Burning alot of episodes onto one dvdr

[synistermyster]

Thanks reboot.....if I encoded them as SVCD...from what I understand unless your dvd player accepts SVCD format...it wont play these files at all. Will I have this problem even after encoding them to SVCD then using DVD-Lab to author them onto a dvd-r in dvd complaint format?

 

[VIPER_1069]

@synistermyster does you standalone player play SVCDs on cdrs normally ?! if the answer is yes then it will also play SVCD conversions to dvdr using reboots guide with dvdlab

 

[rebootjim]

OK, wait, I'm confused.
You said above that they are 320x240.
That is a non-standard format, which is why dvdlab is freaking out.
VCD is 352x240.
You can encode them in SVCD (480x480) if your player will play them, otherwise you must encode in DVD (720x480) for them to play, or halfD1 (360x240).
DVDLab will accept SVCD and allow you to author them to dvdr, but again, your player may not play them. DVDLab definitely does NOT like non-standard formats nor does it like VCD. (as Viper has noted above)
I think you're going to have to re-encode them into a format your player (and dvdlab) will accept. In this case I would recommend HalfD1, or SVCD.
Just keep the bitrate down (WAY down) and you can probably fit 3 full length movies on one dvdr, without sacrificing any quality, because it's still going to be better than VCD (1150kbps).
If you can play svcd's, dvdlab will allow you to author them to dvdr, even if it has to transcode the audio to 48khz (if your encoder will allow you to encode svcd with 48khz audio, do it!), and will put up a warning about "this is an SVCD framesize used for DVD...". Ignore it and author as normal.
If your player will ONLY play dvd, and not (S)VCD, then I suggest you encode them as dvd, with a very low bitrate (less than 2000kbps) and author 2 or 3 on the same dvdr. No point in wasting space.

Edit: Thanks Viper, and yes, you could use my guide to author a really nice multi-movie dvdr, using svcds, or low bitrate dvds.
If you need more help on getting svcds or multi-movie dvd's authored, just ask

 

[synistermyster]

I never tried Viper....I just assumed it would not since the manual says that SVCD is not a compatible format. I really just want a simple way to convert the framesize...what if I used Tmpegenc and adjusted the framesize to 720X480? Seems like all else would work in dvd-lab since the only other error message it gives me is the audio...which I can easily fix and convert to Ac3.

 

[synistermyster]

Sorry rebootjim.....I was replying to Viper while you were typing that above. I guess my only way is to encode as DVD 720X480 keeping the bitrate down as you suggested...I assume I could use tmpegenc to do this and all should be well..I dont expect these to be great quality at all...just want them to work and to fit a lot of episodes onto one dvd-r.

 

[rebootjim]

That's one solution. Re-encode in tmpgenc to 720x480 allowing it to letterbox the movie.
If I remember correctly, source would be set to 1:1VGA, and output to FullScreen, Keep aspect. (I could be totally wrong here).
The finished result would be a completely dvd compliant mpeg.
Just watch your bitrates, to keep file sizes manageable, and encode with mpeg audio (or mp2/mpa) whatever. Tmpgenc also will automatically produce the separate audio and video, so dvdlab doesn't have to demux.
Dvdlab will transcode the audio to 48khz if you can't get tmpgenc to output it that way.
Get filesizes around 1.7gb each, and three will fit on a dvdr nicely, with room for menus and overhead in dvdlab.
That's assuming 1.7gb is for a 2 hour show/movie.
If they're ~1 hour each, fit 6 on a dvdr.

 

[synistermyster]

Thank you Jim....I am starting to feel like I know what I am doing again..heh heh..your thoughts on the tmpegenc settings were mine exactly....1:1vga since it is a divx avi file and full screen keep aspect ratio...I am converting as I type right now...but it looks like it is gonna take a while..only a 40 minute episode taking like 3 hours! I sure hope this works. Thank you all for your help.

 

[rebootjim]

Hint: In tmpgenc, when encoding stuff that's not great quality anyhow, run through the wizard and write down it's suggested bitrate.
Exit out the wizard, and on the settings screen, input that bitrate, change Rate Control Mode to CQ-VBR. Click the Settings button beside that, and set Quality to 100, and input the bitrate you noted before.
At the bottom of the settings screen, change Motion Search Precision to Motion Estimate Search (fast).
Now encode the movie. It will be done in about half the time, and your eyes won't know the difference from a 2 pass VBR on lower quality source avi's.
These settings are about perfect for lower motion movies that you've downloaded, or are of questionable quality.
If you're encoding dvdrips, then these settings would never apply.

 

[synistermyster]

Thank you so much rebootjim, you saved me a lot of time! I am going to try right now!