I have some .mpg files that I'd like to put to a dvd. I originally posted this message in software, but feel it's more appropriate in this forum.
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I created MPG files using mencoder with the following options:
mencoder myfile.avi \
-channels 6 \
-of mpeg \
-oac lavc -ovc lavc \
-lavcopts acodec=ac3:abitrate=384:vcodec=mpeg2video:vbitrate=5000 \
-mpegopts format=dvd -srate 48000 -ofps 30000/1001 \
-o myfile.mpg
When I add 4 files to a new project, it sizes them to 8068 mb, even though the source files are all less than 1 Gig each. The avi files are not HD source. They are roughly 43 minutes each. I'm now trying to resize to a single 4.7 Gig disc
Also ... why is it estimating 6 (!) hours for this process, when I theoretically already have the source in the appropriate format? dvdauthor under linux did this in about 20 minutes, but unfortunately my Athlon XP 2600 chokes on some of the software to make menus.
Let's do some rough Maths, exclude overheads for simplicity.
43 mins = 43 x 60 secs. Four of them is 4 x 43 x 60 secs total.
Video bitrate = 5000 kbps, audio = 384 kbps, total 5384 kbps.
5384 kbps divide by 8 = 5384/8 KB/sec.
So your estimated encoded mpgs will be at least:
4 x 43 x 60 x (5384/8) kilobytes = 6,945,360 KB.
A DVD-R has a maximum of 4,7000,000,000 bytes, roughtly 4,589,843 KB.
Juggling some maths,
Max bitrate = 4,589,843 / (4 x 43 x 60) bytes/sec
Multiply by 8 = 3558.0 kbps.
So, if you already reserve 384 kbps just for audio, you'll only have less than 3,200 kbps for video. Is this worth it? Would you like 5.1 surround sound for crappy video? Is your AVI even in 6-channel audio? Remember this excludes overheads.
If you would downmix the 6-channel down to only 2-channel stereo, you can use 192 kbps (or less) AC3 for audio, giving the rest up for video.
If this is a music video, and the source AVI is 6-channel, stay with 384 kbps. But if this is just a recording off a TV drama, 192 kbps 2-channel stereo should be more than enough.
Also... TDA/TAW is thinking that your mencoder result is notDVD compliant MPEGs. Find out why. I'm not familiar with mencoder.
TDA3/TAW4 comes with it's own MPEG-2 encoder. Just drag and drop your source AVIs and let it do the rest. Yes, another 6 (!) hours. Force2-passVBR encoding and play with the bitrate while watching the 'compilation size' status line at the bottom of the screen to keep it within a DVD-5. You want maximum (super-slow encode) quality, go to Options->Settings->Project default settings->DVD Video settings->Video encoder advanced settings->Motion search precision->Highest.
