HD to SD Conversion Technique

[Bill Hunt]

Jeff Bellune just posted a link to his, and Dan Isaacs' HD to SD conversion, using 3rd party, open source software. His article in the Adobe PrPro forum can be found here: http://forums.adobe.com/message/2484404#2484404

If you have HD material, and want the highest quality DVD-Video (SD) output, this is a must-read.

Good luck,

Hunt

[Steve Grisetti]

Nice link, Hunt! Thanks for posting it!

[Bobby]

I have to ask, though, is all that really necessary? I realize that there are always a few of us who are on the statistical outskirts, but does this really practically apply?

I am current bringing 1080i files into PRE and generating SD widescreen DVDs for family distribution with what I would consider acceptable or better quality. They certainly look better than my old SD video shot with my Sony D8 camera.

So what's the story. Do I really have to go this far afield to get some perceived additional level of quality?

[cspitser]

Bobby,

I'm with you. I read Jeff Bellune's article on conversion and I am not excited about using that technique.

I am currently using PE4 and want to upgrade to something that will process HD files. I have read on this forum that PE8 doesn't work well. Maybe I should get PE7, or another brand.

I want to be able to edit HD and SD files in the same project. Then after editing, I want to be able to burn standard 4.7 GB DVD's and also bluray disks. I don't want to do the editing twice.

I need advice on which software to get.

Also I am new to bluray. I have a good player, but not yet a burner. What do bluray disks contain. Are they anything similar to DVDs which have a video_ts folder that contains one or more VOB files. With the right software and bluray burner, can I create files in a folder and then burn them to the bluray disk?

Cliff

[George Tyndall]

I am current bringing 1080i files into PRE and generating SD widescreen DVDs ... with what I would consider acceptable or better quality.

Likewise, Bobby.

All my work consists of HD stills and clips that I import into PRE7 using a HD Project Preset--even if my intended creation is only a SD rather than a Blu-ray DVD. As may be seen from my past posts, I've tried every which way of producing a SD widescreen DVD, and this method yields AT LEAST as high a quality as the other methods. A bonus of this workflow is that, if I need both a SD and a Blu-ray DVD, I go through the editing process only once prior to burning them.

[Bobby]

I agree George - thanks!

Cliff, Premiere Elements (correctly abbreviated PRE) is a tremendously powerful program although it does have some shortcomings. Most of us here use it, and I think it will have the capabilities you need. I would suggest that you download a trial of PRE8 and see how it goes. V8 has some issues, but like a lot of things: if it works for you then go for it.

I don't do BluRay myself yet, so I am no expert on the file structure. Someone will be along...

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I did a quick Google search and the first returned result was this WIKI article; probably tells you more than you ever wanted to know :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Dis

[Bob]

What do bluray disks contain. Are they anything similar to DVDs which have a video_ts folder that contains one or more VOB files?

Blu-Ray disks are similar to DVDs in that there is a defined file system and folder heirarchy that dictates how the content is written to the disc. But, Blu-Ray uses a different file system than DVD, the names and organization of the folders is different, and there are no ifo, bup, or vob files. Blu-Ray uses a different set of file types to define the content.

See this BD FAQ for an overview. Especially the sections on file system and directory structure.

With the right software and bluray burner, can I create files in a folder and then burn them to the bluray disk?

Yes, but Premiere Elements does not burn a Blu-Ray folder to disc. Encore CS3 and CS4, which comes with Premiere Pro, does support burning Blu-Ray to folder. Once you have the Blu-Ray folder and file heirarchy, you can burn it to a Blu-Ray disc using the appropriate UDF file system. Imgburn can accomplish that task.

[cspitser]

Thanks Bob, That BD FAQ is really great.

After reading through this thread, I want to confirm the following:

After I get PRE 7 or 8, I want to do a HD project with both HD video files, some SD video files, and some stills. Then, I want to burn a 4.7 GB DVD. I think someone said I can do this, but I can only put about 20 - 25 minutes onto the DVD. Can I then play the DVD with either a DVD or bluray player on a HDTV and see it in HD (those parts that were HD original media) ? I guess another way to ask this is "Is a bluray disk the only way to distribute a HD disk for a HDTV?"

Then, I want to create a bluray disk from the same PRE project.

Is this possible?

Cliff

[Ron]

This discussion should answer (most of) your questions - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6948

[cspitser]

I read the topic. Most of the discussion was about using moviefactory. I have no idea what that is. I will start a new discussion.