720x480 or 352x480... Anything in between?

[gastrof]

I had a video file that should have fit on a DVD as is. It was only an hour and three quarters long.

Wrong.

AVStoDVD said it was too big.

I checked the size of the file, and it did turn out to be over 5gigs. (I don't get it, but that's how big it was.)

I used AVIdemux to re-encode it as 352x480 (had been 720x480).

The new version of the video burned to the DVD fine.

Thing is, I'd have liked to lose less resolution.

Is there another width I could have tried that's bigger than 352, even if not quite as big as 720?

Thanks.

EDIT:
I've got some blank Dual Layer discs, and the version of AVStoDVD I have does allow for DL, but I don't know how to do it. It was asking questions I just didn't know anything about, the biggest being where to divide the recording between the layers. I had no idea what the right move to make was. (If you can advise me on that too, my ears are open... uh...my eyes...whatever.)

[smrpix]

There was no need to change the dimensions, you simply needed to lower the bitrate. Probably down to about 3500 for the video.
https://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

[DB83]

You could encode at over 4000 kbps for 1hr 45 and retain the original width - just go to 'edit/title/video and turn off 'keep compliant video'. Then you can edit the bit rate.

Do not worry about layer-break in avstodvd. Just use imgburn to create the final disk and that will suggest the appropriate position.

[Skiller]

Is there another width I could have tried that's bigger than 352, even if not quite as big as 720?

While staying within DVD specs, no (well, there is 704, but 720 and 704 are essentially the same).
That being said the vast majority of players won't have any troubles with a width of 480 (SVCD standard) and even 544 (a DVB broadcast resolution) works most of the time.

However, if you come across a player that doesn't like it (it's not DVD compliant after all) then you get garbage playback, so it's risky.

You would also probably need to trick your authoring software into thinking the files are DVD compliant by patching the resolution in the header of the m2v/mpv file.

[gastrof]

You could encode at over 4000 kbps for 1hr 45 and retain the original width - just go to 'edit/title/video and turn off 'keep compliant video'. Then you can edit the bit rate.

Umm...

I'm not sure where 'edit/title/video' is.

Do not worry about layer-break in avstodvd. Just use imgburn to create the final disk and that will suggest the appropriate position.

I tried.

As said, there are questions asked by the software I couldn't answer. Working blindly, I stumbled ahead; I must have made some bad choices, because AVStoDVD couldn't finish creating the .iso. There was nothing to burn to disc. AVStoDVD worked at it for a while, but then it all crashed. It couldn't even finalize the little bit it had actually gotten thru in making an .iso. (It asked after the failure 'want me to try to finalize this?' I said "yes" and it ended up not being able to.)

Any advice on successfully making an .iso that ImgBurn can then take care of?

[manono]

Any advice on successfully making an .iso that ImgBurn can then take care of?

You don't want to check the DVD it made before burning to disc? In any event, it's always a good idea to post the log so others can see what you did (or didn't do). You might also post in the dedicated AvsToDVD support thread.

I had a video file that should have fit on a DVD as is. It was only an hour and three quarters long.

Wrong.

Instead of blaming the program, you might look at a different source for the problem. Of course you can make it fit onto a DVD-5. In this basic guide Baldrick wrote it shows a picture of the tab you enter to select the final size. Has the GUI changed since then?

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/353284-AVStoDVD-beginners-guide-Any-video-to-DVD-Video

[gastrof]

Any advice on successfully making an .iso that ImgBurn can then take care of?

You don't want to check the DVD it made before burning to disc? In any event, it's always a good idea to post the log so others can see what you did (or didn't do). You might also post in the dedicated AvsToDVD support thread.

But I already said the computer didn't MAKE an .iso. It FAILED. (I never said it was burning an actual DVD yet.)

I had a video file that should have fit on a DVD as is. It was only an hour and three quarters long.

Wrong.

Instead of blaming the program, you might look at a different source for the problem. Of course you can make it fit onto a DVD-5. In this basic guide Baldrick wrote it shows a picture of the tab you enter to select the final size. Has the GUI changed since then?

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/353284-AVStoDVD-beginners-guide-Any-video-to-DVD-Video

I never saw any basic guide from Baldrick.

Might take a look, if that's what the link is to.

------------------------------------------------------

With regards to the earlier suggestion,

I did POSSIBLY find a way to lower the bitrate. It ended up saying the average bitrage would be 4000, max 9000.

End result?

It still came out to be a huge file, and the software (in creating the .iso) said it again wanted to know where to split the recording FOR A DUAL LAYER DISC.

I'd had it set for DVD-5 this time. It still wanted to make dual layer disc. I told it to never mind the "where to split" thing. It protested, I told it to go on.

The .iso created fine from that point on... Only it's nearly 6 gigs in size.

If I go to burn that to a DVD, will ImgBurn take over at this point and, with a dual layer disc in the drawer, recognize it's dealing with a DL disc and make a playable one anyway?

[newpball]

Okay, we are floating, let's get down to brass tacks!

1. Could you run a mediainfoxp on your video and report the results?

[Bjs]

The split is a cell (chapter point) referenced for "layer break" ... normally in the middle of the title so both layers get equal share of data ... it can vary.

If you authored the title without chapters then you have no split point so DL will fail

For a title being so big even good old dvdflick can auto squeeze this to SL

Check avstodvd for 2 pass encode, and set final bitrate accordingly

And you should say how long the video is ... it helps us to figure out the fault.

[blud7]

I did POSSIBLY find a way to lower the bitrate. It ended up saying the average bitrage would be 4000, max 9000.

End result?

It still came out to be a huge file, and the software (in creating the .iso) said it again wanted to know where to split the recording FOR A DUAL LAYER DISC.

Then lower the MAX bitrate.

[manono]

And you should say how long the video is ... it helps us to figure out the fault.

In his first post he said an hour and three-quarters. There shouldn't be any problem fitting it onto a DVD5 with good quality.

Once again, in the absence of more concrete information, the log would be helpful to get to the bottom of this.

But I already said the computer didn't MAKE an .iso.

I know that. I was questioning the decision to make an ISO in the first place as it's usually a good idea (when the encode succeeds) to test out the DVD before burning to disc.

[johns0]

If you have an older video player you can play a 480x480 file.

[hech54]

All of you made the same mistake......getting stuck in yet another gastrof post.

[pandy]

There is few additional resolutions more or less considered as 'standard': 640, 544, 528, 480

[gastrof]

Update-

I'd noticed some weird audio problem about half way thru the video disappeared (and the audio was fine) on the 352x480 one I created using AviDemux.

I tried to put the 720x480 original thru AviDemux again, but without changing the width. All it did was re-encode it at the exact same resolution.

The results? Very strange. The original file had been nearly 6 gigs? The output ended up being just under 3gb.

Whatever was wrong with the recording, making a 1.75 hour video be nearly six gigabytes, AviDemux took care of it.

Thanks for all your help guys, but I stumbled across a solution on my own.