Can I burn my own animation/audio to blu-ray?

[billa]

I would like to produce my own animations in a high-def format, so I have been investigating burning blu-ray discs as a way to go. Unfortunately, my quest has left more questions than answers. Basically, I can render my animations as quicktime movies in any format and size quicktime supports. I can also render 6 mono pcm audio files representing the 5.1 surround channels. My question is how can I go from those files to a playable blu-ray disc? What software (preferably Mac) do I need? Will the result be playable on any commercial blu-ray player? Can I render it to a format that does not require recompression? Is uncompressed 5.1 pcm audio possible with any of this software? Can I have a menu? I will be very grateful for any wisdom you are able to impart.

[katharsis]

What programs are you currently using?

You should look into checking out Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas.

But essentially, yes you can burn it to a Blu-ray disc. Question is just how big are those files (ie how long as the animations you make)? - Just checking to make sure it's worth it to use Blu-ray media since they're still rather expensive.

[plee]

Originally Posted by billa

I would like to produce my own animations in a high-def format, so I have been investigating burning blu-ray discs as a way to go. Unfortunately, my quest has left more questions than answers. Basically, I can render my animations as quicktime movies in any format and size quicktime supports. I can also render 6 mono pcm audio files representing the 5.1 surround channels. My question is how can I go from those files to a playable blu-ray disc? What software (preferably Mac) do I need? Will the result be playable on any commercial blu-ray player? Can I render it to a format that does not require recompression? Is uncompressed 5.1 pcm audio possible with any of this software? Can I have a menu? I will be very grateful for any wisdom you are able to impart.

For the Mac, it's very limited right if any right now.

On the PC, you have a few options: Adobe, Vegas, DVDit HD Pro, etc...

Not sure what you are using for the rendering but I would check with them to see if they have a Bluray output preset.

Most players can play BD-R's but if you want 100% compatibility you'll need to have it sent to Bluray duplicators? I think most 90%+ of the standalone players will work with BD-R's so you won't have to spend $$$ IMO

[Chevypower]

Open up Final Cut Pro, you probably want your sequence settings as Apple ProRes422 1080/24p (unless you have made it as a 25 or 30 fps animation, then stick with that frame rate. import your files in to the timeline, edit it to how you want it, then render as a QuickTime file, keeping all settings the same as the sequence (1080p with 24fps). Then you have a file that is ready to put in to a Blu-ray. Then I would put that file on a PC with a BD drive, and use Sony DVD Architect 5.

[CyberVisions]

Originally Posted by billa

I would like to produce my own animations in a high-def format, so I have been investigating burning blu-ray discs as a way to go. Unfortunately, my quest has left more questions than answers. Basically, I can render my animations as quicktime movies in any format and size quicktime supports. I can also render 6 mono pcm audio files representing the 5.1 surround channels. My question is how can I go from those files to a playable blu-ray disc? What software (preferably Mac) do I need? Will the result be playable on any commercial blu-ray player? Can I render it to a format that does not require recompression? Is uncompressed 5.1 pcm audio possible with any of this software? Can I have a menu? I will be very grateful for any wisdom you are able to impart.

There a 3 things to consider:

1. What your expertise level is
2. What your budget is for software
3. What your system's current configuration is (RAM and CPU)

First - System Configuration. Any HD work requires at least a minimum of 2gb of RAM and a decent CPU, unless you want to wait around forever while it renders. The 2gb is for not only the project but the program.

Final Cut and Vegas are good low-medium end solutions for actual movie editing, but for your particular situation you really need several programs for production - your editing, effects, audio and disk authoring. If you can swing it, the 5 programs you need are:

Adobe Premier
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Encore (DVD/BD authoring)
Adobe Soundbooth or Sony (old Sonic Foundry) Sound Forge.
Flash Video Encoder

With Soundbooth or Sound Forge you can reprocess your audio into Stereo, 5.1, or whatever you want so it doesn't limit you to mono PCM, unless that's what you want, but I'd find that hard to believe. I have both programs, but I prefer Sound Forge as I've used it for years for audio analysis, editing, CD authoring, etc. It's a very versatile and powerful program and was one of the programs (besids Vegas) that led Sony to buy those and several others from Sonic Foundry. However, Soundbooth is made to work seamlessly with the others in the production process and as such has an edge over Sound Forge in some regards.

Sony does have one thing Adobe doesn't - a great effects and sound library from the Sony Film archives.

Encore has great HD templates for BD menus that are fully customizable, and of course you can download more from the Adobe Developers' site also. Encore is pretty easy to use as you're just bringing together all the project elements and assigning them to their place in the project before final rendering to disk.

When you state animations, you didn't specify if you're talking about 3D animations, or animations as related to effects or Flash.
Something else to consider - depending on file size, you could also process a QT file through Flash Video Encoder, which will convert it to Flash DV or Flash, making the file smaller without sacrificing quality.

Since you can output to QT, you can also use Flash Video Encoder (part of either the CS Production Suite or Master Collection) to render it to a different format, lowering file size while maintaining quality. It of course depends on the project at hand and what your ultimate project target is.

Once you get your audio and video files to the way you want them, assembling them in Encore and then rendering to BD is a pretty simple process. Encore also has a lot of features that make it better than Vegas' DVD Architect.

There are 2 other programs you might think about depending on your projects. Adobe's On Location is made literally for film/video production teams on site at a location set and includes all the tools required. Adobe's Ultra is a program that uses green screen background technology to allow you to drop in anything you want into a background of choice.

One thing I always do prior to buying new software or hardware is to check the Support Forums for the item in question. Any real problems that are being seen are going to be posted there by users looking for answers. Check both the Sony Digital Media Forums and the Adobe Forums for the Production programs I listed.

These are available as a suite (CS4 Production Suite just released on the Adobe site this week for sale finally) or as part of the CS Master Collection. If you want to get a feel for how they are, download the 30 day trial versions from the Adobe site. However, it would be worth it to also download the trial versions of Vegas, Sound Forge, and DVD Architect to see which is better for you. I will tell you that there's a lot more training and information available for the Adobe programs than Vegas. I've seen (and have friends) who have Vegas and complained of its learning curve as well as its problems with DVD burning.

Adobe's suites are of course at Adobe.com; Vegas is available from Sony Digital Media (Sonycreativesoftware.com)