How do I access higher bitrate?

Hi I recently upgraded form really nasty Roxio software so I could take
video from
my hi res camcorder and make DVD's that at least came close to the quality
of the
1'st generation tapes. the max resolution on the Roxio software was 1024x768,
Allright but not as good as the original tape BY A LONG SHOT !!!
So I just started with the MS program last night. I transferred a tape using
the DV
setting, I thought that was the right one. but the resulting video was
EXTREMELY
POOR, I checked back and the default setting for dv wasn't even in the
thousands.
I clicked around and couldn't find the high resolution settings anywhere.
Can anyone help?

Rick

I don't quite know where to start, because I think you must be
confusing issues.

You talk about BITRATEs, but you quote Roxio's resolution, and there is
no real relationship between these two things (in the way I think you
mean).

I cannot imagine any DV video as being "extremely poor" for reasons
related to either of the above. There must be another reason. I would
use GSPOT (free download) to determine the attributes of the video you
created on the computer, and take it from there.

If, as you say, the BITRATE "wasn't even in the thousands", that is
indeed strange for DV. Perhaps you are failing to make appropriate
settings. Which Roxio software are we talking about?

Hi BXF ; Thanks for replying to my post.
Let me see if I can define my terms and make a little more sense.
First off I was working with Roxio DVD builder, a program that came with my
TDK DVD burner, I can't remember the version, sorry. The max resolution was
1024 x 768. I recently upgraded my computer, I got a 64bit beast with Win XP
Media Center edition, The kicker was when the salesman said "you can plug
your DV camera right into the 1394 port and start making DVD's". The Roxio
software was very cumbersome and didn't allways connect well with the
camera so I was hooked.
The first thing I noticed was the raw AVI files were smaller, About 12 gb
per
hour vs ~25 gb per hour. and pixels were visible all over the screen. also
motion
seemed a bit jerky, not smooth like the previous program. The raw tapes were
of course awesome to begin with, but the DV setting on the microsoft program
wasn't capturing it. My assumption is that increasing the screen resolution
will get me closer to my goal and I guess that's what I really need to know.
Are there any higher resolutions available with Win XP video and if so how
do I
access them.
Thank you; Rick

Rick_K wrote:
> Hi BXF ; Thanks for replying to my post.
> Let me see if I can define my terms and make a little more sense.
> First off I was working with Roxio DVD builder, a program that came with my
> TDK DVD burner, I can't remember the version, sorry. The max resolution was
> 1024 x 768. I recently upgraded my computer, I got a 64bit beast with Win XP
> Media Center edition, The kicker was when the salesman said "you can plug
> your DV camera right into the 1394 port and start making DVD's". The Roxio
> software was very cumbersome and didn't allways connect well with the
> camera so I was hooked.
> The first thing I noticed was the raw AVI files were smaller, About 12 gb
> per
> hour vs ~25 gb per hour. and pixels were visible all over the screen. also
> motion
> seemed a bit jerky, not smooth like the previous program. The raw tapes were
> of course awesome to begin with, but the DV setting on the microsoft program
> wasn't capturing it. My assumption is that increasing the screen resolution
> will get me closer to my goal and I guess that's what I really need to know.
> Are there any higher resolutions available with Win XP video and if so how
> do I
> access them.

Hi Rick,

Firstly, if you're not doing so already, I'd suggest you use RW disks
while you're trying to sort things out, so that you don't end up with a
bunch of coasters.

Secondly, normal DVD resolution is 720 x 480, which, as we know,
produces more than adequate quality, so insufficient resolution is not
the problem here.

Unfortunately, I do not use a camcorder, and I do not produce DVDs (in
DVD format, that is), so I can't tackle your problem specifically.
However, let's see if we can take you there a step at a time, and
perhaps somebody who has gone through the process will jump into this
conversation.

Having dismissed inadequate resolution as a potential problem area, I
do wonder if you are destroying something by trying to manipulate the
resolution. You should not have to do that. What is the resolution of
the files produced by the camcorder?

Is there any possible inconsistency within your procedure with respect
to NTSC/PAL? Are you specifying any of these anywhere, and if so,
specifying incorrectly? Same questions about frame rate.

Do you go directly from camcorder to DVD, or do you put the files on
the computer's HDD first? If you haven't tried the latter, please do so
and then give us the attributes of the file (GSPOT, again). Also, try
to play the files while they are on your HDD and let us know if the
quality is different from the camcorder's original.

Finally (for now), assuming you are viewing the DVD on your computer,
which player are you using? Do you happen to know which MPEG2 decoders
you have on your system?