I can only fit a 1hr AVI on a DVD !

[pinkape99]

Hi, fairly new to this - so I'm sure it's just a newbie error, but any help appreciated.

Using different DVD +-R writers with different disks (4.7Mb, 8x, +R)
Using Roxio DVD Builder v7.1

I have some .AVIs (a whole season of Charmed) that are 350Mb and about 45m long each. Using Roxio, I can only fit one on a DVD - taking up around 3/4 of the DVD - implying that I can only get 1 hour on a disc.

I have tried putting 2 on and using 'fit to disc' but it wont do it.

Any suggestions anyone ?

[Soopafresh]

You're using too high of a bitrate when encoding into MPEG.

[LloydAZ]

Hi, fairly new to this - so I'm sure it's just a newbie error, but any help appreciated.

Using different DVD +-R writers with different disks (4.7Mb, 8x, +R)
Using Roxio DVD Builder v7.1

I have some .AVIs (a whole season of Charmed) that are 350Mb and about 45m long each. Using Roxio, I can only fit one on a DVD - taking up around 3/4 of the DVD - implying that I can only get 1 hour on a disc.

I have tried putting 2 on and using 'fit to disc' but it wont do it.

Any suggestions anyone ?

What are you using to author the DVD with?

What audio format are you using?

It could be that you are using uncompressed WAV/PCM audio which of course will only give you an hour of video per DVD. Your audio should be either MP2 or AC3 which will free up quite a bit of disc space.

[pinkape99]

Thanks for replying so quick.

I'm using Roxio DVD Builder v7.1

The audio format default is Dolby Digital AC-3.
The other options are LPCM and MPEG.
The software says MPEG and Dolby will take up 2916Mb, LPCM 3385Mb.

I don't know how to change the AVI's audio outside of Roxio.

So, I can see the logic behind your suggestion, but not sure what I can do.

Ideas ?

[ZippyP.]

Any suggestions anyone ?

Try a different program like TMPGEnc followed by TDA. Lots of guides over there <<<<<<

[LloydAZ]

The software says MPEG and Dolby will take up 2916Mb, LPCM 3385Mb.

Almost 3GB for either an AC3 or MP2 audio is crazy! It should be MUCH lower than that. I don't think Roxio is encoding the audio correctly if that's the case.

[InXess]

The audio format default is Dolby Digital AC-3.
The other options are LPCM and MPEG.
The software says MPEG and Dolby will take up 2916Mb, LPCM 3385Mb.

I'd choose either AC-3 (that 2 channel Dolby I assume) or MPEG. You save about 500MB's. Most DVD players should read MPEG sound and for sure AC-3.
I think you can put 2 shows on the timeline one after another, you need to learn how to use your DVD Builder. Of course you can use other programs mentioned above but why not stick with what you have. You'd need to get to know your software a little better better. Calling Roxio tech support may be a very good option to quickly let them walk you through.

[ZippyP.]

why not stick with what you have.

B/C it's crappy.

[Noahtuck]

why not stick with what you have.

B/C it's crappy.

That's the biggest understatement i've read in awhile
Way to nice of a revue of their software 8)

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=294453&highlight=roxio

Use a real encoder, cnovert audio to AC3 & use a real authoring program.

[lordsmurf]

but why not stick with what you have. You'd need to get to know your software a little better better. Calling Roxio tech support may be a very good option to quickly let them walk you through.

Because it's inferior and very crappy, in regard to DVD-Video usage. It's about on par with mowing the lawn with an electric shaver. It's the wrong tool for the task at hand. Well, at least if you actually want a quality job, with minimal problems.

[InXess]

Have you guys noticed that you're not addressing the issue but rather soliciting another piece of software? Seems to be favorite pastime here.
TMPEG is the cure for all ailments... including hemorrhoids.

now, what say you? you gonna pickup on me or follow the original lead?

[lordsmurf]

Have you guys noticed that you're not addressing the issue but rather soliciting another piece of software.

The issue is the software is unable to do what he wants.
Nobody is "soliciting" anything. They're referring appropriate tools.

[InXess]

BS, you're trying to find a graceful way out from the trap you TOO easily fell into.

Now, a word from:

But, whatever shortcomings VideoWave has are more than made up for by DVD Builder. We found this DVD authoring applet to be friendly and intuitive, and also highly adaptable. It doesn't patronise or limit users in the same way that Pinnacle's Expression or Sonic's MyDVD does but, at the same time, it's great for home users who don't need the advanced multi-audio and subtitling tools offered by more expensive, prosumer authoring programs.
Support for 16:9 widescreen footage and elementary MPEG streams would have been nice, but that's the full extent of our grumbles with DVD Builder. The inclusion of stereo AC-3 audio encoding is a huge bonus - and we hope it will set a trend at the entry-level. Even though we fully expect the keen amateur to quickly grow out of VideoWave, DVD Builder alone means it's worth every penny of its £50 ticket - underlining the fact that Roxio's Easy Media Creator 7 suite, complete with VideoWave and DVD Builder, yet selling for just £10 more, is a major bargain.

Peter Wells


Read the full review in August 2004's Computer Video magazine.

http://www.computervideo.net/aug04-2.html

for your reference.

Everyone has to get their feet wet somehow. It's hardly a good advice for a guy who's first time on a bike to go buy a better bike so he can learn how to ride. Simply dumb and hardly an encouragement. Unless you're saying that you drove a car before being able to walk...

We like the capabilities built into the DVD Builder and it abilities to output in a very acceptable variety of formats including NTSC or PAL (Europe or Japan) VCD, SVCD, DVD-on-CD, DVD-Video discs, and codecs for MPEG, AVI, WMV, and DivX files. You can even output to email the project, online video sharing, or to TV’s and VCR’s

The look and feel of DVD Builder, and the capabilities built into it are impressive along with the seamless connectivity it has with it’s sister VideoWave and the Capture Utility, making it our reviewers choice over market favorite Soniic MyDVD 5

http://homepage.mac.com/techedgeezine/2004_0903_roxio-emc7-2.htm

...if you want more.
Some like to change the subject if they don't know how to answer a question. Where do you belong?

[FulciLives]

If you want a better way but don't want to spend the money then I have a solution.

There is a free MPEG-2 encoder called QuEnc

This is what it looks like:

The Main Screen


The Advanced Options Screen


This is pretty much the way you want to set it up. This is assuming you have a widescreen source that is progressive. You will find that nearly all DivX and XviD files are progressive. If you have a source that is not widescreen then you would of course select 4:3 instead of 16:9 for the aspect ratio.

In my example I used 256kbps AC-3 which is the "sweet" spot for 2 channel mono/stereo audio. For the video bitrate I used 6500kbps with a MAX of 8000kbps since I am doing a 2-pass VBR encode. The video bitrate of 6500kbps with the audio bitrate of 256kbps should fit 90 minutes (give or take) onto a single layer DVD recordable. This way you can get 2 episodes on a DVD instead of just 1 episode.

Remember though that you have to resize your DivX/XviD source properly to a DVD resolution. In order to get the resize part correct I suggest using a program called FitCD.

Here is a screenshot of FitCD:



In the above example I have loaded a XviD file with the resolution of 640x480 and FitCD is going to resize it to 704x480 then add 8 pixels of black to either side to make it 720x480 which is full screen so in QuEnc you would pick 4:3 as the aspect ratio.

Here is another example of FitCD:



In this example I have loaded a XviD file with the resolution of 624x352 and since this is a widescreen resolution I have decided to create a 16x9 DVD by checking the "Anamorphic" box. Also to keep the aspect ratio accurate I had to change the the cropping option from "no cropping" to "accurate". As you can see FitCD does some (very minor) cropping then is going to resize to 704x480 then add 8 pixels of black to either side to make it 720x480 giving us a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen DVD resolution. In QuEnc you would pick 16:9 as the aspect ratio.

In FitCD you click on SAVE SCRIPT and an AviSynth AVS script is created that is the same name of the AVI file. If your AVI file is called, "filename.avi" then your AviSynth AVS script will be called, "filename.avi.avs" ... you then load the AviSynth AVS file into QuEnc and set it up and there you go. In the end you will have a single MPG file with muxed AC-3 audio.

Just remember that to use FitCD you need to install AviSynth but trust me ... although it may seem complicated at first I promise you that FitCD is the best way to figure out how to resize a DivX/XviD to a DVD resolution.

AviSynth, FitCD and QuEnc are all freeware programs!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
In my examples I am resizing to NTSC DVD resolution. To resize to PAL DVD resolution you would simply check the PAL option (the one on the "right" hand side). The PAL option on the "left" hand side is for the source. You would check that if the source is 25fps ... if it is 23.976fps or 29.970fps then you would leave it unchecked. FitCD can set up a NTSC to PAL or PAL to NTSC conversion but NTSC to PAL only works well with FitCD if the NTSC source is 23.976fps ... if it is 29.970fps then using FitCD is no good for NTSC to PAL.

For example if the AVI is 23.976fps but you want to create a PAL DVD then on the left hand side you do NOT checkmark the PAL option as the source is NTSC. On the right hand side you would checkmark the PAL option. FitCD will then set up the NTSC to PAL conversion inside the AviSynth AVS script.

Here is an example of what it would look like:



Here we are converting a widescreen DivX/XviD file with a 23.976fps to a 25fps PAL DVD that will be 16x9 anamorphic widescreen.

Please note that the audio may have to be dealt with separately when doing NTSC to PAL or vice versa especially if you have AC-3 audio.

If fact this is all based on the fact that the DivX/XviD has MP3 audio. I'm not sure if this works at all if the original DivX/XviD AVI has AC-3 audio.

ONE LAST THING ... the PULLDOWN option on the "Advanced Options" screen of QuEnc is only to be used when you have a source that is 23.976fps and you are encoding a NTSC DVD. Otherwise do NOT checkmark that option.

[InXess]

this is the link to Using DVD Builder Video Tutorial:

http://images.roxio.com/en/products/creator7/tutorials/VID_DVDBuilder.swf

this is to DVD Builder Manual:

http://www.tdk.com/support/pdfs/BasicUserGuide_DVDBuilder.pdf

page 13 shows video prefs. settings in Builder:
you adjust the length of the video on disk (how much material you can fit) by lowering the quality.

Unfortunately the manual doesn't show the content of Encoding Tab and available options. But generally this is where you specify quality settings.

Companies like Nero use this division to specify the output:

1.high quality (or highest) will fit 1 hr of video on disk, avg. bitrate is usually above 9000 kbit/s - this is where you are now.
2.standard play - good for 2 hr video on disk, avg. 5100kbit/s
3.long play - 3hr video, avg. bitrate 3300 kbit/s
4.extended play 4hr, avg. bitrate 2550 kbit/s
5 super long play 6hr, avg. bitrate 1690 kbit/s

In every application (!) you extend the video length on the disk by lowering quality (bitrate). Most commercial DVD's have avg. bitrate anywhere from 4500-6500 kbit/s. Keep also in mind that those disks have double the capacity of recordable DVD (and more video content).

Read the manual as video editing and disk creation principles apply to ALL applications on the market. There is no way that without knowing some basics you will be able to successfully and consistently create video movies and DVD's.

The guide prepared by Fulcilives although done with great care may not be easy to follow as it employs quite a few scenarios and applications (programs). For a newbie it will appear as unintuitive, complicated and possibly overwhelming. It is transparent to users who have the understanding of basics though.
You can't learn to swim without jumping into the water, unfortunately.

[FulciLives]

The guide prepared by Fulcilives although done with great care may not be easy to follow as it employs quite a few scenarios and applications (programs). For a newbie it will appear as unintuitive, complicated and possibly overwhelming. It is transparent to users who have the understanding of basics though.
You can't learn to swim without jumping into the water, unfortunately.

Well I was trying to do something "simple" with freeware programs so that one could see that better results could be obtained with other software.

I guess like just about everyone else in this thread that I don't think much of Roxio software.

So I attempted to give an "easy-to-follow" freeware alternative.

How simple it is though I don't know ... maybe it is "too much" for a newbie.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman