How to use dvd2avidg?

[FredThompson]

When I try to use dvd2avidg there is a message saying it is not the appropriate version.

OK, so how are people using dvd2avidg with dvd2svcd? Would someone please show me an example configuration which works?

FWIW, I've got a 5-hour 480x480 interlaced NTSC continuous MPEG2 capture and I'd like to shrink it to fit on a DVDR. DVDShrink doesn't like the files, crashing every time I try to run it. Even so, the VOBs it creates look like junk so I want to recompress via ProCoder. I'd prefer to use dg's modified dvd2avi because it should help prevent dropped frames.

Another question, and forgive me for forgetting this, given the CD size field of AVI2SVCD, does it really matter what the max and max avg bitrates are set to as long as they're high? 5 hours of source with a proper script correction for keeping 480x480 should yield an avg bitrate of 1800 assuming the minimum is 300.

[Nick]

For bitrate settings, since you are compressing 300 mins to 4.5GB (ish) the average bitrate will be similat to putting a 50 mins on an 800MB SVCD, which from most sources is not asking too much. So default SVCD bitrate settings (or not much higher) should get results.

I'm sorry to report I know little of DVD2AVIDG so I can't really help there.

I notice you tried DVDShrink. The target bitrate may be a bit low to get the result you want but have you had a look at Requant as a simple way of doing the shrink-to-fit?

[FredThompson]

I really doubt requantizing is going to help. The DVDShrink result was horribly blocky. That's why I'm going with the long route.

Think I'll just edit the DVD2SVCD ini and hardcode the file load as such to get this particular job started:

LoadPlugin("d:\mpeg2decdg.dll")
mpeg2source("d:\filename.d2v")

Would really like to have mpeg2decdg as the default, however.

[Nick]

I always had you down as a bit if a quality freak Fred. I've read some of your filtering scripts for VHS capture in the advanced forum :)

The fact that you'd even tried DVD Shrink made me think you were looking for a "down and dirty" quick recompress and saw the long route, in this instance, as a last resort. I've had acceptable results (to me) from Requant down to average bitrates around the 2500-2600 mark but never tried lower. Hence the suggestion.

[FredThompson]

Hey, I resemble that comment ;)

Usually DVDShrink is just fine. In this case, it's not working that well. The video has very little motion and includes a lot of outdoor scenes. Blue sky pulses in a checkerboard manner after DVDShrink worked it over. That's why I've got to re-encode.

[FredThompson]

Just a refresh to bump the thread up the list.

Doesn't anyone know how to use Donald Graft's DVD2SVIDG instead of the default DVD2AVI in the DVD2SVCD package?