Is there a complete AVI->DVD guide for CCE?

[enchanted]

I've been using ConvertXtoDVD up till now, but I'm having some problems that I'm not able to overcome (see other thread).

I see people talking about how wonderful CCE is. I've downloaded a trial version and looked at the Doom9 guide for AVI->DVD conversion, but that only gets me to an audioless mpv file. Is there a guide somewhere that will walk me through the process of getting an AVI file to something that I can burn to a DVD, like an image or populated audio_ts/video_ts directories?

I have used audiodub in the past, so if that's part of the process, that's fine.

Thanks for any help.

[redwudz]

CCE is a MPEG encoder. I use other programs to encode the audio. Most often ffmpeggui to convert to AC3. For the rest, such as the VIDEO_TS folder, you use an authoring program, such as TMPGEnc DVD Author, DVD-Lab or one of the freeware ones like DVD Authorgui or GUI for dvdauthor.

And if you look to the bottom of our CCE toolpage, you will see more guides listed.

[enchanted]

Excellent. Thanks!

[guns1inger]

Your problems are not ConvertXtoDVD related, they are your process. I have posted to your other thread a solution that should work with ConvertXtoDVD. Switching to CCE, without taking the same measures as I have posted in the other thread, will give you the same results as you have been getting from ConvertXtoDVD.

In a nutshell, the basic steps I would use are :

1. Use a bitrate calculator to determine the bitrate you need for your video.

2. Open the avi with FitCD to create an avs script that resizes the video correctly, and adds borders to cater for overscan (this is also the solution to your other thread). Save the script.

3. Open the avi in virtualdubmod. If the audio is ac3, demux (Streams -> Streamlist -> Demux). If not, save it as uncompressed PCM (See http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=309224 for details)

4. Edit your avisynth script to add ,audio=false after the file name in the AviSource statement so CCE doesn't see the audio.

5. Encode the avs script with CCE. Make sure you untick the "For DVD" box and set your bitrate from step 1.

6. Encode your audio to ac3 if it isn't already using ffmpeggui

7. Author with GuiforDVDAuthor or your favourite authoring tool.

This will take 3 - 4 times as long as ConvertXtoDVD, but if done will, will usually give you much better results.

[FulciLives]

Here is my guide using most of the same tools but using HCenc which is a freeware MPEG-2 DVD spec encoder.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=316333

Good Luck !!!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[tmv200]

3. Open the avi in virtualdubmod. If the audio is ac3, demux (Streams -> Streamlist -> Demux). If not, save it as uncompressed PCM (See http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=309224 for details)

6. Encode your audio to ac3 if it isn't already using ffmpeggui

I dare to offer to get rid of the step 3 - ffmpeggui accepts an .avi file and extracts audio into .ac3

[redwudz]

You might be able to get rid of 'step 3', but if you have MP3 VBR audio, will it work that way without a sync problem? Usually the reason to use VDMod is to extract as a WAV audio file, thereby correctly extracting the audio without causing sync problems. VBR is a major problem with MPEG encoding and causes some major sync errors.

You can convert the MP3 VBR audio with VDMod to MP3 CBR directly, but you will have sync problems. I don't think it would be any different by converting it to AC3 directly with ffmpeggui without the addition of the WAV conversion, but prove me wrong.

[spanky123]

5. Encode the avs script with CCE. Make sure you untick the "For DVD" box and set your bitrate from step 1.

Why do you do that ?
I leave it ticked

[FulciLives]

5. Encode the avs script with CCE. Make sure you untick the "For DVD" box and set your bitrate from step 1.

Why do you do that ?
I leave it ticked

Here is a cut and paste from the CCE PDF file:



In most cases you don't want all that! For instance if you are doing Half D1 instead of Full D1. Also some DVD authoring programs might have issues with the header being set to the MAX bitrate etc.

In short it is better NOT to checkmark that option.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[manono]

And if you keep it checked and at the same time use the RePAL filter, or are trying to do a PAL2NTSC conversion for 25fps and 720x480, it's going to screw you over. Also, as FulciLives mentioned, checking it is going to set the max bitrate as 9800 in the headers, no matter what it really is, and some authoring apps (like TDA) whine about it, and cause some users unnecessary anxiety. If you do it correctly in the .avs, there's no need to check the box, and checking it can sometimes lead to unforeseen consequences.

[spls]

Enchanted: save yourself the fuss, download The Filmmachine and combine it with CCE and your done. No worries and really simple. Result is perfect 98% of the time.

[enchanted]

Thanks! I just downloaded it.

[spls]

Pleasure. The program is simple, easy to use can use amongst others CCE. The result is what you required in your first post. If you want it will even burn the result of on DVD for you afterwards. There are guide's on the developers website.

[spanky123]

Also some DVD authoring programs might have issues with the header being set to the MAX bitrate etc.

In short it is better NOT to checkmark that option.

Also, as FulciLives mentioned, checking it is going to set the max bitrate as 9800 in the headers, no matter what it really is, and some authoring apps (like TDA) whine about it, and cause some users unnecessary anxiety. If you do it correctly in the .avs, there's no need to check the box, and checking it can sometimes lead to unforeseen consequences.

Thanks.Thanks.
Aaaaaaaaaah. That's why TDA always gives that error (well actually it's more of a notice) about the total bitrate being over the limit even though I've used max bitrate of 8000kbps. It still always accepts the video and just warns that the dvd may be out of standard. But that's not a problem seeing as I know that the bitrate is fine. Right ?

Does unchecking the 'DVD' option change anything else that may make the mpeg-2 non-dvd-compliant ? What else is needed for the MPEG-2 to be dvd-compliant besides bitrate/resolution/GOP's ?

[FulciLives]

Well you picked the one SIMPLE thing both manono and I said.

There is more to it than that. Look closer at both of our comments and just accept that you should NOT checkmark it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[enchanted]

Hmm...

Just tried The Film Machine. I loaded in the first six half-hour episodes of a tv show and it popped up this error:

"You have to choose mediafiles with the same videocodec, framerate, resolution, audiocodec, audiosamplingrate, audio channels and number of audiostreams."

I think I might have better luck winning the lottery.

[redwudz]

"You have to choose mediafiles with the same videocodec, framerate, resolution, audiocodec, audiosamplingrate, audio channels and number of audiostreams."

Drop them into Gspot 2.60 and see what the differences are.

As long as it's just one or two with differences, just adjust them. If most are hugely different from each other, I think you would have problems with most any program.

[spls]

Enchanted: Very simple workaround for that problem. Just encode each episode separately (tick ROBA mode for quick results, around 18min for 30min of video). Then take each VIDEO_TS folder out of the output folder of The Filmmachine. Delete the contents of the output folder all together. Repeat for each episode until you have your 6 VIDEO_TS folders somewhere and add them together using NERO Recode (backup 'multiple videos into one'....).

[tmv200]

a

[tmv200]

Enchanted: save yourself the fuss, download The Filmmachine and combine it with CCE and your done. No worries and really simple. Result is perfect 98% of the time.

As to me for saving time fast (meaning fast in getting it to be ready to convert) is ConvertXtoDVD but it was interesting to know how it was working. I tried to do the same manualy in order to prepare mpeg-2 video file and ac3 audio file for Scenarist (I prefer "hand-made" menus and in general to control the process). When I converted from NTSC to PAL I did met audio sync problem, I spent much time browsering this forum and taking with different tools but not good results yet. Here was a good advice not to convert from NTSC to Pal or from PAL to NTSC and this is good advice. And good advice to use All-in-One tool but this is interesting to find out how to make all manually - if "silly" program can do it why a human can not do it?

[spls]

I agree with learning all the 'in's-and-outs' of the process, I have been through a lot of it and still carry on learning as different techniques become available. The FilmMachine is not a silly program and you can create menu's afterwards if you prefer. Its just users preference.

[tmv200]

Thank you for understanding. Far be it from me to call seriously any problem silly, I just meant that they have limited options to tune and that they have a sophisticated and stright algorithm which is not visible. So in the end a user s "silly" - often this is good and saves much time. As to authoring a DVD sometime I use simple Spruceup - just to write a DVD, sometimes Scenarist if I have much free time and want to make an original menu.

[FulciLives]

Ahhhhh SpruceUp ... the first DVD authoring program that I was able to "master" way back in the day. Been a long time since I've used it but there was a time when it was the only easy-to-use DVD authoring solution.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman