Divx to DVD-r to play on DVD

[yesfan]

I have been searching the forums and faq for info regarding re-encoding divx movies to mpeg2 so they can be burnt to a dvd-r. I am trying to fit 2 or movies on a dvd-r to play back in a stand alone dvd player. I have seen a few of the guides and folled them but am still experiencing some problems.

What is the best way to do it?

I have tried encoding them with tmpgenc using the dvd template, but get video freezes and audio sync problems. Can I use the unlock template and adjust the dvd settings so the pixel size and the exact frame rate of the converted file is the same as the orginal, or will this make no difference. What is the minimum bitrate I should use? I encoded 3 movies at about 1600 bitrate and total collective size was about 4gb, when i tried to author the dvd the required space was huge. I have not yet managed to work out how to fit it on a 4.7gb dvd-r! The total running time of the converted movies was about 4 1/2 hours but total size was 4gb, how should I be measuring it?

Would it be better to encode as svcd? But I would have audio problems as dvd authoring requires layer 2 384kbs audio, or am I wrong?

Question summary:

Can it be done?

How many movies can I fit on a dvd-r and keep the quality?

Do I use a dvd template or svcd?

Should I adjust the template to match the pixel size/fps of the original movie?

Does the audio format matter?

What is the minimum bitrate for a dvd?

Yes....a bit lost in it all! If anyone could point me to a guide that covers these subjects I would be grateful.

[bugster]

OK, heres what I do.

Only bother with the best quality Divx movies. IMHO lower quality divx conversions (and there are plenty!) arent worth the effort of converting to DVD. If a 90 min movies is less than about 800 mb it almost certainly isnt worth DVD, use VCD/SVCD if you still want to watch it on your standalone player.

When converting to DVD, use TmpGenc for video only. Strip out the audio and convert to 48Khz with Vdub or whatever tool you prefer. Let the DVD authoring SW re-mux it for you.

In TmpGenc, select the NTSC or PAL DVD templates depending on the source file framerate. Unlock and select either CQ or 2pass VBR, High quality motion search. Use a bitrate calculator to determine what bitrate you need. If the average suggested is below 4000 you might as well go to SVCD or split across two discs. I try and keep an average of 6000kbps where I can. Do not change the templates FPS or resolution as they are the DVD standards. Encode.

You dont say what authoring package you have. Assuming Sonic MyDVD (as this is supplied with most Pioneer DVD burners) you will be restricted to PCM audio. This is uncompressed and so takes up a load of space. Either spend your cash on a different package that supports compressed audio or live with it.

Author your DVD and simulate before burning to check for audio sync issues. First few times create your DVD on your HD and play in PowerDVD or whatever soft DVD player you have. Once happy burn to Disc and enjoy.

There are a lot more hints and tips that can be employed in various stages of this process, but sort out the basics first and you can work on improving quality later

[yesfan]

If I strip the audio to 48khz, and leave the audio selection in tmpgenc empty and just encode the video? What should I set the motion search precision to?

If I want to fit 2 movies onto 1 disk with each film filling 50% of the disk, lets say about 2.3gb each, using bitratecal it gives me a rate of 3384. Is this ok, or should it be close to 6000, or is that only when I create the dvd?

I am using ulead dvd moviefactory, ulead dvd workshop and spruceup to author the dvd. Can I add the audio stream when I am authoring the dvd or does that have to be put in before?

I have a 1.2gb mpeg2 dvd converted movie, using ulead dvd workshop I created everything necessary but when I want create dvd it says I need 8.5 gb of hard disk space (at 6000 cbr). Is this the total size of the movie or will it be less when burnt? Surely it should be closer to the original size of the movie.

Thanks for your help, just trying to cut down my wasted time

[bugster]

As I said, IMHO, if a bitrate calc says you need to use anything below 4000, you might as well use SVCD standard (which can be put onto a DVD-r if you want, See guides), but you can still proceed with DVD standard encoding if you wish, the quality difference between SVCD at 3000 and DVD at 3000 will hardly be noticeable.

As for your authoring tool, I dont know about the Ulead ones but I think Spruce will take the audio in any standards compliant format and I believe it must be a seperate file to the video. For minimal space useage I would suggets encoding it to .mp2 format. TmpGenc can do this. Just supply your 48khz audio file only. In fact I think the guide on SVCD on DVD covers this step in detail, so have a look there, it will be the same for DVD as SVCD in this case.

Set motion search precision to high for best quality

I have a 1.2gb mpeg2 dvd converted movie, using ulead dvd workshop I created everything necessary but when I want create dvd it says I need 8.5 gb of hard disk space (at 6000 cbr). Is this the total size of the movie or will it be less when burnt? Surely it should be closer to the original size of the movie.

In this case it looks like DVD workshop is going to re-encode at a higher bitrate. Spruce will not do this so go down that route for authoring.

It seems that you may need some advice on the best use of DVD workshop, I can't help you there but I am sure other members here can.

[yesfan]

Think I may have sorted it!

It turns out that the original films i had encoded were not dvd compatible mpeg files because I had made some adjustments to the templates, which is why they threw up huge figures on ulead I expect. So I have encoded a few small segments of film to test with. I chose the dvd template and changed absolutely nothing, and they encoded ok. Burnt the file to a dvd rw and it played fine. Did notice the interlace though.

Can I change to non interlace before encoding or will that affect the final result? If the source was divx would it have been interlaced. How can I check?

[bugster]

Dont really know much about interlacing issues but am sure others here do. Try posting a new question and see what others have to say on the subject.