Why does my final video look so mediocre?

[netdog]

I import from DVDs that look good using Handbrake at Constant Quality 100%, encoded FFmpeg into MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio wiht the highest audio sample rate, convert to DV using QTPro, and put into iMovie.

By the time I have edited in iMovie, imported the files into iDVD and rendered, the resulting DVD has lots of artifacting and general instability.

Where could I be going wrong? Shouldn't this produce an excellent quality DVD?

 

[spicyapple]

Use DVDxDV or the Pro version to transcode DVD .vob files directly to DV so you can edit in iMovie.

 

[netdog]

The degredation also occurs, though to a lesser degree, when I import directly from my DV camera into iMovie, and then share the result with iDVD and make a DVD. While the image is better in the resulting DVD, it is nowhere near the source, and not really acceptable as I believe the video should look really great.

 

[2jaded2care]

iDVD is still Constant Bitrate encoding (at least the versions I have). You aren't going to get as good results unless you use something with multipass Variable Bitrate encoding, such as DVD Studio Pro. Especially true with video with lots of motion and fast cuts.

Good luck.

 

[thworple]

Use DVDxDV or the Pro version to transcode DVD .vob files directly to DV so you can edit in iMovie.

Fantastic application - everyone should have it!