Fixing MPEG-2 Half-DVD format for Toast?

[broaddd]

Hi folks,

I've encoded a few avis into MPEG2 using ffmpegx. Usually, I just drop them into Toast 7 to convert to DVD with a simple menu, and it doesn't need to reencode them.

This time, I did the avis in ffmpegx's half-DVD format (352x480 or whatever it is), and Toast wants to reencode the MPEG2 files.

Is there a way, or an app, to fix the MPEG2 so Toast will multiplex them without encoding them again?

Or is there a free program to turn these 4 MPEG2 files into a DVD with a simple menu?

Cheers,
Bruce

[terryj]

There is something, audio OR video, that Toast doesn't like.
Could just be the size, if everything else matches to what
you have done previously.

I am assuming you had 4 AVis you wanted to make into
a DVD. The easiest way would be to just stitch the
avis together either into one or two avis, and then make
MPEGs from that, following settings for the mpegs obtained
by using a BitRate Calculator.

for instance, if you have 4 avi files, at an average of 41
mins each, then by stitching two together in QT pro would
make two avis at 88mins apiece.
If the taget goal is to avoid re-encoding in
Toast, then you would need to get the files to fit the
4340MB space of a DVD-R.

Going to a BitRate Calculator, if you add in the total amount
of video ( 88mins x 2 = 176mins/ 60min= 2hrs56min15sec),
set the audio to meet a bitrate of 192kbps, and with the
estimated size on disc meeting a minimum of 4340,
you would need to encode the
m2vs with a max bitrate of 5.5, a min target rate of 3.1mbps.

you set your encoding in ffmpegx to meet that target rate,
and when you build in toast, you will not have any re-encoding.

[Frobozz]

Did you go to Toast 7's custom encoder settings and select "Never" next to the re-encoding option?

[broaddd]

Yes, I selected never encode, but it still does when it finds MPEG2 it doesn't like.

[terryj]

last thing I forgot to add...if you aren't encoding at the NTSC(29.97) framerate in ffmpegx,
Toast will re-encode everything.
Make sure when using NTSC 24 frame rate, to check the
3:2 pulldown box.

[broaddd]

I'm a PAL user, and Toast knows it

[dofer]

I'm a PAL user, and Toast knows it

352×480 goes for NTSC
352×576 goes for PAL