confused about file format for a standard DVD from VHS with DVDit pe

[-i-]

starting to convert my VHS to DVD using the AO3 and DVDit!

what I am confused about is what should I compress with after capture, and what DVDit uses as a valid file...

I searched the guides, and I *think* i understand that I have to transcode my capture, no matter what codec was used to compress, to MPEG?? MPEG 2 to be exact??

and I use TPMPEG, correct??

the guides are a little vague on that aspect....

thanks

[SiC]

To get your "VHS" footage into your PC, I suppose you are using an analog capture board. Are you capturing to *.avi or MPEG2??? You should be able to compress it to MPEG2 with TMPGEnc or CinemaCraft Encoder. I prefer CCE myself for the quality and speed. Anyways after you make your MPEG2 files with either of the software, you should be able to import them into DVDit.

[-i-]

ahhh, shoulda put that info...

capturing with an ATI AIW 8500dv with 6025 drivers, via video composite in VDub 1.4.7.

capturing at 320x480/yuy2

compression is Huffyuv v2.1.1 - predict median/predict gradient

audio - PCM/44


result is a great file that needs resizing and IVTC'ed...


but it is the compression that I am confussed about. When I am in VDub doing the resize, and IVTC, I am unsure which codec to use. If I don't pic a codec, the file size become rediculous!!! (like 200+gigs)

one other thing, when I burn to DVD, this will be played on a standard NTSC TV and a standard DVD set-top player...

[SiC]

To tell you the truth you should use the best compression as possible to avoid quality loss, then covert to MPEG2. 352x480 is 1/2 D1 size which is a DVD compatible resolution. I'm not familiar with the All in Wonder capture boards, does it capture in *.avi or MPEG2 when using the original software that came with it (not VDub).

[-i-]

the AIW's can capture in both avi and mpeg1/2

the reason why I don't use it is because it (the software it comes with) tends to drop more frames than VDub...

Anyways, the original capture file (aside from it's resolution) is amazing, just like the tape source.

back to the subject, correct me if I am wrong, DVDit! muxes to MPEG2, even if I load in an AVI file?

Assuming that is true, all I have to do is capture; then resize (according to DVD specs) and compress via any codec I desire (this is where I am confused, can I compress with DivX for instance?!?) to acheive the optimal size, 4.2gig, then author and burn. After the process, I should be ready to go??

[-i-]

let me re-word my question....


after intitial capture, I can compress with any codec I want, so long as I convert to MPeg2??

[SiC]

Yes you can use any codec you want as long as DVDit can recognize the *.avi file as video file. DVDit has an encoder built in that encodes the *.avi to MPEG2. But you will lose quality using this encoder, I recommend you use CimeaCraft Encoder to encode to MPEG2 then import that file into DVDit so DVDit doesn't have to touch (encode) the file.

[-i-]

thanks much!!

that cleared alot for me...

[Chumboy]

after struggling for weeks to try to find out what format DVDit-pe likes, i can upon this little baby. hope it helps:

Here are the settings that should be accepted w/o conversion:

Audio
WAVE Audio for Windows 48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo (.wav)
MPEG-1 Layer 2 Audio 44.1/48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo (.mpa, .abs)
Dolby Digital (DVDit! PE only) 48 kHz, 8-, 16-, or 20-bit stereo Bit-rate: 96 Ü 448 kbps (.ac3)

PARAMETER NTSC (525 lines @ 60 Hz) PAL (625 lines @ 50 Hz)

Recommended source picture resolution:
NTSC 720 x 480,704 x 480, 352 x 480, 352 x 240
PAL 720 x 576, 704 x 576, 352 x 576, 352 x 288


Frame rate:
NTSC 29.97 Hz
PAL 25 Hz

Maximum GOP (Group of Pictures) size:
36 fields (18 frames) maximum
30 fields (15 frames) maximum


Aspect ratio:
4:3

MPEG-2 bit-rate
Constant bit-rate (CBR) or variable bit-rate (VBR)
2.0 - 8.3/9.4 Mbps

If you use PCM audio in a project, the maximum video bit-rate is 8.0 Mbps. If you use Dolby Digital (DVDit! PE only), the maximum is 9.4 Mbps. The combined video and audio bit-rate must not exceed 9.8 Mbps.

The DVD specification also requires a sequence header before each GOP (the sequence header contains information about the MPEG stream, such as aspect ratio, GOP size and bit-rate).

I've stuck to these specs and the work fine.