Blu-ray burning in Vegas 9

[Ken Jarstad]

Sony advertises one of the features that Vegas 9 has is burning a Blu-ray disk from the timeline. DVD Architect Studio 4.5, normally bundled with Vegas 9, does not support burning any high definition formats.

Two questions:
Since Sony claims Vegas 9 burns from the timeline does that means it only supports auto-play disks, no menus - no authoring support?
Does Vegas 9 support burning from the timeline AVCHD high definition on standard DVDs?

[Bob]

Sony Vegas Pro 9 contains DVD Architect 5.0 which supports Blu-Ray DVD authoring.

Sony Vegas Studio 9 contains DVD Architect 4.5 which does not.

The burn Blu-Ray to disc from timeline feature produces a non-authored disc -- single movie with no menus, chapters, etc.

I don't see any capability to burn HD/AVCHD to a non Blu-Ray disc.

[Ken Jarstad]

Thank you Bob!

Timely information, since I am finally on the hunt for a new edit and author solution.

[Paul LS]

Sony Vegas Pro 9 contains DVD Architect 5.0 which supports Blu-Ray DVD authoring.

... also burning AVCHD to standard DVDs with full menus. However the Studio version does not support it.

[Ken Jarstad]

Thanks Paul.

Unless I can find one of those special deals on Pro for 150 dollars or so I think I will look around for a more reasonably priced package.

[Paul LS]

Actually they dont call it AVCHD to standard DVD.... when you go to burn your project you can burn to a standard DVD in place of a Blu-ray disc. It is fully documented... I have burnt a few with good results.

[Ken Jarstad]

Seems like the target would have to be AVCHD. At least that's the way Nero 8 does it, which is really straight-forward. I still haven't figured out the Blu-ray codec. I think it supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 but the default seems to be MPEG-2. AVCHD of course is MPEG-4.

[Bob]

Thanks for the info, Paul.

I still haven't figured out the Blu-ray codec. I think it supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 but the default seems to be MPEG-2. AVCHD of course is MPEG-4.

There isn't a Blu-Ray codec. There is a Blu-Ray specification which defines which codecs may be used. The author decides which of those codecs they will use. It's not unusual for the main feature to use one codec and the bonus features to use another.

For video, three codecs may be used: MPEG-2, MPEG-4/H.264, and VC-1. MPEG-2 doesn't compress as much so you generally see VC-1 or H.264. For Audio, the primary audio stream must use Dolby Digital (AC-3), DTS, or linear PCM. Some additional optional audio codecs may be used on secondary audio streams, however, players are not required to support the optional codecs.

[Ken Jarstad]

Yes, Bob.

The confusion I was relating had to do with which codec was used for a "Blu-ray" disk. My Sony BD player has the stylized AVCHD logo on the front and I have learned that it applies exclusively to the MPEG-4 H.264 codec. I am under the impression that at least the early "Blu-ray" disks were high definition MPEG-2. Perhaps Blu-ray generically refers to the original or the AVCHD codec. But the issue is - what am I buying if I buy a "Blu-ray" title. Might it actually be encoded as AVCHD? Or is some other nuance regarding "container" versus "compression?"

[Bob]

I am under the impression that at least the early "Blu-ray" disks were high definition MPEG-2.

Yes, that's true. The earliest Blu-Ray discs did use MPEG-2. However, times change. Current Blu-Ray discs are mostly VC-1 and H.264 for the primary content.

Perhaps Blu-ray generically refers to the original or the AVCHD codec.

Blu-Ray refers to the type of LED Laser used in the players. Standard DVD players use red lasers. Blu-Ray players use blue (actually more of a blue-violet) lasers. The smaller the wavelength of light, the higher the recording density achievable.

My Sony BD player has the stylized AVCHD logo on the front...

That means it can play AVCHD encoded material, most likely from DVD disks.

what am I buying if I buy a "Blu-ray" title. Might it actually be encoded as AVCHD? Or is some other nuance regarding "container" versus "compression?"

Blu-Ray discs are not encoded as AVCHD. AVCHD was originally designed for use with tapeless camcorders which record to memory sticks, dvd discs, and hard drives. It is a derivative of the Blu-ray Disc specification (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC). But, uses a lower data rate and only a subset of the full specification.

Blu-Ray discs are similar to standard DVD discs in that they have the content recorded as a set of hierarchical folders and files. However, the Blu-Ray discs use a different file system than DVDs, and a different control structure and mechanism -- even the folder and file names are different. Media is encoded as multiplexed streams similar to DVDs, but use MPEG Transport Stream as the container format rather than the MPEG Program Stream container format used by DVDs. The streams themselves are what are encoded using the permissible codecs.

[Steve Grisetti]

Excellent explanation, Bob! I think many people tend to think that H.264 and AVCHD are the same thing and use the terms interchangeably. Thanks for clearing it up.

[Ken Jarstad]

Steve, in reviewing the Wikipedia docs again just to be sure, it looks to me like AVCHD IS H.264.

H.262 is MPEG-2.

[Bob]

AVCHD is H.264 in the same sense that Mustang automobiles are Fords, However, not all Fords are Mustangs. H.264 is a family of standards with various capabilities identified by a profile targeting various classes of applications.

AVCHD uses H.264 and conforms to it while adding additional application-specific features and constraints. It is not identical to H.264. There are also differences in implemention and features between the various camcorder manufacturers. Some Blu-Ray players will decode and play AVCHD while others won't.

H.264 is MPEG-4 AVC also known as MPEG-4 Part 10.

[Ken Jarstad]

Just to cap this topic I am using the trial version of Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9 and I created a project with three HDV files from my HV20 - no editing - yet. I added three timeline markers, selected 'Burn Blu-ray Disc', selected Sony AVC format with a Blu-ray 1440x1080-60i, 15 Mbps video stream, burn speed 8.0x for my 16x DVD media and the resultant video/audio was outstanding! The clarity and freedom from visual artifacts were indistinguishable to me from the original. As a bonus the three timeline markers were selectable from the Blu-ray player remote control although there was no menu.

I'm having a hard time coming up with a suitable authoring package so until DVD Architect Studio 5.0 comes out I was thinking of a work around to get a menu. Perhaps for the first 10 seconds I could put a simple title page over a solid color background showing how many clicks of the button to get to a certain section. Might work on 20 minute video.