Problem: My HD slide shows set to music--my HD "music videos"--range in length up to a maximum of about 12 minutes. If I use standard 25GB Blu-ray disks to share these, then

1) there is a lot of wasted space
2) I haven't been able to find blank Blu-rays disks that accept Lightscribe labelling, which my clients and I really like and
3) the blank Blu-ray disks are expensive

Last but not least: I can't burn the HD file to a HD folder.

Solution: Sony's DVD Architect Studio 5.0 software accompanied by Steve's recent new book on how to use it.

Here, based on Steve's recommendatons and my just-completed testing, is the workflow for making a single-movie Blu-ray of up to 20 minutes in length, by which I mean one that has no menus and that autoplays merely by inserting into one's Blu-ray player:

1) using your favorite video-editing program (I use PRE7), perform the final edit of your creation and then play it back to ascertain that it is flawless--personally, I accomplish this by sharing my HD Timeline to Folder (4.7GB) and then playing the resulting VTS file with Windows Media Player (this method is much faster than rendering my HD Timeline)
2) once you are certain that it is flawless, share the HD Timeline by going to Personal Computer>MPEG>H.264 1920x1080i 30
3) place a SD DVD in your machine's Blu-ray writer and then open DVD Architect Studio 5.0
4) go to File>New and make the following choices: Single Movie; Disc Format Blu-ray; PCM can't be changed as that is the only audio format that works with Blu-ray with this software; click OK, browse to the H.264 file on your HDD and click Open, which brings the file into the Project Overview Panel (the far-left window)
5) go to File>Optimize and verify that there is a green check mark under video, which signifies that no recompression of the video will be necessary
6) in the lower-right of the Optimize Disc window, click Project Properties and then verify that the Disc Format is Blu-ray and the Target media size(GB) is 4.70--make this 8.50 if you have inserted a double-sided SD DVD disc into your Blu-ray burner
7) if desired, check the box that says Start all new projects with these settings--I did so as I will be using the software only to burn Blu-rays on 4.70GB single-sided discs
8) click OK and when the Optimize Disc window reappers, click OK again
9) on the toolbar, click Make Blu-ray disc

In the Make Blu-ray Disc window, I personally like to choose Prepare, which burns the HD Timeline to folder without simultaneously burning the actual disc. My nearly 4-minute HD Timeline took 1:38 to complete the task (only the audio needed recompression).

To burn a disc from the folder, click Make Blu-ray Disc again and then click Burn.

If desired, apply a Lightscribe label to your SD Verbatim Lightscribe disc(s).

Hats off to Steve for bringing to our attention this fabulous new capability.



_____
P.S. The software is capable of ever so much more than what I use it for--and the missing manual that Steve created is vastly more helpful, IMO, than the Help files that come with the program. Steve's book can be purchased right here on muvipix by going to the Muvipix Store at the far left. Here are just a few of the features that Steve's book also covers:

1) insert a video clip before the main menu
2) develop intricate menu structures
3) create fully-customizable menu pages, including motion backgrounds and music
4) add bonus features, chapter menus and slide shows and
5) a whole lot more

Great plug for the software, George! I agree with you. It's the best $39 I've ever spent!

It's a plug for your book, too, Steve, as to my mind they go hand in hand. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony contacts you soon!

BTW, given that DAS5 uses only PCM for Blu-rays, should I share my HD PRE7 Timeline as PCM instead the usual Dolby Digital?

I tried that, and it took a very long time to share to my HDD with the H.264 codec--AND the audio still needed to be recompressed from PCM to PCM by DAS5 (according to File>Optimize) when sharing to my HDD.

Am I likely to get better audio on the SD DVD if DAS5 is recompressing PCM to PCM instead of Dolby Digital to PCM?

Good question, George! My guess would be that you won't hear any discernible difference -- but in all honest, I don't know! Sorry.

I tried both and it seems your guess is correct!

BTW, when sharing the timeline to personal computer as NTSC DVD, is there an advantage to increasing the quality to 5 and changing the VBR from 1 pass to 2 pass?

Also, why is it that the NTSC DVD audio needs no recompression but the audio on the HD AVC file does?



P.S. It appears I will be using DAS5 to burn both SD DVDs and Blu-rays rather than for Blu-rays only, now that I have been enlightened by your missing manual for the software.

Sorry, George. Again, I'm not an expert enough to know the advantages of VBR 1 pass and VBR 2 pass.

Maybe someone else will chime in with some insight.

Regardless, I'm glad to hear the book is helpful! Would you be kind enough to post a review on Amazon.com?

Gladly.

Here's the review I just posted on Amazon:





P.S. When played back on a 52-inch HDTV, the SD DVD also looks VERY good, but it did take much longer to burn than with the standard settings burn settings in PRE7--but not nearly as long as the HD AVC file.

BTW, who is the publisher of the book? It's very nicely done but doesn't say.

Do I understand that you placed a 4.7GB "plain vanilla" blank DVD into a Blu-Ray writer and had the machine burn the disc as a Blu-Ray disc?

And that you can get up to 20min of HD video on this "Blu-Ray" (DVD) disc?

And that your Blu-Ray player recognized the DVD as a Blu-Ray disc?

Wow, that sounds pretty cool. I may have to get the DAS software and try that out. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, yes, yes, I agree and you're welcome.

AND it's only $39, however, I really do suggest that you also get Steve's book, as it is much easier to use than the Help menus that come with this fabulously-capable program.

A free trial of the software is available for download.

VBR 2 pass will give you higher quality than VBR 1 pass. VBR 1 pass is generally used in situations such as real time encoding for live broadcasts or live streaming where you can't do a second pass. Or, where speed of encoding is more important than quality.

VBR 1 pass has to analyze and encode the data on-the-fly. Since it hasn't seen all the data, it can't optimize the compression and bitrate as well as VBR 2 pass does. VBR 2 pass analyzes the data in the first pass and determines where the content is simple and can get by with lower bitrate and where it is complex and needs a higher bitrate. The second pass uses this information to optimize the encoding done in the second pass.

Still once again, I must say



for sharing your invaluable expertise.

On a side note, your thread got me to wondering if I could make copies of my blueray projects that are saved as backup on my HDD ( iso files created with Image Burn ), and burn them to a standard DVD. Worked fine respective to size of course. I have been wasting blueray discs when making copies in the past but no longer! I should have deduced this from my efforts in the past of creating avchd on DVD. Does anyone know if I might be able to take several saved projects ( again iso files from Image Burn ) and pile them onto a blueray disc?

I just tried that.

DVD AS5.0 wants me to insert the associated m2t file onto the timeline before it will allow me to browse to the "prepared" iso file and use it to burn the blu-ray.

But both ImgBurn and the CyberLink software that came with my Blu-ray burner will burn the iso image file directly.

I'm not aware of a software that will allow one to burn several separate iso images to the same disc but there may be another member who is aware of such a software.

You may want to see this thread:
http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?show ... entry75409

Peru, I'm not tech-savvy enough to understand that.

Translation please!