I’m editing some video files. The VOB’s which are MPEG-2. Applying some filters to enhance some very bad video, sharpening, contrast etc. This was a VHS transfer to digital and the VHS wasn’t all that great. I’m using Power Director and it’s got some good filters.
I need to save the file temporarily. Then finish my rendering into an X264 file with Handbrake.
I could render back into a MPEG-2 or DVI-AVI. Right now I’m trying DVI-AVI hoping that I won’t introduce any additional compression artifacts. The editor estimates a 17Gig file. But it’s only temporary until Handbrake processes it.
Is this the right approach? Or should I go ahead and render it back into a MPEG-2?
Power Director has SVRT (Smart Video Rendering Technology) for MPEG-2 which doesn’t recompress. But that’s only for files with minimal editing. Like trimming out commecials from a tv recording. In this case, I’m using several filters and all the frames are getting processed.
The render time is estimated at 5 hours for an 1 hour 20 min clip. (takes time to apply the filters). But this video was so bad it was almost not useable. You can imagine a washed out VHS that was captured into MPEG-2.
Assuming you mean DV-AVI, then yes, you should use that output if you need an intermediate file. The DV-AVI format uses uncompressed video, so it should not introduce any artifacts of its own. Rendering it back to MPEG-2 will certainly lead to detail loss and artifacts. The best choice, though, we be to save it directly in the final format, if possible.
What version of PD are you using? I am quite familiar with the program, or at least up to version 8. Also tell us what your source resolution is, and your desired end product.
AVI takes up a lot of space, and the option in PD8 does not allow hi-def. If you use MPG or MP4, you can set the parameters high enough for an intermediate file that there is negligible data loss from compression. It will take longer to render, however.
But why are you doing this in 2 steps, and why are you using Handbrake? PD has all the output options you should ever want, and a single-step rendering is always best.
I also advise to NOT use Variable Bit Rate settings in PD. Perhaps they fixed it in later versions, but I found, sadly, that it can garble video at random places without warning. It’s not worth the uncertainty.
Use 8Mb/s for the most demanding video with motion, down to 4Mb/s for talking heads. You can reduce these settings slightly for standard def, or increase them slightly for hi-def if you don’t mind the extra space and time it will take.
I tried the x264 profile in PD and it created too big of a file. Handbrake’s high profile x264 creates the same resolution but a more reasonable bit rate. Giving a smaller file.
I’m not sure if I’ve been using Variable Bit Rate or not. I’ve just been using the standard PD profiles. I record my tv shows with the Mpeg-2 profile. Edit out commercials with PD and output back to Mpeg-2. The SVRT (Smart Video Rendering Technology) for MPEG-2 doesn’t recompress. That seems confirmed because it renders very quickly. It would take much longer to render if it was reprocessing the file. Handbrake gives me a nice size file that doesn’t eat up my hard drive. Typically a 20 min mpeg-2 is about 950Meg and it’s 275Meg after Handbrake makes the x264.
This bad video project was the first time I’ve had to use PD’s enhance filters. Not much choice because the VHS transfer to DVD was so washed out. This was an out of print title that I got on Ebay. Bad video but better than having nothing to watch at all. PD’s enhance filters seemed to help it a lot in the previews. I’m rendering the DV-AVI in Handbrake tonight.
Thanks again for the help. I’m still very new at this figuring it out. Right now I’m using default profiles in Power Director and Handbrake, but at some point will start experimenting.
I advise NEVER using the default settings in PD; Handbrake I have little experience with.
If you dig into the settings and understand what they mean, you can often tweak your production just right. Experiment a little if you have to, using a short file segment, to see what they do if you aren’t sure. You might be surprised how some settings affect file sizes, image appearance, etc.
One of the frustrating things about PD (not to mention the numerous, serious bugs) is it reverts to default settings every time you initialize the program, and I have to remember to change them each time or suffer the consequences.
Since you can alter the bit rate to any value in PD, I don’t see the problem. You want a more reasonable bit rate, specify that, and save the profile for next time. One pass is a lot better than two, and subject to less distortion.