Re-encode / Convert any video file to MPEG2(DVD)

[TukTuk]

Hi, Im new to the forum and to video editing, Iv just spent the last week running into all the standard newbie problems and have still not produced a satisfactory DVD that does what I need, but Im getting there
What video converter(all video to mpeg2) would people recommend<.. at the moment Im using Nero.. Is there anything better

I have a few questions about video file conversion, mainly all types of video to mpeg2...to use in Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 or other authoring type software.
When converting to MPEG2, Is there any point increasing the values of the output file settings ?..eg resolution ??? x ???, bit rate, aspect ratio
Im guessing that the settings should be the same as the original video or less ?,

Now lets say that I want to squeeze two .avi files onto 1 DVD with a menu, if I was to convert these files to MPEG2(original video file settings) they would be too big for 1 disk
Is there an easy way/program to calculate the conversion settings so that:

The files fit on the disk, and that the disk is full
The best possible quality is obtained

'Adobe premiere Pro 2', requires that all source/import files have the same video settings, otherwise the imported files are encoded on the fly to the default settings of the project
Lets say Iv got 3 video files with slightly different settings, should I use the file with the highest video settings as the template for the other 2 files?

Thanks for any feedback

[jimmalenko]

Hi, Im new to the forum and to video editing, Iv just spent the last week running into all the standard newbie problems and have still not produced a satisfactory DVD that does what I need, but Im getting there
What video converter(all video to mpeg2) would people recommend<.. at the moment Im using Nero.. Is there anything better

A question that is sure to provide less answers is is there anything worse ?

TMPGEnc is my tool of choice as far as dedicated encoders go but is renowned for being slow in comparison to CCE, Procoder, MainConcept, and the freeware HCEnc & QuEnc. More and more I find myself using convertxtodvd, which takes a lot of the mess and fuss out of the conversion. Not a great deal of flexibility, but generally does the job "good enough".

I have a few questions about video file conversion, mainly all types of video to mpeg2...to use in Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 or other authoring type software.
When converting to MPEG2, Is there any point increasing the values of the output file settings ?..eg resolution ??? x ???, bit rate, aspect ratio
Im guessing that the settings should be the same as the original video or less ?,

If you desire the file to be output to VCD, SVCD or DVD then you need to follow the set standards found at https://www.videohelp.com/vcd , https://www.videohelp.com/svcd & https://www.videohelp.com/dvd . http://members.dodo.net.au/~jimmalenko/AVI2DVD.htm provides some suggestions as far as bitrate and frame size go.

Now lets say that I want to squeeze two .avi files onto 1 DVD with a menu, if I was to convert these files to MPEG2(original video file settings) they would be too big for 1 disk
Is there an easy way/program to calculate the conversion settings so that:

The files fit on the disk, and that the disk is full
The best possible quality is obtained

The manual way - http://members.dodo.net.au/~jimmalenko/AVI2DVD.htm - use a bitrate calculator to calculate the bitrate required (hint: use the total running time of both videos added together)
The automatic way - use convertxtodvd.

'Adobe premiere Pro 2', requires that all source/import files have the same video settings, otherwise the imported files are encoded on the fly to the default settings of the project
Lets say Iv got 3 video files with slightly different settings, should I use the file with the highest video settings as the template for the other 2 files?

Personally I think Premiere might be overkill for what you want to do. To answer the question though, you will need to compromise somewhere. Now the questions is: will transcoding to the highest video settings impact the quality of the lesser videos, or would you be better off minimising losses by transcoding to the lowest video settings, or is there value in trading off to somewhere inbetween ?

[TukTuk]

TMPGEnc is my tool of choice as far as dedicated encoders go but is renowned for being slow in comparison to CCE, Procoder, MainConcept, and the freeware HCEnc & QuEnc. More and more I find myself using convertxtodvd, which takes a lot of the mess and fuss out of the conversion. Not a great deal of flexibility, but generally does the job "good enough".
Personally I think Premiere might be overkill for what you want to do.

I was drawn to Premiere because I also use Photoshop, which IMO is a real 'silver bullet' application in terms of still image manipulation, However Iv been having problems with importing certain video types in premiere, and the overall import experience seems quite buggy.
If there was a way to clean/convert video files for import to premiere, Id still consider using it

Basically what I want to do is(see also first post):

Create decent Menus
Use the best quality recoder
Cut/create small clips from all types of video media, to create a small personal tag on my homemade DVD's, ideally to play before the menu appears, this should be possible in Nero options, 'jump to menu' & 'play track 1 first',
The problem is 'track 1' is all the video on the disk, so the next clip plays when the previous clip finishes, whereas I need a return to menu at the end of each clip

eg
Insert Dvd
Plays small clip,
Menu appears and plays background music
Return to menu after each clip is played

any suggestions for software that can do what I need would be appreciated

The manual way - http://members.dodo.net.au/~jimmalenko/AVI2DVD.htm - use a bitrate calculator to calculate the bitrate required (hint: use the total running time of both videos added together)
The automatic way - use convertxtodvd.

Great, thats really helpful

If you desire the file to be output to VCD, SVCD or DVD then you need to follow the set standards found at https://www.videohelp.com/vcd , https://www.videohelp.com/svcd & https://www.videohelp.com/dvd . http://members.dodo.net.au/~jimmalenko/AVI2DVD.htm provides some suggestions as far as bitrate and frame size go.

To answer the question though, you will need to compromise somewhere. Now the questions is: will transcoding to the highest video settings impact the quality of the lesser videos, or would you be better off minimising losses by transcoding to the lowest video settings, or is there value in trading off to somewhere inbetween ?

Beautifully re-articulated

Im beginning to understand!, Using Nero, and then comparing the original AVI with the recoded MPEG2, side by side, there doesnt seem to be any visual damage(blocky pixelisation) due to the increase in resolution, in fact if anything the MPEG2 might have the slight edge, but really the only obvious difference is that the MPEG2's colour seems brighter
I guess a general rule of thumb is when creating multi video Dvd's, is to try and group together video files with similar settings

[jimmalenko]

Basically what I want to do is(see also first post):

Create decent Menus
Use the best quality recoder
Cut/create small clips from all types of video media, to create a small personal tag on my homemade DVD's, ideally to play before the menu appears, this should be possible in Nero options, 'jump to menu' & 'play track 1 first',
The problem is 'track 1' is all the video on the disk, so the next clip plays when the previous clip finishes, whereas I need a return to menu at the end of each clip

eg
Insert Dvd
Plays small clip,
Menu appears and plays background music
Return to menu after each clip is played

any suggestions for software that can do what I need would be appreciated

What you need is a more flexible authoring software that lets you do whatever you please - and Nero is not it. OR you need to familiarise yourself with applications such as PGCEdit and/or DVDRemake, and insert some Jump commands to give your product the functionality you desire. You need to put each clip in a seperate track and then set the action on end of track to return to main menu. I normally use TMPGEnc DVD Author, and this can certainly do it. Then I would output the DVD, then use PGCEdit to Import FirstPlay Clip, which will play your intro clip only upon insert and before the main menu, but won't show on any of the other menus.

I guess a general rule of thumb is when creating multi video Dvd's, is to try and group together video files with similar settings

Not really, as you could use a 352 x 240 MPEG1, a 352 x 480 MPEG2 and a 720 x 480 MPEG2 clip to create a DVD and still be DVD-compliant, so long as you use a seperate track for each one. That's why I say in the guide that you're better off choosing the frame size that is closest to your source.

[TukTuk]

Ok, Im giving TMPGEnc a go as my new encoder, but

When I try to import an mpg file into TMPGEnc 3.0 Xpress,

It hangs for a bit then gives a system error:

An error occured during the filter chain construction. Refer to the details below to find which part failed.
At Address: 0000003F, Read error occured against Address: 0000003F

I cant import it by dragging I have to selct the file manually for it to even try

This files plays ok and imports into ConvertXtoDVD and Nero

[TukTuk]

NY1