Converting to AVI

[NewJak]

Hey Peoples, I'm new to the board and the whole digital recording/burning thing So I'd first like to say Hey to Everyone. Okeeeee....I will have many questions for you all so I'll make My first couple fairly simple ones (I think)
1.) Can VCD's hold more than a DVD-R?
2.) Is it common for video quality to become lower when a video is changed from a WMV,MPEG,MOV,RM, etc. to an AVI?
3) If so is it also common for the result to have square like pixels appear on the screen when transferrred to a DVD-R? and what are those "square like" pixels called?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and I look forward to reading your feedback.

[yoda313]

Hello,

1 - NO - dvdr's are 4.37gb - vcds are usually on a cdr which is 700mb. THOUGH you can put vcd on a dvdr if the audio is converted to 48khz.

2 - Yes converting usually involves SOME quality loss. Though how much depends on what you do to it. It's always best to convert using the original source if possible.

3 - not sure as I don't usually do that much conversions. Macroblocks maybe???

Kevin

---Welcome to the forum ---

[jimmalenko]

1) Can VCD's hold more than a DVD-R?

No.

2.) Is it common for video quality to become lower when a video is changed from a WMV,MPEG,MOV,RM, etc. to an AVI?

It's common for the untrained. I believe that if you do it right, you can retain pretty close to the original quality, although the old adage is true - garbage in = garbage out.

3) If so is it also common for the result to have square like pixels appear on the screen when transferrred to a DVD-R? and what are those "square like" pixels called?

Macroblocking, pixelation - generally cause by insufficient bitrate, although if they exist in the source then they will be carried through regardless of bitrate used.

[NewJak]

Hey Jim, Thanks for the feedback. How would you adjust the bit rate if this was causing the macroblocking?

[jimmalenko]

Hey Jim, Thanks for the feedback. How would you adjust the bit rate if this was causing the macroblocking?

It depends on what program you're using .....( and please don't say an alll-in-one like DVDsanta ... )

[NewJak]

Nope never used DVD Santa. What I did was I downloaded the WMV's and converted them to AVI's using the Advanced X Video Converter which I downloaded free for a trial. Some of the files were already in AVI mode and ready to burn. Lastly I burned them onto a disc using the Nerovision Express 2 SE program which came with my DVD Writer (An I/O Magic 16X Dual Layer Internal DVD-R/RW) If it is the program that sucks and you could reccomend another I would truly appreciate it.

[jimmalenko]

OK. If you fed AVIs into NeroVision Express, it then would have re-encoded them AGAIN. Not good. I prefer to use dedicated tools for dedicated jobs, because you get many more options and a lot more flexibility to deal with any situation. In this case, I'd use TMPGEnc Plus.

[NewJak]

The trouble seems to be in the Transcoding, this is what seems to be taking so long. Is this the same the same thing?

[jimmalenko]

The trouble seems to be in the Transcoding, this is what seems to be taking so long. Is this the same the same thing?

If you're making VCD/SVCD/DVD, then NeroVision Express is fully re-encoding whatever you throw at it to MPEG format.

[NewJak]

Maybe I'll try the program you suggested and see what happens. I'll let you know if I get any positive results.

[NewJak]

Hey Jim, Just wanted to let you know that the program You suggested (TMPEnc.plus) worked great and cut down my transcoding time considerably. Now I seem to have a new problem...Every time I make a DVD-R from a download the file is opened from the C-Drive. The computer told Me that I only had a certain ammount of memory left on My C-Drive and It wasn't enough to burn all of the files I wanted to. So I was forced to erase a bunch of stuff just to make room. Would the solution to this problem be adding more memory to my computer? If so How can I do this? Would this help Me fit more on a DVD-R? Thanks again for all of your help.

[ZippyP.]

You need more hard drive space, also known as storage, and it's usually measured in gigabytes. This is the place where programs, video files and pictures are stored on your computer. You can possibly add a second hard drive to your computer to increase your storage space. Don't ask how to do that, I recommend you take it into a shop and have them do it for you. You should add 100 GB or more for any serious video work.

Memory or RAM is temporary storage used by the processor in your system when it is working. It is usually measured in megabytes and 512 MB is a good number for a modern computer.

[NewJak]

Thanks Zippy, You actually talk to Me in a language I can understand which is great. I'll look into your suggestions and thanks for the tutorial. How about installing a memory chip into my circuit board, would that do the job? It shows how to do it in My Compaq manual.

[funkguy4]

if you thought TMPGEnc was great/fast, check out CinemaCraft Encoder (also refered to as CCE)

[Shadowmistress]

This may or may not be an issue, but tmpgenc has a directory for output folder and temporary folder which you can change if you go under options/environmental setting.
If your comp can hold the file when Nero codes it, I don't see why tmpgenc can't.

[mpack]

How about installing a memory chip into my circuit board, would that do the job? It shows how to do it in My Compaq manual.

No, that wouldn't do the job - your error message related to disk space, not to system memory. You need a second hard disk, as large as possible (mine is 250GB). Download your videos to that drive, do all your authoring on that drive - and be prepared to prune vigorously at regular intervals otherwise even that vast space will soon fill up - video takes a lot of space...

This is not to say that a system memory upgrade is not a good idea - it depends how much you have already. If less than 512MB then it is worth upgrading your PC memory as well as fitting a second hard disk: get the shop to do both at once.

[NewJak]

Hey Mpack, Thanks for the advice. When you say a second hard disc are you talking about another disc drive? or are you talking about a memory stick? Also If you are suggesting a second hard drive can you reccomend one and possibly provide a price range? Thanks

HAPPY NEW BEERS!

[mpack]

When you say a second hard disc are you talking about another disc drive? or are you talking about a memory stick?

You need a second hard disk drive.

If you are suggesting a second hard drive can you recommend one and possibly provide a price range?

I live in the UK (Scotland), so I have no idea what prices you would have to pay. For my own home PC I bought a Western Digital 250GB model - I'm sure you can find prices on the web, ideally from local suppliers who can install it for you.

[funkguy4]

Hey Mpack, Thanks for the advice. When you say a second hard disc are you talking about another disc drive? or are you talking about a memory stick? Also If you are suggesting a second hard drive can you reccomend one and possibly provide a price range? Thanks

HAPPY NEW BEERS!

size: 250GB
price: ~125 USD