dvd-hq.info

[Switch]

Do you know anything about TMPGEnc 2.5's special "Canopus DV Codec setting" section in the Environmental Settings? Now that I have a Canopus ADVC110 for capture, I am thinking maybe I should pay attention to those but am clueless what any of them mean.

[RMN]

Canopus' DV codec returns a fake horizontal resolution value, to force players to display 16:9 files correctly. I talk about it here:

http://dvd-hq.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=153

I don't know if they have fixed their codec in the mean time, but my guess is that setting in TMPGEnc's options is there so you can avoid the "double-resize" issue.

My advice would be to test it (using a graphic with sharp diagonal edges, for example), and see which version looks better (with or without that setting enabled).

RMN
~~~

[Switch]

Actually I meant this variety of settings:



I have no clue what they do, but now that I am using a Canopus ADVC-110 I figure I better learn.

[RMN]

Ah, I thought it was something new.

The "enable reading referrd (sic) format" option shouldn't be relevant these days (it says "always on", which suggests you can't even toggle it).

The "interpolate YUV data" option also shouldn't make a difference; I expect TMPGEnc will do that internally, with a quality at least as good as Canopus' codec (BTW, it's odd it says specifically 4:1:1, since PAL DV uses 4:2:0). It might make a slight difference in terms of encoding time, though; you'll have to try it.

The final option is the only one you need to be careful with. As described in the compression guide, TMPGEnc has an option (in the "Advanced") tab to select between "Basic YCbCr" (meaning use the values as they come) and "video-corrected" values (which limits the brightness and saturation of the pixels to video-safe levels).

So that setting and this setting must be "compatible" or your image will end up too bright and saturated (or too dark and unsaturated).

Following normal terminology and standards, you should use one of these combinations:

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "Basic YCbCr"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" disabled

or

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "CCIR-601"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" enabled

However, this is assuming the Canopus codec behaves in a logical way (which isn't at all guaranteed). It might very well do exactly the opposite of what the options say (i.e., convert from that colour space, instead of to).

So my suggestion would be to do a test, using the following combinations:

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "CCIR-601"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" disabled
(should look too dark)

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "Basic YCbCr"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" disabled
(should look correct)

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "CCIR-601"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" enabled
(should look correct)

Codec "Equation for color space" set to "Basic YCbCr"
Advanced "Output basic YCbCr" enabled
(should look too bright)

Use a clip with very bright and saturated colours, to make the differences more obvious, then record the encoded versions to a DVD (use a DVD-RW, so you don't waste a disc) and play them back on a set-top player connected to a TV set (not a computer monitor, which is not based on the CCIR specification).

RMN
~~~