Converted File Seems Waaaaay Too Big..?

[Desperate Jip]

hi ppl...I am trying to convert my avi films to SVCD so that i can play them on my stand alone player but im sure im doin something wrong coz i converted a 585MB avi with TMPGenc plus 2.58 and got a "whopping" 2.26GB mpg file.. (which is much too big to fit on 2 discs). Here's some details that i hope will help someone see what i may have done wrong.

Imput File - Alien 1:

File : 585 MB (585 MB), duration: 1:56:33, type: AVI, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 43 %
Video : 479 MB, 574 Kbps, 23.996 fps, 720x320 (2.21:1), DIV3 = DivX v3 MPEG-4 (Low-Motion), Supported
Audio : 106 MB, 127 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Mpeg-1 audio Layer 3 (MP3), Supported

Output File - Alien 1: ....(The bigger version, LOL)

(2.26GB) Super Video-CD PAL (MPEG-2 480x576 25fps CBR 2520kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

P.S. I got all this info from Avicodec & TMPGenc but im not sure what half of it means so i would really appreciate it if any advice given could be simplified as much as poss...thanx

[FOO]

You might take a look at the forum rules.
Nobody can/will help you if you don't have a tape or DVD of that

[Ejoc]

Output File - Alien 1: ....(The bigger version, LOL)

(1.26GB) Super Video-CD PAL (MPEG-2 480x576 25fps CBR 2520kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

The entire movie is 1.26GB? or was it 2.26GB?

1) Split it to 3 disc
2) if you wont do 3 disc, lower your bit rate from 2520.

[ZippyP.]

duration: 1:56:33, (MPEG-2 480x576 25fps CBR 2520kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

You really haven't done anything wrong. You've got a 1 hour and 56 minute movie encoded at the bitrate of 2520 Kb/s for video and 224 Kb/s for audio. The length of the clip and the bitrate determine the file size and it can be calculated using a bitrate calculator found in the Tools section. EX. 1:56:33 x 2744 Kb/s = 2.3 GB (approx.)

Your bitrates are the SVCD maximums and you can only make the file smaller by adjusting the bitrates. Did you use the Wizard in TMPGEnc? It makes it simple to get the size correct because it has a built in bitrate calculator (page 4 of the wizard) and I recommend using it. Quality will suffer as you lower the bitrate and I don't advise going lower than 2100 Kb/s in your video using constant bitrate encoding (CBR), but you need to decide for yourself. If you go to 2-pass Variable Bitrate encoding (VBR) then you can reduce the file size even more but it takes longer to encode, up to twice the time.

I also recommend that you use the Source Range function and Batch encoding. The source range allows you to select which part of the movie to encode and the batch encode allows you to do them in sequence, thus creating two or more separate mpegs.

You can do a forum search for more info on CBR vs. VBR.

Good luck!

[ZippyP.]

You might take a look at the forum rules.
Nobody can/will help you if you don't have a tape or DVD of that

I assume that he/she does.