TiVo --> DVD-R w/out Hacked TiVo. Quickest Way?

[Luhmann]

I don't have a hacked TiVo with the Ethernet Card, and I just got a DVD Burner. So far, this is how I have been converting movies from TiVo to DVD-Rs:

· Capture Video in FCP 4 via DV deck firewire cable
· Export from FCP 4 to Mpeg 2
· Import Mpeg 2 and associated sound file to DVD Studio Pro 2
· Build Project in DVD Studio Pro 2
· Remove project file and VOB.lay file from build
· The project is usually > 4.4 GB so I must then use DVD2one
· Burn DVD2one output with Toast 6

Given that I can't just copy files from the TiVo, and that besides I might wish to create DVDs from other captured video via the DV deck, is there any way I can cut a few steps out of this process. I don't need fancy chapters (although it would be nice to have chapters if they could be added automatically without adding another step). If I have to trade time for number of steps, I would prefer less steps. Things can always be left to run over night.

Thanks for your help and advice!

(Note: It is a new system so I'm not too familiar with any of the tools I'm using. I just came up with this method by trial and error.)

[andkiich]

Capture directly to MPEG2 or get a stand alone DVD recorder and make DVDs that way.

[Luhmann]

Can you be more specific? Can FCP capture to MPEG2? If so how? If not, what should I use? Thanks.

[Luhmann]

I do not see MPEG 2 as an option for FCP 4 capture. But there are many options - perhaps I should adjust my settings here in some way? I imagine I could make the initial file smaller, but I don't want to loose too much quality. What I do now looks better than VHS copies, and I'd like to do this in such a way so as to maintain close to this quality. (Of course, TiVo's own compression creates artifacts and drop-outs, but there isn't much I can do about that!)

[ZeroSix]

you can only cap to mpeg2 if you have a hardware mpeg2 capture card. FCP4 cannot cap to MPEG2 by itself.

They way you've been doing it sounds like the best bet for your setup.

[Luhmann]

Thanks. I wonder if there isn't some way to ensure that DVD Studio Pro produces a correct sized file, so that I don't need to use DVD2One? Perhaps if the initial file size I create from FCP were smaller?

The big problem with so many steps is that there are so many variables at each stage! Without a lot of experience capturing, exporting, etc. it is hard to know what settings might be best. I just went through the same thing with scanning documents to PDF, but at least there everything moves quickly enough I could do tons of tests to see what worked best...

[bilestyle]

yeh that dvd2one step is TOTALLY unessesary- you need to do some bitrate calculation... i havent really used fcp 4 so im not sure what kind of indication it gives you on the size of the output files. But you need to change the bitrate according to the length of the video you are trying to put on a dvd... but yeh there has got to be a way to avoid that step, that program is meant to back up dvds you own that are on dual layer dvds, not to resample material you encode on your own.... but since im not farmiliar with final cut pro (or if you are taking one whole movie or several episodes of a show for that matter) and trying to put them on a dvd-- im assuming the mpeg-2 export is similiar (if not the exact same) as in quicktime, if so when you choose the bitrate it will give you an estimated size of the final output file (or it should anyways)

[Luhmann]

Yeah, I wish FCP, or even DVD Studio Pro made it easier to control the size of the output, say by selecting a certain size and then constraining the output accordingly. DVD Studio Pro does have this feature, but it doesn't seem to work. Burn to disk image often produces files that are over 4.7 GB (not to mention 4.4, which is what is needed). And while FCP offers lots of encoding settings, they are very complicated, and I'm not sure how they relate to what DVD studio Pro does with the file. I get Mpeg 2 output that is under 4.4 GB, but it becomes larger after using DVD studio pro. Perhaps I should use FFmpegX instead of DVD stuido pro, but I find that program nearly impossible to use. On my dual G4 DVD2one only takes about 20 minutes, but I really would like to get rid of a few steps so that I can just let things run over night and be done with it!

[MichaelLAX]

Before I purchased my ReplayTV, so I could easily extract its MPEG-2 files for DVD authoring/burning, I used the ADS Technologies USB Instant DVD for Mac.

I connect its S-Video/audio to the outpul of the TiVo and it digitizes to MPEG-2 in realtime. It comes with CaptyDVD authoring/burning software. You can also digitize to MPEG-1 and make VCDs if you so desire.

[Luhmann]

Well, I've made some progress but only a little:

First of all, the Pioneer 106d DVD-R is supported by DVD Studio Pro after upgrading to 10.2.8 (was at 10.2.6). It still won't burn such a large file, but if I can get the initial file smaller, I should be able to burn directly from DVD Studio Pro, cutting out having to use Toast.

Secondly, I've also learned how to get Toast to burn at 4x like its supposed to. It seems you have to insert a blank DVD while in the "Recorder Settings" window, and set the burn speed then, before burning. So that speeds things up a little for now.

But what I really need to know is what compression to use when doing a video capture in Final Cut Pro so that the Mpeg2 export file is smaller. I'm not going to buy special hardware to do this - I just want some advice from someone with experience so that I don't have to sit and capture the same file 100 times before I learn what setting works correctly. Maybe I'll post this over at 2-pop and see if they know, since it is really an FCP question. If I get an answer I'll post back here.

[persfave]

-But what I really need to know is what compression to use when doing a video capture in Final Cut Pro so that the Mpeg2 export file is smaller.

Try exporting your m2v directly from Quicktime Pro. When you move the slider to set the target bitrate, it shows what the projected size will be. I haven't seen this automatic calculator in other programs, and it has really been a lifesaver.

Good luck!

[Luhmann]

Try exporting your m2v directly from Quicktime Pro. When you move the slider to set the target bitrate, it shows what the projected size will be.

I was very excited when I saw this. And indeed, I found the settings in QT pro. I was also able to then access these from within FCP Pro 4 when selecting "Export using Quicktime Compression". Whereas my project was, by default, set to export at 5.0GB, I could adjust the bitrate and get it down to below 4.4!!! Unfortunately, this increased the export time from a few hours (less than 4) to over 20 hours!!! It is actually quicker to export with the default settings and then run DVD2one (which takes less than half an hour). I think the only way I'm going to crack this is to actually capture at a lower bitrate - but it will be much harder to calculate ...

[Luhmann]

Problem solved. It turns out that the best solution is to compress the audio with A.Pack before building the DVD in DVD Studio Pro. This takes about as long as DVD2One, but it doesn't degrade the video quality. I was able to shrink a 1.5 GB AIFF file down to about 350MB. This allowed a 2 hour movie to fit on a single DVD without any additional video compression.

It is useful to know, however, that the folks at 2-pop strongly advised against any additional compression during capture. The advised method for getting a smaller MPEG-2 file was to select "Use Quicktime Compression" and then select the options menu which opens up a screen that lets you adjust the "bitrate" and shows you what size the final project will be with the selected bitrate. However, when I tried doing this to get a smaller project, it exponentially increased the Mpeg-2 export time (from 4 hours to 20 hours).