Authoring Issues

[DVDHelpPlease]

I have several questions I hope somebody can help me resolve.

I'm trying to burn an avi movie onto a DVD+RW.

First method I converted the avi to mpg using Winavi then converted that mpg to m2v in TMPGenc which created 3 m2v files I don't know how to join together to make 1 movie so that it plays all the way through on my DVD player. Anyway, when I burnt 1 m2v file using TMPGEnc Authoring then Nero 6 to burn onto my DVD+RW, the picture quality was terrible.

Second method was to completely run the avi through Winavi creating DVD files (vob, ifo, bup) and then burning it directly on DVD+RW using Nero6 and now the picture jerks on playback through my DVD player.

Anyone know how to fix either method I did?

Method 1: help me join the separated files together and fix picture quality
or
Method 2: prevent the picture from jerking on playback?

Or are there any better suggestions in burning an avi on DVD+RW?

Oh and running the avi through TMPGenc to convert it to mpg2 creates too big of a file size to burn on DVD. Please please help!

Much appreciated, thanks!

[daamon]

Oh and running the avi through TMPGenc to convert it to mpg2 creates too big of a file size to burn on DVD.

Do this, but reduce the bitrate. To find out what bitrate to use, consult the Videohelp Bitrate Calculator for your AVI length (in terms of time) and the audio bitrate.

This will give you a bitrate that will produce a filesize to fit on a DVD5 (as long as that's what you selected on the calculator).

[mats.hogberg]

My suggestion is: Read some (all, even) of the giudes found here on the subject of AVI to DVD. Try them out. Find one that works for you. Most guides use freeware apps only, so your only investment will be your time. Well spent, IMHO.

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

I did read all the guides already. In fact I spent tons of time researching this entire videohelp.com website using every program, method I could try.

The ones I posted above are the ones that finally worked for me all the way through, but obtained poor results.

I'll try the Bitrate Calculator again, however the bitrate calculator for some reason can't open on my MSIE even after I installed Java.

Any other possible suggestions I would be happy to hear.

Anyone have a program or method that worked for them successfully and wish to share?

Thanks

[mats.hogberg]

My AVI to DVD steps

• 0) Run AVI thru VirtualDub MP3 Freeze to check for bad/undecodable frames. If found, forget it, delete the AVI and get on with my life, if all OK, continue with 1)
  1) Check frame rate to determine PAL or NTSC (GSpot or VirtualDub)
  2) Extract audio from AVI using VirtualDub or GoldWave
  3) If not 48 kHz AC3 already, decode audio to wav, and encode wav to AC3 using ffmpeggui
  4) Create a AviSynth script with resizing and stuff (depending on NTSC/PAL from step 1) for the AVI (Notepad)
  5) Calculate bit rate based on movie length using Videohelps Java bit rate calculator
  6) Encode video elementary stream (frame rate as per step 1) from AVS script using TMPGEnc or MainConcept, VBR mode, with bit rate from step 5 as average bit rate, max at 8000 kbps, min at 2000 kbps
  7) Author AC3 from step 3) and m2v from step 6) with TMPGEnc DVD Author, IfoEdit or DVDAuthorGUI
  8 ) Make DVD Video ISO image of output from step 7) with ImgTools Classic
  9) Burn image to DVD media with DVDDecrypter

/Mats

[thecoalman]

Since method 1 doesn't produce jerking of the picture this may not help but try a different DVD player using method 2. There's info to the left under DVD Players about compatibility with discs.

[DVDHelpPlease]

mats.hogberg,

I followed more or less the steps you posted and got past the TMPGEnc DVD authoring. However I burned the DVD files in Nero. The picture quality is indeed better and the jerking is slightly better, however the jerking of the picture is still noticable. Anyway to reduce that?

And do you find that going through your

8 ) Make DVD Video ISO image of output from step 7) with ImgTools Classic
9) Burn image to DVD media with DVDDecrypter

to create at ISO image is necessary? Is there any easier way for burning just the DVD files (vob,iso,bup)?[/quote]

Also I noticed that the entire movie doesn't show up on TV, it is cut off on the right side. Anyone help me please figure out what I'm doing wrong there.

Thanks so much!

[mats.hogberg]

jerking is slightly better

Are you sure the source (AVI)frame rate is the same as you're encoding to?

And do you find that going through your Quote:
8 ) Make DVD Video ISO image of output from step 7) with ImgTools Classic
9) Burn image to DVD media with DVDDecrypter
to create at ISO image is necessary? Is there any easier way for burning just the DVD files (vob,iso,bup)

Not necessary, but that's how I do it, beacuse I know then that it will play on my DVD player. There are no settings to set wrong - just click the "Create Image" button, and then, when that's done, click the "Burn Image" button. No matter what way you go about it, an image is created, either before the data is written to disc (when creating an image) or "in line" with the data writing (i.e. Nero). Considering how much can go wrong with CD/DVD burning, I try to keep this as simple as possible for the application. Constructing the image in line with writing it sure must be harder for the aplication than jus writing a preprepared image...
But necessary? No,.

Also I noticed that the entire movie doesn't show up on TV, it is cut off on the right side. Anyone help me please figure out what I'm doing wrong there.

It's called overscan and is how TVs work. They simply leave the edges out of the visible area. To "fix" this, you resize to a smaller res, and pad up with black (or any other color) borders.
For DVD, I usually resize to 704*544 and add 8 px border left & right, 16 px top bottom. (for 4:3 source and 4:3 encode - other aspect ratios may require different resizing)

/Mats
/Mats

[thecoalman]

Also I noticed that the entire movie doesn't show up on TV, it is cut off on the right side. Anyone help me please figure out what I'm doing wrong there.

It's called overscan and is how TVs work. They simply leave the edges out of the visible area. To "fix" this, you resize to a smaller res, and pad up with black (or any other color) borders.
For DVD, I usually resize to 704*544 and add 8 px border left & right, 16 px top bottom. (for 4:3 source and 4:3 encode - other aspect ratios may require different resizing)

/Mats
/Mats

That doesn't sound like overscan, overscan would only affect how it looks on the computer and wouldn't cut off anything on the TV. I saw a similar post here https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=236202 where 1/4 of the video was being cut off. In that post he was trying to resize a video smaller but instead it was cutting off part of the video to fit the new size. I suspect your doing something similar to him when resizing the video or you have a setting that your not aware of that is doing the same.

Double check every setting thoughout the process that they are the same as your capture. Framerate, frame size etc.

[mats.hogberg]

That doesn't sound like overscan, overscan would only affect how it looks on the computer and wouldn't cut off anything on the TV.

In fact, it's exactly the opposite. TVs suffer from overscan - not computer monitors. Which doesn't rule out the possibility that it's been resized/croped wrong somewhere in the process...

/Mats

[thecoalman]

That doesn't sound like overscan, overscan would only affect how it looks on the computer and wouldn't cut off anything on the TV.

In fact, it's exactly the opposite. TVs suffer from overscan - not computer monitors. Which doesn't rule out the possibility that it's been resized/croped wrong somewhere in the process...

/Mats

Perhads you misunderstood, let me clarify for dvdhelpplease. Also note that this doesn't affect footage from a DV cam, at least not mine.

Overscan is going to affect how it's viewed on a monitor because it's visible, unless your using software to view the video that compensates by masking the overscan area -or- you have cropped the overscan area of the video. It won't be visible on TV since the overscan area of the video is off the visible part of the screen.

By cut-off video I'm assuming you mean that when you view it on your TV or monitor some of the original video is now missing. If that's case then it has nothing to do with overscan, in fact it's the exact opposite because the overscan area has been cropped along with part of your video.

[mats.hogberg]

Overscan is a phenomenon of TV. It differs from TV to TV. The "overscan area" is a very subjectve matter, as it is different depending on what TV you use to watch the video on. So, the overscan area is visible on a computer monitor. On a monitor, you can see all of the video. On the TV you can't, as the edges are outside the visible area. Generally, this "not seeing the edges" phenomenon is called overscan, and is what you experience when you watch the video on TV. I've never heard overscan as a term for what you see of the edges (that you don't see on a TV) when you view the same video on your monitor...

when you view it on your TV or monitor some of the original video is now missing. If that's case then it has nothing to do with overscan

I'd rephrase thet to "when you view it on your TV and monitor " and I agree. But if you see things when you view the video on the monitor, but not on the TV, then it is overscan.

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

I did try changing the "Size" part in TMPGEnc before converting it to m2v, however when burned onto the DVD, lines appear rather than picture. The only size that worked was TMPG's default of 720X 480

Here is a rundown of what I did to convert avi to DVD:

This is the method I used:

1) checked stats in Gspot
Divx 5 Pro, Runtime: 1:58:07, Bitrate 714kb/s, Audio bitrate 115kb/s

2) Extracted ac3 from avi

3) Used Bitrate Calculator :Calculated Bitrate: 5003

4) TMPGEnc:
Moved Directshow Multimedia File Reader up to top of list in VFAPI Plugin

OPened video and then settings:
FPS is 23,976
Calculated Bitrate 5003
Set Encode mode to 3:2 Pulldown

Set Source Aspect ratio to 1:1 VGA
Set Video arrange method to Full Screen(Keep Aspect ratio)

I used TMPGEnc to convert the avi to m2v file for some reason I have reason to believe that the "size" is wrong, but when I change it and then burn it, the movie appears to have lines when played back on DVD player. So the size must stay 720X 480 for it to playback fine.

5) Used DVDAuthorGui to author it, creating iso

6) DVD Decrypter to burn.

Let me know if I did anything wrong or if there is some setting I missed or need changing.

All of your help is very much appreciated, and I thank you greatly.

After reading your overscan explanations, which method do you suggest I try?

I am able to know that the right side of the video is not seen after burning it on a DVD because I have the original avi to prove that the right side does exist.

[thecoalman]

FPS is 23,976
.

NTSC video is 29.976 Is that a typo?

PAL is 25

[DVDHelpPlease]

I got the avi from a DVD with Gordian Knot and it was 23.976 frame rate.

NTSC video yes. But no not typo unfortunately.

[mats.hogberg]

So the size must stay 720X 480 for it to playback fine

That's true. Or 704 * 480 or any of the other resolutions in the DVD spec. What to do to work around the overscan problem is to resize the video to say 704 * 448, then add borders to fill up to 720*480 (8 px left & right, 16 px top and bottom).

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

Yes but how do you add borders? Where do you go and what do you do? I'm not familiar with how to add borders or even afterwards, how to finally author it all. Please explain

[mats.hogberg]

See my post from July 17, stage 4. Use AviSynth (hard) or VirtualDub resize filter (easy) to resize (and add borders).

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

what? July 17? stage 4? where? Forget it.

Thanks for all your help anyway. I'm giving up on this method and looking for another. If this was more common, more people would post asking about it and they haven't, so I'm sure there is another way to dealing with this issue I have. Another way of authoring or something. Let's hope.

[mats.hogberg]

Sorry - Sept 04!

[DVDHelpPlease]

I'm having a little trouble finding your instructions Sept 04. Please paste link. I'd appreciate greatly

I found out the problem is whenever I use any authoring program eg) Dvd-Lab, TMPGENC DVD Author, DVDGUI....that the right side of the screen is cut off when viewed.

[mats.hogberg]

My AVI to DVD steps

• 0) Run AVI thru VirtualDub MP3 Freeze to check for bad/undecodable frames. If found, forget it, delete the AVI and get on with my life, if all OK, continue with 1)
  1) Check frame rate to determine PAL or NTSC (GSpot or VirtualDub)
  2) Extract audio from AVI using VirtualDub or GoldWave
  3) If not 48 kHz AC3 already, decode audio to wav, and encode wav to AC3 using ffmpeggui
  4) Create a AviSynth script with resizing and stuff (depending on NTSC/PAL from step 1) for the AVI (Notepad)
  5) Calculate bit rate based on movie length using Videohelps Java bit rate calculator
  6) Encode video elementary stream (frame rate as per step 1) from AVS script using TMPGEnc or MainConcept, VBR mode, with bit rate from step 5 as average bit rate, max at 8000 kbps, min at 2000 kbps
  7) Author AC3 from step 3) and m2v from step 6) with TMPGEnc DVD Author, IfoEdit or DVDAuthorGUI
  8 ) Make DVD Video ISO image of output from step 7) with ImgTools Classic
  9) Burn image to DVD media with DVDDecrypter

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

Thank you very much. But it seems every link I search about "resize/Add Borders" with Avisynth is nonexistent.

Anyone know the code or instructions to resizing or adding borders?

[mats.hogberg]

AVISource("D:\movies\xyz.avi") 
LanczosResize(704,464) 
AddBorders(8,8,8,8)
ConvertToYUY2()

Resizes to 704 * 464, then adds 8 px border on each side, to make the total 720*480

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

Thank you.

And where do I paste the code or save it as in Notepad? And where do I load it if saved in Notepad?

[mats.hogberg]

You save it as a .avs script (from Notepad or other text editor). If avisynth is properly configured, your encoder (or video layer) will see/show "xyz.avi" resized to 720*480, with a 8 px border all around, when you open the avs script with the encoder/viewer
The syntax for addborders is:
AddBorders(int left, int top, int right, int bottom), that is, clock wize, starting from 9 o'clock. So, if adding 16 px top & bottom, 8 left and right, it'd be
AddBorders(8,16,8,16)

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

Yes but how do I burn the avi and avs files together onto a DVD+RW so it plays right? In other words where do I load the avs into TMPGEnc to encode it into the video file so I can burn that?

[mats.hogberg]

You open the AVS instead of the AVI. The AviSynth wíll then act as a "go between" the actual AVI file and the encoder, doing stuff (resizing and adding borders in this case) to each frame before passing it on to the encoder. (A.K.A. frame serving)
To open it in TMPGEnc, you have to select "*.*" in the file selector to "see" the avs script.

/Mats

[DVDHelpPlease]

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with Avisynth, or what you've been talking about above but just a note, there was never anything wrong with my original avi in playing back on the PC or TV screen.

It seems only after I converted the avi to m2v or mpeg2 and used programs to burn onto the DVD that this problem of right side cut off existed.

Not in the m2v/mpeg2 file but after I burned them using either Nero, DVD-Lab, or TMPGEnc DVD Author.

Please tell me if there is another method I can use now or should I continued trying to understand what you wrote above(which still confuses me on how the Avisynth and m2v file relate).

Thanks though for your assistance and patience.

[mats.hogberg]

An mpg or AVI can have any resolution and play fine. But authored as DVD, it has to have certain dimensions. If not, none knows how your player will react or treat it.
The avs doesn't relate to the m2v at all - look at it as another way of opening the AVI. It comes into play long before m2v.
But to make it simple:
Find out the AVI bit rate to see if it's PAL or NTSC. (25 fps=PAL, not 25 fps=NTSC) If you're in PAL land, you're probably fine whichever. If you're in NTSC land, and the AVI is PAL - forget it - you need to do a frame rate conversion (or spend some time reading some guides on this - but beware, it's much more complicared than what you've tried so far!)
Start TMPGEnc and select NTSC or PAL DVD template, according to the TV system your AVI is.
Encode.
Author result with whatever DVD authoring app you're familiar with, like TMPGEnc DVD Author.
Done!

/Mats