Hi John,

Could you provide some extra information please?

What is the resolution/quality of your original footage? What camera are you using?

What is your workflow i.e. after you have completed your editing in the 'edit' module, what do you do next - please also include the options you select when burning your disc.

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

Hi Andrew,

Was using 2 video cameras, a Canon Legria HF S20, and a Canon Legria HF M52 for the last few years, when using PD12 and PD14

Back when using PD12 the cameras were both set to FXP which is 17Mbps. The Blu-ray produced was visually of high quality. Using PD14, for the first project the cameras were both set to FXP-17Mbps. For the second project both cameras were set to MXP-24Mbp. Frame rate was set to 50i in all cases. In both PD14 projects, when producing a Blu-ray disk the quality was visually about the same as a DVD, and well below Blu-ray quality.

To make the Blu-ray disk, in all cases using PD12 and PD14 I did the same thing. I clicked on the Create Disk button, then the 2D disk tab, clicked on disk type Blu-ray, video encoding format and quality MPEG-2 and HD 1920 x 1080/50i, audio Dolby Digital and 2 channels. I am using Verbatim (Mitsubishi) Blu-ray disks. Then click burn in 2D button, set my burn speed down from 4x to 2x and start burning. PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: To make the Blu-ray disk, in all cases using PD12 and PD14 I did the same thing. I clicked on the Create Disk button, then the 2D disk tab, clicked on disk type Blu-ray, video encoding format and quality MPEG-2 and HD 1920 x 1080/50i, audio Dolby Digital and 2 channels. I am using Verbatim (Mitsubishi) Blu-ray disks. Then click burn in 2D button, set my burn speed down from 4x to 2x and start burning.

According to the specifications of your two cameras they both record in the avchd format fxp mode at 17Mbps. You have elected to create BD with mpeg-2 encoding rather than avchd which is the same as from your two camcorders. Using the h.264 settings could allow svrt to work and your unchanged footage will be of the same quality as the original from your two camcorders.

It is possible that your PD14 defaulted to SD 720 x 576/50i since it is the first time you used it. A screenshot of the settings on your Create Disc/2D Disc screen settings would clear this up.

Let us know if you have Enable Hardware encoding checked in the final burn window. Look at the windows Properties/Detail of the BD-RE drive \BDMV\STREAM\0000.m2ts created BD file. That will tell you the resolution of the video. Attach a screenshot of that for us to see.

Thanks tomasc,

I am using mpeg-2 rather than h.264 as I am making disks for people to use on their standard DVD or Blu-ray player, just like they would when buying a DVD or Blu-ray disk from a shop. As I understand it h.264 would not be suitable for this.

You asked 'It is possible that your PD14 defaulted to SD 720 x 576/50i since it is the first time you used it.' That is correct, but I don't understand the significance of this. I changed it to HD 1920 x 1080/50i so I would have thought that it would change it to this quality.

I do not have Enable Hardware encoding checked in the final burn window (and its grayed out so I can't enable it even if I wanted to). Also I could not find any 0000.m2ts created BD file, even when I did a full search of my 2 drives. PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Hi John,

I've been producing blu-ray discs for family for years and burning h.264 discs has not yielded any compatibility issues. However, you are correct that MPEG-2 blu-rays are more universally compatible.

In your case, I would burn an h.264 blu-ray with the 1920x1080 50i (24mps) profile. I would also ensure that you keep Hardware Encoding off as this will ensure that you use SVRT.

If you use these settings then you should find it produces quicker with better end results.

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

Thanks Andrew.

OK. I burned an h.264 blu-ray with the 1920x1080 50i (24mps) profile and it seems to improve the sharpness. I now seem to notice a small amount of what may be interlacing when movement occurs, but I may be getting too picky. I threw away the disk I produced with MPEG-2 so I could not do a side by side comparison of sharpness etc.

Thank you Andrew for your help.

Getting back to when I clicked on the Create Disk button, then the 2D disk tab, clicked on disk type Blu-ray, it defaults to video encoding format MPEG-2. If h.264 is best for Blu-ray should it not default to n.264 when selecting Blu-ray, and therefore its a bug? (I wonder what the default for Blu-ray was in PD12, maybe it was h.264?) PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: Getting back to when I clicked on the Create Disk button, then the 2D disk tab, clicked on disk type Blu-ray, it defaults to video encoding format MPEG-2. If h.264 is best for Blu-ray should it not default to n.264 when selecting Blu-ray, and therefore its a bug? (I wonder what the default for Blu-ray was in PD12, maybe it was h.264?)

There is no PD12 "Default" as in best setting, it "Defaults" to the last thing you did. So if you played with MPEG-2 for some reason, even to create a DVD, the next time for Blu-ray it would "Default" to MPEG-2 since that was the last thing you created was MPEG-2 DVD. Tomasc already provided the guiide, simply look at one of your old Blu-ray discs and in folder \BDMV\STREAM check the video settings of file 00000.m2ts to see what you created prior.

Jeff

Hi JL_JL,

When referring to the Default, what I meant was, when you first install PD and use the Blu-ray option for the first time it is set to something, and this is the default I meant. but maybe MPEG-2 is OK for a new install default (see my comments below).

As for the 00000.m2ts file, I misunderstood the instructions earlier, as I thought it would be like a type of file created on a hard drive after a burn. After re-reading the instructions I realize that that was a mistake on my part, and I should have been looking at a Blu-ray disk itself. OOps.

After discovering this I checked an old Blu-ray disk where I used PD12 and its 1920 x 1080 with data rate 32000kbps and Frame rate 25 frames/sec (I'm in Australia). I cant tell if MPEG-2 or h.264 was used, it does not seem to be shown in this file, is it meant to?

I found a disk made with PD14 and with MPEG-2 its the same ie 1920 x 1080 with data rate 32000kbps and Frame rate 25 frames/sec. So my perception of the quality being worse seems incorrect. Sorry, it appears I have been wasting people's time.

Also with the disk made with PD14 and the h.264 setting it shows as 1920 x 1080 with data rate 16000kbps and Frame rate 25 frames/sec. I can notice this drop in frame rate - 32000kbps seems to be noticeably smoother.

Due to the better frame rate for MPEG-2 I will probably stick with MPEG-2 rather than h.264. I know you can't fit as much on the Blu-ray disk, but are there any other disadvantages? PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: When referring to the Default, what I meant was, when you first install PD and use the Blu-ray option for the first time it is set to something, and this is the default I meant. but maybe MPEG-2 is OK for a new install default (see my comments below).

Sorry, I can't say I've looked immediately after install what those setting are. Rather unimportant, the setting needs to be user set, period.

Quote: As for the 00000.m2ts file, I misunderstood the instructions earlier, as I thought it would be like a type of file created on a hard drive after a burn. After re-reading the instructions I realize that that was a mistake on my part, and I should have been looking at a Blu-ray disk itself. OOps.

After discovering this I checked an old Blu-ray disk where I used PD12 and its 1920 x 1080 with data rate 32000kbps and Frame rate 25 frames/sec (I'm in Australia). I cant tell if MPEG-2 or h.264 was used, it does not seem to be shown in this file, is it meant to?

One easy way is to simply load that 00000.m2ts into a PD media library and then "View Properties" of the clip. Attached pic shows what a MPEG-2 would look like. If H.264 the "Type: H.264 AVC" would be indicated. But at 32000kbps it's surely MPEG-2.

Quote: Also with the disk made with PD14 and the h.264 setting it shows as 1920 x 1080 with data rate 16000kbps and Frame rate 25 frames/sec. I can notice this drop in frame rate - 32000kbps seems to be noticeably smoother.

Due to the better frame rate for MPEG-2 I will probably stick with MPEG-2 rather than h.264. I know you can't fit as much on the Blu-ray disk, but are there any other disadvantages?

For your H.264 disc at 16000kbps did you by chance use the HD 1920x1080/50i option? There are other choices for higher bitrate, namely 24Mbps. Since Canon cameras, record format is H.264. By going to MPEG-2 one is always doing a video rendering which always adds some question on perceived quality loss. The H.264 1920x180/50i would be good when you use your FXP setting and H.264 1920x1080/50i (24Mbps) would be good for MXP setting source footage. However, quality is always in the eye of the viewer so it's what looks good to you.

Jeff

When using h.264 unfortunately I overlooked that extra 1920 x 1080 options, and I did the 1920x1080/50i option instead of the one with 24Mbps after it. Andrew and Jeff did tell me correctly. I think that is my answer, to use the H.264 1920x1080/50i (24Mbps) setting in future for the MXP setting. Thank you for your help.

Thanks also to Jeff for showing me how to find out whether MPEG-2 or h.264 is used by using the PD media library. PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Sorry to resurect this thread again, but I just tried what was suggested at the end, ie outputting to the Blu-ray option with H.264 1920x1080/50i (24Mbps) setting (as I had recorded with the MXP setting with both video cameras), and the result looks like its suffering from interlacing. ie horizontal stripes where there is movement.

Not sure what to do about that. I think I came across this when I was using PD12 also, and I think I just used a workaround of recording with the cameras on FXP (17Mbps) instead which seemed to make the interlacing disappear, although potentially the quality is not as sharp as MXP (25Mbps). Is is possible that the two Canon video cameras are not processing the MXP correctly? PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: Sorry to resurect this thread again, but I just tried what was suggested at the end, ie outputting to the Blu-ray option with H.264 1920x1080/50i (24Mbps) setting (as I had recorded with the MXP setting with both video cameras), and the result looks like its suffering from interlacing. ie horizontal stripes where there is movement.

Do you see the horizontal stripes when playing that 00000.m2ts file using wmp or with PowerDvd on your computer? I don’t see any on my computer monitor. See this recent post applies to what you are seeing: http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/48204.page;jsessionid=398DF54AC752B9BCFAF5E2D3A0C9E5F6 .

Let us know if the video displays properly on your pc monitor and not on your TV.

Did you make sure hardware encoding was off before starting the burn?

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

I do not have Enable Hardware encoding checked in the final burn window (and its grayed out so I can't enable it even if I wanted to).

Also I do not see the horizontal stripes when playing that 00000.m2ts file using PowerDVD, and my monitor is 1920 x 1080, but when playing the Blu-ray through my player on the TV it looks worse. I do not notice a problem with commercial Blu-rays on that player. PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: I do not have Enable Hardware encoding checked in the final burn window (and its grayed out so I can't enable it even if I wanted to).

Also I do not see the horizontal stripes when playing that 00000.m2ts file using PowerDVD, and my monitor is 1920 x 1080, but when playing the Blu-ray through my player on the TV it looks worse. I do not notice a problem with commercial Blu-rays on that player.

You can look at the 00000.m2ts file with MediaInfo to see what the actual resolution and bitrate is. It should be 1920x1080 @ about 16 Mbps or more.

The file that is on the Bluray disk, not the produced file. 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.

Commercial BD are encoded at 24p at a much higher bit rate. It is in a progressive format wheras your Canon camcorders shoot in the interlaced format. You stated that you see interlaced artifacts on your TV setup but not on your computer monitor. That would point to your TV setup not deinterlacing the video properly.

There are several things you can try:

1. Take that created BD to an electronic store and watch it on their display TV and BD player.


2. Copy one of the smaller original mts file from your camcorder that has the problem to a usb flash drive and play it directly from the TV usb input to see if you still have the problem.


3. Plug that same usb flash drive to your standalone BD player to see if you still have the problem.

It does sound like that your BD player/TV setup can’t display interlaced material properly wheras your computer can. You never stated how or what BD player you use and how it is connected to the TV.

Let us know if this helps.

Carl, I looked at the 00000.m2ts file on the Blu-ray disk, and it was 1920x1080 @ 32 Mbps.

Tomasc, I see what you are saying about Commercial BDs. Maybe its my BD player. Its a Laser BD connected by HDMI to a Sony Full HD TV. I will see if I can try out my disk elsewhere. PD14 Ultimate
Win 10 64bit, Intel Core i5 - 2400, 16Gb RAM, Nvidia Geforce GT 430, 240Gb SSD

Quote: Sorry to resurect this thread again, but I just tried what was suggested at the end, ie outputting to the Blu-ray option with H.264 1920x1080/50i (24Mbps) setting (as I had recorded with the MXP setting with both video cameras), and the result looks like its suffering from interlacing. ie horizontal stripes where there is movement.

And now:

Quote: Carl, I looked at the 00000.m2ts file on the Blu-ray disk, and it was 1920x1080 @ 32 Mbps.

Those two statements are in direct conflict with one another. Are you certain you did not select MPEG-2 for the format, the only way I know to get 32Mbps video stream.

What was suggested earlier is to try and stay with H.264 in the create disc encoding format setting area as that's what your camera is recording and see if your disc results are ok.

I'd also right click on a clip in the timeline and select "Set Clip Attributes" > "Set TV Format" and make sure that PD has detected your clips correctly. I've not seen it mess up with Canon but I have seen it mess up with other footage and the proper setting needs to be done manually.

Jeff

I agree with Jeff, the only way a 32Mbps video stream can be produced, to my knowledge, is when MPEG-2 format is selected.

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