In recent months the interest in using AvidDVD to author and produce both DVDs and Blu-Rays has grown quickly.
Unfortunately the jungle of advice being thrown at newcomers seem to have confused them more than helped them.

I did a test of 8 different settings and present my own conclusions in this tutorial.

My test was done using HDV 1080i source footage.
It is probable, though not certain, that my conclusions may apply to some other formats as well.

When working with HDV 1080i material it is not necessary to use a 3rd party encoder as a "middle-man" in the workflow.
With other formats, a 3rd party encoder may be necessary.

This tutorial can be used to to complement the information contained in my other 6 tutorials on "AMC and DVDitPro HD (AvidDVD)"

I will post a pdf file containing the relevant settings and some other details at a later date.

Hope I help make a little clearing in the jungle for you!

Regards,
Douglas

Great work again!  Thanks Douglas.

You confirmed my thoughts on the SD side and saved me sometime on the HD BD side of things.

Do you have any suggestions on how to handle the field order difference when going from HDV (odd/upper) to an SD DVD (even/lower dominant) ?  I get harsh lines on pans in the video, but I prefer the sharpness and detail to a soft deinterlaced picture.

Just curious how you handle HDV to DVD field flipping.

Always appreciate your opinion.

Thanks,

Darin

Hoh:

Great work again!  Thanks Douglas.........................

Do you have any suggestions on how to handle the field order difference when going from HDV (odd/upper) to an SD DVD (even/lower dominant) ? ................................Just curious how you handle HDV to DVD field flipping. 

Always appreciate your opinion.

Thanks,
Darin

Thank you for the kind words, Darin.

Field Order?  I don't handle it!
That is one of the main reasons for NOT going through a 3rd party encoder.

I do exactly as I show in the video.
I do not even think about field order!

AvidDVD seems to handle everything correctly.

I export the DNxHD 145 mixdown as QT reference files.
Import them into AvidDVD.
Author and then burn either DVD or Blu-Ray.
No settings to worry about except the RGB rather than 601/709 setting for colour.

However, remember that I can only say that this works for my HDV 1080i captured files.
I have no experience of other formats!

Good luck,

Douglas

Is that PDF w/ all the relevant settings posted up anyhwere on here.  I love your tutorials BTW.

cutette:

Is that PDF w/ all the relevant settings posted up anyhwere on here.  I love your tutorials BTW. 

Sorry, Vanessa, my good intentions have not been carried out yet!
The PDF is one of those things which seems to get pushed aside for other things at the moment.

Regards,
Douglas

PS. Welcome to the MC Forum!

Useful stuff D.  Thanks.

That old chestnut of DV field order contiunes to cause me problems.

When I QTR export an Avid DVC Pro timeline and then use Sorrenson to encode an H264 MP4 movie I see interlacing zig zag artifacts everywhere.  This despite the fact that MP4 is deemed native progressive as far as I can make out  - so it SHOULD de-interlace the DVC Pro.

Who to blame?  If I were more cynical I would blame the manufacturers who take my money but lumber me with unsolved problems!   Potentially handing over more money to Sorenson may sort this - but I do not know that for a fact - it will be lost in the wool!

Apologies for digression!

D

Hi Doug,

Thanks, again, Doug. A few questions:

1. Wouldn't the color have something to do with the display? RGB might look better on a computer screen, but 601/709 would look better as video signal from a DVD player to a TV screen?

2. Do you have any tips for saving an image without a menu, but one that does not "autoplay" when it is burned to DVD-R?

3. Does the SD image have to have a 4x3 aspect ratio on the DVD or can that be adjusted to 16x9? I really don't like letterboxing and most of my clients are still using SD DVD not Blu-Ray.

hartfilms:

Thanks, again, Doug. A few questions:

1. Wouldn't the color have something to do with the display? RGB might look better on a computer screen, but 601/709 would look better as video signal from a DVD player to a TV screen?

It is possible. Maybe someone who knows more about that than I (that would be almost everyone!) can add their thoughts on the topic.
I am a person who isn't deep into screen calibration.... so it is quite possible you are right.
In my tests I was judging the final result on a FullHD Sony Bravia.
It is quite possible that the same tests viewed on an analogue TV might be different.

hartfilms:

2. Do you have any tips for saving an image without a menu, but one that does not "autoplay" when it is burned to DVD-R?

Never even considered that one, Jayasri.
Next time I've AvidDVD open I'll see if it can be done.

hartfilms:

3. Does the SD image have to have a 4x3 aspect ratio on the DVD or can that be adjusted to 16x9? I really don't like letterboxing and most of my clients are still using SD DVD not Blu-Ray.

To view a full 4x3 SD image on a 16:9 screen you will have to accept black bars at the sides.

Today's newer TVs almost always have settings for displaying different aspect ratios.
Most home users have it set to "Auto".
So a 4:3 DVD will be automatically stretched to fit the screen.
If the viewer is at home with the TV controls and settings they should be able to switch to the correct screen aspect to show the 4:3 as 4:3 on a 16:9 screen.
This combination of DVD aspect ratio/ DVD player aspect ratio and TV screen aspect ratio lead to a huge variation is possibilities.
Most often when the viewer complains about the wrong aspect ratio on the TV they will assume that the fault lies in the DVD authoring.
This is almost always NOT the case.

So two things to do:

1. Test for yourself  and;
2. Hope that one of the many who know more about this than I can jump in here and help you out.

Regards,
Douglas