which program for avi -> svcd?

[hummus19]

once again, ive set myself to figure out how to make svcds out of avi files but dont know which program to use. i would like something like "dvd rebuilder" interface where i dont have to have a pHd in video to use, but get customizable results.

i tried dvd2svcd once a while back and there was entirely too much to it. i also tried avi2svcd (i believe that was the name) and there wasnt any meat to that program. for one file, it wanted to put it on 5 disks. anyway, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Nick]

Really, there's DVD2SVCD, DIKO and the AVI2... one - it's slightly confusing as DVD2SVCD has several modes and so AVI2SVCD and AVI2DVD are often used to describe DVD2SVCD in these modes.

For me, for customisability, it has to be DVD2SVCD. There is a good AVI guide here at Doom9 using this software. The thing with DVD2SVCD is it requires you to set it up how you want it for your first effort, which can be complex, but after that, future conversions are generally "click and go".

It supports QuEnc for video encoding, which is also freeware, so you don't need any paid software for the whole process. However, the last build was a year ago as of yesterday so it is a long time since active development. And the last build has a slight problem with AVI resizing.

If your AVI has square pixels, ie 1:1 PAR, always choose "16:9 borders added, encode as 4:3" for the aspect ratio to get proper resizing for SVCD, regardless of the DAR of the input file.

If your AVI isn't 1:1 PAR, eg capture AVI's at 720x480 or720x576 for DVD, then it won't work. You can either edit the Avisynth script or look for an alternative tool. If you're unsure try a forum search on "AVI resizing".

HTH
Nick

[hummus19]

what if you had multiple avi files (2-3) you wanted to put on one disk? i couldnt get winavi to do this, it wanted to put each avi on a seperate disk...

[Nick]

I don't know of a "one click" solution to that.
If the AVI's are similar - eg episodes of a TV show or DV cam footage - and encoded with the same video and audio codecs, same resolution etc, you could join the AVI's with VDubMod and encode from the big one.

Alternatively, using DVD2SVCD, you could do it like this:
Select "No images" in the image tab. Do a batch conversion of the AVI's (see the FAQ, penultimate question IIRC) with disc size in the Bitrate tab set to 1/3 of your disc size (eg for SVCD 800MB / 3 = 266). Then author the 3 resultant MPEG files with your favourite authoring application.

I find VCDEasy about the best for authoring but there are others.

[j_olson]

I have just downloaded the latest version and am trying to resize a HDTV avi down to 720*480 and make a DVD of it so I can watch it on my plasma. It's nothing I will keep, so I will just use CBR and it will probably fill 55-60% of the DVD. I guess I should otherwise be best off using D2SRoBa calling DVD2SVCD for the AVI2DVD conversion?

It didn't start the Encode phase automatically (could just have been a glitch eating that keypress), but after me having clicked on Encode it started and is right now on 46%.

The AVI file has DD5.1 in it, so I'm trying with "Keep Audio", haven't used that option before.

[j_olson]

Well, my second try also failed. I had to manually click on Encode in CCE, and after the video was encoded click on Exit. Then I couldn't get DVD2SVCD to continue.

I had an external .srt file with subtitles that should be used as well, and I couldn't just call pulldown, mplex, spumux, dvdauthor... since some stuff (like creating the .PNG files with the subs) is done inside DVD2SVCD.

BTW, it doesn't seem like DVD2SVCD can handle <i> (for italic) and other directives in .srt subtitle files?

[j_olson]

Third try, with CCE 2.50, worked. The image quality on the produced DVD was better than expected (though the main reason for all this is that my cable company doesn't retain the DD5.1 sound broadcasted but downsamples it to stereo).

However, the next episode didn't go that well. The AVI looks OK on my computer, but it flickers after being converted to an .mpv file by CCE (or another encoder/transcoder). Seems like when one is assuming the wrong field order on an interlaced source, but this is progressive... Is there a field order to comply to anyway? If so, the automatic field order detection fails, but I can find no information on which order the file uses. And I would rather not just guess, if possible.

Gspot shows two differences between the two AVI's. The first one is AVI ver 1, the second is OpenDML/AVI ver 2 and it also has "packed bits" (which I can easily unpack). Is there a way to find out more about the source AVI?