From 16 to 8 bit without quality loss

[norcim]

I need to preserve as much video quality as possible.
I have mpeg-2 files that are 50 minutes but the file size is over 5GB (because its 16 bit rate rather than 8)

Importing to Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 15 causes the program to re-encode (i think)
The result is a very bad video.

I know mpeg is more difficult to re-encode but what can I do to fit the video into Studio without having it re-encode or how do I tell it the encode better?

My last resort will be to do a clean cut to about 40min files and create one dvd out that.

Please help urgently.
Thanks


Video file details
Format : MPEG-PS
File size : 5.71 GiB
Duration : 49mn 6s
Overall bit rate : 16.7 Mbps

Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@High
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Custom
Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=15
Duration : 49mn 6s
Bit rate : 16.0 Mbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.579
Stream size : 5.47 GiB (96%)

Audio
ID : 192 (0xC0)
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 2
Duration : 49mn 6s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 118ms
Stream size : 135 MiB (2%)

[MOVIEGEEK]

The bitrate is 16Mbps so depending on the final format you have to re-encode because the max video bitrate for DVD is 9.8Mbps, if you are making a Blu-Ray then just author as is because it's compliant.

[poisondeathray]

Do you mean DVD media as in DVD-Video , playable in a DVD player, or a data disc playable on a computer?

Because HD isn' t compatible with DVD-video either at 1280x720 . You will lose quality for sure going down to SD (720x480 for NTSC), and re-encoding at lower bitrates

If you meant data disc, then I would h.264 as you get better quality /compression

[norcim]

I need to burn to DVD+r video. Any suggestion on the best free app that can reduce the bit rate (if that is even possible)?

[manono]

What's 16-bit about it? I'd say the files are so big because it's Hi-Def. After all, your file has 2 and 2/3 the number of pixels as does DVD video. At DVD resolution the equivalent filesize would be 2.14 GiB.

But as already mentioned, downscaling to DVD resolution will mean a huge quality hit. And is the Pinnacle MPEG-2 encoder any good?

I need to burn to DVD+r video. Any suggestion on the best free app that can reduce the bit rate (if that is even possible)?

Try Avs2DVD and choose the HCEnc encoder. Or, if you know how, HCEnc alone, fed with an AviSynth script.

[norcim]

Pinnacle does a bad job of re-encoding IMO.

"Try Avs2DVD and choose the HCEnc encoder"
I will attempt this if there is a tutorial

"HCEnc alone, fed with an AviSynth script."
This sounds even better but I have no idea about the scripts.

[manono]

I don't think there are any tutorials for Avs2DVD, but there is a large support thread here:

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/277852-AVStoDVD-Support-Thread?highlight=avs2dvd

The developer visits regularly and if you run into any problems you can ask in there.

[poisondeathray]

I need to burn to DVD+r video.

DVD+R is just a type of media. It can be used as a data disc , as dvd-video , or even AVCHD disc

Clarify how you expect to watch this - is it on a "regular" DVD player ? For example, you could use DVD+R making an AVCHD disc, playable on a blu-ray player or PS3 . This way you can keep HD quality

[aedipuss]

Pinnacle does a bad job of re-encoding IMO.

highly doubtful it's pinnacle causing the poor video, they would of been out of business years ago if it couldn't encode simple dvd mpeg-2 correctly. most likely operator error. try with higher quality settings. since it's only 49 minutes you can use the max bitrate for dvd. try around 9mbps.

[sanlyn]

Pinnacle does a bad job of re-encoding IMO.

highly doubtful it's pinnacle causing the poor video, they would of been out of business years ago if it couldn't encode simple dvd mpeg-2 correctly. most likely operator error. try with higher quality settings. since it's only 49 minutes you can use the max bitrate for dvd. try around 9mbps.

Pinnacle is in business for years for the same reason that other makers of other junk in every other product line have been in business for years: their users don't know better. That said, Pinnacle ought to be able to make a playable DVD, quality aside. The O.P. insists on DVD+R, likely because some bozo at BestBuy said it was cool. The DVD standard that is 100% compatible with all DVD players is DVD-R. Period. Where this "16-bit" DVD originated is questionable anyway. I'd suggest we give the user better advice, and begin by asking for more info about this weird DVD. How anyone could play such a DVD on a DVD player to begin with has me curious. I'd take a cue from manono's observations and say that something doesn't compute here.

[poisondeathray]

Where this "16-bit" DVD originated is questionable anyway. I'd suggest we give the user better advice, and begin by asking for more info about this weird DVD. Where someone would obtain a "16-bit DVD" in the first place has me curious. I'd take a cue from manono's observations and say that something doesn't compute here.

I'm guessing what the OP means by "16bit" is 16Mb/s - the bitrate of the source video .

Duration : 49mn 6s
Bit rate : 16.0 Mbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels

The source is not a DVD - his destination is a DVD, but it's still not clear to me if he means DVD-video, or data disc, or AVCHD disc...

[aedipuss]

Pinnacle does a bad job of re-encoding IMO.

highly doubtful it's pinnacle causing the poor video, they would of been out of business years ago if it couldn't encode simple dvd mpeg-2 correctly. most likely operator error. try with higher quality settings. since it's only 49 minutes you can use the max bitrate for dvd. try around 9mbps.

Pinnacle is in business for years for the same reason that other makers of other junk in every other product line have been in business for years: their users don't know better. That said, Pinnacle ought to be able to make a playable DVD, quality aside. The O.P. insists on DVD+R, likely because some bozo at BestBuy said it was cool. The DVD standard that is 100% compatible with all DVD players is DVD-R. Period. Where this "16-bit" DVD originated is questionable anyway. I'd suggest we give the user better advice, and begin by asking for more info about this weird DVD. Where someone would obtain a "16-bit DVD" in the first place has me curious. I'd take a cue from manono's observations and say that something doesn't compute here.

he got the

(because its 16 bit rate rather than 8)

from mediainfo. look at the video's listed bitrate. he just has it confused with bit depth. no newbie would know any better.

i've never used it but pinnacle has been around at least 10 years, right? there can't be any way it can't be set to create usable dvd spec mpeg-2.

[norcim]

Looks like my problem as mentioned is not trimming but re-encoding the DVD video compliant files.
I need help converting 720x480

Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@High
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Custom
Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=15
Duration : 49mn 6s
Bit rate : 16.0 Mbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.579
Stream size : 5.47 GiB (96%)

Audio
ID : 192 (0xC0)
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 2
Duration : 49mn 6s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 118ms
Stream size : 135 MiB (2%)

[sanlyn]

Looks like a mix to me. The 44.1KHz audio won't fly. Am I just looking at numbers too long, or do none of the specs for this video match any standard DVD pattern, whether HD or not? Maybe created with an app I'm not familiar with. The only DVD I know that uses M-Layer2 audio is in Europe. 29.97p?

[norcim]

Looks like a mix to me. The 44.1KHz audio won't fly. Am I just looking at numbers too long, or do none of the specs for this video match any standard DVD pattern, whether HD or not? Maybe created with an app I'm not familiar with. The only DVD I know that uses M-Layer2 audio is in Europe.

It was created using vmix (a program that allows multi camera live recording)
I chose the specs assuming going high in resolution will allow me to down convert with low quality loss.
I could/should have recorded in 720/480 but chose 1280/720 for that reason.

Is there a program that will convert the file for me with less quality loss than pinnacle?

[aedipuss]

avstodvd should take the file and make a dvd from it. you'll have to experiment with it and get it set up but it's not too hard.

[Hoser Rob]

avstodvd is the best dvd encode/author program I know of, though that ain't saying much IMO. And just because pinnacle or others have been around for years does not mean they're any good. It may just mean they're good at marketing and SEO techniques.

And since only one person I know of actually bothers to burn video to dvd anymore ... most of the others haven't done it for years ... I don't see a whole lot of new products emerging. It's frankly a dying practice. If I were developing software I wouldn't touch it.

The main thing I found with avstodvd is that to get consistent decent quality, always force 2 pass vbr mode.

It may not seem as easy to use as some other dvd authors but it works. A program that has easy to use menus but screws up with no options to change things to make them work can become very difficult very fast.

[_MrC_]

"Try Avs2DVD and choose the HCEnc encoder"
I will attempt this if there is a tutorial

Tutorial:

- Download AVStoDVD 2.5.1 (http://sourceforge.net/projects/avstodvd/files/avstodvd/AVStoDVD%202.5.1/AVStoDVD_251_...l.exe/download)
- Install AVStoDVD with all the required add-on software (included in the installer)
- Run AVStoDVD, a Quick Startup Tutorial will pop up
- To get best video quality select 'HCenc VBR 2-pass' as 'Video Encoder' profile in the Quick Startup Tutorial
- Add the file you want to convert (see 'Add Title' icon on the right).
- Click on START

You will get the VIDEO_TS/AUDIO_TS folders structure you can burn to DVD using your favorite DVD burning software (I suggest ImgBurn, that comes with AVStoDVD package).



Bye

[norcim]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help with AVStoDVD . I tried it and the quality is better than before.
I will try the 2pass and vbr thing to compare.

So there are are scripts for this? where do I get them?

[manono]

So there are are scripts for this? where do I get them?

You make them yourself. They're just text scripts you can create in Notepad, then renamed with a .avs extension. Study the ones that Avs2DVD makes. Read the docs included in the DGMPGDec package, probably the single best way to learn how to get started. Read everything at AviSynth.org, including the 'Getting Started' pages.

[norcim]

"- To get best video quality select 'HCenc VBR 2-pass' as 'Video Encoder' profile in the Quick Startup"

When I set this setting it does not stay. If i go back to preferences it is reset and not selected. When I start the convert process it only does one pass without the VBR thing

[norcim]

The MPEG file is fine before but using avstodvd the audio goes out of sync
Is there a script option for this.

[_MrC_]

The MPEG file is fine before but using avstodvd the audio goes out of sync
Is there a script option for this.

Post here the AVStoDVD project log file.



Bye