TMPGenc and audio file

[JosieB]

I'm sorry I'm sure this is a stupid question but I am not at all knowledgeable about videos. I have a few small .avi clips from my daughter's wedding on my computer. I am trying to convert to mpeg using TMPG before burning to DVD. It encodes it beautifully but gives me a separate file for the audio. I want it all together but I can't see where I can choose that.

I am using the free version of TMPG.

Can anyone help please?

Many thanks
Jo

[Abond]

Right bottom corner you select System (Video+Audio). Or File-> Mpeg Tools - Multiplex Tab.
But you don't need to do this. Authoring applications (which would multiplex both streams and generate the DVD structure) will take both separate streams wihtout any problem

[JosieB]

Thank you - I was using an old version and the choices were greyed out. I have downloaded the latest and have found the choice you suggested

You mentioned Authoring applications, sorry to be thick, but would that be like Ulead Videostudio for example? I had thought I would just be able to burn the encoded file directly to DVD. Is there something else I need to do first? Or is that if I wanted to add titles etc?

Thanks for your patience

Jo

[Alex_ander]

You need something like TMPGEnc DVD Author (TDA) to create (from your encoded video+audio) standard VIDEO_TS folder with VOB files, then you burn it e.g. with Nero (in DVD video mode) or ImgBurn (free).

[dadrab]

I might also recommend GuiforDVDAuthor as an authoring choice. The application will put your audio and video streams together into a standard DVD format for burning with ImgBurn.

GDA is a very nice application and it's free.

Make sure you convert your audio to AC3 for a fully compliant DVD.

[ntscuser]

TMPGEnc DVD Author has it's own write folder to disc utility and I've found it to be rather good using it for example to write folders which were created by other authoring tools. No need to use another utility.

[Abond]

You mentioned Authoring applications, sorry to be thick, but would that be like Ulead Videostudio for example?

I must confess, I don't know. I have the programm but never used it for authoring, only for editing of DV (digital video, not DVD) material.
I would rather support the opinion of dadrab for using GuiforDVDAuthor, because the last version AFAIK can use Muxman for multiplexing (BTW Muxman use the Scenarist multiplexing engine!) and produce compliant DVD structure in a VIDEO_TS folder.
Then I would use ImgBurn in Built mode for burning the VIDEO_TS folder to disc. I don't know if there is a difference between burning capabilities of ImgBurn and TDA. But I know for sure that ImgBurn will respect the 32k gap between ifo and bup files, while I am not sure TDA will do it. This gap is need for puting the both files in different sectors of the burned disc - that is if the sector with one file becomes unreadable, the other would be still in a readable part of the disc. That is it purpose - bup is a backup file of ifo.

[JosieB]

Thank you so much all of you. I'm very grateful for the advice and certainly like the sound of the FREE programs!!

Dadrab - I don't know anything about converting the audio to AC3 . Is it not sufficient then to have the video & audio merged in TMPG & then encoded to MPEG? Can you recommend a (VERY SIMPLY WRITTEN!) guide? I don't like to bother people if I can read it up myself!!

Thanks again
Jo

[Abond]

Ehrm, dadrab is from US. For NTSC DVD ac3 sound is absolutelly necessary for full compliance. UK is PAL DVD and here you can use the mp2 audio file produced from TMPG - it would be full compliant PAL DVD.

[CogoSWSDS]

FFMpegGUI is a good AC3 encoder for making your audio DVD compliant. Then use Gui for DVDAuthor or DVDAuthorGUI.

FFMpegGUI is pretty simple to use. Click the browse button next to your input file name, then browse to the wav file you want to encode. Then click the browse button next to the output file name box, and type in the name of the file you want your AC3 audio stored in. Select your bitrate (256kbps is plenty for stereo audio, ffmpeggui does not do 5.1 audio, only stereo) and make sure your sample rate is 48000 and click the convert button.

Then author your dvd in one of the previously mentioned packages (or TMPGEnc DVD Author is a good package so I am told - never tried it), using the m2v (video) and ac3 (audio) files.

CogoSWSDS

[JosieB]

Good thinking, Abond! I wouldn't have known about that

CogoSWSDS - that's nice & clear advice, thanks

Thanks again to all of you - I'm ready to roll!

Jo