Does video encoding normally take real time or longer?

[glen]

I have been burning coasters for weeks now.
I have no idea if it is the dvd media, my burner, the software or user error.
I had a 4.5 gig *.iso file, and DVD shrink burned it no problem. I used no compression, and the disc plays in my home DVD player.
Burning *.avis and *.mpgs does nto ever work for me.

 

[SearchMaster]

avi's and mpg's are not natively playable by most DVD players. There are some models that will, but that's the exception and not the norm.

So to burn an avi or mpg you will need a DVD authoring program that will convert the file into DVD format. That's not what DVDShrink is for. Try this link at videohelp.com to get an idea of what you'll need.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: SearchMaster
avi's and mpg's are not natively playable by most DVD players. There are some models that will, but that's the exception and not the norm.

So to burn an avi or mpg you will need a DVD authoring program that will convert the file into DVD format. That's not what DVDShrink is for. Try this link at videohelp.com to get an idea of what you'll need.

Is Nero supposed to auto convert files to DVD formate?

 

[glen]

Thank you. I think I am learning something.
If I have files in mpg format, then I first need to "author" rather than "capture" right?
Under mpg to dvd and a few others, no "authoring" guides come up.
I am currently wading through about 150 guides loooking for one that will cover that topic. Do you know of a particular one that is helpful?

 

[Slick5150]

You just need a program like Tmpgenc DVD author (or whatever its called), or Sonic MyDVD or something like that. It will take whatever video files you have, and convert them into a proper DVD structure (and lets you add menus, or whatever else you want to do)

 

[mitchafi]

Depends on what your trying to make. If you want to burn a DVD that will play in a standard DVD player you need to convert the file to mpeg-2 with specific settings. Then, you author it with a DVD author (turn it into VIDEO_TS folder) and burn it.

 

[glen]

Wow, this si complicated.
I want to convert my TopGear videos.
Their native aspect ratio is PAL, and I want them to play on my TV, so is there a way to make it keep the PAL aspect ratio so it plays on my TV with letter boxing to preserve the ratio?

 

[Slick5150]

Yes, you can keep the aspect ratio, but are the encoded in PAL format? PAL runs at a different refresh rate compared to NTSC, so if you burned it as that your TV would not be able to play it. Some DVD players do convert PAL to NTSC on the fly, but most don't. So you would need to convert the files to NTSC format for them to work.

But like I said, I think the easiest way to do it is just get Sonic MyDVD. It's pretty simple to use and does a good job.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: PinwiZ
Yes, you can keep the aspect ratio, but are the encoded in PAL format? PAL runs at a different refresh rate compared to NTSC, so if you burned it as that your TV would not be able to play it. Some DVD players do convert PAL to NTSC on the fly, but most don't. So you would need to convert the files to NTSC format for them to work.

But like I said, I think the easiest way to do it is just get Sonic MyDVD. It's pretty simple to use and does a good job.

Ok, I got TMPGenc and it looks like it is converting PAL to NTSC but sqashing the picture into the 3:4 aspect ratio.

 

[mitchafi]

There are quite a few guides on www.dvdrhelp.com that explain this. I'm pretty sure you need to set the aspect ratio to 4:3.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: mitchafi
There are quite a few guides on www.dvdrhelp.com that explain this. I'm pretty sure you need to set the aspect ratio to 4:3.

Let me know if you recommend any particular article. there are hundreds, so I probably have not gottten to that article yet.

I am currently using TMPGEnc and have the aspect ratio set to 3:4 and it is doing this by sqashing the video, so all the people look really thin, and the Porsche Carrera GT looks like a Toyota Supra.

 

[glen]

Alright, TMPGEnc changed my *.avi file into a separate video and audio file.
Now, I supose the next step is going to a Video and audio TS.ifo files?
What is that called if not "authoring?"

 

[Slick5150]

You're still going about this the wrong way. Use Tmpegenc DVD Author, not regular Tmpegenc. It will make this much simpler.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: PinwiZ
You're still going about this the wrong way. Use Tmpegenc DVD Author, not regular Tmpegenc. It will make this much simpler.

Ah ha! Ok, let's hope they have a free trail version....
YES! They do.
I had no idea that it took so long to encode these videos.
Thanks for all the help folks!