Joining Avi's with compression or without it

[Yuran]

Hi everyone! I would like to know what's the best thing to do when joining 2 avi's with virtualdub and then encode it to dvd. Shall i join the 2 avi's without compression so the result file will be a large avi wich will not allow me a nice bitrate (I THINK) to encode or if when joining the avi's i give'em compression so the result file will be smaller and maybe will allow me to encode it with a bigger bitrate seen as the avi is now smaller with compression? I'm asking this because every bitrate calculator for dvd asks you to put the movie lenght in minutes, well with or without compression the lenght is the same of course but the size of the file is not, so i was hoping that a smaller avi (2 avi's joined with compression) would allow a bigger bitrate when encoding to dvd than a larger avi (2 avi's joined without compression). I thank you all in advance for all the help you can give me.

[feenix]

You're on the wrong track I'm afraid. The bitrate of the resultant mpg (DVD) has no relation to the bitrate of the avi file you're converting from. It's only the length and bitrate of the output file that determines file size not the physical size of the input file.

[Yuran]

Thta's true i know but why do i get best results encoding to dvd one avi file, size betwwen 700 715 mb than one avi file size 1.4 gb (2 avi's joined without compression). I can't encode them using the same bitrate, the one avi file will get good quality and will fit in one dvd but the other big avi (2 joined without compression) encoded with same bitrate let's say 4000 kbp/s will not fit in one dvd. The main goal here is to fit any avi encoded to dvd in one DVD disc. So maybe if i join 2 avi's and give'em compression the size would get to say 800 mg 850 mg, of course i will loose some quality but you can barely notice and then i will be able to encode it to dvd with a bitrate minimum 4000 kbp/s (minimum allowed for good quality) and it will result in a good DVD movie?? Am i having any logic?? I've tried this and i think so! I would appreciate some hint and tips on this subject. THANKS!

[fritzi93]

Why don't you just join 'em all in VirtualDub and then encode to 1/2D1? Simply unlock the DVD template in TMPGEnc and reset the resolution to 352x480 (if NTSC). (The CQ default is fine, in my experience, shrink later if it's a bit too large. Fairly fast that way, and don't worry that the preview looks weird.) Best to handle the audio with something like BESWEET or ffmpegGUI, not TMPGEnc, so just do the video-m2v. Encode, author, and burn. For most AVIs, it's a better choice quality-wise anyway.

[Yuran]

Why don't you just join 'em all in VirtualDub and then encode to 1/2D1? Simply unlock the DVD template in TMPGEnc and reset the resolution to 352x480 (if NTSC). (The CQ default is fine, in my experience, shrink later if it's a bit too large. Fairly fast that way, and don't worry that the preview looks weird.) Best to handle the audio with something like BESWEET or ffmpegGUI, not TMPGEnc. Encode, author, and burn. For most AVIs, it's a better choice quality-wise anyway.

I'm sorry but what do you mean by "encode it to 1/2D1"? And isnt it better to encode it 720x576 if PAL or 720x480 if NTSC instead of 352x480?? All my divx were made from a dvdrip. And one more thing, after encoded to mpeg2 if the file is a bit larger how do i shrink it?? Thanks!

[fritzi93]

Two disadvantages to encoding to full DVD resolution from an AVI. First, you magnify flaws by making it larger. Second, you can use available space (and bitrate) more efficiently using 352x480(NTSC) or 352x576(PAL). Both are valid DVD resolutions. Unless the AVIs have an unusually high bitrate, you'll gain nothing by going to full D1.

To convert to DVD, you'll need an encoder like TMPGEnc, plus an authoring program like dvdauthorGUI. Guides over there <-. To fit an oversized file to one DVD, use DVDShrink, guides <-

You have some reading to do, the guides explain things better and in more detail than is practical in the forum.

[Yuran]

Two disadvantages to encoding to full DVD resolution from an AVI. First, you magnify flaws by making it larger. Second, you can use available space (and bitrate) more efficiently using 352x480(NTSC) or 352x576(PAL). Both are valid DVD resolutions. Unless the AVIs have an unusually high bitrate, you'll gain nothing by going to full D1.

To convert to DVD, you'll need an encoder like TMPGEnc, plus an authoring program like dvdauthorGUI. Guides over there <-. To fit an oversized file to one DVD, use DVDShrink, guides <-

You have some reading to do, the guides explain things better and in more detail than is practical in the forum.

Well i'm a long time divx-dvd converter, i've always used tmpgenc to encode, dvdmaestro to author with motion menus, selectable subs and chapters but never used dvdshrink despite having it!!! i never had the need to shrink a dvd converted from a divx. But to tell you the truth i notice that the source divx has much better quality than the output file encoded DVD, and you are right, the answer is the resolution. What if i encode the divx to dvd using it's original resolution? For example if the divx is 512x420 (just an example) it's variable. In tmpgenc i can set this to be the final resolution right?? If so what will be the result? will it look nice? just like the source divx?? but either way (keeping the source resolution or 352x480(NTSC), 352x576(PAL) will it look nice on the tv screen?? thanks for your help

[fritzi93]

Unless the AVI's resolution is valid for DVD, better stick with 1/2 D1. Maybe some players can cope with an oddball resolution, but don't count on it. Valid resolutions can be seen under DVDR at left, so you know yer leg ain't being pulled.

Didn't mean to seem patronizing, we all have our gaps, just the other day I found I had a lot to learn regarding interlace/deinterlace, field order, oh lots of stuff. That's why this hobby is so interesting. But there are some questions where it's hard to gauge how much detail to go into.

Anyway, I've not yet had an AVI that looked better converted to full D1 than 1/2 D1. If it's a long movie, it'll be noticeably worse. The ones that look best at D1 are at least 650 horizontal res and less than 2 hours. So that's the real issue, since you know how to do the conversion, etc. Why don't you give it a go? Before someone advises you to use a bitrate calculator and 2-pass variable bitrate, yeah, you could do that. The way I mentioned will get your feet wet with pretty fair results. Good luck and please come back with your opinion if you try it.

[bibi]

I like to use EO Video to join my video clips.

If you are joining two avi's using EO Video you can even convert them to DVD MPEG-2 at the same time.

[Hardcoreruss]

I do not see why everyone always want to join before they convert. Put avi 1 into tmpgenc, when it auto calculates the size to fit on 1 dvd, half it. Repeat this for avi 2. When completed use both files and put them into tmpgenc dvd author. Author and then burn with nero.

The change from file 1 to file 2 will be a split second change, like changing layers, you will hardly notice it.

[Craig Tucker]

Canopus procoder has a nice feature which allows you to "stitch" 2 input files together so it outputs as one mpeg.

[bugster]

Canopus procoder has a nice feature which allows you to "stitch" 2 input files together so it outputs as one mpeg.

So does the latest version of TmpGenc.