whats better dv or mpeg

Question

Level 1

20 points

whats better dv or mpeg

I am using mpeg streamclip to rip some dvds I have that are home made videos that were analog 8mm video so the quality isnt great but what I want to do is :

1) have the same quality full video as the dvd and or best possible quality for archiving on external hd
2) have second copy which would be edited and eventually be a mp4 for viewing on mac and app tv

I notice when I rip dvd to dv it is like 14 gigs for an hour, if I just rip to mp4 its like 10% of that and the quality is the same I see no difference, am i missing something here?

Is there any benefit to making dv and using up all that xra space?

Message was edited by: rwltrz4

Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Apr 16, 2008 12:57 PM

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Answer 1

RatVega

Level 2

375 points

Apr 16, 2008 3:24 PM in response to rwltrz4

Yes, you are missing something...

First off, the correct QuickTime format for editing in Final Cut would be DV/DVCPro-NTSC (assuming you're in the US) with audio at 48KHz, 16-bit.

For web and computer playback, MPEG-4 is fine (H.264 is even better) for final output if you're not going to DVD.

The reason for the difference in size is that .mov (the DV/DVCPro-NTSC) clips are lower compression (higher quality.)

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Answer 2

rwltrz4 Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 16, 2008 6:12 PM in response to RatVega

guess what I am asking is, why is the quality of the mp4 the same as the dv and 10% it's size? Is it because the footage is from a dvd? dvd is less quality than .dv, yes? or no?

what is the heirarchy?

dv
dvd (which is mpeg?)
mp4

is this right? if It is if I take a dvd and convert to .dv, i gain nothing except abilty to edit and more size but not better quality, right or no?

now if i imported footage from a camcorder that was dv, that obviously would be better than a dvd, but once a dvd is dvd it cant go back to dv quality...am i understanding correctly?
Message was edited by: rwltrz4

Message was edited by: rwltrz4

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Answer 3

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Apr 16, 2008 6:53 PM in response to rwltrz4

guess what I am asking is, why is the quality of the mp4 the same as the dv and 10% it's size?

It isn't.

mp4 is significantly compressed as you note. Still, if you can not see any dif - and your clients can't tell any dif - go with the lowest acceptable level. Only you can say what is acceptable to you.

x

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Answer 4

rwltrz4 Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 16, 2008 7:30 PM in response to Studio X

but is a .dv file superior in quality to mpeg (dvd) or mp4 when the source on dvd was not dv but from an 8mm cassette and as I understand is mpeg, what does the conversion upscale the mpeg quality back to dv??

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Answer 5

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Apr 16, 2008 8:46 PM in response to rwltrz4

Mpeg4 is a delivery format, not an editing one.

If you start with 240 lines of resolution, it's all going to look like junk anyway. At least DV/NTSC will give you some latitude when editing.

x

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Answer 6

MartinR

Level 6

18,929 points

Apr 18, 2008 5:10 PM in response to rwltrz4

Superior is really not the appropriate term. Appropriate format for an intended use would be a better way to think about it.

The video on your DVD is encoded as MPEG2. That's a highly compressed format but gives great results for playing video on a TV/DVD player. It is a 'delivery format' meaning it was designed for playback. It is awful for editing unless you have very high end equipment. MP4 is also a delivery format.

DV video, on the other hand, is designed for editing. It is nowhere near as compressed as MPEG2 and is encoded entirely differently. The fact that your DV and MPEG2 clips 'appear' to be the 'same 'quality when you view them is really not a relevant consideration. If you want to edit your video with FCE it needs to be DV, not MPEG2.

When you convert your video from MPEG2 to DV the 'quality' of the video will be limited by the quality of the original material and impacted somewhat by the conversion to DV. The conversion does not and cannot 'upscale the MPEG2 quality back to DV'. But DV is the format you need if you want to edit the material.

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Answer 7

rwltrz4 Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 19, 2008 9:54 PM in response to MartinR

Ok I think I get it dv is merely a format to edit it not to watch, I am guessing that the dv and mp4 are same in quality only because the original footage was analog 8mm, when I compare this to footage brought in via dv that is from a mini dv camcorder (my newer one) there seems to be be a better picture not by much but so so.

Now I have these 8mm tapes that are 240 lines of resolution, is that what they are?

So what happens if I import these via a digital8 camcorder or converter? Will the footage then be 500 lines of resolution like the mini dv tapes are will they still be the same old quality? I read somewhere if i put a 2 hour 8mm tape into a digital8 camcorder and transfer it, it will work out to an hour of footage....

Message was edited by: rwltrz4

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Answer 8

MartinR

Level 6

18,929 points

Apr 20, 2008 5:30 PM in response to rwltrz4

The 'quality' will be limited by the weakest link in the chain. In your case, that's the quality of the original 8mm analog video. There are things you can do to clean up the video once you convert it to digital but it probably won't ever match original material shot on a decent miniDV camcorder.

If you have 2 hrs of video, you have 2 hrs of video. Period. Merely converting 2 hrs of 8mm video to another format (like DV) is not going to change the length of the video.

When you convert the 8mm analog material to DV, you end up with DV video. 720x480 NTSC, interlaced. However, the visual 'quality' will be limited by the 'quality' of your original 8mm video.

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