burning 480x480 mpeg to DVD, can't be done with TMPEG DVD

[Bytes]

My mpeg is 480x480. TMPEG DVD Author won't brun it to DVD becasue it says it's not standard DVD format, the standard is 720x480.
However, Nero6 has no problem burning it. I wanted to try TMPEG and see if I can get a better result, plus Nero6 takes 2 hours from mpeg to DVD.
The mpegs I have were recorded from non-HD digital cable via Tivo, how come they are not 720x480? I thought that was the standard cable TV resolution.
Also is it possible to change the resolution from 480x480 to 352x480 (that would also be a DVD standard) and if so, would the picture quality suffer a lot?

[jimmalenko]

480 x 480 is NTSC SVCD and that's why TDA won't touch it with a barge pole - it's not a valid DVD resolution. I'd say Nero is re-encoding it so that it is a valid DVD resolution (720 x 480).

You've got a couple of options:

- use an authoring software that isn't so gung-ho on DVD compliance (such as dvd-lab), and if your player plays SVCDs then it should play these "DVD-SVCDS".

- re-encode your MPEGs to a valid DVD resolution. See what is DVD (top left) for the valid sizes.

[celtic_druid]

Sound to me like Nero is re-encoding it. Only way to author such a file with TMPGEnc is to patch the header or to re-encode first, but then you aren't authoring the original file, so it doesn't really count.

[ZippyP.]

Nero6 takes 2 hours from mpeg to DVD.

Because it's re-encoding to make it DVD compliant.

Also is it possible to change the resolution from 480x480 to 352x480 (that would also be a DVD standard) and if so, would the picture quality suffer a lot?

That's Jim's second suggestion, and if you do it properly then no, the quality will not suffer a lot.

Lots of SVCD to DVD guides here: clicky.

[mats.hogberg]

A simple solution (Jimmalenkos 1st with a twist) is to patch the mpg header with dvdpatcher. Set height and width to some valid DVD res like 720*480 or 352*480. This will make it acceptable as a valid source even in TDA. And it will play fine on most players.
Reencoding, besides always reducing quality, takes time - and time is money!

/Mats

[jimmalenko]

Good call about DVDPatcher.

TBH I'd completely forgotten that that could be done

[Bytes]

Thanks a lot, I'll try the DVDPatcher. Always learn something new. The DVD's I made with Nero6 are BTW good quality and enjoyable, although they don't look like a DVD I would buy, for one thing Tivo compression algorithm sucks and degrades picture quality notably. But Tivo is the only option I have now for what I'm set out to do.