How to re-encode an mpeg-2 show to a lower bitrate mpeg-2?

[Blinky7]

Hi there, I got some TV shows recorded in mpeg-2 720p or 1080i (depending on show) and I want to archive them. I tried converting them to WMV but without much success.

Now the HDD is damn full and I want to put them in DVDs. Some files are lower than 4.37gb so there is no problem, but other files are slightly larger (4.8gb for example) and some 1080i files are like 5.9gb , and they won't fit in a single layer DVD.
I don't want to split them in 2 DVDs, it would be very bad for my collection and also kind of stuypid to spend a whole DVD for an extra 300mb in some cases...

So, is there a simple way to keep the original settings of the files (and keep the audio untouched) but just lower the bitrate a bit so the file can fit a DVD?

I just tried tmpgenc 2.5 plus, but for a 45min show it needs 30 hours for a single pass CBR re-encode...
Oh my god! ok my PC is not fast (jsut an Athlon 1466MHz) but 30 hours for god's sake? is this normal? If so, any other (faster) option?

[Guest]

The CCE encoder is faster.

[Blue_MiSfit]

Couldn't you theoretically use ReJig to just do compressed domain transcoding, and bump up the quantizers a little bit?

~MiSfit

[Blinky7]

what exactly does Rejig do? I used it yesterday, but the result was not good, the video file had several artifacts in difficalt scenes...

It was exceptionally fast though so I was wondering what it does and how it works....as it didn't seem like a re-encode to me.

Maybe I did something wrong? I loaded my .TS file, demuxed the audio, then I calculated the video size I wanted to get and set a 2pass encode to get that size, and then I muxed the audio and video and got exacly the size I wanted....however as I thought I found the ideal and fast way to solve my problem, those artifacts suddenly came up and I abandoned it :( Did I do anything wrong?

About the cinema craft encoder, which version should I try? I got the "cinema craft encoder SP2" but when I load the mpg file it doesn't do anything and I can't find any settings....

[Guest]

what exactly does Rejig do? It changes the quantization of existing blocks so that they can be represented with less data. The problem is that if the source was encoded with a low to moderate bitrate, then reductions of the bitrate are likely to create blocking artifacts in some sections of the movie.

I used it yesterday, but the result was not good, the video file had several artifacts in difficult scenes... See above.

Did I do anything wrong? You were too aggressive in your bitrate reduction. There is no free lunch. :)

You could try cutting up the movie and excluding the difficult scenes from the requant operation. It depends upon how motivated you are about this movie.

About the cinema craft encoder, which version should I try? I got the "cinema craft encoder SP2" but when I load the mpg file it doesn't do anything and I can't find any settings.... Read the manual and find some CCE guides. Its interface is notoriously unintuitive. Try this: Add your stream. Then highlight it, right click and choose Edit.

[Blinky7]

I see, it makes sense now.
So If I want to lower the .TS file size by only 1-2% , rejig should proruce no detectable visual difference right?

In one file I tried it, I had a problem with the video-audio sync, was this due to the multiplexor I tried and if I try a different program it should be correct? Could you suggest one such program?

One more question, since I won't be splitting the files, is there any advantage in having them in .TS format and not in .mpg ? I guess with .mpg there is greater compatibility because some standalone players might not support the .TS form, but am I losing anything?