Settings Help

[NeoMatrix]

Guys,

 

I have a bunch of avi files each on the range 4GB in size, I need to convert them to DVD format, what is best recommended way to do the same.

 

I have Toast 8 Titanium and MPEG StreamClip.

 

Please advise what is the best way to get the DVD format from the AVI files.

 

If I convert, the pixels aren't that clean.

 

- NeoMatrix.

[tsantee]

Picture quality is a factor of two elements: How good is the source and how much compression is required. You say you have AVI's that are about 4 GB in size. The GB size doesn't matter. What matters is how long (in time) are the videos. When you have video exceeding two hours then the quality begins to noticeably deteriorate because of the additional compression that's needed. Actually, the highest quality is at about 1 hour and 15 minutes when using Dolby Digital audio.

 

As for the source video it is important that its resolution be at least 640x480 (for NTSC) or there could be pixelization when Toast fabricates pixels to make it that size.

 

Turning on Half Pel in the Toast Custom Encoder window can improve quality, especially if there is a lot of action in the video. This about doubles the time that it takes to encode the video.

 

Hope this is of some help.

[NeoMatrix]

The Source AVI file is very good so is the sound, It's a 10min clip, size is 4GB downloaded from a Sony miniDV Camcorder.

The details are as below:

 

Format: 'WRAW', 320 x 240, Millions 16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo, 44.100 kHz

 

FPS: 30

 

Size: 320 x 240 pixels

 

 

Please tell me what's the best quality video I can get for NTSC? What settings do I choose while burning the DVD?

 

Appreciate your response.

 

- NeoMatrix.

[tsantee]

The Source AVI file is very good so is the sound, It's a 10min clip, size is 4GB downloaded from a Sony miniDV Camcorder.

The details are as below:

 

Format: 'WRAW', 320 x 240, Millions 16-bit Integer (Little Endian), Stereo, 44.100 kHz

 

FPS: 30

 

Size: 320 x 240 pixels

Please tell me what's the best quality video I can get for NTSC? What settings do I choose while burning the DVD?

 

Appreciate your response.

 

- NeoMatrix.

This doesn't make sense to me. I have a Canon mini-DV camcorder and it records full 720x480 resolution. There's no way I could get it to record 320x240. Also, 10 minutes of DV video requires only about 2 GB of space. You say the file is downloaded from the camcorder. What's usually done is to import it via a Firewire cable. This can be done with Toast's Plug & Burn feature (see Toast Help) or can be done with iMovie and some other video apps.

 

If the video really is 320x240 then it would be very small on your computer screen when played actual size. It also would look very bad when quadrupled in size by Toast as it encodes a full-resolution MPEG 2 file. You'd actually get better picture quality choosing VCD or SVCD instead of DVD with that clip.

 

But if this is coming from a mini-DV camcorder the 320x240 has to be wrong or you were recording in something like a 4-hour mode.

[NeoMatrix]

This doesn't make sense to me. I have a Canon mini-DV camcorder and it records full 720x480 resolution. There's no way I could get it to record 320x240. Also, 10 minutes of DV video requires only about 2 GB of space. You say the file is downloaded from the camcorder. What's usually done is to import it via a Firewire cable. This can be done with Toast's Plug & Burn feature (see Toast Help) or can be done with iMovie and some other video apps.

 

If the video really is 320x240 then it would be very small on your computer screen when played actual size. It also would look very bad when quadrupled in size by Toast as it encodes a full-resolution MPEG 2 file. You'd actually get better picture quality choosing VCD or SVCD instead of DVD with that clip.

 

But if this is coming from a mini-DV camcorder the 320x240 has to be wrong or you were recording in something like a 4-hour mode.

 

Thanks for your response.

 

Well I guess I have made some mistake with it for which it recorded in such low resolution.

Or I guess the Sony(not Canon) miniDV Software I used did this.

 

Anyways, now I have the AVI files in that resolution. As you said, will try to create a VCD out of it, can you suggest any software or should I use toast itself for creating the VCD?

 

Appreciate your interest in replying my questions.

- NM

[tsantee]

Thanks for your response.

 

Well I guess I have made some mistake with it for which it recorded in such low resolution.

Or I guess the Sony(not Canon) miniDV Software I used did this.

 

Anyways, now I have the AVI files in that resolution. As you said, will try to create a VCD out of it, can you suggest any software or should I use toast itself for creating the VCD?

 

Appreciate your interest in replying my questions.

- NM

I'd try SVCD first. Choose that format in the Toast Video window. This burns to CD-R media. An SVCD holds up to about 35 minutes of video. Its resolution is 480x480. Because SVCD is MPEG 2 and VCD is MPEG 1 you should get better quality with SVCD.