Virtual Dub Frameserve to TMPGenc, How to Encode AC3 Audio?

[stahlhart]

Okay -- I've made some progress learning how to encode captured video and author it to DVD, but I'm still running into some troubles; here's what I have so far:

-- capture uncompressed .AVI from AIW using ATI MMC
-- input .AVI file (approximately 50-60Gb) into VirtualDub, edit/trim as needed
-- frameserve VirtualDub to TMPGenc, as I don't appear to have enough space on my HD to save from VirtualDub (>200Gb .AVI???).

At this point, I seem to be okay with the video; I've more or less found a bitrate and quality setting that will fit two hours of VHS onto a single-layer disc with enough room left over for AC3 audio.

And that's where I'm sort of stuck, because it doesn't look like TMPGenc will encode the frame-served .AVI as AC3 -- I'm getting m2v+wav, which is MPEG audio. I suppose that I could convert the audio to AC3 afterward (either MPG --> WAV --> AC3 or MPG --> AC3), but it seems like a bad thing to me to compress the audio twice; I'd much rather encode AC3 from the original AVI directly.

Can I keep VirtualDub open, and then deal with the audio separately after encoding the video (say, extract .WAV from the edited .AVI to WAV and then convert it to AC3 afterward), or is there a way to encode AC3 alongside MPEG2 video within TMPGenc?

It seems key to be able to work with the .AVI I just edited, in that exact state, and then get my video and audio from it at that point, otherwise it will be difficult if not impossible to keep the video and audio in sync with one another. I stupidly discovered this during my first authoring attempt -- I had trimmed the ends of the video when I encoded it, but extracted the audio from the original, unedited .AVI, which gave me out-of-sync results.

Suggestions...?

C.K.

[Heavensent]

load the original avi into virtualdub, cut out the things you dont want
and then save the wav to a file, dont close virtualdub or you can save the processing settings to a file and close it.

there are a few free tools that will let you encode to ac3 2.0,
take a look at the tools section.
use these tools to convert the wav to ac3 2.0.

frameserve from virtualdub to tmpeg, let it encode the audio
with the same bitrate you used in the ac3 file.
you will not need the audio, but this way you make sure you have
just the right space for the video part...

load the mpg file into your authoring program, dont use the
audio that comes with it, import the ac3 file you created,
and author.

[Stormin Norman]

Use ffmpeggui to convert your wav to ac3, works pretty good.

[stahlhart]

Heavensent -- your response was Heaven sent thanks much for the detailed instructions! I'll give them a shot tonight. I did read somewhere when I was searching that it could be approached this way; I was looking for a second opinion to confirm it, which you did quite well.

Stormin Norman -- ffmpeggui was the conversion tool I used originally, and I agree that it works quite well. I just made the dumb mistake of encoding video and audio from two sources that were not in an identical state, and somehow foolishly thinking that everything would line up when I authored.

I'm going to have a working disc this weekend; I just know it...

C.K.

[TBoneit]

One other way use TMPGEnc Xpress 3 with the AC3 plug-in or use their DVD Author with the AC3 plug-in and set it to convert audio to AC3. Either way works for me and You only need purchase the AC3 plug-in from them once to work in wither program.

I find that The TMPGEnc Xpress auto sets output file size with a margain of free space so that the disk isn't filled up to the very edge. I never bother with a bitrate calc these days. I just let it do the job automaticaly for size.

Good Luck

[Tolwyn]

Hmm.
Am I doing something wrong?

I just multiplex the AC3 stream with the *.m2v stream using TMPGEnc.

I didn't even have to buy the AC3 plugin.

[stahlhart]

Today I learned why, when frameserving from VirtualDub to TMPGenc, it is important to follow the instructions carefully, and encode the audio at the same bitrate as that which the AC3 file will be encoded from the WAV that was extracted from VirtualDub separately. Thank goodness I didn't waste a DVD-R on the out-of-sync results.

Try it again, hopefully correctly this time... the weekend is only half over.

C.K.

[jimmalenko]

Hmm.
Am I doing something wrong?

I just multiplex the AC3 stream with the *.m2v stream using TMPGEnc.

I didn't even have to buy the AC3 plugin.

You don't need it for multiplexing using MPEG Tools - just for encoding to AC3 from within TMPGEnc.

[SEALs1230]

I extract the ac3 audio and then encode the avi file w/ TMPGEnc doing ES Video only. Then when I author I add the video back. Follow this guide: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/186739.php

It works with frameserving too. Just make sure you edit first, then extract the audio, then frameserve.