Putting 10 Episodes on 1 DVD-r

[earwig999]

I have 10 .avi episodes of a series I want to convert them to fit thm all onto a DVD-r. Each avi is 149.9 meg. I am currently trying to change the avi to VOB's with FFmpeg but when if eventually finishes it says it has errors.

Is there a fool proof method?

[tgpo]

I do this all the time, but don't use ffmpegX because it always gives me sync problems.

Quick question, do the avi files play in quicktime?

[earwig999]

Yes they do play in QT. Will I need to use Mpeg2works ??

[galactica]

yes, that is the way I do it, get them all over to mpeg, use sizzle to compile an image and if its under 4.4 still [depends on the size of your .avi's] you can burn otherwise a nice dvd2one-age will bring it down for ya

[TugBoat]

Well, I've been using ffmpegX and avoiding errors and sync problems. The sync thing only happens maybe 25% of the time and can be cured by simply opening the original movie in QT Pro and exporting an AIFF. I usually do that all the time now so I can doctor the aiff with Peak and convert to AC3 with A.Pack while the video is encoding.

I use the ffmpeg codec, set to 29.97fps, half DVD(352xXXX) 4:3 or 16:9. I use manual cropping & letterboxing so I do not enable the 'decode with QT' option. I've found that you can't encode at 23.98 unless you do enable 'decode with QT' so I've settled for manual letterboxing & cropping over fps.

The most important setting is the Keyframe interval, set it to 15 for 29.97, and set the profile to DVD. I also use 2-pass encoding to help cut down errors in the MPEG2 stream. You can encode at anywhere between 1200 to 1800 kbps with excellent results easily putting 6 hours on a DVD.

Works for me. And when using the half DVD resolution it's extremely fast. Another bug, when you encode a widescreen movie at 16:9, half DVD, you have to use HexEditor to set the aspect. For some reason, the 16:9 setting doesn't work and you get 4:3. Or you can use the 'decode with QT' option. It seems to output 16:9 with that checked, but then you're back to auto letterboxing and no cropping 8)


You might want to look at;
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1074730#1074730
It would be nice to get some help over there from other sync victims :P

[sdm]

The sync thing only happens maybe 25% of the time and can be cured by simply opening the original movie in QT Pro and exporting an AIFF. I usually do that all the time now so I can doctor the aiff with Peak and convert to AC3 with A.Pack while the video is encoding.

what does it mean to doctor the aiff with Peak? We have Peak at work I think. It comes with FCP? Right? How does that help?

I too have had a some sync problems with simalar settings to yours, I've been using ffmpeg to encode AC3 directly from .mov. Do you think there is a problem with ffmpegX's AC3 encoding?

Thanks, sdm.

[TugBoat]

Do you think there is a problem with ffmpegX's AC3 encoding?

No, I think there is a problem with the way ffmpegX encodes a movie sound track period. It doesn't matter if it's an AC3, MP2, or MP3, it seems to ALWAYS shorten the audio track compared to the original. I'm going to have to change that 25%. So far every soundtrack I've tested shows a lower duration than the original. Some are less noticeable is all. It's only a second or two, but it's enough to be noticeable at the end of the movie. And, the longer the movie, the worse it gets. I think the 'decode with QT' may solve this but then you're stuck without cropping or manual letterboxing, and the colors are usually extremely saturated. It needs to be fixed.

For those of you that don't have A.Pack/DVDSP, you should be able to open the AVI in ffmpegX and choose the 'Movie audio to AC3' preset. When I tried that, the AC3 file that ffmpegX produced was the exact same length as the QT/A.Pack AC3. Which reenforces my theory that something is going on in the movie encoding process that shortens the Audio track. So, encode the movie to mpg, then demux and save the m2v. Then use the 'movie audio to AC3' preset on the original movie and see how that AC3 syncs up with the m2v. Worth a shot.

Also, if you haven't noticed, some soundtracks come with 'extras'. Like the occasional 100% shrill spikes, or noise at the beginning and end, or the .032 second blank spots, or soundtracks that abruptly end during the credits music. Also, most have a few very loud spots and then the remainder is much lower, I like to lower the extreme and then normalize to raise the lower. You can fix all this with Peak. The version that comes with FCP/FCE/DVDSP is not the full version but can fix most of the above, it doesn't have 'Find Peak' though, which is great for finding the loudest spikes.

[earwig999]

yes, that is the way I do it, get them all over to mpeg, use sizzle to compile an image and if its under 4.4 still [depends on the size of your .avi's] you can burn otherwise a nice dvd2one-age will bring it down for ya

How do I get them back over to mpeg ?? I guess using FFmpegX, but what option do I click? Should this take hours to do ?

I am guessing I need them in a format that doesn't play in QT.

[sdm]

The most important setting is the Keyframe interval, set it to 15 for 29.97

I always use the defaut gop of 12 for both ntsc and ntsc film. Why do you suggest 15? Just curious.

[earwig999]

I don't mean to be funny but you have actually gone off the topic with your AC3 encoding questions. Please don't hijack other people threads, or at least try and answer my question.

[TugBoat]

I always use the default gop of 12 for both ntsc and ntsc film. Why do you suggest 15? Just curious.

Straight from the DVDSP manual, typical GOP size for NTSC is 15, PAL is 12. Also, if you look around in Compressor you'll find that it uses the same setting, 15 for NTSC(29.97) and 12 for PAL(25). I use DVDSP and had trouble with the muxer quitting on ffmpeg encoded mpeg2s. Just trying to cover all the bases. I believe the 2-pass encoding helped more than the Keyframe Interval change from 12 to 15 though. Just make sure the interval isn't set to 240 :P

How do I get them back over to mpeg

Actually you don't need to convert them back to a muxed mpeg file. DVDSP, Sizzle, and ffmpegX use A/V streams to Author a DVD. If you want to mux it back to mpg you could use the Tools tab in ffmpegX, the mplex tab in Missing MPEG Tools, or any other muxer. You can use ffpmegX to Author a DVD. Just use the Tools tab to Browse for the m2v and ac3 streams, select post processing 'Author as DVD' (VIDEO_TS), select mux as... 'DVD', then hit the 'Mux as DVD' button. You should get a Video_TS folder and a burnable Disk Image. You won't get a menu or multitrack DVD with ffmpegX Authoring though.
8)

**********

Well, that's it with me trying to encode at 23.98 with 'decode with QT'. I'd had varying success in the past so decided to try it again. The major downer is that it takes longer, sometimes twice as long or more to encode the same file.

And sometimes, like just now, nothing works trying to sync the audio. I had the perfect candidate, it was B&W, didn't need cropping or letterboxing, and was 23.98 NTSC Film already. It took 3 hours to encode the 1':39" AVI movie. I even used a Keyframe Interval of 12 to match the framerate of 23.98. The resulting mpg was off by over 1/2 a second at the end. I demuxed using MPEG Stream Clip, the encoded audio file was still off in DVDSP. I exported an AIFF from the original with QT.....Still off. Then I found that when you demux with different programs, the files are different lengths. Mmmmm. Didn't help, I used four different programs to demux. I tried all combinations, still off at the end, the audio being ahead of the video. I gave up.

I used the exact same settings only without 'decode with QT', set the framerate to 29.97 and interval of 15. One hour and 26 minutes later the two pass encode was finished. That's twice as fast as before. The mpg looked very close to being in sync, probably close enough. However the demuxed audio didn't sync in DVDSP. Didn't matter if I demuxed with Stream Clip or ffmpegX, it was about a second off. Exported an AIFF from the original with QT, it works. Used ffmpegX to encode a 'Movie audio to AC3' from the original AVI, it worked.

I'm done. I'll use what works for me and hope that things get better

Good Luck 8)

[thoughton]

Another bug, when you encode a widescreen movie at 16:9, half DVD, you have to use HexEditor to set the aspect.

Interesting link tugboat! Never seen that before, and I thought I'd trawled through RNC's site pretty thoroughly Damn him, updating without telling us :P

[TugBoat]

Yep, the first part works great with the ffmpeg m2vs. Just change the 2 to a 3 (ignore the can't save warning) and it displays as 16:9 instead of 4:3. But, the second part, VTS_01_0.IFO file hex address 200, doesn't appear to work. When I look at line 0000200, which appears to me as 00002000, it looks like this;
00 89 b7 39 00 4b ae cf 00 90 21 77 00 1c 76 b8, not like;
F9 00 00 01 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
And line 00000200 looks like;
4e 10 00 01 04 c1 65 6e 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Anyone able to get this to work?

Maybe he means line 00000100? That would work, my line 00000100 reads;
43 00 00 01 00 c1 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
which agrees with the video, mmmmmmmm

But in my case, that's just the menu. The actual video is 16:9(F9) and I can't seem to find it

[sdm]

I don't mean to be funny but you have actually gone off the topic with your AC3 encoding questions. Please don't hijack other people threads, or at least try and answer my question.

okay.

Is there a foolproof method to get avi>DVD?
No.

There are many tutorials on how to do it, and the exact settings depend largely on your source material.
(ie. length in minutes, resolution, number of channels of audio etc.)

But basically.

1. Look at total number of minutes and choose bitrate from below
a. 6 hours: 1400 kbps
b. 5 hours: 1700 kbps
c. 4 hours: 2200 kbps
d. 3 hours: 3000 kbps
e. 2 hours: 4700 kbps

2. Decide the resulting size from below:
a. 1400 kbps: 352x240 (VCD)
b. 1700 kbps: 352x240 (or possibly 352x480 if framerate is 23.98)
c. 2200 kbps: 352x480 (Half DVD)
d. 3000 kbps: 352x480 (or possibly 720x480 - I've had good results with that depending on the subject matter)
e. 4700 kbps: 720x480 (DVD)

3. Encode to mpeg2 with ffmpegX - start with the 'DVD-ffmpeg' preset.
a. change the Autosize based on above
b. change the Video Bitrate based on above
c. change the Audio bitrate to 192 kpbs (my calculations above are based on this)
d. change the channels to Stereo (my calculations above are based on this)
e. Deselect the Author as DVD (VIDEO_TS) in the tools Tab
f. Encode

4. Author a dvd in DVDSP - too complex to describe here
-or-
Author a DVD in Sizzle - never done it.

Keep in mind as a general rule: more video/lower bitrate/lower size = lower quality.

Also, some of these suggestions may be up for debate a little - I'd like to hear feedback.

I hope this helps.