SVCD size issue....

[Rhomulus]

I was trying out a 'one step' DVD to SVCD program on a DVD (SuperDVD ripper) and I'm having a few problems keeping the size of the finished product down to 2CD's worth or under.
Currently I have tried using the DivX MPEG-4(fast motion) codec and the Xvid MPEG-4 one, at the suggested bitrate, and I'm getting about 4 cd's worth.
I've also tried taking the bitrate down to as low as 300 on some tries and I keep on getting more than 2 cd's.
The movie is only 136 minutes so I figured if I gave up some of the quality I would be able to make if fit on 2 cd's.
How can I make an SVCD with these codecs (or a better one if there is one) and get a product that is exactly 2 CD's worth??
Either I'm not using the right bitrate calc. or I'm not using it properly, or I need to be doing something else...
can anyone help me out?

[davexnet]

I think you're doing something wrong.
What is the source from which you are attempting to create
SVCD? IS it an AVI?

If it's a 136 minute avi, it should make 2 svcd's easily.

For example, 136/2 = 68 minutes. USing the calculator here:
http://www.digvid.info/digitalvideo/bitrate_calc.php

I chose audio = 160, 80 min CD - gives a bit rate of 1451.

If you're using 2-pass vbr in your mpeg encoder,
set 1451 as the average B/R.
That should be all you need to do.

Of course, you'll need two separate encodes, for the first and
second half of the movie.

Dave

[Rhomulus]

well I was using SuperDVD Ripper because I just wanted to avoid the pain of messing around with the settings, etc. So I was going from DVD to SVCD; not using AVI here.
Because this program takes away most of the user interaction, I'm not able to change many of the settings to make it smaller. The bitrate and the "smoother <=> crisper" settings that are in the configuration options of the codec are the only ones I can play with. I was kinda hoping that there was a way that I could adjust the bitrate enough to make the SVCD in 2 CD's whilst still using this program.
However, I did test one of the VCD's I made (2 CD's worth) in my DVD player and the quality was great. The only problem was that the volume was a little low. It seemed that if you turned the volume up enough to make the dialog normal, the action parts were a little too loud. However, there is a volume setting in the SuperDVD Ripper that can be adjusted, so maybe if I turn that up a little it will fix this. Unfortunately you can't mess with the audio in this program.:(

[Nick]

Whoa! You kinda lost me back there.

SVCD is MPEG2 not MPEG4. You are using DivX and XviD codecs?! They are MPEG4 codecs ie for converting DVD to AVI using DivX or XviD MPEG4 compression. Most DVD players won't play this. There are some newish ones that do but SVCD is by far the more compatible format.

I would get DVD2SVCD and CinemaCraft Encoder if at all possible and make your SVCD's that way.

http://www.dvd2svcd.org is a fine place to start. Fully automated, foolproof, nigh on bulletproof way to get the exact length of output files you want.

Rips the DVD and it does all the maths for you leaving you with your specified number of CD image files at the end. Take a look at the guides on doom9.

[Rhomulus]

I knew about the codec, but the ones I downloaded just showed up in the list as MPEG-4. That's why I ended up trying them and the Xvid.
Is there a good place to download a reliable version of the MPEG-2 ones?

[Nick]

Life just ain't that simple I'm afraid. If you want to make SVCD get DVD2SVCD and eithe CCE or TMPGEnc - you can get TMPGEnc from Doom9.org Software page. The rest get from the link I gave you above. If is the simplest way.