Poor quality video when burning a DVD

Report · Nov 30, 2013

Hi All,

I have recently purchased & installed Premiere Elements 11 on my Windows 7 64bit Dell laptop. I found the tutorials very helpful and was able to successfully create my first project - importing a 46 minute AVCHD file4GB m2.ts shot on my Panasonic HC-V100 in Record Mode HG1920: 1920x1080 25f/s Audio 48kHz. When creating the project I selected: New Project>Change Settings>PAL>AVCHD>Full HD 1080i 25 andTicked ‘Force Selected Project Setting on this Project’ (I'm in the UK hence selecting PAL)

I added titles then created a menu and scenes using a still photo 2mb jpg 3456x2304 300dpi for the menu background. So far so good - really pleased with the results on screen. Next I selected Publish>Disc > selected AVCHD Add Name>Choose 1920x1080i>Burn to Folder. I then burned the BDMV Folder to DVD using the inbuilt DVD burner in my laptop.

This successfully produced a DVD with menus and titles which will play on my Blu-ray player. The quality of the video is excellent and I am delighted with the result however here is the first of the problems I'm hoping someone can help with: The background image on the menu is slightly blurred as are the menu/scene titles.

Next I wanted to produce a DVD for people who don't have a Blu-ray player & therefore need to play it on a normal DVD player. This is the second problem (and one I have seen mentioned elsewhere on the community). I published the project in a similar manner to the one above but with the following differences:

Burn to DVD Folder: Select 4.7>Type name>Browse to location. I now burn the VIDEO_TS folder to DVD, again using the the inbuilt DVD burner in my laptop however this time the result is very poor. The menu doesn't work and the quality of the video is unacceptable. Of course I understand that the result will be considerably lower quality than with the AVCHD version however this is not watchable.

(BTW, prior to purchasing Premiere Elements 11 I had been playing the video from my camera into a Sony RDR-HXD910 hard disc recorder then burning DVDs from that device using SP mode. This produced DVDs with perfectly acceptable quality so I must admit that I was hoping for similar results from Premiere Elements.)

I have read on the community that DVDStyler is a preferred method of burning DVDs however afer downloading it I failed to find a way of using it for simply burning my existing VIDEO_TS folder.

This is as far as I have got and now would really appreciate some help to point me in the right direction to be able to burn my project onto ordinary DVDs. I have tried to put as much information on the post as possible but I am new to video editing so have probably missed or not described something!

Thanks in advance

Simon

Report · Dec 01, 2013

Your source video is high resolution 1920x1080, while your output video is DVD resolution, 720x480, so your DVD will not have nearly the resolution or clarity of your original file.

You can find more information in this article in the FAQ library to the right of this forum.

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1187937?tstart=0

Report · Dec 01, 2013

Thanks for your reply Steve.

I have seen the FAQ and understand that there will be a loss of quality when publishing an HD file to DVD however this is unwatchable and the menu doesn't work.

I would really appreciate some help with how to burn a VIDEO_TS file to DVD please. I have failed to achieve this with DVDStyler but suspect this is due to my lack of knowledge.

Report · Dec 01, 2013

Use the FREE http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download to write to DVD (send the author a PayPal donation if you like his program)

.

Read http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1322583 for notes on installing Imgburn WITHOUT any toolbar add-ons

.

Imgburn will read the ACTUAL disc brand from the disc, which is not always the same as the box label (Memorex is notorious for buying "anything" and putting it inside a Memorex box)

.

When you write to disc with Imgburn, use the SLOWEST possible speed setting, so your burner has the best chance to create "good, well formed" laser burn holes... since no DVD player is required to read a burned disc, having a "good" one from a high quality blank will help

.

Use Taiyo Yuden single layer or Verbatim Two layer Or Falcon Pro for inkjet printable Two layer

Report · Dec 01, 2013

Thank you John, much appreciated, I'll try this & let you know how I get on.

Report · Dec 01, 2013

Make sure that you chooose the ImgBurn option to burn a Folder to a disc, not a File.

Then browse to the VIDEO_TS folder and burn that to your disc.

Report · Dec 09, 2013

Thank you for the IMGBurn tips. I installed IMGBurn and was able to successfully burn a VIDEO_TS folder to DVD (have made a donation) however it is still unwatchable.

Having seen another post on the forum from a user who previously had good results burning to DVD using PrE 8 but then had problems (similar to mine) after upgrading to PrE11 I feel there is an inherent issue with PrE11.

I therefore went back to the begining, used the Panasonic software supplied with my camera to convert the AVCHD file to MPEG2. I then created a new project in PrE11, published it to a folder then used IMGBurn to burn a DVD.

I now have a good quality DVD which is perfectly watchable - except for the fact that I now have two black borders down each side of the screen which effectively squash the image & give me tall thin people on my video. Two steps forward, one step back!

I checked my settings when creating the project and publishing to ensure that I had selected widescreen.

Any help to resolve this would be much appreciated.

Report · Dec 09, 2013

Simon_Cox

At this time, I will not comment on your initial workflow. For now, I will focus on your present results with the Premiere Elemens derived VIDEO_TS and its burn to DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc with ImgBurn.

1. Given you converted your AVCHD to MPEG2 and imported that into a Premiere Elements 11 project. What was the resolution of the MPEG2 file that you imported - 1920 x 1080 or something else? And, what was the frame rate (as well as interlaced or progressive)? What was the file extension of the MPEG2?

2. Based on the properties of the "MPEG2", what did you or the program set as the project preset? The project preset should match the properties of the source media. Sometimes the automatic project preset setting by the program is OK, sometimes not. If not, then you set the project preset yourself manually. You can check to see what the program set via Edit Menu/Project Settings/General and the information there grayed out or not.

3. When you go to Publish+Share/Disc/DVD Folder (4.7 GB), what did you have as the preset

NTSC_Dolby DVD

or

NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD

Since your source appears to be 16:9, and, if you had a 16:9 project, I am assuming that the burn to used the preset

NTSC_Widescreen_Dolby DVD

Please review the above to determine if any of the above impacts the end result that you describe.

Thanks.

ATR

Report · Dec 10, 2013

Thanks ATR,

Please see below my answers to your points:

1. the resolution of the imported file is 720x576, 25 fps (couldn't see any reference to interlaced in the file properties), file extn = .mpg

2. the project settings are: Frame Size 720x576, 25fps, Editing Mode DV Pal, Pixel Aspect Ratio: D1/DV PAL Widescreen 16:9 (1.4587), Display Format 25 fps Timecode, Playback Settings 24p conversion method - interlaced frame (2:3:3:2)

3. When I go to Publish+Share/Disc/DVD Folder (4.7 GB), I select PAL_Widescreen_Dolby DVD

Does anything here point to what could cause the 'squashed image'?

Thanks, Simon

Report · Dec 10, 2013

Simon_Cox

Let us go back to the source which is described 720 x 576, 25 fps, your .mpg file. Can you confirm if that is 4:3 or 16:9. We should know from the pixel aspect ratio.

Right click the Project Assets' thumbnail for this imported file. Select Properties. At the bottom of the Properties readout, what does it show for pixel aspect ratio 1.0940 or 1.4587?

Thanks.

ATR

Report · Dec 10, 2013

ATR,

It shows 1.0940

Thanks

Simon

Report · Dec 10, 2013

Simon_Cox

From that information, you have a 4:3 import into a 16:9 project/export.

Was .mod widescreen ever involved in this work. I think not, but I will ask anyway.

If you can get away with it without distortion, you could apply Interpret Footage to your 4:3 video file in this 16:9 project and do hopefully minimal scaling in the Edit Mode monitor.

Best take your 4:3 import into a 4:3 project for a 4:3 export.

or

Create a 16:9 version of your work to import into the 16:9 project for a 16:9 export.

Please review and then let us know the results so we can decide what next if necessary.

Thanks.

ATR

Report · Dec 11, 2013

ATR,

I don't recall seeing any mention of .mod widescreen anywhere.

I applied Interpret Footage, as you suggested, and this has worked. I re-rendered, published to folder then burned a DVD and I now have a good quality widescreen video so thank you very much for all your help with this. I now have what I need to give friends copies however I do still have some questions:

1. When I insert the DVD in the player it doesn't automatically show the menu screen, I have to press Top Menu (whereas when I insert the AVCHD version into the Blu-ray player it does) Is this expected behaviour?

2. When I play the AVCHD version on the Blu-ray player, the quality of the video is excellent however the Menu screen is blurred so I wonder how to resolve this. (the Menu screen on the MPEG2 version is perfectly clear)

3. Having now got to the stage where I have the desired result for this project I wonder if you could suggest a workflow for future projects please?

Thank you again for your help and also thanks to Steve and John for help earlier on.

Simon

Report · Dec 11, 2013

Simon_Cox

Thanks for the update. Good news.

Let us go over

1. When I insert the DVD in the player it doesn't automatically show the menu screen, I have to press Top Menu (whereas when I insert the AVCHD version into the Blu-ray player it does) Is this expected behaviour?

This sounds to me like a DVD player issue. Please check the DVD player preferences and setting for DVD-VIDEO on DVD playback. My DVD player connected to the TV automatically opens to the DVD's main menu when the DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc is inserted into the player.

2. When I play the AVCHD version on the Blu-ray player, the quality of the video is excellent however the Menu screen is blurred so I wonder how to resolve this. (the Menu screen on the MPEG2 version is perfectly clear)

Have you determined if the AVCHD DVD blurred menu exists for one particular disc menu choice or for one than one? Often the disc menu Preview Quality leaves much to be desired, but the viewing of it in the end product is typically good. Let us see if we can detemine if just one or all menus are involved in the blurred menu issue. Another troubleshooting tactic might be to look at that menu at computer playback of the AVCHD DVD and compare that to what you are getting on the Blu-ray player.

3. Having now got to the stage where I have the desired result for this project I wonder if you could suggest a workflow for future projects please?

The major considerations include:

a. Having the properties of your source media at hand

b. Setting the project preset to match the properties of the source media (if your source is a mix of formats, then you need to set priorities since the project allows for only one project preset)

c. Selecting and, if necessary, customizing the export settings under Advanced Button/Video and Audio Tabs of the preset select so that their use results in the end product that you need.

If you supply details for a specific project, I will be more specific about settings for import, editing, export.

Sounds like great progress. Keep up the good work. Thanks for staying with the troubleshooting.

ATR

Report · Dec 11, 2013

I am entering this thread in the hope of avoiding problems when I make a DVD. If there is a more appropriate thread, sorry--would appreciate a link and I will go there instead.

Situation:

PRE12 project, using all imported video from Panasonic cameras, 1920x1080p.

Have created test "movies" at this ratio, great results on monitor.

The issue:

Need to create a DVD (for USA) with 4:3 aspect ratio.

It's my understanding that the aspect ratio can't be changed within the project once it's been set. Is this correct?

I see two options:

1. Export ("share") to DVD with export setting of 4:3. 1440x1080 would give highest possible resolution without upsizing. What would be the correct pixel aspect ratio?

2. Export to computer, then re-import to PRE12 as new project, set 4:3 aspect for project first, within PRE12. Any pitfalls here?

3. Options that I'm not seeing?

It's my understanding that this is all lossy format, so every export will degrade IQ, is this correct?

Will greatly appreciate insights so that I can avoid the problems outlined by the OP.

Report · Dec 11, 2013

Kawika808

Please confirm...do you really need NTSC DVD-VIDEO standard 4:3 on DVD disc or is NTSC DVD-VIDEO widescreen 16:9 on DVD acceptable?

Also, please remind me, is your 1920 x 1080p 30 or 25 or something else and what exactly is set as the Premiere Elements project preset for the project that has this 1920 x 1080p footage on its Timeline?

When the project preset was set, did you use NTSC or PAL section in the new project dialog? Is your program version 12. Just want to make sure of all the facts. I will go back and check your other threads though.

I will proceed from there.

ATR

Report · Dec 11, 2013

ATR,

Thank you for helping me out.

To answer your questions:

--Do you really need NTSC DVD-VIDEO standard 4:3 on DVD disc or is NTSC DVD-VIDEO widescreen 16:9 on DVD acceptable?

I was told that product specs require 4:3 aspect ratio for DVD. (Unfortunately footage was all shot in 16:9 before I found out about the 4:3 finished requirement.) I want to generate the highest IQ possible in this format.

--Is your 1920 x 1080p 30 or 25 or something else?

All video was shot at 1920 x 1080p 60fps. AVCHD.

Video Source Properties as obtained from the Timeline:

Type: MPEG Movie

Image Size: 1920x1080

Frame Rate: 59.94

Source Audio Format: 48000Hz – compressed - Stero

Project Audio Format: 48000Hz – 32 bit floating point - Stereo

Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.0

--What exactly is set as the Premiere Elements project preset for the project that has this 1920 x 1080p footage on its Timeline?

PROJECT SETTINGS

Editing Mode: AVCHD 1080p square pixel

Timebase: 59.94 fps

Frame Size: 1920x1080

Pixel Aspec Ratio: Square (1.0)

Fields: None (progressive scan)

Display Fomat: 60fps Drop-Frame Timecode

Title Safe Area: 20% horizontal, 20% vertical

Action Safe Area: 10% horizontal, 10% vertical

Audio Sample Rate: 48000Hz

Display Format: Audio Sample

--When the project preset was set, did you use NTSC or PAL section in the new project dialog?

I didn't make any choices. I didn't use the new project dialog. I imported media and started working. When I saved, I made no choices. Since I'm in the US and bought this from Amazon, I assumed it was NTSC, and that appears to be the case.

--Is your program version 12?

Yes.

.......

Motivated by a different thread regarding titles and 4:3, I did create a test "movie" (not DVD) at 4:3 and all the titles fit within the image area. (I even made a point of inserting a couple of titles that ran outside the "safe" area in the PRE Titler; these also all fit on the image although they came closer to the edge. Not crowded, but perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as those that were created within the limits.

Report · Dec 11, 2013

Kawika808

I have just done some road testing on your question about a 1080p60 source destined for NTSC DVD-VIDEO 4:3 on DVD disc.

In the road testing I used Premiere Elements 12 Windows 7 64 bit, 1080p60 file downloaded from the Internet and some 1080p60 movies that I created in Premiere Elements 12.

1. If I went by the book "project preset should match the properties of the source media" and set the project preset manually at

NTSC

AVCHD

AVCHD 1080p60

and burned the imported Timeline 1080p60 content to DVD disc with preset NTSC Dolby DVD, I ended up with letterboxed video at playback of the DVD-VIDEO on DVD disc with the TV DVD Player. Happened no matter how I adjusted my TV DVD Player settings. Everything looked and sounded OK, but the display was letterboxed.

2. If instead I set the project preset manually for NTSC DV Standard, imported the 1080p60 and scaled it to fit the space estabished to in the Edit Mode monitor for editing purposes, and burned that Timeline content to DVD with preset NTSC Dolby DVD, then no letterboxing and everything appeared to look and sound OK.

Of course, you need to reconcile yourself with the idea of going from 1920 x 1080 to 720 x 480 which is going to hit your image sharpness.

Please review and determine if you find the same. See what you can do with your TV settings.

Thanks.

ATR

Report · Dec 11, 2013

Thanks for all you have done.

I'll try the settings.

re: "you need to reconcile yourself with the idea of going from 1920 x 1080 to 720 x 480"

How about 1440x1080? This is also 4:3.

Report · Dec 12, 2013

Kawika808

1440 x 1080 (4:3) is the frame size, but there is a 16:9 flag associated with it so that the 1440 x 1080 is stretched to 1920 x 1080 for display after encoding (correction factor pixel aspect ratio 1.333). When the HD1080i30 project preset is selected in the new project dialog, the space provided in the Edit Mode monitor for Editing purposes is 1920 x 1080 16:9 one, so I do not think the choice of the following 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic 16:9 project preset would work

NTSC

AVCHD

HD1080i30

When I actually road tested this idea, I ended up with TV DVD player viewing with black borders at top and bottom (letterboxed).

Looking forward to your results on a mini test run.

Thanks.

ATR

Report · Dec 12, 2013

Thanks--I was misled by the totally deceptive numerical description. In math, 4:3 = 4:3 no matter how you slice it.

What is the point of altering the image if it's going to be up-sized and degraded afterward? Do these people ever actually get involved in generating and using images?

The video didn't appear to be letterboxed on my computer, but it was definilty still a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Report · Dec 12, 2013

Kawika808

If you have not read this article on Anamorphic Widescreen, you may find it interesting,especially the references to 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic 16:9.

http://www.sharbor.com/tutorials/1844.html

ATR

Report · Dec 12, 2013

Thanks...I'll take a look at the article.

It occurs to me that I have gotten tunnel vision about this process, trying to do it all with PrE12.

The real issue is: if I want to crop a photograph, I crop it. I don't have to degrade it, resample it, or anything else, if I don't want to. I'm not experience in video editing (obviously) but I have to believe that something similar can be done with video.

There must be a program that can crop the video in a similar fashion, to end up with a true, un-degraded 4:3 aspect ratio. One that would allow for decent resolution and that would include a VIDEO_TS folder to meet the publisher's spec requirement.

The question is, what program?

--------------

UPDATE:

I read the article, and it's excellent. But there are a number of unwarranted assumptions that seem to be all too common; the worst one being the assumption that everyone wants to end up with 1920x1080.

This would seem to be the explanation for the otherwise incomprehensible PrE programming that distorts PAR to force 1440x1080 into a wide-screen look (when the goal is to go the other way and obtain 4:3). The program knows that the input is 1920x1080. What rational purpose could be served by reducing the resolution and then stretching the pixels to emulate the original footage? One would almost expect some sort of popup with a message, "Um...you might want to think about this, since you're starting at 1920x1080..."

It seems that the entire field is straightjacketed by concepts and thinking that aren't in tune with the reality of the marketplace. For example, tens or hundreds of millions of electronic reading/viewing devices are in use (with more being sold every minute) that do not have wide-screen capacity (hence the 4:3 requirement imposed on this project).

I'm hoping that there is some program out there that will allow for conversion to a true 4:3, by cropping. Cut off the R and L ends of all the frames, it should be pretty simple. 12.5% from each side, leaving the 1080 unchanged. True 1440x1080.

Message was edited by: Kawika808 - update

Report · Dec 13, 2013

ATR

Returning to my post...

I'm not sure if you saw this as another user came into this discussion

re - your reply to my point 1. - noted

re - your reply to point 2. I have a main menu plus three scene menu screens all of which appear blurred when played on the Blu-ray player however they are ok when I view them in Preview disc in the project.

re- future projects they will typically be similar to this one e.g. an AVCHD file taken from my Panasonic video camera then create a project from which I can produce a DVD containing the BDMV folder for playing on a Bly-ray player and also producing a version by importing a converted MPEG2 file for creating a DVD containing a VIDEO_TS folder for playing on DVD players. Do you think that the reason I had to apply Interpret Footage is because the Panasonic software changed the aspect ratio during conversion? (although there was no option to set this - the only options were relating to picture quality and the number of audio chanels)

Either way I have a solution for this now so maybe that doesn't matter now.

Thanks again

Simon

Since this post I have created another project using the same workflow i.e. imported an MPEG2 file, however when I play the video in PrE the audio sounds like a CD skipping and becomes completely detached from the video. I have not seen this problem before and wondered if you can suggest a fix please?

thanks

Simon

Report · Dec 13, 2013

Simon

I am assuming that the software that came with your Panasonic HC-V100 was called HD Writer LE 1.1.

If that is the case, from what I have read, when you get to save, you have 2 choices AVCHD which is said to be in its orginal format and MPEG2. But it did not say what format the MPEG2 was in. What I would like to see is a video properties readout MediaInfo (Tree View) for both the save choices of AVCHD and MPEG2 so we can figured out what we have and what we are not able to control in the export properties.

If the export was designed as 16:9 (MPEG2), I am wondering if the 16:9 was placed by got lost in the process or not recognized by Premiere Elements in the import?

In view of the MPEG2 and the audio concerns in Premiere Elements, that might be added insentive to look at the MediaInfo properties of the MPEG2 file, video and audio components.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/mediainfo/

See if that link for MediaInfo is better than others. Just be on guard for bloatware with some of these links.

Thanks.

ATR

If it is necessary, I will download and install this HD Writer LE 1.1 and take a look at it. But, I will await your further developments first.