DivX/AVI to DVD - letterboxing w/o scaling and w/o QuickTime

[Riot Nrrrd]

I've got a DivX'ed video that's split into 2 AVI files. I'd like to do a Join and author to DVD-R.

QuickTime™ Player will not play the 2nd AVI. Instantly crashes.

So that rules out using it for the Join, and it rules out using that checkbox in ffmpegX for doing the transcoding. So I did the Join in ffmpegX already.

The video is oddly sized, btw - 640x352.

I've done some simple experimentation with ffmpegX and what I'm finding is that no matter what I do, I can't create a DVD-resolution output file that doesn't have the output scaled. I'm thinking what I want is a DVD-sized output file that has 640 by 352 pixels of "information" and the rest (presumably 40 pixels on the left and the right, and however many / 2 above and below) filled with black. I don't know how to do this. I think checking off Letterbox would do it, but that is only available with Decode with Quicktime (mpeg2enc) or Decode with QT (ffmpeg), which isn't an option (see above - it's not QuickTime™ itself that crashes actually; it's the 3rd-party AC-3 component that I installed in /Library/QuickTime that does).

Is there some magic incantation (Autocrop, something ... anything) in ffmpegX that will do what I want?

Or, conversely, convince me why scaling is OK and that I should just let it do it (I found the scaled versions looked darker and more "washed out" than the original.)

[alph]

What I'd suggest is transcoding your AVIs to mpeg with ffmpegx and then using Streamclip to join the 2 mpegs afterwards. You can then author the joined MPEG to DVD

In FFMPEGX (make sure to go download the latest version since there have been many version of 0.0.9s this week to fix bugs)

-Select the DVD ffmpeg preset
-In the video tab set the size to 640x352, set autosize to 16:9, set the bitrate to anything between 2000 and 3000 depending on size limitations. Select the same framerate as your source if it's ntsc film or ntsc. If it's lower pick ntsc film and use pulldown later.
-Pick whatever audio options you like
-In the filter tab set letterboxing to: 64, 64, 40, 40
-In the options tab, for best quality check "high quality" and trellis. Do not check decode with quicktime.
-In the tools tab uncheck author as DVD since you may have to pulldown and join the mepgs.

Anyhow, I think this should give you the result you are looking for. The issue of video looking washed out and darker I believe has more to do with transcoding than scaling given your source has more than likely been transcoded already.

I hope this helps.
Alph

[Riot Nrrrd]

What I'd suggest is transcoding your AVIs to MPEG with ffmpegX and then using StreamClip to join the 2 MPEGs afterwards. You can then author the joined MPEG to DVD.

In ffmpegX (make sure to go download the latest version since there have been many version of 0.0.9s this week to fix bugs):

- Select the DVD ffmpeg preset
- In the Video tab, set the size to 640x352, set autosize to 16:9, set the bitrate to anything between 2000 and 3000 depending on size limitations. Select the same framerate as your source if it's NTSC Film or NTSC. If it's lower pick NTSC Film and use pulldown later.
- Pick whatever Audio options you like
- In the Filter tab, set Letterboxing to: 64, 64, 40, 40
- In the Options tab, for best quality check "high quality" and Trellis. Do not check Decode with QuickTime.
- In the Tools tab uncheck author as DVD since you may have to pulldown and join the MPEGs.

Anyhow, I think this should give you the result you are looking for. The issue of video looking washed out and darker I believe has more to do with transcoding than scaling given your source has more than likely been transcoded already.

I hope this helps.
Alph

Thanks Alph ... just out of curiosity, why do you suggest transcoding the 2 AVI's separately? Also, what is the significance of the "Trellis" choice and why do you recommend it?

[alph]

I recommend transcoding the AVIs separately for a few reasons:

-When transcoding the possibility of having audio sync issues is greater the longer the movie is. Therefore, transcoding 2 shorter parts can help make minor sync issues less visible.

-I've not found an AVI joiner that does a perfect job in all cases, and I've had nearly perfect success joining MPEGs with Streamclip

-Joining with Quicktime means you have to then decode with quicktime, and this has 2 drawbacks. Deocde with quicktime is more susceptible to audio sync issues than decoding AVIs with Ffmpeg, and, second, decode with Quicktime is far slower.

Trellis tends to increase quality a little while costing very little in terms of extra time, and it does not hinder compatibility.

Cheers,
Alph

[csdesigns]

To make it easy on yourself, just scale that baby up to 720x480 using the DVD 16:9 option. This will result in a MPEG-2 that plays back at 720x404 (it is now anamorphic). You really shouldn't notice much of a drop in quality by the slight upscaling, and you ensure that your DVD player will handle the movie correctly.