Optimal Video: Pixel Resolution, Bit Rate, Format? Sony Vegas Movie Studio

[DLCPhoto]

I have been playing around with Video that originates in my Sony SR11 High Definition Camcorder. I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0b Platinum ProPack to edit these files. I can convert well to HD Format for YouTube, and it looks/works great there. I'm now trying to find the optimal way of getting these videos on my TP2.

I have CorePlayer (in addition to Windows Media Player) for playback.

I have been trying all kinds of formats (wmv, mp4, mpg, avi), various resolutions (320x480, 480x680, 480x800, 288x640), and a variety of BitRates (128 kbps, 1 Mbps, up to 5 Mbps). Obviously there are a heck of a lot of permutations and combinations, and I could spend weeks trying them all. (And then add in the various playback options within CorePlayer!!).

I saw the post here recommending settings for CorePlayer:

mp4 using H.264, 288x640, 1.6 Mbps

I tried this and it works pretty well, except I'm definitely having dropped frames - not a huge number, not noticeable. I dropped the BitRate down to 1.0 Mbps, and dropped frames are nominal, and it looks pretty good.

(I'm a bit confused why that 288x640 resolution plays beautifully full screen on my TP2, whereas when I view it on my Desktop, it's almost square in aspect ratio, but whatever...)

What are people here finding to give them the best playback in terms of quality, smoothness, and smallest/most efficient file sizes? Sony Vegas Movie Studio gives me a plethora of options, so there should be some set of variables that might even work better than my current 'best.'

Thanks!

[DLCPhoto]

Bump - any video or Sony Vegas users out there?

Thanks.

[ls3mach]

Off topic. Does the video out have the bluescreen flicker or look really slow?

[DLCPhoto]

My Video out cable is ordered and en-route; can repost when I get it and try it out. If I forget, don't hesitate to pm me.

[chris1683]

I convert movies using Magic DVD Ripper and use the following settings:

H.264 MPEG-4
480x320 size (for widescreen)
1500k bitrate
3X audio (for louder sound - sounds like a movie theatre!)
Original frame rate
Under settings - Force audio sync

Average output size is about 1gb per movie but well worth it. There are nearly no dropped frames and the video plays smooth and the audio is in sync. I use the standard album player and have no problems.

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by chris1683

I convert movies using Magic DVD Ripper and use the following settings:

H.264 MPEG-4
480x320 size (for widescreen)
1500k resolution
3X audio (for louder sound - sounds like a movie theatre!)
Original frame rate
Under settings - Force audio sync

Average output size is about 1gb per movie but well worth it. There is nearly no dropped frames and the video plays smooth and the audio is in sync. I use the standard album player and have no problems.

Thanks for the post. I assum you mean 1500k as the BitRate (not the resolution)?

I'll have to give those settings a try and see how it works. I think there are various "flavors" of h.264/MP4, depending on what codec is used, how efficient they are, etc. But I'm definitely out of my league when dealing with those aspects of video.

My source is different - not DVD - so I'm not sure whether Magic DVD Ripper would be applicable to my situation, but I'll have to check it out and see.

Best,

[stanglifemike]

Originally Posted by ls3mach

Off topic. Does the video out have the bluescreen flicker or look really slow?

I bought the one from Expansys and it does not. The quality is great!! I hook it up to my 52" Sony 1080p and it still looks great. I know there are homemade versions for cheap, but I have heard of issues with quality from that. I have no problems at all and everyone is amazed when I plug it in and start a movie .

Here is a link to the one that I have : http://www.expansys-usa.com/p.aspx?i=170917

[jmorton10]

Originally Posted by ls3mach

Does the video out have the bluescreen flicker

That is a bug in CorePlayer. If the video is set to QTV display, it will blue flicker on video out.

If it is set to DirectDraw it won't do that.

~John

[jmorton10]

Album & WMP do not do the blue flicker thing.

~John

[1up]

DLCPhoto I would be interested in your exact process in rendering from Vegas. There are 2 different options for rendering .mp4, Sony AVC and MainConcept AVC. Both of these create files that crash TCPMP and don't play in Album or Media Player. I've tried exporting H264 MP4 out of Quicktime, but when played on the phone all I get is audio if anything at all...