continuous play with many mpg's

[macfeller]

I am still new so be gentle. I have spent some time searching the forums (this and others) but do not seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

I want to end up with a disc of separate mpgs, mostly from USENET (as in an anthology) that will play in my DVD player as a single movie.

I know I can use MPEG2 Works to get them importable to iMovie and then iDVD so that I can make a regular ol' DVD, but a bit of video fidelity is lost. No biggie, but a bit of work which I would just as soon avoid.

I know I can burn a SVCD onto a CD-R in iVCD and Toast, but I don't see how to make it be a disc that will play from beginning to end as if it were merely an audio CD-R.

At the same time I do want to have chapters available.

I know I can try to concat them but no result has been useful outside those that are really separate files from a single source (i.e. where someone has divided a mpeg into several mpegs). UNIX will concat files but unless they were all encoded the same, there are issues.

Thank you for any ideas.

mf

[deadsierra]

Sizzle 0.1 should be able to do what you want. Not the newer sizzle though, just the earlier.

[macfeller]

Thanks for replying. I had DL'd it but what very little I had previously read did not think it was what would cure me. First thing tomorrow I will play with it.

mf

[Frobozz]

If the downloaded MPEGs are individually playable in QuickTime, then you can drag them in order to Toast 6.0.5's Video tab, select automatic play, and have Toast author your DVD. Toast will re-encode the MPEGs to the DVD spec. Toast's automatic play option (added in 6.0.5) plays multiple titles on a DVD in sequence without returning to the Title menu.

Toast also adds chapters automatically in 5-minute increments (unless the file has MPEG audio in which case no chapters are added).

I don't guarantee this will work with your particular video files, but that's how it works with QuickTime compliant video.

[macfeller]

Where does one access the automatic play function? I do have 6.0.5.

Thanks for replying.

mf

[Frobozz]

In the settings panel on the left side there is one titled Auto-Play Items. Put a check mark next to it.

[macfeller]

Thanks for sticking with me. I was looking when SVCD was checked.

I see that in my original post I wasn't clear that I wanted to do this on SVCD as it is quicker and video fidelity is not lost as when converting to DV for a DVD. That's what I've been doing - Export2DV (MPEG2 Works), then import to iMovie for chaptering, then iDVD to burn.

mf

[Frobozz]

Okay, now I understand. I'm not aware of any solution that will get you SVCDs with chapters and/or continuous play of multiple titles.

You express concern about a loss in quality from converting to DV. Therefore, it is puzzling that you are interested in the lower quality of SVCD compared with video DVD.

The only reason you are converting your MPEG video to DV is so you can use iMovie for chapters and iDVD for authoring. You don't need to do this if you drag the MPEGs directly to Toast and are willing to forgo specific chapter points. It's your choice about what is most important.

[macfeller]

Re: loss of fidelity. Actually I base that *only* on what the mpeg in QT from the file on disc looks like on my monitor as compared to what the DV encode looks like. I have authored only one SVDC from a long mpeg and did not even think to compare those. Are you saying that an mpeg to SVCD would be noticeably less, too (as what I see now taking it to DV)?

RE: chapters and continuous play. Yeah I have been hoping for both. I do not see (though I have admitted to knowing so very little) why it can't be possible (other than no one's put that into an app). I guess they figure that if one wants to be that persnickety, one should pay with time and effort (mpeg>DV>iMovie>iDVD). If I get tired of that routine I'll opt for continuous play.

Now what I really, really want is to have my DVD player programmable so that only certain chapters are shown!!!!! Should be easy, my CD changer does it. : )

mf

[Frobozz]

Are you saying that an mpeg to SVCD would be noticeably less, too (as what I see now taking it to DV)?

mf

Actually, I don't know. What I do know is that SVCD has a lesser resolution and lower bit rate than DVD, so given the same video source the SVCD will have poorer image quality that DVD.

If you have the time and inclination, try making a DVD straight from the MPEG you used to create the SVCD. Also, make a DVD from a DV file that you converted from that MPEG. Then you can see for yourself what quality difference there is between these three options.

As for chapters and continuous play with SVCDs, it may be that those are not supported in the SVCD spec which is why the options are not available for encoding.

[macfeller]

When I get some I do plan to experiment more. Also would be nice to have another machine (which is actually possible for a few weeks).

May be true about the SVCD spec, but since it is possible with DVD, maybe Toast will add it.

Take care. Thanks for the discussion.

mf