multiple DVDs to BD-R?

[Sephiroth666]

Is there a way to take DVDs and put the MPEG2 video on a BD-R without re-encoding/converting to HD codecs? I'm planning to get a burner soon, and the first thing I want to do is put Dune (2000) on 1 disc instead of 3. I'm tired of waiting for movies like this to get released on BD. I hate swapping discs. Could you just author the disc as if it were a huge DVDR? Like do a menu with 3 titles or merge them and just leave it all DVD format but burn it to the BD-R?

[dannyboy48888]

import the VOB's into nero video express, name each title, export to BD, enjoy. wont have subs or chaps but it will have a menu and if the spec is ok wont need recoding either

[ntscuser]

Alternatively you could re-encode as an XviD data DVD with minimal loss of quality.

[PuzZLeR]

You can burn them as data and play on your PC easily, but I'm assuming you want to play them on a blu-ray player.

Keep in mind, DvD compliant MPEG-2 streams are fully compliant within the blu-ray standard, even if they're in SD. So all the Dune movies can be remuxed to blu-ray as-is - no re-encoding necessary. All you need is authoring/burning software.

Easier said than done though... No tools are perfect today (or they're very expensive). Then again, NeroVision should be OK when it's just MPEG-2 streams.

I'm also anticipating future blu-ray players to support the DvD-ISO format. This would enable a straight copy of a DvD into file form, as data to an empty BD, and would playback exactly like the original disc. It's not blu-ray standard, but then again, DvD discs themselves aren't officially blu-ray standard either (only available as a "feature"), so I don't see why this ISO feature won't be available when burners become lower priced and folks will indeed want their DvDs to play on their BD units from one disc. You can put an average of 8 DvD movies on one empty 50GB disc.

Alternatively you could re-encode as an XviD data DVD with minimal loss of quality.

You would indeed get smaller files this way, but you would need a blu-ray player with at least DivX certification (or the like) since it's not BD standard. These should become more available soon.

[wulf109]

BD disk with SD-DVD files won't be recognized by your Blueray player,but you could remux to BD format with TSremux and burn on a DVD-DL disk and that would probably play on your BD player. My Sony S350 plays BD burned on DVD well.

[ntscuser]

Alternatively you could re-encode as an XviD data DVD with minimal loss of quality.

You would indeed get smaller files this way, but you would need a blu-ray player with at least DivX certification (or the like) since it's not BD standard. These should become more available soon.

Or any bog-standard DVD player with DivX certification and the like!

[PuzZLeR]

BD disk with SD-DVD files won't be recognized by your Blueray player

Yes, the DvD structure isn't blu-ray compliant, or even ISO. Those would be just "features" on blu-ray. But the SD MPEG-2 DvD streams themselves are 100% blu-ray compliant - all you need do is remux into a blu-ray structure.

You can do that with TsMuxeR. But it's still pre-mature. Last time I checked it can't do multiple titles into a BD structure, only one.

[PuzZLeR]

Or any bog-standard DVD player with DivX certification and the like!

But this DvD player won't play them on a BD disc. You'd need a blu-ray player, with so-and-so certification to play Xvid on blu-ray discs.

[johns0]

Use multiAVCHD to author the video from the dvds as blu-ray,way better than nero and its free.

[ntscuser]

Or any bog-standard DVD player with DivX certification and the like!

But this DvD player won't play them on a BD disc. You'd need a blu-ray player, with so-and-so certification to play Xvid on blu-ray discs.

So don't burn them to Blu-Ray disc in the first place! If the main aim is to record the contents of three DVDs on a single disc in standard definition then buying a Blu-Ray burner especially for the purpose is huge overkill.

[Sephiroth666]

Or any bog-standard DVD player with DivX certification and the like!

But this DvD player won't play them on a BD disc. You'd need a blu-ray player, with so-and-so certification to play Xvid on blu-ray discs.

So don't burn them to Blu-Ray disc in the first place! If the main aim is to record the contents of three DVDs on a single disc in standard definition then buying a Blu-Ray burner especially for the purpose is huge overkill.

It's not overkill if you want the drive either way. I'd like to use it for data backups too. DVDRs just don't cut it anymore.

[ntscuser]

It's not overkill if you want the drive either way. I'd like to use it for data backups too. DVDRs just don't cut it anymore.

Somebody else pointed this out before me but an external hard drive is a fraction of the price of the same storage space on Blu-Ray discs and arguably far more convenient as well.

[greymalkin]

yes..now I can watch the land before time 1-47 in one sitting!

[PuzZLeR]

If the main aim is to record the contents of three DVDs on a single disc...

Well, I read:

Is there a way to take DVDs and put the MPEG2 video on a BD-R

and

without re-encoding/converting to HD codecs

so I answered as such - on a BD disc without re-encoding. But I do agree that the O/P could benefit with Xvid on one disc (no swapping) without having to get a BD burner, which, as you mentioned, is an alternative solution.

Personally, I'm dying to stuff all 120 episodes of the 60s Batman series from my TV capture collection (not available on commercial DvD) on two fully compliant SD BD discs in good quality MPEG-2... several days of glorious cheesiness, with lots of sadistic Joker and Riddler laughs, with only one disc swap - what could be better?