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Format and compression recommendation

Hi. I am digitalizing a lot of videos to create a DVD of all of them. I used the Roxio Video converter and the files are compressed with the Apple Intermediate Codec, which is the one I used on the sequence too. After color correcting and editing in Final Cut Pro, it's time to export. I don't mind having to end up creating many DVDs but I prefer quality overall. Should I stay with this setting or should I export using the H.264 compression? The videos have a 640 x 480 resolution thou...Also, after I finish I'm going to create the DVD in iDVD, I also thought in staying with the 4:3 dimensiones, since that-s the one the videos have. Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Aug 18, 2015 4:13 PM

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Posted on Aug 19, 2015 12:46 PM

>>Should I stay with this setting or should I export using the H.264 compression?<<


You didn't say which setting that you asked if you should stay with ... but since DVD video is multiplexed MPEG-2 with AC3 (or AIF) audio, compressing to H.264 wouldn't make sense. Since you're planning on using iDVD, export a QuickTime Movie (not QuickTime Conversion) from FCP and then use the resulting file in iDVD. When exporting from FCP, I recommend checking the 'Make Self-Contained' box, but that isn't a requirement.


If quality is important, you could export to Compressor where you have much more control over the compression rate, then author and burn the DVDs in DVD Studio Pro.


-DH

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 19, 2015 12:46 PM in response to rickytitus

>>Should I stay with this setting or should I export using the H.264 compression?<<


You didn't say which setting that you asked if you should stay with ... but since DVD video is multiplexed MPEG-2 with AC3 (or AIF) audio, compressing to H.264 wouldn't make sense. Since you're planning on using iDVD, export a QuickTime Movie (not QuickTime Conversion) from FCP and then use the resulting file in iDVD. When exporting from FCP, I recommend checking the 'Make Self-Contained' box, but that isn't a requirement.


If quality is important, you could export to Compressor where you have much more control over the compression rate, then author and burn the DVDs in DVD Studio Pro.


-DH

Aug 19, 2015 4:45 PM in response to David Harbsmeier

Thank you for your reply David. I won't use H.264. I was using the Apple Intermediate Codec (since that was the compression the original videos had) and then export Quicktime movie (self contained, not recompressing frames). Should I change the codec to MPEG-2 and export it like that? Well, I can always have the videos Apple Intermediate codec and export them in Compressor for DVD, then delete those and keep the Apple Intermediate codec ones for backup

Aug 19, 2015 7:14 PM in response to rickytitus

When you export to a QuickTime Movie, it produces a file that is an exact duplicate of your Sequence in FCP. You can use that file in iDVD or in Compressor if you want to use DVD Studio Pro instead of iDVD. In Compressor, choose a preset that closely matches the duration (run time) of the video. I do recommend duplicating and changing the AC3 audio preset to -31dbfs so the audio will be at the same level as it was in FCP. You can also duplicate the .m2v video preset to adjust the comression rate as needed for the video's specific duration. Compressor will create two files; an MPEG-2 video file and an AC3 audio file. Import both of those into DVD Studio Pro for authoring and burning.


-DH

Format and compression recommendation

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