mp4 encoding to DVD review

[Krelmaneck]

HI. I just need a quick review for encoding mp4 to dvd for authoring. Please note that I do not like one click conversions. So consider this a review for most people on this forum.

I understand that mp4 is a container format that contain different formats in this container. In my question/review I am specifically referring to mp4 from apple (h.264/mpeg 4 avc), which is more like h.264.

Now, back when I was converting AVIs, I used to strip the audio. Avi is another container format.


So if .mp4 (h.264/mpeg 4 avc) is a container format, is it logical that I should go ahead and proceed like I would approach an AVI?

all the mp4 to dvd guides are one quick solutions. So i googled aac to ac3, and I am wondering if I should follow a similar post that recommends converting to raw h.264 and aac to ac3? Of course, I did not read their whole post--just kind of skimmed it. The only reason why I googled that is because I know at one time or another that container formats can sometimes have which you call delay issues.


So am I correct in saying that I should convert to raw h.264 and then treat the audio different?

But then again, I am using Canopus Procoder express, (downgraded Itunes to make it work). Therefore should I just

1.)feed the file straight into Procoder (the regular not raw mp4) and have it produce an elementary stream m2v with a wav file? Or the other option from canopus is m2v elementary stream with mp2? Or if I have the mp4 (h.264/mpeg 4 avc) just go straight to a program stream? And/ or should I produce a raw h.264 file first? Or is canopus procoder express all good just to feed in the regular mp4 file?

and yes, I know with canopus I can go straight to a VOB dvd structure, but I do not want to do that.

2.) and assuming if I should strip the audio and have canopus produce a wav file, should I just then go ahead and use AFTEN to make the ac3 and then peform pulldown and then go back to a Program stream?


The only reason why I even am posting this is because I need some review and there was not a mp4 to DVD guide that had moderate steps. there were just guides with the easy way to do things (one click programs). I also want to make sure I do things correctly.

And again, please assume that this file is mp4 (h.264/mpeg 4 avc). Please also assume that I know that this is a
NON-PROTECTED file , and not a screwed up drm mislabeled m4v(I cannot say the R word on this forum).



PPS--if i used a mp4 file from the itunes store, and choose to do things manually, what is the recommended LancosResize sizing (assume that this is a Standard definition video)? Should I just use the standard dvd (720x480) or should it be a different size?


Thanks for the review and help.

[aedipuss]

1-doesn't matter. if you are going to use an authoring program then any 720x480 dvd mpeg-2 format is fine. wav is preferable to mpg2 audio, but makes for a much larger file. vobs will be de-muxed anyway.

1b-hard to tell what procoder "express" will take, they don't seem to make it anymore and have no mention of it on their website. procoder was always about last in the mpeg encoder list of cce, tempgenc, mainconcept and canopus. not too many people use it.

2-wav is fine for dvd. ac3 is preferable to mpg2 audio, does procoder express render ac3 files? the main procoder 3 program does.

the more you play with the files the worse they are going to look and sound. mp4 and aac are already highly compressed formats and going to mpeg-2 is just going to reduce the quality. produce 720x480 mpeg-2 at the highest bitrate and settings that will fit on a dvdr with audio.

[Krelmaneck]

But my main concern is if there are going to be any sync issues, and that is why I am wondering if I should strip the audio to wav and then wave to ac3.

Procoder express can produce ac3 files I think.

But again, the only thing I am concerend about is with sync issues.

[aedipuss]

if the source is good and you aren't changing the fps, there shouldn't be any problems at all with any type of audio.

things that can cause sync problem are vbr audio, variable framerates, and doing pal to ntsc conversions.

[Krelmaneck]

I might have to apply pulldown because the FPS of the source is the film rate of 23.976 because NTSC is 30fps. so if pulldown is being applied, should I just go ahead and encode the video seperately from the audio since there is a frame rate change kind of? And when encoding video should I use a one pass CBR instead of a 2 pass vbr?

Or do you think applying pulldown will by no means effect the audio?

[aedipuss]

ntsc is 29.97 or 23.976. convert to a dvd spec 23.976 progressive .m2v and run DGPulldown on it. then author, the standalone will do the conversion to 29.97 while playing the dvd.

see what is "DVD" in the upper left corner of the page here.

[Krelmaneck]

Thanks for the review but either canopus is just too good and knows what to do OR the AAC audio is really good too.

But just in case I do have issues in the future, I will do as you suggest. I even found another one of your post:

Aedipus quotation : "Or drop the file into VirtualDub Mod and extract the audio as a WAV file with full audio processing and then convert it into a usable format. ffmpeggui will convert the WAV to AC3, or you can put it back into VDM and using the Lame MP3 codec, convert the audio to MP3 CBR audio, which most one clicks can understand. "


I almost want to encode a mp4 wrong so that I can apply the method above. But I am having no issues.

Do you have any suggestions so I can mess up my mp4 and then apply the above technique? I know you probably have not received that question ever. Again, canopus is a little too smart because it will not let me mess up the file by using a 2 pass VBR to mess it up. It says cannot encode 2 pass vbr and multple outputs. Any thoughts on how I can mess up my mp4 so I can apply the method above?