TMPGEnc encoded file problem

[pete_flex]

Hi good People,
In my defense I searched like a maniac for this one but while there were things close I couldnt find another case like this but anyway..............

I had a DVD that I just watched and I thought Ok I am gonna make the 1 legal copy I am allowed being its mine but Im new to this and so a friend helped me out with the original files, he made them.dont ask I dont know.lol.WMV files. Ok I then took the WMV threw them in TMPGEnc and made them MPEG2 but the resultant files are close to 4 gigs apiece??
I know there must be a way to make them smaller but Im sorry to say I havent a clue and ive been reading all kinds of stuff and used the google search and read a few pages there without success so now I come to you for help and of course thanx in advance.this forum is as we say in poker "The Nuts" : ) <all good> 8)

[bugster]

I had a DVD that I just watched and I thought Ok I am gonna make the 1 legal copy I am allowed...

so a friend helped me out with the original files, he made them.dont ask I dont know.lol.WMV files.

Your friend doesn't seem to know what he is doing any more than you do
Use DVDshrink.

[xtreemkareem]

Sorry, but your friend was kind of clueless as to what to do. Converting to WMV results in SO MUCH quality loss it ain't funny. Don't convert to that format EVER unless you truly want to use it as your final destination format (but why would you?!). Depending on what you want to do here's what you do:

1) Burn a DVD Copy - If you have a DVD Burner you can burn a copy with a multitude of free software out there. If your DVD is less that 4.3 gigs, use DVD decrypter to burn to a single layer DVD+/-R/RW, all quality the same, a perfect replica. If it's larger than 4.3 gigs and you have a dual layer burner, you could possibly use that as well. Most likely though, you would want to use DVDShrink to TRANSCODE the DVD files so it will fit to 4.3 gigs. This will result in minimal quality loss while maintaining the DVD in the same native format it came in.

2) Make a compressed video fromat of the DVD (VCD/SVCD/CVD, ISO MPEG 1/2, DivX/XviD): For these formats, there are DVD players that will play these formats and some formats such as VCD will playback on just about every DVD player. VCD is lowest quality of the bunch and you can fit about 80 minutes video to a 700 MB CD-R. CVD/SVCD are better quality and use the same MPEG-2 format as DVD, but can only fit about 45 minutes to a 700 MB CD-R. ISO MPEG is basically VCD or SVCD quality MPEG that won't playback on it's own in a DVD player (though some models support it) and there's really no need to leave the job half done, just author to VCDor SVCD/CVD. DivX and XviD will allow you to create near DVD quality full length movies on 700 MB CD-R's and are good for PC-Viewing, but they will only play on a handful of DVD players. Guides for making these are all in the guides sections.

As for reducing the file size in TMPgenc? Just reduce the bitrate under the template settings. However, decreasing bitrate will result in lower quality and macroblocking so only reduce it untill you can't stand anymore quality loss. There are little tricks and what not that help you reduce file size without sacrifising too much quality in TMPGenc, but these are non-standard formats and may impair playback on stand-alone players. I hope this helps. Also, try to be more specific as to what you want to achieve. Many people may have the same problem a lot of times but depending on what you want to achieve, there may be an easier solution so tell us what is your end goal and we'll help ya get there. good luck!

[pete_flex]

Ok, thanx people I really was at a total loss and its kinda funny that although I have a decent command of a few proggies I never seen anything like it, the original file became 4.7 gigs......whew!! Its not worth 2 DVD's and if it comes to that I would try and find a file from somewhere else altho I am trying so hard to grow up and be legit! lol, Ok so I will try the shrink but let me ask you this Kareem, what if I started over with the WMV files and converted them to a doff format like AVI and then used my good ole TMPGEnc and went that way? Oh and the quality of the flick, even in those WMV files is absolutely top notch while I dont doubt you guys for a minute but I guess after watching so many VCD-SVCD flix it must B an illusion! : ) Im not in a rush being I seen the flick already and it would kind of serve a purpose being if I run into WMV files again at least I will know what to do right? Thanx so much and BTW......you dont play MW4 do ya? lol

ps Oops I meant to ask, any idea about how large the file would be after the "shrink" as I said its 4.7 Gigs now.....thanx again!

[jimmalenko]

...if it comes to that I would try and find a file from somewhere else altho I am trying so hard to grow up and be legit!

Why ? You own the original - no need to try and find anything DVDShrink will work it's magic on the original and give you an extremely-close-to-DVD-quality backup.

What if I started over with the WMV files and converted them to a doff format like AVI and then used my good ole TMPGEnc and went that way?

Welcome to the guides section.

Im not in a rush being I seen the flick already

Did you watch it off the disc ?

I meant to ask, any idea about how large the file would be after the "shrink" as I said its 4.7 Gigs now.....thanx again!

DVDShrink can make it fit *almost* any size you wish. By default, it will make it fit on a DVD-5.

[midnightsun]

well if you're trying to do it this way: dvd->wmv->avi(unspecified codec)->mpeg2
know that every time you do a conversion you're throwing away quality, even more so converting to formats that use totally different compression algorithms, so what people have been trying to say is that if you use a highly compressed source like wmv to recreate a dvd, it's not going to be very nice to look at.