ginormous avi (even after compression) What to do?

[hygieneboy]

I started out with an mpg file of 2.74 gig, approx 56 minutes.

First tried to burn this direct to a dvd with windows dvd maker. It didnt work.

Next I used Virtualdubmod to convert the mpg to an avi. It worked, but the resulting avi file is 52gb. And I used compression.

Im assuming this is way too large for me to burn to a dvd. Any suggestions?

Thank you
hygieneboy

[guns1inger]

And I used compression.

No, you didn't. You may think you did, but obviously you didn't select a compression doec and configure it correctly. You should be able to get a reasonable quality Xvid of that length down to around 550 MB, and OK quality at around 400 MB.

This also has nothing at all to do with VCD/SVCD authoring, as AVI files do not fit into either format.

[filmboss80]

Many, many video types can be called "AVI," just like many, many models of automobiles can be called "car." The default AVI on most versions of VirtualDub is uncompressed RGB/YCbCr--which indeed creates a ginormous file. Obviously, if you are thinking of an AVI compression scheme that results in something smaller than mpg, you need to shoot for something like the Xvid codec (as mentioned by the wise guns1inger), which you can install on your PC for free. After you install it, you should see it listed in VirtualDub's Video > Compression pull-down. Select xvid before saving as AVI, and then you'll be pleased with the small file size.

[hygieneboy]

cool, I think I see what you are saying. Ill try that.

Will I lose much quality in the process?

[guns1inger]

Do a quality based Xvid encode using a quant value of 2 or 3 and see if you like it. I would suggest testing a couple of values on a small section of the file - say 5 minutes worth - and look at quality and relative fie sizes, then do your final encode.

[jagabo]

Using a constant quantizer of 2 will get you a video that is nearly indistinguishable from the source. But it will be pretty big. A quantizer of 3 will give you a little visible macroblocking if you examine enlarged still frames. But you won't notice them at normal playback speeds. I find 3 to be the best compromise of quality and size.

You can use decimal values like 2.5 to get something in between (the encoder alternates internally between 2 and 3 to give an average of 2.5, or whatever value you specify).

[tomlee59]

I started out with an mpg file of 2.74 gig, approx 56 minutes.

First tried to burn this direct to a dvd with windows dvd maker. It didnt work.

Next I used Virtualdubmod to convert the mpg to an avi. It worked, but the resulting avi file is 52gb. And I used compression.

Im assuming this is way too large for me to burn to a dvd. Any suggestions?

Thank you
hygieneboy

Is your goal to create a DVD that is playable on a standalone player? If so, we need to diagnose why your first conversion didn't work. You say it is an mpg file, but is it mpg1 or mpg2 or ...? And what is the resolution? DVD only supports a few frame sizes, so if your source file has nonstandard frame sizes, that can cause a problem for Windows DVD Maker. Also, what is the audio track's format? MP3? AC3? DVD wants AC3 (and MP2 will usually work, too), so if your audio track is something else, again DVD Maker may choke.

Say a little more about what it is that you want to accomplish ultimately, and also provide as much info as possible about the source movie, and someone here will probably be able to offer more useful suggestions.