About high definition sources and mpeg-2, Hd on dvd, Hd to sd downconversion – Apple Compressor 3 User Manual
Page 196: About elementary, transport, and program streams
About High Definition Sources and MPEG-2
Compressor has several different options and workflows for transcoding high definition
(HD) video source files into MPEG-2 files.
HD on DVD
Compressor can output MPEG-2 files for creating HD-resolution DVDs from either HD or
standard definition (SD) source media. Compressor can retain the various frame sizes and
frame rates of high definition video when transcoding to MPEG-2. And Compressor
supports the higher bit rates required by HD-based DVD formats. For more information
on creating output for HD-based DVDs, see
and the
DVD Studio Pro User Manual.
Note: The other output file format option for HD-based DVDs is H.264, also known as
MPEG-4 Part 10. H.264 is currently mandatory in both new high definition DVD
specifications (HD DVD and Blu-ray). For more information about creating H.264 files for
HD on DVD, see
Creating H.264 for DVD Studio Pro Output Files
HD to SD Downconversion
For those situations in which you are editing high definition (HD) sources in Final Cut Pro
and want to create a standard definition (SD) DVD from them, Compressor provides
high-quality downconversion. Compressor retains as much detail as possible during
scaling and correctly preserves progressive or interlaced formats when encoding to
MPEG-2 for DVD.
To see the source media resolution and frame rate
1
Import the source media file into the Batch window.
2
Click the source’s name in the Batch window.
The source media file’s resolution and frame rate, along with its duration, appear in the
lower-left corner of the Preview window.
About Elementary, Transport, and Program Streams
There are three common MPEG-2 stream types that are used to deliver MPEG-2 encoded
video.
• Elementary streams: These streams contain only one MPEG-2 content channel and no
audio. Elementary streams are required if you intend to use your MPEG-2 encoded
video as a DVD Studio Pro asset.
• Transport streams: These streams can contain several MPEG-2 content channels and
associated audio. All the channels are multiplexed together, allowing the receiver to
choose which to play back. Compressor supports creating single-channel transport
streams that can optionally include associated audio.
196
Chapter 18
Creating MPEG-2 Output Files