DVD longer than 2 hours?

[jolphil]

Hi,
I would like to make a DVD of my VHS tapes longer than 2hours..I have a Plextor convertX(M402U) that can reduce the file size by different formats such as mpeg4 and DivX..The problem I have is that my three author programs(Pinnacle S9,Roxio DVD creator,WinDVDcreator) will only go up to two hours..
My questions are,
Is there some authoring program that I can do this with, or is there a method of saving a file to the dvd..I have a stand alone DVD player that will play both DivX and or Mpeg4 files..
I need some general guidance here as to the easiest way to do this..
I assume this is possible is it not?
Thank you

Edit: I use the plextor Convert X(m402U)Hardware capture and encoder device.

[XL3/\/7]

You can capture your source to an avi format and then convert to mpeg2 DVD compliant with Cinema Craft Encoder or TMPGEncoder ant then author. You may also use DVD2SVCD to convert your avi to DVD

[solarfox]

I have successfully gotten as much as 3 hours onto a single DVD-R with still-decent image quality, so it certainly is do-able...

The secret is to recognize that the real resolution of your average VHS tape is such that you can get away with using a final output of 352x480, a.k.a. "half-D1", rather than the "full D1" 720x480 resolution. By cutting the horizontal resolution in half, you can reduce the bit rate considerably lower before you start seeing blockiness in the output. (Note: since your PC's monitor has much greater resolution than a TV set, you may need to burn some test clips to DVD-RW and view them on the actual TV to find out exactly what settings are acceptable to you; jaggies and compression artifacts that can be seen clearly on a PC monitor less than two feet away from you are often not nearly as visible to you on a TV set at an average viewing distance of six feet or so.)

You don't mention what you're using to capture the video with, but once you have the files on your hard drive you can use an external MPEG encoder, such as TMPGenc, to encode the video to DVD-ready form. In TMPGenc, try a setting of 352x480, 2-pass VBR, with an average bit rate of 3500Kbps and a maximum of 5000Kbps. (Or alternatively, use TMPGenc's "project wizard" and set your desired output-file size, and let it calculate the necessary bit rates.)

Once you have your encoded MPEGs, use an authoring program such as DVD-Lab or ULead DVD MovieFactory which will accept external files for a project without wanting to re-encode them if they're already DVD-compliant.

[daamon]

Hi jolphil,

In short, yes it is possible to get more than 2 hours of VHS on to a single layer DVD. People regularly get 4 hours (most don't do more coz the quality isn't acceptable to them - but that's your choice).

Do a search in the forums for "VHS to DVD", and similar. Here are some that I've seen in the past:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=224169

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219885

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=218734

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=218746

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=206798

Also, what's been provided above is all good stuff.

Hope they help. Happy reading...

[jolphil]

Hi,
First, Thanks for the posts..I will read the links you provided..I saw where
TMPGE encoder was suggested several times..Are we saying that as long as the lower file size useing the lower resolutions are used that TMPGE can author a 3 or 4 hour video?..DVD lab also looks interesting but 99 USD is a bit too much to spend just for that feature..So far with my software(see above) I have been unable to get longer than 2 hrs(OK 2hrs and 15 minutes to be correct)...No matter what capture format I choose with my Plextor capture box it still comes out to a 2 hr DVD afrter authoring..It may be me and not the software as I am somewhat new to PC/DVD video..
Again thanks for your insight..
jolphil


Edit: correct spelling

[FOO]

I do it all the time. The last one was 3 hr 45 min.
You have to use every trick in the book.

1. Use 352 x 480
2. Use some kind of filter on it if it's noisy, Noise wastes encoding bits.
3. Run IVTC on it. That gets you 12.5 % increase in bitrate for free
and allows progressive encoding.
3. Use at least 2 pass VBR encoding
4. Use high motion search
5. Use the lowest bitrate for audio you can. I use 192k or less MP2
6. Dont make a menu

Cut leaders, trailers, commercials ,etc obviously

[jolphil]

Foo,
Thanks for your reply..
I still would like to know some details,such as, do you save as a file or use some authoring program..If so what program..I am not familiar with IVTC..Is that a program(please excuse my ignorance)?
As you can tell by my questions I am a novice..What is a 2 pass VBR..I know what VBR is but I never heard of a 2 pass..I do use the lowest bitrate Mp2 for audio already and cut commercials,leaders and such...
I do try to reduce sharpness control filter to keep the grainess to a minimum for less Bits..
Eager for knowledge,
jolphill

[lordsmurf]

DVD recorders in 4-hour mode routinely make excellent quality DVDs (using a good recorder, not all can do it well, the JVC and LSI chips are but one of them that works quite nicely).

Specs of that:
2.5 MB/s VBR, max 4.4MB/s, 256k AC3, 29.97fps NTSC, DC10, using a couple of MPEG pre-processing filters

[daamon]

I am not familiar with IVTC..Is that a program(please excuse my ignorance)? What is a 2 pass VBR..I know what VBR is but I never heard of a 2 pass.

In short, as I understand it, IVTC converts 29.97fps NTSC video to 24fps video. For a fuller explanation, look up "Inverse Telecine" in the Glossary (link, top left of the page). Always a good place to go first for acronyms before asking questions.

See here (https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?guideid=303#303) for a link to a guide that'll be useful in general for TMPGEnc settings, and also has a good explanation of "2-Pass VBR" under the "Video" section -> "Rate Control Method".

Don't forget to rate the guide once you're done...
Hope that helps. Good luck...

Sorry for jumping in FOO...

[jolphil]

Aaaah Haaah!
Thanks Daamon for the link..That explains a lot of what everyone is talking about..I am starting to get a general idea about It..it seems as though most folks use the TMPGEncoder..I guess thats the way to go.. Now I have to see if my Plextor 402U capture device will put it into a format that TMPGEncoder will import..
So much to learn and so little time...
Thanks again,
jolphil

[daamon]

Aaaah Haaah!
Thanks Daamon for the link..That explains a lot of what everyone is talking about..I am starting to get a general idea about It..

It's a great feeling when you suddenly feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel... No problem.

Now I have to see if my Plextor 402U capture device will put it into a format that TMPGEncoder will import..

Capture as either uncompressed AVI (very large files) or DV AVI (lesser size files, approx. 13Gb per hour).

AVI is easy / ideally suited to edit (use VirtualDub for basic stuff like trimming ends / chopping stuff out) and is readily accepted into TMPGEnc.

Good luck and enjoy...

[Nelson37]

The device jolphil is using appears to capture and encode to MPG1, 2, 4, or Divx. AVI is not available.

If you intend to re-encode your file, you should understand that you are re-processing an already compressed file, and one done in real-time, at that. Quality loss will definitely result.

The only real factor in filesize is the bitrate. Period. There are some processing tricks you can apply to use it more effectively, but you cannot regain what is lost. Less resolution requires less bitrate to look good but does not reduce filesize by itself.

2 ways to go - capture with desired bitrate, experiment with capture software to get best quality and desired filesize.

OR - capture the absolute best quality you can for re-encode, regardless of filesize. I used to use 12-15 Mbit, I-frame only, MPG-2. Plextor site says card maxes out at 6Mbit.