Quote: So I finally burned my movie to a disc and got all excited to watch it on my TV and then i saw the results... big time bummer.

Two issues that are apparent:

1. Some of the image is cut out by my TV's border. I set it to the 16:9 setting so it shouldn't be a problem right?

2. The picture shakes. For example one of the scenes is the planes wing with logo at the end. Well the logo can barely be read since it shakes so much.

Any help would be appreciated. Please excuse me but some things I might not understand since most computer stuff just flies over my head. Super frustrating.

Thanks!

All TV sets overscan the image, Powerdirector can show you "TV Safe Zone" in the viewer. Look it up in PD Help.

Standard DVD is standard definition, if your original footage is HD, you will see a huge loss in quality. DVDs are also interlaced, which can make things appear shaky.

You should only use the MPEG-2 HQ setting in the Create Disk Module. You can fit about one hour on a single layer DVD (4.7 GB) and about 2 hours on a double layer DVD (8.5 GB).

If you use the 'Smart Fit' option you have a very large loss in quality of the video, smart fit lowers the bit rate to an unacceptable level.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Andrew,

As Carl suggest- check your TV's overscan settings.

In case you don't already know: underneath the preview window to the right of the Camera / Snapshot icon there is a littler window icon called: "Set preview / quality display options"

Click on that and go to "TV Safe Zone"
Turn it on to see the outline that is "safe" for TV.

I use the safe zone outline for my Titles but never thought about it for the rest of the video files since I have yet to burn a DVD.
So good thing you posted about this and the rest of Carl's reply definitely gave me food for thought.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for the responses!

So from what I gather if my footage was filmed in HD, which it was, no matter what i do the DVD will not look good. So I should not even consider making a DVD then right? Unless i upgrade to a Blue-Ray system right?

Another thing i noticed was that I produced my project on a WMV format and selected the Full HD setting and the quality at times is also bad. Some sections are all "pixelated" like. At one point the screen turns green. Is this because i need a better computer? Is there another setting I can try instead of Full HD?

I tried the TV Safe Zone thing and I can see how effective that can be for menus and stuff. But how can it help with my footage? I mean the footage is what it is? I can't really shrink it to fit can I?

I really appreciate the responses. Until I can figure out how I can present good looking results it really has made me second guess if I should start my next project.

Andre

Quote: Thanks for the responses!

So from what I gather if my footage was filmed in HD, which it was, no matter what i do the DVD will not look good. So I should not even consider making a DVD then right? Unless i upgrade to a Blue-Ray system right?

Another thing i noticed was that I produced my project on a WMV format and selected the Full HD setting and the quality at times is also bad. Some sections are all "pixelated" like. At one point the screen turns green. Is this because i need a better computer? Is there another setting I can try instead of Full HD?

Andre

DVD is the only standard format that the majority of people have to play Movies and Videos.

BluRay is a fantastic format, it plays movies and HD video in Full HD, BluRay Players and BluRay Burners are not expensive, you can buy them for about the price you could buy DVD players and Burners when they first became available I.E. about $100 USD.

On your produced project and WMV, if you are using Hardware acceleration in producing your video, your graphics card software may be introducing artifacts into the render.

You solve that by unchecking the Hardware acceleration AKA Fast Video Rendering Technology.

I almost never use Hardware Acceleration, I want my videos to be the best they can be. Rendering with CPU only may take a little longer, but the results are so much better.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

So if my footage was filmed in HD then there is no hope for a nice looking video if I transfer to DVD right?

Thanks Carl much appreciated.

Quote: So if my footage was filmed in HD then there is no hope for a nice looking video if I transfer to DVD right?

Thanks Carl much appreciated.

I have seen DVDs that look OK, not HD.

If you produce the HD video as MPEG-2 HQ first, them use the MPEG-2 HQ as the video on the timeline to burn the DVD you do get the best results from HD footage. It will still be reduced to SD, but it will burn a cleaner DVD.

Commercial DVD Movies look pretty darn good. If you have a million dollars to invest in the best video equipment money can buy, you can get the maximum resolution.

Before HD TV we did not know or see better.
HD spoiled us.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

What do you mean by 'nice looking video'? For the highest quality video on a 4.7GB blank disc, make sure the video ins one hour or less. Render without hardware acceleration. That's the best that ANY editor can do - even Vegas Pro. Some expensive editors can do multi-pass MPEG 2 rendering, but that can twice as long if not longer to produce a disc.

I've down converted Hidef to DVD and I thought it looked really good even played back on a 55" HDTV. Intel i7 4770k, 16GB, GTX1060 3GB, Two 240GB SSD, 4TB HD, Sony HDR-TD20V 3D camcorder, Sony SLT-A65VK for still images, Windows 10 Pro, 64bit
Gary Russell -- TN USA

By "Nice looking video" i just mean no pixelated areas and/or shaking.

I'm going to try your suggestions Carl! Thanks!

Andrew,

Something just occurred to me- what dvd / bluray player are you using to play back your DVD ?
Some upscale and can handle newer formats well others don't.

Having an actual DVD to hand out to the non tech savvy (read my older inlaws and family members,) would be nice.
So keep us updated on your findings.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

As for any video that is cut off because of the screen (outside the safe zone), add a background to the main track - a solid color might be best and then add the videos to the second video track as a PIP. If you have the safe zone display turned on, you can then adjust the size of the videos to fit within the safe zone. .
.
BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
Anything I post unless stated with a reference is my personal opinion.

Quote: By "Nice looking video" i just mean no pixelated areas and/or shaking.

I'm going to try your suggestions Carl! Thanks!

If you do, be sure to turn off all HA, or Fast Video Rendering.

Eliminate all chances of artifacts.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Ok so I finaly had time to try and Produce my movie! Everything went well the second time I tried. First time the laptop froze at 88%. The second time everything worked. I played back my movie and it Worked!!! Until I got near then end. One sequence of about 40 seconds is a green screen!!

So two hours of rendering for nothing. I guess I can only try again? Whats up with the green screen!?! I still have audio though.

Cheers!

Andre

Quote: Ok so I finaly had time to try and Produce my movie! Everything went well the second time I tried. First time the laptop froze at 88%. The second time everything worked. I played back my movie and it Worked!!! Until I got near then end. One sequence of about 40 seconds is a green screen!!

So two hours of rendering for nothing. I guess I can only try again? Whats up with the green screen!?! I still have audio though.

Cheers!

Andre

Green screen is usually something gone wrong in your graphics system, Software or hardware.

Powerdirector depends on the Graphics system when rendering.
Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Hi Andre M,
How "old" is your TV? Does it have an HDMI slot or a USB slot in it or an SSD card slot?

The reason I'm asking is, one can display HD video via these two slots if one's TV recognises the video format.
Mts, mp4, wmv, DivX, Xvid.

The USB slot is the easiest to manage - a memory key or portable HDD is read and HD video displayed on screen. The HDMI route could even connect up to your computer or you buy a TV interface device (one I have is a bit old now from WD) and extracts data via a USB.

You don't have to rely on a BluRay disc to display your HD video on your TV. Unfortunately older TV's may not have any of the interface connection devices I mentioned.

Dafydd

Edit: slight change in forst line.

Good Day!

So I made another attempt at producing my movie and it worked this time!

My TV is new. Like three weeks old. It's a 60" Samsung Smart LED.

I have a question re: TV Safe zone... Why does this exist? I'm assuming if not converting to DVD this is not an issue? Is that it? I don't qet the logic...

Sorry if the answer is probably logical but like i mentioned before I'm just getting started in all this and am in the proces of learning everything.

Thanks again!

Quote: Good Day!

So I made another attempt at producing my movie and it worked this time!

My TV is new. Like three weeks old. It's a 60" Samsung Smart LED.

I have a question re: TV Safe zone... Why does this exist? I'm assuming if not converting to DVD this is not an issue? Is that it? I don't qet the logic...

Sorry if the answer is probably logical but like i mentioned before I'm just getting started in all this and am in the proces of learning everything.

Thanks again!

Hi Andre M,
The TV Safe zone is a carry over from when everyone had CRT TV's. The area within the Zone was the viewable screen area and any additional overlay or button added to a screen would be best placed within the "zone". Some editors opted (while editing in the, Edit Workspace) to place a black background and overlay their video within the zone, ensuring the screen displayed the whole video. With Flat screens, the area lost outside the zone is significantly less but the "TV safe zone" remains a good advisory placement area for editors to take note of and to position buttons etc. A DVD maker and the TV Save Zone, the way the module is set up, ensure all buttons are placed within the area.

Dafydd