Output Format for Non-HD Video (to DVD / PC)

[HOTELECHOMIKE]

After editing a number of HD video I return to some older non-HD material!

This was recorded with a Sony PC 100E Camcorder.  In the old days (& with a PC equipped with

a Firewire interface) the videos were read out by Pinnacle 10 creating .avi files.

Now with PE 14.1 on a WIN7 PC I have created an approx 13-minutes video from these .avi files.

The frame size is 720 x 576.

The first output file I created was via Export & Share then Devices / Computer

using the default resolution of SD 576 (720 x 576).

I used the default format of MP4-H.264

Since its only a short video I set Quality to High (Bit Rate went from 6 to 10 Mbps).

This produced a .mp4 file that was 1013 MB in size which I copied to a USB stick.

The file played back OK on the PC.

I tried the USB stick in a (fairly old) DVD player & it came up with "Wrong Codex" (or similar).

I tried in a Blu-Ray player & it worked fine.

Second try (after only marginal edits to the project) as above but with Format MPEG - PS.

Quality set to High again - the Bit Rate went from 6 to 8 Mbps.

This produced a .mpg file of about 825 MB (i.e. somewhat smaller).

This file (again on USB stick) worked on both the DVD & Blu Ray players.

My question is: should one expect to see a difference in the quality when playing back the two files?

My wife claims to see slighty better quality with the MP4 version i.e. my second file.

Clearly the MP4 & MPEG have a different Codex - is there just more work for the player to do when

processing the shorter MPEG file & that one really should not see a difference?

After this project its back to HD videos....

[Steve Grisetti · Accepted solution]

How do you define quality?

MP4s and AVC-based videos give a more efficient compression. Less damage is done to the file when compressed, even if you have a smaller file. MP4s are also usually progressive frame, which looks better on computer and on progressive frame TVs.

MPEGs are the standard compression for DVDs. They traditionally use interlaced rather than progressive frames -- which tend to look better on TVs than on computers (although that too depends on which media player you're playing your video with).

DVD players play VOB files, which are a form of MPEG. However, some disc players can play other video formats -- and BluRay players can be VOBs, AVC video and some BluRay players can even play MP4s.

But there are so many variables in all of this that there is no straight answer. Especially when you ask about "quality", which is a rather subjective valuation that could mean resolution, bit rate, compression level or color reproduction. And, when you're comparing MP4s to MPEGs, there are many factors to consider.

[HOTELECHOMIKE]

Thanks for the information

When I actually came to burn a DVD (or rather a DVD ISO image which I subsequently burnt using ImgBurn), it was rather simple:

With DVD / SD 576 it offered Format=MPEG (there was no alternative), Frame Rate=25 (PAL) - thats OK - Quality=Min (cannot move it) & "Fit Contents to available space" was checked.

Now that this project is completed its back to working on my HD videos