Converting 1080/50p m2ts to DVD Compliant Mpeg2

[glenpinn]

hi there, just want a free tool that will convert some 1080/50p m2ts footage from my HD camcorder to a dvd compliant mpeg2.

i tried using TMPGEnc video mastering works 5, and it will import an m2ts file and output it ok, but i was wondering if there is another free tool that will do the same thing.

it can have a built in trimming tool to cut out the bits not needed prior to encoding (as TMPGEnc does) but it is not a requirement, as i can trim out the unwanted bits using an MPEG editing tool.

cheers

[pandy]

Avisynth, you should be able to perform:

trim and crop if necessary, color matrix conversion from BT.709 to BT.601, resizing, progressive to interlace conversion

[Baldrick]

You could use free adware all-in-one converters like freemake video converter,it can cut out bits(click on the scissor) and convert to dvd directly. But probably not as good quality conversion as more complex methods.

Maybe also video to video converter.

Both are based on ffmpeg.

[glenpinn]

hi, firstly i dont want anything based on script such as Avisynth, but thanks for the suggestion.

i just wanted a simple user interface, with or without a trimming tool, and one that will output to a stand alone dvd compliant MPEG2 file, not one that builds the actual dvd folder, i can create that later on using authoring software.

cheers

[Baldrick]

AVStoDVD can convert to a dvd mpeg2 compliant stream. No trimming though.

[glenpinn]

just tried VideotoVideo and it isnt a bad tool to use, but the resulting video on playback looks to be slightly better quality than the mpeg2 file produced by tmpgenc, but it was somewhat jerky especially on the panning scenes, where the tmpge file is much smoother.

i will try AVStoDVD as well.

cheers

[jman98]

hi, firstly i dont want anything based on script such as Avisynth, but thanks for the suggestion.

That's certainly your decision to make, but I just wanted to point out that what pandy suggested is really not all that tough to do in AviSynth and I'm sure you could learn to do it. You could feed the script into the free HCenc and produce MPEG-2 output for DVD and I think you'd be pleased with the quality. I do somewhat vaguely similar things all the time. I'm not even in the same ballpark as jagabo and others around here who know about hundreds of filters, but your task at hand is really not as complex as you might think. Just something to consider.

[_MrC_]

AVStoDVD can convert to a dvd mpeg2 compliant stream. No trimming though.

It can

Go to 'Edit Title'/'AviSynth' and play with 'Trim'. Or use the 'Preview Clip' feat, from which you can visually select the starting and ending frames.



Bye

[pippas]

i just wanted a simple user interface, with or without a trimming tool, and one that will output to a stand alone dvd compliant MPEG2 file, not one that builds the actual dvd folder, i can create that later on using authoring software.

If you are using Windows 7 , Grass Valley have now released the encoding side of the Canopus HQ codec as freeware.

Register with the Grass Valley website (free) and download the 6.52 codec pack and the latest version of the AVCHD File Conversion Utility.(version 4.30)

Nice simple user interface, and allows you to convert mts to complaint DVD mpeg2 files in one go. Pretty good quality too. (Canopus codecs have a petty good reputation...

[Baldrick]

_MrC_: Nice.

pippas: Any link? I can't find anything on grass valleys site or do you have to register to get any information and downloads at all?

[glenpinn]

i was pretty disappointed with VideotoVideo and Freemake because the resulting video was jerky in the panning scenes, but i was happy with the actual video quality given i did not tweek anything.

tmpgenc mastering works produced very smooth video playback, but the quality was pretty bad compared to the other 2, which i was somewhat surprised about, because i have always used tmpgenc in the past.

also, i am not working in dvd format now days, and this was basically a one off dvd i had to create for friends of my wife because they still use dvd players, so quality really wasnt that important, but i couldnt use video that was jerky.

i just output all my AVCHD files from my HD cams to MP4 using Handbrake and Avidemux to edit.

That's certainly your decision to make, but I just wanted to point out that what pandy suggested is really not all that tough to do in AviSynth and I'm sure you could learn to do it. You could feed the script into the free HCenc and produce MPEG-2 output for DVD and I think you'd be pleased with the quality. Just something to consider.

hi again, ok i will have a crack at Avisynth soon, and will grab a copy of HCenc and see what happens, as i will no doubt be asked to convert HD videos that i film to dvd format for some people.

im just curious if there are any default scripts written or available for outputting MTS or other file formats to dvd compliant mpeg2 format because i have no idea how to use script.

cheers

[Baldrick]

Or use avstodvd. It makes an avisynth script for you and you can use hcenc. ANd also trim...

[pippas]

pippas: Any link? I can't find anything on grass valleys site or do you have to register to get any information and downloads at all?

http://www.grassvalley.com/support/downloads/products?product=general

Yes you have to register --- then follow the 'support & services' and then 'desktop & professional related downloads'

OP is going for AVIsynth now, so largely academic anyway!

[glenpinn]

http://www.grassvalley.com/support/downloads/products?product=general

Yes you have to register --- then follow the 'support & services' and then 'desktop & professional related downloads'

OP is going for AVIsynth now, so largely academic anyway!

hi, no i was very curious about your post, and i will go take a look at your suggestion, because Avisynth and HCenc is a path i prefer not to have to go down if there is something that may not involve script.

i just finished authoring the DVD i needed to get done using TMPGEnc dvd authoring works (autoplay, without a menu) and i used the mpeg2 file produced by TMPGEnc video mastering works 5, and it was pretty decent on my 50" HD plasma (1366x768) and i guess i could have tweaked the filters to get a better quality file, but its ok, as i still have valid licenses for all the Pegasys software that i was using a few years ago.

the AVCHD (MTS) files from a project i film i just import into tsMuxer to join together using the m2ts Muxer option and it gives me a single m2ts file that i can import into Handbrake to output to MP4, then import the MP4 file into Avidemux to trim it out and output using the MP4 Muxer.

i used to join the single files in Avidemux using the MKV muxer option because if i used the TS muxer output, Handbrakes MP4 output was jerky, where MKV was fine, but now i found that tsMuxer has a .m2ts muxer option, Handbrake handles that perfectly fine with its MP4 output.

it would be great if Avidemux offered a m2ts muxing option like tsMuxer does.

i keep the single unedited m2ts file as my master stored away on a backup system, and i keep the edited MP4 file for playback on HD tv using portable media players, or the built in media player found in most HD tv's these days.

[MilesAhead]

In AvsToDVD package one of the encoders is QuEnc 0.75 alpha. You can get automatic crop and size info if you load your file into FitCD. If it doesn't accept .m2ts you can use tsMuxer to convert to .mkv. I know it accepts that. It will probably give an error message on load. Just click OK and ignore it. On the right hand side select 16x9 anamorphic 720x480 DVD. For size filter select BilinearResize from the drop down.

Copy the avs script lines into a text editor and save as move.avs where "movie" is the same name as your movie.mkv or m2ts file.
In QuEnc set it to 8500 CBR one pass if the movie is 2 hours or less. If the movie is over 2 hours duration... never mind. At that bit rate a 2 hour film fits perfectly on a DVD9 disc assuming 448 kbit AC3 audio.

Click the settings button in QuEnc. Set the audio output such as AC3. Set the video to DC precision 10 and anamorphic.

Click the encode,go, or whatever it calls the start button.

One thing, do a partial run with AvsToDVD just to set up QuEnc correctly. You can even abort it once QuEnc starts. Then you can just make a shortcut to QuEnc and run it directly to load an .avs script. I've had excellent results. The jerky pan motion you mention, I used to get too until I changed the resize filter to BilinearResize. Now the dvd output plays smoothly.

The output should be an .mpg file with navpacks ready to author.
This alpha version of QuEnc is multi-threaded. It does the job quickly even on a dual core PC. In fact it ain't all that much faster on a quad, since there's 2 threads. So I start the video encode on the old dual core and surf on the quad while it's churning along.