Questions about burning .avi to dvd from Satellite

[darkcyber]

I'm recording from my satellite with VirtualVCR in .avi format and then using Tmpgenc Plus to encode that and then loading that into DVD-Lab to add menus and chapters.

What is everyone else using and getting good/great results with?

Thanks!
DarkCyber

[wadebbie]

I finally bought a Phillips DVR. For years I captured to VHS then passed through my video camera via firewire into premiere. This is so much easier and a real upgrade in quality. Now I need to read the manual and figure out how to edit out the commercials.

[mickle]

Capture with VirtualVCR, PicVideo, 352x576.

Edit in MSP7

Encode video with CCE

Encode audio with BSweet

Author with DVD Maestro

Burn with Nero

Great results

[FulciLives]

I use a PCI TV tuner type capture card (the AverTV Stereo) and use the PICVideo MJPEG codec on the 19 quality setting. For the audio I use 48k 16-bit Stereo WAV.

I capture 704x480 NTSC and pad it up to 720x480 with AviSynth. I use Convolution3D also for a noise filter.

I've used TMPGEnc for a long time but now I use CCE since it is MUCH faster.

Usually I will resize to 352x480 and will encode at a CBR of 5000kbps if it fits that way otherwise I do a 2-pass VBR with a MAX of 5000kbps and a MIN of 1500kbps and a AVG of whatever makes it fit but never less than 3500kbps

I load my captured WAV (split it out with VirtualDubMod) using SOUNDFORGE to normalize it then create a 2.0 224kbps AC-3 audio file.

I use TMPGEnc DVD Author for the final step

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[darkcyber]

Thanks! You guys are naming programs I'v never heard of... ...guess I need to start doing some searching and try them.

Thanks again,
DarkCyber

[lordsmurf]

I use ATI MMC to capture MPEG-2

Rest of what I do is in my signature "Video the LordSmurf way"

[andkiich]

If I'm going straight to MPEG2, then I use ATI MMC. If I am doing AVI then I capture with Ulead VideoStudio, encode with TMPGENc Plus and author with DVD-Lab. I get great results. My source is coming from my TIVO and not from my receiver directly.

[darkcyber]

If I'm going straight to MPEG2, then I use ATI MMC. If I am doing AVI then I capture with Ulead VideoStudio, encode with TMPGENc Plus and author with DVD-Lab. I get great results. My source is coming from my TIVO and not from my receiver directly.

I use to get excellent results as well, but here lately I'm getting a lot dvd's that either will not play very long or will not play at all. So, I was trying to see if it was one of the programs I was using. I've upgraded to DVD-Lab 1.3 and using Tmpgenc Plus 2.5 and Virtual VCR 2.6.9.

I may have just gotten some bad dvd disc.

What encoder is CCE? Is that the full name of it and where can I find it?

Thanks!
DarkCyber

[FulciLives]

CCE is short for CINEMA CRAFT ENCODER

There is CCE SP which costs an arm and a leg and then there is CCE BASIC which is nearly as full featured but limited to 2-pass VBR whereas CCE SP can do multi-pass VBR (up to 9 passes I think although more than 5 would be overkill and most who have it probably don't do more than 3 passes).

The official website is here:

http://www.cinemacraft.com/

CCE is faster than TMPGEnc but CCE pretty much requires you know AviSynth or frameserve from VirtualDub whereas TMPGEnc does not require either of those (most of the time) and as a result can be easier to learn.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman