TMPgenc Xpress Question?

[Davecore]

I have about 31 small .wmv files that my friend sent me from a theme park trip. I basically want to put them on a dvd, but I need to first make a menu.

1. So I put them into Xpress and set them all to (Pixel 10:11 NTSC 4:3) aspect ratio. Is this right?

2. Then I convert to MPG files. (Stream Output>Mpeg-2 Video). This still dvd complient?

3. Then I convert. However the problem is the size for each clip goes up 100's of MB. Now what happens if I choose (DVD-NTSC) instead of MPG. When I do this it allows me to adjust to one dvd 4.7 or dvd-9. Does this method output the 31 files into indivdual mpg files still? that are NSTC dvd complient?

Would Adobe Encore or DVDit 6 be better to use? We have these progams at my school that I can use.

[redwudz]

Do you want each one to end up as a separate file on the DVD? That will be a fairly complex DVD structure. I'm not sure how well TMPGEnc Xpress will handle it.

If you want to edit them or combine some of them first, you might use Window Movie Maker before encoding to MPEG.

The size of a encoded MPEG file is based on the running time of the video and the bitrate used to encode. If you set the bitrate high, then the resulting file will be large. If you set it low, the quality may suffer, but the file will be smaller.

What's the running time of all the WMVs combined? That is what you would need to set the bitrate. There are bitrate calculators in 'Tools' to the left that will show you what bitrate is needed to fit them all on the DVD. If the total running time is over two hours, then the quality may suffer. 1 hour or abouts should give you good quality.

For what is DVD compliant, look to the upper left for 'WHAT IS' DVD and you will see the DVD format and specifications. <<<<<<

[TBoneit]

When it comes time to output My process is add all the clips, Make no changes in the Add clip windows if the clips do not need filtering/trimming.

Then Click the Set output tab and choose NTSC DVD. I let the Set output tab choose the bitrate to fit a DVD5 or DVD9 size and resolution. If the bitrate is too low it will lower the resolution to 352 by 480 for example.

Then I choose encode for speed or quality.

Click encode tab and choose whether to encode as 1 big clip or individual clips both options are there.

[KayAt]

If you want a simple way to do this, I recommend Nero.

You can drag and drop the wmv files into Nero, it will make a menu with each wmv file as a separate chapter and does a good
job of encoding them based on the original quality.

[ZippyP.]

...does a good job of encoding them based on the original quality.

Not many people here would agree with that statement. Nero is not good quality compared to other dedicated mpeg encoders.