Long roadtrip and a 12-year old widescreen DVD player

[cke]

I'm posting this question after getting cross-eyed looking for direction on converting some of our home library videos to DVDs for a built-in, 2010 Chevy widescreen DVD system. Here's what I've figured out so far and my questions to hopefully help get me to my goal:

- my source videos (not DVD target resolution) have a 16:9 aspect ratio and are 1024x576 and up
- the car player's screen is 16:9 as well
- I need to convert my videos to NTSC widescreen resolution of 720x480 and into standard DVD format

My question is, being 2023, do I need to dig up older video programs to do this or could I use something newer? I do have VideoLAN and Xmedia Recode installed, possibly Handbrake, as well as VideoProc that I got on sale ( I didn't see this one listed in the site? videoproc.com is where I got it from ) I'm running Windows 10, but could potentially run Linux programs from Chrome OS if that helps?

The easier the process/solution, the better, ideally GUI-based; the roadtrip will be over eight hours and I want to be able to have time to burn as much 16:9 video as I can, maybe I could even max out the bitrate on each DVD if that's possible? I did come across DVDStyler, and that's when I knew I was in trouble.. in the past, I've stumbled with trial and error more than I care to share because I tried things without seeking help; I'm a little wiser now

I know may be biting more than I can chew here, but if I'm successful, this will really rock for the kids! in any event, thanks all in advance for any insight!

[Bwaak]

You need what is known as DVD authoring software, not only to re-encode files into MPEG-2, but to create all the auxiliary files. If your source files have correct metadata, this can be as simple as dropping the source files into the authoring software and selecting aspect ratio and bitrate.

Why 576? Are these 25 fps files? You need to verify that your car (is it American?) can play 25 fps videos, or you need to change the frame rate to 30 fps. Needless to say, you need to author DVDs without region protection.

[cke]

Oops! Sorry about the 576 reference! I posted it because one of my source videos is below 720p, but it has a 16:9 aspect ratio and runs at 30 fps; the car is American and the DVDs I hope to make will all be domestic, my hope is that I can get the widescreen aspect ratio right to match the car's DVD display and not miss or mess-up crucial steps.

Thanks for the Wiki link, too! I see DVDStyler is listed there, along with DeVeDe ( now called DeVeDeNg ) for Linux, which might be runnable on my Chromebook; although here in the forum some warned to stick with the original program versions of DeVeDe vs the newer, rewritten DeVeDeNg versions, so DVDStyler may still be the way to go for me

Just found the Authoring DVD section here as well with a few other programs that may prove on point for my DVD authoring project

[Swedaniel]

I'm posting this question after getting cross-eyed looking for direction on converting some of our home library videos to DVDs for a built-in, 2010 Chevy widescreen DVD system. Here's what I've figured out so far and my questions to hopefully help get me to my goal:

- my videos are all 16:9 with a resolution of 1024x576 or higher
- the player's screen is 16:9 as well
- I need to convert my videos to NTSC widescreen resolution of 720x480

My question is, being 2023, do I need to dig up older video programs to do this or could I use something newer? I do have VideoLAN and Xmedia Recode installed, possibly Handbrake, as well as VideoProc that I got on sale ( I didn't see this one listed in the site? videoproc.com is where I got it from ) I'm running Windows 10, but could potentially run Linux programs from Chrome OS if that helps?

The easier the process/solution, the better, ideally GUI-based; the roadtrip will be over eight hours and I want to be able to have time to burn as much 16:9 video as I can, maybe I could even max out the bitrate on each DVD if that's possible? I did come across DVDStyler, and that's when I knew I was in trouble.. in the past, I've stumbled with trial and error more than I care to share because I tried things without seeking help; I'm a little wiser now

I know may be biting more than I can chew here, but if I'm successful, this will really rock for the kids! in any event, thanks all in advance for any insight!

Hi, maybe Gui4FFMpeg v.3.0 can be of any help, it is pretty old but come with DVD/SVCD/VCD output (and allso mpeg4+h.263), things like bit rates, resolution, aspect ratio, ntsc/pal format can be customized freely, allso some choices for audio codecs, audio bit rate and audio channels is avalible.. It is pretty old one and might not win any beauty contests but i tested it and it was working pretty good!

Edit: Allso it can be set to convert aspect from 4:3 to 16:9 or 16:9 to 4:3!

If you need an burner program allso there are many to choose from but maybe CDBurnerXP can help with that part if youre looking for an free one!

[DB83]

^^ What a load of nonsense for this topic. Pls only reply if you know what you write about. You do appear obsesses by contributing to ANY topic but have little to no factual info to add.

Back to actual topic.


To the OP. Wanna keep it simple then just install avstodvd for the authoring and imgburn for the program to actual burn to disk.


Yes. the 1024*576 reference sure confused inasmuch that is what a PAL 16:9 dvd would display as.

[4kblurayguru]

I used convertxtodvd many years ago, I don't remember if I needed imgburn. I had one dvd player that would play mpeg2 files on data dvd. Back in the old days (before youtube), people use to upload mpeg2 (video.mpg) files

[DB83]

I believe that convertxtodvd has its own burning function. However it is NOT a free program whereas avstodvd and dvdstyler (more complicated but with more advanced menus) are.

[cke]

Thank you Swedaniel! Oldies but goodies I like to call those

Gui4FFMpeg does sound amazing, and I will definitely try it after I run my first tests with Xmedia Recode. I realized I hadn't looked at the 'DVD Player (Standalone)' preset carefully and panicked. What I had failed to do was click on the second dropdown below it, which apparently is set to AVI and yields an AVI file. I was at least aware that my desired output is a MPEG-2 encoded VOB file or files that can be then setup in the DVD format using other tools like ImgBurn

In Xmedia Recode specifically, all I had to do there was hit the dropdown and select 'DVD Player (VOD)', but the three dropdown options make me wonder, would either the AVI or MP4 DVD Player formats also work on my Chevy's specific DVD player and perhaps many other standalone players too?

I'll even try playing some of my old XviD CDs and DVDs I've stashed away someplace and see if those actually play in the car as well! This may turn out to be a real eye-opener!

I actually remember CDburnerXP! Brings back some good memories, thanks for that! So interestingly, the resulting video file came to only 2.19 GB and my goal was for it to max out the bitrate. I think this is where one gets out a bitrate calculator and calculates for a max DVD size. For this trip, I rather play each movie-length video at the highest bitrate the DVD can output and forego any menus that will force anyone playing the DVD to mess with menus; that would be nice for future side projects, but for me, the simpler the format the better: slot in the DVD and hit play, done

I need to see how to max out that bitrate in either Xmedia Recode or another new (to me anyway) program like Gui4FFMpeg that all have a wealth of features, you just have to master their interface!

[Swedaniel]

Thank you Swedaniel! Oldies but goodies I like to call those

Gui4FFMpeg does sound amazing, and I will definitely try it after I run my first tests with Xmedia Recode. I realized I hadn't looked at the 'DVD Player (Standalone)' preset carefully and panicked. What I had failed to do was click on the second dropdown below it, which apparently is set to AVI and yields an AVI file. I was at least aware that my desired output is a MPEG-2 encoded VOB file or files that can be then setup in the DVD format using other tools like ImgBurn

In Xmedia Recode specifically, all I had to do there was hit the dropdown and select 'DVD Player (VOD)', but the three dropdown options make me wonder, would either the AVI or MP4 DVD Player formats also work on my Chevy's specific DVD player and perhaps many other standalone players too?

I'll even try playing some of my old XviD CDs and DVDs I've stashed away someplace and see if those actually play in the car as well! This may turn out to be a real eye-opener!

I actually remember CDburnerXP! Brings back some good memories, thanks for that! So interestingly, the resulting video file came to only 2.19 GB and my goal was for it to max out the bitrate. I think this is where one gets out a bitrate calculator and calculates for a max DVD size. For this trip, I rather play each movie-length video at the highest bitrate the DVD can output and forego any menus that will force anyone playing the DVD to mess with menus; that would be nice for future side projects, but for me, the simpler the format the better: slot in the DVD and hit play, done

I need to see how to max out that bitrate in either Xmedia Recode or another new (to me anyway) program like Gui4FFMpeg that all have a wealth of features, you just have to master their interface!

Yeah, best of luck!

Edit: Btw it look like Gui4FFMpeg will create .mpg video files for DVD and not VOB (disabling the sound will create m2v)! And if you need to create XviD, selecting MPEG-4 will create an avi video with xvid codec! There is an command line allso avalible, it seem to grey out the resolution when selecting dvd, if you add -s 720x480 in the command line it will encode with this resolution! You can add -f vob as first part there allso, and last part -s 720x480!. make sure allso to replace .mpg with .vob in the situation where you pick an file name and browse for output location!

I havent tested to burn any dvd's using this method, cant give any promises but the program will encode an vob file with mpeg 1/2 codec that is working on the pc!

[cke]

I just came back and it seems that as I was replying to Swedaniel, I skipped over more responses without meaning to!

Thanks DB83, and really everyone who's posted back! I did see AVStoDVD in the DVD Authoring section as well as DVDStyler, both of which look perfect for getting the job done; and I've defaulted to ImgBurn for ISO creation for use in legacy OSes, mostly for data CDs, so it's an application I'd definitely lean to as far as burning actual audio CDs and video DVDs

And excellent point 4kblurayguru in pointing out that the simplest, if more basic hence crude option may most likely be to simply copy (a) MPG media file(s) onto a DVD, or even CD, and try to play it straight from there. I'm leaning to trying either AVStoDVD, DVDStyler, or even DVD Flick which seems to have a pretty neat online and PDF guide, even if it is no longer being updated. The great thing is that DVDs are a legacy format, so older tools can have what's needed to crank out a project like this

[DB83]

NP.

What you can not rely upon is a non-standard method. A properly authored DVD is more than a bunch of vob files or just plain .mpg files. The end-user needs a 'fool-proof' product > insert disk and expect it to play straight away (or maybe just one or two button presses). That is how the majority of stand-alone players work. Computers are different beasts.

[Cornucopia]

For freeware encoding to DVD-compliant MPEG2, I recommend HCenc.

I am in agreement with @DB83, I do NOT recommend hoping that a car player might play raw mpeg/xvid files. These need to be properly AUTHORED. The mentioned freeware authoring apps are a good start.

ImgBurn is still the go-to freeware app for burning compliant images.


Scott

[cke]

Heard! I totally agree DB83, and my first instinct was: I've done a bunch of video projects, but if I did DVDs, I used some real legacy, outdated programs, so I need some practical, up-to-date advice from those that have actively dabbled way more than I, hence came back to ask the pros here!

So far, AVStoDVD seems like the perfect choice: very basic, uncluttered interface, that gave me what I needed and nothing more it's giving me a menuless TS folder setup that will fill the DVD to capacity at the highest bitrate possible, which I already know will look absolutely amazing! I love that I see the intricate FFMPEG command-line hard at work after I selected my source file, reviewed the default options and hit go.. talk about fool-proof!

I hated not being able to fiddle with solid apps like AviSynth in the past, which I saw the installer add during setup, and the clear instructions to have LAV Filters gain permission to change certain audio and video codecs for better encoding was a really nice touch because as you make the updates, you also understand what they will achieve (and it's also very good to see where uninstalling the tool later may leave codec presets that may break if these permissions are not reversed prior to an uninstall). How many programs do this and leave users completely in the dark as to what they changed and left behind for folks to solve later on, you know?

So thanks DB83, your post was spot on and exactly what the doctor ordered!

[DB83]

My pleasure.

In fact whilst avisynth is a beast of a utility to learn, its implementation with avstodvd is a dream. One selects a filter such as cropping and you get a graphic way though and that in turn gets put in to the actual script. (So you do not even have to worry about scripting)

[cke]

I know!!! I can't script, period. lol so AVStoDVD is infact a true-lifesaver

I got to the 'done' part and it only took an hour for an hour-and-a-half video, stupendous!!

I've been reading the reviews on HCenc, and people are truly falling over themselves praising it's virtues! I wonder if it would duplicate AVStoDVD's one-stop-shopness, or if it may bring a integratable, quality piece to the table as well?

Outside of that, I've long done double-pass on my XviD encodes of long ago, but haven't really done or needed to do (mostly, if not exclusively) any other video-compression techniques or processes for videos, outside straight-shot, maximum high-quality MP4 compression on source video. So, would DVD-qual MPEG encoding benefit from any form of 2-pass process (I'd imagine so?) and if so, how would that look like with either (or even both?) of these two outstanding tools? or even with the addition or a tertiary, quaternary, quinary or more, tool(s)?

I had to throw out those never-used words (try to repeat them quickly.. they're real tongue-twisters, lol!)

[DB83]

HCenc, on it's own, does not duplicate avstodvd. It just creates a dvd-compatable mpeg2 file. So you would still require an authoring program to create the actual dvd files.

However, it should be there as one of the mpeg2 encoding options >> Options > Preferences > Video

[cke]

So, success: I played the first VOB file from AVStoDVD and it played back beautifully!

Here's where it get real interesting: AVStoDVD did in fact install HCenc, so I'm assuming it's using it already? So now my last step to figure out in all this is how to get that 2-pass option since it clearly states that in the HCenc download page, so close! And for all I know, it did it to my first encode and my issue is moot, but that's blazing fast; at least compared to what I'm used to!

[DB83]

Check the options as I described. But from what you said earlier it appears that ffmpeg is now the default encoder (in my ancient version that is not so) and you have to specifically select HCenc and 2-pass from the options.

[cke]

Found it! It's changed right inside AVStoDVD, under settings > video tab > select video encoder drop-down menu > HCenc VBR 2-pass, the last menu option

Now I'll know how it differs from the quick-and-dirty 'Smart Selection' option; although according to the help file, it looks like it did default to the highest-quality settings based on the average bitrate I saw of a little over 7,000 kbps, but I'll know for sure in just under an hour from now

Update: so the hour turned into two-and-a-half hours and the results were noticeable; the 58-minute 'smart' encode was softer and the '2-pass' encode was sharper, but funny enough, they both looked good! The sharpness of the second encoded video resulted in some visual artifacts on screen text, but on the screen the sharper encode give you a little more detail, so you kind of go back and forth between the two, I think mainly because they both deliver nice results (the source video does have higher resolution, so that helped yield very clear results) while it was encoding the second-time around, it appeared like the computer hung and was unresponsive, but after it had finished processing, I got to the finish line and had a second DVD encode waiting for me!

In short, mission accomplished either way since I liked both the softness of the default and the increased clarity of the 2-pass!

To complete the steps, I did use ImgBurn to put the files on a blank DVD. I opened-up a place where I could specify which TS folders to add, name the DVD and finally burn the project. I hadn't through the step for naming the DVD, but the program didn't make it too hard to find a place to do so, I'm sure mostly to use on actual computers rather than standalone DVD players since the name did not show on the car player, just the play buttons for video playback.

Thank you BD83 and everyone who posted for guiding me to a great set of tools for simple and straightforward DVD video authoring; you really made this tech discovery journey fun and engaging! I hope that everyone enjoys their holidays!