Best way to author sd blu ray

[NorvilleJones]

Hello, first time posting here!! I have some footage that I ripped from old dvds to preserve them and in order to save space I would like to burn it to blu ray. I tried using multiavchd but the aspect ratio is wrong cause the videos are in 4:3, is it possible to use dvd authoring software to make a dvd iso but adding more episodes as blu rays have more space and burn it to blu ray? Is that even the best way to achieve this or are there better options? Thanks in advance
edit:
I forgot to mention that my files are in mkv format as I used makemkv to rip the dvds

[usually_quiet]

If you are willing to do without a menu, you can burn the mkv files to BD-R as data, which will be lossless, instead of authoring a Blu-ray disc. Many Blu-ray players play mkv video files burned as data to Blu-ray, Make one test disc first to make sure that your Blu-ray player can do this before creating more. If you don't want to use a Blu-ray player, a computer will certainly play video from such data discs.

[NorvilleJones]

If you are willing to do without a menu, you can burn the mkv files to BD-R as data, which will be lossless, instead of authoring a Blu-ray disc. Many Blu-ray players play mkv video files burned as data to Blu-ray, Make one test disc first to make sure that your Blu-ray player can do this before creating more. If you don't want to use a Blu-ray player, a computer will certainly play video from such data discs.

Thank you for the suggestion, unfortunately I watch my blu rays on a ps4 because I have a laptop and ps4s don't read data discs

[usually_quiet]

There isn't much free software for Blu-ray authoring available and you have already tried the one with the most features. If you haven't already tried it, TsMuxer is the other free software that is often recommended for Blu-ray authoring at VideoHelp but it creates menuless discs. I have not tried it with DVD video myself but it might work.

The paid Blu-ray authoring software that I know of costs as much or more than a set-top Blu-ray player.

[NorvilleJones]

There isn't much free software for Blu-ray authoring available and you have already tried the one with the most features. If you haven't already tried it, TsMuxer is the other free software that is often recommended for Blu-ray authoring at VideoHelp but it creates menuless discs. I have not tried it with DVD video myself but it might work.

The paid Blu-ray authoring software that I know of costs as much or more than a set-top Blu-ray player.

I understand, thanks for the answer, I read somewhere that if you use dvd authoring programs you can make a so called super dvd which is a blu ray authored like a dvd. Do you know anything about that?

[DB83]

I do not understand why you get 16:9 (unless you forced the output thus in the program settings)


I just did a quick test. Granted that the sample vid was mpeg2 not mkv but the program retained the 4:3 aspect ratio.

[DB83]

BTW you are still referring to avchd which will burn folders as avchd format (close to but not exactly as Blu Ray) on to a dvd disk.

[usually_quiet]

I read somewhere that if you use dvd authoring programs you can make a so called super dvd which is a blu ray authored like a dvd. Do you know anything about that?

Yes. A so-called "Super DVD" is authored to the same specs as a standard DVD except that it is much too large to fit on a DVD+/- R or a DVD+R DL, so it is burned to a BD-R instead. Some Blu-ray players will play them but they are not necessarily playable by every machine.

I just can't remember if there is any free DVD authoring software that allows creating DVDs that exceed the maximum capacity allowed for DVD+R DL. ...and when I searched the forum I only found a post referencing DVDReMake Pro, which costs around $25 according to its page in VideoHelp's software section, as being able to create "Super DVDs".

[NorvilleJones]

I read somewhere that if you use dvd authoring programs you can make a so called super dvd which is a blu ray authored like a dvd. Do you know anything about that?

Yes. A so-called "Super DVD" is authored to the same specs as a standard DVD except that it is much too large to fit on a DVD+/- R or a DVD+R DL, so it is burned to a BD-R instead. Some Blu-ray players will play them but they are not necessarily playable by every machine.

I just can't remember if there is any free DVD authoring software that allows creating DVDs that exceed the maximum capacity allowed for DVD+R DL. ...and when I searched the forum I only found a post referencing DVDReMake Pro, which costs around $25 according to its page in VideoHelp's software section, as being able to create "Super DVDs".

I have AVStoDVD and it allows that. Do you think it would be more compatible to use multiavchd?

[mail2tom]

When I’ve had the wrong aspect ratio on 4:3 video I would run the file(s) through uncropMKV to reencode to 16:9, then plug them back into multiavchd to have them in a menu.

[NorvilleJones]

I do not understand why you get 16:9 (unless you forced the output thus in the program settings)


I just did a quick test. Granted that the sample vid was mpeg2 not mkv but the program retained the 4:3 aspect ratio.

I have no idea why it does that, but when I use sd videos it always crops them. What do you think would be my best option for authoring an sd bluray? I know I probably can't achieve 100% compliance but I am very confused by the enormous amount of information needed to do this stuff correctly. For example I found this guide https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/339799-Encoding-SD-video-with-H-264-to-be-100-Blu-ray-compliant but I would have to learn how to use every program from 0 in there and my pc is pretty weak so I think encoding to h264 would take a pretty long time. Thanks for the help

[usually_quiet]

I have AVStoDVD and it allows that. Do you think it would be more compatible to use multiavchd?

I have no idea. I think you will have to author and burn a Super DVD to Blu-ray and find out the hard way whether it works with a PS4.

I have always kept my DVD-compatible video recordings on authored DVDs but the Blu-ray players I owned would play my HDTV recordings burned as data to Blu-ray so I never did very much Blu-ray authoring.

[DB83]

Just a thought.


Are these 4:3 dvds pure 4:3 or non-anamorphic widescreen ie a 16:9 (or wider) image in a 4:3 frame. Cropping then makes some more sense. But even then my own sample was just that 2.35:1 film captured from VHS and no cropping took place.


All I can offer is if I, sometime over the weekend, create a mkv from an actual 4:3 dvd and then a set of BD folders from that. Can not promise a time-scale for that tho.


But 'cropping' is different from forced AR. It really says that there were some borders present. Otherwise a crop is going to remove detail top and bottom. A forced AR is more likely to stretch the image but it could equally (since I have not explored that option) place the 4:3 image in to a 16:9 frame. That is the same as if you were to correctly view that 4:3 dvd, or blu ray, on a 16:9 screen where the player automatically adds the borders.

[orsetto]

This is one of those topics that often spins out from "missing the forest for the trees" syndrome (i.e., looking for the wrong solutions to the wrong problem instead of doing things the easy, foolproof way).

Authoring BluRays is a cluster**** of hassle even if making completely-to-spec BDs: it was essentially never intended that average "home users" would ever attempt to author BDs ala the movie studios. Complicate things further with the vagaries of authoring SD on BluRay, you may as well jump off a high roof while carrying a bowling ball. Maybe ten years ago before everything in creation could play MKV and MP4 data files there was some motivation to do it that way, but today you'd be completely wasting your time and energy just to make a slapdash BD disc that probably won't work right in half the hardware you load it in. That is what I mean by "wrong solution to the wrong problem" making things much harder for you than necessary.

Your core problem isn't that you need to author in BluRay format from your SD material: the actual issue screwing you up is your PS4 will not play standard video files from a BluRay data disc. The dead simple solution to that issue is to reserve your PS4 for playing games and commercial BluRays, but also buy a basic modern standalone BluRay player that easily plays MKV, MP4 and AVI files in both SD and HD from ordinary non-authored BD or DVD data discs. No authoring necessary, no re-encoding, no aspect ratio issues. Yes, its gonna cost you about $90 for the player and it will be another small box in your pile (slip it under the PS4 and you'll barely notice). But it will make your life SO much simpler.

BTW, this is also the plain and frank answer to give any friends and relatives that may want to borrow the discs you make. If they complain that their PS4 or circa-2011 disc player can't play data discs, tell them its 2021 and they need to either buy a cheap new Sony or LG multimedia BD player, or connect their PC to their TV via HDMI. There is no compelling reason to author a structured BluRay disc from material ripped from older DVDs unless they're personal family videos and you're hell bent on having a nice menu to navigate a large collection of short clips. Even in that case, you're probably better off authoring simple easy dvds if the source tapes are SD. BluRay authoring is a redundant headache for SD unless absolutely necessary for a commercial project.

[DB83]

Ok. Allow me to add to my prev. post since I am in the mood (the red grape is talking)


Since I had an actual 4:3 rip on my HDD, I downloaded/installed the latest version of makemkv and let it do the biz - I only selected the main movie.


I then threw that 4:3 mkv in to avchd and let it 'spew' out whatever. Lo and behold it created a 4:3 m2ts just like my earlier sample.


So, in the light of the above, it is not the prog that is causing the issue but your own playback.


But, for the sake of clarity, post a mediainfo report of one of the m2ts you have created. Or even do a short sample and upload that m2ts. You may be surprised by the result.

[aedipuss]

seems a waste of a blu-ray disc when it could be put on a dvd, but https://blu-disc.net/download/BDS_Lite_Setup_1.0.10.exe should be able to author it to blu-ray.

[usually_quiet]

I completely forgot about Blu-Disc Studio Lite. There is a PDF guide for Blu-Disc Studio Lite: https://blu-disc.net/download/beginner_guide_lite.pdf