AVI to DVD size question....

[rubberman]

WHenever i have an AVI file, i always use VSO divx to DVD converter to convert it to a VIDEO_TS folder method so my dvd player can read it. Usually after converting the VIDEO_TS always bigger in size than the avi. when i downloaded a movie in avi that was 800mb, the VIDEO_TS folder was 1.5 -2 gigs in size. BUt when i uploaded my video from digital camcorder to computer in avi format it shrunk i nsize. the avi on computer was 1.75gigs and after converting to the VIDEO_TS then it was 850mb. why is that?

[mats.hogberg]

Your regular AVI is usually DivX or XviD, an efficient format that has to be encoded @ about 4x the bitrate when encoded to DVD specs mpg.
An AVI from a camcorder is usually dv, which is far from as compressed as your regular DivX/XviD (it has a higher bitrate, and a higher quality), and when encoded to DVD, the bitrate is in fact reduced, hence smaller file size.
An AVI is just a container format, which can contain audio and video of almost any kind. That's why each AVI has to be treated as an individual case when converting it to something else.

/Mats

[rubberman]

ok well thats a good thing. cause i wanted to put the entire DV tape (From XMas) on dvd and went i got half way thru uploading the video to the laptop it was already at 6gigs or so. so after convering i should be able to get it on dvd without much shrinking.

[kschang]

Or to rephrase Mats' answer...

There's AVI, then there's AVI. THink of AVI is just a bottle (container). What's inside can be as concentrated as syrup, or as diluted as water, or anywhere in between.

Downloaded stuff is typically VERY highly compressed, MPEG-4 type. Someone spent a lot of time to get a tightly-squeezed concentrated output, so to speak, so you can spent the minimum amount of time downloading and still have maximum quality.

(And in the future, Do NOT say you downloaded a movie, since that's against the AUP here)

Whereas a file from the camera, due to speed issues, is NOT as concentrated / compressed as the stuff you can download. The camera needs to dump the data as fast as it can, while making the file easily editable on the PC.

Does that kinda make sense?

[mats.hogberg]

(And in the future, Do NOT say you downloaded a movie, since that's against the AUP here)

Well, actually, it's not - downloading a copyrighted movie is against the AUP.
Since as we know, a great percentage of movies downloadable uning Internet (mostly using some P2P protocol) is in fact pirated copyrighted material, someone is surely going to scream bloody murder all over the place as soon as one mentions "downloaded", and to keep these persons mental stability, it's best not to even write "downloaded". The source of the material is rarely to any help at finding a cure for the problem at hand anyway.

/Mats

[ZippyP.]

i wanted to put the entire DV tape (From XMas) on dvd and went i got half way thru uploading the video to the laptop it was already at 6gigs or so. so after convering i should be able to get it on dvd without much shrinking.

It's the time that's important, not the size of the avi. You should be able to get 2 hours of good quality home video onto a DVD when converted to DVD format.

[jimmalenko]

The source of the material is rarely to any help at finding a cure for the problem at hand anyway.

I dunno ...... if it's downloaded, chances are that some other monkey has screwed the encode, and not the OP. I'd dare to say that it's in fact quite informative to know the source, since you can cut out the whole "troubleshoot your equipment / capture methods & settings" side of things and substitute it with "You can polish a turd to make it shiny, but in the end, it's still a turd" argument.

"I downloaded a movie from P2P" is well within the AUP (since there's about a 1% chance that P2P can be used for legitimate, public domain movie downloads), but it is quite helpful to troubleshooting the problems since we all know what to expect with this type of source.

[mats.hogberg]

"I downloaded a movie from P2P" is well within the AUP (since there's about a 1% chance that P2P can be used for legitimate, public domain movie downloads)

Problem is, some vigilante groups don't see it that way, and submits the OP to a barrage of more or less outspoken accusations of being a pirate, leading to the thread going down in flames...

/Mats

[jimmalenko]

"I downloaded a movie from P2P" is well within the AUP (since there's about a 1% chance that P2P can be used for legitimate, public domain movie downloads)

Problem is, some vigilante groups don't see it that way, and submits the OP to a barrage of more or less outspoken accusations of being a pirate, leading to the thread going down in flames...

Yes .... but you hold a couple of coloured cards that could quite quickly stamp that sort of crap out, don't you think ?

[mats.hogberg]

Sure do!

/Mats