VirtualDub basics

[alanparrott]

I feel a bit dense asking some of these questions, but I have read the guides and searched best I can.

1. If I have an AVI captured via composite from an external DVBt box and just want to edit out the ads, do I have to Save As AVi before I can encode via TMPGENC? Its just that on a long movie it takes so long.

2. Also related to this, in one of the guides it says that you can Save/Load Processing Settings but this does not work for items I have cut out? They remain, so is it just for filtering changes etc?

3. If I have the above and just want to encode as is, what is the difference between a) simply taking the captured AVI or b) frameserving to TMPGENC?

4. This one is probably for another forum but related to my learning curve. Does changing the bit rate to burn on to DVD mean that you can burn somewhere between the standard formats eg 1hour/2hourSP etc.

Thanks

[Tommyknocker]

I feel a bit dense asking some of these questions, but I have read the guides and searched best I can.

The only stupid questions are the ones not asked.

1. If I have an AVI captured via composite from an external DVBt box and just want to edit out the ads, do I have to Save As AVi before I can encode via TMPGENC? Its just that on a long movie it takes so long.

No. Frameserving to TMPGEnc without saving is one of the great things about it.

2. Also related to this, in one of the guides it says that you can Save/Load Processing Settings but this does not work for items I have cut out? They remain, so is it just for filtering changes etc?

It is just for saving the settings, like filters, processing mode, audio setting, codecs, etc. It has little to do with the video.

3. If I have the above and just want to encode as is, what is the difference between a) simply taking the captured AVI or b) frameserving to TMPGENC?

The difference is you get to use two programs while encoding only once. You can edit, add filters, etc. in Virtual Dub, framserve to TMPGEnc, encode to MPEG DVD, adjust bit rates, use templates. etc. all in one procedure.

4. This one is probably for another forum but related to my learning curve. Does changing the bit rate to burn on to DVD mean that you can burn somewhere between the standard formats eg 1hour/2hourSP etc.

Yes, the lower the bit rate more data you can add to a DVD. The maximum is around 6 hours. the minimum around 1 hour. Just remember, the lower the rate, the more the quality suffers.
Thanks[/quote]

[alanparrott]

Many thanks for that, I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

So if you are trying to squeeze a little moreonto a DVD would it be better to use a Lossless CODEC and change the bitrate or use good lossy CODEC and change the bitrate less or not at all?

Cheers

[jimmalenko]

So if you are trying to squeeze a little moreonto a DVD would it be better to use a Lossless CODEC and change the bitrate or use good lossy CODEC and change the bitrate less or not at all?

Essentially, bitrate determines how much/little you can fit onto a DVD. If you want to fit a little bit more on, lower the audio and/or video bitrates to suit (use the calculator here if you need assistance.

The codec you capture in will play a part in determining overall quality and it is wise to capture using the most lossless codec for the best quality.