export DVD quality issues

[coreydeep]

Hi,
I have to add the title of a production company to the beginning of a film. I received a dvd of the film, and I am going to export the VOB file to Final Cut Pro or After Effects....

I want to know if anyone can give some insight on how to preserve the movie quality... I have done this before and there were problems with the encoding.
this film is going to festivals , theatres etc ....

I need to preserve quality, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What procedure would you recommend ?

I plann on usng FFMpeg to decode the VOB file then import to FCP or AE then export and master as DVD. when exporting which encoder is best ?

I am thinking of buying at least the MPEG-2 Playback Component .....

 

[Cromulent]

Hi,
I have to add the title of a production company to the beginning of a film. I received a dvd of the film, and I am going to export the VOB file to Final Cut Pro or After Effects....

I want to know if anyone can give some insight on how to preserve the movie quality... I have done this before and there were problems with the encoding.
this film is going to festivals , theatres etc ....

I need to preserve quality, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

What procedure would you recommend ?

I plann on usng FFMpeg to decode the VOB file then import to FCP or AE then export and master as DVD. when exporting which encoder is best ?

I am thinking of buying at least the MPEG-2 Playback Component .....

Ask them to send you the source files. You will lose quality what ever happens with a DVD.

Just ask them to stick the film on an external hard drive or something.

 

[killmoms]

Wait a sec, if all you're doing is tagging something onto the front, just do this:

Demux the MPEG-2 video and audio (PCM or AC3, I don't know which) from the existing DVD.

Encode your added bit (production company logo) to MPEG-2 and the same audio format as the source DVD.

Drop the assets into DVD Studio Pro.

Drop the production logo in the timeline.

Drop the movie in the timeline.

Author as necessary, burn.

No quality loss.

 

[coreydeep]

my apologies,
I have to cut out about two minutes of color bars, insert the title.
So its not quite so simple...

Do you have any preferred app to demux the movie ?

 

[killmoms]

my apologies,
I have to cut out about two minutes of color bars, insert the title.
So its not quite so simple...

Do you have any preferred app to demux the movie ?

Well, that's still not so bad. Just drop in the logo, drop in the movie, and then adjust the front trim on the movie's video and audio tracks to cut out the bit at the beginning you don't want.

Any number of utilities will work. I like MPEG Streamclip myself. If this movie has been CSS encrypted, you'll need to rip it with a piece of software like MacTheRipper first, though I'm guessing it probably hasn't been. Either way, MPEG Streamclip should do you just fine.

 

[coreydeep]

Thanks, I'll do that...
I have Mpeg Streamclip here from a project a while back...

Thanks !!!

 

[coreydeep]

omg

Hey,

For some reason, the VOB file has blur and horizontal lines pulsing every few seconds in the film, or when there is action. When I play the DVD it is not present, yet when I copy the VOB movie file to my hardrive the lines appear.

here's an example:
http://www.thevenusflytrap.org/video_issue.png


The DVD is a little odd it is PAL I think, the dvd was sent from china..

Here's the vob file information ( from FFmpegX ):
http://thevenusflytrap.org/video_info.png


the VOB file info from MPEG streamclip

Stream: VTS_01_1.VOB
Type: VOB program stream

Duration: 0:28:54
Data Size: 1024.00 MB
Bit Rate: 4.95 Mbps

Video Tracks:
224 MPEG-2, 720 × 576, 4:3, 25 fps, 4.30 Mbps, upper field first

Audio Tracks:
192 MP2 stereo, 48 kHz, 224 kbps

Stream Files:
VTS_01_1.VOB (1024.00 MB)



note that the info above info is from the vob file on my hardrive, not the dvd itself. it is possible it has different information. something is amiss or this =issue wouldn't be happening...


any help would be desperately appreciated,


regards,


~ Corey

 

[lostless]

Hey,

For some reason, the VOB file has blur and horizontal lines pulsing every few seconds in the film, or when there is action. When I play the DVD it is not present, yet when I copy the VOB movie file to my hardrive the lines appear.

What you see in the movie is interlacing. Basically every frame in video is made out of 2 frames mixed into 1 real frame. So each line alternates between frame 1 and frame 2. That why you see the comb teeth. The DVD IS PAL! 25 fps is the PAL standard. Film on the other hand is 24fps. So to get the 24 into 25 is to use 2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:3 pulldown. Meaning that 10 frames will be compleatly progressive. The 2 means that 1 film frame takes up 2 interlaced fields. The 3 means that 1 frame will now use 3 fields. meaning 2 frames have to be interlaced. The reason this is used is to get the smoothest possible video from film that doesnt match the output FPS. NTSC in the Americas uses 3:2 pulldown to convert film to video. where each frame alternates from 3 fields to 2 fields. As for the lines not showing on playback, is that apples dvd player deinterlaces. Also the dvd will not play in an NTSC dvd player. Only exception is a Phillips brand dvd player that plays DIVX and xbox360, wich both have a PAL to NTSC converting software.

AS for adding the title. Use Mpeg stream clip. If you want no quality loss, iport the vob into mpegstream clip. set the out point at the end of the color bars, and cut it out. Then make your title. Make sure you generate in PAL. Export as mpeg 2. FFmpeg can convert to mpeg2 if you dont have an encoder. Then just import into mpeg stream clip and paste the new clip. Then export as mpeg. The mpeg will be the original quality with color bars gone and the new title added.

 

[coreydeep]

thankyou so much for the advice .

I appreciate the help, and if I can get the film encoded properly I will use MPEG Streamclip to add the title and output in PAL ? will this remove the ''comb teeth' ?

Please excuse my ignorance, but I need to remove these comb teeth.....

 

[lostless]

You could remove the comb teeth, but at a loss of fluidity of the motion of the film. I say if its allrady interlaced, leave it that way. What is the final output going to be? Film, dvd, analog tape? And where is going to be played? NTSC (north america/japan) or PAL (europe) devices? If the final output is dvd, Most monitors/tvs will deinterlace. (SDTVs dont deinterlace, but interlacing is standard on those, and will not be seen) Apples DVD player deinterlaces. The only problem i see is that since the DVD is PAL, so if you paln on playing it in america or north america, 99% of dvd players will not play it. As I said, only 2 dvd players i know of have PAL to NTSC conversions. Ill try to help if I get more info. But properly deinterlacing or PAL to NTSC isnt pretty or that easy to understand or perform.

 

[coreydeep]

thanks lostless,

It is really a nightmare.
The company is going to be screening this movie in a professional venue.
there are big plans for this including film festival submissions, theatre screenings etc...
From what you are telling me and what I read in other forums, it seems as though my options are limited. they need to procure better source material.

Will a North American theatre be able to play a PAL dvd ?

and another question, I heard there are professional conversion services ... is this something I can try ? The problem is my source file is an encoded dvd... not good.

Thanks again for your help lostless.
I really appreciate it...


Regards,

~Corey