to edit and apply effects, the final output has annoying issues relating to the original interlaced source file.

I have been working around the problem by converting the file to the highest WMV format first (EDIT===: using the DIVX profile also de-interlaces if the correct option is selected within the DIVX settings, but not as good as the WMV profile in my opinion), and then editing, but working with large WMV takes ages to render.

EDIT===: the TV Format option explains the carious characteristics of the source file, but does not have any options to de-interlace

PS Sorry if this question has been posted twice, I thought I posted yesterday, but can't seem to find my question.

Thanks for any help or suggestions