Hi. I regularly use Encore CS4 for DVD authoring, from Premiere Pro sequences. Usually, I do it in "automatic", so the application decides the transcoding bitrate and other parameters. A 90 minutes DVD usually last around 5 hours.
However, I was not satisfied with the results. I shoot HDV and the quality of raw footage and DVD were totally different. The DVD just don't look too bad, but not near professional.
My footage is most live dance events, so fast motion is the norm.
I tested with manual transcoding parameters: VBR, 2 pass, target 6, max 8 min 2, and the process took 25 hours in a Core 2 Quad with 8 Gb RAM for 90 minutes video.
I am surprise for the time, considering the system is quite powerfull. Is this normal?
Hmm...converting a source that using Long GOP compression to a format that also uses Long GOP compression may be the issue.
I would try exporting your HDV sequence as DVCPro HD to get into an i-frame codec. Then compress that new file to MPEG-2.
25 hours doesn't sound right at all.
Rob Grauert, Jr
www.robgrauert.com
www.facebook.com/robgrauertvideo