DVD Settings 

 

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DStone
 		  Posted: Jul 07, 2005 - 05:48   
Keep the total bitrate (audio and video) under 9250kb/s. Some inexpensive players have problems when you approach the max. 9.8Mb/s bitrate, and this seems to be the point where they break up.

Also, if you're using MPEG encoding software that allows it, close all GOPs. This produces a neglible loss of quality but increases compatibility (it shouldn't but it does).

Use AC-3 audio when possible. Most audio problems that I've seen on various web sites/forums have been related to the high bit rate of PCM audio.

In general, I recommend pushing the video bitrate as high as possible to get the best possible picture quality. All DVD players are supposed to handle up to 9.8Mb/s (that's for both audio and video), and I've never heard of any that couldn't handle 9.25Mb/s.

If your using single-layer DVDs then for any DVD under 1 hour you can use CBR at up to 8Mb/s with PCM or 9Mb/s with AC-3 (stereo). For dual-layer media you can fit just under 2 hours at CBR.

If you're over the limit for using constant bit rate at the highest rates, then I suggest switching to VBR rather than dropping the bit rate significantly. In other words, you can put 70 minutes on a single-layer disk while lowering the bit rate slightly and be fine, but a 2-hour movie needs to be using VBR. For a good bitrate calculator click Here.

Another trick you can use for compatibilty is to use a burning program that will let you change the book type for the DVD. This is a field on the DVD which identifies what type of DVD it is (DVD-Rom, WORM, RW, etc.) Setting it to DVD-Rom causes some DVD players to work when it won't work with the same brand disk and material otherwise. Changing the book type also lets you use RW media in a player that can't use RW media, but that's a bit iffy anyway.

For media you should restrict yourself to DVD-R unless you know everyone has a more modern DVD player. Some older players can't read DVD+R (changing the book type may help in these cases).

Hope this helps.
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Dave S.

Weinberg's Law
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.
Andy Browne - Digital Memories
M		 Posted: Jul 07, 2005 - 05:19   
DVD set top player compatibility has increased substantially since the release of 6.x. Many of us feel the solution lies in the ability to switch from PCM audio to Dolby Digital (AC3).

I don't know the "technical" reasons why the results improved, but aside from taking upless space on a DVD, I have not yet had one compatibility issuer in over 100 DVDs sent to customers.
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Andy Browne
Charlotte, NC USA
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Myron Achtman
 		  Posted: Jul 07, 2005 - 01:16   
Hi Cathy,

I recommend 6 Mbits/sec and CBR with PCM Audio.
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Myron Achtman
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Cathya

 		  Posted: Jul 06, 2005 - 22:44                 New!
Hi,

I'm new to using LE 6.1, upgraded from studio 9 plus. I was wondering what are the best settings for outputting to DVD.

I have been using VOB 1 and dolby digital stereo (however, when using studio 9 I was always told to use PCM).

I need the DVD's to be compatible with the majority of players (doing wedding dvd's and don't want to have compatability issues)
 

 

messenger_mfb



 		  Posted: Jan 07, 2005 - 01:36     Web Board Link
Aloha all,

I was done with this cause I didn't want to chase my tail. But after reading, someone (stefanoc2)
is actually asking for settings and media formats, etc. This is worthwhile for me to continue with. With LE5.5 I used PCM audio format with DVD Image 1 set at about 7.5 to 8.0 and GOP set at 8.5 the greatest setting. I had the don't re-encode existing audio selected.

For LE6 I still use DVDImage 1 set at the absolute maximum on everything(CBR)-max 8.5mb/s, GOP set at 18 (N value), Min BAse Quantization set at 1,1,1. Quality(SPEED)set at Best. For audio I use DolbyDigital Stereo w\Matrix Surround selected at 448000bits/sec. I name my disc and set the autoplay on LOOP at 5 sec. Then last but not least I set close dialogue box when done. And all of this is done in I and O's, in which in 5.5 would not work for me or anyone I know here in Hawaii. My burner is a sony DVD RW DRU-500A also we use on three other machines Pioneer AO8 one of them being a Bravo Disk Publisher 2. The media we have ALWAYS used is Printable 8x DVD-R 4.7GB made by RiDATA. They have worked flawlessly on all of the machines for us with LE6, also with LE5.5 if we kept the settings at a lower setting as recommended by Tech (7.0-8.5, not 9.5)

For burning it to DVD, I(we) do that straight off of the timeline. It works great. We only use an external DVD cration program if we are duplicating an already burned DVD from our archives. Our weekly output is approximately 1-4 for mine and the same for two of the other workstations (the editors), for the mass dvd\cd production pc we mass publish from edition about 50 a week. If we are not just duplicating another already made DVD.

Hopefully this may help anyone who it may concern.
 
GoofyTimL
Member
Total Posts: 5240

 		  Posted: Jan 07, 2005 - 05:25   
I use Image2 (VBR). Max bit rate 8, average as high as possible, but NEVER less than 4. GOP 15. PCM audio if the other settings can be maintained, and MP2 audio if not. I don't try to stuff more than about 1 Hr 20 min on a DVD with these settings.

I always create the image first, then burn at 1X only to Master DVD-R in a second operation. Test the DVD in my "finicky" set-top player, then duplicate, again at 1X only, via Nero6 - Copy Disk.

I sometimes have to "fiddle" with chapter points, etc., before the DVD will work correctly on my player, but once it does I hardly ever get a disk back from a customer. The one time I did get the disk back, the wedding couple had previewed the entire thing at my house (so they knew it worked), but they couldn't find a player within their family on which it worked.

I told them it was probably the age of their DVD players. They decided to take VHS copies of the wedding instead of DVDs, but I let them keep the one DVD. Sometime later I heard from them that someone in the family had purchased a "new" DVD player, and viola... the DVD ran without difficulty.