Best way of burning .avi files?

I've got an .avi file I wish to burn to a VCD. The file size is 700mb(734,552,064 bytes). Would I have to split the file in half, or can it fit onto a standard CD? I'm using Nero 6 Ultra, and I've heard that it takes a long time to convert the .avi to .mpg. I also d/l'ed a program called TMPGEnc- Will this let me split the file, and should I convert the .avi using this and then burn the resulting .mpg file using Nero?

 

DO NOT i repeat DO NOT use nero to encode your avi to vcd, nero is a buggy/low quality/POS encoder that is not worth your time.

yes yes and yes, tmpgenc is a 'proper' high quality mpeg encoder which i use all the time, it hasnt let me down yet.

heres a basic overview of tmpgenc to get you started(MAKE SURE YOU READ IT ALL!):
http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/tmpgenc_basic_guide.cfm

if you have any questions/problems just ask.

goodluck

 

Do I have to split the file? I didn't think I'd have to seeing as the file is 700mb(734,552,064 bytes), and a standard CD is 700mb. Will the picture quality suffer or any other adverse effects if I put it onto one CD?

 

On a 80' CD fits 360,000 * 2336 bytes movie. The problem is that a 700 MB AVI = 1300 MPEG movie, and therefore you must:

1) convert it a (> 1.2 - 1.3 GB) to mpeg-1 with TMPGenc [settings: Video__Motion search precision = Highest Quality(very slow); Advanced=Video arrange Method=Full screen (keep aspect ratio)]
2) use TMPGenc__Merge & Cut and cut (double clicking it) the big movie into 2 movies shorter than 80'/50' each one; CD1 (0-----F) and CD2 (F----last). As Type choose MPEG-1 Video CD (or MPEG-2 Super Video Cd, but probably you'll need TMPGenc Plus).

Remember that 1 "80' CD-ROM" = 50' of SVCD movie = 80' of VCD movie = 120' of KVCD movie.
I prefete VCD's quality to KVCD's, but depends on you.

Remember = the final quality of the movie depends on the AVI (whose codec already spoiled the overall quality of the movie), not on the support (VCD, SVCD, DVD). 90% of the time VCD gives a quality comparable to the SVCD's or the DVD's.

Therefore I hate AVI -> DVD (and SVCD, too). Garbage in = garbage out.

 

Okay, so to get decent audio on the VCD you have to convert the .wav file produced by VirutalDub with Besweet into an .mp2, then use that as the audio source? Any guides on Besweet? And I use Nero 6 to burn the VCD, so I select "ignore audio settings" instead of "re-encode"?

 

There's no guide to BeSweet. But it's very eaay to use. Install also its GUI. Get it at http://dspguru.doom9.net/ on the STABLE sub-window.

Second, [bold] never use Nero to encode the movie into mpeg-1 [/bold]; first encode the input movie with TMPGenc , in this case using the MP2 file as audio input (TMPGenc will leave this line, which usually is = to the video input, blank for an AVI with AC3 sound). Use the best settings [highest quality, Full Screen (keep aspect ratio)].

After that Nero will no more ask you conversion stuff to make the Video-CD.

 

TMPGEnc doesn't seem to like the .mp2 file produced by Besweet- TMPGEnc says the .mp2 file is not valid. I'm using sure everything is correct- a .wav from the .avi using VirtualDub, then a .mp2 from the .wav using Besweet. But in TMPGEnc, the audio source file list doesn't seem to support .mp2 as it's not there, only .wav, .avi etc. The alternative is to select "All files *.*", but even then TMPGEnc refuses to accept it as the audio source.

 

why are you converting the audio from the original to wav then mp2??? you dont need to do this...all you need to do is convert the audio to wav with virtualdub and then use that wav file as your audio source in tmpgenc..because tmpgenc is going to convert the wav audio to mp2 during the encoding process anyway....first load the video as you normaly would in tmpgenc but for audio source you want to load the wav file created by virtualdub and thats it.

but on the same token you can if you want encode just the video and then afterwards merge the mp2 audio with the video(multiplexing)...to do this first you'll have to tell tmpgenc to encode just the video...in the main window of tmpgenc you'll see 'stream type' with various video only/audio only settings...in stream type select 'system(video only)' then let the video encode..and then goto>>>file>>>mpeg tools>>>simple multiplex(less hassle than multiplex)>>load the video that was just converted to mpeg as the vid source>>load the mp2 audio created by besweet as your audio source>>>make sure from the 'type' drop down menu that you select 'MPEG-1 Video-CD'>>>give the output file a name and thats it....you can do it either way it..the choice is yours..but id stick with letting tmpgenc convert the video and audio...multiplexing video and audio can sometimes lead to sync problems and other errors.

goodluck

 

I'm using a .mp2 as audio source because the movie I burned had poor-quality audio when I play it in a stand-alone DVD player- I already said Nero gives a warning about the audio when I burn the .mpg file as a VCD, that's why I'm using Besweet, as I thought a .mp2 audio source would produce better results- Now TMPGEnc gives me lots of error messages about the lack of MPEG-2 encoding in the free version. I installed the m2v_vfp-0.6.48 plug-in, so it can read .mp2 files, but it says stuff about the lack of DVD authoring software on my system.

 

if nero is giving you a warning about audio with the mpeg-1 file created by tmpgenc then your obviously setting up the encode as a non-standard vcd(xvcd)...or at least the audio is non-standard...standard compliant vcd audio is mp2 44100Hz 224kbps...just use the wizard and everything will remain standard compliant..meaning nero wont kick up a stink when you try to burn...or if your manually loading video from the main window of tmpgenc make sure you load the correct template for a pal/ntsc vcd.

as i said in my previous post....if you want to use the mp2 audio created by besweet as your audio for your vcd you'll have to encode just the video and then multiplex video & audio afterwards...you dont load the mp2 as audio source when encoding because tmpgenc is gonna convert the audio to mp2 anyway..this will just lead to further degradation of audio quality. as for tmpgenc saying that your free mpeg-2 encoding period is over..well i dunno why it would come up and say that when your encoding to vcd which is and always will be free even if u dont register....and as for the other warning about 'lack of dvd authoring software on your system' i havent the faintest again y that would pop up...it might be a bug in the free version of tmpgenc, i really dont know...i use the plus version of tmpgenc not the free version and i cant say tmpgenc has ever popped up with a message about dvd authoring software and lack there of...sorry m8 but that warning is a new 1 by me, cant help ya on that 1.

 

[bold]quote [/bold]>>> as i said in my previous post....if you want to use the mp2 audio created by besweet as your audio for your VCD you'll have to encode just the video and then multiplex video & audio afterwards...

No, if the sound had been 48 Hz (maybe you can check it with VirtualDubMod) instead 44.1 Hz you need to load the MP2 as 'Audio Input' in TMPGenc because TMPGenc has to convert 48 --> 44.1 and multiplexing is impossible.

[bold]quote [/bold]>>> ... as for TMPGEnc saying that your free mpeg-2 encoding period is over..well i dunno why it would come up and say that when ...i use the plus version of TMPGEnc not the free version and i cant say TMPGEnc has ever popped up with a message about dvd authoring software and lack there of.

I too use TMPGenc Plus and never had an error message. Maybe because the profile you must use in BeSweet is 'MP2 for SVCD' and therefore TMPgenc asks for its 'Plus' part.

 

Okay, I d/l'ed Gspot, and it turns out that the audio for the movie is actually mp3- 48khz and a bitrate of 114k/b. The video is XviD with a bitrate of 788kb and FPS of 25.0, if that's any help. So can Virtualdub and Besweet extract the audio, or do I need more programs or codecs?

 

yeah ok i get that, but this method is going to convert the audio 3 times and we all know that with every conversion of the same file the quality suffers more and more...so A5hX if your looking to get maximum quality for audio i wouldnt suggest using this method. if you must convert from the original avis audio to wav then mp2(which will not help the overall quality of the encode anyway) make sure in besweet you convert the audio to standard compliant vcd specs(so you can multiplex video+audio with no dramas later on) because if you werent pleased with the audio quality when you converted the avis audio to wav and then used that wav as the audio source in tmpgenc, then trust me using the method that you seem keen on the audio will sound alot worse simply because your converting the audio so many times...but if thats the way you want to do it then its up to you.

goodluck

 

Thx for all the info, guys, I've successfuly burned two movies with decent results (both audio and video are acceptable), but I've got a few more questions (last ones, I promise!).

1. My source video is 25fps DIV3/div4 codec 740kb/s bitrate, I left everything as standard VCD settings, but the resulting video is slightly jerky- shall I enable the "3:2 pulldown" option in TMPGEnc? Will this eliminate the (minor) stutters in the video?

2. When I try and fast-forward or rewind my VCD in a stand-alone player, the audio is completly out of sync, and often disappears altogheter. Any tools/settings/programs to correct this?

 

BTW my stand-alone player is PAL, so maybe I can't change the frame rates, can anyone help me out?

 

Well said, Mick 69! I didn't know that BeSweet could downsample 48 --> 44.1 kHz!

But..why 'converting the audio so 3 times?' with Virtualdub I simply extract the sound. Then there's 1) a compression AND 2) a downconvert 48--> 44.1 (which I made with TMPGenc because it work well with it. With Environmental setting --> Audio Engine you could even lower the speed (raise the quality). But the BeSweet setting is THE correct answer (SSRC is told to be very vary good).

 

Now I have a codec problem with VirtualDub- it says
" Couldn't locate processor for format for Div3(Microsoft high-speed MPEG4 V3[Hack: DivX Low-motion)
Virutaldub requires a Video For Windows compatible codec blah,blah.." Which codec would be best for this, and how do I install it?

 

Okay, got all my codecs, WMP is running fine again, TMPGEnc can now encode .mkv files, everything seems to be a-okay. To summarize my VCD experience, could you just tell me which is better: Frameserving, or simply extracting a .wav from a .avi, and encoding with that? From my experience, frameserving produced worse results than the .wav method. Which would you guys recommend, and why?

 

you've just answered your own question

i only use vdub to frameserv to tmpgenc when all else fails - a last resort - theres really no point frameserving to tmpgenc if you can easily get the file encoded by just converting audio to wav, i cant say that frameserving reduces quality of the output(both methods look the same to me) but i will say that if your source file has compressed sound the 'converting audio to wav method' is by far the fastest and no nonsense way to convert to (s)vcd/dvd.

 

Sorry to keep going on, but I just want to make everything absolutly clear- To get the best possible audio from an AVI (to encode for a VCD) you would have to:

1) Extract the audio from the AVI as a WAV file using VirtualDub? (Open Video File..Save WAV)

2) Then use the WAV as the audio source in TMPGEnc, and frameserve as usual? Any other settings or tools I should use?

Will this elimate the snaps, crackles from the somewhat muffled sound on my VCD's? Also the picture blocks up now and again- but the audio is of below-average quality throughout the film.

EDIT - Just watched the original AVI, turns out the blocks appear on my PC as well, so I guess the video encoding is decent after all.