AVI Compression

[xon50]

i have a 30 gb avi file and its about 3 hours long and i need to compress it to a 4.7 gb dvd disc or maybe even 2 dvds. wat codecs should i use/ progam. i have premiere pro and thats what i used to make the movie. I can try and use that and re-export it?

[Soltaris]

The answer to this depends entirely on what you which to play the files on. Computer? Stand-alone DVD player? Portable I-pod? Internet stream?

[xon50]

dvd player

[dtuck]

use tmpg express :P

[xon50]

k ill try it might work

[daamon]

@ xon350: With an AVI file of 30Gb and "about" 3 hours, I'm guessing that the picture quality is pretty good in the AVI? It may even be from a DV camcorder?

By using the VideoHelp Bitrate Calculator, you'll see that, for footage 3 hours long, you'll need a bitrate of around 3,000kbps to fit it onto a DVD.

There's a good chance that this is too low for full D1 resolution (720 x 480 / 576 for NTSC / PAL) and will yield unsightly artifacts in the finished MPEG2 file. And, if it does, you'll have wasted a long time encoding 3 hours of footage.

When encoding, I suggest you use another valid resolution called "half D1" - that's 352 x 480/ 576 (NTSC / PAL). You can still use the same bitrate, but the lower resolution (not needing as much bitrate) will likely result in no artifacts.

Sure, the picture won't be as sharp, but it'll still look very good.

Hope that helps. Good luck...

[xon50]

so wat would i use to do that premiere?

[xon50]

and yes i did use a dv camcorder

[daamon]

so wat would i use to do that premiere?

use tmpg express :P

And get the exact running time to the minute - "about 3 hours" isn't close enough - and use the bitrate calculator I linked to above to get your bitrate.

I'd also recommend encoding the audio from the footage (it'll be uncompressed WAV audio) to AC3 so that you can use a lower bitrate and therefore have a smaller audio file, leaving more room on the disc for the video, meaning a higher bitrate and hence a better quality picture.

Get the WAV by loading the AVI into VirtualDub and then File -> Save WAV.

Load the WAV into ffmpeggui and encode to AC3 at a bitrate of 224.

When encoding the video to MPEG2 (for DVD), no need to do the audio coz you're doing that seperately. You'll get either a video.m2v or .mpg file - there should be no audio when played.

The two are then brought together during authoring.

[xon50]

k thanks alot guys! ill post back with update!

[daamon]

so wat would i use to do that premiere?

Encoding to MPEG2 can be done in Premiere Pro, but you need to have the mainconcept plugin - I think it's about US$250.

The TMPGEnc Plus encoder is good and much cheaper. There are other encoders - look in the "Video Encoders (MPG/DVD)" category of the "Tools" section for others. Commonly recommended ones are (in no particular order):

TMPGEnc Plus
Mainconcept MPEG Encoder
Canopus Procoder
Quenc
hc
Cinema Craft Encoder

P.S. Welcome to the forums.

[whitejremiah]

i'd advise using a dual layer disc and tmpgenc.....as tmpgenc has a free trial, then using dvd lab pro to make menus, chapters, ect....going with a dual layer disc, you should be able to put the movie onto a single disc with respectable quality, probably somewhere in the 6000k/s or so range, maybe more than that even with ac3 or even mp2 audio......

[daamon]

i'd advise using a dual layer disc ....going with a dual layer disc, you should be able to put the movie onto a single disc with respectable quality, probably somewhere in the 6000k/s or so range

True enough, but...

...and i need to compress it to a 4.7 gb dvd disc or maybe even 2 dvds.

...and burning to a dual layer disc requires a burner that will suppport it.

...with ac3 or even mp2 audio......

I suggested only AC3 as MP2 isn't in the NTSC DVD specifications. Although MP2 is in the PAL spec, I have a recollection that it may be phased out.

@ xon50: Update your profile to show your location. It's useful for others to know where you are.