converting .avi with ffmpeg for iMovie / iDVD

[spigfry]

Hi, I have some .avi (divx) files I have converted into VIDEO_TS with ffmpegx (using ffmpg DVD settings) -

Basically i want to use iMovie to add chapter points to the files and then use iDVD to add a menu etc

Whats the best way to encode the original .avi so that iMovie/iDVD can easily use it and it can still be burned to disk to create a standalone DVD?

I tried letting iMovie do the initial encoding from .avi but the quality wasn't so good, ffmpeg produces a much better quality output, i just don't know what to do with the output files to allow iMovie/iDVD to usee them.

At the moment i have:

title.avi
title.avi.ff.ac3
title.avi.ff.mpg
title.avi.ff.mpv
title.avi.ff.mpeg.DVD - folder

Should i be using ffmpeg to convert the inital .avi into some other format so iMovie/iDVD can use it?

thx

[Case]

iMovie and iDVD work with video in the DV format, which is interlaced. If your source AVI isn't interlaced, you'll loose significant quality in the process. Stick to iMovie and iDVD for camcorder material.

[spigfry]

Thanks for that, do you know a good Mac util that i could use to add chapter points and a menu?

[mwest]

I'm looking for a program that does that as well. Toast sucks at menus...

[spigfry]

I tried Sizzle v0.5.0b2 - which has a simple menu geneneration page, you can add background image and sound etc - BUT it seems to want to do some more encoding/muxing/whatever - i thought one pass thru ffpegx would be enough, how wrong i was.

If i drop the .mpg file into sizzle it wants to de-mux and then re-mux it again - i can't see this doing anything but deteriorating quality

If i drop the seperate video .mpv file into the video option on sizzle (i assume this is seperate mpeg-2 video) and then try and add the .ac3 (again i assume this is seperate audio) - sizzle complains that the audio is not DVD compatible as it is not 48 KHz.....

[Case]

• Chaptering Encoded DVD Files
• How to edit Chapter Markers for a DVD-R?

And a Toast menu is just a PSD file, waiting to be custom edited. It's hard to imagine there isn't a sharing exchange somewhere already.

[mwest]

Thanks again Case, your knowledge is invaluable.

Matthew

[spigfry]

Thanks Case, you da man