using MPEG-2 to burn-

[smiles 0]

I have a Mini DV camcorder (Sony). When time comes to burn my movies on my DVD burner, i am losing the quality. The frames aren' t perfect. I am using MPEG-2 to burn. I have tried the steady shot on my camcorder, but the same problem occurs. I am using FireWire to transfer with Neo-DVD from mediostream software.

I’m not familiar with other software but I’ve heard that there is also loss of quality in other consumer-grade video editing programs.

I think the problem relates to the MPEG 2 encoder: they are not all created equal. There are video editing programs (like Final Cut Pro) that are said to deliver 'nearly’ perfect results, but then again I am finding I get satisfactory results now with the program I am currently using as it affords a higher bit rate.

When movies are encoded onto a DVD, the technician continuously varies the bit rate according to the action to minimize artifacts and improve video quality. The higher the bit rate, the better the quality, but the downside is that the disc gets filled up more quickly.

The solution I've found is fixing a reasonably high one (like 6Mbps) and living with the shorter playback time. My video editing program has this capability, so I select that option and consider using multiple discs for very long productions.

SMiles

[Zee 0]

I'm not sure if this relates directly to your problem but if it is your MPEG-2 Encoder, you might want to try TMPGEnc. It's an MPEG-2 Encoder that gives you all kinds of options and variables to choose from and the results are truly awesome. The down side is that it's rather slow if you choose the highest quality options. The results are worth it though.

You can try it for free right here Clicky

Peace,
Z

Edit: You said you fix a bitrate at 6mbps - Just make sure that is an average and not a fixed bitrate because, from what I understand, faster moving sequences use lower bitrates - if you leave the bitrate constant you get kind of a scattered mosaic looking effect during those sequences and it looks really bad. Hope it works.

Action©Sports

[EricTheRed 0]

There are several trade offs in encoding to MPEG2.

Time, compression rate, and file size.

The higher the bit rate-the better the image quality(less compression) and the bigger the file size.

Encoders have several options (not all have every option)
Fixed bit rate
Variable bit rate
2-pass variable bit rate

Fixed-everything gets compressed the same=simplest scheme/less computing power needed but unless you choose a high bit rate, you will get artifacts on high data segments of the video
If you choose a high bit rate, you will get a bigger file

Variable-the software decides how much bit rate is needs based on the video stream. This is a compromise to keep file sizes smaller but requires more processing power (time)

2-pass variable bit rate-the same as above but the computer plays the vid through-then calculates the optimal bit rate for each vid segment. This gives the best overall result but takes a little better than twice as long to encode.

illegible usually

[LouDiamond 1]

I am assuming that we are just talking about burning to a DVD or VCD here so file size shouldn't be as big an issue as the quality of the output. Have you tried using MPEG 4 with any success? Anyone?

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[EricTheRed 0]

With a typical skydive video *tandem* file size is not important since the DVD is big enough to take it. For DVD you are stuck with MPEG 2.

MPEG 4 is basically a varaible bit rate compression scheme that is supposed to be more efficient than MPEG 2 (less artifacts at higher compression ratios)
I haven't done anything in MPEG 4 so I'm just going off of http://a320.g.akamai.net/7/320/51/cad38f4a7f9b46/www.apple.com/mpeg4/pdf/MPEG4_v3.pdf

A great comparison of digital video standards and bit rates is here:
http://www.videohelp.com/comparison.htm

There's also a couple of links in this page to free MPEG2 converters and reviews.

illegible usually