DVD Maestro

[Afterlife]

I just got DVD Maestro after hearing nothing but praise, and gettin frustrated with the lack of menu features in TMPG DVD author, and the stupidity of DVDit PE.

Anyways So i was using the guide at Doom9 to get a feel for this program.. so I import my Background pics which are BMP 24bot no problem, and then i try importing my mpeg2(dvdcompliant) files and it says MEDIA FILE UNSUPPORTED...

Ok now ill explain my situation. I had a bunch of files of which i converted to MPEG-2 (dvd compliant) lowres with tmpgenc, the files are real small(around 330mb) at a CBR of 1800, with audio at 48000Hz @ 192kbs(not sure what audio format tmpgenc converts to for dvd). Reason I am making them so small is im looking to put around 13 300mb files on one DVD disc...

So why wont DVD Maestro recognize them?

[SLK001]

Wow!! You must have purchased one of the last copies on the shelves, since DVDMaestro hasn't been sold for over a year.

Anyway, to answer your problem, your "DVD compliant" files are not truly DVD compliant.

[Afterlife]

Dont worry about how I found a copy of DVD Maestro

Why arnt my files dvd-compliant? I need real small files that are dvd compliant! Should I just encode them as mpeg1 dvdcompliant then to get the file size down?

[SLK001]

Acceptable MPG2 files will have resolutions of:
720x480,
704x480, or
352x480.

That's it. There are no others for NTSC.

[Afterlife]

No wonder then.... funny thing is tho I made DVDs using the 350x240 lowres dvds using TMPG DVD author and they played no problem..

Can I use Mpeg-1 DVD compliant???

[cplevel42]

the DVD you made was NOT DVD compliant, thus will not play in many DVD players. You were lucky that it played in yours. I too have a DVD player that will play just about any resolution and bit rate config.

[cplevel42]

NO! mpeg1 is not DVD compliant. You should check out the "What is" section on the upper left.

[Afterlife]

Okay so Questions:
1. Will every DVD-player play MPEG-1 DVD compliant files?
a. If So what resoloutions must they be/bitrate
2. How can i make MPEG-2 DVD compliant files at the lowest res/low bitrate so i can shove tons on a dvd?

What would be the best Authoring program to do this with? I have Maestro but can get something else if there is a better file.

[ZippyP.]

NO! mpeg1 is not DVD compliant. You should check out the "What is" section on the upper left.

Yes, it can be.
NTSC (NTSC Film)
Video:
Up to 9.8 Mbit/sec MPEG2 or up to 1.856 MBit/sec MPEG1 video
720 x 480 pixels MPEG2
704 x 480 pixels MPEG2
352 x 480 pixels MPEG2 (Same as the CVD Standard)
352 x 240 pixels MPEG2
352 x 240 pixels MPEG1 (Same as the VCD Standard)
29,97 fps (frames/second)
23,976 fps with 2:3 pulldown (NTSC Film, this is only supported by MPEG2 video)

[SLK001]

MPEG-1 is DVD compliant. Its resolution is 352x240 (only) and bitrate up to 1.856Mbps (there is some arguement as to whether or not there is a max BR for MPEG-1).

[cplevel42]

@Afterlife. I don't want to sound like an ass, but you will need to do some reading about "the basics" The questions you are asking are covered in the section I told you about. After you have done some reading, you will not have to ask these questions.

[SLK001]

@ZippyP: There is no MPEG2 standard for DVD with a resolution of 352x240. That's only for MPEG1 encoding.

[Legolas]

i got a hunch there's nothing wrong with your files, you just gotta seperate the audio from the video. i'm using maestro it i can't import muxed .mpg files but i made several dvds with mpeg1 m1v files (vcd resulotion) and 48 dvd audio with maestro

[lordsmurf]

@ZippyP: There is no MPEG2 standard for DVD with a resolution of 352x240. That's only for MPEG1 encoding.

Incorrect. The 352x240 MPEG2 progressive spec is included for DVD. However, it is unpopular, low quality (lower than MPEG1 at 352x240), and not many authoring applications support it (much like 704x480).

[lordsmurf]

MPEG-1 is DVD compliant. Its resolution is 352x240 (only) and bitrate up to 1.856Mbps (there is some arguement as to whether or not there is a max BR for MPEG-1).

This is true. The max MPEG-1 included in the DVD spec is 1856k and 1150 minimum. CBR only.

[fravel]

I think DVDMaestro only accepts ac3 files for sound.

[BJ_M]

I think DVDMaestro only accepts ac3 files for sound.

it accepts wav , pcm , DTS , ac3 and mpeg audio .. I guess that is everything in fact ...

[fravel]

You are right, BJ_M! Maybe my age is playing games with my brain.

[mazinz]

just demux your clip and import the elemantary streams into maestro. maestro will not accept full mpeg clips they have to be seperated. try it that way

[Afterlife]

So I have to seperate my Audio from my Video before I import into DVD Maestro?

Ok quick Q, would it be better for me to encode the files as MPEG-2 352x240 or MPEG-1 VCD.

Only difference I can see is, MPEG2 is probably more widely supported by DVD players whereas the MPEG-1 VCD encodes wont be.

[mazinz]

for maestro it should be as an mpeg 2, but you know what, i do not think i have ever tried to import an mpeg 1 clip. And if i had it was a long time ago and do not remember, try it, to to import the video only of your clip, if it takes it then that will save you a lot of time, otherwise you would have to convert it over to mpeg 2.

or try this header trick, ok if maestro tells you its an mpeg 1 clip and it wont accept it, use tmpg, under it's tools section use the "remux option" (not "simple remux") use your mpeg 1 clip but have tmpg rebuild it as an mpeg 2 clip (using the tab to select the format) and then demux it and try it. this might trick the program into accepting the clip

If you wanted something less in a program but still good also by the same company, their was "spruceup" which did allow mpeg 1 clips to be used