AVStoDVD Support Thread

[davexnet]

AVStoDVD Output size wrong?
======================
I converted a .mp4 HD TV video clip to DVD format then noticed that the size is reported differently when it's loaded into DVD Shrink. Doublechecking with Windows Explorer shows that DVD Shrink has it correct. AVStoDVD says 2739 MB while DVD Shrink shows 2018 MB (graphics below). That's a big difference: 2739-2018=721 MB! I need to put together several of these clips to author a DVD so need to know the correct sizes being produced by AVStoDVD. Am I misinterpreting the AVStoDVD Output Size numbers, or what...?

Hello -
do you have the AVStoDVD log relating to this run? Without it, your question cannot be properly evaluated.

I believe that size on the A2d screen is an estimate based on the chosen bitrate.
If HCenc 1-pass is used, sometimes the actual rate can vary. Only the log will confirm this.

[JohnnyBob]

My image above shows the bottom of the main AVStoDVD window. Here's the log. I see now at the tailend of the log the actual and estimated size, so the question becomes - why isn't this displayed correctly in the main window after the conversion? It's tedious to go reading log files.

[Heathsideboy]

Fascinating reading with these most recent posts as they all might come in handy for me at some point to follow.

Anyway, I would just like to ask a simple question so that I am doing the correct procedure. You have sort of answered it anyway but I just want to be certain.

If I have a set of VOB files and I want to edit each one then burn them all to DVD using the NTSC standard, is this the correct way of doing it?

1. I would first edit each chapter using something like VideoReDo.
2. Then I would put the edited chapters in AVStoDVD to be converted to the NTSC standard.
3. Then if I wanted to add a menu, I would put the converted NTSC edited chapters into perhaps DVDStyler then burn to a DVD.

Would this be a satisfactory end result and I would not be re-encoding by doing this in the order I have mentioned?

If this is the wrong procedure, can somebody tell me the right way of doing this with the knowledge that I would not be re-encoding the final DVD?

Thanks

HB

[davexnet]

My image above shows the bottom of the main AVStoDVD window. Here's the log. I see now at the tailend of the log the actual and estimated size, so the question becomes - why isn't this displayed correctly in the main window after the conversion? It's tedious to go reading log files.

As you can see, for short files, where the bitrate is 8500, HCenc 1 or 2 pass will always produce a
file smaller than that theoretical max bitrate. HCenc encodes in variable bitrate, it can't maintain 8500 kbps.

For these short files, FFmpeg will hit the target (8500) since it encodes 8500 Constant Bitrate no matter the
footage complexity - hence, it's recommended for these kinds of situations.

[davexnet]

Fascinating reading with these most recent posts as they all might come in handy for me at some point to follow.

Anyway, I would just like to ask a simple question so that I am doing the correct procedure. You have sort of answered it anyway but I just want to be certain.

If I have a set of VOB files and I want to edit each one then burn them all to DVD using the NTSC standard, is this the correct way of doing it?

1. I would first edit each chapter using something like VideoReDo.
2. Then I would put the edited chapters in AVStoDVD to be converted to the NTSC standard.
3. Then if I wanted to add a menu, I would put the converted NTSC edited chapters into perhaps DVDStyler then burn to a DVD.

Would this be a satisfactory end result and I would not be re-encoding by doing this in the order I have mentioned?

If this is the wrong procedure, can somebody tell me the right way of doing this with the knowledge that I would not be re-encoding the final DVD?

Thanks

HB

I think, (and MrC will correct me if I'm wrong), any time you feed A2D a VOB as the source, it will index it,
hence it will get re-encoded. I believe videoredo does smart editing, only re-encodes at the cut points.
Therefore feeding a compliant mpeg2 files Vs. the VOB to A2D may result in the file *not* being re-encoded
as long as it is still DVD compliant.

If I'm misunderstanding your work flow, elaborate with more details.

Why are you editing VOB's to begin with? Generally it's a last resort.

Any particular reason you're using DVDstyler? A2D can create a menu and do the authoring for you.

[Heathsideboy]

Why are you editing VOB's to begin with? Generally it's a last resort.

The VOBs in question have come from a DVD that had family VHS tapes converted onto it. These tapes go back about 25 years. Because of the nature of them, there are parts on the DVD that have major glitches (as video cameras in them days caused this). Plus, as also with VHS tapes, there is a long black pause towards the end that needs to be cut out as it is useless. I wanted to cut out all the glitches and bad frames along with this black pause at the end on one of the VOBs. This is what I was going to perform first. Then I need to make them NTSC standard for my auntie who is over here in the UK at the moment from the States. I am hoping she can then watch them when she gets home. Then I was going to use DVDStyler for the menu as I had been informed that this does not re-encode.

Is there another way I should do this then? Should I make them MPEG first through AVStoDVD with NTSC standard by using the .IFO file and then edit them?

I would just like to know the right way of doing this so that it comes out properly.

I did not think to use AVStoDVD menus, just force of habit I suppose and because I was told that DVDStyler does not re-encode. How do I use AVStoDVD's menus and authoring software and at what stage?

Thanks

HB

[_MrC_]

@JohnnyBob

could you please post (or attach) the [black]S02E03_DVD9_0 project log file?

BTW I cannot add anything more than Dave has already written. @8500kbps HCenc is somehow stressed because you are trying to force it to do a quasi-CBR (Constant Bit Rate) conversion when HCenc is designed to run in VBR (Variable Bit Rate) mode. FFMpeg is infact the default selection for 8500kbps.

Thanks Dave!



Bye

[_MrC_]

@HB

if it is possible to have a single mpg file as VideoReDo output (I don't know VideoReDo), it is preferable, because you can feed AVStoDVD with that mpg and it will not be re-encoded.

About AVStoDVD menu, very simple, just use the Menu Wizard and Editor features. Anyway DVDStyler menues are more... stylish, if you are familiar with it, I suggest you to continue to use DVDStyler.



Bye

[JohnnyBob]

@JohnnyBob

could you please post (or attach) the [black]S02E03_DVD9_0 project log file?




Bye

attached as requested... (refused to upload until I added .log suffix)

[davexnet]

Why are you editing VOB's to begin with? Generally it's a last resort.

The VOBs in question have come from a DVD that had family VHS tapes converted onto it. These tapes go back about 25 years. Because of the nature of them, there are parts on the DVD that have major glitches (as video cameras in them days caused this). Plus, as also with VHS tapes, there is a long black pause towards the end that needs to be cut out as it is useless. I wanted to cut out all the glitches and bad frames along with this black pause at the end on one of the VOBs. This is what I was going to perform first. Then I need to make them NTSC standard for my auntie who is over here in the UK at the moment from the States. I am hoping she can then watch them when she gets home. Then I was going to use DVDStyler for the menu as I had been informed that this does not re-encode.

Is there another way I should do this then? Should I make them MPEG first through AVStoDVD with NTSC standard by using the .IFO file and then edit them?

I would just like to know the right way of doing this so that it comes out properly.

I did not think to use AVStoDVD menus, just force of habit I suppose and because I was told that DVDStyler does not re-encode. How do I use AVStoDVD's menus and authoring software and at what stage?

Thanks

HB

First things first. You cannot convert an mpg (or VOB) from PAL to NTSC without re-encoding.
In the back of my mind it occurred to me you're probably working with something personal - otherwise you
wouldn't be following this difficult route.

I would try it this way. Use vob2mpg to create one big mpeg file from your original DVD. Edit/fix the glitches with
Videoredo. Save out a new, repaired mpeg file.

Open AVStoDVD,, in the preferences set NTSC as the project type and add your new file. If you want to create a menu,
see the AVStoDVD Help/how to use it/DVD menu wizard and DVD menu editor. By default the program creates a simple
static menu back ground with a thumbnail. Take a look at it, it's quite simple to set it up. There's some motion
capabilities, if you want to make it more elaborate. Close the menu editor when done.

Edit the title/chapters tab. The default is chapters every 5 minutes, which can be manually changed.

Hit the "output" button at the top of the main screen and set it to DVD folder structure.
Start the project. This will create a new video_ts folder, which you can test in a software player
before you burn it. As you can probably infer, when you set this output type, a2d goes automatically
to the authoring step to create the video_ts folder, once the new video and audio have been created.

DVD styler appears to be similar to A2D - I've never used it, so I can't really comment on it. But as regards
whether anything is re-encoded or not, A2d will also preserve DVD compliant video and audio when it can.

[Heathsideboy]

if it is possible to have a single mpg file as VideoReDo output (I don't know VideoReDo), it is preferable, because you can feed AVStoDVD with that mpg and it will not be re-encoded.

Thanks for the advice MrC. VideoReDo is, as Dave says, an editing software that hopefully does not re-encode.

@ Dave,

Brilliant!!! Exactly what I needed as in a detailed way of doing this procedure. I shall try this in the coming days and see if it all works out okay. Any problems and I will let you know.

Thanks

HB

[JohnnyBob]

unwanted popup to edit command index, press x when finished
==============================================
This just started the last couple of conversions. I never saw it over the prior 20+ conversions. Sorry I don't have an image to post but it appears to be a copy of an .ini file. I press x then the conversion proceeds normally but I get another of these unwanted popups towards the end. I haven't changed any settings or software. How do I get rid of it?

P.S. The disadvantage is that the conversion is no longer an automatic process. Previously when I clicked the Start button, it proceeded to the final result without requiring any input from me. Now it stalls with these popups and won't proceed til I click the x. Very inconvenient...

[_MrC_]

This just started the last couple of conversions. I never saw it over the prior 20+ conversions. Sorry I don't have an image to post but it appears to be a copy of an .ini file. I press x then the conversion proceeds normally but I get another of these unwanted popups towards the end. I haven't changed any settings or software. How do I get rid of it?

P.S. The disadvantage is that the conversion is no longer an automatic process. Previously when I clicked the Start button, it proceeded to the final result without requiring any input from me. Now it stalls with these popups and won't proceed til I click the x. Very inconvenient...

You had. But the solution is easy: toggle off 'Edit Encoder Command Parameters at runtime' from Advanced Project Settings of main AVStoDVD window.



Bye

[JohnnyBob]

This just started the last couple of conversions. I never saw it over the prior 20+ conversions. Sorry I don't have an image to post but it appears to be a copy of an .ini file. I press x then the conversion proceeds normally but I get another of these unwanted popups towards the end. I haven't changed any settings or software. How do I get rid of it?

P.S. The disadvantage is that the conversion is no longer an automatic process. Previously when I clicked the Start button, it proceeded to the final result without requiring any input from me. Now it stalls with these popups and won't proceed til I click the x. Very inconvenient...

You had. But the solution is easy: toggle off 'Edit Encoder Command Parameters at runtime' from Advanced Project Settings of main AVStoDVD window.



Bye

I had "what"? I repeat that I did NOT change any settings, so whatever happened was some kind of instability of the software. I woke up this morning after leaving a long conversion running only to be greeted with yet another of these unwanted popups...then after I clicked the x, muxman started its run to complete the job. Of course after it's finished for this run, I'll go in and edit the advanced settings as you suggest. The question then becomes - how do I prevent this problem from happening again in future?

[_MrC_]

The question then becomes - how do I prevent this problem from happening again in future?

And I have already given you the answer: toggle off 'Edit Encoder Command Parameters at runtime' from Advanced Project Settings of main AVStoDVD window.

A comment of mine: you can save a lot of time by reading in advance the AVStoDVD Help section. It explains a lot of the software features, e.g. the option you have activated, with a random mouse left-click, I guess.



Bye

[JohnnyBob]

It wouldn't do me any good to try to read it. I need 1 on 1 help with a problem like this.

[_MrC_]

It would do you a lot of good.





Bye

[JohnnyBob]

I perpetually have too many tech problems to solve, here and elsewhere. I just don't have the time to research or read everything, so only 1 on 1 help will work for me.

[theewizard]

he gave you the answer
just look at advance settings
and change the 'edit command line parameters'

av2dvd is behaving as this comd has been checked marked/turned on

turn it off, and you will be fixed

[JohnnyBob]

Yes, I understand. The test will be my next conversion, none scheduled at this time. Whatever caused that setting to change spontaneously could happen again...

[theewizard]

what changed it was most likely an 'errant' mouse click
aka too many mouse clicks, PC was not responding as fast as you were clicking the mouse
click got registered 'at the wrong point' of mouse movement

i see this all the time with friends who call me me, because all of a sudden, something in their browser has changed/disappeared
i go over there and reset it for them, a 5 minute fix

all because they got in a hurry when the cpu was doing something or the web was slow, and they were clicking and clicking thinking the mouse or touch pad wasn't working
and the click got registered in the background while they moved the pointer to a different position on the screen

[JohnnyBob]

Possible. My computer is very sluggish when this software is running. Who knows what happens when mouse is clicked but nothing happens immediately, while switching screens, multitasking other software, etc. The test will be whether it sticks in future...i.e. whether this software is indeed stable on my XP SP3 computer.

[theewizard]

i used to have an XP machine liked it very much
but eventually upgraded

video processing is CPU intensive, it best to NOT do multi-tasking
set it up, then let run and go do something else, yard work, home work, sleep or watch TV

in fact the less 'background tasks' running the faster the process will get done

video processing 'authoring dvd' is NOT a background task, it is THE PRIMARY task !
let the web surfing and gaming and everything else wait until after you have authored the DVD

saves a whole lot of headaches

[JohnnyBob]

I frequently push my single processor, 10-year-old XP desktop to the limits, often multitasking, because I know from experience that I can do so without much reason for concern. It is a very stable op system and hardware. No doubt a later model would run AVStoDVD much faster, but I tend to doubt more reliably. I can usually keep reasonable responsiveness by manipulating process priorities. So far I've always used the 2-pass Hcenc at lowest priority (idle/background) by default, which doesn't cause much system slowdown. The only serious incompatibility I've noticed so far was ffdshow vs DVD Shrink, but may have fixed that by changing some settings as previously discussed above in this thread. It's possible that a different incompatibility caused the spontaneous "edit command line parameters" setting change, yet to be determined...i.e. I don't know.

[Heathsideboy]

Just a little note to say that I have gone through the full procedure that Dave mentioned in an earlier post and the final videos came out smashing. I made one PAL version doing it that way and one NTSC version doing it the way he described I should do it.

Strange thing is, both the PAL version & the NTSC version both play fine on my DVD player and TV. So I'm hoping that at least one version will work on my auntie's TV and DVD player back in the States.

Just got to say, AVStoDVD, now I have finally got to grips with it, is an ingenious piece of software and very clever indeed!

Cheers

HB

[manono]

Strange thing is, both the PAL version & the NTSC version both play fine on my DVD player and TV.

Most European PAL DVD players can play both NTSC and PAL DVDs.

So I'm hoping that at least one version will work on my auntie's TV and DVD player back in the States.

Most US NTSC DVD players can play only NTSC DVDs. Send her the NTSC version.

[davexnet]

Just a little note to say that I have gone through the full procedure that Dave mentioned in an earlier post and the final videos came out smashing. I made one PAL version doing it that way and one NTSC version doing it the way he described I should do it.

Strange thing is, both the PAL version & the NTSC version both play fine on my DVD player and TV. So I'm hoping that at least one version will work on my auntie's TV and DVD player back in the States.

Just got to say, AVStoDVD, now I have finally got to grips with it, is an ingenious piece of software and very clever indeed!

Cheers

HB

HB,
congrats on your results, glad to hear it worked for you.

[_MrC_]

Release 2.4.2 final is out



Bye

[davexnet]

Release 2.4.2 final is out



Bye

MrC,
isn't it 2.7.2 ?

[Seeker47]

Release 2.4.2 final is out

Uhm . . . I think you meant 2.7.2. (?)

I've been using the portable ( = "NoInstall" ) versions, ever since some ages-ago Alpha release, and this seems to have worked out pretty well for me. Any reason not to continue on that way ?