When I'm authoring with Ulead DVD Movie Factory 2...

[StoneColdWhat]

Well I have bunch of vcd files (450mb each) and I hadd them to a dvd project, but when I add them it shows the file as 900 mb, why would this be ? People tell me they can fit 9 eps on a dvd but I only can fit 5...

[marsmayhem]

Maybe it's planning on encoding them for you to an MPEG2 file?

[StoneColdWhat]

Well I dont' think so, and even if it is how did the person who told me he could fit 9 eps on the dvd, fit them on there? Pretty sure he doesn't have a dual layer disc.

[hech54]

Which settings are you using?

[marsmayhem]

Well I dont' think so,

You don't think so? Well I do. Your files aren't being imported properly by Movie Factory. It's either trying to re-encode it to DVD spec instead of leaving it as VCD, or your VCD is fubarred and MF isn't reading it in properly.

MPEG1 VCD = 10Mb/minute, hence the 450Mb/episode.

9 * 450Mb = 4050Mb, which easily fits into a single layer 4.7Gb DVD disc.

RTFF: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=129786

[StoneColdWhat]

I used this guide here when I fit 5 eps on the dvd https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/139093.php

[marsmayhem]

Try demux/remuxing one of the files and see if that makes a difference to MF2. Unless you're positive there's nothing wrong with your VCDs, in which case, I'm out of ideas.

Good luck...

[kvlourash]

I have the same problem. I used to be able to fit about 15 250 meg. VCD files onto a DVD, now Ulead insists on blowing up the files to 1 1/2 times their original size. I must have changed a setting, but don't know which one. I even tried reinstalling.

[thecoalman]

Not sure about MF2 but MF3 and Ulead's other newer products have a "do not convert compliant" checkbox. Look in the project settings, not sure exactly where it's at on MF2 if at all.

Edit: I just tried it using DVD Workshop and it worked....

[kvlourash]

Thanks; I found that the reason Ulead was expanding the VCD files was that it was converting the MP# audio to LCPM? and this added an enormous amount of overhead. I had to go in and edit the default profile to change it.

I also found a trick that looks like it will eliminate some vertical overscan (and preserve subtitles): change the resolution from ~350X240 to 320X240.

[neomaine]

kvlourash,

I'm assuming you meant MP3 and not MP# in your post. If so, I would use besweet or some other tool to change it to MP2 audio.

In fact now that I think about it, you may even let MF2 change the audio for you. Simply change the template and it will leave the video alone and work only on the audio.

I've had mixed results if I remember right going down this path. That's why I went to Besweet to reencode to 48K/mp2. I use TMPGenc for the demux/remux.

(Great now I've got to go to the other thread and post it there too...)

[kvlourash]

kvlourash,

I'm assuming you meant MP3 and not MP# in your post. If so, I would use besweet or some other tool to change it to MP2 audio.

Yeah, thanks, I meant MP3. I'm trying to do both the resolution change and the audio change with EO Video (interesting but weird interface - also leaves big work files - hope 2.0 is out soon). Eps 1-6 worked fine, but ep 7 is being converted sloooooooowly, mebbe 6 hours for a 24min. VCD.

[akrako1]

Here's the option you've forgotten about:
Click the little gear at the bottom left of the screen and you'll be taken in to the 'Project Settings' menu. Since you're sources are VCD's, and not DVD compatible, selecting/deselecting the 'do not convert compiant MPEG files' won't do anything. You're files aren't DVD compatible, and Moviefactory WILL try and re-encode them.
Click on the 'Change MPEG Setting' button, and you'll be given a list of options for bitrate/DVD length. You can try choosing one of the defaults if it's close enough. If the presets aren't enough for you, choose the closest one, and then go back in and click 'customize'. There, you can manually adjust the bitrate to whatever you want!
Keep in mind that Ulead DVD Moviefactory is not very good at estimating the size of the footage after it's encoded. I've seen the program over and underestimate the size of the resulting DVD. If the size comes out too big, I'd suggest using DVD Shrink to shrink it to exactly disc size.

Another way you can go.... Like some folks have suggested, convert to DVD quality BEFORE adding the clip to Moviefactory. Use TMPGEnc or some other encoder, and make the files proper DVD files. Then, click the 'do not convert complient MPEG files' and the files will not be re-encoded (or change size!). Personally, though this is a little more time consuming (depending on the number of clips), I'd highly suggest this method. Using TMPGEnc or some of the other encoders have more quality options than the built-in encoder that comes with Moviefactory. Use a bitrate calculator, and figure out exactly what you need, and convert away.

[kvlourash]

I have tried making DVD's both ways, and I'm pretty sure the 'do not convert compiant MPEG files' option works for mpeg1 (VCD) as well as mpeg2. The file size is about the same, anyway. Tmpgenc requires an mpeg2 codec to convert to DVD that I don't want to buy.

BTW, Ulead also seems to leave big work files behind without cleaning them up (unless I'm doing something wrong). Is Ulead moviefactory 3 worth the cash to upgrade? I don't like the way U2 scrambles the file order when loading clips and the way one has to edit every title to change menu fonts.

I think I've got the conversion problem solved, now I need to find how to compensate for TV overscan when converting. Reducing the vertical resolution seems to work for the vertical dimension, but I think horizontal edges still get clipped.

[akrako1]

I'm pretty sure the Moviefactory 3 has an option to apply the current font to all other items/menus - a nice feature for changing font size/style. I'll check when I get home. Though I don't know if it's worth the cash to upgrade, I got my copy for free. )
And yes, it does leave large files sitting on your system. These are the DVD compliant mpegs that the program uses to author the dvd, after converting. You will need to manually delete them. I haven't found any option to not keep them around.