Finally!!! PD8 Rendering 1080P Blue Ray Projects 1920 x1080 25MBS , Faster than real time !!

Alexpho

Newbie Joined: Nov 10, 2009 20:59 Messages: 18 Offline

Solved by

Jun 17, 2010 18:28

Hi guys. Its been awhile since I posted on this forum. As some of you may recall from my post last year, I was one of the " guinea pig " user of PD8 in the field of Blu Ray, putting all my kid's HD Disney vacation videos onto Blue Ray. My goal was to preserve the memories in the best quality, Blu Ray !

I'd spend months utilizing PD8, learning, editing, researching, trials, etc. Needless to say, it took a lot of time and patience because the system kept crashing. I had also developed an awkward understanding of the program, from its crash habits to the editing steps. I'd also went out and bought a new quad 4 computer, Blu Ray burner and 28" HD monitor. I'd finally accomplished the project last fall and was very pleased with the outcome.

This past spring, I went to Asia on a two month backpacking tour and came back with over 100 gigs of video and 5000 pics. There was no way I could use the same set up. So I went out and decided to upgrade my computer some more. New motherboard, new Phenon II 965 Quad, ATI 5770 graphics card, 8 gigs of DDR3 Memory, 2 TB hard drive, and most importantly... 64 bit Windows 7 OS. This setup should be enough to handle anything !!! It is overclocked at 3.8 ghz stable.

Overall, I am very happy with the setup. I'd spent two weeks editing with PD8 with ease. Most importantly, it now renders my MTS file projects into MPEG 2 1920x 1080 at a mind blowing speed ( Hardware accelerator is automatically enabled because of my new graphics card ). You can hear and feel the system taking off like a jet. I love it !!

And you know this is coming... BUT it still crashes from time to time !!

Again, if Cyberlink can fix this problem for their next rollout, it would be the best editing program. That's why I came back to it.

I've also noticed that it can also " freeze up " too . In addition, several frames will jerk after coming out of the
" powertools " effect.

You can check out the two finished videos on Youtube. The links are.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNjy1G8TauY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOzm6AZQyK4

Regards,

Alex

James1

Senior Contributor Location: Surrey, B.C., Canada Joined: Jun 10, 2010 16:20 Messages: 1783 Offline

Jun 17, 2010 22:02

Hi Alex,
I absolutely loved the videos! Great job in the production! I watched them in the 1080p resolution on my 2.66gz processor and 24" monitor.
I have just purchased Director 8Deluxe and a beginners Camcorder ( I am on a pension) and am just learning the in and outs of Director.
JimM Intel i7-2600@3.4Gz Geforce 560ti-1GB Graphic accelerator, windows 7 Premium 12GB memory

Visit GranPapa64's channel for your YouTube experience of the day!

Jets2011

Senior Contributor Location: Canada Joined: Sep 29, 2006 05:26 Messages: 760 Offline

Jun 17, 2010 22:48

Great videos Alex. Laos is one my favourite destinations ever. Happiest local people I have ever met. Thanks for sharing and glad to know PDR 8 is working well for you...

CubbyHouseFilms

Senior Contributor Location: Melbourne, Australia Joined: Jul 14, 2009 04:23 Messages: 2208 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 03:11

Hi Alex

Great video.

What camera(s) do you use? Happing editing

Best Regards

Neil
CubbyHouseFilms
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Alexpho

Newbie Joined: Nov 10, 2009 20:59 Messages: 18 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 04:12

Thanks guys. The trip to Laos was indeed very full of emotion and turn out to be the best time of my life. My camera is the Canon HFS 100. I would have love a Canon 5D Mark ii, but it would have been too expensive. I wish I could have done a better job with the filming. After reviewing all the footage's, I need to improve my filming techniques. I did bring a tri pod, but it was just hard being a tourist and photographer at the same time. The entire process from filming to editing were at the maximum settings. I don't think Youtube is truly displaying 1080P. I see some artifacts that were not in my original file.

I am happy to inform everyone that the price of blank Blu Ray Discs have drop tremendously too.

Regards.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 18. 2010 04:15

Marty2010

Newbie Joined: Jun 18, 2010 11:06 Messages: 14 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 13:46

Hi Alex,

I have the same camera, Canon HFS 100. I assume you are capturing video at 24 MBPS? Why are you rendering in MPEG-2, 25MBPS, hence transcoding into a different video format than the camera orignally encoded (AVC). Wouldn't you get a better quality output by rendering in AVC at 24 MBPS?

Alexpho

Newbie Joined: Nov 10, 2009 20:59 Messages: 18 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 14:42

Excellent question Martin. Though what you are saying might be true and applies to other editing software or valid in purpose, my experience " PD8 " for our setup are these-

1- For some strange reason MTS files renders slower when choosing MT2S versus MPEG 2-. I suspect that since our native clips are 24 MBS MTS Files, PD8 compresses at a lower bitrate, taking more time. Note that 264 AVC in the Produce section has a max ( if using custom ) of 20k bitrate, standard is only 15k, because this format is being sold as a space saver.

2- I've also noticed a slight difference in quality. MPEG 2 1920x1080 has bolder colors and no minor artifacts of pix-elation. I have compared the same rendered file in AVC .264, though very subtle, had some artifacts.

3. Please also note that you must lower the bitrate when rendering in MPEG 2 1920x1080 to a max of 24 MBS, what our native videos are anyway. Otherwise, the process will eat up your memory.

4- So now you are probably wondering how I format into Blue Ray when M2TS is the file for it? I have to admit, I don't burn using PD8. It has crashed on me so many times and I've gone thru $100 in blank BR discs already. I use a 2nd software to render to M2TS, and a 3rd to burn.

But you are correct. AVC should be the same quality as MPEG 2. Its my own personal work around.

Andrew - Wales, UK

Contributor Location: Wales, UK Joined: Jan 27, 2009 19:16 Messages: 545 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 15:21

Hi Alex,

Martin wrote.....

I have the same camera, Canon HFS 100. I assume you are capturing video at 24 MBPS? Why are you rendering in MPEG-2, 25MBPS, hence transcoding into a different video format than the camera orignally encoded (AVC). Wouldn't you get a better quality output by rendering in AVC at 24 MBPS?

I have to say, when I read your post that's exactly what I thought. I too have a Canon and burn to blu-ray. I shoot in 1920x1080 25p at 24mbps. I never use 'Produce' as SVRT (smart rendering) is compatible with my footage. My workflow is:

1. Edit raw video files on the timeline and insert chapters;
2. Goto 'Create Disc';
3. Import other PD projects if appropriate;
4. Create a menu;
5. In 'Disc Preferences' select blu-ray -> h.264 -> HD 1920x1080 (24mbps)
6. Burn my project

We have learnt that for SVRT to work correctly the following option should be ticked. Goto the directors chair at the top left of the screen and select edit-> preferences -> produce and make sure the 'allow SVRT...' option is ticked. Ignore the warning message.

Using this method, a 4 hour project burnt to folders in 90 minutes with all the footage as good as that on the camera thanks to SVRT.

Everyone has their preferred methods of course!

Cheers,

Andrew Alienware Aurora ALX R4 - Intel i7-4820 4.2 GHz - 32GB DDR3 RAM - Crucial 512GB SSD - 1TB Seagate HDD - 3TB WD Green HDD - 4TB WD Green HDD - MSI NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB

Sony HDR-PJ810 and HDR-PJ530

Marty2010

Newbie Joined: Jun 18, 2010 11:06 Messages: 14 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 15:40

Thanks Andrew.

I currenbtly use Roxio and Roxio does not render at 24 mbps. It reencodes at 17 mbps.

I will give Cyberlink a shot.

Marty

Andrew - Wales, UK

Contributor Location: Wales, UK Joined: Jan 27, 2009 19:16 Messages: 545 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 17:15

Hi Martin,

You should be very pleased with the results if you do it this way, plus at the bitrate you shot at! The tick box in preferences is an essential step if you follow my list.

The beauty of blu-ray is that it can be used to display 24mbps AVCHD whereas an AVCHD DVD is limited to a bitrate of 18mbps.

Make sure you have the current build of 2704.

Let me know how you get on!

Cheers,

Andrew

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 18. 2010 17:15

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James Dotson

Senior Contributor Location: Tennessee Joined: Aug 24, 2009 20:40 Messages: 3066 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 19:02

My Canon shoots at a maximum of 17mbps. Funny thing is, even when it says it is using SVRT it takes about 45 minutes to produce a 6 minute video. I am starting to wish I had held out for the MPEG 2 camcorder, but I am glad to be rid of tapes. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Alexpho

Newbie Joined: Nov 10, 2009 20:59 Messages: 18 Offline

Jun 18, 2010 22:13

Please don't take this the wrong way... , but if anyone in this forum believes that I was not aware of " create a disc " for Blue Ray after spending 2k US Dollars up grade my system and have " the best " must be crazy. Of course create a disc is there if you want to burn your project into Blu Ray.

The moral of the story is that PD8 CRASHES. Put in a $18 per blank Blu Ray Disc several times , failure after failure , and then check your wallet. I've been there. The menu template alone eats up almost 5 gigs of space on the disc. So in theory, you can't even come close to a 2 hour movie or project when picking certain types of MPEG 2. That is why I've learned the hard way and not burn with PD8. The burn process in PD8, regardless of what you pick is not up to par. At least that was happening to me, and I was forced to use another program to burn. The heck with a " work around ", we must get what we paid for. That's like buying a Corvette and you can only drive it on your driveway.

Thru all my problems and questions that I've explained earlier and from last year, not one person from Cyberlink contacted me nor offer any solution to my crashing problems. Heck, this forum is even under their site.

Call it first love or a victim of abuse, I came back to PD8 and could have easily went somewhere else with another program, but I did not.

Regards

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 18. 2010 22:23

Andrew - Wales, UK

Contributor Location: Wales, UK Joined: Jan 27, 2009 19:16 Messages: 545 Offline

Jun 19, 2010 06:05

Jaime,

Have you ticked the ''allow SVRT...' box in preferences?

Alex,

I wasn't implying that you were not aware of being able to create a disc with PD8. I was just highlighting my workflow as an alternative to re-encoding everything to MPEG-2.

On a 25gb disc, I can get 2 hours 10 minutes of H.264 footage shot at 1920x1080 24mbps, plus menu using the workflow I highighted. Plus, because SVRT in PD8 only re-encodes transitions or other video effects, I pretty much have footage on the discs as good as that originally shot.

I don't burn directly to disc, I burn to folders first and then use imgburn to burn the discs - to minimize expensive discs being sacraficed.

Andrew

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jun 19. 2010 06:08

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James Dotson

Senior Contributor Location: Tennessee Joined: Aug 24, 2009 20:40 Messages: 3066 Offline

Jun 19, 2010 12:39

I think my problem is that the source is 1080p, while SVRT is 1080i, so it thinks it is using SVRT, but it still has to render the video. I am testing the beta and we'll see if it does better. I could probably solve the problem by changing the camera settings if I have too. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Marty2010

Newbie Joined: Jun 18, 2010 11:06 Messages: 14 Offline

Aug 22, 2010 14:27

Andrew,

I finally had a chance to download the trial version of Cyberlink Media Suite 8. I created a Blu-Ray disc according to your instructions above (I made sure SVRT was checked as well).

After creating the disc, the output of the disc was at 22.6 mb/s, not at the 24 mb/s of the orginal video. However, the quality was excellent, much better than a Blu-Ray disc created in Roxio, which re-encodes to 17 mb/s.

However, there is one issue I had. I created another Blu-Ray disc of a different video, but the quality was not as good as the first disc I created. When I checked the output of the second disc, the output was at 18 mb/s. I had the same exact settings as the first disc I created.

What do you think the issue is? Thanks.

Marty

Andrew - Wales, UK

Contributor Location: Wales, UK Joined: Jan 27, 2009 19:16 Messages: 545 Offline

Aug 22, 2010 17:49

This is very strange. I assume you were using raw Canon 24mbps files? Normally clips are re-encoded down to 18mbps when burning to an AVCHD DVD. This is because the maximum bitrate an AVCHD DVD can display is 18mbps whereas a blu-ray disc can display the maximum 24mbps for h.264 footage.

But you were burning to blu-ray so the only thing that I can suggest is you selected 1920x1080 instead of 1920x1080 (24mbps) by accident. If you selected the 1920x1080 resolution PD would downscale to 18mbps.

Or your clips were 18mbps to start with?

The version of PD you are using isn't the full version I use so I'm not familiar with it I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Andrew

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Aug 22. 2010 17:51

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Marty2010

Newbie Joined: Jun 18, 2010 11:06 Messages: 14 Offline

Aug 22, 2010 20:38

I did not have an option for 1920x1080 (24), only the option for 1920x1080.

I also did not have the option to change the audio format. The only audio format available was LPCM (my Canon records in AC3). Moreover, I did not get any audio when the disc was created. It was silent.

Maybe it is becuase I am using the trial version.

Will the full version of Media Suite 8 provide the full options? Or, do I need the full version of Power Director Ultra to get these options? What verison of the software do you use?

Andrew - Wales, UK

Contributor Location: Wales, UK Joined: Jan 27, 2009 19:16 Messages: 545 Offline

Aug 23, 2010 04:22

In your position, I'd go for PD Ultra because it has all functionality you require, including 1920x1080 24mbps support along with audio settings.

Cheers,

Andrew Alienware Aurora ALX R4 - Intel i7-4820 4.2 GHz - 32GB DDR3 RAM - Crucial 512GB SSD - 1TB Seagate HDD - 3TB WD Green HDD - 4TB WD Green HDD - MSI NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB

Sony HDR-PJ810 and HDR-PJ530

JMK2011

Member Joined: Mar 19, 2009 16:35 Messages: 80 Offline

Aug 23, 2010 10:05

I think as far as I read on here that ONLY PD8Ultra can do BR discs. I know because I had asked this Q some time ago when I was trying to get info on DVD as to BR. I will be upgrading to Ultra soon I'm sure, but at this time no family or freinds even moved up to BR players.

Marty2010

Newbie Joined: Jun 18, 2010 11:06 Messages: 14 Offline

Aug 23, 2010 22:21

Andrew,

I downloaded the full version of Media Suite 8, not PowerDirector Ultra. When I go to burn my project to Blu-Ray, the only option is to burn directly to disc. There is no option to create a folder set, nor is there an option to burn an ISO. I thought this was just a flaw in the trial version, but it seems that even the full version forces you to burn directly to disc. This is not very flexible. Is there another solution if you do not want to burn directly to disc?

Does PowerDirector 8 Ultra allow you to burn to and ISO or create folder sets when burning Blu-Ray?

Marty