avi to dvd (aspect ratio problem)

[soliton]

I'm sorry to add another post about aspect ratios, but all the other posts are confusing me. Alot of people seem to be contradicting one another and I tested and wasted so many blank dvd's that I need to get some help personally.

I want to take my avi files and put them on dvd. They all are 640x480 resolution, which sounds like the correct resolution to have according to Simps here: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=258721&highlight=aspect+ratio unless I'm reading it wrong. so I guess I can skip resizing it in virtualdub?

i take the avi file and convert it using divxtodvd and i've tried every single combo imaginable as far as aspect ratio and standard goes. i take the conversion files and use Nero to burn. however, when i use the dvd on my dvd player, the size of the picture is too big overall.

i explained it pretty generic and im new to burning dvds so if you need more info, let me know. thanks alot.

[soliton]

when i convert using divxtodvd, i end up with 5 files.

VIDEO_TS.BUP

VIDEO_TS.IFO

VTS_01_0.BUP

VTS_01_0.IFO

VTS_01_1.VOB

i've been reading that avi's should be converted to mpeg files, am i doing this right?

[guns1inger]

Yes, you are doing it right. I'm not sure that DivxtoDVD is. Each VOB you be approx 1 MB is size, except if there is less than 1MB of data, or it is the last vob. For a full lenngth movie, I would expect more VOB files (usually 4 or 5). Having said that, DivxToDVD can sometimes estimate a correct bitrate at the outset, but for reasons known only to it, compress the crap out of a movie and produce a much lower average bitrate (I have experienced a movie estimated correctly at 5990 get compressed with an average bitrate of 1745 for no good reason).

When you say the picture is too big, what do you mean ? Too tall ? Some of it disappears off the edges ? More detail would help. How long is the avi file (runtime) ?

[soliton]

in GSpot it says the runtime is 00:09:05 (13,066 fr). and the x:y is 640x480 (1.33:1) [=4:3]

ive been messing around with it more today and it appears i run into problems when i convert using divxtodvd. for instance the original avi file's resolution is 640x480, but after converting it always makes the vob file's resolution 720x540, hence making the picture run off the edges on my tv.

i just recently resized the original avi file from 640x480 to 720x480. then took that new file and converted it using divxtodvd and it still made the vob file's resolution 720x540.

when i play it on my tv, im guessing it's 720x540 and that seems to be too big vertically and horizontally to fit on my screen.

should i even resize the original 640x480 resolution avi file at all?

also, im guessing divxtodvd may be where im hitting the problem, are there other avi to dvd converters that work just as easy?

thanks for the help, i really do appreciate the heck outta it

[soliton]

hey again. i think i found out why it only gave me 5 files instead of 6. i never created a menu. but anyways, i looked for another program to convert and found FilmMachine. it works really great. however...

before the actual converting with filmmaching, i set the output file type to mpeg2, the encoder to quenc, the aspect ratio to 4:3, the arrange method to "add borders, keep aspect ratio". after the conversion, the end result still becomes 720x540. why is this? i burned it anyway and it looks just the same as it did after using divxtodvd. the subtitles get cut off at the bottom edge of the tv screen, and the entire picture is simply just too big overall for the tv, both vertically and horizontally.

i tried that AVIresize calculator and i set the target format to NTSC. the target aspect ratio to 4:3. the hor. res. to 640. the ver. res. to 480. (within the miniscreen it displays 1.33:1. i calculate and the results are target dvd resolution: 720x491. and the virtualdub resize users expanded frame resolution is 720x480.

so i go into virtualdub, resize it to 720x491 without checking the expanded framesize. say ok, save as avi, and the end result has the audio and visual not syncing.

so anyways, im learning more about these programs and such, and it seems that my problem lies when i convert the avi file. it just simply makes the resolution too big apparently and i dont know why or how to make that not happen. it's happened with divxtodvd and with filmmachine. please help.

[guns1inger]

OK. There are two aspect ratios you need to keep in mind. The first you know about - simple X / Y (in your case 640 / 480) width by height of movie. On a PC that's all you need worry about. Why ? Because on a PC, a pixel is, for all intents and purposes, square. In virtualdub this is refered to as 1:1. When viewing on a TV, the pixels aren't square. In fact, the pixel aspect ratio (PAR) is different for PAL and NTSC, and for 4:3 and 16:9, even within formats. So there are four different pixel aspect ratios in play, just for full-D1. Just by coincidence, both PAL 4:3 and NTSC 4:3 have a 1:1 vertical pixel resolution of 540. However once you apply a factor for the pixel aspect ratio of each, you get an actual res of 576 for PAL, and 480 for NTSC.

Your problem is complicated further by the fact that your movie is of a nonstandard resolution. It is, in fact, too narrow. The easiest way to solve your problem is to load it up into virtualdub, add a resize filter, set the reszie res to 640 x 480 (i.e. no change), then set the expanded frame to 720 x 480. You will get vertical black bars at either end, however you will be DVD compliant. The slight distortion you may experience on a 4:3 TV won't be noticable in most cases. It is this strange aspect ratio that is thowing all the other apps off. The expect (rightly) the source to have an aspect ratio of 1.33 or greater. Yours is 1.212 after factoring in the PAR.

[junkmalle]

when i use the dvd on my dvd player, the size of the picture is too big overall.

Everything you've ever watched on TV has had the exact same "problem". Televisions are designed to overscan because there is often junk at the edges of the picture, and because eary televisions couldn't keep the picture completely centered or even nice and rectanglular. Overscanning hides all those defects.

[guns1inger]

Yesterday I started writing an aspect ratio calculator for just such occasions. After writing my long(ish) response above, I realised it did not cater for these types of situations. I have just re-written the guts of it to make sure it does. Feel free to give it a try and see if it improves your conversions. You can download it here http://users.tpg.com.au/adslrotx/Apps/aviresize.zip

Let me know what you think.

[soliton]

nice. it all worked out great now. thanks. i even understand what the calculator is doing.

however, now im at another roadblock :P i have several of these episodes, each are the same resolution. so i want to make a menu to list them so they dont just automatically play one after the other. i thought this would unbelievably easy compared to the stuff i been through, but of course it's just as hard for me.

anyways i use filmmachine to convert my avi files and i end up with about 18 files. i only end up being able to put 5 (vob, bup, ifo) into nero and burn. which they turn out great on the dvd player, but i need a menu. so i messed around with reeldvd and i got some kinda workable thing but it uses one of the other files i got (mpv) and that doesnt go into nero. im insanely confused and it amazes me how hard making a simple text menu is. in filmmachine they have a way to make a menu which is fine, but im guessing in order to make multiple buttons you need mulitple avi files and my avi files dont have the same info apparently and cant be merged it says. if i make a menu for each ep, how does that work on the actual dvd once i play it? i know html and i even used that htmltodvd? program. and i got an error after making a page and loading it in the program.

im at a loss once again, at this point id like to somehow use filmmachine if i could cuz its a great tool and i got to learn it pretty well. so anyone have suggestions?