suggestion needed best choice for authoring DL dvd's

[theewizard]

i have 20 episodes of captured TV series
each video mpeg2 approx 1.6gig , 41 minutes, bitrate around 5000kb 720*408
would like to author DL DVD with 5 episodes per DVD

i can author 2 or 3 per single layer using DVDflick
i did a a custom size of 8000meg, and got 5 videos with 7.6 gig as one dvd folder
but img burn could not get a layer break between videos to create an ISO

need help and suggestions for authoring DL

i would like to do 4 DL discs of 5 episodes, not 7 SL discs

i used to use avi demux , fitcd, GUI4dvd when converting AVI's and authoring

but these files are already fairly high quality, and convert readily

will avstodvd handle this easily or should i look at something else

[Kerry56]

A +R DL disc will hold approximately 7.9gb of data, and 5 x ~1.6 gives you ~8gb. AVStoDVD should be able to do this small amount of compression very well using the HC encoder.

I'd make a menu in AVStoDVD so you can select individual episodes.

If you get the "End of the world" message in ImgBurn saying it cannot find a layer break position, follow this guide: http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=6376

[jman98]

PLEASE do yourself a big favor and ONLY use Vebatim DVD+R DL discs. If you must use DVD-R DL (ugh) then use Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden ONLY. If you possibly can use +R DL over -R DL, do so.

It's a bit convoluted, but I use PgcEdit to create ISOs and set the layer break before burning. ImgBurn always accepts it. Here's a guide.
http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/burning_with_pgcedit/burning_with...pgcedit_v2.htm
By the way, the PgcEdit method is significantly easier, in my opinion, than doing what that link says to do in Kerry56's post.

[theewizard]

jaman..i read the guide PGCedit it's all about burning and nothing about editing the title set ifo for the layer break

i only use DL +R, my current ones are Kodak, normally i use Sony

kerry .. i tried vob blanker, i am making some head way, and sucessfuly split the cell and set a layer break in imgburn

now too get some work done

thanks

also authored a 4 episode double layer disc using AVstoDVD
still working on a NEW 5 episode DL using AVStoDVD

[manono]

i read the guide PGCedit it's all about burning and nothing about editing the title set ifo for the layer break

Which guide, this one?

http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/dl_burn_guide2/dl_burning_with_pgcedit_v2.htm

Quoting from the guide:

STEP 6 – SETTING THE LAYER BREAK...

... the layer break dialogue box will appear and you can set your layer break.

[theewizard]

the dialouge will appear and you can set your break

nothing about where or how to find the place to put the break

the vob blanker guide was straight forward about using the info from imgburn
and how to split the file and place the layer break

worked perfectly

i'm sure there is a guide that tells how to use pgcedit to make the break or find where to place it

but none of that was in the one that was 'linked' too

no problem since vob blanker did the trick

[manono]

nothing about where or how to find the place to put the break

That's simply not true as there are several paragraphs about what the different colors mean and recommendations on how to pick the layer break. You choose one, click on it, hit 'OK', and it goes on from there to first make an ISO and then to burn with ImgBurn. It's good that you found another way to solve the problem but badmouthing a very good guide doesn't reflect well on you.

Now, if it didn't find you any colors that's something else and it means there wasn't any place at all to set the break. It's for the same reason ImgBurn itself didn't find any place to set the break. I take it you didn't create any chapters for your episodes? That's why you had to use that VobBlanker method to create one so a layer break could be placed. They have to be placed at cell boundaries. No cell boundary in the right place=no layer break possible. Be more careful next time when authoring your episodes. That guide is well-written and very clear. It's not the fault of either the guide or of ImgBurn that no place to set a layer break was found.

[theewizard]

correct on NO colors, "end of world" msg from imgBurn
No chapters, i made that folder using DVDflick and did not find a chapter option or setting
vob blanker allowed me to find a point using info from imgburn,
it wasn't excellent, only avg, but it worked

the 4 episode DL disc i made using AvstoDVD , i used the deafult 5 minute chapter setting

that one imgBurn found an 'excellent' layer break

my next attempt will be a 5 episode DL disc using avstodvd, this will total only 210 minutes 3.5hrs, this is less than the listed availble time/space for full dvd compilant quality

[r0lZ]

The problem of the "end of the world" message is usually caused by a DL disc too full, or too few cells near the middle of the DVD. When there is still a large amount of free sectors on the disc, the valid range for the layer break position is large. But when the disc is totally full, the LB cell must be exactly in the middle of the DVD. Of course, it is very difficult to guess where it should go before encoding the video, since MPEG2 uses variable bit rate. That means that even if you set a chapter point in the middle of the duration of the movie, it will probably not be in the middle of the VOB file.

You have authored a DL that is almost full, with 5 episodes. So the LB cell must most probably be somewhere in the middle of ep #3, but at a very precise position. If it is not exactly at the right position, it is out of the valid range, and ImgBurn or PgcEdit cannot use it. Same thing, of course, if ep #3 has no chapter. In that cases, VobBlanker can be very useful, as it can split the video exactly where you want, in term of disc space. It's what you did, and that should be OK.

If you want to author the DVD directly with a specific position for the layer break, you must use an authoring program that can define chapter points, and either compress the whole DVD more to enlarge the valid range for the LB and have a chance to include your cell in that range, or you must compress the first part of the movie (that will go on layer 0) with different parameters than the second part (for layer 1), to control exactly their sizes. As far as I know, only professional encoders can do that.