Converting AVI to DVD

[PhaedraUK]

Hello,

Apologies for novice questions; I have done some basic research, but can't figure out where I'm going wrong.

I've previously burnt a few Video_TS files to DVD for use on my standalone (living room) DVD player, always without problems, but this is the first time I've also tried to convert an AVI file and then burn it to DVD.

I converted the avi file to Video_TS using ffmpegX DVDmpeg2enc. Before burning, I checked to see if the converted file would play in Apple DVD Player. The playback was very 'jerky' (plays for a second, pauses for a second), but when I tried it in VLC Media Player, playback was fine, so I went ahead and burnt the DVD.

My standalone DVD player won't play the DVD at all. It will play on my Mac, but playback is 'jerky' as described above.

If anyone could give me a clue where I'm going wrong, I'd be very grateful.

Whilst here, thanks for the great forum. Whilst searching for help, I answered a few other (unrelated) questions, so thanks to everyone who contributes

Nicola.

[Case]

One thing that could cause this behavior, is if the AVI has a framerate of 23.976 fps (which would also set the target framerate to 23.976 fps) and the DVD conversion didn't have a 3:2 pulldown.

Leave the target framerate at 23.976. Tick the 'Set 3:2' checkbox in the Options tab. Encode.

[PhaedraUK]

'Set 3.2' definitely wasn't checked, so I'll do that and look at the framerate also.

Thank you very much for your help - appreciated.

[PhaedraUK]

That cured the uneven play (thanks again), and the DVD plays in both my Mac and PC players, but my standalone DVD player still won't have anything to do with it, and says the disc is "unknown."

[Case]

That could be related to your burning process or your DVD media.
How did you burn it (process, app)?
When you do a Get Info on the disc in the Finder, does it say "Format: Universal Disk Format"?
Do you have other DVD-Videos on the same brand and type (-R/+R/-RW/+RW) media that do work?

[PhaedraUK]

As usual, I used Roxio Popcorn and the same media, as my Superdrive is fussy (Ritek -R, which never fail for me). Movies that I've burnt to disc from the same spindle still play fine. The format is showing as Universal Disk Format.

The only difference in process is that I converted the file from avi to dvd using ffmpegX. I'm wondering if changing the setting to PAL would make any difference? - although there's no reason that I can think of why my DVD player wouldn't play NTSC.

[PhaedraUK]

Hello again,

I'm chalking the remaining part of my problem up to my DVD player. I replaced the old one today, as I've had it a few years, and it doesn't play many formats. I managed to pick up a DivX player (on sale) for the amazing sum of £27, so it was crazy not to!

Anyway... the point is that the DVDs I burned play fine, and although I've no idea why my old player wouldn't play them when it plays all the others, I'm putting it down to something I did which it wouldn't accept in its old age. I've put it out to pasture in the spare bedroom

Thought I'd let you know, and thanks again for your help. I've learnt a lot just reading these forums.

Nicola.

[steptoe]

I've tried various bits of software, and one I use for virtually all my video to DVD conversions needs is VSO ConvertXToDVD

It does exactly what it says in one click, and will basically convert anything you thro wat it, if you have the codecs installed, into a DVD, either DVD5 or DVD9

It will also quite happily convert MKV to DVD, TS to DVD, and will handle NTSC or PAL with ease, no I don't work for them, but it does what it says and is updated quite frequently, which is rare for a commercial software and doesn't cost that much

It keep audio in synch, the menus leave a lot to be desired in the current release, but v3 is in beta now with much improved features


It can't do a lot except convert to DVD, no filters, nothing, but v3 appears to improve this lacking by quite a lot



The trial is exactly what is says, its 100% fully functional in all areas for 15 days, unlike a lot of alleged trial software that restrict what you can do, so make it far to much of a gamble

[steptoe]

I forgot, it can even burn the DVD after conversion, but I prefer to set it so it outputs the files so I can burn using IMGBurn which suits my needs as the internal burning engine with ConvertXTODVD doesn't do what I need, whereas IMGBurn has been 100% accurate on all media and on a lot of different players

[artymex]

Well steptoe, I aggree that ConvertXTODVD is a highly awarded tool. The only "little" problem is that it is a WINDOWS SOFTWARE ONLY. There is no Mac Version. Then for us, the Mac users, we NEED first to install Windows on our Mac's, in order to use this software. Not the best solution, even if at present any Mac is able to work natively on any platform (Mac OS X, Windows or Linux), because of... the need to look for another OS to install (more $$$ to spend on a more expensive OS -Windows has always been more expensive that Mac OS-). In this case, there are also many excellent OpenSource apps that can be installed on the Mac, and you do not need to spend more money (of course, you may need to install some adds to the "basic" Mac OS X, but nothing more complicated that to install Windows, and... at no cost!; the only drawback is that these OpenSource tools have no GUI interface that we like so much, they commonly use command line inputs). And, if you still want to process your files into the Windows environment, you may want to give a try to a FREE software like DVD Flick that I've used for DVD authoring with very good results.
Thanks anyway for the suggestion.
Cheers!

[bsmesquita]

Guys,

I've tried to do what you suggested... checked the SET 3:2 checkbox and made sure the target framerate to 23,976 but I still get the uneven play on the computer's DVD Player... VLC works fine, just as Nicola's.

I've also tried to burn the dvd and play it on a desk player but I still have the same funny output...

What else could it be? Any ideas???

By the way, I just got my first Mac and I got no experince with it...

Thanks for any help!

Bruno.