winavi/nero vision express question..

[voelser]

I've using Winavi to convert my divx files onto dvd and it's a great tool: it's quick and the quality is good. However it does not allow me to create a menu at the start of the dvd (yet), which is a shame.
So I thought I should give Nero Vision Express a go, since it came with my Nero version and it seemed pretty straight forward. Creating the menu was a easy and selecting the files as well. However the conversion was slooooow (compared to Winavi) and when it was finished the video was choppy.
I'm sure it's some settings I need to tweak, which ones? If it's not that, is there another piece of software out there that enables me to create a simple menu and does a good job at the conversion. As far as I can see with most programs out there it is either one or the other...

Thanks, Voelser...

[monzie]

For speedy encoding I would recommend CCE Basic (from Cimemacrafts) or possibly MainConcept MPEG Encoder.

For Authoring and adding simple menu's (and dead easy to use) try TMPG DVD Author.

[voelser]

Thanks for your reply.

I've tried the TMPG DVD author and find it very easy to use. Just what I was looking for. Thanks for that.

However for the encoding I've tried both CCE and TMPGEnc plus and find both very workable (maybe I'm just thick). With Winavi I manage to get 4 episodes (about 40 mins each) onto 1 DVD at a good quality, but when I used CCE i was only able to fit 1 episode onto a dvd (although the quality is very good). Maybe it's just me not knowing what settings to choose, but that's just it, I'm looking for something as simple to click right through. Or a standard set of settings which allow me to encode it quickly and without having to tweak a million settings.
The same goes for TMPGEnc Plus, although I did manage to make smaller files, but I'm yet to check the quality (and it was slower).
Maybe you can point me in the direction of a tutaorial that describes what I'm wanting to do or what settings to use. I've searched, but the most I find are to compile 1 movie onto a disc.

[monzie]

Bitrates..bitrates..bitrates...

4 X 40mins = 160mins (or 2hr 40mins)......use a bitrate calculator to decide your AVE or CBR encoding speed.

[voelser]

Hi again,

I think I am getting the hang of it although not quite yet. Here is the thing:

Have an episode of about 42 min. Calculate the bitrate. Then in CCE i put in the min and max bit rate (max 9500) and my calculated one as average.
Conversion works fine with, and the size stays down to the size i want it to (quality is good), but when I import the file into dvd author it says that the bitrate is too high: 9800 + audiobitrate, although I set the max bitaret to 9500. What am I doing wrong???

[underwurlde]

DVD movies comply to certain standards.

Is your mpeg DVD compliant?

[monzie]

You've made a mistake with CCE.. you possibly forgot about the audio....set the max at say 6000-7000 (you will not need any higher..i happily use 6000 as a max) ...and ENSURE the 'Make DVD Compliant' checkbox is NOT ticked (ever)......