Converting MPEG2 to AVI?

[Oilte]

Hey all, I started converting my old vhs tapes to my computer using hauppauge 3000 wintv card.
Anyways the problem is that it captures it using MPEG2 , and a 3.5 hour wedding video is taking up 10GB!
Does anyone recommend what sofware I should use to convert this to avi so I can burn it to dvd.

I downloaded Gordian Knot as I seen this guide posted on this video help site
Heres the guide
http://www.rita.lt/guides/GKnot_MPEG2toAVI.htm
but Im having problems with the dixv or xvid codecs as the options with the newer codecs are different to the options on the guide and plus after i had it all ready to go and encode all i had to do was press the divx and add to encoding que but it didnt work , something wasnt right.
Also I think Gordian Knot gives the option to Deinterlace the analog video which is probably neccessary for converting vhs to dvd. If anyone has the right codecs for me to work with that guide I would be very grateful.
P.S Im a newbie to all this so go easy on me.
Please point me in the right direction

[aedipuss]

do you have a dvd player that will play divx cds?
at 3.5 hrs. a divx cd would have a bitrate under 300kbps and not be very pleasant to watch.

[manono]

P.S Im a newbie to all this so go easy on me.

If you're really starting out, then I'd recommend you use AutoGK first, rather than its more configurable but also more complex big brother, Gordian Knot. There are guides for its use if you go to the link.

Also, as aedipuss says, a 3.5 hour wedding video will take up a lot of space if done with any sort of quality. And are you sure you want to make an AVI out of it, rather than a DVD?

[jagabo]

3.5 hours of VHS on a DVD encoded at 352x576 (VHS doesn't really have more resolution than that anyway) won't look too bad if you get a good clean cap with a quality s-video deck with time base corrector.

Try capturing again at about 352x576, 2500 kbps, and see what you think.

[Oilte]

do you have a dvd player that will play divx cds?
at 3.5 hrs. a divx cd would have a bitrate under 300kbps and not be very pleasant to watch.

Thanks ,I played it on my Playstation 3 but I want to put it on DVD for the couple.

P.S Im a newbie to all this so go easy on me.

If you're really starting out, then I'd recommend you use AutoGK first, rather than its more configurable but also more complex big brother, Gordian Knot. There are guides for its use if you go to the link.

Also, as aedipuss says, a 3.5 hour wedding video will take up a lot of space if done with any sort of quality. And are you sure you want to make an AVI out of it, rather than a DVD?

Thanks , well sorry I didnt mean to be too specfic , I want to convert this to dvd , so I just guessed that AVI is the format I would be converting it to in order to then convert it to dvd, If i could bring the file size down from 10 gb to put it onto dvd then I would be happy regardless of the format. Il have a look at AutoGK.

3.5 hours of VHS on a DVD encoded at 352x576 (VHS doesn't really have more resolution than that anyway) won't look too bad if you get a good clean cap with a quality s-video deck with time base corrector.

Try capturing again at about 352x576, 2500 kbps, and see what you think.

Thanks but Im using WINTV hauppauge ,so there is not exactly many options regarding the output file. I guess I need to get a better capturing program.

[jagabo]

Thanks but Im using WINTV hauppauge ,so there is not exactly many options regarding the output file. I guess I need to get a better capturing program.

Try capturing at 720x576 with the highest bitrate you can (or use the video you already have), then resize and reencode later.

[hech54]

Thanks , well sorry I didnt mean to be too specfic , I want to convert this to dvd , so I just guessed that AVI is the format I would be converting it to in order to then convert it to dvd, If i could bring the file size down from 10 gb to put it onto dvd then I would be happy regardless of the format. Il have a look at AutoGK.

What part of "The term AVI has NOTHING to do with a DVD" don't you understand? DVDs that you buy
and play in your DVD player DO NOT and CANNOT contain ANYTHING in AVI format.
DVD CONTAINS MPEG2 VIDEO - Plain and Simple.

[Oilte]

Thanks , well sorry I didnt mean to be too specfic , I want to convert this to dvd , so I just guessed that AVI is the format I would be converting it to in order to then convert it to dvd, If i could bring the file size down from 10 gb to put it onto dvd then I would be happy regardless of the format. Il have a look at AutoGK.

What part of "The term AVI has NOTHING to do with a DVD" don't you understand? DVDs that you buy
and play in your DVD player DO NOT and CANNOT contain ANYTHING in AVI format.
DVD CONTAINS MPEG2 VIDEO - Plain and Simple.

I never seen that term before so I dont why you just said it that way.

P.S Im a newbie to all this so go easy on me.

Perhaps you are not understanding me, My file is MPEG2, I do not have any software that can put a MPEG2 file onto dvd , never mind the fact that it is 10gb! so I want to convert it into a file that is smaller so that i can put on DVD,
I often use convert x to burn AVIs to dvd so therefore avi seems to be the easiest method of putting a file on dvd for me! Do you have an easier way rather than putting it to avi, what format should i convert it to put it on dvd and make it below 4.7 GB ??

[manono]

You already have ConvertXToDVD? Then try loading your MPEG-2 wedding video into it and take it from there. You really don't want to convert to an XviD or DivX AVI first if you can help it.

[jagabo]

My file is MPEG2, I do not have any software that can put a MPEG2 file onto dvd , never mind the fact that it is 10gb! so I want to convert it into a file that is smaller so that i can put on DVD

Use Mpeg2Cut2 to cut your file into three pieces and put them onto three DVDs. There will be no loss of quality.

[Oilte]

Thanks I never thought of that but three dvds doesnt sound exactly appealing, you know, especially if i want to start capturing other vhs tapes to dvds aswell.

[KneeRow]

You already have ConvertXToDVD? Then try loading your MPEG-2 wedding video into it and take it from there. You really don't want to convert to an XviD or DivX AVI first if you can help it.

manono is completely right! Officially you can only put 3 hours on a DVD in the "real" dvd format, but ConvertXToDVD will let you squeeze in a lot more. I've put 8 episodes of "24" onto a normal DVD5 disc.

You are definitely a newbie, and a new definition of newbie at that: someone who has the excellentest tools to do a job, but doesn't know how to use them ...

What part of "The term AVI has NOTHING to do with a DVD" blal bla bla .

I never seen that term before so I dont why you just said it that way.

Nevermind that guy, he's just frustrated and taking it out on you, or whatever!

[Oilte]

I tried using auto GK to a 3cd file size but the quality was somewhat lower than that of the orignal.
So then I just tried the convert x with the 10gb file and it said low quality,
I changed the target size then to "DVD-9 (8100mb)" ( I put in a blank TDK Double layer 8.5 gb DVD+R) and it said normal quality, but as it was burning this error showed up, Last month when i tried to burn a double layer with dvd shrink via dvd decrypter it said error aswell, Under nero tool info it says I have Double layer capabilties so I dont know whats going wrong.

[greymalkin]

Oilte,

MPEG2 is the right format for DVD, it HAS to be MPEG2 so your other programs are just converting the AVI's or whatever else you throw at it to MPEG2.

If you want to fit it on one dvd and preserve the quality as it is now I offer you another solution:

3.5 hours seems like an incredibly long time for a wedding and I'd be willing to bet it could use a little editing out "dead" time. You could load the file into a program like womble mpeg video editor, cut out the fat, and save it again using stream copy (no loss of quality).

This could probably get it down to dual layer dvd size. Then use an authoring program to make the DVD.

Trying to take the converted mpeg and re-convert it is a bad idea, as you will take a big hit in the quality department. The way I mention above is the easiest way to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

[Oilte]

Greymalkin, thanks for your response,
Yes you are right 3.5 hours to put on one dvd is unrealistic,
Although this a professional video , so I cant cut out any dead time as I want to preserve it all for the couple.
Since cutting out any of the video is not an option
I guess my options are either to cut the file in half or in parts of 3 as someone already suggested and use a few dvds, or can i possibly make it into a smaller mpeg2 to make it fit into a double layer?.
By the way what authoring program would you recommend to make the dvd. Can it put the mpeg straight to dvd?
Thanks for heads up, Il keep it in MPEG.
Also just out of curiosty is it possible to convert MPEG to VOB or is that bad option.

[greymalkin]

Oilte,

The authoring process converts the MPEG to VOB. a VOB is essentially an MPEG with additional instructions specific to the DVD.

Does the capture card let you go in and specify the target bitrate for the mpeg2 file it creates? If so you'll need to go in and set it to something like 5.5Mbps in order to fit that much video on a dual layer dvd. Then re-capture. If that doesn't work, then go to the next option...

This requires a bit more work, but you would need to re-capture the video in an application that allows you to do a software capture to uncompressed .avi (resulting in a file over 200gb in size) or capture to a lossless codec like huffyuv. Then, use a good mpeg encoder to encode the video to half DVD res (352x576) @ around 5-5.5Mbps. This will give you a file that should fit on a dual layer dvd.

[Oilte]

Oh ok, Thanks Greymalkin.
Well Im capturing from WIN TV and it doesnt allow to specify the target bitrate , they just have an option called 'quality level' that has two options
DVD 6MB OR MPEG2 SVCD.
I selected DVD 6MB.

Wow the second option looks a bit daunting. Youre right I probably need a better capture software with more options than WINTV.
As for the option of just splitting the MPEG2 and putting it on dvds, is convertx to dvd the right software to put MPEG2 on dvd?

[jagabo]

I found you can change the bitrate used by Hauppauge's WinTV via the Registry. Exactly where the parameters are stored depends on which card you have and which version of the software. You can probably find the key by searching for the exact text that's displayed where you can change the profile -- "DVD 6MB" or whatever. You'll probably have to reboot for the change to take effect.

[bigass]

As for the option of just splitting the MPEG2 and putting it on dvds, is convertx to dvd the right software to put MPEG2 on dvd?

No, no, and no.

You have MPEG2 already. DVDs are made of MPEG2. You'll want to find the straightest path to taking the Mpeg2 you have and getting it to an Mpeg2 that's DVD-compliant. Perhaps the Mpeg2 you already have *is* DVD-compliant, aside from its size.

If it's too big, you'll just need a little snip to cut it into pieces -- two or three pieces -- and a program to take the smaller Mpeg2 files and wrap them up in a pretty little bow so they can be burned to disc.

I invite you to forget convertxtodvd in this entire process. It's probably a gorgeous program to take downloaded AVI files and burn them to disc, but that's entirely different from what you're doing here. Entirely different.

[jagabo]

Womble MPEG VCR or MPEG Video Wizard DVD are good smart, non-reencoding, MPEG 2 editors. Or do as I suggested earlier and use Mpeg2Cut2 to split the file and any DVD authoring program you want.

[hech54]

This is one of those threads infested with either other newbies guessing at the correct path or not-so-newbies trying to dazzle everyone with their brilliance but all the while doing nothing but confusing the OP even more.
Everybody is talking OVER jagabo when he had the correct and easiest answer.....just after I tried to set the record straight for the OP to forget about the word AVI.

[greymalkin]

This is one of those threads infested with either other newbies guessing at the correct path or not-so-newbies trying to dazzle everyone with their brilliance but all the while doing nothing but confusing the OP even more.
Everybody is talking OVER jagabo when he had the correct and easiest answer.....just after I tried to set the record straight for the OP to forget about the word AVI.

I'll let the OP decide if I'm confusing him and jagabo decide if I'm trying to talk over him.
I'm having a bit of trouble, however, deciding what your purpose is here.

[Oilte]

Thanks for the reply guys.
No Confusion , Just learning
Just confused as to what OP means lol
As for a DVD authoring program , whats the best one to use?
Il have to learn how to use Mpg2cut2 , thanks.

[Oilte]

Ok, anyone got tips on how to use Mpg2cut2, I tried splitting and saving but just saves it as one big file again. please.

[jagabo]

Ok, anyone got tips on how to use Mpg2cut2, I tried splitting and saving but just saves it as one big file again. please.

Mark Start of Clip, Mark End of Clip, File -> Save This Clip, repeat

[Oilte]

Thanks Jagabo!

[greymalkin]

OP is short for Original Poster..basically whoever started the thread.

Here is a free very basic dvd authoring tool:

https://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVDStyler

Another one I've used in the past is TMPGEnc DVD Author, but it's about $100 I believe.

[Oilte]

Great stuff, got it split into 2 files there ,thanks very much,
Great thanks Greymalkin, il take a look at that.

[hech54]

I'm having a bit of trouble, however, deciding what your purpose is here.

Simple....to get the OP straight on this....that "to"AVI and playable DVD cannot be in the same conversation.

Does anyone recommend what sofware I should use to convert this to avi so I can burn it to dvd.

My intentions were/are painfully obvious to most people.