From AVI to DVD, Which Conversion Method Is Better?

[moviebuff2]

Hi everyone:

I have an AVI which I want to convert to DVD. Currently, I know 2 ways of doing that.

One way is direct recording. I have a 2 stand-alone Philips DVD machines (1 player, 1 player/recorder) which play DivX. I can connect them and record the AVI directly via their component video jacks (red, blue & green). Using the HQ recording speed, I will get approximately 1 hour of video per 1 single-layer disc.

The other way is to use DivXToDVD to convert the AVI to Vob files then to author them onto a DVD disc. Recording speed is not the issue here and I can get approximately 2.5 hours of video per 1 single-layer disc.

Which method is better?

Thanks

[guns1inger]

What is your main focus ?
Do you want the fastest conversion ?
Do you want the highest quality conversion ?

If you have a Divx capable player, why convert ?

[moviebuff2]

Hi guns1inger

I would like the best possible video & audio qualities for my disc. DVD format offers me chapter making which makes it easier to search for a certain part of a video. Besides, not all my friends have DivX-ready machine. The AVI clip is for our reunion.

[guns1inger]

FitCD
AvsEdit
Avisynth
HCEnc
VCalc
Aften
EncWavtoAC3 or AftenGUI
VideoCalc
Virtuadubmod
GUIForDVDAuthor

Open your video in virtualdubmod. Streams -> StreamList. Right-click on the audio stream and select Compression. Click on Uncompressed PCM and then OK. Click on Save Wav and save your audio to a file. Click OK. Click on File -> File Information. Note the running time. Exit Virtualdubmod.

Open your avi in FitCD. Select the appropriate settings, then save the avisynth script.

Put your running time into Video Calc and work out your bitrate.

Load the avs script into HCEnc, use the bitrate you calculated as the average bitrate for a 2 pass VBR encoding. Set the max and min 2000 above and below the average. Encode your video stream.

Load your Wav into EncWavtoAC3 and encode to an AC3 audio stream.

Load GUIforDVDAuthor, load your assets, create your menu and add your chapters, and author your disc. Test, burn and test again.

That is the process in a nutshell.

If you want to work on improving the quality of the image, use avsedit and some external plugins, such as blockbuster and aSharp to improve the quality. The avsedit help file will explain how these plugins work.

This will produce a much higher quality disc than either of your selected methods.

Food for thought.

If the source is good quality, you probably won't need more than the FitCD avisynth script. No plugins etc. You do need the script for HCenc to load the file.

If the video is between 60 - 70 minutes, you can probably do a CBR encode instead, which will take about half the time.

[moviebuff2]

Thanks, guns1inger!

[mats.hogberg]

...or if above seems too daunting, simply use convertx2dvd.

/Mats

[guns1inger]

You diss'n my instant guide ? I thought I managed to brush over all the technical details and complexity petty well.

[mats.hogberg]

Not at all! But for someone who's spent 5 years here (I'm just ranting, moviebuff2, not trying to make fun of you), and still haven't found more than 2 ways to convert AVI to DVD (one using a oneclickwonder, the other to do analog capture) it could be too much !

/Mats

[moviebuff2]

matt. Yes, what you say is true. I have been member here for 5 years. I'm just "lazy" to update my knowledge more often. I guess I'm just too content with what I have. You know, I watched video tapes (VHS & Beta) on a B&W TV (not monitor) until 1987 and I'm still driving my 1990 Toyota Tercel.

Anyway, thanks for all the helps.


p.s.: I'm still using Windows 98SE!

[moviebuff2]

guns1inger wrote:

Open your video in virtualdubmod. Streams -> StreamList. Right-click on the audio stream and select Compression. Click on Uncompressed PCM and then OK. Click on Save Wav and save your audio to a file. Click OK. Click on File -> File Information. Note the running time. Exit Virtualdubmod.

Hi guns1inger:

I am digesting your guide.

I thought the above quote sounds familiar to me when I first read it. Then I remember I did something similar to that to clean up a noisy audio track of a video clip. Here's what I did:

I used virtualdubmod to open the AVI file. Next, I clicked on "stream", "streamlist" then directly "save wav" and name the wave file that I wanted to save. The wave file I would get would be a Microsoft Wave, with a codec of LAME MP3, and format of 48000 Hz, 128 kBit/s.

Following your instruction with the compress/decompress steps, I also got a Microsoft Wave file, but with a codec of PCM and format of 48000 Hz, 16 bits, 1536 kBit/s. A much larger (uncompressed?) wave file.

Does it make any difference which method I use to obtain a wave file? I mean, will a smaller (compressed) wave file result in lesser audio quality (hi Scott ) for my DVD when I put the audio and the video together?

[Pinstripes23]

Definitely go with the larger uncompressed PCM. In guns1inger's encoding audio step -
Load your Wav into EncWavtoAC3 and encode to an AC3 audio stream. That program won't encode the smaller file - which as far I'm concerned is just renamed to .wav.

[guns1inger]

I suggest decompressing to an uncompressed wav because it makes encoding to AC3 easier later on - especially if the source is VBR MP3.

EncWavtoAC3 (or AftenGUI, if you prefer) will encode the WAV to AC3, getting most of the space back. If you encode to stereo (2.0) AC3 @ 192 kbps then the audio will be about 50% larger than a 128 kbps MP3 file.

[moviebuff2]

Thanks, guys.

[indiannawaf]

Set the max and min 2000 above and below the average

I see the max bitrate column, where is the min bitrate column?

Btw.....awesome guide, short and clear.

[guns1inger]

HCEnc doesn't have a minimum, although many other encoders do. Doesn't really become an issue until your average bitrate gets pretty low. Also, HCEnc seems to be pretty adaptive and not prone to underruns.

[indiannawaf]

Okay....thanks!

[indiannawaf]

Okay...I successfully converted an avi to mpeg-2 using this method and i wanted to do more.
So i picked up another avi and followed the same instructions as before. Only this time when i load the script in HCEnc, i get an error- 'ACM failed to suggest compatible PCM format'.

Another question, is it necessary to select YUY2 from the left hand side drop down menu in FitCD if I intend to use HCEnc as the converter? I didnt select anything for the first video but i had no problems.

[guns1inger]

Tick the YUY2 box, then go into the script window and change the ConvertToYUY2() statement to ConvertToYV12(), as this is HCEnc's natural colour space. If you don't HCGUI will remind you when it tries to load the script.

The first issues sounds like you don't have the codecs for the audio in the avi file.

Two things to try to solve this

1. Use DirectShowSource instead of AVISource when you load the video

2. Add a ,false into your DirectShowSource/AVISource statement to stop the audio being loaded

It is always good practice to load your avs script into virtualdub before using it elsewhere, just for testing.

[indiannawaf]

Thanks again mate!
It worked this time.

[t_jay17]

will the method described here allow for multiple subtitles and menus

[guns1inger]

If you are working with multiple audio tracks you need to take into account the total size of all audio tracks when calculating video bitrate. Most bitrate calculators have a sections for extras or menu data. Throw around 5 - 6 MB per subtitle track into this as well.

You need to author with a tool that supports multiple audio and subtitle tracks. Most mid-range to high-end tools do. What do you normally author with ?

[t_jay17]

Usually I use nerovision but with that i can use only one audio track and no subtitle track and very limited menus.

[guns1inger]

ConvertXtoDVD will handle two audio tracks, if they are both in the avi file. It can't take external audio. It also handles multiple subtitle tracks. Limited menus, but a much better encoder than NeroVision.

[t_jay17]

I tried ConvertXtoDVD but putting a mkv in it and it saw both audio files but it didnt see the subtitles in it.

[guns1inger]

If you can extract the subs to .srt format, and name them the same as the mkv file, it should pick them up automatically.

[t_jay17]

How do i get decent menus if i use Convertxtodvd?
Do i convert it and then load it into guifordvdauthor?
And how would i go about putting 2 subtitle tracks where one if for the audio and the other translates text?

[guns1inger]

Use the VOBs (or demux them back to elementary streams) and using GUIForDVDAuthor is a good way to go. I haven't used it for subs, so I can't comment on how easy it is to add multiple tracks. My understanding is that you can only have one subtitle track at a time, so if you want to have two lots of information on screen, you will have to design your subs accordingly.

[t_jay17]

it is mkv files i am trying to burn so would i first need to convert them to vobs or do i demux them

[guns1inger]

Convert them to VOBs so they are in DVD format, then demux them. GUIForDVDAuthor may even be able to work with the VOBs

[t_jay17]

what do i need to demux them