tell me which format would suit me most.

[savvyguy]

as mentioned before, i'm currently using the Panasonic LX3 ( it's a prosumer camera, not dedicated videocam ) for shooting videos.

it shoots in .MOV, motion jpeg up to 24Mbits/sec.

4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps
• 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps
• HD（16:9 Aspect Ratio）: 1280x720 pixels 24fps

i want to achieve 2 goals with the final resolution/fps that i'm going to choose.

1. i wish to convert the video into mpeg2 ( full dvd-video compliant ) so that it can be played smoothly on even old DVD standalone players with no hiccups. i'm using PAL in my country, but most probably will use NTSC since it's more widely supported.

2. i wish to convert the video into h.264 @ 3500++kbps for minimal quality loss,space-saving and archiving purposes ( yup, i know any conversion will result in quality loss, but no choice, mjpeg is total crap. )

my guess is 848x480, 30fps.. since the HD resolution @ a very odd framerate is pretty troublesome to convert. am i right?

intending to convert to the above using SUPER only. possible? if not, do provide some leads i can follow up on. thanks a million!

[jagabo]

Singapore is PAL, isn't it? You might be better off shooting at 1280x720 24 fps then downsizing to 720x576 and speeding up to 25 fps for DVD. Use a tripod whenever possible.

[minidv2dvd]

the 848x480 would convert almost directly to 16/9 ntsc widescreen. let the dvd players do the conversion in hardware to pal if required.

any would convert to h264.

[jagabo]

30 fps NTSC to 25 fps PAL will be pretty jerky.

[savvyguy]

yup SG is using PAL, but the players can do with NTSC ( heard from fellow forumers here ) too.

jagabo : if i'm not wrong, ntsc runs on 29.97fps, so it's not much of a difference from the 30fps rate.

i rmbred asking a similar question before, and was told the speeding up/downsizing is pretty hard to do. is it true? furthermore i'm downsizing to a different aspect ratio.

any suggestions?

[savvyguy]

i just tried converting to PAL from my 1280x720 24fps video. the whole video was distorted due to the aspect ratio problem ( video crammed horizontally ). other than that, there's no other problem.

how do i retain the aspect ratio but yet retain the playability on standalone DVD players?

[guns1inger]

i just tried converting to PAL from my 1280x720 24fps video. the whole video was distorted due to the aspect ratio problem ( video crammed horizontally ). other than that, there's no other problem.

how do i retain the aspect ratio but yet retain the playability on standalone DVD players?

Perhaps if you told us how you converted, we could tell you how to keep the aspect ratio correct.

Personally I would probably use some like AVStoDVD for DVD conversion.

[jagabo]

The 1280x720 video is supposed to be crammed into 720x576. It's the aspect ratio flag in the MPEG data that tells the player to to display the video as 16:9 or 4:3.

1280x720 source (half size here):


resized to 720x576 for 16:9 DVD (half size here):


The DVD Player or TV will scale the video to 16:9 at playback.

[savvyguy]

i just tried converting to PAL from my 1280x720 24fps video. the whole video was distorted due to the aspect ratio problem ( video crammed horizontally ). other than that, there's no other problem.

how do i retain the aspect ratio but yet retain the playability on standalone DVD players?

Perhaps if you told us how you converted, we could tell you how to keep the aspect ratio correct.

Personally I would probably use some like AVStoDVD for DVD conversion.

i was using SUPER to convert the MJPEG to .vob directly. i already set the aspect ratio at 16:9 but it's crammed on my widescreen tv. it's okay if it's smaller but how do i prevent distortion?

[savvyguy]

The 1280x720 video is supposed to be crammed into 720x576. It's the aspect ratio flag in the MPEG data that tells the player to to display the video as 16:9 or 4:3.

1280x720 source (half size here):


resized to 720x576 for 16:9 DVD (half size here):


The DVD Player or TV will scale the video to 16:9 at playback.

hmm, so the image is gonna be exactly like what's shown on your post (below) on DVD Player? is there any way to avoid the horizontal cram?

[guns1inger]

No, that's how the image is stored in the video file. The player will see that it is flagged as 16:9, and expand it on play back. That is how 16:9 DVDs work.

Open the VOBs created by SUPER in MediaInfo and have a look at what it says.

Personally, while SUPER is an OK conversion app, it is not an authoring tool. Use something better if you want a DVD as the output.

[savvyguy]

hmm weird.. the PAL and NTSC video i converted shows 5/4 and 1.5 for aspect ratio ( following the resolution ). isn't it true that the aspect ratio will always follow the resolution of the video? like 720x576 = 5:4 .

how can we get 720x576 = 16:9 ? doesn't sound logical..

oh okay, den is AVStoDVD considered an authoring tool? i don't see the difference as both will also get the DVD output.. sorry for being a newbie here..

[guns1inger]

Post the data.

The difference is the techniques and the proven output. I use SUPER only when absolutely necessary because I don't believe quality is it's key attribute. What is does do is handle formats that others often don't.

AVStoDVD uses better tools (HCenc/Avisynth etc), and produces a fully working DVD structure.

Again, if you do some research, you find that (as was mentioned earlier) video encoded for DVD does not use square pixels. This allows for 4:3 and 16:9 to be stored in the same physical resolution (720 x 576 for PAL) and yet be played back at the correct aspect ratio.

[jagabo]

hmm weird.. the PAL and NTSC video i converted shows 5/4 and 1.5 for aspect ratio ( following the resolution ). isn't it true that the aspect ratio will always follow the resolution of the video? like 720x576 = 5:4 .

how can we get 720x576 = 16:9 ? doesn't sound logical..

In general, any display aspect ratio (DAR) can be achieved with any frame size by varying the shape of individual pixels when displayed. In particular, DVD only supports 4:3 and 16:9 DAR.

The mathematical relationship is:

DAR = SAR * PAR

Where: DAR is the final display aspect ratio, SAR is the storage aspect ratio (relative frame dimensions), and PAR is the pixel aspect ratio (the relative width/height if each individual pixel).

Here is a 4x4 pixel image displayed with very large square pixels:


The same 4x4 pixel image displayed with wide (3:2) pixels:


And the same 4x4 pixel image displayed with narrow (2:3) pixels:

[savvyguy]

alright, thanks for your explanation. now i understand.

i've just tried using AVS2DVD, conversion to PAL. using AC3 @ 193kbps, fix ac3 errors and keep dvd complaint audio.

however, after conversion, the audio was lost. there wasn't any sound at all although mediainfo shows ac3.

[_MrC_]

@savvyguy

please, post or attach here AVStoDVD log file. It contains useful info about source file and encoding process.



Bye

[jagabo]

Do you have an AC3 decoder that would allow you to hear AC3 audio? Try a player with a built in AC3 decoder: MPCHC, VLC, etc.

[savvyguy]

i'm quite sure i have an AC3 decoder. remember i used SUPER to convert my mjpeg to dvd with ac3? it played without any audio problems, only cramming of video.

i chose not to save logfile during output, but pretty sure the settings were correct ( there isn't much to change anyway ).

maybe i'll convert another time, this time with the log.

[savvyguy]

okay done. here's the log.

<3/17/2009 8:46:53 PM>
START PROCESS
<>

<3/17/2009 8:46:53 PM>
DVD SETTINGS
DVD Titles number: 1
DVD Video Standard: PAL
DVD Chapters Interval: 5 min
DVD Menu: Motion DVD Menu
DVD Size: 655/4435 MB (15%)
DVD Output Setup: DVD Folder

Delete Temp Process Files: Yes
Delete Working Files: Yes
Edit Command Parameters: No
Save Log file: Yes
Output Folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop
<>

<3/17/2009 8:46:53 PM>
TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV
Info: M-JPEG - 23926 kbps - 1280x720 - DAR 1.778 - 24 fps - - 10:05 minutes - 14532 frames
Audio: D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV
Info: PCM - 256 kbps - CBR - 16000Hz - 1ch - 10:05 minutes
Subs:
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.8]
<>

<3/17/2009 8:46:53 PM>
AVISYNTH SCRIPT
Import("D:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")

Video = A2DVideoSource("D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV", CacheFolder = "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp")
Video = Video.ConvertToYV12
#Using DGPulldown to upsize FPS
Video = Video.Lanczos4Resize(720,576)

Audio = A2DAudioSource("D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV", CacheFolder = "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp")
Audio = Audio.SSRC(48000)
Audio = Audio.ConvertToMono

AudioDub(Video, Audio)
<>

<3/17/2009 8:46:53 PM>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Encoding Profile: QuEnc CBR 1-pass
Target Video FileSize: 614 MB
QuEnc Parameters: -i "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.avs" -o "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.m2v" -b 8500 -1 -hq -novbr -scene -trell -aspectratio 16:9 -nointerlaced -mpeg2mux noaudio -dc 10 -priority 5 -auto -close
<>

<3/17/2009 8:59:06 PM>
END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.m2v (613.5 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 8645 kbps - 720x576 - DAR 1.778 - 24 fps - PPF - 10:05 minutes - 14532 frames
<>

<3/17/2009 8:59:40 PM>
END PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown executed on File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.m2v (613.5 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 8645 kbps - 720x576 - DAR 1.778 - 25 fps - PPF - 10:05 minutes - 15137 frames
<>

<3/17/2009 8:59:40 PM>
START AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS
FFmpeg (WAV) Parameters: -i "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.avs" "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.wav"
Aften (AC3) Parameters: -b 192 "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.wav" "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.ac3"
<>

<3/17/2009 8:59:48 PM>
END AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.ac3 (0 MB)
OUTPUT AUDIO INFO: AC3 - 192 kbps - CBR - 48000Hz - 1ch - 0 seconds
<>

<3/17/2009 9:00:58 PM>
START DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
BatchMux Parameters: -arglist "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_BatchMux.ini"
BatchMux ini file:
-d "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0\VIDEO_TS"
-mxp "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_MuxMan.mxp"
-l "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_MuxMan.log"
-muxman "D:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\MuxMan"
-prio LOW
-v "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.m2v"
-vidmode LB
-a1 "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01.ac3"
-a1lang en
-cellfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"
-progfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"
-chapfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"
-SEG2v "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Menu.m2v"
-SEG2vidmode LB
-SEG2s1 "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Menu.sst"
-SEG2s1dmode WIDE_LB
-SEG2hlmnu "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_Buttons.mnu"
-SEG2hlcsm "D:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Menu\Highlight_Scheme.csm"
-hcn "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_0_BatchMux.hcn"
<>

<3/17/2009 9:01:33 PM>
END DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
Created Folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_0 (634 MB)
<>

<3/17/2009 9:01:34 PM>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.1.3
<>

[_MrC_]

From the log file, everything seems ok: AC3 encoding was done, MuxMax accepted the AC3 file without complains and authoring is ok.

Have you tried to burn the DVD folder and play the DVD in your table DVD player?

What kind of AC3 directshow codec have you installed? FFDShow? AC3Filter?

BTW, I suggest you to download and use latest AVStoDVD release (2.1.4).



Bye

[savvyguy]

yup, i burned it and played it on all 4 dvd standalone players ( ranging from old to new ). all had the same issues, no audio.

i have both installed ( from the k-lite codec pack actually )

oh.. just realized i don't have the most updated copy of avs2dvd. i downloaded it from videohelp..

[savvyguy]

it's still the same after i updated AVS2DVD.

log as follows :

<3/18/2009 4:27:46 PM>
START PROCESS
<>

<3/18/2009 4:27:46 PM>
DVD SETTINGS
DVD Titles number: 1
DVD Video Standard: PAL
DVD Chapters Interval: 5 min
DVD Menu: No DVD Menu
DVD Size: 633/4435 MB (14%)
DVD Output Setup: DVD Folder

Delete Temp Process Files: Yes
Delete Working Files: Yes
Edit Command Parameters: No
Save Log file: Yes
Output Folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop
<>

<3/18/2009 4:27:46 PM>
TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV
Info: M-JPEG - 23926 kbps - 1280x720 - DAR 1.778 - 24 fps - - 10:05 minutes - 14532 frames
Audio: D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV
Info: PCM - 256 kbps - CBR - 16000Hz - 1ch - 10:05 minutes
Subs:
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.10]
<>

<3/18/2009 4:27:46 PM>
AVISYNTH SCRIPT
Import("D:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")

Video = A2DVideoSource("D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV", CacheFolder = "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp")
Video = Video.ConvertToYV12
#Using DGPulldown to upsize FPS
Video = Video.Lanczos4Resize(720,576)

Audio = A2DAudioSource("D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV", CacheFolder = "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp")
Audio = Audio.SSRC(48000)
Audio = Audio.ConvertToMono

AudioDub(Video, Audio)
<>

<3/18/2009 4:27:46 PM>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Encoding Profile: QuEnc CBR 1-pass
Target Video FileSize: 614 MB
QuEnc Parameters: -i "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.avs" -o "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.m2v" -b 8500 -1 -hq -novbr -scene -trell -aspectratio 16:9 -nointerlaced -mpeg2mux noaudio -dc 10 -priority 5 -auto -close
<>

<3/18/2009 4:41:04 PM>
END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.m2v (613.5 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 8645 kbps - 720x576 - DAR 1.778 - 24 fps - PPF - 10:05 minutes - 14532 frames
<>

<3/18/2009 4:41:36 PM>
END PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown executed on File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.m2v (613.5 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 8646 kbps - 720x576 - DAR 1.778 - 25 fps - PPF - 10:05 minutes - 15137 frames
<>

<3/18/2009 4:41:36 PM>
START AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Wavi (WAV) Parameters: "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.avs" "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.wav"
Aften (AC3) Parameters: -b 192 "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.wav" "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.ac3"
<>

<3/18/2009 4:41:39 PM>
END AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.ac3 (0 MB)
OUTPUT AUDIO INFO: AC3 - 192 kbps - CBR - 48000Hz - 1ch - 0 seconds
<>

<3/18/2009 4:41:39 PM>
START DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
BatchMux Parameters: -arglist "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_BatchMux.ini"
BatchMux ini file:
-d "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2\VIDEO_TS"
-mxp "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_MuxMan.mxp"
-l "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_MuxMan.log"
-muxman "D:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\MuxMan"
-prio LOW
-v "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.m2v"
-vidmode LB
-a1 "C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.ac3"
-a1lang en
-cellfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"
-progfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"
-chapfr "C:\DOCUME~1\Desmond-\LOCALS~1\Temp\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01_MuxMan.txt"

<>

<3/18/2009 4:42:08 PM>
END DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
Created Folder: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2 (624.1 MB)
<>

<3/18/2009 4:42:08 PM>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.1.4
<>

[manono]

What happens when you play that AC3 file that was created? Do you hear anything? Is it still available among the created files? Your source audio is so weird that I wouldn't be surprised if Aften created something with no sound. You said that MediaInfo shows the presence of audio, and my suspicion is that you have audio but with no volume. Turn the volume way up to see if you can hear anything. You may have to convert it yourself separately.

Audio: D:\Desmond\`OUTING-With-Gina\09-03-15 FUNNNN-With-Tristan - Posing For Daddy!\First Bathing Session.MOV
Info: PCM - 256 kbps - CBR - 16000Hz - 1ch - 10:05 minutes

I haven't read the entire thread, so there's a good chance I'm missing something.

[_MrC_]

Yep! I did not realize that, from the log file, output AC3 audio is 0 MB

<3/18/2009 4:41:39 PM>
END AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Documents and Settings\Desmond-\Desktop\First Bathing Session_2_Title_01.ac3 (0 MB)
OUTPUT AUDIO INFO: AC3 - 192 kbps - CBR - 48000Hz - 1ch - 0 seconds
<>

List of possibile causes:
- conflict between AC3Filter and FFDShow (try to remove one of the2m, I suggest to remove AC3Filter)
- FFDShow audio decoder is not setup properly (see 1 and 2)
- FFDShow audio mixer is not setup properly (set output "same as input")
- audio stream from your MOV is "problematic" (try to demux it and feed the elementary WAV audioto AVStoDVD)

Let me know



MrC

[poisondeathray]

The LX3 uses 1-ch twos audio.

Enable "twos" in the ffdshow audio configuration, set to 16-bit. I tried with A2DAudioSource and it passes thru correctly (the function uses DirectShowSource as the 1st default)

Another option: you can use QTsource.dll (the newest beta 0.0.8, works, but you need Quicktime 7 or greater installed for audio)

QTInput("file.mov", audio=true)

[savvyguy]

i tried it several times, even after restarting the same error occurs, at the same place. no idea why..

[ yep i changed to twos. ]

[savvyguy]

i'm using QT Lite 2.80 by the way, couldn't find QTSource.dll after searching through all my HDDs.

help anybody?

[savvyguy]

help people!

[jagabo]

Maybe AviDemux can read the file and save it as something else. It uses it's own internal decoders so it doesn't rely on system installed decoders.

Or maybe VirtualDub with the MP4/MOV source plugin. You could then save as uncompressed WAV.

[minidv2dvd]

the source audio is probably too bizarre for most programs to handle. try converting it to wav separately and then render the video separately. wav can be easily converted to ac3 if you wish. then use an authoring program to make the dvd files.

if you want more help post a small sample and let the folks here have a go at it. mediafire works, or there are lots of other file hosting sites.