DVD Menus...

[daamon]

Not sure if you can mix 'em - try it out and see... Someone else may be able to confirm if you can or not.

Good luck...

[skip2mylou]

can i test burn onto a VCD instead, using the m2v..., and check it that way??

[daamon]

Possibly - You'll need to have the DVD folder format (VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS) on the CD.

Some players don't play what are called miniDVD's.

[skip2mylou]

no i mean like can i use VCDEasy and encode the m2v to and mpeg-1 and burn on CD and play in my DVD player (VCD compatible), and will it be safe to assume that whatever the result is, it will be the same when i play my finished DVD in my DVD player?

[daamon]

That means the m2v (MPEG2) will become an m1v (MPEG1). Yes, I don't see why that wouldn't be a valid test - the resolution will be lower, but that doesn't affect the "shape" (i.e. 4:3 or 16:9) of the footage.

Well, as far as I know anyway...

[skip2mylou]

ok cool, im gonna try ill let u know the outcome

[reboot]

In tmpgenc, Advanced tab, set source aspect to 1:1 vga. Below that, set Keep Aspect Ratio 2.
It may look squished, but it won't on the TV.
Use a DVDRW to test.

[skip2mylou]

ok lemme tell u exactly wat i did:
1. i encoded the AVI (with the rez - 352x480, and lowered bitrate) and outputed as an MPG-2
2. then using nero, i burned the MPG-2 to VCD

the result was that the movie came out exaclty as the rez, all squished. now im pretty sure i did something wrong, i dont know where but somewhere. so anyway please tell me how to correct this, and another question

can i just make the rez smaller (keeping aspect ratio) and lower the bitrate and out put that as an m2v?

[skip2mylou]

wait a sec so i shouldnt make rez 352x480, jus do the full screen Keep Aspect Ratio 2, plus the reason why im using CDs is because i dont have any DVDRWs

[skip2mylou]

plus im gonna like burn a lot of disks to get this rite, do u know which program makes a multisession VCD

[daamon]

You're starting to lose me here...

If you want to test something, it's always best to test it in a situation as to how it will be used. So, ideally, to get trustworthy results you need to be burning MPEG2 files (m2v) authored as DVDs at the resolution and bitrate you want.

Burning to CDs coz you don't have DVDs detracts from this. Take time out to go and get yourself a DVD-/+RW. They're not expensive.

[skip2mylou]

ok thanks, today was an off day, ill take ur advice, thanks ....

[daamon]

We all have 'em...

While you're out shopping, you might wanna get a CD-RW too - if you think you'll need one.

[skip2mylou]

yeah smart, i might go tomorrow, in the mean time im gonna do some....EXPERIMENTING....mwahaha..:P

[reboot]

ok lemme tell u exactly wat i did:
1. i encoded the AVI (with the rez - 352x480, and lowered bitrate) and outputed as an MPG-2
2. then using nero, i burned the MPG-2 to VCD

the result was that the movie came out exaclty as the rez, all squished. now im pretty sure i did something wrong, i dont know where but somewhere. so anyway please tell me how to correct this, and another question

can i just make the rez smaller (keeping aspect ratio) and lower the bitrate and out put that as an m2v?

You can't mix an mpeg-2, at half D1 (which is a DVD THING!!!) then burn it as a VCD, which is mpeg-1. No wonder it was squished...

Are you going to make VCD, SVCD or DVD from these files?
I need to know which before I can suggest anything.
You cannot reduce the res to a half D1 aspect, then burn it as an (S)VCD.
Are you trying to burn these to CDR just to test? It won't work. Buy a DVDRW to test, and encode properly and burn properly to begin with.
If you're going to burn a VCD to test, then encode to 352x240 m1v and burn a VCD. Waste of a disk, as it's not going to tell you anything about the finished quality when encoded to half D1 mpeg-2 on DVD, or even 480x480 SVCD.

[skip2mylou]

ok i see wat u mean, yeah i am going to make a DVD, and im gonna go get a DVD+RW disk soon to test...