TMPGENC not able to convert a movie longer than 3 hours???

[eggedd2k]

i'm trying to convert a movie which is just over 3 hours long. after going through the wizard and lowering the bitrate so that it'll fit on a dvd i finally get a message saying that it's not possible to use CBR when the movie is longer than 3 hours. this seems daft - can anyone help?

[guns1inger]

Don't use the wizard ? Perhaps tempgenc is trying to save you from yourself. 3 hours is around 3120kbps, which is very low for a CBR encode unless you are down around VCD resolution.

[eggedd2k]

what's the solution then to encode a 3 hour + movie if the bitrate is too low?

[guns1inger]

You have a number of options

1. Use a very low bitrate and sacrifice quality
2. Use a reduced resolution - half-d1 or even VCD equivalent - see What is DVD (top left corner of this page) for valid resolutions for your format. Depending o the source, there may not be much difference visually at half-D1. VCD resolution is definately be of lower quality.
3. Split the movie across two discs
4. Use dual layer discs instead

[manono]

Hi-

I've developed a fondness for Indian films recently. Most are long and many are over 3 hours long. You have to take measures to keep up the quality.

I always encode at full resolution. Although it's often recommended around here to use half D1, personally I don't believe in it. To each his own.

I use a lower minimum bitrate than usual, 250, although I keep my maximum bitrate as high as allowed, considering the audio. VBR all the way. I don't know where you got the bright idea of encoding long movies using CBR, but it's a stupid idea.

Although I regularly use the Undot filter in AviSynth, and rarely the RemoveGrain filter, I let CCE do most the filtering for me. Maybe you can do similar things in TMPGEnc, not sure. One idea is to use a low bitrate matrix, which will do the high frequency filtering for me without the loss of too much detail. If I have to, I'll use CCE's Very Low Bitrate matrix (although under no circumstances should anyone use its Ultra Low Bitrate Matrix). Usually, though, I'll use a better matrix for the job, if possible. And as a last resort, if I'm having trouble getting it compressed with good quality, I'll also turn on CCE's Low-Pass Filter and/or the Vertical Filter.

Indian films are usually colorful, action packed, loaded with songs and dances and can be very difficult to compress. But you might be surprised at the quality that can be achieved at bitrates around or under 3000 if you're careful and know what you're doing.