AVI to DVD

[jm]

I have an old avi file i want to author as a dvd. The file is 128kbps. I am using nero recode to do the transcoding but don't know what to set the bit rate to. Should i set it to the maximum so it will fit on the dvd-r, or should i just leave it at the default, where it only uses about 3.4GB of the dvd. Is the quality of the video on the dvd change, depending on the bit rate i set, even though it starts off as a 128kbps avi?

Thanks.

[thecoalman]

The max bitrate for DVD is 9.8 Mbps. You can't set too high a bitrate providing you don't go over the maximum allowed for DVD. On the other hand that will probably be extreme overkill for your file, at 128kbps it probably has a very small resolution.

Also you can't improve it by using a higher bitrate but it won't hurt either.

Most likely that video has a odd reolution, that is going to cause the most loss in quality because it will have to be resized.

At 128kbps probably not much to begin with, you sure that's correct? would have to be the size of a postage stamp....

[jm]

I think i'm reading it correctly. In windows explorer i hold the pointer over the icon:

Duration: 1:30:29
Bit Rate: 128kbps
Dimensions:640x480
Size:673mb

[45tripp]

Should i set it to the maximum so it will fit on the dvd-r, or should i just leave it at the default, where it only uses about 3.4GB of the dvd.
Is the quality of the video on the dvd change, depending on the bit rate i set, even though it starts off as a 128kbps avi?

If you have no plans for the extra space on the dvd-r you might as well use it all.
You might consider putting 2 avis on one dvd-r. Check if you are happy with the quality you get.
You should be able to convert 3 hours of mpeg4 to mpeg2 happily.

128kbps is the audio bitrate.
Use Gspot or mediainfo to get more info (like video bitrate) from your avi.

[jm]

I used media info and the bit rate is actually 890kbps. So this means any bit rate set higher than this in recode won't benefit the video in any way, but less than this will cause further quality loss.

[manono]

So this means any bit rate set higher than this in recode won't benefit the video in any way...

Is that a question or a statement of fact? If it's a statement, it's wrong. The quality is going to degrade in any event. Maybe not noticeably, depending on how it's reencoded, but you should give it a much higher bitrate for MPEG-2 DVD, probably something on the order of at least 3000.

[thecoalman]

Edit: in reference to the OP, edit because Manaono posted befor I did.

No that would be incorrect, there's two factors to consider.

A) that is probably a Divx file which compresses better, generally you need to use a bitrate of about 4x to get the same results with MPEG2.

B) The resolution is an odd resolution for DVD so if you scale up to a standard DVD resolution the 4X no longer applies because 4X would give you 4000kbps for 720x480 which is about the minimum you want to use no matter what the source is

If you want to be on the safe side just use the maximum practical resolution, depending on what you're going to scale it to.

8000kbps+ if you're going to scale to 720x480
4000kbps for 352X480

I'd suggest you try both, you may find the second option actually looks better. Note that those are NTSC resolution you'll have to adjust for that if you're in PAL terriritory.

If you really want to maintain the quality get a DVD player that plays Divx if that's what it is.

[jm]

So for it to fit on a single dvd-r i would need to encode it with a bit rate of 4000kbps? I think 8000kbps would require DL media. I'm actually using nero vision express, not recode.

If i were to purchase a dvd player capable of playing divx files, would it become incompatible when future releases of the divx codec are released?

[thecoalman]

I think 8000kbps would require DL media.

Depends on the time length of the video, 8000 will give you about an hour on on single layer DVD, 6000 wil give you about 1.5 hours.