Looking for DVD Architect "Studio" 5.0

[Ken Jarstad]

Yes, I was just reading on Wikipedia that m2ts containers for Blu-ray can contain MPEG-2, MPEG-4 or VC-1 but AVCHD supports only MPEG-4. I am having fits remembering all this stuff. Container this, codec that..... I guess the "2" in m2ts threw me off.

I did find that Vegas supports for AVCHD file extensions .mp4, .m2ts and .avc. It had not occurred to me that I could get the file I wanted under 'Advanced Render' by simply typing in a different file extension for the default .mp4.

Well, I just finished a 45 minute render from VMS9 to an m2ts file. It looks good in WMP and so I brought up DMFP7 and tried importing it. I got a message window saying, "Corel DVD MovieFactory has stopped working."

Edit: I tried re-setting a number of parameters but it still crashes every time! I even tried setting it for Vista SP2 Compatibility Mode.

[Ken Jarstad]

I think I have a solution - not what wanted but workable. I just imported my .m2ts file created in VMS9 into Cyberlink PowerDirector 8.0, added markers every 2 minutes in the editor, invoked the Create Disk function and burned an AVCHD disk with the default cheesy menu. It worked and looked marvelous - except for the cheesy menu. But at least in CPD8 I can make menus on AVCHD disks.

It's kind of a convoluted way to get what I want but the options are severely limited - until DVD Architect "Studio" 5.0 comes out.

I'm going to experiment with the menus to see if I can do something a little more 'elegant.'

[RJ Johnston]

I'm able to import .m2ts files into Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus - HD without getting any errors, but I'm on Windows XP.

In Sony VMS9 you can click the advanced button and then select an AVCHD template from the drop down.

[RJ Johnston]

Next, I tried loading the .m2ts file into the trial of DVDMS7 and got an error message.

There are two service packs for DVDMS7, but you need the full retail version to install them. The second one is to make it compatible with Windows 7. The first one fixes performance problems with AVCHD and some other fixes. What's not certain is if the trial version already has these service packs applied.

[Ken Jarstad]

I was optimistic about CPD8 and decided to work with the menu system. I changed the template, changed the music played when the menus are displayed, edited the chapters to something meaningful for my test video and burned again. CPD8 stalled at 52 percent progress and had to be forced to exit via Task Manager. I am not happy.

I already removed Cyberlink PowerProducer 5.0 from my PC because the trial would not allow test burning AVCHD. It may have more in the way of DVD menu creation but it seems likely that the basic software burning engine is the same. After that lock up how can I have any confidence in buying the full package to prove its worth?

My trial copy of DMFP7 is 7.00.398.0

The trial of DMF6+ does not have the HD Power Pack and therefore I have no way to verify whether it will work for me without spending 60+ usd.

I may even reinstall Nero8 since I have the full package. It made lousy looking AVCHD disks but I didn't try it importing the .m2ts from Vegas.

[Ken Jarstad]

I reinstalled Nero 8 and created a new project, imported the .m2ts file generated from Vegas Movie Studio 9, auto-generated chapters, accepted the default menu structure and set Nero Vision 5 off to do its thing. At about 32 percent NV5 froze and I had to use Task Manager to close it. I tried again and NV5 froze again at a similar point. So I tried importing the .mp4 version of my test file - and it froze again before I could even start it rendering!

<**&$*%&*$#&^)(&%$$$$^%#@> Bronx cheer.......

[Ken Jarstad]

After all these application failures I was beginning to doubt my new PC. Having so many trial versions of editing and authoring apps installed/uninstalled might have corrupted things despite my judicious use of Revo Uninstaller and a couple of well known registry cleaners. Getting desperate, I tried again an application named multiAVCHD, a rather unpolished work-in-progress built specifically for authoring Blu-ray and AVCHD disks. It worked! My test video from Vegas looked beautiful and the menus, such as they were, seemed to work very well.

multiAVCHD is being developed by a programmer in Sofia, Bulgaria. Over the last few months I had been downloading the recent updates to multiAVCHD and trying it out with my collection of HDV test clips. I added my clips to the app and never had any success making a watchable DVD. I came to the realization that my HDV files are MPEG2 and have an average bitrate of ~25 Mb/s which is too high for reliable reading from conventional media. It so happens that when I generated my test file from VMS9 I used the AVCHD template which set the bitrate to a more reasonable ~15 Mb/s. multiAVCHD read the 18 minute .m2ts file right in and gave a watchable DVD in about 12 minutes.

multiAVCHD is kind of a "techy" project and doesn't take you by the hand through all the steps. With this success I'm going to look further into multiAVCHD and see if I can figure out how to customize the menus to my liking.
http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/
http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/tutorial.php
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=143744

[RJ Johnston]

Ken, have you had multiAVCHD installed on your computer (WIN7) all this time? FFDShow and Haali media splitter can cause problems for other applications. You can add the apps to FFDshow's exclude list. Even then, it may still cause problems. I had problems with PowerDirectory when FFDHow and Haali were installed.

I tried mutilAVCHD and thought it was a cool app, but have since uninstalled it along with FFDshow and Haali splitter.

I didn't have any problems loading an .mp4 into PowerDirectory 8 build 2704. I'm not sure, however, that PD8 is smart rendering the .mp4.

EDIT: PD8 did smart render the .mp4. The bitrate set in SVMS9P was 15.5 Mbps.

[RJ Johnston]

I can tell you that Pinnacle Studio 14 Ultimate Collection does not smart render AVCHD.

[Ken Jarstad]

Oh.........., that's right. I do remember reading about that.

What a hassle - juggling all these codecs and filters.

To be fair in testing I should remove multiAVCHD, FFDshow and Haali splitter and try those apps again.

The price for multiAVCHD is right - a donation.

[RJ Johnston]

Back to exporting to a mp4 from SVMS9P and importing to DVDMF7Pro Trial.

Yesterday when I attempted to import a .mp4 into DVDMF7Pro, it didn't even show up in the list as an available media. Then today I tried it again, but this time it was in the list. I realized that yesterday I used the "HIGH" profile when exporting in SVMS9P, and today I used the "MAIN" profile.

DVDMF7Pro trial does not recognize the "HIGH" profile for an MP4. When I left the profile at "MAIN" but keep all the other settings the same, then DVDMF7Pro imported it. Unfortunately, DVDMF7Pro did not smart render it (15,500,000 Mbps).

[Ken Jarstad]

The Wikipedia entry for H.264/MPEG-4 AVC lists 17 differnet profiles Main and High are the two profiles available in VMS9. I don't remember which profile I used but it looks like 'High' profile is the correct one.

Main Profile (MP)
This profile is used for standard-definition digital TV broadcasts that use the MPEG-4 format as defined in the DVB standard[24]. It is not, however, used for high-definition television broadcasts, as the importance of this profile faded when the High Profile was developed in 2004 for that application.

High Profile (HiP)
The primary profile for broadcast and disc storage applications, particularly for high-definition television applications (for example, this is the profile adopted by the Blu-ray Disc storage format and the DVB HDTV broadcast service).

[Ken Jarstad]

OK, being perfectly fair...... I removed multiAVCHD from my PC. I removed FFDshow. I could find no trace of the infamous Haali splitter. I used the K-Lite Codec Tweak Tool to remove many leftover filters. Even so, Filmerit said there were still a few leftovers. These apps leave all kinds of junk behind. I used Comodo System Cleaner to purge the registry.

I again tried DVD MovieFactory Pro 7 and it quit working every time on both the .m2ts and the .mp4 test files. I again tried Nero Vision 5 and it stalled while rendering the .m2ts and it crashed just starting to render the .mp4 file. I used Cyberlink PowerDirector 8 and I was able to get a usable DVD with some customization of the menus. Since I had success with CPD8 I will keep trying. I have only 5 days left on the trial version.

Thanks for all the help so far. I figure the narrative might be useful to someone.

Edit: I worked with the menus in CPD8 and successfully burned a second disk. The menu workspace looks far more impressive than it really is. Only simple menu structures are supported. Perhaps Cyberlink's PowerProducer 5 would have a better menu editor but the following shows that it, too, would likely not be chosen. Closer examination of the critical areas of video showed smearing of background motion detail. Unacceptable. I am going back to multiAVCHD. It's the only app that has performed properly.

[Ken Jarstad]

I got an ad from Nothingbutsoftware.com which offers Corel Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus for $20.99

http://www.nothingbutsoftware.com/Catalog_Type.asp?ProductCode=119431&ai=4010

I scanned over the advertised features and it claims to support HD DVD and Blu-ray burning - but no direct reference to AVCHD burning. This is strange because the ad copy says it supports import and editing of AVCHD files. I couldn't get versions 6 or 7 to support .mp4 or .m2ts files - so what gives?

I opened the website chat to get sales support. I asked them if the HD plugin is included because of the claims on the ad copy. They would only say that whatever Corel claims is what they claim - (they obviously don't know anything).

The cheap price looked even more tempting - only 41 usd even if I had to buy the plugin extra. So I trotted out version 7 again and added the 18 minutes again of my test clips to see if I could get excited about it. I added the HDV files as I did a couple of weeks ago and tried some simple editing and burned a DVD.

The editing is way to simplistic. I thought it might be good for throwing together a quick vacation video which didn't need much but some trimming. The video had areas of obvious smearing. It was obvious to me that rendering from MPEG2 to MPEG4 in DVD MovieFactory 7 was simply not acceptable.

[RJ Johnston]

Ken, I thought you were just going to use DVDMF7 for the menus and use Sony to create MPEG4 in VMS9P. DVDMF7 should know not to encode it again (smart render).

Did you change any encoding settings in DVDMF7? The default settings aren't the absolute best that you can get. You could change quality from 90 to 100. You could tick "two-pass" encode for VBR, or just change to Constant Bitrate.

Same with PowerDirector. In PD8, the AVCHD setting has quality = 6, but you'll notice sharper images when quality = 7, and possibly with deblocking unticked. You change these settings under the "Produce" tab and then produce a MPEG4 file. Then use that file on the timeline to burn on a DVD under the "Create" tab. You do it that way because you can't change the encoder settings under the "Create" tab for AVCHD.