Best blu-ray audio format to avoid recompression in DVDA

[tbg]

For blu-ray creation, I rendered the video as MainConcept MPEG-2, and the audio portion of my Vegas Movie Studio project as Sony WAV64, using the Default Template (Audio 44100 Hz, 16 bit, Stereo, PCM). When creating the ISO file in DVDA, the audio portion was recompressed. Video did not require recompression. Is there a different render setting I should have used to avoid recompression? Source material was 2-channel audio.

[Steve Grisetti]

According to Sony, the ideal audio format for exporting audio from Vegas to DVD Architect is PCM 16 bit Stereo with a 48000 sample rate. At least that's what Vegas will output if you set it up to port a movie to DVD Architect and that's what DVD Architect uses to create the BluRay.

But I personally have never played with other sampling rates to see if that alone will cause it to recompress.

[tbg]

Thanks, Steve.

Given your comments, I went ahead and changed my Sony Wav 64 render settings in VMS to 48000 sample rate and that did the trick - no compression required. When I rendered in 44100 sample rate, it did require compression. So problem solved.

Thanks again.

P.S. I'm looking forward to your new book on VMS. Just ordered it from amazon today!

-Todd

[Steve Grisetti]

Thanks, Todd! And thanks for ordering the new book too! I hope you enjoy it.

And I'm glad to hear I made the right call with regards to the audio sampling. Even I learned something with that one!

[Bob]

FYI, 48,000 is the standard sampling rate for DVDs. 44,100 is the standard sampling rate for CDs.

[George Tyndall]

FYI, 48,000 is the standard sampling rate for DVDs. 44,100 is the standard sampling rate for CDs.

Bob and Steve, I verified that PRE7 is outputting the audio PCM option with those settings, but DVD AS5 still needed to recompress the audio.

Any advice?

[Bob]

PCM is uncompressed. Since your sample rate is 48K and doesn't need conforming, check your DVDAS project properties. I suspect your project is not set to PCM. If so, it would need to be converted and compressed. If it isn't PCM, try changing to PCM and see if that takes care of the issue.

[George Tyndall]

PCM is uncompressed. Since your sample rate is 48K and doesn't need conforming, check your DVDAS project properties. I suspect your project is not set to PCM. If so, it would need to be converted and compressed. If it isn't PCM, try changing to PCM and see if that takes care of the issue.

Bob, for burning Blu-ray with DVD AS5, PCM is the only available choice for audio--so, when I shared my timeline from PRE7, I went to Personal Computer>MPEG>H.264 1920x1080i 30>Advanced>Export Settings>VBR, 2 Pass for the Video and for the audio: Audio>PCM radio button, and on the Multiplexing tab I left the TS button checked.

Nevertheless, when I went to File>Optimize in DVD AS5 after inserting the file, I saw that, while the H.264 video file requred no recompression, the audio file did.

[RJ Johnston]

Try this. In Premiere Elements, instead of selecting TS for Multiplexing, select None.

When you export, you will end up with a .M4V and a .WAV file. Change the file extension from .M4V to .AVC. That will allow DVDA to import the video file. Don't know why it doesn't like the .M4V file extension.

You will then be able to import those into DVDA, and there won't be any recompression of video or audio.

You will need to drag the audio to the DVDA timeline after you have added the .AVC file to the menu and selecting the .AVC button. That way you will be matching the audio to the .AVC video instead of to the menu background.

[Bob]

I haven't needed DVDAS 5, so I'm still using DVDAS 4.5 (I also have Encore CS5). It seems odd that PCM is the only choice given that Blu-Ray is required to support more formats than that. When you used Optimize DVD, did you look at the reason it gave for why the audio had to be recompressed?

[George Tyndall]

I haven't needed DVDAS 5, so I'm still using DVDAS 4.5 (I also have Encore CS5). It seems odd that PCM is the only choice given that Blu-Ray is required to support more formats than that. When you used Optimize DVD, did you look at the reason it gave for why the audio had to be recompressed?

The only reason I saw was "Required"--and this is despite the fact that I confirmed that PRE7 is outputting the PCM with the parameters that you and Steve mentioned above.

What do you think of RJ's suggestion?

[Bob]

Wasn't there a "+" next to where it said recompress required? Expand that and there should be a reason given. Look also at the recompress settings.

For PCM, recompress is a misnomer. PCM is uncompressed -- WAV files use PCM. If the source is PCM and the output is PCM, you are going from uncompressed to uncompressed. The main things that might change would be the sample rate or the sample resolution. That's what Premiere Elements calls "conforming". Unless it's converting from larger units to smaller units (which is very unlikely), you probably won't be able to hear a difference. You'll only get compression if you convert from PCM to a compressed format such as AC-3.

I wouldn't fret over it. And, I wouldn't bother separating the video and audio. It would be nice to know why DVDAS thinks it needs to make an adjustment to the audio though.

[George Tyndall]

I wouldn't fret over it. .... It would be nice to know why DVDAS thinks it needs to make an adjustment to the audio though.

Yes, it's not actually a big deal as DVDAS still burns the Blu-ray very quickly (provided the video is done with H.264 codec)--it's mostly out of curiosity that I am inquiring about the audio.

I won't be in front of my screen until 8pm or so tonight, at which time I'll look for the + sign that you mention.



RJ too

[George Tyndall]

It would be nice to know why DVDAS thinks it needs to make an adjustment to the audio though.

Hi Bob (been waiting a long time to say that ),

According to DVD AS5, the "Reasons for the required recompression" is that "Media is not compliant with the disc format."

As if we did not already know that.

So I checked the file with MediaInfo--thanks for that RJ!--and here is what I discovered: PRE7 seems to have lied.

More specifically, although I asked PRE7 to output the file as PCM, MediaInfo informs me that it is regular old AC-3=Dolby Digital Stereo.

MediaInfo.jpg

Question: On the Multiplexing tab on the Share Tab, would changing TS to None after selecting PCM be more correct?

[George Tyndall]

Try this. In Premiere Elements, instead of selecting TS for Multiplexing, select None.

When you export, you will end up with a .M4V and a .WAV file. Change the file extension from .M4V to .AVC. That will allow DVDA to import the video file. Don't know why it doesn't like the .M4V file extension.

You will then be able to import those into DVDA, and there won't be any recompression of video or audio.

You will need to drag the audio to the DVDA timeline after you have added the .AVC file to the menu and selecting the .AVC button. That way you will be matching the audio to the .AVC video instead of to the menu background.

BINGO!

RJ Suggestion.jpg

Interesting: I used a WAV file in PRE7, and now I'm back to a WAV file that requires no recompression to burn the Blu-ray!

RJ

Hee Haw: "Aww, ya doesn't need to call me Mr. Johnston. You can call me RJ, ooooooor, you can call me RJJ, or you can call me RJ Johnston--but you hasn't got to call me Mr. Johnston"