horrible mpeg2 quality

[jjpro11]

first of all i have dvd lab pro 1.53, dvd architect 4, sony vegas 7.0, and nero 6 available to use.

i have some dvds that are really only vhs rips. they play perfectly smooth, just like a normal vhs would and all are under 4.7 gigs on each dvd. most are 3 hours, while some are closer to 5 hours long.

i am trying to take different parts of videos on these dvds and put them onto one dvd complete with menus and all using dvd lab pro. i cant figure out how to get a good rip from the clips i want. when i look at my created dvd on the tv, i can see large pixels and the video is choppy. not smooth like the other dvds.
the only way i found to transfer them to the computer is convert them to mpeg2 files using nerovision express and sony vegas so they can be imported to dvd lab pro. some of the amount of space they take up is insane and i can only fit about 5 clips on a single dvd worth about an hour, meanwhile some of these dvds have 5 hours of footage. the clips i am trying to get average around 10 minutes each.

how in the world can i transfer those videos to my created dvd without quality loss? what do you guys do when you gather clips from several dvds and put them on one compilation? this is so stressful because i really need this to work, but i cant find a solution. any help would be greatly appreciated. i will answer as much questions as i can too.

[guns1inger]

DVD Lab Pro authors DVDs. DVD video is mpeg2 (occasionally mpeg1), so yes, you have to convert. DLP2 can do some encoding, but it is no match for a dedicated encoder. But most of all, DVD Lab Pro is not a toy. It does not guide you by the hand, it does not do anything for you, and it expects you to have thought things out and prepared your assets in advance.

If you want to maintain quality, learn how to capture and encode correctly. This means you need to stop using NeroVision for anything. You can only put 2 hours of good quality on a single layer disc. Any more and you are asking for reduced quality. There are ways to mitigate this - half-D1 encoding is good for VHS sourced material - but everything after 2 hours is a compromise.

Size is a product of running time and bitrate. Workout how long the clips are in total, and use a bitrate calculator to calculate the bitrate you need to encode at. If your running time is longer than 60 minutes, consider 2-pass VBR encoding.

If all this sounds too hard or too complicated, do it all in NeroVision and accept that the quality will suck.

[InXess]

I don't see a possibility to obtain horrible results in DLP unless your source material is low quality or you are making some mistakes along the way. Read in DLP Help file what are the requirements for video footage, make sure you don't mix different formats and follow guides which are plentiful (this site). NeroVision although not the best should give you decent quality (definitely better the "horrible").

[GeorgeW]

i have some dvds that are really only vhs rips. they play perfectly smooth, just like a normal vhs would and all are under 4.7 gigs on each dvd. most are 3 hours, while some are closer to 5 hours long.

i am trying to take different parts of videos on these dvds and put them onto one dvd complete with menus and all using dvd lab pro. i cant figure out how to get a good rip from the clips i want. when i look at my created dvd on the tv, i can see large pixels and the video is choppy. not smooth like the other dvds.

I think you need a tool(s) that will allow you to import the mpeg files from your DVD source, and then cut out the sections you want to keep (without re-encoding them). Vegas will always re-encode mpeg on the timeline, so I would not use that when dealing with your type of source material. Have you tried Womble?

Regards,
George

[MysticE]

just like a normal vhs would and all are under 4.7 gigs on each dvd. most are 3 hours, while some are closer to 5 hours long.

With source material (especially VHS transfers) like this, especially the 5 hour ones nothing is going to help. Garbage in, garbage out.

[jjpro11]

i havent tried womble.. your talking about the mpeg-vcr program right? if so i might give it a try unless there are any other alternatives.
i understand there is some quality loss on the longer vcr rip dvds (3-5hrs).. but i am willing to take a slight hit in that department for some extra recording time. the problem is the noticeable pixels and sloppy frame rate i get with my created dvds. i just want these things to look like an actual vcr vid or better, not some youtube-looking video.

[CogoSWSDS]

You could try VOB2MPG to rip the VOBs to MPEG. Use your favorite demuxer (I use the mpeg tools in TMPGEnc) to demux into elementary streams, then use Cuttermaran to cut your clips (Cuttermaran will handle the audio too). DLP should be able to author these into a DVD. Note, you'll be doing this without re-encoding, so you shouldn't see any quality loss, however this means that all the frame sizes will have to match (no mixing 720x480 with 704x480 or 352x480) on a DVD.

CogoSWSDS

[Nelson37]

I believe the OP is stating that the quality of the original DVD is acceptable, whatever level it may be, and his problem seems to be that the quality is getting WORSE with re-authoring.

This will only happen if the video is re-encoded, which is easily avoidable. Pretty much what COGO said, M2-Edit, MPG2Cut, a few other cutters will do the job.

Main trick here is to make sure the authoring app does not see the video as non-compliant and re-encode. Various methods for this for different apps, but almost always possible.

Also the problem is not DVD-Lab itself nor the particular skill of the user. You just have to avoid the re-encode, almost any prog which does this will make it worse.

[FulciLives]

DGMPGDec (aka DGIndex) will demux the video and the audio from the VOB files. These demuxed files can then be read into DVD-Lab Pro ... but ... that won't help you to edit them.

For MPEG editing you need either MPEG2VCR or VideoRedo Plus. They both pretty much work the same and as well as the other. To me it's a toss up as to which to get.

I would RIP the DVD using NO FILE SPLITTING so as to get one large VOB file for each Title Set then load the VOB file into either MPEG2VCR or VideoRedo and edit then output to a MPEG-2 file.

Then open that MPEG-2 file into DVD-Lab Pro.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Duff Lightbeer]

Perhaps it would have been wiser to title this thread, "horrible mpeg2 quality" as it is considerably more accurate a description of the problem.

I don't think there would be too many forum users who would disagree that Nero is not a good choice for quality mpeg2 encoding. TMPGEnc, CinemaCraft Encoder and Canopus Procoder Express are the acknowledged leaders for budget encoding packages (around US$60 for each).

DVDLab is software for authoring DVD's, not encoding video files. Further, DVDLab Pro is universally recognised as an A-grade authoring package with features and reliability (when used correctly) more akin to Sonic Scenarist than Nero products.

And to add my voice to those who have already responded, limiting your single-layer DVD's to a maximum of two hours is a basic rule of thumb for beginner's.

cheers.

[jjpro11]

im trying out some of the methods listed, but i have a couple quick questions.

im using vob2mpg to transfer the vob files from the dvd onto my computer. they are transferred fully per title. then i use mpeg video wizard to cut the video to the clip i want. when i go to record im not sure what to select. i can save it under auto format, which means no recoding or i can choose dvd ntsc format, which will recode the file. with auto i sometimes get 352x240 as an mpeg1 file, which i am kind of worried about since i want it to become a dvd. under dvd ntsc it sets the size to 720x480 as an mpeg2 file. which one should i select? and when i import that into dvd lab pro do i demultiplex it or leave it as is. thanks again.

[Nelson37]

IF - note that is a BIG if - these were DVD compatible to begin with, which they should be as they came off of a DVD, there is NO NEED to re-encode, and in case you have missed it the re-encoding is the problem you are trying to eliminate.

I don't use MPEG Video Wizard but that "record" option does not seem right. Cutters do not usually request type of output file, it is left the same as the original. That is the goal and the whole point of using a simple cutter rather than an encoder, to avoid the further loss of quality.

Womble does not do this.

Tmpgenc Merge and Cut does not do this.

VideoRedo does not do this.

MPG2Cut does not do this.

ANY CHANGE to original format will require a re-encode, and will reduce quality. If they are not DVD-Compatible to start with, recommend start over and re-capture correctly. BTW, the MPG1 file you mentioned would be DVD-Compatible.