Joining 2 avi's with ffmpegX - Problem

[nepgunes]

I am having a problem joining 2 avi files with ffmpegX. The result i get each time is the 2nd avi isnt fully joined with the first part. Only a part of the 2nd avi is joined.

- the first avi file is 1:05:42
- the 2nd avi file is 1:02:33
- when i used ffmpegx to join them, the result was an avi with a length of 1:40:44

i tried 3 times and was unsuccesful each time. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why its doing this?
thanks for any help.

[terryj]

No, but why not join using Quicktime Pro?
A codec issue perhaps?

or is your result to join the two to make another format?
such as MPEG-2? or direct to VIDEO_TS?

[nepgunes]

i dont have Quicktime Pro... and my result that i want is just to join the 2 avi's so they are 1 file, so that i can turn the joined avi into a dvd file so i can burn it to a dvd. yeah i eventually want it to be a VIDEO_TS so i can burn it.

[terryj]

hmmm...this is particulary easy to do with Quicktime Pro.
What about Toast 7? Since your end goal is to just create a DVD,
perhaps dropping them into Toast 7 will get them authored and done?

If you don't have Toast 7, then give us a little more info
on the .avi files? What does it say about them if you drag
and drop them onto the Summary window in ffmpegx?

[nepgunes]

the first file says:
Video - mpeg4, yuv420p, 608x336
Audio - ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1, 448 kb/s

the second file says:
Video - mpeg4, yuv420p, 608x336
Audio - ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1, 448 kb/s

so they both say the same when i dropped them into ffmpegX

also: I have toast 7, i actually just got it, and dont exactly know how to use it yet, ive been at school all day so i havent had time to play around yet..

and just incase i buy quicktime pro in the future how do i use that to join the two?

[terryj]

Working backwards:

Quicktime Pro: Open one video in Quicktime Pro, Open the Other.
On the first video, the one you want to be the leader,
you navigate the white triangle slider ( Playhead) all the way
to the end (right side) of the clip. You then click on the
second video, the one you want to be at the end.

You then perform a Select All ( cmd-a), then a Copy ( cmd-c).
You then select the first video with the playhead still at the
far right.
You then perform a Paste ( cmd-v) then, a Save AS
(cmd-shift-s) to save the file as Self contained file
of your choosing, such as a .mov or a .mpeg-4.
If you buy the additional MPEG-2 component, then
you could directly save as MPEG-2, and be ready for DVD.

Next, with Toast 7, you open the Application, and select
the Video Tab. Choose DVD, and then drag and drop your
files in the order you want them to play.
You then select "Auto Play When inserted" and "Play All
items Seemlessly". Pay attention to the color bar surrounding
the Burn button on the right, if it turns Orange, your
muxed video will be to large to fit to disc, and you will
have to shrink it. Otherwise, if it stays green, then click
the burn button, insert a disc, and let it burn.

Last, ffmpegx has had some noted problems with this:
read here and see if any of these apply to your files.
But, it would look like QT Pro is the way to go.

[nepgunes]

thanks a lot terry, i just got Quicktime Pro and didnt see your method untill now, but I just opened both files and copied and pasted the first one into a new player and then copied and pasted the second one into that new player at the end of the first. it said i had to save as a .mov which i did. i then converted that .mov file into a DVD file in ffmpegX.

Could I have just dropped the .mov file into Toast 7 and then burned to DVD? or did i do the right thing and convert it to a DVD file in ffmpegX?

and as a last question, when I converted the .mov into a dvd file and got a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folder inside a .DVD folder. Did i just have to drop the VIDEO_TS folder into toast or do I have to drop that .DVD folder into Toast, containing both _TS folders?

if i couldnt drop the .mov into taost what type of files can i just drop directly into toast so it can burn directly to DVD?

thanks for any and all help, its really appreciated as im learning as I go...

[Case]

Could I have just dropped the .mov file into Toast 7 and then burned to DVD?

Yes, then it would have been encoded with Toast's internal encoder. Different speeds, different quality, different tweaking. Test both, see which you like best.

when I converted the .mov into a dvd file and got a VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folder inside a .DVD folder. Did i just have to drop the VIDEO_TS folder into toast or do I have to drop that .DVD folder into Toast, containing both _TS folders?

Both are possible, but require different settings. I think the DVD Video from VIDEO_TS format, then dropping only the VIDEO_TS folder into Toast, is the prefered way.

if i couldnt drop the .mov into taost what type of files can i just drop directly into toast so it can burn directly to DVD?

From the Toast Help file: You can add any QuickTime supported video files, such as DV, AVI, MOV, HDV (1080i/720p), and MPEG4. You can also add files that QuickTime doesn't support such as iMovie HD projects, MPEG-2, VOB and DivX. [...] A group of photos appears as a slideshow.

[terryj]

your welcome nepgunes.
thanks for the assist Case.