ffmpegX/Sparkle vs. iMovie/iDVD

[wco81]

So I've tried it both ways, converting AVI files and mastering DVDs with the ffmpegX/Sparkle combo (along with Disk Utility to actually burn).

Now I'm trying with iMovieHD, which takes hours just importing small DVI files (after installing the DivX for Mac plugin), and then more hours when you try to master the DVD in iDVD, as it re-encodes files. Not sure what it's doing when when it's importing for hours in iMovie. Thought it might be doing some re-encoding but no such luck.

ffmpegX produces 800 MB MPEG files for 50-minute segments from 350 MB AVI files. But the same files imported into iMovie HD and then mastered in iDVD goes all the way up to over 4 GB!

Could that mean higher bitrates and better quality for the iMovieHD/iDVD combo than ffmpegX/Sparkle? I didn't fiddle too much with the bit rate at all in either case. The original source is like 30 FPS.

Better quality might make the extra encoding/burning time worth it but maybe not.

[Case]

ffmpegX produces 800 MB MPEG files for 50-minute segments from 350 MB AVI files.

That seems rather small. The bitrate calculator suggests it should be around 1.6 GB. Are you sure you selected the DVD target preset after dropping (opening) your source file?

[wco81]

I think I did only MPEG2.

I didn't get the folders with the .vob files so I may have done it incorrectly this time.

[gmackenz]

The Options tab should have profile set to 'DVD' and the author button checked.

What is Sparkle?

Is it the DVD authoring program Sizzle by any chance?

[wco81]

Yup, it's Sizzle.