[Tutorial] How to Convert AVI to Standard DVD for TV

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kyuuketsuki
Posts: 310
Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

[Tutorial] How to Convert AVI to Standard DVD for TV

Post by kyuuketsuki » Nov 27th, '05, 19:28

This tutorial explains how to
  • *Create the highest quality standard DVD with a menu for viewing on your television
    *Fix overscan problems and subtitles running off the edge of your TV
    (see http://www.mastersofcinema.org/reviews/ ... beyond.htm for information on overscan (thanks Pokute))
    *Add selectable softsubs to DVD
    *Address some common pitfalls when encoding AVIs


If you have everything installed properly and are following the steps properly, it should take less than 5 minutes to create the DVD. The computer will run for many hours, but your time sitting at the computer should be minimal.

If you have any questions, you may post in this thread or email me directly at kyuuketsuki216@yahoo.com. I rarely check PM. I always welcome suggestions, improvements, requests, etc. and am happy to help anyone with anything.

Image
DVD created using this tutorial

If this is your first time converting, then you need to run the steps in the Setup section below.


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Setup - You only need to do this once
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Windows Vista users - You must disable UAC when running any of these programs. I recommend disabling it permanently. To turn off UAC, go to the control panel and in the search box type "User Account".


Download and install these programs

All the programs used are FREE.

Required
You can find all the programs below at http://www.videohelp.com in the tools section.

DVD2SVCD - for batch processing.
DVDAuthorGui - creates menus and DVD with selectable soft subs
QuEnc - for Video Encoding (recommend TmpgEnc or Cinemecraft Encoder but not free)
oggDirectShowFilter - Used by BeSweet to convert AVI Audio.

After you install Dvd2Svcd, put this in your BeSweet folder (C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\BeSweet) .
VobInput.dll - http://propaganda.googlepages.com/applications - Used by BeSweet to convert AVI audio.

SimpleAvis2Dvd - This automates the whole conversion process. Scroll to the bottom of this tutorial and download the attachment SimpleAvis2Dvd.zip.

Recommended
Koepi's XVID codec http://www.koepi.org/xvid.shtml - to encode XVID AVIs.
Divx codec http://www.divx.com - to encode DIVX AVIs.
Virtual Dub http://www.virtualdub.org/ - Fixes AVI audio problems.
gspot http://www.headbands.com/gspot/ - Tells you which codecs you need if you cannot play an AVI
AviSynth 2.57 http://sourceforge.net/project/showfile ... p_id=57023 - Fixes problems with uncommon AVI screen resolutions.

Image
Open Dvd2Svcd and Set AVI input and DVD output in the Misc tab

Image
Set Encoder. Whichever encoder you use, multipass VBR gives the best quality

Image
Create output directory for all your conversion files.
Open SimpleAvis2Dvd and set the directories under File/Setup.



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Conversion Process
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Steps needed are:
1. Convert AVI to DVD compatible MPG
2. Author DVD with menu and subs
3. Burn a DVD Video disc.


Step 1. Convert AVIs to DVD compatible MPGs MPV MP2

Image
Load your AVIs into SimpleAvis2Dvd

Try to keep the total running AVI time to 3 to 4 hours per DVD for excellent quality.

If you have subtitles, make sure they are in the same directory as the avi and have the same base name. For example WinterSonata1.avi and WinterSonata1.srt.

Hit GO and wait.

SimpleAvis2Dvd automatically does the following for each AVI
*Create audio MP2 from your AVI using BeSweet
*Set overscan AviSynth parameters for dvd2svcd
*Set episode size parameters for dvd2svcd
*Set NTSC conversion parameters for 23 and 25 fps AVIs for dvd2svcd
*Create video MPV and DVD compatible MPG file using dvd2svcd
*Renames mp2, mpv, mpg files to match episode
*Create an authoring file for DvdAuthorGui
*Converts PAL subtitles to NTSC

Step 2. Author DVD with menu and subs

Open DvdAuthorGui and Load the file SimpleAvis2Dvd.dva that was created in your output directory - File/Load Project.
If your burning software supports it, you may select "File / Create ISO after authoring".

Image

Hit "Author DVD". This process usually takes about 20 min or so to multiplex the audio and video and convert the subtitles.

SimpleAvis2dvd automatically does the following for each AVI
*Set chapter stops every 5 minutes
*Sets subtitles for conversion
*Loads MP2 and MPV file
*Loads default menu with buttons to go to the start of each episode
*Sets post episode commands to go to main menu

OPTIONAL
There is a default menu that is created for you, so this step is completely optional.

Create menu background
There are many better ways to create a background image using photoshop or more professional software, but this is one way. Another way is to download a wallpaper image from a web site and convert this to 720 x 480 jpg.

1. Load AVI into Virtual Dub.
2. Go to frame that you like.
3. Hit Print Scrn on your keyboard.
4. Open Paint (Start / Programs / Accessories / Paint).
5. Edit / Paste.
6. Click the dotted square on the left side.
7. Select image on the screen.
8. Edit / Copy.
9. File / New.
10. Image / Attributes / Width 720 / Height 480.
11. Click the paint bucket on the left side.
12. Click on the new image to make it all black.
13. Edit / Paste.
14. Center the image.
15. Click the A button on the left side
16. Click the bottom button so the text box is transparent.
17. Modify font and add buttons for each episode.
18. Save as jpg.

Convert to M2V
Open DvdAuthorGui. Menus / Create M2V still (720x480 jpg). Save over the "DefaultMenu.m2v" file in your SimpleAvis2Dvd output folder.

Author with new background
When you are ready to burn the DVD, load the SimpleAvis2Dvd.dva file into DvdAuthorGui. Click Menus/Edit Titleset Menu to move and resize the buttons.

OPTIONAL - Create a subtitle menu
By default the subtitles will play and be selectable through the subtitle button on your dvd remote. However, you may add additional subtitles or create a menu.
Thanks to Rasckita for this information.

Image

1. Create a background image with the the text for 3 buttons "Off", "On", "Main Menu".
2. Convert image to M2V as described above.
3. Click menus / add titleset menu.
4. Click "advaced options" and add 3 buttons.
A. Off - action = "jump menu 2", subtitle stream = "off"
B. On - action = "jump menu 2", subtitle stream = "1"
C. Main Menu - action = "jump menu 1", subtitle stream = "default"
5. Edit your main menu and add a button to jump to the subtitle menu.

Step 3. Burn DVD Video Disc

Before burning, it is a good idea to check your DVD. You should be able to play it with DVD playing software. Point to the directory created from DvdAuthorGui. Some Dvd players will play by selecting the IFO file in the TS_VIDEO directory.

With your burning software, select "burn DVD Video disc" and select the directory that holds the "TS_AUDIO" and "TS_VIDEO" directories that were created. Alternatively If you have created an ISO file select "burn image file" and point to the ISO file.



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FAQ
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Q: It takes me 3 hours to convert a video and I keep getting errors. Is there a way to check my parameters?
A: No matter what programs or process you do, I highly recommend doing a test on a 30 second clip of your AVI and burning it to a DVD+RW. This will save you a lot of time if you are having problems. An easy way to get a short clip of your AVI is use Virtual Dub. Select your start and end positions, video/direct stream copy, audio/direct stream copy, and save as AVI.

Q: Nothing works. How do I know what is wrong?
A: 1. If this is your first time converting, make sure that you set up everything properly according to the tutorial.
2. Find out if you have a problem with the video or audio. Check your output directory. Video is MPV, audio is MP2.
3. Make sure you are using the latest version of SimpleAvis2Dvd.
4. Check SimpleAvis2Dvd.log.

Q: My video doesn't play/encode, or my video is choppy after conversion. How do I fix it?
A: This is almost always because you don't have the codec or if your video is choppy you have a bad codec. When you load the AVI, it will tell you the AVI FourCC. You need to find a codec that will play this. Download GSpot or AviCodec and it will tell you which video and audio codecs you need and have. This is a bit controversial and just my opinion, but I think codec packs are bad. They install codecs that you don't need and overwrite the good codecs that you have. I personally only recommend 2 codecs and this is probably all you will need - DIVX and Koepi's XviD.

Q: The log file says "Encoder=Unknown" and "cannot rename file". How do I fix it?
A: Make sure the output directory is set properly in the SimpleAvis2Dvd setup.

Q: My video converted, but it is a very small file. When I play the MPV file it says there is an AviSynth error. How do I fix it?
A: This is rare, but it will happen in an uncommon Avi screen resolution. You need to uninstall your current version of AviSynth and reinstall version 2.57.

Q: I don't hear any audio, it is out of sync with my video, SimpleAvis2Dvd tells me there was an audio error, my MP2 file is 0 kb, or BeSweet crashes when I encode. How do I fix this?
A: Almost all audio problems can be fixed by converting your AVI with VirtualDub using "Video / Direct Stream Copy", "Audio / Full Processing" - Audio / Conversion / 44100Hz 16bit Stereo, "File / Save As AVI". It's also possible you may not have the audio codec (see video codec question) or you have not put VobInput.dll in the BeSweet directory.

Q: When I try to run through Virtual Dub (due to out of sync audio) I get this error message: "No audio decompressor could be found to decompress the source audio format "source format tag: 2000). I loaded the avi into Gspot and it said the Codec is installed
A: Tag 2000 is the AC3 codec. Virtual Dub also requires the ACM decompressor. You can download it here http://www.videohelp.com/tools/AC3_ACM_Decompressor .

Q: I fixed the AVI audio using Virtual Dub, but now it is out of sync when I play in Windows Media Player. What do I do now?
A: This rarely happens, but it may. Redo the process using Virtual Dub with the new AVI. Select Audio / Interleaving / Audio Skew Correction. You will have to use trial and error and check the AVI in Windows Media Player to see when the audio matches the video.

Q: Ok, I converted the audio using Virtual Dub. Can I check to make sure it works without waiting for hours for the video to convert?
A: Load your new AVI into SimpleAvis2Dvd and then choose Audio/ConvertAudio. You can play this MP2 file in Windows Media Player.

Q: Can I use VirtualDubMod instead of VirtualDub?
A: Sure. Just make sure that when converting your files to use Video/Direct Stream Copy and Audio/Full Processing

Q: I loaded 5 episodes and on the last one the audio did not convert. Is there a way to quickly convert just the audio after I fixed the audio in my AVI?
A: Yes. Load only the AVI that you want to convert and choose Audio/BatchConvertAudio.

Q: I keep running out of space on my hard drive. Can I delete some useless files?
A: In setup, check "Delete unused MPG files". The MPV and MP2 files are used and imported automatically into DvdAuthorGui. The MPG files will be deleted after every episode is encoded. For the whole process, you should have at least 10 GB of free space.

Q: Is there a way to convert just one episode at a time and author it later?
A: Yes. Just load each episode and convert it as a single episode. You will need to change the "episode size" to be equal to 4430 / Num of episodes on Dvd. After all the episodes for the DVD are converted. Load all episodes into SimpleAvis2Dvd in the order you want, then choose "Dvd/Create DvdAuthorGui Project". Load this project file into DvdAuthorGui to burn the disc.

Q: How do I fix this DvdAuthorGui error when I try to convert the subtitles? WARN: Error recoding line (1). INFO: Unicode font: 1418 glyphs.ERR: Couldn't load file C:\DvdOut\drama01.srt.
A: This means you have unreadable characters in your subtitle file. Load your subtitle file into Notepad and find the characters that look like garbage and delete them.

Q: DvdAuthorGui gives me "Path/File" Access Error. How do I fix this?
A: This occurs in Windows Vista when using UAC. To turn off UAC, go to the control panel and in the search box type "User Account". If it still doesn't work, try right clicking on the shortcut and "Run As Administrator". Make sure you are running version 1.013 or later.

Q: I have softsubs. Should I convert them to hard subs?
A: No. You can convert to hard subs, but your picture quality will be worse and you will be wasting video bandwidth. MPG is a lossy compression so the picture quality varies dependent on the bitrate you set, the difference in objects, the amount of movement between frames, etc. If you look closely at the hardsubs, you can see the pixels around the subtitle are not clear. If you use softsubs, the DVD player will encode this separately from the video so the video quality will be the same.

Q: There are hardsubs already in the AVI. Can I still create a DVD?
A: Yes. It will work fine. Just follow the same process and the subtitles window will display <none>.

Q: It took me a week to encode a 20 episode series. Can I make it shorter?
A: You can make it shorter but it will be lower quality. If your source is already low quality, then this may be a good option because it won't improve much anyway. If you want to use your computer while converting, choose "Normal" or "Low" for task priority in the Misc tab. To lower the quality and improve speed, use CCE 2 pass VBR, QuEnc, turn off "Use High Quality", or change the TmpgEnc motion search precision.

Q: How long does the whole process take?
A: I use 4 pass VBR and it takes me between 3 and 4 hours to convert each AVI with a 1.6 GHz Pentium 4. Typically, I set up a batch process for 4 AVIs and run it over night. The next day, I author and burn it.

Q: What is the best encoder?
A: Costwise, QuEnc is free, TmpgEnc and CCE have different versions that vary in price. Qualitywise, TmpgEnc and CCE are about the same. CCE is the fastest encoder. If you want to do other things besides burn DVDs, TmpgEnc is by far the best. It gives you the most flexibility and options and has a nice wizard for ease of use. No matter what encoder you use, ultimately the quality comes down to using VBR, how good your original AVI looks, and the bitrate of your DVD. The more episodes you put on 1 DVD, the lower the bitrate and the lower the quality. If you want top quality, then stick with about 3 hours per DVD. 4 hours will give you good results also.

Q: I spent 2 weeks encoding using a batch file and I am 1 MB over on my DVD. You suck and so does this tutorial.
A: Was that a question or a statement? This really shouldn't happen, but may depending on the DVD authoring software that you use and the type of menus you have. Menus with audio, images, or motion will all take up space, so you should use a number smaller than 4430 to compensate. Also, DVD-Rs have a different capacity than DVD+Rs. If you are over, re-encode the audio of the AVIs using the Audio Batch Processing in SimpleAvis2Dvd with a lower bitrate. This should only take 10 minutes. If you find that you are consistently over or under for available space on your DVD, then change the default episode size in SimpleAvis2Dvd in the setup options.

Q: I get this when i try to preview my video in dvd2svcd "couldn't locate a decompresor fourcc". How do I fix this?
A: You probably don't have the correct codec. Check to see if you can play the video in a Windows Media Player and/or load it into GSpot to make sure you have the codec. If it is XVID, download Koepi's XviD codec.

Q: I am still having overscan problems with my TV. Can I add a larger border or shift the video?
A: In SimpleAvis2Dvd, File/Setup/Additional Border Blocks and/or Horizontal Shift. Each additional block is 8 pixels on the sides. Horizontal Shift is 1 pixel. If you want to see what the image will look like, stop the conversion just as dvd2svcd starts. Then load the AVI manually into dvd2svcd and on the conversion tab choose Go/Preview Video.

Q: Why is my MPG file 3 GB when it shows 1110 as the episode size?
A: CCE trial versions and versions after 2.5 need to be invoked with an ECL file. This limitation is not only limited to DVD2SVCD but other all-in-one programs that use CCE. There is a tool called "eclcce" that is supposed to fix this. If you search the internet, you can find a version of CCE 2.5.

Q: I am using CCE 2.5. Why does my encoding sometimes freeze with a checksum error or freeze after processing?
A: This is a known problem with CCE 2.5. If you do a google search for "CRC Patch" this can be fixed by installing the patch.

Q: I am using QuEnc and get an error saying "bad parameter=mpeg2". How do I fix this?
A: You can ignore this. The error message should automatically close after a few seconds.

Q: I am using TmpgEnc and I can play the AVI fine in Windows Media Player, but it still will not convert to MPV. Can I fix this?
A: TmpgEnc uses VFAPI plugins. If you have more than 1 codec installed for a given FOURCC, there may be a conflict. Open TmpgEnc, choose Options/Environmental Setting/VFAPI plug-in. Right click "Direct Show Multimedia File Reader". Click "Higher Priority" until it is at the top.

Q: Stupid video still will not convert. What the heck?
A: As a last resort, you could try to convert the AVI into an XVID or DIVX AVI using Virtual Dub (Thanks Bunk for the suggestion). Then load again into SimpleAvis2Dvd. These are the most common codecs with the fewest problems. Keep in mind however that you will lose quality if you do this.

Q: Can I use different programs than you used above?
A: Sure. Mix and match whatever you want and whatever is easiest for you. The steps are the same.
AVI to DVD standard MPG. Author using MPG. Burn to DVD
or
AVI to MP2 (Audio) MPV (Video). Author using MP2 and MPV. Burn to DVD.

Q: Can you recommend a free Dvd burner?
A: Do a google search on any of these - cdrtfe, InfraRecorder, or fecddvd. (Thanks ivenxubi for recommendations)

Q: I know I am doing the process correct, but it still doesn't play.
A: 1. Is your DVD player ok? - Test the DVDs in your computer and on another DVD player. Check videohelp.com to see if other people have had similar problems with that DVD player.
2. Is your authoring software creating incompatible DVDs? - Play the DVD on your hard drive - point to the VIDEO_TS / AUDIO_TS folder or a IFO file and play with a Windows DVD player. Also author a disc using different authoring programs and play this in your Dvd Player.
3. Are your MPGs ok? - Play the converted MPGs using a Media Player.
4. Is the AVI ok? Play it in a Windows Media Player.
5. Are your DVDRs compatible? - Some brands of DVDRs don't work with combinations of certain burners and DVD players. Try a different brand. Also check a site like Amazon where the people rate the DVDRs and see if other people have had similar problems.
6. Do you have too many codecs installed? Load your AVI into Gspot. Test your codecs in the "Proposed codec Solutions and Tests". Uninstall a bad one through the Windows Control Panel/Sounds And Audio Devices/Hardware/Video Codecs/Properties.

Q: It takes too long I don't care about quality I just want to view it on my TV. Is there an easier way?
A: You are welcome to see if you can find an easier or better way for you. There are several popular programs that at videohelp.com under the "tools / all-in-one conversion" section. However, I cannot recommend any of them. I have tried them all and I either ran into conversion problems or I don't like the quality that they produce.

Q: I heard about DVD players that will play divx AVIs. Can I just use this?
A: Sure if you don't want any hassles, then this may be for you. Just burn AVIs directly as "data" files and you can watch them on the TV. Check videohelp.com for a list and reviews. If you decide to buy one, you need to be very careful because there are problems with codec compatibility, displaying softsubs, resizing image quality, and overscan. I have one of these players and these are the reasons I still convert to DVD video.

Q: I don't have Windows. Is there a way to do this using Linux?
A: This comes pretty close to doing the same thing. Thanks again to Pokute for the link.
http://inferno.slug.org/cgi-bin/wiki?AviToVob

Q: Does SimpleAvis2Dvd work with any AVI?
A: Yes. It should work with all AVIs. I have not yet found an AVI that it will not convert.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will occasionally post updates and improvements to this program. Subscribe to this thread if you want details of the updates.
Version History below.
* Version 2.8 - 08/18/07
* Added View Log button
* Version 2.7 - 07/14/07
* Consolidated logs into 1 file
* Added Audio Codec info
* Version 2.6 - 05/26/07
* Reporting more info - Windows version, encoder, fourcc, etc.
* Added support for PAL srt subtitles
* Version 2.5 - 03/26/07
* Reporting more info for debugging errors
* File errors only reported on invalid MP2 and MPV
* Version 2.4 - 03/17/07
* Added batch Audio
* Added ability to run program from different directory than executable
* Version 2.3 - 12/16/06
* Added horizontal adjustment
* Added DVD size
* Version 2.2 - 10/07/06
* Added better error handling
* Added ability to convert audio without video
* Can select individual AVIs
* Increased size of outdir name
* Added optional additional overscan blocks
* Added minimize button
* Fixed problem with different resolution AVIs
* Version 2.1 - 09/15/06
* Changed subtitle char set to CP1252 to allow for windows characters
* Added support for PAL 25 fps AVIs
* Enabled deletion of intermediate files
* Added total disc time
* Added capability to author DVDs without encoding
* Forced more dvd2svcd parms for strict avi2dvd conversion
* Version 2.0
* Complete automation of batch processing.
Attachments
SimpleAvis2Dvd.zip
Version 2.8
(254.49 KiB) Downloaded 3351 times
Last edited by kyuuketsuki on Mar 15th, '09, 03:15, edited 100 times in total.

kyuuketsuki
Posts: 310
Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

Post by kyuuketsuki » Nov 28th, '05, 07:51

Questions and suggestions are welcome.

I tried to make this as clear and as easy as possible.

The key features of the tutorial are the frameserving, batch encoding, and soft subs. It took me a while to figure out the best method for these so I hope I can save some other people time that want to do the same.

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ayahirayama
Posts: 50
Joined: Jul 29th, '05, 01:02

Post by ayahirayama » Nov 28th, '05, 08:28

THANK YOU sooooo much for this, this really helps a lot, so thank you

DougFunnieee
Posts: 17
Joined: Nov 10th, '05, 11:16
Location: California, USA

Post by DougFunnieee » Nov 29th, '05, 09:55

Okay, hopefully I'm doing this right... I'll take it step by step.

- opened FitCD

- clicked on the "Source:" button and loaded the avi

- copied THIS

- opened DVD2SVCD (which is set to AVI to DVD), clicked on the "Frameserver" tab, clicked on the Edit AviSynth Script button (which has a picture of pencil and paper), pasted it HERE, and clicked "OK"

-Set ENCODER parameters

-Set AUDIO bitrate (I later unchecked "Audio 2 Priority 1")

-Determining video bitrate... here's where I got stumped. You said 4438 divided by the number of AVIs. Let's say I want to have 3 AVIs. 4438 divided by 3 is about 1479. Where do I PLUG IN 1479?

Thanks so much for taking the time to write this tutorial out. The process seems complicated, but I'm well on my way to burning a dvd successfully! I know I'll get it sooner or later. :scratch:

kyuuketsuki
Posts: 310
Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

Post by kyuuketsuki » Nov 29th, '05, 14:48

DougFunnieee, Thanks for trying this out. I'm glad you said the process seems complicated. It means my tutorial is too complicated. My goal is to make it so even the beginner user can burn without a problem. I think I am confusing people with the batch encoding, etc which are helpful, but only for more addvanced users.

After I get home from work tonight, I will add screenshots and break the tutorial into "basic" and "advanced/optional" sections. I am also thinking of adding a mini FAQ at the end. I've been doing this for years and there are some common pitfalls that I've been able to overcome with some basic knowledge.

kyuuketsuki
Posts: 310
Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

Post by kyuuketsuki » Nov 30th, '05, 05:10

Ok. Hopefully it is easier to follow with the pics now!

Let me know if there is anything that is not clear. I still plan on adding pics for DVDAuthorGUI.

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babyxdorkii
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Post by babyxdorkii » Nov 30th, '05, 07:05

kyuuketsuki wrote:Ok. Hopefully it is easier to follow with the pics now!

Let me know if there is anything that is not clear. I still plan on adding pics for DVDAuthorGUI.
may u pleae add the pics i tink it will be easier well for me

i really like ur tutorial!

DougFunnieee
Posts: 17
Joined: Nov 10th, '05, 11:16
Location: California, USA

Post by DougFunnieee » Dec 1st, '05, 08:42

Wow, that's good stuff! Very helpful. One question though... when I load my AVIs into FitCD, instead of getting Lanczos Resize in the script I get Bicubic Resize. Should I then change the AviSynth setup to Bicubic Resize?

kyuuketsuki
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Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 2nd, '05, 03:40

may u pleae add the pics i tink it will be easier well for me. i really like ur tutorial!
Thanks! Added pics for DvdAuthorGui. Hope it helps.
when I load my AVIs into FitCD, instead of getting Lanczos Resize in the script I get Bicubic Resize. Should I then change the AviSynth setup to Bicubic Resize?
I vaguely remember reading a research paper somewhere that said that Lanczos gives the best quality which is why I use it. But, I have not done any tests to really verify it.

Anyway, if you want to use Bicubic, in FitCd where it says "Lanczos", change this to Bicubic. Then in the DVD2SVCD Frameserver tab where it says "Lanczos Resize" change this to Bicubic Resize and edit the Avisynth script the same way.

Let me know if there are any more questions or suggestions.

hmm_yeh
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Post by hmm_yeh » Dec 2nd, '05, 03:53

Wow, I'm glad someone made this thread, it definitely is helpful!! :D

bloodwraith
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Joined: Mar 8th, '04, 19:18

Post by bloodwraith » Dec 2nd, '05, 13:13

Totally cool guide :thumright:

Now I'm a newbie at this, so here goes the question:

I managed to author a dvd and had added a subtitle.
Now when I played back my movie with WinDVD the subtitle is blurred
to such an extent that I cannot read what it says :-(

Maybe I did something wrong, but when I created the mpg file the
movie used Bicubic instead of Lancrose. Could it be something related
to the size or....?

If anyone have experienced the same stuff and knows any solution or tips, that
would be much appreciated

8)

DougFunnieee
Posts: 17
Joined: Nov 10th, '05, 11:16
Location: California, USA

Post by DougFunnieee » Dec 2nd, '05, 21:05

Thanks, I tried it and it works like a charm! I'm curious though, what DVD burning program do you use?

kyuuketsuki
Posts: 310
Joined: Aug 4th, '05, 12:52

Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 3rd, '05, 02:22

bloodwraith,

Bicubic gives great results, so that would not be the problem. The main question I have for you is are you using softsubs (you have an smi or srt file)? If you use soft subs, then you should always have clear subtitles. Make sure that you are not making them permanent when you do the conversion. They should be selectable with the "subtitle" button on your DVD player.

DougFunnieee, I use TmpgDvdAuthor to burn my DVDs, but it is not free. I also use this to author my DVDs if there are hard subs because it makes nice menus without a lot of trouble. Just about all DVD burning programs these days should have an option to burn DVD Videos.

anh_thanh
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Post by anh_thanh » Dec 3rd, '05, 07:49

hrmmm i fallow al the steps and got everything done but can't burn i try adding teh video and the audio file an dteh dva file on to nero and it won't accept it ...need help thanks alot

bloodwraith
Posts: 17
Joined: Mar 8th, '04, 19:18

Post by bloodwraith » Dec 3rd, '05, 10:35

kyuuketsuki wrote: bloodwraith,

Bicubic gives great results, so that would not be the problem. The main question I have for you is are you using softsubs (you have an smi or srt file)? If you use soft subs, then you should always have clear subtitles. Make sure that you are not making them permanent when you do the conversion. They should be selectable with the "subtitle" button on your DVD player
Thanks for your response :-)
Yes I have softsub in srt format. I have made them using Subtitle workshop, actually made a translated version of some other sub. So what I did was adding the subtitle in dvdauthorgui like in your guide, but without adding any menu to choose the subtitle. That means they are permanently added, right?
I'm not clear about the thing you said regarding, "making the subtitle clear". Do you mean text background color and foreground color? Font size?
I think they are clear, but I have no idea, since I have just used Subtitle workshop to do the subs. I will try to make a menu for choosing subtitle then, see if that helps.

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Post by DougFunnieee » Dec 3rd, '05, 11:54

anh_thanh wrote:hrmmm i fallow al the steps and got everything done but can't burn i try adding teh video and the audio file an dteh dva file on to nero and it won't accept it ...need help thanks alot
When you click on Make DVD-Video in Nero, all you need to do is add your newly created .mpg file and burn that.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 3rd, '05, 15:35

When you click on Make DVD-Video in Nero, all you need to do is add your newly created .mpg file and burn that.
The mpg does not have the soft subs if you use soft subs. Also, you probably want several episodes on one disc, so unless Nero also authors the disc, you will need to use a DVD Authoring tool before that so you can choose your episodes. Author your mpgs in DvdAuthorGui and then select "Dvd Video" in Nero and input your ISO file.
I'm not clear about the thing you said regarding, "making the subtitle clear"
I meant that if you are using the SRT file for softsubs, then the subtitles should automatically be clear because they don't distort the background video. The SRT file is just a text file that is converted to images. You don't need a menu to select the subtitles. Just click the "subtitle" button on your DVD player and you can turn them on and off. If your subtitles are blurry, I would suggest trying a different font.

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Post by anh_thanh » Dec 7th, '05, 08:21

hey if i use ur steps and i convert 3 avi's using ur briate settings i shoudl get 3 avis on one cd is that correct ???

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Post by kamui_hime » Dec 8th, '05, 01:37

hey! im really thankful for this tutorial.. however before i start i have a question.... do i need to join together the subtitle file with the video (say with vobsub)? right now my dramas are softsubs so do i have to make them hardsubs? thanks :)

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 8th, '05, 02:58

if i use ur steps and i convert 3 avi's using ur briate settings i shoudl get 3 avis on one cd is that correct?
The short answer is yes. Use 4430 / 3 = 1476. Put 1476 into CD Size in the bitrate tab.
The longer answer is that this will vary if you use DVR-r instead of DVD+r. It can also vary if you use complex menus, but 1476 should be fine in most cases. Check the faq at the end of the tutorial for more info.
right now my dramas are softsubs so do i have to make them hardsubs?
No. Many people convert the softsubs to hard subs and I highly recommend against this. I will add this to the FAQ because I think this is a good question. If you use hard subs, you will get worse quality video because MPG is a lossy compression. You are also wasting video bandwidth where you don't have to. If you look closely around the subtitles for hard subs you can see how the image is not clear. With softsubs you can turn the subtitles off at any time with the "subtitle" button on your dvd player and the video quality does not change because the subs are decoded separately.

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Post by kamui_hime » Dec 8th, '05, 03:13

ahh thank god :) thanks so much for answering so quickly.. turning them into hardsubs took SOOOOOOO effing long ><

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Hi

Post by hana-yukino » Dec 10th, '05, 23:00

I hit go to preview video vid on dvd2svcd and it said it can't locate a decompressor for xvid? Where do i go from here?

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Post by kamui_hime » Dec 10th, '05, 23:32

nevermind! acutally about how long does each process take? i have to share the comp with my bro and i'd rather do it when he's not using the computer coz i know it makes internet and such slower

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Post by boji » Dec 12th, '05, 00:29

hmm i got confused with the conversion tab part. i use the QuEnc program what do i have to do differently than when you use cce seems cuz when i press go it says error sigh it sucks being a noob :(

http://www.badongo.com/pic.php?file=dvd ... 11_pic.jpg

after i press go it says that QuEnc failed to execute. Please verify your Encoder tab.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 12th, '05, 02:27

I hit go to preview video vid on dvd2svcd and it said it can't locate a decompressor for xvid? Where do i go from here?
Go to videohelp.com and download Koepi's Xvid codec. Make sure you can play the AVI in Window's Media Player. It also could mean that your Frameserver parameters are incorrect. Make sure you have input the correct numbers from FitCD.
acutally about how long does each process take
This depends on so many things, it is impossible to say. The speed of your CPU, the type of CPU, the amount of RAM, how many processes you have loaded in the background, the priority you set of the encoding process, the number of passes you use for VBR, the parameters you set for your encoding, the type of encoder you use, etc.

I have a P4 and I try to do the best video quality I can get. It takes me about 3 1/2 hours to convert a 1 hour episode.

i use the QuEnc program what do i have to do differently than when you use cce
It helps that you took a screnshot. In the encoder tab where it says "QuEnc", you must point to the QuEnc executable. You have "C:\Downloads\QuEnc.zip". Unzip that file to a directory like "C:\Program Files\QuEnc\". Then your path for the QuEnc should be "C:\Program Files\QuEnc\QuEnc.exe"

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Post by groink » Dec 12th, '05, 02:39

kamui_hime wrote: i have to share the comp with my bro and i'd rather do it when he's not using the computer coz i know it makes internet and such slower
Although this may be impossible in your given situation, I think we're at the point in time where, with sub-US$500 computers, a family can afford a computer for every family member. I can't phantom the idea of having to share a single computer in a family household.

--- groink

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Post by kamui_hime » Dec 12th, '05, 03:50

groink wrote:
kamui_hime wrote: i have to share the comp with my bro and i'd rather do it when he's not using the computer coz i know it makes internet and such slower
Although this may be impossible in your given situation, I think we're at the point in time where, with sub-US$500 computers, a family can afford a computer for every family member. I can't phantom the idea of having to share a single computer in a family household.

--- groink
well my house isn't that big and we already have 4 computers. 4 kids in the family plus my dad. only my bro and me have to share b/c we're the youngest...

i'm sorry that i don't own my own computer -_-;; last time i checked though, this isn't the place to critize how cheap my family is, which is what i'm assuming you're going at with that really rude comment you made.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 12th, '05, 15:41

only my bro and me have to share
If you aren't doing any heavy processing, then you should be fine running the encoding as a background task. In the "Misc." tab, make the process priority normal and you can do other things. If you do this it will not slow down your internet connection. However, if you are running something that uses a lot of CPU like a 3D game, then you will probably want to hold off and do the encoding when the computer is free.

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Post by radicchix » Dec 13th, '05, 01:35

I´m having a hard time here. I have tempeg and Quenc but when i do ok the audio extract but then some error occurs. I encoded the avi to mpeg.. I´m a little confused here... to play in dvd players don´t it have to be a .vob file? I did a mess here... I has to be audio and video separated? I liked you tutorial but it is to complex for me... :(

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Post by boji » Dec 13th, '05, 04:01

thanks for the info :D i'm just wondering at the end it says automatic shut down so i'm guessing it'll shut down the computer i was just wondering thats all...and does this program only convert avi or can it convert other things like wmv,asf, etc?

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 13th, '05, 05:49

I´m having a hard time here. I have tempeg and Quenc but when i do ok the audio extract but then some error occurs. I encoded the avi to mpeg.. I´m a little confused here... to play in dvd players don´t it have to be a .vob file? I did a mess here... I has to be audio and video separated?
Take it one step at a time. There are only 3 steps.

1. Convert AVI to DVD compatible MPG
2. Author DVD with menu and subs - ISO
3. Burn ISO file

I'm not sure where you're stuck. If you have an audio error, then check the FAQ at the end of the tutorial. The main FAQ on the web site also has info about audio errors. If you have an MPG file, you're done with step 1. The MPG file has both audio and video. Next you need to author the MPG to DVD. This will create an ISO file for burning. This ISO file has the .vob files inside it.
i'm just wondering at the end it says automatic shut down so i'm guessing it'll shut down the computer i was just wondering thats all...and does this program only convert avi or can it convert other things like wmv,asf, etc?
Yes it shuts down the computer when finished if you check that box. I don't think it works for other files besides AVIs. Tmpg might have the ability to convert some other files. I'm not sure. You can get around it though by converting the WMV file to AVI.

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Post by Athaclena42 » Dec 13th, '05, 10:44

First of all, thanks for this great tutorial! I really appreciate all of your hard work in making it. Now, my problem is this: I set everything up in DVD2svcd, and I press "Go!" and it tells me that I MUST use Cinema Craft Encoder and then just speeds through and I think I get some sort of weird file at the end. I do have TMPGEnc and have it all set up for that, but the program doesn't seem to like it. Any insight would be helpful...thanks!
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Re: [Tutorial] How to convert AVI to standard DVD for TV

Post by kamui_hime » Dec 14th, '05, 00:23

Rename the mpg file that was created and save it somewhere. If you have more than 1 mpg file "MPlex_MuxedFile01.mpg", then there was an error in the VBR precalculations. This does not happen often, but if it does, then use the video .MPV file and audio .MP2 files instead.
first off, i want to thank you for helping me so much thus far. you've been so nice and helpful :)

now to the bad stuff.... i think i may have that problem quoted above, even after following all of your steps. i get this when i try to preview my video

Image
i googled it and there's alot of stuff that come up and i dont want to d/l anything weird. is there something i cando?

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 14th, '05, 01:29

I set everything up in DVD2svcd, and I press "Go!" and it tells me that I MUST use Cinema Craft Encoder and then just speeds through and I think I get some sort of weird file at the end. I do have TMPGEnc and have it all set up for that, but the program doesn't seem to like it.
This is strange because I know it works with TmpgEnc. Make sure that in your "Encoder" tab you have "TMPegEnc" checked and the path points to the TMPGEnc.exe file. I can see that your path points to something on your desktop. I would think it should point to the exe in your "Program Files" directory. I am also surprised that it is asking for Cinemecraft Encoder. If you are still having problems, I'd like to see the screenshot of the error.
i get this when i try to preview my video "couldn't locate a decompresor"
I think this is pretty common, so I will add it to the FAQ. It almost always means 1 of 2 things. You don't have the correct codec, or you did not put in the proper frameserve parameters. Check to see if you can play the video in Windows Media Player and/or load it into GSpot to make sure you have the codec. If you have the codec, then your frameserve parameters probably are not correct. Make sure you copied them from FitCD properly. You should always check the video before started the process. You can do this by going to the "Conversion" tab, and clicking "GO / Preview Video".

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Post by radicchix » Dec 14th, '05, 02:53

This is apearing in my log on dvd2svcd and I don´t know what to do

WNASPI32.DLL 4.6.0.1021
--------------------------------------------------------
- 13/12/2005 23:45:23
- AVI to SVCD Conversion
- AVI2DVD ver. 1.2.3 build 1
--------------------------------------------------------
Initializing
- D:\Download\Vídeos\Seriados\Engine\Engine RAW - ep01 (704x396).avi
Initializing finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 13/12/2005 23:45:25
- Free on drive C: 1664.88 mb
- AUDIO Extraction
--------------------------------------------------------
Audio extraction finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 13/12/2005 23:46:46
- Free on drive C: 1664.88 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
- 13/12/2005 23:46:48
- Free on drive C: 1664.88 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------

Converting MP2 to WAV. Filename: C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Executing MADPlay (mp2 to wav). Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\MADPlay\madplay.exe" --quiet --output=wave:"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa.wav" "C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa"
Conversion (mp2 to wav) of C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa finished.


Encoding Audio. Filename: C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Executing BeSweet. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa.wav" -output "C:\PROGRA~1\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa" -payload -logfile "C:\PROGRA~1\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.log" )
Audio conversion of C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa finished.

Audio conversion finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 13/12/2005 23:52:20
- Free on drive C: 1664.86 mb
- Video Encoding using TMPGEnc
--------------------------------------------------------
- Encoding C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\AviSynth_Script_file.avs
StreamSectors: 1543338188
AudioSectors: 2324
VideoPAPO: 23907096
ScanOffsetBytes: 100047
SeqAligningBytes: 6358524
DVDBytes: 0
VideoEndHeader: 4
SubtitleSectors: 0
EmptySectors: 238.00
PictureSectors: 0.00
PureMPEGStream: 1512970193.70
Seconds: 3711.14
CalcMPEGStream: 1512970193.70
Frames: 111163
CDSize: 1478.00
Number of CDs: 1
Cut point 1474.00
Max. Bitrate: 8000
Avg. Bitrate: 3261.47
Min. Bitrate: 2000
Executing TMPGEnc. Commandline:
"C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\engine1.tbe" "C:\teste\TMPGEnc_Project_file.tpr" /Encode /Close
TMPGEnc failed. Please verify your Encoder tab.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 15th, '05, 00:56

This is apearing in my log on dvd2svcd and I don´t know what to do
I forgot about the DVD2SVCD log file. This definitely helps in tracking down problems.

You are not pointing to the correct location of your TMPGEnc executable. It looks like you are having the same problem as Athaclena42.

I don't know what this file "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\engine1.tbe" is, but check the "Encoder" tab. Where it says "TmpgEnc x.xx.xx", it should have the full path to your TMPEnc exe file. It should be something like "C:\Program Files\Pegasys Inc\TmpgEnc\TmpgEnc.exe"

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Post by radicchix » Dec 15th, '05, 14:43

hummmmm, Thanks a lot!!!!! Now everything is ok! I was not point to the exe file! ^^

Thanks for everything! But it takes a lot of time to encode right? like 2 to 3 hourS? Then I just have to use the dvdgui to put the menu and creat .vob?

Thanks again! :)

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 15th, '05, 15:45

But it takes a lot of time to encode right? like 2 to 3 hourS?
The time it takes depends on many things. There are several settings in TMPEnc and it depends on your computer speed. The better the quality that you want, the longer it will take. If you want to see the differences in quality, then you can try experiments with a short AVI on different settings. You can view the MPGs in Windows Media Player to see if you notce a difference. If you use the "higest quality" setting in TMPGEnc, it will probably take over 3 hours for each AVI.
Then I just have to use the dvdgui to put the menu and creat .vob?
It depends on how many AVIs you are putting on the DVD. You will first have to encode all the AVIs that you want on the first DVD. Once you have all the MPGs for the DVD, then you put them into DvdAuthorGui. Also you don't want only the .vob file. You want to burn the ISO file. Inside the ISO file, there are TS_AUDIO and TS_VIDEO directories. Inside these directories are the .vob files. Keep in mind there are some good DvdAuthor tools that are easier to use than DvdAuthorGui, but they are not free. You can check videohelp.com for a list. TMPGEncDvdAuthor is a very good one, but it does not support soft subs.

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Post by radicchix » Dec 16th, '05, 03:19

Realy thanks for helping me out, I have the three programs, TEMPEG, QUENC and CINEMA CRAFT ENCODER, wich one is better?

I really wanna quality on the files in first place, so 3 episodes is enought right?

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 16th, '05, 03:56

I have the three programs, TEMPEG, QUENC and CINEMA CRAFT ENCODER, wich one is better?
In terms of quality, TMPEnc and Cinema craft encoder are about the same if you put them both on the highest quality settings. CCE is a bit faster for encoding though so I'd go with that and use 4 or 5 pass VBR.
I really wanna quality on the files in first place, so 3 episodes is enought right?
A lot of the Jdoramas are 10 episode series with the first and last episode 1 hour and the rest are 45 minutes. So for those I make 3 DVDs with 3 episodes, 4 episodes, and 3 episodes. The Kdramas are usually an hour long for all episodes, so I will put 3 episodes on each disc. I try and stick with about 3 hours per DVD.

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Hi

Post by hana-yukino » Dec 17th, '05, 00:53

I didn't get mpg at the end of the conversion i got a mp2 and an mvp is that still okay to use to write ISO files using authorDvdgui? Is it the same method as before or are there any adjustments to the method that i should know about?

Thanks for all your Help,
Plus this tutorial is very easy to follow and great with the pics it helps a lot

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Re: [Tutorial] How to convert AVI to standard DVD for TV

Post by hana-yukino » Dec 17th, '05, 01:03

kamui_hime wrote:
Rename the mpg file that was created and save it somewhere. If you have more than 1 mpg file "MPlex_MuxedFile01.mpg", then there was an error in the VBR precalculations. This does not happen often, but if it does, then use the video .MPV file and audio .MP2 files instead.
first off, i want to thank you for helping me so much thus far. you've been so nice and helpful :)

now to the bad stuff.... i think i may have that problem quoted above, even after following all of your steps. i get this when i try to preview my video

Image
i googled it and there's alot of stuff that come up and i dont want to d/l anything weird. is there something i cando?
I had the same problem you need to go to videohelp.com and download Go to videohelp.com and download Koepi's Xvid codec. Make sure you can play the AVI in Window's Media Player. It also could mean that your Frameserver parameters are incorrect. Make sure you have input the correct numbers from FitCD.
at least that's what kyuuketsuki told me to do. It worked for me hope that helpful :unsure:

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Convert AVIs to DVD-R

Post by osanekun » Dec 17th, '05, 02:25

Thanks to kyuuketsuki for that awsome tutorial but if your tecnically challanged (like me) or just plain lazy (like me) there is a great app out there that does everything automatically. It's been out for a while, its called VSO DivxtoDVD. It supports SRT files and just about any AVI (Divx, Xvid, etc). Also it makes a mini menu so you can select which episodes you want to watch and will automatically place chapters in the dvd to your specifications (every 5min, 10min, etc.). The quality is just awsome and you can fit approx. 4 hours of episodes per disk without noticable loss in quality (3 ep. per disk is best though). Its pretty fast too depending on your system, I have an Athlon 64 2800+ with 512MB RAM and it encodes at about 1.5x. There is a demo version out for free so try it out.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 17th, '05, 04:01

I didn't get mpg at the end of the conversion i got a mp2 and an mvp is that still okay to use to write ISO files using authorDvdgui? Is it the same method as before or are there any adjustments to the method that i should know about?
That's odd. It means your multiplexer didn't work. The DVD should work fine though. Check to make sure your mpv plus mp2 are about the size that you expect for your MPG file. (The CD size that you put into the bitrate tab). If] there is a file called "...pulldown.mpv", then you'll want to use this mpv instead of the other one. Now, just load the mpv and mp2 into DvdAuthorGui and you're set. The only drawback to the mpv file is that Windows Media Player does not play it so you can't check it for quality. Also, when you go to set the chapter stops, you have to type the time in manually instead of having DvdAuthorGui set them automatically. Besides that, everything else works the same.
Plus this tutorial is very easy to follow and great with the pics it helps a lot
Thanks. Except I see that geocities doesn't like too many people accessing the images and they limit the bandwidth, so you might want to store them locally so you can retrieve them later.

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 17th, '05, 15:08

there is a great app out there that does everything automatically
I've tried them all, but I have not found one yet that I like. None of them give the same quality and reliability as the DVDs from the steps I use. Also, I like the configurable options that DVD2SVCD has. Anyway, a few people have asked about this, so I put it at the end of the tutorial as one of the faq questions. I'm actually hoping that Pegasys Inc. comes out with something soon because TMPGEnc and TMPGDvdAuthor are 2 of the best programs I have used. They just need to combine them into 1 and add subtitle support!

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Post by Usuyami » Dec 17th, '05, 16:59

kamui_hime wrote:
groink wrote:
kamui_hime wrote: i have to share the comp with my bro and i'd rather do it when he's not using the computer coz i know it makes internet and such slower
Although this may be impossible in your given situation, I think we're at the point in time where, with sub-US$500 computers, a family can afford a computer for every family member. I can't phantom the idea of having to share a single computer in a family household.

--- groink
well my house isn't that big and we already have 4 computers. 4 kids in the family plus my dad. only my bro and me have to share b/c we're the youngest...

i'm sorry that i don't own my own computer -_-;; last time i checked though, this isn't the place to critize how cheap my family is, which is what i'm assuming you're going at with that really rude comment you made.


it's alrite kamui, you may not be able to afford a computer for everyone in your house, but groink can't even afford a dictionary to check and see how to spell fathom :lol

Anyways, back on topic. before anyone goes and spends a week converting a show, you should know that no matter how high quality the conversion is, there will ALWAYS be a loss in video quality. That's just how it is. If you are a perfectionist like me and lazy too AND still wanna watch your shows on tv then i would recommend getting/checking if your video card has tv-out abilities. If it does, you can buy a cable that connects to your tv and stream videos directly from your computer. And if you are running low on hard drive space, just burn the files on a cd/dvd (which btw uses up alot less cd/dvds than if you converted to dvd format) and pop it into your cd/dvd-rom drive whenever you feel like watching your show! it saves you alot of time and it's not expensive! and best of all, no quality loss!

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 17th, '05, 17:29

you can buy a cable that connects to your tv and stream videos directly from your computer...no quality loss
There are also a number of DVD players out there that play DIVX among other AVIs. There is a major problem with this though. If you don't frameserve your video, then the edges are cut off. You don't get to see the whole picture and are cutting off a lot of subtitles for hard subbed videos. Another problem is that the TV displays colors differently than your PC so unless the video is "TV color safe", then the colors won't look right.

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Post by osanekun » Dec 18th, '05, 07:49

kyuuketsuki wrote:
there is a great app out there that does everything automatically
I've tried them all, but I have not found one yet that I like. None of them give the same quality and reliability as the DVDs from the steps I use. Also, I like the configurable options that DVD2SVCD has. Anyway, a few people have asked about this, so I put it at the end of the tutorial as one of the faq questions. I'm actually hoping that Pegasys Inc. comes out with something soon because TMPGEnc and TMPGDvdAuthor are 2 of the best programs I have used. They just need to combine them into 1 and add subtitle support!
I have to agree with you there. My friend converted a movie using your method and the quality was just unbeatable! But like i said, im technically challanged and lazy so that app works for me. I was wondering if you could recommend any other apps that you have tried that will produce decent results?

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 18th, '05, 15:59

I was wondering if you could recommend any other apps that you have tried that will produce decent results?
There really aren't any that I like. If you can find an app that uses CCE or TMPEnc as the encoder, then that is the best way to go. The ones I have tried however either crash often, don't use the correct parameters, or screw up the process in some other way. DivxToDvd that you recommended is definitely one of the "easiest" to use so maybe that is your best option. You can always check videohelp.com and read the reviews that people have posted.

The hardest part of the tutorial I think is authoring the DVD. One thing you could try is using the steps I have set up and importing your MPGs into TMPGDVDAuthor instead of DVDAuthorGui. TMPGDvdAuthor will author your DVDs and burn them with very little trouble. The only drawback is that it does not accept soft subs so you have to use "Permanent Subtitles" in the DVD2SVCD subtitle tab instead of "No Subtitles". This will of course lower your video quality though.

blindassassin
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Post by blindassassin » Dec 18th, '05, 18:49

Can somebody help me? Everytime I try to load an avi file and error pops up and says the QuEnc file does not exist. Does anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

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Sad Hime
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Post by Sad Hime » Dec 18th, '05, 18:58


Hi,,,

thank you soooooo much :thumright:

i will tray it , i reakky need this kind of stuf

Domo Arigatooo , if i have any problem i will ask you

Sayonara

SAD HIME

boji
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Post by boji » Dec 18th, '05, 19:05

i seem to be having trouble converting this certain avi. it says error on opening avisynth or something but i don't have that trouble with my other avis?

http://www.badongo.com/pic.php?file=pic ... 8_pic2.JPG

canyouhearmmenow
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Post by canyouhearmmenow » Dec 18th, '05, 21:13

thanks for teh tutorial it would be awesome if i could watch dramas on my tv. Does anybody know a good dvd burner program that is free

canyouhearmmenow
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Post by canyouhearmmenow » Dec 19th, '05, 01:36

i've downloaded Tmpgenc and im not sure what this program does. What do it do and do i have do something to the video before i can upload it on to Dvds2Svcd?

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Re: [Tutorial] How to convert AVI to standard DVD for TV

Post by kamui_hime » Dec 20th, '05, 02:39

hana-yukino wrote:
I had the same problem you need to go to videohelp.com and download Go to videohelp.com and download Koepi's Xvid codec. Make sure you can play the AVI in Window's Media Player. It also could mean that your Frameserver parameters are incorrect. Make sure you have input the correct numbers from FitCD.
at least that's what kyuuketsuki told me to do. It worked for me hope that helpful :unsure:

thank you! it seems to be working lovely now :) i cant wait to see the results!

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Strider
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Post by Strider » Dec 20th, '05, 03:09

Hello everyone, I've been using Nero Vision 4 to burn avi to dvd, it works great, but it seems that the subtitles in the avi gets cut off at times, especially when the subs are too long. Is there a way to fix it via Nero or some other program?

Thanks

boji
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Re: [Tutorial] How to convert AVI to standard DVD for TV

Post by boji » Dec 20th, '05, 04:53

kamui_hime wrote:
Rename the mpg file that was created and save it somewhere. If you have more than 1 mpg file "MPlex_MuxedFile01.mpg", then there was an error in the VBR precalculations. This does not happen often, but if it does, then use the video .MPV file and audio .MP2 files instead.
first off, i want to thank you for helping me so much thus far. you've been so nice and helpful :)

now to the bad stuff.... i think i may have that problem quoted above, even after following all of your steps. i get this when i try to preview my video

Image
i googled it and there's alot of stuff that come up and i dont want to d/l anything weird. is there something i cando?
im getting the same thing. I read here somewhere that i don't have the right codec. I am able to play it in windows media and I'm pretty sure I put in the right numbers in frameserver. what else could i have done wrong?

cerberus
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Re: [Tutorial] How to convert AVI to standard DVD for TV

Post by cerberus » Dec 20th, '05, 14:20

Rename the mpg file that was created and save it somewhere. If you have more than 1 mpg file "MPlex_MuxedFile01.mpg", then there was an error in the VBR precalculations. This does not happen often, but if it does, then use the video .MPV file and audio .MP2 files instead.
Good tutorial kyuuketsuki, but I'm having a bit of difficulty. I'm using the QEnc codec, and after following instructions, I have no MPG file; here are the files that were produced:

Code: Select all

OriginalMovie.avi
OriginalMovie.srt
****
AviSynth_Script_file.avs
ResampleAudio.avs

Encoded_audio_1.mp2
Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Encoded_Video_QuEnc_NTSC.mpv
Encoded_audio_1.mp2.wav

DVD Maestro Chapters File.chp
dvd2svcd project file.d2s
DVD2SVCD.INI
DVD.INI
dvd2svcd chapters file.ini
AVISYNTH.INI
Encoded_audio_1.log

Intra.mtr
Non-Intra.mtr
SVCDInfo.txt
MPlex_log.txt
dvd2svcd_log.txt
MADPlay_log.txt
I can play the mpv in media player, but it has no audio. So when I came to author the DVD, I loaded the MPV file, and it prompts for an audio stream, so I selected Encoded_audio_1.mp2. Then it gives the error:
Image
DVDAuthorGUIlog.txt wrote: DVDAuthorGUI 1.007 - 10/28/2005
Send problems with DVDAuthorGUI to liquid_217@hotmail.com
***please wait while the titles are multiplexed.
*multiplexing title: 1.....
INFO: [???] mplex version 2.0.0 (2.2.3 $Date: 2004/01/13 20:45:26 $)
**ERROR: [???] File unrecogniseable!
INFO: [???] File C:\Temp\Encoded_audio_1.mp2 looks like an MPEG Audio stream.
**ERROR: [???] Unrecogniseable file(s)... exiting.

Process aborted due to above error
Error code #1
There was an error in one of the video/audio streams. If you are using ac3 audio, make sure that it is without errors by running ac3fix on it. (http://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=AC3fix_GUI) Please review the log for more detailed information.
So my question is: Why didn't it produce an MPG; should I use a different codec; Are there settings in DVD2SVCD that maybe need changing? And can I somehow use the files it did create to author the dvd. -Thanks

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Post by hmm_yeh » Dec 21st, '05, 00:10

Hi.. sorry, I'm no sure if someone has already posted this question.. but would you happen to know how to go about this whole process if you have a mac? I'm familiar with my mac but not to the point where I would know how to convert avi's to dvd format. I can't seem to find any freeware for this. Please help!! Thank you in advance..

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Post by yt_toshi » Dec 21st, '05, 01:32

hmm_yeh wrote:Hi.. sorry, I'm no sure if someone has already posted this question.. but would you happen to know how to go about this whole process if you have a mac? I'm familiar with my mac but not to the point where I would know how to convert avi's to dvd format. I can't seem to find any freeware for this. Please help!! Thank you in advance..
Have you tried ffmpegX?

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Post by hmm_yeh » Dec 21st, '05, 01:41

yt_toshi wrote:Have you tried ffmpegX?
i haven't really looked at that since it's not free [not trying to sound cheap].. but i guess to get exactly what you want, you need to pay the price. ffmpegx here I come [watch me have a bunch of questions, I won't pester any of you with questions unless my brother in law can't help. ahaha] thanx for the suggestion :D

yt_toshi
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Post by yt_toshi » Dec 21st, '05, 01:44

Actually, it is free :-)

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Post by hmm_yeh » Dec 21st, '05, 01:52

eh?!?! please do tell where it's available?!?!

versiontracker's ripping me off! [joke joke joke]

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Post by yt_toshi » Dec 21st, '05, 01:56


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Post by hmm_yeh » Dec 21st, '05, 02:00

ohhh... thank you so very much! it really does a lot [based on what I just read]. I'm really really thankful! thank you!

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 22nd, '05, 23:56

Can somebody help me? Everytime I try to load an avi file and error pops up and says the QuEnc file does not exist. Does anybody know what I'm doing wrong?
You need to make sure you have downloaded an encoder and are pointing to it in the "encoder" tab. Have you downloaded and installed QuEnc?
i seem to be having trouble converting this certain avi. it says error on opening avisynth or something but i don't have that trouble with my other avis?
The pic you linked to says "couldn't locate decompressor for fourcc xvid". Try downloading Koepi's xvid codec from videohelp.com
i've downloaded Tmpgenc and im not sure what this program does. What do it do and do i have do something to the video before i can upload it on to Dvds2Svcd?
Just install it and point to it in your "encoder" tab of Dvd2Svcd

Hello everyone, I've been using Nero Vision 4 to burn avi to dvd, it works great, but it seems that the subtitles in the avi gets cut off at times, especially when the subs are too long. Is there a way to fix it via Nero or some other program?
Yes. You need to follow the steps I have outlined above. FitCD and frameserving will add borders so that the full video is shown on your television.
im getting the same thing. I read here somewhere that i don't have the right codec. I am able to play it in windows media and I'm pretty sure I put in the right numbers in frameserver. what else could i have done wrong?
Did you use the numbers from FitCD for your frameserve? Can you post a screenshot of your frameserve tab? Also, did you check your AVI with GSpot?
So my question is: Why didn't it produce an MPG; should I use a different codec; Are there settings in DVD2SVCD that maybe need changing? And can I somehow use the files it did create to author the dvd.
There is a problem with the audio. You may have problems with your DVD2SVCD audio settings. Make sure that you are using stereo output. Are you familiar with DOS batch commands? Your MPV should be fine for the video. Check the "Advanced" section in the tutorial and try and produce an MP2 file from the AVI using BeSweet from the command line. Also, check your Dvd2Svcd log and see if it says anything about the audio not being converted properly. Another thing you could do is try to load the AVI into Virtual Dub and do a full processing audio and Direct Stream copy for video and run BeSweet on it again.

cerberus
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Post by cerberus » Dec 23rd, '05, 01:57

kyuuketsuki wrote:
So my question is: Why didn't it produce an MPG; should I use a different codec; Are there settings in DVD2SVCD that maybe need changing? And can I somehow use the files it did create to author the dvd.
There is a problem with the audio. You may have problems with your DVD2SVCD audio settings. Make sure that you are using stereo output. Are you familiar with DOS batch commands? Your MPV should be fine for the video. Check the "Advanced" section in the tutorial and try and produce an MP2 file from the AVI using BeSweet from the command line. Also, check your Dvd2Svcd log and see if it says anything about the audio not being converted properly. Another thing you could do is try to load the AVI into Virtual Dub and do a full processing audio and Direct Stream copy for video and run BeSweet on it again.
I checked the logs that were created, and it didn't get to the multiplex stage due to the pulldown.exe failing. I retried the command that it tried:

Code: Select all

pulldown.exe Encoded_Video_QuEnc_NTSC.mpv Pulldown_Encoded_Video_NTSC.mpv -prog_frames p
And the response I get is:
PULLDOWN - v0.99d, by Hard Code.
[Based on sources by Brent Beyeler (beyeler@home.com)]

SOURCE = C:\Temp\Encoded_Video_QuEnc_NTSC.mpv, TARGET = C:\Temp\Pulldown_Encoded_Video_NTSC.mpv

- Setting all frames to PROGRESSIVE
- Enabling 2:3 pulldown


File is not an MPEG Video Stream
So thats why it didn't run the multiplex and combine the files to form the mpg. And I'm guessing thats why DVDauthor didn't like the streams, something to do with the video stream not being a valid DVD stream...
Just to be on the safe side, I tried redoing the audio anyway. I couldn't get besweet to rip directly from AVI to MP2: I downloaded the VOBInput.dll, but couldn't find any mention of OggDirectShowFilter anywhere, so maybe that is the reason it told me:
Error 32: No input-data was found (wrong substream?)"
So instead, I loaded the frameserver:

Code: Select all

AVISource("OriginalVideo.avi")
EnsureVBRMP3Sync()
ResampleAudio(48000) 
Into VirtualDubMod, and used the Stream Info section to rip the wav from it, producing a wav approximately the same as the "Encoded_audio_1.mp2.wav" created the first time round. I used BeSweet to convert the new one to an Mp2. However, I do get the same error in DVDauthorgui.

I can only assume the original MPV file that was created isn't 100%, but don't know enough about dvd makage to do anything about it! Maybe it was QuEnc's fault? Or an erroneous setting in DVD2SVCD, although I followed the guide accurately. My settings are default for the encoder:
Image

Thanks for the response kyuuketsuki, if you need any more information, logs or whatever, I'll post them too. It'd be great if I could get it working ...! :thumright:

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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 23rd, '05, 17:52

Just to be on the safe side, I tried redoing the audio anyway. I couldn't get besweet to rip directly from AVI to MP2: I downloaded the VOBInput.dll, but couldn't find any mention of OggDirectShowFilter anywhere
You can find the ogg direct show filter by doing a search on google, but with your other information, actually I'm not convinced your audio is bad. Try double clicking on your MP2 file and see if it plays in Windows Media Player.

I think that your MPV is not DVD compatible. 3:2 pulldown will convert the video from 23.97 fps to 29.97 fps. If it is not 29.97 fps and a valid resolution, then it is not NTSC. Or are you trying to create a PAL DVD?

So I have a few questions for you.
When you load the AVI into GSpot, what is the fps that it gives you?
On your "conversion" tab are you choosing "No Deinterlace"? Can you post a screen shot of your conversion tab?

One thing we could try is have you send me a 10 second clip and I can check the parameters on my PC. There is a program called EasyVideoSplitter (I will post this in the FAQ) that you can split the AVI into a small file for testing.

cerberus
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Post by cerberus » Dec 23rd, '05, 19:19

The avi video's fps is reported as 23.976fps, and looking at the dvdsvcd log, this is the command it passed to QuEnc:
"C:\Program Files\DivX\QuEnc.exe" -i "C:\Temp\AviSynth_Script_file.avs" -o "C:\Temp\Encoded_Video_QuEnc_NTSC.mpv" -b 5632 -maxbitrate 8000 -2 -gopsize 12 -maxbframes 2 -dc 10 -auto -close -mpeg2 -trell -nocgop -nointerlaced -extreme -hq -scene -nocmatrix -aspectratio 16:9

So i must have left "No Deinterlacing" on the conversion tab, as per the guide. I did not check the "NTSC to PAL", although it seems I did choose a different aspect ratio (my video resolution is 592x320, = 1.85:1, so I must have chosen 16:9 as the ratio (not anamorphic).)

kyuuketsuki
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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 23rd, '05, 21:18

cerberus wrote:The avi video's fps is reported as 23.976fps, and looking at the dvdsvcd log, this is the command it passed to QuEnc:
"C:\Program Files\DivX\QuEnc.exe" -i "C:\Temp\AviSynth_Script_file.avs" -o "C:\Temp\Encoded_Video_QuEnc_NTSC.mpv" -b 5632 -maxbitrate 8000 -2 -gopsize 12 -maxbframes 2 -dc 10 -auto -close -mpeg2 -trell -nocgop -nointerlaced -extreme -hq -scene -nocmatrix -aspectratio 16:9

So i must have left "No Deinterlacing" on the conversion tab, as per the guide. I did not check the "NTSC to PAL", although it seems I did choose a different aspect ratio (my video resolution is 592x320, = 1.85:1, so I must have chosen 16:9 as the ratio (not anamorphic).)
The framerate needs to be converted so that is good that it is doing it. I think the problem is that you chose 16:9. You need to be careful if you are using anything other than 4:3. You can probably get 16:9 to work, but you have to change your frameserver parameters from FitCD. I did some playing around with QuEnc and found it is very particular about the avisynth script that you pass it. Make sure that you only have "resize" and "addBorders" inside your frameserving parameters. You don't need anything else that FitCd passes you.

ARGHHISH
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Post by ARGHHISH » Dec 24th, '05, 07:55

I'm using Quenc and it's taking a long time to convert. It's been loading for 3 hours and when I thought it was done, it's loading another 3 hours. Is it suppose to be this way?

If I use Cinema Craft Encoder, how much faster would it go?

kamui_hime
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Post by kamui_hime » Dec 24th, '05, 15:20

oh yay!
i just finished converting my first video.. acutally took around 5-7 hours but its done!
but now, uhhh njust wondering

i started out with a 800 mb video, ended up with a 3.8 gb video... is it supposed to do that!?

kyuuketsuki
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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 24th, '05, 15:52

I'm using Quenc and it's taking a long time to convert. It's been loading for 3 hours and when I thought it was done, it's loading another 3 hours. Is it suppose to be this way?

If I use Cinema Craft Encoder, how much faster would it go?
If you select VBR encoding, all encoders will do encoding twice. This is normal. VBR uses a variable bitrate so that the scenes with more movement use a higher bitrate and look better. Each pass sets the bitrate and does a comparison against the previous pass. WIth Cinemacraft Encoder, you can set the number of passes to be more than 2, but you don't get much of a picture quality improvement with more than 4 passes. Whichever encoder you use, VBR encoding is far superior than CBR so you definitely want to use it.

I have not done many comparisons between CCE and QuEnc for timing, but it takes me about 3 1/2 hours to convert a 1 hour video using CCE with a Pentium 4.
oh yay!
i just finished converting my first video.. acutally took around 5-7 hours but its done!
but now, uhhh njust wondering

i started out with a 800 mb video, ended up with a 3.8 gb video... is it supposed to do that!?
:cheers: The final size of the MPG should be the size that you typed in the "CD Size" in the bitrate tab. I'm guessing you left it at 4.7 GB. Depending on the length of each AVI, you probably want to put 3 or 4 AVIs on 1 DVD so it would be around 1.1 GB for each MPG if you have 4 episodes. If you have a DVD+RW, I'd recommend burning the MPG that you made anyway. Then you can see how it looks on your TV and that everything is working.

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Post by boji » Dec 25th, '05, 04:25


kyuuketsuki
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Post by kyuuketsuki » Dec 25th, '05, 20:14

Hmmm. Could be a lot of things wrong. My initial guess is that a path is not set up properly, or you did not load avisynth when you installed dvd2svcd. Could you post your dvd2svcd log file? That may have more information.

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