Compress AVI's??

[JMan03]

Hi!

Here is my situtation, i want to put my AVIs on DVD disc and play them through my home DVD player, i have found out that i need to author the AVI's to convert them to DVD playable format (which takes 3 hours) then burn it straight onto DVD disc, i have been doing this using a programe called "Easy CD & DVD Creator 6" which encodes the AVI and burns it straight onto the disk, this takes around 3-3 1/2 hours. Well now the AVI's are too big 5/6 gig, is there any way i can compress them so that they can be encoded (using this programe if poss) and burnt onto disc!???

Please help

Confused and frustrated
Jordan!

P.S. Thanx

[Solarjetman]

It should not matter the size of the avi file, what is important is the size of the mpeg file produced.

If the files are too big, just drop the bitrate of the video down while encoding. Or use Variable Bit Rate instead of a Constant Bit rate, that will take longer to encode, but should drop the overall move size with little to no quality loss.

[JMan03]

I dont know how big the MPEG is that is produced, it just encodes it and burns it. When the file is fist selected it says how big it is (i.e 6 gig) If it is over the 4.7 gig standard DVD-R/RW it will not let it burn.

[Vejita-sama]

Look at the guides to the left under convert. You need to select that bitrate necessary to fill the DVDR disc. You can use a bitrate calculator to get this number.

It's all in the guides.

[JMan03]

Hey, thanx, execpt i dont know what im looking for, and dont understand anything i read, i am a newbie, with not alot of knowledge with this sort of thing All i want to do is compress the AVI's, is there no easy way to do this? please help....

[BJ_M]

follow this guide https://www.videohelp.com/tmpgencdvd.htm

[JMan03]

Hi, i have followed that, and downloaded so much software its untruem, but it hasnt helped, that TMPGEnc wouldnt even open the files, i followed the help giudes, but it didnt work, and i am still in the same situation i was at the start

[BowlPacker]

I can't tell you exactly what to do, since I'm not familiar with that software, but you have to figure out, in your Roxio software how to change the "bitrate" like the guy above suggested (maybe search the help for "bitrate"). I used some Roxio product that came bundled with my Dell called Movie Creator, or something, and I never could figure out how to do it...it gave you three presets (good, better, best) but would not let you fine tune it. So I gave up on it and use other tools now (i.e. TMPGEnc, as suggested above).

[housepig]

Jman -

you've run into the big problem with most "all in one" packages - you are unable to customize the output to do what you want to do.

you have two choices - you can either keep using it, stay in the dark, and accept what it gives you as output, which is also going to mean putting less on a disc, and having no real control over how it looks.

your other choice is to start reading and learn what is going on behind the big red "Make Disc!" button that the all-in-one has you press. You can learn how to convert avi to mpeg, how to figure out how much bitrate to give it, how to demux and remux, and how to author.

Yes, you will need other software. Yes, it's a pain in the ass. Yes, there is a lot of learning, asking questions, experimenting, going down blind alleys, backing up, wasting 15 hours on an encode just to find you forgot to set something properly.

But after you get through that, you will have a set of tools you know how to use, you will have a method that works for you, and you will find yourself working a lot more efficiently.

the choice is yours.

my suggestion to you for the clips you are dealing with now:

- total up how long all the clips are.
- put that total time into the DVDRhelp Bitrate Calculator (go to the Tools page)
- take the bitrate it gives you and use that as your bitrate, encode the clips in TMPG.
- this should give you a set of files that are properly sized for dvdr - 4.38Gb or less.
- import those into your authoring software - if the size bloats up past 4.38Gb, your authoring software is reencoding the audio or the video or both. Get rid of it and get an authoring software that won't reencode compliant files.

[FOO]

OK TMPGenc doesn't like your AVI.
Get VirtuallDub and try that to open the file
If that works you probably have it made.
More later.

[Gazorgan]

I'm off my medication today. Stop pirating movies. Roxio(and Nero) is horrible for making movies, it's a CD burning software package, not an MPEG2 encoder. You don't mean compress the AVI's, you mean re-encode. The files will definately be bigger when you are done. MPEG2 is not as compact as MPEG4 (DivX/XviD and some RM/WMV).

Learn how to backup your own DVD's and you won't have this problem. If it was a bunch of small AVI's, then you could put less on a disk. If it's a 2 hour AVI, then it's not going to fit on a standard DVDR with the default values.

TMPG not even opening the AVI's is very common, and discussed in the guides. Like housepig said, you can either learn what you are doing, or stick wiht the 'click&go' apps. Upside to learning is you can do anything you want. Downside is it takes awhile, and you will have hours of worthless encodes until you figure it all out. Upside to the click&go products is there is a zero learning curve. The downside is they don't always work. They are designed for home videos and short clips. A 2 1/2 hour movie is beyond them. You can try lowering the quality settings to make the video smaller.

[thayne]

and dont understand anything i read

Ummm, yeah....

[Vejita-sama]

Here's an overview of how the process works. The size of your encoded MPEG files is based on the birate you choose and runtime of your source. These are the ONLY two factors that affect the MPEG size. The size of your source, resolution of your source, resolution of the encoded MPEG file, etc. etc. have ZERO affect on the MPEG size.

Mpeg size = bitrate x runtime

Which makes since. If your bitrate is 1150kbit/s for example than a 10sec clip = 11500kbits. So only bitrate and runtime matter.

Resolution and bitrate affect quaility. Generally speaking the higher the resolution and the higer the bitrate the better the quaility. However, at higher resolutions you muse have a higher bitrate to maintain the same level of quality. Image a 1024x768 jpg that was 5kb, there's no enough info to maintain that high a resolution.

MPEG encoders (TMPGenc, CCE, mainconcept, etc) do one job and only one job, but they do it well. They convert a source video to MPEG format (MPEG1 or MPEG2). There are a huge number of settings, filters, etc. you can apply during this encode.

In your case you want to generate a MPEG that is just less than 4.3GB to total fill a single DVDR. Look to the left under tools, for the DVDRHelp.com bitrate calculator. Here you can enter your source video runtime and desired audio settings and it'll tell you the needed bitrate to fill the DVD for that runtime.

When you encode (CBR or multi-pass VBR) you would use this bitrate to control/predict the final size of your MPEG file.

Once you have your MPEG file you'll need to author it. This is the process of generating the need file format so your standalone can play it. There are several different structures out there: VCD, CVD, SVCD, DVD, etc. See the 'what is' section to the left for more info on each.

Take a look at Sefy's guides. They are super complete, have lots of pictures and pretty much cover all of this. Other good guides are 'how to make an x(S)VCD' or 'how to fit a whole movie on one VCD'.

[allycat]

I am making a dvd from an avi file, in fact it is in three parts, each of about 43 minutes. This is my first time of doing it so am unsure as to how to set it to get it all on a dvd.

Also what burning tool for dvd's can you recommend, I have sonic installed on my pc. Will that be good enough?

[BJ_M]

whats that song "going in circles , circles" ?

[housepig]

I am making a dvd from an avi file, in fact it is in three parts, each of about 43 minutes. This is my first time of doing it so am unsure as to how to set it to get it all on a dvd.

Also what burning tool for dvd's can you recommend, I have sonic installed on my pc. Will that be good enough?

okay, alleycat:

if each of your avi files are 43 minutes long, that totals up to 129 minutes, or 2 hours and 9 minutes.

go to the DVDrhelp Bitrate Calculator in the Tools section, enter 2 hours and 9 minutes into it. it will give you a bitrate to use.

encode your three avi files using TMPG or your encoder of choice, using that bitrate setting. Join your mpeg files after you encode them. You can use TMPG's File->Mpeg Tools->Merge & Cut.

once you have done all this, you should end up with an mpeg file that is right about 4.38Gb in size, so it will fit on a dvdr.

as for burning, to my knowledge Sonic does not burn, it just authors. You will need a burning program like Nero or RecordNow Max to burn the authored files.

[FOO]

Housepig
Why do you join the MPGs ?

[housepig]

Foo -

I told him to join the mpegs because he's saying that his 3 avi files are three sections of the same movie.

[allycat]

Thanks for your help, I will try that. The sonic software on my pc has a burn option so when the movie has encoded I will try that.

Is the cut & merge option on TMPGenc easy to use? Sorry to be a pain.



Thanks again

[housepig]

Is the cut & merge option on TMPGenc easy to use? Sorry to be a pain.

it's not difficult - I'm pretty sure there's a guide in the How To: Edit section dealing with the Merge & Cut function in TMPG, if you can't find it, I'll give you an overview.

As for Sonic's burning capability, I would think that for sure-fire burning, I'd want a burning software, not an authoring software with basic burning capability kludged into it. I would suggest getting some rewriteable discs so you don't waste discs trying to get it worked out...

[allycat]

I have set the files to batch encode so I will look for the guide next.

Thanks

[allycat]

Hi Housepig

I did what you said regarding the bitrate, the first part has finished encoding, it has taken hours, and the size is 1,566,595KB. The second part is still encoding but is at 919,040kb with 2 hours to go.

With a third part to encode is it all going to fit on a DVD.


Thanks