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Home: Video University Forums: Mac Video:
compressor mpeg-2 quality settings

bobmac
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Jun 8, 2007, 3:54 PM

Post #1 of 9 (1163 views)
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compressor mpeg-2 quality settings	Can't Post

Hi All,

I had some choking, pixelation and pulsating images on a 55 min. dvd I encoded in compressor 2. I had chose a 2 pass, best quality 90 minute 4:3 compression. I determined the problem to be in the creation of the m2v file in compressor. I think I had then bumped up the presets and changed my average bit rate to 6.7 and had a max bit rate of about 7.6 with upper field selected for field dominance. I thought it would enhance the quality.

I narrowed down some issues I was having with creating a smooth high quality DVD thanks to Todd Gilespie's recent article in Event Dv regarding Compressor. It appears I bumped up the settings too high. Unfortunatley, now I have more questions that ever.

I see in Todd's article, under the video format tab, he has selected "progressive" instead of the upper or lower setting that I'm used to. Can anyone tell me if the progressive setting in field dominace enhances the quality on standard dvd players and how much the progressive setting adds to the size of a file that would have just upper or lower selected?

Is there a standard or "best" set of numbers that would provide great looking dvd's if applied to 60 or 90 minute dvd's. Or is it best just to use the presets they provide? Thanks for any suggestions.

Bob

carnicelli
User

Jun 10, 2007, 7:05 PM

Post #2 of 9 (1139 views)
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Re: [bobmac] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

I believe the field setting should match your source material. If your source is DV then it should be set to lower. Also make sure that you have the most update version of compressor 2. In the earlier version the VBR setting was broken and would make awful looking video. I typically just just use the "best" presets for my mpegs and also compress the audio to AC3.

Bill Carnicelli
Carnicelli Media Productions Inc

Joel
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Jun 11, 2007, 12:39 AM

Post #3 of 9 (1128 views)
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Re: [bobmac] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hi Bob,

I think there might be two issues at work here. One is that the version of Compressor you're using may be giving you problems. I used version 1.2.1 long after 2 came out because of exactly the problems you're describing. Switching to CBR encoding apparently fixes the problems in ver. 2, but to get better results you'd be better off upgrading to 2.3, which is the universal version. The other issue is that you may be tweaking the settings in a way that corrupts the encoded file. Go with a preset that uses CBR and see how it looks. You can even batch encode the same clip, maybe something demanding with a lot of transitions and some fades to and from black, using different encoding settings, including VBR two pass etc.. Then author a DVD that has all the clips on them.

This is something I wrote a while ago so some of it isn't relevant anymore. Some is still useful.

http://www.eventvideographer.com/compressor.pdf

For what its worth I've found that there is a sweet spot around 5-6 MB/sec with Compressor 2.3. I use the link below to determine the highest bit rate I can handle but I don't go over 6 MB/sec

http://www.bitcalc.com

Field dominance settings don't affect the size of the encoded file.

Joel

"Think of this business as a room with a huge table and a bunch of chairs around the table. There is a big pie on the table. Your mission is to take your place at the table, pick up your fork, and eat your pie. Do not look to the left and do not look to the right. Just eat your pie. There is plenty of pie for everyone."

starting | perfectionists

(This post was edited by Joel on Jun 11, 2007, 12:40 AM)

bobmac
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Jun 11, 2007, 7:27 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1110 views)
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Re: [Joel] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

Joel,
Thanks for all the information. I'll work through the suggestions and will definately read the info on the links you provided. Your help and that of the others who replied is appreciated more than you can imagine.
Bob McMillin

Joel
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Jun 11, 2007, 7:38 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1106 views)
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Re: [bobmac] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

No problem!

We're going to be very close to you tomorrow - we're heading up to Three Lakes for some R & R. It'd be great to meet you some day. I don't know if you remember but 7 years ago you were kind enough to be on call to shoot a wedding that was scheduled on the same day that my wife was due to have our first. Luckily Dora was born early and I didn't need a pinch hitter, but I really appreciated (and still very much do) your offer to help.

In Reply To

Joel

"Think of this business as a room with a huge table and a bunch of chairs around the table. There is a big pie on the table. Your mission is to take your place at the table, pick up your fork, and eat your pie. Do not look to the left and do not look to the right. Just eat your pie. There is plenty of pie for everyone."

starting | perfectionists

(This post was edited by Joel on Jun 11, 2007, 7:38 PM)

bobmac
User

Jun 11, 2007, 9:56 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1099 views)
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Re: [Joel] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

Joel,
I do remember but had no idea that much time had past by since then. Time really does fly.
Will you be taking 45 through Clintonville and if so, do you have a time frame. I might just be working and on the road when you come through. It would be awesome to say hi. I understand you know my good friend Bruce Cleveland. It would be awesome to get together some time and share idea's.
Have a great bit of time off.
Bob

brucecleveland
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Jun 15, 2007, 1:32 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1037 views)
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Re: [Joel] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

Joel you can't be talking about a vacation are you??? that is awesome. Good for you. Looks like the weather will be nice.

Bruce
"Always over my head, but not quite deep enough to drown."

brucecleveland
Veteran

Jun 15, 2007, 1:33 PM

Post #8 of 9 (1036 views)
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Re: [bobmac] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

I don't know if I am just lucky or what, but I just use the pre-sets that compressor gives me. Never had any problems that I can see anyway.

Bruce
"Always over my head, but not quite deep enough to drown."

brucecleveland
Veteran

Jun 15, 2007, 1:34 PM

Post #9 of 9 (1035 views)
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Re: [bobmac] compressor mpeg-2 quality settings [In reply to]	Can't Post

Hey Bob you finally signed up for VU. Great and welcome.

Bruce
"Always over my head, but not quite deep enough to drown."