converting .avi (divx) to dvd and keeping original quality...

[RushMaster]

Anyone know a good dvd authoring program to use for taking a really high definition avi file and putting it to dvd with still keeping the original quality?

TMPEGenc is all anyone tells me but to be honest that program pisses me off more than it helps me. EVERY time I goto input a video file to convert to DVD it cries me a river and says its not a video file it likes. What a douche bag. Although when it does accept the files Im normally satisfied with the outcome. Other than that though its useless as tits.

Anyways, i've tried dvd-lab and VSO, and Nero. dvd-lab wouldnt take the file, and vso and nero didnt keep the origina quality. I'm out of ideas. Anyone help?

[guns1inger]

DVD Lab pro won't take the file because it isn't a DVD compliant mpeg file.

Start by telling us what you actually have. AVI is a container format. How the video is compressed, what resolution it is etc are the important factors. The latest version of g-spot can tell us what these details are so we can give you better advice. Similarly with audio, as this can also affect encoders and cause issues.

A few things to remember though : most avi codecs are lossy, so data has already been thrown away. Encoding to mpeg is also a lossy processes, so you will lose data. The trick is try to reduce the visible impact of this. Resizing files also has an impact, whether you are resizing up or down.

Get us the details of the source file and you will get specific answers for your situation.

[Alan69]

Other than that though its useless as tits.

Wow. Clearly you are posting from an alternate universe.

[RushMaster]

Okay ill post what comes up when i insert the file into tmpg.

720x404
pixel 1:1
29.969fps
display mode: progressive

thats all i can see.

[guns1inger]

During it's resize to square (1:1 PAR) pixels the aspect ratio has been thrown slightly off. To get it back to DVD specification you have to resize to either

720 x 386 (with black bars to fill out to 480) for 4:3 DAR or
704 x 480 for 16:9 DAR

Then encode appropriately. You are going from a lossy format to a lossy format, so depending on the running time you will most likely lose some quality.

Personally, I would use FitCD to create an avisynth script, then encode with HCEnc. I would strip out the audio with virtualdubmod, and re-encode it to AC3 using Aften and EncWav2AC3, and author the results in DLP.

How much better will the results be than ConvertXtoDVD ? Hard to say.

[RushMaster]

How do you change the size in tmpgenc 3.0? I was using 1.6 before this and was able to specify custom sizes. Can't seem to do that with this version though. It's wanting to convert it to 720x480 whether i like it or not.

[guns1inger]

I don't use tmpgenc, so I can't help you there. If you go 4:3 then you have to get to 720 x 480 anyway, just make sure you get black borders to fill it out.

For 16:9 you can also go to 720 x 480, but you want 8 pixels of black either side to preserve the aspect ratio.

I don't know if tmpgenc is smart enough to resize correctly or not.

This is why I like avisynth - it works and I know what it is doing.

[RushMaster]

Wow. Well seeing as that avisynth thing makes no sense and doesnt even actually install anything to my computer other than some plugins and an uninstall folder, i guess thats out of the question...

Oh well as usual theres never a solution to my video problems. Thanks anyways.

[guns1inger]

Actually, it has probably installed correctly. Avisynth (if you take the time to read the manual a little bit) is a scripted frameserver. You create a script in notepad (or AVSEdit or FitCD) and save it with the extension .avs. When you open this file, it will feed your video to the program that opened it. The advantage of using avisynth is that it is very fast, and has high quality plugins for resizing and filtering video. You only need to learn the basics, which FitCD will do for you anyway.

Basically you have reached a cross-roads, and you have to make a decision.

If you want it really easy, use ConvertXtoDVD or DVD Flick, live with the slightly lower quality, and be happy that you haven't had to learn anything harder.

If you want quality, you have to get your hands dirty and learn some of the tools.

You can't have it both ways. No matter what your best friend, or some guy you spoke to on a torrent site, says to you, there is no such thing as a simple tool that produces high quality conversions.

Oh well as usual theres never a solution to my video problems

Sorry, but your are wrong. The answer is right here. You just don't want to see it because it takes more thought than is needed to press a single button.

[RushMaster]

I just went ahead and used convertxtodvd. Produced a half decent quality version of the original. Guess that will have to do. I'm not skilled enough to do that other stuff. I don't understand it at all.

Thanks for your help. =)

[kevo777]

Sorry, but your are wrong. The answer is right here. You just don't want to see it because it takes more thought than is needed to press a single button.

Bravo!!!

[guns1inger]

I'm not skilled enough to do that other stuff. I don't understand it at all

Most people, when they start out here, aren't skilled in video. I had never touched avisynth before I joined this forum. I played around with virtualdub and a few filters, but that was it. Now I use avisynth for everything from simple resizing through to complex filtering - and I figure I use about 10% of it's capabilities.

The greatest asset of this forum is that there are so many people who know a hell of lot. No question goes unanswered. The answers might not always be what we want to hear, or the simplest solution. Hell, often you will get several different answers, some of them contradictory. But if you read a bit, and play a bit, and listen to the answers you get, your skills will rapidly increase.

[GreyDeath]

To change the size of the video in TMPGEnc, you may have to load the Unlock Template. This will open any grayed out options. You then set the size to 720x480 and all the other options to what's the NTSC standard. Keep it progressive though.

And you will lose some quality no matter what you do going from a AVI to MPG DVD stream. Though on most standard TV's you really won't notice that much of a difference depending on how much you compress it.

[RushMaster]

To change the size of the video in TMPGEnc, you may have to load the Unlock Template.

What/Where is that?

[RushMaster]

Okay im gonna try this fitcd and aviscript thing. Could you guys please give me a detailed list of steps to take to do this because i have no idea how to use fitcd or avisynth at all. I can understand it easily if you just give me a guide to go by.

[Abond]

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic296341.html#1487285
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic316333.html
Hmm, good luck!