damned MPEG-2 !!

[ifeghali]

Hi there,

I have 2 MPEG-2 files that I am trying to put into a single DVD for days with no success.
I have tried everything iMovie, iDVD, ffmpegx, DVD2OneX, Sizzle.

To be short, I have no MPEG-2 component so iMovie is useless. Also the movie loses the 16:9 aspect when using ffmpegx to convert them to DV format (as suggested by apple site). Same with MPEG-4.

I want to have them in the same title as different chapters, so DVD2One and Sizzle are useless.
My last option was to join them together. Tried one time and got "different audio bitrate" error. Converted them to DVD (quick profile) and hadn't changed anything. Tried again to join them and still the same error!! I can't understand why they have different audio bitrate if according to ffmpegx both is 448kbps !

(actually when I open them, one at a time, and click the info button I see that the audio bitrate is different from the one informed in summary and so they are not equal)

any clue ?
thank you

PS1: tried changing the audio stream of one file to be the same of the other with no lucky. when I choose "passthrough" the video is always converted to AVI.

PS2: tried demultiplexing the video, changing audio bitrate and couldnt mux again. "too many gaps"

PS3: tried authoring a DVD and then joining the 2 resulting VOBs. same error "different audio bitrate"

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warning: couldn't find any valid system header. I'm continuing anyway
warning: couldn't find any valid system header. I'm continuing anyway
Incompatible audio bitrates /Users/igor/Movies/vida_de_engenheiro_best.mpg.ff.mpg (112 bps) /Users/igor/Movies/making_of_vida_de_engenheiro_best.mpg.ff.mpg (32 bps)

[major]

Did you try to convert each file to MP4 H264 and then import in iDVD?

[ifeghali]

Did you try to convert each file to MP4 H264 and then import in iDVD?

yes and the 16:9 was lost. after the conversion the movie became 4:3 even though I selected DVD 16:9 on the autosize box.

[Case]

even though I selected DVD 16:9 on the autosize box.

Maybe that was the cause of the error in aspect ratio. The autosize box is a tool for the target format, not a description of the source format. Try the regular "16:9" to maintain a widescreen aspect ratio in your MP4 target.

[iCarlo]

I have been struggling with the MPEG-2's produced by a Digital Video Recorder Medion/Vision/Schneider MDC-4400 with a 160 GB hard drive.

When I tried to create a DVD of such files on a MacBook Core2Duo 2,0 GHz, the best results so far were obtained using the ffmpegX conversion to MP4 H.264, and then iDVD. Still, any movement in the video appears to be in lower resolution (horizontal stripes appear), and the sound is constantly off-sync for ca. 1 second (the sound comes earlier). What I tried to convert was an animation.

EDIT: Both of these problems are already in the MP4 file, this is not an iDVD issue. However, they are not in the MPEG-2 which is viewable using Win Media Player.

Any explanation?

Carlo

[kcossabo]

have you tried using MPEG Streamclip to convert it to DV then use iDVD?

[bluesmanJpn]

I have found that the best way to convert MPEG-2's is by using VisualHub. Very simple and easy to use. I use ffmpegX for when I have .avi files that I want to make DVD out of.