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DV Capture\Encode to DVD problems

post #1 of 16
2/25/06 at 3:53am
Thread Starter 
I am new on capturing/editing/encoding digital movies from a DV camera to create DVDs. I tested 3 different software but with dissappointing results!

-SONIC MyDVD: Didn't go very far since this preinstalled software on my DELL needs an upgrade to pro in order to create a movie.
-WINDOWS XP Movie Maker: I went all the way with creating DVDs but the results were very dissappointing with the image quality, even using the highest possible quality settings.
-ULEAD Studio 9: Better video quality than the Movie Maker, but still poor.
-PINNACLE Studio 8: Same results as with the ULEAD 9, better editing options though.

What bothers me is that when transferring the movies from my DV camera (actually Digital 8, which is still digital recording) to the VCR in VHS format, the video quality is much much better. In the VHS case there is no noticeable quality deterioration. Trying to create DVDs with 3 different software the results in terms of video quality deterioration are very dissapointing! I don't think I am doing anything wrong with the caprure or encoding, I really spent days trying to perform all kinds of different combinations between capturing and encoding.

Does anyone know why there is such a bad quality when creating DVDs? Is there a trick I am not aware of?
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post #2 of 16
2/28/06 at 2:48pm
Can you say whether the poor quality is result of video capturing, video editing, or encoding to DVD format?
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post #3 of 16
3/1/06 at 2:20pm
Thread Starter 
Tommi,
Some minor quality degradation can be seen during capturing (I have noticed that capturing to AVI gives the best results, whereas in MPEG2 format which is recommended when DVD creation is the intention, quality is very poor).
When encoding some more quality degradation is added, giving a final result which is noticeably poorer than simply transfering the camcorder movies to a VCR (analog capture).
Any ideas on the settings during capturing and encoding?

Thanks in advance...
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post #4 of 16
3/1/06 at 5:33pm
If the main quality degradation takes place when you encode to DVD, you should use a better DVD encoding program. Try TMPGEnc:
http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_download.html
I use the DVD encoding software which comes with Adobe Premiere, but TMPGEnc should be very good too.

Once you have got a MPEG-2 file, you can use any DVD authoring software to produce a DVD out of it. I have used DVD-Lab myself, but there are easier but more limited solutions such as MyDVD.
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post #5 of 16
3/2/06 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
Tommi,
Thanks for the tips. I have downloaded TMPGEnc experimented a bit with it...too many settings but it seems to be a powerful software. I'll give it a try.

Still trying to download Adobe Premiere...it should take a while!

You mentioned MPEG-2 capturing, am I correct? It seems to me that whenever I capture in MPEG-2 the results are not good at all compared to AVI which is as close to the original video clip as you can get. I noticed that some movie capturing/editing/encoding programs recommend MPEG-2. Do you have any idea why I keep getting bad quality with MPEG-2?

Thanks.
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post #6 of 16
3/2/06 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
Tommi,
Thanks for the tips. I have downloaded TMPGEnc experimented a bit with it...too many settings but it seems to be a powerful software. I'll give it a try.

Still trying to download Adobe Premiere...it should take a while!

You mentioned MPEG-2 capturing, am I correct? It seems to me that whenever I capture in MPEG-2 the results are not good at all compared to AVI which is as close to the original video clip as you can get. I noticed that some movie capturing/editing/encoding programs recommend MPEG-2. Do you have any idea why I keep getting bad quality with MPEG-2?

Thanks.
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post #7 of 16
3/2/06 at 3:22pm
No, I did not mention MPEG-2 capturing, but it may be that you need to capture Digital 8 to some compressed format. However, I would try to capture it to whatever format is least compressed, to maintain quality. For example, DV is captured to DV AVI format, which is probably more or less the same format the data is on a DV tape - so the result is the same quality after capturing.

MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 are poor formats to capture data, since they are compressed formats, which are not very editing friendly - or so I have heard. However, if you have no other possibilities to capture data than these formats, then you have to live with it.

Btw, I would not recommend Adobe Premiere for beginners (at least not without a training course). Also, it is a commercial software, and trial editions are likely to be quite limited.
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post #8 of 16
3/4/06 at 7:21pm
One question, is your camera USB or firewire?

If its USB and the video capture quality is poor make sure the ports are running at USB 2.0 speeds. If firewire make sure you are capturing in DV format with full settings and creating DV AVI files and not mpeg files (Studio 8 has good settings but I prefer Studio 9 better).

Also shut down any antivirus or firewall software when capturing or editing for better performance. Posting your system specs and type will also help.
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post #9 of 16
3/4/06 at 7:36pm
You can also try software like Adobe Premiere Elements and Ulead Video Studio. These I have tried and are more home user friendly.

Edit: I work on professional video and I use more powerful software than those for serious work, but when it comes to simple home video (or just test shots) and simpler quick tasks for personal use these have worked fine for me.
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post #10 of 16
3/6/06 at 11:12pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the tips.
I use firewire not USB. My system specs are:
DELL I9300, PM760 2.0GHz, ATI Radeon Mobility X300, 1GB DDR2, 100GB HDD 5400
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post #11 of 16
3/6/06 at 11:56pm
I think I see your problem. For high quality video you need a 7,200 RPM+ hard drive. Otherwise you may (most probably will) have capture problems because it cannot supply enough data for capture/editing or publishing.

Definitely, you need to lower the capture quality for a 5,400RPM hard drive to capture video. Also turning off any internet, antivirus or firewall services while working with video may help a little.
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post #12 of 16
3/7/06 at 9:56am
The drive speeds have been discussed a lot, and 5400 rpm hard drives should be sufficient for data capturing from DV camcorders (and probably Digital 8, too). If you want to play safe, you could consider 7200 rpm drive, but don't rush to "fix" the problem, since the drive might not be the bottleneck after all.
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post #13 of 16
3/7/06 at 6:11pm
Yep, capture also depends on the program and the codec it uses, most capture/editing programs use a codec of their own (matrox, avid, pinnacle, etc.) which create different sized files depending on the capture rate they require. You also may need to experiment with settings a little bit.

Try also the tips I mentioned before as well as shutting down any other unneeded services or background programs when capturing and editing.

Let us know how it goes.
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post #14 of 16
3/7/06 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 
I've tried all the above (instead of buying a 7200 HDD of course), however the results are the same.
According to a PINNACLE Studio 8 function (where the HDD is tested to check whether it has sufficient data exchange speed for real time capturing) the 5400 rpm does not impose any limitations. As I can understand from the software help files etc, if the drive is not fast enough, the capturing quality will not be reduced, instead encoding will take place after capture, which makes work slower, with the same quality though.
The best quality is achieved by capturing to AVI (3.6MB per minute of movie) and encoding to DVD format, but still the VCR is capturing is better!
I'll play more with the settings and see...
Thanks.
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post #15 of 16
3/9/06 at 12:52pm
One more thing, have you checked how the quality is when you burn an actual DVD?

Perhaps your computer's screen is not showing the video properly. Also check your screen's settings and if you're using the native resolution, also check for your computer's latest video drivers (if any) and if the resolution is 16-32 bits.
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post #16 of 16
3/10/06 at 12:08pm
You should be capturing in DV quality. That is about 13GB per hour. Do any editing at this time. Then take the edited file into TMPGEnc or uLead DVD Movie Factory or one of the Pinnacle products to author. TMPGEnc and the uLead products both have full functioning trials. Play the resulting DVDs and buy whichever program you like better.
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