Problems with DVDShrink and TMPGenc

[barry_w2]

A few days ago I asked for help in compressing files of TV shows so that they would fit on a DVD.

Baldrick advised me to have a look at tmpgenc dvd author 2.0 and DVD Shrink.

I tried DVD Shrink first.

Tried numerous files of significant length and all failed at the initial stage which reading a guide is just a quick scan. I forget the error message, I don't think it is critical but I can supply if it is.

I then tried a small file of 12 mins and it got past the initial stage.

As I had proved that this data was fine and I had my suspicions about the size I multiplied this data 5 times so I had a file of 60 mins.

This failed again. I then tried files of 24 mins, 36 mins and 48 mins and then 42 mins. All of these files used exactly the same data but multiplied so the only variable was the size of the file.

24 and 36 went through OK. 48 and 42 failed. So the cut-off point seemed to be between 36 and 42 mins which would be between 1.3Gb and 1.4GB.

There didn't seem a lot of point in pursuing this as I am trying to shrink a file of say 6GB or bigger to fit on a DVD of 4.7GB.

I then tried tmpgenc DVD Author 2.0.

My theory was if it could handle a big file successfully then it would handle the simple stuff.

So I tried a file of 8.0GB. I was disappointed it didn't ask me to what size I wanted to shrink it to but as what I wanted to do was to shrink to DVD size of 4.7Gb then offering me that option was acceptable. I went for this and it gave me a warning saying the quality would be poor and advised me to shrink it to 5.2GB. As this was an experiment I asked it to do it to 4.7GB anyway.

After 30 mins or so it had a file of 5.9GB. This was serious as it didn't do what I asked ie 4.7Gb and it didn't even do what it had recommended namely 5.2GB.

I then tried another experiment where I cut down the file bit by bit until I got to a point where it didn't give me a warning. This turned out to be 4 hrs 56 mins 42 secs which was 7.0GB. 3 seconds more I got a warning message. I executed this and after about 30 mins it told me the file was too big to fit on my 4.7GB DVD.

The file size was 4.9GB.

This of course is verging on useless. Now it would appear it can probably shrink a file of around 6.5GB to 4.7GB but I have rather lost confidence in the tool. I can accept the odd problem here or there but this seems very poor. Am I doing something wrong with both of these tools. Am I using the wrong tools or am I just being too demanding?

The error message was as follows:

************************************************** *****

The file exceeds the capacity of the DVD-R unable to start the writing process.

Insert a writeable media.

************************************************** *******

[guns1inger]

Yes, the error message is critical. Without it how can we work out what might be going on ?

Another alternative is DVD Rebuilder using HCenc (free) or Procoder or CCE Basic (neither free). It takes longer, as it is re-encoding, but does a better job where a lot of compression is required.

Out of curiosity, what is the combined running time of the episodes you want to fit on a single disc ?

[barry_w2]

OK here is the error message.

************************************************** ******

DVD Shrink encountered an error and cannot continue.

Programming error - exception occurred.

************************************************** ******

I only installed DVD Shrink for the first time a couple of days ago.

I repeat that I get this message for several files - I have tried over 10 that are longer than 42 mins.

For those 36 minutes or shorter I don't get this error message.

I have tried this and a friend of mine who works in this sort of industry has also had a go.

Are both of us being incredibly stupid here?

The answer to your curiousity question about what length is the norm is it will be somewhere between 2 hrs 15 and 4 hours but there will be the odd occasion when it might be longer than 4 hours conceivably up to 6 or 7 hours although this will be unusual.

[DarrellS]

What type of files are you trying to open with DVD Shrink? You can't just open any old video file. It has to either be a Video_TS folder without corrupt IFO file or an ISO.

There are alot of guides to show you how to use this program. It's best to read them and follow the step by step instructions instead of jumping right into it and wondering why the program doesn't do what you want it to do.

TDA will handle VOB files but once you create the huge VIDEO_TS folder, you need to open that folder in DVD Shrink and then shrink it. Don't try to shrink it in TDA. Ignore the file size error message and create the file to Hard Drive (don't try to burn Disc), then shrink with DVD Shrink.

Also, you might want to use DVD Decrypter as your burn engine. It works hand in hand with DVD Shrink and IMO, is better than both TDA and Nero. You may have to uninstall Shrink first and install Decrypter and then reinstall Shrink. I believe if you install Shrink first that the option to burn with Decrypter is not there. At least that was the case with my friends PC running XP.

[guns1inger]

I would not use Shrink to put more than 2 hours on a single layer disc. If you want to start getting into the 3 - 4 hour range then you should seriously consider re-encoding at half D1, and once you get to the 6 - 7 hour mark, VCD resolution. Unless, of course, quality isn't part of the equation.

If you are trying to rip with Shrink, try using something better - DVD Decrypter or DVD Fab Decrypter is the material is newer stuff. Then open the results in Shrink.

[barry_w2]

Darrell,

It is a Video_TS folder I am using. It cannot be corrupted as if it was it would fail on a 24 min file as well as the 48 min file (which is exactly the same material as the 24 min file).

I obviously appreciate the feedback but I have read the guides and the first thing you have to do is load the file and I can't even get this far!

I have uninstalled and re-installed DVD Shrink from a different place just in case I had picked up an odd version or the installation had gone wrong fro soem reason but still exactly the same problem persists.

The question is why won't any fileover 42 mins be accepted yet all files under 36 mins are accepted.

I have tried 10 of each!

[guns1inger]

Try running the folder through FixVTS, then loading it.