Which Is The Best Codec Format?

[rodenthead]

I apologize if this has been asked / answered before, but I am in a bit of a rush. I am quite new to Premiere Pro, but not other adobe applications. I have made a number of videos (Length 30 secs - 3 mins), using Premier Pro 2017 CC. There is only video content and there is no audio content. I need to export this videos and burn them onto a DVD, which others can watch, without downloading any extra software. Picture quality is not a big issue. I need to use as least memory as possible. Which codec format best suits my purpose?

Thanks in advance.

[Creamer Training]

Are you using the DVD to play in an actual DVD/Blu-ray player or simply as a method of transporting the videos to a computer (i.e., a storage device)?

[rodenthead]

I'm using the DVD as a method of transport for the videos to another computer: a storage device.

[Media Editor]

Put the videos on a flash drive.

[rodenthead]

'Put the videos on a flash drive.'

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

I created the videos in Premier Pro and now I need to export them. I need to know the best codec format (MPEG4 or H.264 for example) which serves my purposes, as mentioned in my first posting on this thread.

[Creamer Training]

An H.264 mp4 would be the best overall. The H.264 is the codec; the mp4 is the file format.

[rodenthead]

Thanks IDEAS-Training.

I'll give that a try.

[NimChimpski]

If you want to make a DVD - a good old standard definition DVD then use the render pre-set MPEG2 - DVD. But you then need to author it in some way to burn. The USB "thumb drive" or "flash drive" option is far better really but that assumes your end viewer has the wherewithal to view it. DVDs are still popular with many of my clients because they can give them to peoples and know that in most cases they can pop it into a DVD player and it will play albeit at significant cost to vision quality. To play a USB drive on anything but a computer is challenging for many and consequently reduces the viewer experience.

[rodenthead]

Nim,

It's for a simple DVD CD Rom. To operate in a PC /Laptop. The DVD / CD Rom just accompanies the book and the observer presses start and watches a small clip. The problem is that there are 120 video clips and each has to use as little mbs as possible, to fit them all onto a DVD /CD Rom. I'm using MacX HD video converter to reduce the amount of memory used in the final product. However I just want to ensure that I am using the best codec format, for memory saving purposes, when exporting the final product from Premiere Pro.

H.264 works well but it uses a lot of memory.

[Creamer Training]

It will be difficult to find a format (H.264 mp4) that makes smaller files. (There is the new H.265 codec, but it might not be supported by all players.)

To reduce file size, you can try...

• Change the HD (I assume 1920 x 1080) to 1280 x 720 or 720 x 480 SD Widescreen
• Lower the variable bit rate and the maximum bit rate on each video

You can batch process both steps, however you will have to experiment to see what quality is acceptable.

Since you have so much content, I would create an HTML page for users to navigate the videos on the disc.

[NimChimpski]

DVD standard def? MPEG2 is the raw stuff for DVD - Bluray can be MPEG2 or H264. I guess yo uknow that a DVD is 4.75 gig (?I think) you can get double sided but they often prove problematic. You need to do an audit of how big the files are/disk space. Adobe Encore is now decommissioned AFAIK but it had a great feature: you would set all resources to "auto" and it would calculate the best file size/bit rate automatically and transcode appropriately. If its DVD use MPEG2 - its the native format for DVD -  BUT - if you put MPEG 2 into a system that will consequently transcode then you will be transcoding MPEG2 to MPEG2 and the result is not likely to be happy. therefore you would be better rendering out to something really robust so that the transcode will end happily.

I hope this isn't too rambling....

[rodenthead]

I hope this isn't too rambling....

Thanks NimChimpski. Nope, not too rambling. Just about understandable for a novice like me and very useful.  Cheers.

[Creamer Training]

First you need to decide if you want to burn a movie-type disk or simply use the DVD as a storage device to transport the files.

You indicated the latter.

My suggestions are for using the DVD as a storage transport.

NimChimpski's advice is for make a movie-type disk, which is fine but you will need some type of program to create a DVD menu-like interface. (You can install Premiere Pro CS6 with the Creative Cloud--that will include Encore. You can manually uninstall PPro CS6 and leave Encore behind or simply zip-compress the PPro CS6 program to prevent conflicts with the current PPro.)

[NimChimpski]

I have been reflecting on this and IDEAS-Training is right: a CD/DVD ROM is not a conventional DVD and therefore you are not constrained by DVD video issues so H264 would be ideal.

Its good to know that Encore is still available. I still use it for authoring DVD and Bluray but at home we haven’t loaded a DVD/Bluray for a couple of years.

I think that on a DVD (4.75?) a 1 hour program at 8 meg per sec filled the disc but that is with the MPEG2 codec. H264 is much more efficient but you will have to research and calculate.

[Creamer Training]

I really like/liked Encore too--I was sorry to see it go EOL too soon.

If you use Encore, there is no more dynamic link--you do have to export out a MPEG2 or H.264 Blu ray and import it into Encore.

@rodenthead: don't forget you can use double-layer DVDs. Virtually all DVD players will read them. That gives you double the storage of a single-layer DVD.

[NimChimpski]

My experience with double layer is not good. Even when it works there is the need to establish break points etc.

i think Adobe had to pay licensing to ....Sonic Solutions(?) so it was expensive. Theis program was thousands....