probelm w/ burning a DVD from an AVI

I am trying to burn a DVD from a avi file. This is the process that i use:
1. In ffmpegx, I convert the avi to dvd ffmpeg.
2. then I convert the audio to AC3
3. In Sizzle I create a disc image
4. I start up the image and drag the audio_ts and video_ts folders to the desktop.
5. I then open up the video_ts folder and delete the vobs that are KB in size.
6. Then i put the video_ts folder through DVD2OneX
7. that creates a new video_ts folder
-I dont have toast so I create a .IMG file with DVD Imager and burn the dvd through disc utiltity

-Heres the problem - the original avi file is in widescreen format and when i burn the movie and watch it its in full screen but the image is stretched out and most of the time the audio gets lagged a bit

Any suggestions???

It's a little hard for me to follow your workflow. Could you possibly explain for each step why you're doing it like that? For example, why are you processing the video and audio in separate passes in ffmpeg? If you process them together, maybe this will help with the lag problem. Why are you deleting some files?

After coding the mpeg in ffmpeg, why are you then putting it through DVD2OneX? To fit more on the DVD? If so, that's a no-no. Better to use the bitrate calculator in ffmeg and choose a lower bitrate so that you only code *once*, and don't need to recode in DVD2OneX to reduce the filesize.

Suppose you set up ffmpeg to encode the video and audio in a single pass, and also use ffmpeg to author the DVD? What's wrong with that approach? At that point, what are you missing that you need from Sizzle, DVD2OneX, or DVD Imager?

Both ffmpeg and Sizzle have places where you can choose 16:9, if your footage is indeed 16:9.

AVI is just a container. What kind of video and audio is inside the AVI? What is the frame size?

What version of Sizzle are you using?

-Pianoman

thanks for responding pianoman...
the reason i did it like that because i was following exactly the directions from a post on http://www.afterdawn.com
I guess then would u be able to give me exact directions to turn the avi into a DVD...u said that i can author the dvd in ffmpegx..how do i do that??

I have ffmpegX 0.0.9r, and am not world's swiftest user, but here are the basics. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.)

- Open the file you want to encode.

- Use Save As to set a filename and path.

- From the Quick Presets at the bottom, choose DVD ffmpeg.

- On the Audio tab, set channels to Stereo.

- On the Tools tab, on the left, check Author as DVD (VIDEO_TS).

- Hit Encode.

Hopefully, this gives you a folder whose name ends in .DVD and which contains a VIDEO_TS folder and an (empty) AUDIO_TS folder. You can open the VIDEO_TS folder in Apple DVD Player to see if it looks right, sounds right, and has decent sync.

- Then on the Tools Tab, under the right column, use the browse button to choose the .DVD folder that ffmpeg just created.

- Click DVDimg and ffmpeg should create a disk image ready for burning in Disk Utility.

thanks...ill give it a try and let u know the results

OK... When i converted the avi into the DVD ffmpeg it created 2 files one that ended in .avi.ff.wav and a file that ends in .mpv but it didnt creat a video_ts or a audio_ts folder...also im using ffmpegX_0.0.9t and it stays at 99% done it wont go to complete...maybe it needs to complete before a video or audio ts folder is created, i dont know... and i followed what you said to do...i checked author as dvd

Originally Posted by nepgunes

maybe it needs to complete before a video or audio ts folder is created

Yes, the last thing ffmpegX does is create the folders and image. The incompletion suggests that something is installed incorrectly or you have spaces in the path names. Try installing the new ffmpegX version V that was just released.

You can try muxing the files you just created. First, change that .mpv to .m2v (it's the same). Then open the tools section of ffmpegX. Select 'mux'. Select 'video', then point it to the .m2v file. Select 'audio 1', then point it to the .wav file. Make sure the .wav file actually contains audio, it may have hung during the audio creation and that really isn't a complete .wav file. Select 'Mux as' DVD, 'Author as' DVD. Hit the blue 'Mux' button. It should convert the .wav to mp2 audio automatically. If you want ac3 audio, you'll have to go back and convert the .wav to ac3 using the appropriate preset before using the tools section. Note, ffmpegX doesn't work with .aif files, it has to be .wav.

I think you'll end up with a DVD folder, not an image. You'll have to go back to the 'Tools' section and use the 'img' function to make an image. If you still have sync problems, make sure you install the new ffmpegX, then try it again making sure you select the 'Decode with Quicktime (QT)' option under the 'Options' tab. Decode with QT will take longer to encode but usually solves most audio sync problems.

Good Luck

Thanks... I deleted the version of the program i had and downloaded it again and am converting the avi to DVD mpeg2enc option and seeing if that works...When i finally get the audio and video_ts folders, do i just had to convert the video_ts folder to a .img? and then burn? do i have to do any authoring like u were talking about?

thanks again for the help...

- Authoring is just a fancy word for creating a VIDEO_TS folder or similar tasks that lead to making a DVD.

- When you check Author as DVD in ffmpegX and successfully encode, you'll probably get a folder whose name ends in .DVD and which contains a VIDEO_TS folder and an (empty) AUDIO_TS folder (it's supposed to be empty). You might also get some leftover files, but don't worry about those.

- It's good to use Apple DVD Player to open the VIDEO_TS folder and see if the movie plays okay.

- Then in ffmpegX on the Tools Tab, under the right column, use the browse button to choose the .DVD folder that ffmpeg just created. Click DVDimg and ffmpeg should create a disk image ready for burning in Disk Utility. Then your final step is burning the DVD.

Ok...thanks a lot for all your help

so, i followed pianoman's instructions exactly. the video looks great but i only get a <2second ac3 audio file. if anyone has any advice i would greatly appreciate it.

The advantages of doing everything in a single encode is that it's easier for the user, and the audio and video are more likely to be in sync. But it also means ffmpegX has to juggle more tasks.

What is the running time of the original video? What is the audio format as given by ffmpegX?

If ffmpegX is having trouble converting the audio with the video, see if you can get it to properly encode the audio in a separate pass (using a preset such as "Movie audio to mp2"). If you're able to get a good audio file, you may be able to mux it with the video track, then continue with the authoring process (.mpg to VIDEO_TS folder, and VIDEO_TS folder to disk .img.).

There are various workarounds, but it might be helpful to figure out what it is about the audio file that ffmpegX doesn't like.

See the ffmpegX forum for more help.

-Pianoman

I used ffmpegX to convert my mpeg4 to mpeg2enc and burned it in Toast. But there were no chapters, so when I play the movie I cannot scroll forward through the chapters. I would like to know if I need to change or add any settings in the original setup to do this....thanks

If you don't use the VIDEO_TS folder from ffmpegX, but use the .mpg file and let Toast author it, then Toast will add chapter markers every 5 minutes.
For user defined chaptering, check topic 291912 or use a pro authoring app, like DVD Studio Pro.

I may have made things too complicated in topic 291912, so let me simplify and clarify:

- ffmpegX has its supporters and detractors. I'm assuming that user tewels likes the results he's getting with ffmpegX, except for the lack of chapters.

- Sizzle 0.1 is a relatively simple freeware authoring application that creates a single-title DVD with no menus, but lets you put chapter markers wherever you want them. You can download it here:

http://www.thefridgeowl.com/sizzle/sizzle0.1.dmg

- If you're going from ffmpegX to Sizzle 0.1, here's one way to do it:

- Like Case said, get an .mpg file as your output from ffmpegX.

- Play the .mpg in MPEG Streamclip, and make a list of chapter markers. You can save them in a text file in hours:minuteseconds format like this:

0:00:00,h:mms,h:mms,h:mms,h:mms,h:mms, etc.

and later paste them into the "Other" tab in Sizzle 0.1.

- Once you've finished making a chapter list, it's time to Demux in MPEG Streamclip. If in ffmpegX you encoded the audio as AC3, then in Streamclip choose "Demux to M2V and AC3" from the file menu. If in ffmpegX you encoded the audio as MP2, then in Streamclip choose "Demux to M2V and M1A" from the file menu, and in the Finder, change the extension of the audio file from .m1a to .mp2.

- You should now have a pair of "elementary streams": an .m2v video file and an audio file which is either .ac3 or .mp2. You also have the text file with the chapter markers. So now you're ready to go into Sizzle 0.1 and author the DVD.

- Sizzle's output is a disk image. Before burning, you could double-click the .img file to mount it, and open the VIDEO_TS folder in DVD Player to make sure the chapter markers are where you want them.

- Then close DVD Player, unmount the disk image, open Disk Utility, drag the .img file to the left pane of the Disk Utility window, and burn to DVD.

Note 1: If the original footage is film rate, be sure and use MPEG Streamclip 1.6.b1 or later, which is the first version that can Demux film rate material:

http://www.alfanet.it/squared5/mpegstreamclip.html

Note 2: Priced between a freeware app like Sizzle 0.1 and an expensive pro app like DVD Studio Pro, there's Capty DVD 2.0 which should let you create custom chapters and menus for an .mpg file encoded by ffmpegX. Not sure if Capty can author film rate material or 16:9.

-Pianoman

Why not just drop the avi into Toast and let it do all the work for you?

If you have Toast and it does what you want, that's great. I'm one of those people who likes to see how far he can stretch freeware solutions (not having Toast). Besides, using Sizzle 0.1 for custom chaptering works on pre-encoded MPEG footage like what you get from a standalone recorder, so it's helpful for re-authoring DVDs.

In another thread, I suggested that people who have Toast can just run their AVIs through that. But some people like ffmpegX, claiming they can fine tune the bitrate, and the encoding is fast. Personally, I think the reason the encoding is fast with ffmpegX is that many presets are single-pass, no interlacing. If you set it for two-pass and interlacing, the encodes take longer but I don't think the quality is so great.

For people who (wisely or not) like to encode everything in ffmpegX, Sizzle 0.1 is a free and easy way to add user-defined chapters to the final DVD.

Okay, fair enough. Here's a hack: Create a 640x480 (or whatever size gives your the same 4:3 ratio for your AVI video) black PICT, copy it, open the movie in QT Player Pro, paste in the PICT, send it to the back, center your movie track. Save it. Now you have a "full-screen" movie containing a wide-screen track. Should work.