140 minutes per dvd (MPEG2, tmpgenc 2.5 +)

[sykoi]

Lately I've been buring anime, tv shows, etc. to dvd for my brother to watch (No cable = no fun); but the problem is, I use WinAVI convert, convert the 6 files to dvd (To fit on one 4.3gb disc), and then burn with nero - this works fine and all, but it doesn't have a menu.

So the past four or five days, I've been experimenting with other converters - most noteably, MPEG2 ones and tmpgENC; when converting to MPEG2 in winAVI convert (Horrible program for anything other than dvd converting), the audio goes out of sync (I know how to fix it, but its annoying), the FPS, no matter what I set it at, keeps changing to something tmpgENC dvd menu creator doesn't like.


Now that I have that out of the way - let me explain my real problem: tmpENC 2.5+ won't let me change NTSC mpeg2 files (Low or high quality, any type of sound) to anything less than 30% of a 4.7gb disc; this is a big problem - I only have a limited number of dvd+rw, and he goes through them pretty quickly - the only way to make it worth while is by burning 6 per disc.


Is there a way to get past this problem? If not, what are some other - good avi (xvid and divx) to mpeg2 (NTSC 23.96( ?) FPS)? 720x480 or lower, 4:3 - doesn't matter.

I found a great one that I LOVE, DirectConvert - the only problem is, I can't find a place to enter a serial - I am seriously thinking about buying it, and I notice they say "We will send you your serial once your order goes through" - I don't want to get ripped off, I'd like to know where I enter a serial before I actually buy one - $30 is expensive for a number.





Anyways, thanks to all in advanced - I'm somewhat new to video dvd, so pardon any false information in the post above.

[bugster]

Now that I have that out of the way - let me explain my real problem: tmpENC 2.5+ won't let me change NTSC mpeg2 files (Low or high quality, any type of sound) to anything less than 30% of a 4.7gb disc; this is a big problem - I only have a limited number of dvd+rw, and he goes through them pretty quickly - the only way to make it worth while is by burning 6 per disc.




Anyways, thanks to all in advanced - I'm somewhat new to video dvd, so pardon any false information in the post above.

Cancel the wizard and enter your settings manually. The important one for size/space is bitrate. Use a bitrate calculator. Bitrates below 3000kbps and you should cosider 1/2 D1 resolution too. (352*480 for NTSC).


Do some more reading and learn about variable bitrate, multi-pass encoding etc if you want decent quality.

[Matt D]

As Bugster says, cancel the damn wizard. IMO you need to do this:

Click "setting" in TMPGEnc to bring up the "MPEG setting" options. There are 6 tabs in here that control everything you need.
If it's not selected already, click the "VIDEO" tab. Now under the "size" selector box in the VIDEO tab input 352x480. Make sure that your aspect ratio set to 4:3 and your framerate to 29.97.
Choose 2-pass VBR for "Rate control mode". Use the "setting" button to enter these VBR values: Average 3200, Maximum 5500, Minimum 200.
Choose NTSC as your format (I assume) then interlace for the encode mode.
Down below these is the "motion precision search" selector. Choose either high or highest quality.
Now click the "GOP Structure" tab, make sure detect scene change is selected.
Now click the "Quantize Matrix" tab and change the "default" value to "CG/Animation" from the drop down selector.
Finally click the "Audio" tab and make sure your audio is set to Layer-II, 48000Hz and stereo. Choose 192kps for the bitrate.

Ok, encode this sucker and you should be looking at an easy 6 or even 8 1/2 hour episodes per disc or about 3 hrs of total play time. Good luck.

[sykoi]

Thanks, but question: Does it normally er... take 5 hours to convert?

Specs:
1.6ghz AMD Athlon
512 ram
GeForce2 mx550 (Doesn't matter but what the hell, why not)


I turned preview off, and set everything exactly how you said - still 5 hours; converting 6 of these videos would take over a day and be annoying .

[Matt D]

5 hours per 1/2 hr show? Well, that's a long time, but I believe it. It's not a fast process. Another route is to capture the shows straight to VOB files which can be immediately authored. I've only ever used NeoDVD to do this, but the quality is good and it will significantly reduce the time needed to go from capture to finished product.

[jimmalenko]

Thanks, but question: Does it normally er... take 5 hours to convert?

Specs:
1.6ghz AMD Athlon
512 ram
GeForce2 mx550 (Doesn't matter but what the hell, why not)


I turned preview off, and set everything exactly how you said - still 5 hours; converting 6 of these videos would take over a day and be annoying .

Over a day ? Welcome to the world of video my friend.

I have had some encodes batched that have had my previous PC running for 5 days

Don't be fooled by 5 hours coming up as soon as you start the encoding process. I have found the expected time calculation to "over estimate" on quite a few occasions. The other this is to set the priorities to high and walk away from your PC to let it do its thing. Filters will slow the encoding time considerably. 2-Pass VBR will obtain better results than CBR but take twice as long.


I have a P4 3.06B with 1GB DDR RAM Dual Channel and I can get encoding times of between 1.5 and 2X runtime doing 2-pass VBR. Most users should get between 3 and 4X.

[sykoi]

Guess I'm just spoiled by winAVI's fast speeds... Its amazingly fast but doesn't always work correctly - normally 40-80FPS for MPEG2 and 20-40 FPS for DVD (vob)