I Need a Good all in one video conversion program.

[BiZzZzaaR]

Im looking for a program to convert mainly my (vbr) .avi files to DVD (CBR)compatible files. Now ive tried the other methods, such as using VDub and such to convert the audio, but mine doesnt show if im converting to VBR or CBR. ive also tried a couple of other programs such as Super DVD creator But either the quality comes out bad or i still get sync errors, also green blotches in the video every now and then. I need a good quality conversion tool that gives me better options when converting, and prevent sync errors. This program doesnt have to burn the discs. I have one that works well for me.

Also what are compatible file types for DVD? i know .VOB, and mpeg4.
i was wondering if mpeg2 is compatible?

[Baldrick]

DivXtoDVD (free) or the newer ConvertXtoDVD.

[guns1inger]

mpeg2 is the main video format for DVD. Mpeg1 is also acceptable at VCD resolution. See What is DVD (top left corner) for more details. VOB is the file format into which your video, audio, subtitle streams, menus etc get put.

Mpeg4 variants such as Divx and Xvid are not DVD complaint or compatable. Some players have extra chips to allow them to play these back from data discs, but they are not DVD video discs.

I also suspect you are confused when you talk about VBR and CBR, as thi scan be video or audio encoding, and have different effects depending on what you are encoding for. For instance, DVD video can be either VBR or CBR encoded.

Finally, if you are converting downloaded material, expect to see the occassional glitches. These files are often encoded by people with little skill, who screw things up. Added to this is data lost in the often many transfers that happen before it gets to you, and it is often surprising that it plays at all.

Follow Baldrick's advice for the for the simplest, most reliable solution. It isn't 100% foolproof, but it is better than the rest. If you want a better method, be prepared to start reading a lot, and using a lot of different tools just to convert one file.

[BiZzZzaaR]

yeah thats how i started trying to convert. Using Vdub and a couple other programs. My only problem there, i got almost all of it right, but when i go to use Vdub to compress the audio, 1st my lame codec doesnt show up in vdub, and 2nd the list of codecs doesnt show if they are VBR or CBR. and since im trying to fix AVI files to put on dvd im not sure what codec i need to use if they dont tell me which is which.

[mats.hogberg]

Once you have the audio extracted out of the AVI, there's no need for putting it back in the AVI again - just encode the audio to AC3 with ffmpeggui and the video to m2v and bring it together during the authoring process.

/Mats

[DarrellS]

when i go to use Vdub to compress the audio, 1st my lame codec doesnt show up in vdub, and 2nd the list of codecs doesnt show if they are VBR or CBR. and since im trying to fix AVI files to put on dvd im not sure what codec i need to use if they dont tell me which is which.

That is because Phaeron is smart enough to know that VBR audio doesn't belong in AVI and doesn't allow VBR compression in Virtualdub. Notice in GSpot that almost ever VBR AVI was created with Nandub.

I imagine the reason that you don't see the Lame codec is because there is a bug in XP that affects this. There is a registry fix if you search the Doom9 site. I would check add remove first to make sure that the codec is really installed.

If you're going to convert to DVD anyway, the audio does not need to be compressed. It will get converted to AC3 in the conversion process (DivXtoDVD).

Still not sure why you're spending so much time and effort trying to convert VBR AVI to DVD though. The easiest fix is to buy a DivX player. Converting these low quality internet rips to DVD isn't going to make them any better quality. Besides, CDs are alot cheaper than DVD and if you still want to use DVD, you can fit multiple VBR AVI files onto a data DVD without having to try and fix the audio.

[Ai Haibara]

Except that VBR audio in AVIs may give standalone players fits as well. It certainly doesn't play well most of the time with my DVP642.

[BiZzZzaaR]

when i go to use Vdub to compress the audio, 1st my lame codec doesnt show up in vdub, and 2nd the list of codecs doesnt show if they are VBR or CBR. and since im trying to fix AVI files to put on dvd im not sure what codec i need to use if they dont tell me which is which.

That is because Phaeron is smart enough to know that VBR audio doesn't belong in AVI and doesn't allow VBR compression in Virtualdub. Notice in GSpot that almost ever VBR AVI was created with Nandub.

I imagine the reason that you don't see the Lame codec is because there is a bug in XP that affects this. There is a registry fix if you search the Doom9 site. I would check add remove first to make sure that the codec is really installed.

If you're going to convert to DVD anyway, the audio does not need to be compressed. It will get converted to AC3 in the conversion process (DivXtoDVD).

Still not sure why you're spending so much time and effort trying to convert VBR AVI to DVD though. The easiest fix is to buy a DivX player. Converting these low quality internet rips to DVD isn't going to make them any better quality. Besides, CDs are alot cheaper than DVD and if you still want to use DVD, you can fit multiple VBR AVI files onto a data DVD without having to try and fix the audio.

Actually I found DVD-rs that are Pretty Cheap. $14.00 for a 50 pack.
Are you talking bout buying a DivX player for the computer? I have one of them. All my files play fine on my computer, But i Want to be able to burn them to DVD.
On the Lame odec problem, I got the registry fix thing, and that didnt work. Plus the Lame shows up in my Add/remove programs. SO basiclly if i use any of the codecs in Vdub they are gonna be CBR? I dont mind watching my videos on my comp, but some my wife and mom want, and they wont watch them on the Comp. So that is more of the reason for burning the DVDs. Also Cartoons for my Kids. Im gonna try the ConvertXtoDVD and see what happens.
Hopefully it will work.
Im not really worried about the quality of the videos i know i cant make that better. Even the little green blotches every now and then dont really bother me. Its the Damn Sync loss that bug the Heck outta me!

[BiZzZzaaR]

Once you have the audio extracted out of the AVI, there's no need for putting it back in the AVI again - just encode the audio to AC3 with ffmpeggui and the video to m2v and bring it together during the authoring process.

/Mats

If i do it this way. 1st What does (M2v) Mean? 2nd how do i add the audio back to the video when authoring? Also if i do it this way, Do i have to get rid of the Original audio in the video?

[Marvingj]

ConvertxtoDVD is agood one....

[mats.hogberg]

Load AVI in an mpeg encoder. Encode video only to m2v (m2v = mpeg2 video) elementary stream.
Extract audio to wav (simplest way is to just load the AVI in GoldWave and save wav) then encode wav to ac3 with ffmpeggui
Take your DVD authoring app, select m2v as video source, ac3 as audio source and you're done.

/Mats

[DarrellS]

Except that VBR audio in AVIs may give standalone players fits as well. It certainly doesn't play well most of the time with my DVP642.

I have no problem playing VBR AVI on either my Philips 642 or my Philips 5140.

I have a bunch of VBR/AVI CDs and all of them play fine (well, all but one new one, It might be Qpel or GMC).

If I was to convert them to DVD, all of them would be out of sync unless I fixed the audio first and then there is no gaurantee that after fixing the audio, the files will be in sync.

Unless the AVIs are out of sync to begin with, they should play fine on your PC and on a data disc. The problem is when you try to convert them or edit them in any way.

That is why you should always use CBR MP3 when creating your AVI. Someome is always going to want to do something different to it and it makes it nearly impossible to fix most files.

[DarrellS]

Actually I found DVD-rs that are Pretty Cheap. $14.00 for a 50 pack.
Are you talking bout buying a DivX player for the computer? I have one of them. All my files play fine on my computer, But i Want to be able to burn them to DVD.

No, I was talking about a stand alone DivX/DVD player.
Cheap DVD-Rs are great for making Data Discs that will play in the Stand alone DivX player but are not a good idea for burning DVDs. You'll probably get all coasters.

I dont mind watching my videos on my comp, but some my wife and mom want, and they wont watch them on the Comp. So that is more of the reason for burning the DVDs. Also Cartoons for my Kids. Im gonna try the ConvertXtoDVD and see what happens.
Hopefully it will work.

Then in that case, you'll need to convert them to DVD unless you can talk your mom into buying a DivX player also. They're cheap enough to where you could have two or three.
Make sure you have the sync problem fixed before you burn to DVD. Some VBR AVI are easy to fix and some could take a week. Once the sync problem is taken care of then DivXtoDVD will convert them with no problem.

Im not really worried about the quality of the videos i know i cant make that better. Even the little green blotches every now and then dont really bother me. Its the Damn Sync loss that bug the Heck outta me!

I hear ya. I guess the more frustration we go through having to fix the VBR audio, the more we'll learn not to use it in the first place.

As for the Lame troubles you might try unistalling it, try the registry fix and then reinstall the codec. I don't see VBR under Virtualdub in Lame or Fraunhofer and I have seen Fraunhofer VBR in AVI with downloaded files. Most of the files were created using Nandub and now I'm starting to see a few files created by VirtualdubMod since you can stick whatever type of audio file you like in it.

[BiZzZzaaR]

So before using convertxtodvd, i should fix the audio? or will convertX do it for me?

[guns1inger]

I have used convertxtodvd to convert quite a few avis with vbr audio. Only on two occassions has it failed to keep everything in sync. One was fixed through the manual method. The other was discarded after several days of fruitless attempts to get audio sync via any method. The VBR encoding had screwed the timing in up so much that it would drift in and out of sync, come in too early, drift back, then be late. Short of cutting the audio up into littl epieces and altering each on it's own, there was no solution.

Sometimes you just have to throw a file out.

[DarrellS]

Guns1inger's had a little better luck than I have. I like to at least see if the audio is the same length as the video and if not, I'll do what I can to try and fix it. It doesn't take much time to ensure that your AVI will be in sync but it you spend 3 hours encoding with DivxToDVD and your VOBs are out of sync, you'll kick yourself for not taking a few minutes to prevent it.

Like Guns1inger said, there are some files that you just can't fix. I spent a week on one file that was very important to me. It was part of a 24 episode series and it was the only file that was encoded with VBR and had a framerate of 24fps while all the others were 23.976. For most files, I won't spend more than a day or two before I give up.

I just converted a VBR AVI in which the audio and video were the same length and it converted without any problems. I had to fix the same AVI to get it on a data disc because the container was messed up. It is also in PAL but I don't think that is why the AVI wouldn't play in my DivX player since it plays other PAL AVIs.

[BiZzZzaaR]

SUCCESS

I have now burned 4 discs out of Vbr avi files and all work perfect. Even the quality looks better than i thought it would.

the 1 file i was having all the trouble with the sync in the 1st places, worked using convertXtoDVD.

ThanX again Guys!

[SCDVD]

One thing to verify with any encoding software that you use is the quality setting. Unless you are in a hurry and don't care how it looks, you should select the highest quality setting. This is usually a two pass encoding process. It takes quite a bit longer but the results are much better.

[BiZzZzaaR]

Yep i always use the high quality encoding. It still goes faster than i thought it would. the time to encode is about 1/2 the time of the video.[/b]