HDV --> SD DVD Workflow (DebugMode FrameServer, AviSynth)

[Dan Isaacs]

While the old thread contains a wealth of great information, I've decided to break away from it. It's too old, too long, too confusing... In summary:

Many users are aware that Premiere/AME/Encore does a "less than stellar" job of converting 1080i HDV to interlaced SD DVD. I (and others) have tried every conceivable combination of options and found none that provided "professional quality" conversions. This is largely due to the way that Premiere handles scaling of interlaced material ... Example #1 ... Example #2 ... and Premiere's failure to convert from the HDV color matrix (Rec.709) to the SD specification (Rec.601).

In an effort to solve these problems, I developed a workflow (using several third-party freeware tools) that achieves results far superior to that of Premiere and/or Encore by themselves.

I have written a guide for this workflow, including step-by-step instructions and links to download all the required tools.

This page also contains a link to a more advanced option for doing these conversions (using mostly the same tools). Please do not attempt the advanced version unless you have already implemented my "basic" workflow!

The page and linked files will be updated frequently. It is a work in progress, but should already provide excellent quality. I look forward to comments and suggestions from this community (as always).

Enjoy! -- Dan

[_Kiera_Landess_]

When I view premiere.avs in VirtualDub, it is squished vertically a bit. I double checked the project settings with the export settings and they are identical. Is it supposed to be squished?

I'm hoping to export from Encore in widescreen NTSC format. Should I change any of the premiere.avs coding to reflect the larger pixels dimensions of this format?

Dan, I hope you're making money from advertisements or something, cause if you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart, everyone here ought to buy you a beer!

Thanks again!

[Jeff Bellune]

>Oh, good grief! I'll just run off and dye my hair blond now.

OK, that's my smile for the day. :)

[Jeff Bellune]

>When I view premiere.avs in VirtualDub, it is squished vertically a bit. I double checked the project settings with the export settings and they are identical. Is it supposed to be squished?

VirtualDub doesn't do PAR very well. Try playing the video that you save out from VirtualDub in Windows Media Player. Also, go ahead and import it into Encore. It should import with the correct PAR. If not, go to File>Interpret Footage and force the correct PAR interpretation.

-Jeff

[_Kiera_Landess_]

I played it in media player and imported it into encore, and it is squished in both. Wouldn't correcting the aspect ratio in Encore affect the output quality?

Thanks for the input!

[_Linda_Warden_]

Dan,

I had the same problem as Kiera and of course, once I followed your advice, things worked great. I don't know about Kiera but I tried loading one tool at a time to test it before I loaded the next, and it doesn't work that way. They all must be loaded before beginning this process.

Thank you, so very much, for your kind help. I don't know what we P2 people would do without you. I only hope that Adobe makes this conversion much less complicated in future versions.

Best wishes,
Linda

[Jeff Bellune]

>I played it in media player and imported it into encore, and it is squished in both. Wouldn't correcting the aspect ratio in Encore affect the output quality?

No. The pixels are already exist with the right PAR, they just aren't being displayed properly in VirtualDub, in WMP or in Encore. If you don't interpret footage in Encore, then they will be transcoded just like they are being displayed - with the wrong PAR.

[Dan Isaacs]

> Wouldn't correcting the aspect ratio in Encore affect the output quality?

No. If your source is already 720x480 (or 720x576 for PAL) setting PAR to 1.2 (or 1.42 for PAL) will simply tell Encore to add the appropriate flag to the MPEG2 stream when converted.

> I don't know what we P2 people would do without you

Not just that: P2, HDV, XDCAM, etc... You're very welcome.

> I only hope that Adobe makes this conversion much less complicated in future versions

Well, it's already less complicated. Adobe does make it quite easy, just that the results look terrible :)

[_Kiera_Landess_]

I'm trying something new. In the premiere.avs file, I've changed the Spline36Resize from (704,480) to (852,480). I believe that the Widescreen NTSC format has a pixel dimension of 854x480, but VirtualDub needs a width divisible by 4, so I reduced it by 2 pixels.
(I may be misinformed about all of this...)
Will changing the Spline32Resize attribute affect the output quality?

Linda, could you let me know what you did to correct your problem with the vertically squished image?

Also, when I imported into encore, none of the interpret footage settings gave me the correct aspect ratio.

I'm still testing, and may just be having another non-blonde, blonde moment, so I'll post if I figure it all out, but I would appreciate it if you guys happen to catch any faulty assumptions on my part.

Thanks again!

[Dan Isaacs]

> I believe that the Widescreen NTSC format has a pixel dimension of 854x480

It does not. Trust me: If you are encoding to DVD, leave it at 704x480...

... or possibly change it to 720x480 and remove the AddBorders(...) line below it. This will achieve absolutely-full screen (at the cost of slightly incorrect PAR).

Do not worry about the squished image. If your .AVI file is 720x480 (or 720x576) and you set NTSC or PAL Widescreen PAR in Encore's interpret footage dialog everything will turn out peachy.

[_Kiera_Landess_]

Thank you thank you thank you.

I was a rookie getting confused along the way, and I should've just trusted the system all along.

Thank you Dan & Jeff, for humoring a newbie!

[_Linda_Warden_]

Kiera,

Actually, I had the same problem you had with the Frame Server. I used the advice Dan gave you and now it works. However, I'm using Dan's HDV to SD Workflow document (not the advanced yet) and when I use step 4b, I get the best looking footage on a 16X9 TV but when I view it on a 4X3 TV, it fills the screen and of course, looks bad. Using the 4a workflow produces the worse resolution but the aspect ratio is maintained. Going direct from Premiere to Encore produced OK results and the aspect ratio is good on 16X9 and 4X3 TVs.

Is there anything I can do to fix the aspect ratio problem while using the 4b step, which gave the best looking footage?

Thanks,
Linda

[Dan Isaacs]

> but when I view it on a 4X3 TV, it fills the screen and of course, looks bad

You need to do "Interpret Footage" in Encore and select the correct PAR (such as NTSC Widescreen 1.2)

> Using the 4a workflow produces the worse resolution but the aspect ratio is maintained

You can't win on a 4:3 TV... Widescreen material gets letterboxed and, therefore, reduces the resolution.

[_Linda_Warden_]

Thank you again, Dan!

[_Linda_Warden_]

Dan,

I tried the Interpret Footage (widescreen 1.2 and I even tried it with square 1.0) in Encore with your 4b method which gives the best resolution. I'm getting the same result as I did in my previous note (when I view it on a 4X3 TV, it fills the screen and of course, looks bad) or compressed. Method 4a or going directly to Encore from Premiere gives me a DVD that will show correct aspect ratio on a 16X9 TV and a 4X3 TV. The 4X3 has black bars at the top and bottom but at least the image is true.

I frequently have a need to make movies that play on both 16X9 and 4X3. Any ideas?

And I'm sorry for so many questions. I spent a lot of money on an HD camera thinking that the SD DVD made from the HD camera would be a little better than from my SD camera. I'm not finding that to be the case.

Thanks,
Linda

[Dan Isaacs]

Sorry, Linda... I can't understand the problem. If you set the aspect ratio in Encore, it's really the same thing (PAR wise) as if you export directly from Premiere.

Is it possible your DVD player (when hooked up to the 4:3 screen) is not set to "letterbox"?

[_Linda_Warden_]

Dan,

I repeated the entire workflow using Option 2. This time the aspect ratio for a 720p60 video turned out just fine, both on 16X9 and with black bars on 4X3 TVs. I must have had an error in my workflow before.

What really bothers me is that my old SD camera (Canon XL2) shot footage that, on SD DVD, looks just as good or better than shooting the 720p60 and converting it using the workflow, or just using Adobe CS3, to SD DVD. It is very disappointing to spend a lot of $ and to expect higher quality with HD, even when converted to SD, and not get that. I feel that the footage might look nice on a Blu-Ray DVD but most of my clients still use SD DVD players.

Have you gotten a lot better results with your Advanced Options, Dan? Would you recommend using them as a next step? Any other ideas?

And thank you, very much, for all of your kind help. Adobe should be paying you and others, such as Jeff, for helping us with this conversion that should have been robust in CS3.

Linda

[Dan Isaacs]

> shooting the 720p60 and converting it using the workflow

Oh... Well, now that's different. The basic workflow is only for 1080i. I assumed that's what you were using. (I'll have to make that clearer on my page)

You certainly need the "advanced" version for 720p60. In this case, try something like this:

1.) Set the output options to reflect youe project settings (such as 1280x720 @ 59.94 fps, Progressive) and export via DebugMode.

2a.) Create a script like this for SD output @60i:

hd2sd("signpost.avi", OutputColorSpace="YUY2", OutputBFF=true)

2b.)Alternatively, you can create 30p output like so...

hd2sd("signpost.avi", OutputColorSpace="YUY2", OutputFieldRate=30, SmoothTime=false)

... but you'll need to use a 29.97 fps progressive transcode setting in Encore.

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

Hi Dan,

I see your helping everyone as usual. :)

I have a similar question.

Here is my preset in PPCS3:
CineForm HDV1080i
29.97
1440x1080
Upper FieldFirst

I am using your tutorial:

http://invertedhorn.axspace.com/hdv2dvd_basic.html

I keep getting an error in HCencoder when I open my .avs in it.

The error is:
No YV12 color space, add ConvertToYV12() to script

The scrip is as follows:
AviSource("j:/Wedding_DVD2.avi")
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601", clamp=false)
ConvertToRGB32()
SmoothDeinterlace(tff=true,doublerate=true,lacethresh=24,staticthresh=35,staticavg=50,edgethresh=35,blend=false,showlace=false)
Trim(1,0)

# This assumes NTSC. Change the next line to Spline36Resize(704,576) for PAL format
Spline36Resize(704,480)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)
ConvertToYUY2()

AssumeTFF().SeparateFields()

# This will create lower-field first output. Change to SelectEvery(4,0,3) for upper field first
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()
Limiter(16, 235, 16, 240)

Should I be doing something different since the preset is a Cineform preset?

I should mention that my end goal is to create a DVD for TV use.

Simon

[Jeff Bellune]

Hi Simon,

Do what the the error message tells you to do. Then adapt the rest of your script as necessary.

Like this:

AviSource("j:/Wedding_DVD2.avi")
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601", clamp=false)
Replace this line: ConvertToRGB32()
with ConvertToYV12()
Continuing:
SmoothDeinterlace(tff=true,doublerate=true,lacethresh=24,staticthresh=35,staticavg=50,edgethresh=35,blend=false,showlace=false)
Trim(1,0)

# This assumes NTSC. Change the next line to Spline36Resize(704,576) for PAL format
Spline36Resize(704,480)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)
Delete this line: ConvertToYUY2()
Continuing:
AssumeTFF().SeparateFields()

# This will create lower-field first output. Change to SelectEvery(4,0,3) for upper field first
SelectEvery(4,1,2)
Weave()
Limiter(16, 235, 16, 240)

I haven't had time to test this script, so there may be some errors. I hope you get the general idea from what I've written. Dan may be along to add thoughts/corrections.

-Jeff

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

Yeah, I agree, I was just not sure where in the code to place it.

I will try it out.

Thanks,

Simon

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

It is important to point out that the script worked via Procoder. It created the .m2v and .wav files. However, when I tried to import it into Encore CS3, I got the following error:

Adobe Encore has encountered an error.

[..\..Src\Time.cpp-105]

An input contract violation has occurred!

Seems like Encore did not like my .m2v file.

:(

That is why I am trying the HC encoder method.

Thanks again,

Simon

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

It is encoding now!

Thanks!!!!!

Simon

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

Interesting enough, I did get a warning during the HC encoding:

Warning, small source mismatch found in pass2, count: 677 frames

The video I am rendering is various interlaced and progressive footage.

Simon

[_Simon_Zimmer_]

HC encoder only created a m2v file? What about the audio file?

Also, the first time I inserted .m2v file, Encore CS3 complained:

An input contract violation has occurred!

But after clicking ok a few times, it accepted it. But this only works on a small clip (1 minute or so). If the clip is much longer, it won't accept the clip.

Any ideas on what I am doing wrong now????

Thanks,

Simon

[_Linda_Warden_]

Dan,

Thank you, very much, for your help.

Linda