avi to dvd question

[davemuhs]

I opened the file in toast6 to mount it, but there was an error. My question is the saved file susposed to be a .toast file?

[alexjs77]

When you export the file as a disk image in toast it will give you a .toast file.

[galactica]

it should be .toast yes
it should also mount with no problems

suggest
1. restarting your mac
2. running repair permissions
3. reinstalling toast

if you still have problems after 1 and 2

[kingarthur]

Hello,

I was wondering how I can encode an AVI into a DVD without using Toast. Why? Because when I use Toast I always get those digital squares.
I have used Divillusion to make VCDs instead of Toast. http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22656
It works great & no digital squares. However when I try to make a DVD sized VCD Toast wants a CD not a DVD. Is there any DVD equivalent to Divillusion?

[davemuhs]

I finally got the avi files to mount, but when they do, the file won't run on the dvd player on my mac. It appears as a dvd on the desktop, but when I open it up there are still 2 avi files. What did I do wrong? I saved it as a disk image and made sure the dvd-rom(UDF) was selected.

[TugBoat]

Interesting thread.
I've found a method for wide angle .avi's that works for me, you need;
Quicktime Pro
maybe ffmpegX
Graphic Converter
DVDSP2 (or similar)
maybe DVD2oneX

I begin by making sure the .avi will play in QT and export the audio (which is usually mp3). If QT will not export the audio as a .wav then I use ffmpegX to make an .avi that is QT friendly. Most of the time that isn't necessary.

Then I decide if I want to crop the movie using a mask. If so, I export a .pict from the movie then use Graphic Converter to make the mask. If you use a mask, you're going to have to export the movie before going to the next step, so, don't do it unless you really need to. When I export the movie as an intermediate step, I use the 3ivx Divx D4 codec at three times the original bitrate and Apple Lossless for audio.

After cropping, next is the aspect. Using Graphic Converter, I have made a solid black 720x404 .pict that is used again and again as many movies are wide angle. Open the pict in QT, select all, copy, then add scaled to the open movie. Now 'get info' on the movie's video tracks and set video track 1 to layer -1 and video track 2 to layer 0. Then select video 1, 'size', 'adjust' and arrange the movie the way you want it against the black background. I usually calculate the height before hand to be a multiple of 16. Make sure the side edges line up with the background frame and it's also nice if the black bars are the same size. If you did the intermediate crop, you should have changed the size of the exported movie to be 720xwhatever (for 16x9) already.

Then I look at the duration of the Video and Audio tracks. If you did the crop thing first, you should do this when you crop and export. Usually the durations are different, this could cause the final product to be out of sync. I've found that you can cut a small portion from the beginning and end and then the durations will usually match. I've also found that .avi's sometime have a few white frames at the end. Cut those suckers! Very annoying to have white frames flash when the first track switches to the second. Oh, by the way, I recommend leaving the two half's separate, not joining them, as joining them usually just creates more problems. Just don't cut very many frames from the ends where they are to meet.

Next, export to MPEG2. Set the aspect ratio to 16x9. Export Audio. For Quality settings you need to remember that the size is given considering PCM audio. When using AC3 2ch 224bps audio the size is much smaller. Close to 1GB smaller for a 2hr movie. Therefore you should set the Target Bitrate higher. A 1 hour section should be set to deliver a 2.6GB Estimated File Size. Something like: 2.6 x 2 = 5.2 - 1 = 4.2GB...no need for DVD2oneX.

Before you convert to AC3 it would be nice to run the audio through a normalizer. This makes the DVD easier to hear on a PowerBook.
Convert the audio to 2ch 224 AC3, I use A.Pack.

Import the streams to DVDSP(2), place the second streams after the first ones, make chapters, or anything else you want, and Build. Play it back in DVD Player to check it, and then burn in Toast. Works for me. 8)

[davemuhs]

To make that process a lot easier couldn't you just use ffmpegx to convert to mpeg2, and with that you get the audio stream. Do that for both files, and then import it into DVDSP2. Save it put it in DVD2ONE to shrink the file if need, and then burn it in toast? or am i wrong?

[TugBoat]

Sure, you can use that method. It will probably work fine for a lot of movies. However, a while back you couldn't import ffmpegX MPEG2 or MPEG1 files into DVDSP2 for some reason. I guess they fixed that? Don't know, I stopped trying. A few of us posted on the ffmpegX forum but never got a response. Also, a major problem is the aspect ratio of these wide, short movies. I never got ffmpegX to solve that either. The best solution is the one I outlined. I'm so familiar with that method now it's very simple for me. And I've never had DVDSP2 turn down a QT file. For right now I prefer the QT method

[thoughton]

I finally got the avi files to mount, but when they do, the file won't run on the dvd player on my mac. It appears as a dvd on the desktop, but when I open it up there are still 2 avi files. What did I do wrong? I saved it as a disk image and made sure the dvd-rom(UDF) was selected.

This thread is getting more and more confusing!

Kingarthur: start a new thread to ask your question. You might get some answers that way.

Tugboat: your method seems a little complicated to be recommending to davemuhs at the moment. (It also seems a lot of work - do convert all your avis like that? I am an advocate of "drop onto ffmpegx, wait, burn the dvd folder ffmpegx produces"...)

Davemugs: You've lost me with your last post (quoted above). Earlier in this thread you had spent 20+ hours converting your 2 avi files into mpeg2. But they have mysteriously become avi again on your dvd image? Where did your mpeg2 file go? You were sooo close, if you still have that mpeg2 file just drop that sucker into sizzle (or dvdsp, but it's far more complicated) and you are virtually done.

[TugBoat]

do convert all your avis like that?

Come now, you remember,
so, don't do it unless you really need to.
Don't you? 8)

Fortunately I don't really need to every time. It's just some of those extremely thin movies that really give a problem. So I did a short test with the latest ffmpegX on two of those. Hey, I'm impressed! It correctly inserted the letterboxing using 4x3 and 16x9 aspects. And, DVDSP2 imported the ac3 and mpv streams. Impressive. Major might finally get me to pay up
I still like the hands on visual experience and the ability to lengthen some of those squashed faces though.

[davemuhs]

Ok, sorry for all the confusion. I had started over, a few posts before. So to keep you guys up to date. What i am doing now is: I put the files into ffmpegx and converted it to a mpeg2, file. The audio file that was made in ffmpegx was allowed in sizzle, so i am trying to export the audio as an AIFF file, and then putting that into sizzle. I am doing each one seperate. I am then going to save it as a disc image. When that is done i am going to put it into DVD2ONE each file seperatly. I am going to split the size in half, so it will fit on one disc. And that is it. I think this should work.

[davemuhs]

Actually, with the audio file, i converted it to ac3 in ffmpegx. How long does sizzle take to do a 2 gig file?

[thoughton]

It's pretty quick, less than an hour on a 667mhz g4.

[kingarthur]

This thread is getting more and more confusing!

Kingarthur: start a new thread to ask your question. You might get some answers that way.

Sorry I thought my question was similar to what the topic starter asked.