Hello,

I've noticed that whenever I import an .m2v into Encore, the bit rate reported in Encore is 2Mbps lower than that reported by other programs (e.g. AVICodec). For example, I'm trying to make a DVD from an .m2v created to have a bit rate of 7.7Mbps in Apple's Final Cut Pro/Compressor (verified by AVICodec), but imported into Encore as an asset, its bit rate is listed as 5.7 Mbps. I need this DVD to be of the highest quality possible, so I figure that by creating an .m2v with an outside bit rate of 10Mbps, it will come into Encore with a bit rate of 8Mbps. Is this the right way to approach this problem?

In the past, I've run into the same issue with importing .m2v's into Encore and have opted to import .avi's instead and let Encore do its own transcoding. (Importing .m2v's into Encore sometimes creates weird blips in the video too.) The problem is that this time I want to create a DVD from an uncompressed HD Quicktime. (Since I'm a PC guy, a friend with an Apple computer is doing me a favor by converting the uncompressed HD Quicktime into .m2v for me.)

Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

-R

Run your file thru GSpot that will tell you the exact bitrate.

G-Spot shows that my bitrate is 5983 kbps. So does this mean that Encore (which says my .m2v is 5.7Mbps) is correct?

Looks like Encore is right. If you want a second opinion:
http://www.winhoros.de/docs/bitrate-viewer/

Thanks for the tip. Bitrate Viewer verified Encore's result to the t. It makes me wonder how AVICodec gets its bitrate numbers. Is there some sort of tag in a .m2v file that states its theoretical bitrate, which may or may not match the file's actual average bitrate? AVICodec was giving me pretty exact numbers 7700kbps and 9000kbps on a couple different .m2v files.

-R