Am I a Doofis?

[George Tyndall]

My standard workflow is to share my HD timelines as both MPEG2 1920x1080i 30 and iPod-HQ.

Subsequently, if I chose to burn a DVD or Blu-ray from the MPEG2 file, I would also create images of those discs for possible subsequent burns.

But isn't it true that, if I've already saved the MPEG2 file, then I can use it rather than an image for subsequent fast burns, in other words, isn't it true that I have been doing additional unnecessary work?

If so, then please do feel free to reply, "George, you are a doofis."

[RJ Johnston]

There is no subsequent fast burn in Premiere Elements just by having an MPEG-2 file. There is no smart rendering of MPEG files in pre.

[Steve Grisetti]

The closest to smart rendering of an MPEG is the M2T file, the high-def MPEG created using the 1440x1080 preset using Share/Computer/MPEG.

The M2T file produced by this share output makes ideal source footage for a project set up to edit HDV. It is, essentially, the hi-def equivalent of the DV-AVI.

[George Tyndall]

There is no subsequent fast burn in Premiere Elements just by having an MPEG-2 file. There is no smart rendering of MPEG files in pre.

RJ and Steve, I would like to rephrase the question.

I've noticed that if I burn a number of Blu-ray discs from

1) a PRE7 timeline that consists of an m2t file instead of

2) the original timeline that I used to create the m2t file then

3) each of those Blu-ray discs seem to finish burning at least as fast as if I had used a mirror image (of the first Blu-ray) to burn them, therefore

4) if one already has an m2t file, isn't it completely unnecessary to create a mirror image of the first Blu-ray that one has burned?

[Steve Grisetti]

You've got me there, George. I can't begin to speculate on how different the specs are on two different M2T files and how that effects disc creation time. Sorry.

[Bob]

George,

MPEG2 1920x1080i 30 used to make a BluRay is not the same as MPEG 2 DVD and will always need to be scaled and encoded. If you anticipate needing to make subsequent burns and the time to scale and encode is significant, an ISO of the DVD is certainly a good idea. For BluRay, if the time to burn your disc from an M2T timeline is similar to burning from an ISO then it's a wash as far as time goes. But, even there, an ISO has the advantage that no processing of the video has to be done and you are insulated from any possible changes in the software and system that may affect how the disc will be generated in the future. You are sure of getting an exact duplicate each time.

There are no rights or wrongs. It comes down to how large and complex your projects are and your own preferred workflow.

[George Tyndall]

George....

Very informative and, as always, succinct.