from divx back to dvd

[perry2]

Yeah, I know that sounds bass-ackwards...but there is a reason.
A couple newbie questions though. I have some old music videos (divx) that I want to burn to a dvd. My first obvious step was to re-encode them to mpg2. I tried 2 different ways, first with Tmpg which produced a 106mB file, then with Procoder which produced a 150mB file.
Why the huge difference here?? both were set to 720x480, 2 pass VBR and 29 fps. I could not see much difference in the quality, both looked reasonable considering the source.
Now for the hard part, getting mpg files to a dvd format. I tried both ulead movie factory and ulead video studio 7, both created the VOB's & IFO's but looked horrible on the dvd! colors were washed out and brightness was WAY too high. Is it just me or do dvd "authors" alter your video in a bad way?
Is there some other way to get these mpg's to dvd? I assume you cant simply rename the mpg's to VOB's and burn them...
Is there a way to turn them into VOB's and generate the IFO's & BUP's manually without "authoring" them?
thanks for any tips

[Gazorgan]

You get different files sizes because you have different default bitrates. You never gave your bitrates, or the source resolution.

It's about impossible to take 'old divx' and put them on DVD and get a decent picture. We are talking about under bit-rated low-motion DivX3 codecs, correct? What resolution are the video's? I can GUARANTEE they aren't 720x480. There simply isn't enough bitrate in an old DivX for a music vidoe to have decent quality. Your going to have to filter the piss out of it to clean it up, and then it's going to look washed.

DVD Authoring shouldn't affect the encoded MPG's in anyway.

You will have much better luck going VCD (I know, I know, but it's probably alread a similiar resolution).

You should also explore encoding at 1/2 D1 resolution (352x480). You should get a lot less artifacting, and it's DVD complient resolution (make sure your Audio is 48 khz).

[Gazorgan]

As a Side note:
I'd like to point out that this is an intelligent 'Newb' post. There are several threads going on about inane Newbie questions. This isn't one of them. The poster states their desire, what they've tried and the results.

My opinioned responce is pointing to a different resolution/format, based on the source material being the issue with the quality.

I'm sure opinions will vary.... :P

[Gees]

Nope, I agree. :c) Intelligent post. Intelligent reply.

I'm wondering how the authored DVD looks on PC compared to TV.

I'm wondering also if part of color problem is NTSC vs PAL related. Most times it's a subtle difference, but maybe more marked here?

[perry2]

True DivX files are by necessity "stomped on" pretty bad, and yes the source resolution is definately not 720x480 (I believe it was 352x480). All other things being equal, I did NOT look at what the default bitrate was on the two programs, this may explain the significant file size diff.
Yes, I thought about going the VCD route but I wanted to try DVD first so I can get more video's per disk.
Any input on my VOB/IFO questions?
Thanks for the advice!

[Gees]

I use same as you - VS7, for quick stuff or MediaStudioPro for trickier things. Then to DVDWorkshop, so I can't recommend an alternative for you.

When you made it with VS7, how did it look on the PC through a software player?

It's just I've never seen my authoring app, which is by the same company, ruin any video like you are seeing, unless it's the difference from PC to TV.

[perry2]

The dvd looked crummy on my pc so I didnt even try it (read commit to a dvd-r as opposed to rw) on my tv, considering the original mpg looked fine on the pc. So, apparently something happened to the video between the "plain" mpg on my pc and the finished product on the dvd.

[Gees]

(read commit to a dvd-r as opposed to rw)

*

I don't know what you meant by that. I've never seen it happen that VS7 changes anything in the authoring stage to be worse than what was put in, unless you accidentally chose a lower bitrate or are comparing the 352 to 720.

That's definitely not going to look as good.

OK - gotcha now - misread that line at first :c)

Is it very important to you - this video? Or are you experimenting with it at this point?

If you wanted to do a little test - to find if you really need to move on to a different program, try placing the existing video - at it's original size - as an overlay within 720x480.

That'd at least determine if the scaling up is what's making it look bad. Of course, you could try a small clip for time's sake. :c)

[perry2]

Guess this proves my "newbyness", I didnt even know that you could set the bitrate during the authoring process.
Oh well, experimenting is fun, just time consuming!!

[jeex]

i've had pretty good luck with mainconcept mpeg encoder.. you'll probably have to do your own audio though.. but it handles divx really well and gives you a good picture, and it does it very quickly too..

its worth a shot..

[Gees]

Oh well, experimenting is fun, just time consuming!!

Yes, very :c) No harm done. And it is tricky. As was said above - you are at least - asking all the right questions. That's more than half the battle right there. :c)

Ulead progs tend to default to settings you may not want. If you give more details, I'll be glad to try & help. :c)