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    My fiancee has had me burning DVDs for her lately so she has something to watch on TV. I've been using ConvertXtoDVD to do this and it's worked fine... only problem is the limitation of the DVD itself. A standard DVD holds 4.7GB but a standard BD-R holds 25GB... so I should be able to have 5 DVDs in a single BD-R.

    Here's what I want to do... I'm not after super quality here... my source files aren't that great and I only own an old standard definition TV anyway so the benefits of BD quality don't mean much to me. Many of the programs I've tried fiddling around with on my own all seem to be geared towards the HD quality. What I want is basically a 25GB DVD... with the same DVD quality video, at the same DVD resolutions, just on a bigger disc. Most of the BD creation programs I've looked at have limited options for output resolution... I don't need to end up with a 1920x1080 result coming from a 640x480 source video that's going to be played on a 4:3 TV anyways... all that does is give me black bars and a video that eats up more space for no reason.

    I'd basically love to just go to convertx and plug in 25GB as my target size and let it make me a 25GB DVD format ISO... but I think I read it doesn't work that way with bluray. Something about bluray can run DVD format video but not DVD menus?

    Also I've read that generally DVDs use MPEG2 encoding, and BD uses h264 encoding, which is a format that can produce a higher quality video at a lower bitrate than MPEG2 can. So would it be better to find something that can convert my stuff to h264 BD format (still at DVD resolution, not 1080p), supposing convertx could theoretically spit out a 25GB MPEG2 DVD iso I could burn to a BD that would run in a BD player?

    I'm a little lost and scatterbrained about this, sorry...
    Last edited by Downgraded286; 27th May 2014 at 00:30.
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    You can put anything you want on a BD disc as data. But multiple DVD files will likely cause a lot of problems. They might work on a PC for playback, but not a BD settop player.

    But if you are using ConvertX, I'll assume the videos aren't in the DVD format anyway. If so, just burn the Xvid, or H.264s or MP4s as data on a BD disc and you can play them back on a PC, or a few settop BD players may be able to play them.

    I convert all my DVDs (And Blu-ray videos) to MKV with AC3 audio. Then I put as many as will fit on a BD disc as data. My PC plays them, my WDTV Live plays them and my Samsung settop BD player plays them. I use VidCoder and a average DVD takes up about 1 - 2 GB of space. I can get quite a few on a data BD.

    And welcome to our forums.
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    Thanks for the welcome.

    No the source files are not in DVD format. They're in... whatever... some .avi, some .mkv... they're in different formats. I do not want to watch these on a computer, I want to burn them to a disc to play out in the living room on the TV. Currently I'm using convertx and it's doing a fine job of converting my stuff to DVD format to be played on the DVD player... only thing is DVDs are small and I want to do the same thing I've been doing, only with blu-ray, so I can fit 5 discs worth of content on a single disc.

    The idea is to take these source files and convert them to BD format so they'll play in any BD player just like I've been doing with convertx... I just want to use BD-R discs instead of DVDs for the benefit of the additional storage... keeping the same quality (maybe slightly better if I'm converting it to h264 that bluray supposedly works with?), same resolution output I've been getting with convertx. (I do not need a 1920x1080 resolution video on my old standard def 4:3 TV... a larger resolution will do nothing but take up additional space with no benefit when starting with low res source files and playing on a low res tv anyway... and ugly sidebars, ew)
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    You have another problem to contend with. Starting in 2013, Blu-Ray players could no longer have analog connections of any kind (as a requirement for obtaining the AACS license needed for playing commercial Blu-Ray discs), so all current model year Blu-Ray players can only have HDMI and digital audio connections.

    You will need to look for a player from 2012 or earlier to have composite video and analog stereo connections for an old standard definition TV. Also, while most 2012 models have composite video and analog stereo connections, a few inexpensive players released in 2012 only had HDMI.
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  5. they'll play in any BD
    What you do with ConvertXtoDVD is creating a video-DVD. To make a DVD playable in a DVD player it needs to be made in a very specific way and adher to the specifications for a video-DVD. This is called authoring.

    Similar for a video-BD. If you want a BD to be playable in any settop BD player it needs to be authored. However, as Redwudz write above some BD players are capable of handling a data-BD (He writes a few - I would probably say many). A data-BD doesn't need to be authored; the videos are just used as is and the player normally generates a menu of playable files on the BD for you to choose from.

    So in order to tell if you would be able to use a data-BD or you need to author a video-BD you need to tell the make & model of your player. And unfortunatly there is no simple and easy to use tool similar to ConvertXtoDVD to author a video-BD.
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    Originally Posted by Downgraded286 View Post
    What I want is basically a 25GB DVD...
    You can't do that. End of story. Just like you can't make a DVD disc into a giant audio CD.

    People have given you advice based on various things that may work, but since you have access to a BluRay player, have you considered the possibility that your source files may play as they are without conversion? Try burning them to DVD+/-RW discs or put them on a USB flash drive and test. You may be wasting a lot of time for nothing as it may be that your files will just play as they are. If so, you can just make a giant BluRay data disc with a ton of them on there.
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    I have to agree with everyone else that burning media files to a BD-R as data is the easiest way to go. I have been doing that for over a year. Many Blu-Ray players made since 2012 had the ability to play data discs containing video files (mkv, mpg, avi, mp4), although the audio, video, and subtitles contained in the files must meet the player's compatibility requirements.

    However, if your primary interest is watching media files not commercial Blu-Ray discs, getting a media player like the WD TV Live, and playing your movies from a hard drive or USB stick is probably a more practical solution in your case. Media players don't play BD discs, but they still have analog connections and are less fussy about audio and video formats than Blu-Ray players.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 27th May 2014 at 17:56. Reason: left out a word
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    @Usually-Quiet I was aware of this. I don't have the money it would take to get a new TV... so I would have to search for an older player.

    @videobruger That's interesting... I actually don't even have a BD player yet, so I guess I'm in the best position to search for one that would be able to do this. Still I'm interested in authoring bluray as video-BD, just at the same quality level as a DVD so I can fit more on a single BD (same resolution as a DVD, not 1080p, comparable bitrate). It doesn't really matter if it's simple or not...

    @jman98 I've read BD is compliant with DVD video, but not DVD menus. So theoretically I should be able to use convertx to produce BD sized DVD video compilation, and then create a bluray menu for those DVD videos some other way?

    @usually-quiet (again) I've also heard about this media player idea. Ideally, if I went this route, I'd like it to be able to access my computer's hard drive over the network and play them from there. Then again, owning a media player imposes learning how something else works... and that would go for everyone in the house. At least with BD discs I figure out the complicated stuff, produce a BD and everyone already knows how to use that.
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    So theoretically I should be able to use convertx to produce BD sized DVD video compilation, and then create a bluray menu for those DVD videos some other way?
    If you are starting with standard DVD-video, you can use BD Rebuilder in Quick Start mode to make a compilation of the videos with a simple menu. You would need each DVD-video in its own folder, and all of these DVD-video folders you wish to combine contained within a larger folder. Select the larger folder as your input into BD Rebuilder.

    BD Rebuilder will output as a Blu-ray video, but if the original DVDs are made to normal specs (720 x 480 or 720 x 576 resolution), it will not re-encode the video. The subtitles will be reprocessed to fit Blu-ray specifications, and the audio will be passed through without re-encoding unless you happen to have MP2 audio from a PAL DVD.

    You can set a target size of 25gb or 50gb for the compilation, depending on what type of Blu-ray disc you wish to burn.
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    Yes, Blu-Ray's requirements for standard definition video that are most applicable to N. America are 720x480 29.97 frames interlaced, 59.94fields (4:3/16:9). You don't have to convert your DVD video to H.264 unless you want to. MPEG-2 video and AC3, DTS, or PCM audio are allowed. If your DVD video matches the other requirements, you are good to go for authoring to Blu-Ray. If not, you will need to convert your files.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 27th May 2014 at 19:58.
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    @Kerry56 So using Convertx as an example again... I would have to convert my video files one at a time, as if each episode were to be burned to its own DVD, and then run it through BD Rebuilder?

    @usually-quiet Sounds like Convertx output should be compatible with BD then, for the most part... except for the menu.
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    Originally Posted by Downgraded286 View Post
    @Kerry56 So using Convertx as an example again... I would have to convert my video files one at a time, as if each episode were to be burned to its own DVD, and then run it through BD Rebuilder?

    @usually-quiet Sounds like Convertx output should be compatible with BD then, for the most part... except for the menu.
    This is one way of doing it, yes.

    Another way that might work would be to build an oversized DVD with its own menu within ConvertX, then run this video through DVDtoBD Express. This assumes you can make an oversized DVD in ConvertX. You can do this with AVStoDVD. I wrote a guide for doing the whole thing starting from DVD-video, but you could also start with various types of video files: http://club.myce.com/f32/guide-combining-dvd-videos-into-blu-ray-331859/

    And the most straightforward method would be to convert all the files to H264 in MultiAVCHD and build a menu within that program. I find MultiAVCHD to be cranky, and it will take you a day to figure out the menu controls, but the entire process to convert to Blu-ray format can be done with it.
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    Yes, I can select whatever target size I want in ConvertX. I should be able to plug in 25GB as my target size and make a big DVD output then run it trough DVDtoBD Express, as you said. When the time comes I'll try that.

    I've begun converting a very large project with ConvertX (an entire season of a TV show, 27 episodes, 23GB target size). Eventually this will be available to test DVDtoBD Express. But what if I want to use x264 encoding instead of DVD format? Still only want 720x480 (because of my old TV), but with the attractive benefits of x264/MPEG4 true bluray format (higher quality, lower bitrate, possibly able to pack even more on a single BD-R)? Perhaps I need instead to use MultiAVCHD?
    Last edited by Downgraded286; 28th May 2014 at 20:53.
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    Damn... my large ConvertX project (which came out to around 17GB) came out to be 28GB with DVD2BD Express! Need a better way...
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    MultiAVCHD is giving me errors...

    [19:27:38] *** Transcoding failed!
    [19:27:38] *** Check ffdshow/avisynth/haali (reinstall)!
    [19:27:38] >>> Download links: http://multiforum.deanbg.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=17
    [19:27:38] *** DEBUG: Try to play [C:\Program Files (x86)\Tools\multiAVCHD\_TEMP\multiTEMP-20140530\20140530-192738-uncrop-running.avs] in MPC or other player, which supports AviSynth scripts and report the error to the author!

    [18:39:10] tsMuxeR failed to process [E:\*\*\*.avi]...
    [18:39:10] No compatible folders/files processed...

    Anyone know what's going on? I already tried installing everything exactly as shown in the download link in the log, and my computer passed the test thing that's in that thread too.
    Last edited by Downgraded286; 31st May 2014 at 18:43.
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    I'm experimenting with converting my source files to h.264 .mp4 files using Handbrake and seeing if a PS3 will play them (it should, at least that's what I read). This is fantastic for a number of reasons... h.264 conversion with Handbrake is way faster than ConvertX, and often the result is actually a smaller filesize (as opposed to ConvertX where the filesize can triple or more). I could fit a very fair bit more on a regular DVD this way, or an entire TV series on a single BD-R, or even stuff a big HDD in the PS3 and never have any optical discs again!
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  17. Originally Posted by Downgraded286 View Post
    I'm experimenting with converting my source files to h.264 .mp4 files using Handbrake and seeing if a PS3 will play them (it should, at least that's what I read). This is fantastic for a number of reasons... h.264 conversion with Handbrake is way faster than ConvertX, and often the result is actually a smaller filesize (as opposed to ConvertX where the filesize can triple or more). I could fit a very fair bit more on a regular DVD this way, or an entire TV series on a single BD-R, or even stuff a big HDD in the PS3 and never have any optical discs again!
    I think you're on the right track there. Personally, I'm moving away from optical discs, at least for movie backups.
    You're gonna need more than one hard drive for that method to work though.

    In no time, you'll need another, and then another. Plus you need more drives to back up everything. (If you don't, it's certain that you'll lose stuff eventually). Some back up all their home videos/captures/rips/encodes, whatever, to BDRs, but I'm increasingly inclined to view that as too onerous. Hard drives are remarkably cheap per terabyte these days.

    Dunno much about the PS3, but I presume you can hook up an external drive to it via USB? At any rate, it can stream from a home network. I use my HTPC in our HT (home theater), and Plex via Rokus for the rest of the house. And there are other media players like the WD players.

    Good luck.
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  18. Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    You have another problem to contend with. Starting in 2013, Blu-Ray players could no longer have analog connections of any kind (as a requirement for obtaining the AACS license needed for playing commercial Blu-Ray discs), so all current model year Blu-Ray players can only have HDMI and digital audio connections.

    You will need to look for a player from 2012 or earlier to have composite video and analog stereo connections for an old standard definition TV. Also, while most 2012 models have composite video and analog stereo connections, a few inexpensive players released in 2012 only had HDMI.
    unrelated to the thread but thanks for this info. I had no idea such a thing was really being implemented. I have two lower end models with the rca/svhs that I need, but might now get a better model with those connections while I still can
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    Originally Posted by mazinz View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    You have another problem to contend with. Starting in 2013, Blu-Ray players could no longer have analog connections of any kind (as a requirement for obtaining the AACS license needed for playing commercial Blu-Ray discs), so all current model year Blu-Ray players can only have HDMI and digital audio connections.

    You will need to look for a player from 2012 or earlier to have composite video and analog stereo connections for an old standard definition TV. Also, while most 2012 models have composite video and analog stereo connections, a few inexpensive players released in 2012 only had HDMI.
    unrelated to the thread but thanks for this info. I had no idea such a thing was really being implemented. I have two lower end models with the rca/svhs that I need, but might now get a better model with those connections while I still can
    Well good luck to you. You will be competing with all the Cinavia-obsessed individuals who can't figure out a better way to deal with the problem in their pirated movie downloads than buying older-model Blu-Ray players at an inflated price.
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    Well I successfully burned a test project to a DVD that did play in a PS3. All I did was convert some files to h.264 .mp4 with Handbrake and stuck them on a disc.

    My next problem is there was no menu or anything. It showed up under data disc and it showed my files. We played one and when it finished it just went back to the data disc menu. I need a way where I can have a "play all" and play the episodes sequentially one after another.
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  21. You can't have a "Play All" button for a data BlyRay disc. I believe the PS3 has a "Sequential Playback" option you might use. Otherwise you'll have to join your episodes (or some of them) to a single file with something like My MP4Box GUI and not being able to select individual episodes.
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  22. Try this free trial. $35 for the full program. It seems a bit slow even though it will max out my 4 cores.
    Speed and quality depends on how much you try to cram onto a disc (and the settings), obviously.

    http://www.sothinkmedia.com/hd-movie-maker/index.htm
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    Definitely thinking the PS3 is the way to go with the h.264 .mp4 capability and other things like netflix and all that. Now I gotta find a PS3 somewhere...
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