What to do with this video??

[Thwiipp]

Hello, i have some divx file that i want to put on dvd as svcd or vcd to get multiple episode on one disc i was hoping for svcd but looking at the file i notice it has odd specs. What format would be best to chage this file to to do what i want, i attached a jpg of all the files spec. Thanks for anyone that can help.

[jimmalenko]

I'd go with SVCD 480 X 480. You'll have black bars top and bottom.

Either that or go CVD and use 352 X 480.

Don't forget that you have 23.976fps, so you'll need to inculde a 3:2 pulldown so it palys correctly.

[Thwiipp]

Now how would that look knocking 384 up to 480? i dont really mind the black bars as i usually get my movies in Widescreen edition so im used to it. The video is of some Anime in case that matters, i heard things about dealing with animation and framerates.

[Thwiipp]

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

[Thwiipp]

And how much video at SVCD quality woul i be able to put on DVD got quite a few episodes i plan to put on it.

Also, from what ive read to do what i want i will need use TMPEG DVD Author, will it allow me to make a custom menu with some video in the background behind some photo shop made elements and motion buttons? Do i need to use TMPEG DVD Author or can i use some thing else like DVD Architect. OR can i make the menu in another program and tehn export it to TMPEG DVD Author. Thanks for ant help that can be given.

[Bondiablo]

352 x 480 DVD and maybe 3 hours per disc, 4 as an absolute max.

[Thwiipp]

Actually i was thinking of going the SVCD route, also does the 3:2 pulldown apply to the CVD or SVCD route and do i need to chage the framerate or leave as is?

[Baldrick]

Actually i was thinking of going the SVCD route, also does the 3:2 pulldown apply to the CVD or SVCD route and do i need to chage the framerate or leave as is?

yep use 3:2 pulldown for svcd,cvd 23.976fps. in tmpgenc can you load the svcd ntsc film template.

[Bondiablo]

If you're going to put it on a DVD why encode it as a SVCD or VCD?

[Thwiipp]

If you're going to put it on a DVD why encode it as a SVCD or VCD?

So i can fit alot of episodes on one DVD, plus it doesnt make sense for me to bring the video up to DVD resolutions , wont look any better and just reduce the amount of episodes i can fit.

yep use 3:2 pulldown for svcd,cvd 23.976fps. in tmpgenc can you load the svcd ntsc film template.

Great thanks!

Now does can anyone help with the DVD menu question?

[Bondiablo]

352x480 is a valid DVD resolution, so is 352x240. 23,976 fps is OK for DVD too but only with MPEG2 so you just couldn't use 352x240 MPEG1.

[Thwiipp]

Ok want to make sure of something here, Now should i encode the video to 480x 480, or to 352x480? Can i encode it with say Vegas Video to the specs and author with DVD architect to do that i want. Since i believe vegas would transcode the audio better and DVD Architect would allow me more options for the menu. Or do i need to use the TMPEGENC products to get this to work right/easier. Agian thanks for all the help everyone is giving me.

[Bondiablo]

480x480 isn't a DVD resolution, 352x480 is.

[holistic]

Video - Data Rate 134 kbps ?

[Thwiipp]

OK i meant if i should encode it to 480x480 with a patched header or just do it to 352x480.

[Thwiipp]

Alright, after alot of reading i think im gonna be encoding to CVD(KDVD half D1, whatever the hell the differnece is, seems to be the same specs to me) just want to know what seeting i should input into TMPEGENG, i know the res. is gonna be 352x480 and the audio to 48khz, but what about the other setting like bitrate and such , if someone can give me a list of diiferent settings to put in that would be great. Thanks again.

[timmyp]

If you're planning on putting these episodes on DVD with menus and such, then the DVD-compliant 352x480 is the way to go.

Your bitrate setting will depend on how many hours you want to put on the DVD vs the quality sacrifice you are willing to accept. At Half-D1 (352x480), you could go with a bitrate as low as 2000-2500 and probably have decent results. BUT, garbage in is garbage out. The better your source quality is to begin with, the better your final result after encoding.

You can try the VideoHelp bitrate calculator in Tools to help you determine how many hours will fit on a DVD at any given bitrate. But to give you an idea, a bitrate of 2500 will equate to roughly 3 - 3 1/2 hours. So, if your source is 1 hr episodes, you will be able to fit 3 episodes to a disc, if they are 1/2 hour episodes, then you you will be able to fit 6, maybe 7 (again, this is based on using a bitrate of around 2500).

Regarding specific settings in TMPGEnc, you will want to select the DVD NTSC template and once you've loaded the video and audio source, on the next page select Advanced or Expert or whatever it says and set your bitrate on the 1st tab, the video arrange method on the 2nd tab (set to Full Screen, Preserve Aspect Ratio), and the sample rate on the audio tab (48000 and 224 should be suffecient).

Here is a guide for this if you get stuck:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?guideid=584&howtoselect=4;10#584

Good luck.

[timmyp]

Actually, I think I was a bit off in my math.... at a bitrate of 2500, you should be able to fit 4 - 4 1/2 hours of material on a DVD.

[Thwiipp]

Awesome! Thank you so much! one last question and im off to encode, what should i use for audio, MPEG2 or PCM audio? Thanks

[yoda313]

Hello,
Use a compressed audio like .mp2 (mpeg audio layer 2) or .ac3. I guess .ac3 has more compatibility in the US but I have had no problems with .mp2.
Kevin

[Thwiipp]

another question on this, should i use VBR or CBR on this(audio and video)?and should it be set to interlace or non interlace? and what should i set for Motion prescision search?. THanks again.

[Thwiipp]

Oh also forgot to ask about the video arrange menthod, do i do 'Full Screen', 'Full Screen:Keep aspect ratio' or 'Full Screen:Keep aspect ratio2'?

[timmyp]

Definately VBR when you are using that low of a bitrate... set minimum at 500, average at the 2500 (or whatever bitrate you obtained from the Bitrate Calc) and 6000 as the max. (Others will probably jump in and give you slightly different settings.. it's somewhat of a personal preference and personal experience thing on min and max rates. Again, the important part is to set the average to whatever bitrate you obtained from the Bitrate Calc for the length of your disc. Make sense?)

Regarding Video Arrange Method, 'Full Screen: Keep Aspect Ratio' is probably the best option in this case.

[ZippyP.]

Set your motion search precision to high or estimate, I use estimate. The highest setting takes too long and doesn't make much difference, if any.

IMHO, if you're using 352x480 (1/2 DVD) resolution and a bitrate of 2500 or more then you can use CBR which is much faster then 2-pass VBR. If you get much lower (say 2000) then I would recommend 2-pass VBR with settings as described above (500 min, 6000 or more max). You need to experiment and decide for yourself though, as everyone has different tolerances with regards to quality.