Help with my .avi to dvd process

[nickynoodles]

I have a few little problems ? I made a quicktime movie file from .avi. The size is 352 x 288. I then exported it from QT PRO to mpeg-2. I dropped the bitrate to make the file smaller. then I put it with the .aif in DVDSP and built disc. Made a disc image and mounted it. DVD PLAYER opened and played. The movie is blurry and a little choppy (very little choppiness). My problems are - can I bump up the 352 x 288 to something that in the end will look more like a letterboxed dvd (the file is letterboxed). Can I make the image clear and crisp like the original? Or is that the sacrifice for smaller file size. And the .aif file - A.Pack won't let me import it to convert to ac3. Do I have alternatives? I know I asked alot, but any help would be aprieciated.
Double thanks ?

[ZeroSix]

your problem is with the resolution and the bit rate.

Please describe why you cannot use your .aif file in A.Pack. That will save you A LOT of space and make room for better quality video.

[AntnyMD]

When you exported to MPEG2 in Quicktime, you forced an image thats one-quarter the resolution of a DVD to fill the full resolution of a DVD. This is the functional equivalent of zooming in on a low resolution picture: it looks fuzzy and blocky. This isn't good.

Your original resolution of 352x288 is a legal DVD resolution, so stick with that. Upsizing it will cause varying amounts of fuzziness and blockiness.

The Quicktime MPEG2 encoder actually does a really good job of correcting the framerate for smooth playback. Your source may be using an odd framerate, but since your stated resolution is for PAL, I'm assuming your framerate is 25fps. Don't change this on a re-encode, or you'll get sync issue. Do you know the framerate of your source?

Leaving your audio in .AIF format will cause your DVD to be huge. Use the A.Pack application that comes with DVD Studio Pro to compress your .AIF file to a Dolby Digital 2.0 file.

To convert your video to MPEG2, use an app like ffmpegX. By not changing the resolution from 352x288, your re-encode should be fairly speedy. Unfortunately, Apple's MPEG2 encoder forces full DVD resolution and shouldn't be used in this case.

[nickynoodles]

Thanks guys for all your help.
When I open A.Pack, my .aif file is greyed out and I can't import it. Is there some other way to bring it in?

As far as the frame rate, it's at 12.5 FPS. Do I need to alter this?

[ZeroSix]

that frame rate is no good if you are using DVDSP. If your video is NTSC, it MUST be 29.97 and PAL must be 25 fps.

Using the apple mpeg 2 encoder should fix this for you.

When A.Pack is loaded, try using the INSTANT ENCODER option and select TWO CHANNEL. click on the LEFT speaker button and select your AIF file do the same for the right. this should work...

[AntnyMD]

That framerate wont do. Even if you can somehow get it doubled and tagged with 3:2 pulldown, your audio will be so out of sync, its just going to lead to more frustration. Unless you can be satisfied with making a VCD in Toast, which may ultimately serve your purposes better than DVD, you're screwed.

[ZeroSix]

Antny:

If his source has this frame rate and he exports to MPEG2, wont this be fixed during the encode? I'm not 100% sure about this. I know that if exported to Toast VCD it will be fixed...

[AntnyMD]

I think Toast will fix it better. The user already tried the Apple MPEG2 encoder route and had a little bit of a sync issue.

[incredible]

If you are a NTSC user and get a 25fps source, don't change the framrate!
Just use FFmpgx to encode your avi at the original (352x288) size and 25fps framerate. You can choose mpeg1 or mpg2 encoding for your size, both will be accepted by DVDsp.
In the video tab use VCD PAL resolution and enter a value in the bitrate window like 2500 (this should be enough for 352x288). In the Audio tab you can choose something between 128 and 224 Kbit and mp2 to encode, also choose 48 Khz!!! In the options window check "GOP Headers" (so you can set markers in DVDsp), "No SVCD Dummy data", "altivec" (if you got a G4) and uncheck "mplayer decode" and "quicktime decode". The profile of your encode should be "generic mpeg2". Also check the "use VBR" option.
In the tools tab you check "keep element streams"

and ... encode

After a while you will receive a m2v and a mp2 file. these files you can import in DVDsp and author a PAL!!! DVD.

Why still PAL??? Cause if you got a good DVD stand alone player, this player will accept PAL DVDs and plays them correct!

Thats the way I encode my Dvix movies (23.97fps) to watch them on my DVD player.

[sdm]

Incredible, could you explain more about GOP Headers and how they effect setting Markers in dvdsp?

Thanks

[SIMPLE_THINGS]

In the video tab use VCD PAL resolution and enter a value in the bitrate window like 2500 (this should be enough for 352x288).

Only for mpeg2.

For mpeg1 is too high: DVDSP accepts only mpeg1 with a maximum bitrate of 1850 Kb/s (according to dvd standard).

In general 2250 Kb/s is enough for 352x288 resolution.

[incredible]

Incredible, could you explain more about GOP Headers and how they effect setting Markers in dvdsp?

Thanks

@ sdm

watch dis!:

http://viswiz.gmd.de/DVP/Public/deliv/deliv.211/mpeg/hi_str01.htm

There they explain what GOP (Group of pictures) is

[sdm]

I can't make the link work?!?

[tgpo]

Yeah, the link doesn't seem to be working.

[incredible]

Ähm ... I tried it right now .... and it works ... (I also cleared the cache in IE)


Maybe the server was down

[ZeroSix]

The process described above is a great example on how to make it work, but your output is still PAL.

My DVD player is one i just bought not too long ago, (have a look HERE... it's pretty slick) and it is actually MODIFIED to display in PAL. Unf, when it detects a PAL disc, it will proceed to play in PAL, and NOT NTSC. You'd think for $500 there would be a better way... A workaround i have found [and this wont work in DVDSP but it MIGHT work in other regu DVD players that do no support PAL] it to run the .mpeg file through ffmpeg keeping the PAL framerate, but changing to to a NTSC resolution. Works perfectly every time.

[incredible]

Well, a DVD Player is a very fascinating constructed hardware.
Normally it detects the media, gets the structure of the disk, looks what FPS the stream got or if Pulldown is activated and goes with the stream trough a D/A Converter. Now its important for the D/A what kind of movie it is ... its progresive or its interlaced, cause your TV wants an interlaced signal and so the A/D converts it.

Thats also why you don't need to deinterlace a videocaptured-source if you will just play the m2v-encoded source wit a DVDplayer on TV!

Normally all DVD players manufactured since 1-2 Years play the media at it's source specifactions (FPS,Size, etc.). It seems that your DVD Player tries to override the PAL Specs. and will play it in NTSC anyway!

For example, ... when I have a Dvix CD-R I open it in Quicktime and very often you can see ... 23,97 FPS! (NTSC Film format)! Now, ... how do I encode this source to play it on my DVD Player in Germany?!!?
Very easy ... cause my "cheap!- No name" DVD Player accepts NTSC source so the only conversion I have to make is to change the NTSC FILM rate to NTSC VIDEO rate (29,97fps) and this I can do with a "3:2 Pulldown" (checked in FFmpgX) when encoding (still with 23,97!!) as a m2v inkluding the NTSC Sizes (720x480). It will be recognised by the DVD-Player as a legal 29,97 Standard (cause of the 3:2 pulldown!) and will be played back at its orig FPS (23,97!) so everything plays fine incl. the audio sync.

I tell you this cause this is the way I watch NTSC (in this case a 23,97 NTSC Film!) movies on my DVD-Player in Germany.
In this time I don't think that they sell PAL-DVDplayers or NTSC DVDplayers ... just DVDplayers containing a PAL and a NTSC setup via on-screen-menue.

The only necessary setting in the DVDplayer is the TARGET! (NTSC TV or PAL TV).

[incredible]

... and it is actually MODIFIED to display in PAL. Unf, when it detects a PAL disc, it will proceed to play in PAL, and NOT NTSC

Maybe you have your DVD-player settings at "Auto" so it brings the signal from DVDplayer to TV the same as the media says (in this case pal) try to find out where you can set "force NTSC to TV" then it works

[ZeroSix]

... and it is actually MODIFIED to display in PAL. Unf, when it detects a PAL disc, it will proceed to play in PAL, and NOT NTSC

Maybe you have your DVD-player settings at "Auto" so it brings the signal from DVDplayer to TV the same as the media says (in this case pal) try to find out where you can set "force NTSC to TV" then it works

I dont think the player supports that because it is actually a HARDWARE modification for it to display PAL. It will display in PAL for both DVDs and European Gamecube games, and the Game and DVD funtions are completely seperate from each other...

However I dont want to rule that out as a possibility, but I cant read Japanese. Maybe I will tinker around with it for a bit and see for sure. But the whole "changing of resolution" process i described works perfectly, and I dont want to rule that out as an option for others who have this kind of problem with their players...