Transcoding with Nerovision Express or DVD Shrink, or both?!

[a6equj5]

Hi, I'm relatively new to the digital video scene, although I did try my hand at using some of the various programs like TMPGenc and DVD Decrypter 6 months ago or so, just playing around trying to make VCDs. Sadly my standalone DVD player didn't support VCD, so I gave up, but I've recently purchased a new DVD burner.

Anyway, on to my question(s).

I have the full version of Nero 6 Ultra which includes Nerovision Express. I've used it to create 5-6 DVDs with some success. However, I'm one of those people who are always looking at the video and seeing artifacts and blurring, etc. I'm a perfectionist I guess.

I guess Nerovision dosen't have the best encoding quality, I did a search and didn't really come across too many posts about encoding with it, other than audio messing up, etc.

My question is this. I do have DVD Shrink... Would it yield a better quality output if I were to encode with Nerovision at HQ (9716 kbit/sec), write to hard drive and then shrink the resulting 8-9gb VOBs to a regular 4.4gb DVD size using DVD Shrink? Due to the quality of the source videos, I'm usually fitting 3-4 hours on a DVD at a bitrate of 2000-2500 kbit/sec in Nerovision.

I'm not encoding high quality DV or anything. I have about 100gb of assorted AVI, WMV and MPG clips I'm converting to DVDs so I can view them on my TV. I'd say 90% are AVI. They're not really action oriented, mostly TV shows and assorted family videos converted from VHS. They vary in quality as well.

Also, I was wondering what the difference was between the free version of TMPGenc and TMPGenc Plus and also if the Source Creator/DVD Author combo would be better than what I'm suggesting. I know DVD Shrink does good work, but I'm worried about encoding and then re-encoding over and over.

[dafreak]

well i've never used nerovision to encode my avi's but it seems like the reason you're getting such low quality results is because you're encoding at 2000-2500 bitrate. If you're trying to cram 3-4 hours of video into a dvdr that is meant to only hold 120 minutes, your quality is going to suffer.

again, i've never used nerovision, but I've been using tmpgenc for quite some time and am always happy with the results.

you should check out some of the guides on how to convert avi's to dvd. They helped me out quite a bit.

[dafreak]

My question is this. I do have DVD Shrink... Would it yield a better quality output if I were to encode with Nerovision at HQ (9716 kbit/sec), write to hard drive and then shrink the resulting 8-9gb VOBs to a regular 4.4gb DVD size using DVD Shrink? Due to the quality of the source videos, I'm usually fitting 3-4 hours on a DVD at a bitrate of 2000-2500 kbit/sec in Nerovision.

why add the extra step of using dvdshrink, when you should encode your avi's at a reasonable bitrate, the first time around, to fit on a dvdr.

[dafreak]

check out this guide on converting avi to dvd.

[a6equj5]

The extra step would only be if DVD Shrink would give a better quality at the bitrate I'll be using rather than Nerovision. The quality of the files I'm encoding are not that great to begin with, so I didn't think a high bitrate would be needed.

example...

Nerovision @ 2500 kbit/sec = decent

vs.

Nerovision @ 9716 kbit/sec --> DVD Shrink deep analysis = ???

I guess I'll have to experiment and try burning two copies of the same material and do a side by side comparison. I just hate to waste a DVD+R. They're not cheap, yet. :P

My question is this. I do have DVD Shrink... Would it yield a better quality output if I were to encode with Nerovision at HQ (9716 kbit/sec), write to hard drive and then shrink the resulting 8-9gb VOBs to a regular 4.4gb DVD size using DVD Shrink? Due to the quality of the source videos, I'm usually fitting 3-4 hours on a DVD at a bitrate of 2000-2500 kbit/sec in Nerovision.

why add the extra step of using dvdshrink, when you should encode your avi's at a reasonable bitrate, the first time around, to fit on a dvdr.

[a6equj5]

basically, is the encoder in DVD Shrink better than the one in Nerovision?

Optimally, I'd like to be able to encode with TMPGenc and then use Nerovision on author. Only trouble is, Nerovision always transcodes the input even if it's already in DVD-Video format, unless they've fixed it, or are going to fix it in the next release.