Going backwards - AVI to DVD

[Riot Nrrrd]

I think I want to use ffmpegX for this so I'm posting here:

Say I've got 2 AVI (XviD) files. They're both encoded using the A52 AC3 audio 5.1 codec.

I get the AC3 QuickTime component and install it. I use QuickTime Pro and concatenate the 2 AVIs together and export to a self-contained QuickTime .mov file.

I want convert this .mov (back) to a burnable DVD (UDF). I try the simpleton's method (Toast) first; it looks to me like it's re-encoding the audio as ".sd2" (Sound Designer II format?!?), 44.1 kHz. Looks to me like Toast is going to strip the 5.1 mix and produce a stereo mix instead. Bad dog.

So, I thought I'd try ffmpegX. Anyone with suggestions on settings to use? I'm assuming for "Audio" I'll select "Passthrough" and un-check "Encode audio", right? (If I do this, I assume all the "Audio parameters" settings are ignored, correct?)

Now the fun part - the video. I assume I should choose "MPEG2 [.MPG] (ffmpeg)" (or "(mpeg2enc)", whatever) and check "Encode video".

The rest of the settings - "Video", "Options", "Tools" - I have no clue about. When you go from AVI (back) to DVD, you can't put in what isn't there anymore, right? So I don't know whether to select DVD/4000 MB under "Bitrate calculator", or whether to change the 4000 MB to 8000 MB (I have a Pioneer DVD-108 DL-capable burner). I don't know whether to change the PAL rate of 25 in "Video parameters" -> "framerate" to NTSC or not ("Info" says the .mov is 25 fps; I have an American - i.e. NTSC - DVD and TV setup, not sure it can play PAL). I don't know whether to use "2.35:1" or "DVD 16:9" in "Video parameters" -> "Autosize".

All I want to do is to get this .mov onto a DVD-R (or DVD+R DL) disc so I can view it on my TV, hopefully with the AC3/A52 5.1 mix intact. Can anyone make settings suggestions based on this?

Help me major4 Kenobi, you're my only hope ...

[major]

Instead of using the joined .mov, encode each .avi separately. Drop the .avi on ffmpegX icon, then select "DVD ffmpeg" quick preset. In the audio tab set "Passthrough". In the options, disable "Author as DVD". Hit "Encode". At the end, you will obtain a .mpg file. Do the same with the other movie. Now use Sizzle to author the two .mpg files in one DVD.

Don't change the bitrate to 8000, and keep if possible PAL (I don't know if your player can handle it, but many can.. you should test with a short clip on a DVD-RW), as changing to NTSC can lead in some cases to sound sync issues.

[Riot Nrrrd]

Thanks Major ... I made the 2 MPG files and was about to try Sizzle, but it looks to me like it wants to author them as two separate titles ... whereas I want just one, as the 2 AVIs (now 2 MPGs) are two halves of a (much larger) original whole. (I should have stated this originally; sorry)

So I went back to ffmpegX (0.0.9r) and tried to do a Join on the 2 MPG files, but it almost immediately returns "Done" when I enter the two paths (via "Browse") in "Video Tools" and clicked on "Join" ... needless to say, they didn't get joined. I clamped a "ktrace" on "ffmpegX" and it looks like it spawns "/Applications/ffmpegX.app/Contents/Resources/mpgtx", which goes to read the first MPG and complains

"warning: couldn't find any valid system header. I'm continuing anyway"

a couple of times and eventually complains

Incompatible audio bitrates /Volumes/WD Caviar WD2000JB/Video/AVI/test1.mpg (448 bps) /Volumes/WD Caviar WD2000JB/Video/AVI/test2.mpg (112 bps)

Specified files are not compatible, if you still want to join them use
--force switch

[Mental note: if "ffmpegX" spawns sub-tasks like "mpgtx", and it emits errors, shouldn't "ffmpegX" display those errors in a pop-up window?]

and quits. I transcoded the 2nd part exactly like the first:

Output #0, mp2, to '/Volumes/WD Caviar WD2000JB/Video/AVI/test2.avi.ff.copy':
Stream #0.0: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5 channels, 448 kb/s

but "mpgtx" appears to think the 2nd part is audio encoded as 112 kb/s MP3! So it looks like "mpgtx" doesn't grok these MPGs too well ...

Back to the drawing board. Should I try a Join on the 2 original AVIs, or am I just being clueless about Sizzle?

[Riot Nrrrd]

I went back and joined the 2 AVIs, then tried to create the MPG from that single AVI. I got these errors:

Output #0, rawvideo, to '/Volumes/DVD:CD burning staging area/test.avi.ff.mpv':
  Stream #0.0: Video: mpeg2video (hq), 720x576, 25.00 fps, q=2-20, pass 2, 3746 kb/s
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0.0 -> #0.0
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow6.8 bitrate=2162.7kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow3.0 bitrate=2181.0kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow3.2 bitrate=2181.6kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow3.3 bitrate=2182.0kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow

[... Oodles more of these "buffer underflow" errors ...]

[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow8.3 bitrate=2327.5kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow1.5 bitrate=2358.2kbits/s    
[mpeg2video @ 0x38430c]rc buffer underflow
frame=179863 q=0.0 Lsize= 1870881kB time=7194.5 bitrate=2130.3kbits/s    
video:1870881kB audio:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.000000%
bench: utime=5369.620s

[...]

Output #0, mp2, to '/Volumes/DVD:CD burning staging area/test.avi.ff.copy':
  Stream #0.0: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5 channels, 448 kb/s
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0.1 -> #0.0
Press [q] to stop encoding
size=  535552kB time=9793.0 bitrate= 448.0kbits/s    
video:0kB audio:535552kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.000000%
++ WARN: [mplex] Stream e0: data will arrive too late sent(SCR)=136744640 required(DTS)=136744528
++ WARN: [mplex] Video e0: buf= 191513 frame=037980 sector=00221716
++ WARN: [mplex] Audio bd: buf=  14595 frame=047474 sector=00042200
++ WARN: [mplex] Stream e0: data will arrive too late sent(SCR)=138573354 required(DTS)=138573328
++ WARN: [mplex] Video e0: buf= 192444 frame=038488 sector=00227317
++ WARN: [mplex] Audio bd: buf=  15491 frame=048109 sector=00042764

[... 8 more of these "data will arrive too late" errors ...]

++ WARN: [mplex] Stream e0: data will arrive too late sent(SCR)=170878104 required(DTS)=170868928
++ WARN: [mplex] Video e0: buf= 235543 frame=047459 sector=00289566
++ WARN: [mplex] Audio bd: buf=  16384 frame=059323 sector=00052732
**ERROR: [mplex] Too many frame drops -exiting

And it quit. Ugh.

What's weird is that when I did the 2 parts separately (2 AVI's -> 2 MPG's), this all worked perfectly. But trying to do the whole kitchenkaboodle didn't. Am I screwed?

[Riot Nrrrd]

Given the types/quantities of errors, I elected to try obtaining Roxio Jam 6.0.2 and, with that installed, my Toast Titanium 6.0.7 can now encode from the combined AVI to DVD with AC-3 audio, so I'm trying that instead.

[Edit/Update: Toast worked perfectly. No idea why the "ffmpegX" demuxing sub-processes got such indigestion.]