Blog Archives

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It’s easy to digitize SD video. But the quality isn’t great, the audio is often noisy and the results, for pros, are disappointing. Here’s a system to digitize older media and maximize audio and video quality.

Posted on by Larry

Every editor has their own list of features that they’d like Apple to implement. I’m no different. Over the years, I’ve been struck by five imponderable missing features in Final Cut that, try as I might, I can’t get Apple to explain why they don’t exist. Here’s my list.

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Burning Blu-ray Discs is possible on a Mac, but bugs in Apple Final Cut Pro X make creating Blu-rays harder than it should be. Read the workarounds here.

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A quick look at DVD Creator from Wondershare, and a conversation with Wondershare about the specific features in the software for filmmakers.

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A cool workaround to create DVD chapter markers using Apple Final Cut Pro X.

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MPEG Streamclip no longer works in Mac OS X 10.12 or later. In this short, video excerpt from a recent webinar, Larry shows how to “rip,” or convert, media from a non-copy protected DVD into a video format suitable for editing, while preserving as much quality as possible.

While there are currently a few issues with burning DVDs using Compressor 4.3.0 that Apple is looking at, in this article I want to share a few tips with you that will improve your results when burning DVDs using Compressor. …

Posted on by Larry

NOTE: This Macintosh technique requires a Blu-ray Plug-in and BD-R or BD-RE Burner, both of which are sold separately. Without these, a Blu-ray Disc can not be created on a Mac. As Apple moves ever farther from supporting optical media, …

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A summary of the 2015 Storage in Media Survey Results conducted by Coughlin & Associates. Storage is essential to all digital media and this survey provides a snapshot of how it is being used across our industry today. (Included detailed PDF.)

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This short video tutorial shows you how to export high-quality project files from Adobe Encore for DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or for compression in other software.

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Chapter Playlists, also called “stories,” are very useful when creating training using optical media like DVDs or Blu-ray Discs. This short video tutorial shows how to create them using Adobe Encore CS6.

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A short video tutorial on how to change the poster frame associated with a DVD or Blu-ray Disc chapter marker using Adobe Encore.

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Two quick DVD burning tips when using Apple Compressor 4.1.

How to adjust compression settings for DVD media using Compressor 4.1 or Compressor 4.0.

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A step-by-step tutorial on converting frame sizes and frame rates from HD to SD video using Compressor.

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A short video tutorial showing how to link buttons, chapter markers, menus and tracks in Adobe Encore CS6.

Posted on by Larry

Here’s a short step-by-step tutorial that shows how to create chapter markers in Final Cut Pro X.

Posted on by Larry

Stories are a very powerful technical feature in DVD Studio Pro that allows you to alter the normal flow of your movies. This article shows you how.

Posted on by Larry

Chapter markers were traditionally the domain of DVDs. However, both QuickTime movies and MPEG-4 movies for the web can also contain chapter markers, which makes navigating through a long movie a lot faster when you are trying to find a specific section to review. Here’s how to display them in QuickTime 7 and QuickTime X.

Posted on by Larry

Dual Layer break points are determined by where the VTS segments are located, not just which is the longest, or most logical, clip within which to place a break point.

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Larry walks you through looping a DVD, along with reader feedback on how to make those loops seamless.

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When importing a video into DVD Studio Pro, if you encode at the end of the project, your assets are not converted to MPEG until you start to build the project.

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DVD SP contains drop zones, which you can use to add video or images to a menu. Here’s how.

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There’s been some debate about authoring NTSC DVDs in DVD Studio Pro (with having all of the region codes selected) and their playback in PAL countries.

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David Scott was having a problem creating a DVD using a Compressor Template. Until he solved it. Here’s what he did.

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If Blu-ray Discs are in your future as a Mac Pro user, you need to read this report from Michael Powles on installing a Blu-ray burner in a Mac.

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In this article, Larry Jordan answers a question about when to convert HD files to SD for editing in Final Cut Pro 7 or earlier.

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H.264 and X.264 are two different development projects that result in two different codecs that both do the same thing: create H.264-compliant files.

Posted on by Larry

In this article we examine my personal favorite method to burn DVDs (Roxio Toast) as well as the most reliable way to burn a VIDEO_TS folder.

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A subscriber, creating titles for a 16×9 movie that will go to SD DVD, writes in asking whether he keep his text in a 4×3 title safe grid. In response, we look at how Title Safe is defined.

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An extensive email correspondence with editor/subscriber, Patrick Nugent, concerning some difficulties with video artifacting and the solutions he found, is summarized in this article.

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An editor’s interest in “cleaning up” some audio clips is a joy to answer, and very useful info to have.

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A subscriber writes in asking for the best codec to use to get the great HD quality of her footage transferred onto a 4.7GB DVD, which is, unfortunately, a question with no easy solution.

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Technical Guru Graeme Nattress presents a lucid, and illustrated, explanation of why colors in DV, Betacam, and DVD are handled differently. If you do any kind of color work, you need to read this article.

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Judging by my email, handling still images is by far the most confusing part of editing video — especially because the computer creates images using square pixels and video uses rectangular pixels, in a variety of shapes. This article explains everything you need to know to create great looking still images for your next video project.

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The best way to display HD video is using a Blu-ray Disc. However, the Mac OS does not support Blu-ray Disc playback, and to create a Blu-ray Disc takes an external burner. This article describes what you need to know to create a Blu-ray Disc. (Keep in mind that this technology is changing constantly – after this article was published, FCP 7 was released which provides limited support for Blu-ray Discs.)

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Nothing causes more confusion for video editors than trying to figure out how to size still images for video. I’ve written extensively about this in the past — which is referenced in this article — this is an additional follow-up.

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A reader asks how to create a PAL DVD. In this article, I provide a reference for file conversion, then talk about the Compressor setting you can use to compress your files. (I also include a link to lots more training on DVD creation.)

Posted on by Larry

Here’s a quick tip on how to create still images so they can display in a PAL 16:9 sequence.

Posted on by Larry

Final Cut does not like editing compressed video. However, what’s the best way to convert MEPG-2 video, which is compressed, into something Final Cut likes? This article tells you what you need to know.

Posted on by Larry

Ripping a DVD, which means to convert it into something that Final Cut Pro can edit, can be done a number of ways. However, not all of them yield the best quality. This article explains what you need to know to convert your DVD footage into something that can be edited, while still looking good.

Posted on by Larry

Larry diagnoses a subscriber’s problems with burning DVDs and makes recommendations (altering compression bit-rates, etc.) towards finding a solution.

Posted on by Larry

Money was tight, so “they” decided to shoot the project using both SD and HD cameras. Now, your stuck editing them. HOW??? In this article, we explains a variety of ways you can intercut between SD and HD material, and how to avoid problems with poorly converted video.

Posted on by Larry

Probably no subject generates more email than questions about the best way to prepare still for both HD and SD. In this article, David Scott provides this step-by-step approach to making your stills look great. (Note: For a video tutorial on this subject, CLICK HERE)

Posted on by Larry

Larry fields a question related to transferring HDV footage and traces the problem back to the process of compressing the video. A walk-through of changing the output settings in the Geometry tab provides a detailed guide to preventing this problem from reoccurring.

Posted on by Larry

We can shoot HD, we can edit HD, but we still can’t effectively distribute HD due to the market standoff surrounding HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Recently, things just got worse, as this article explains.

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There are a variety of ways to export a project from Final Cut Pro for a DVD. This article showcases the best way to do it if you are using Final Cut Pro 6.x. (FCP 7 users may want to consider using Share or Send, which this article doesn’t cover.)

Posted on by Larry

There are a variety of ways to export a project from Final Cut Pro for a DVD. This article showcases the best way to do it if you are using Final Cut Pro 6.x. (FCP 7 users may want to consider using Share or Send, which this article doesn’t cover.)

Posted on by Larry

By default, DVD Studio Pro creates tracks that support 4:3 video. However, this is easy to change, but hard to find. This short article describes what you need to do to create wide-screen DVDs.

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Getting DVD subtitles, especially when you have more than one language, requires a script. This short article tells you want you need to know to get your scripts to work properly, and where to look for more information.

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