Why Is Toast 9 Still Compressing?

[momech]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm pretty new to Toast but have figured out most of what I need to know.

 

I'm all set to burn a dvd here from an Image File made up of Video_TS Folders, running time under 3 hours. I'm set to burn to a DVD DL.

The Image File has a size of 5.33 GB and Toast tells me I have 2.62 GB left, yet when I look at the Options I see there is an 18% compression, wether I leave the Fit-to-DVD option unchecked or not.

 

My question is: why do I need any compression at all when I have almost 3 GB of free space on my target DVD? Am I missing some little thing?

 

Not a huge problem but anyone who knows why, I'd be very grateful to find out.

 

Thanx in advance

[tsantee]

Toast should be saying compression "if needed." When you click the burn button and insert your DL disc Toast might ask if you want to burn this to a single-layer or dual-layer disc, but it should just proceed without doing any compression.

[momech]

Toast should be saying compression "if needed." When you click the burn button and insert your DL disc Toast might ask if you want to burn this to a single-layer or dual-layer disc, but it should just proceed without doing any compression.

 

Hi Tsantee, thanks for the reply.

The DL option is already selected in the media list - doesn't Toast "know" how much room it has until I actually start burning?

I think it does say "compression (if needed)" as you stated but then under options says "18% very light compression" or something similar - so hopefully it's just an anomally.

[tsantee]

Hi Tsantee, thanks for the reply.

The DL option is already selected in the media list - doesn't Toast "know" how much room it has until I actually start burning?

I think it does say "compression (if needed)" as you stated but then under options says "18% very light compression" or something similar - so hopefully it's just an anomally.

I would expect that turning off the Fit-to-DVD option would cause Toast to not report what amount of compression is needed to fit a single-layer disc. But apparently it still provides that info. However, it does not do any compression when you actually burn to DL media even if you leave the Fit-to-DVD option checked because Toast will recognize that no additional compression is needed.

 

It doesn't matter if you choose DL at the bottom of the window except to change the space-remaining bar as a guide.

[momech]

I would expect that turning off the Fit-to-DVD option would cause Toast to not report what amount of compression is needed to fit a single-layer disc. But apparently it still provides that info. However, it does not do any compression when you actually burn to DL media even if you leave the Fit-to-DVD option checked because Toast will recognize that no additional compression is needed.

 

It doesn't matter if you choose DL at the bottom of the window except to change the space-remaining bar as a guide.

 

Thanks again. So if I'm reading you right, you're basically saying that the "18% compression" is referring to a single layer DVD, and that on burning it will recognise my DL disc and no compression will take place? Guess I'll just burn it and see (not that I'll be able to tell whether what I'm seeing is compressed or not!)

 

Toast seems to double the size of files, is that the case? My 3 originals were 700MB each, in Toast they are over 5 GB..

 

[momech]

Well, burning failed

 

"COULDN'T COMPLETE THE LAST COMMAND BECAUSE OF A MAC OS ERROR"

Result Code= -5001

 

Any ideas what happened?

 

[momech]

Scratch that last entry - disc works fine.

 

Thanks very much Tsantee for all of your help!

[tsantee]

Thanks again. So if I'm reading you right, you're basically saying that the "18% compression" is referring to a single layer DVD, and that on burning it will recognise my DL disc and no compression will take place? Guess I'll just burn it and see (not that I'll be able to tell whether what I'm seeing is compressed or not!)

Toast would tell you if it is doing any fit-to-DVD compression so you would know. It also requires several minutes to complete.

 

Toast seems to double the size of files, is that the case? My 3 originals were 700MB each, in Toast they are over 5 GB..

This confuses me. You say your source is VIDEO_TS folders so Toast is doing nothing to the video files themselves other than authoring them into a new VIDEO_TS folder. If your source was AVIs or other MPEG 4 format then Toast does increase the file size when converting to MPEG 2 for video DVD. Three hours of video will fill a single-layer DVD when Toast is doing the MPEG 2 encoding (or re-encoding). If you are using the VIDEO_TS folders setting in the Video window, Toast does not do any encoding or re-encoding.

 

Well, burning failed

 

"COULDN'T COMPLETE THE LAST COMMAND BECAUSE OF A MAC OS ERROR"

Result Code= -5001

 

Any ideas what happened?

 

This indicates some incompatibility between your burner and the brand of DL media you are using. Many burners – especially Apple Superdrives –– have older firmware that may cause problems with certain discs. I recommend using Verbatim DVD+R DL media for greatest compatibility. You can check user reports about the manufacturing quality of your discs by inserting a disc and choosing Disc Info from the Toast Recorder menu. In the window that appears you will see a hotlink to a site where users comment on the reliability of different media. It's rather interesting how much the quality of media can vary.

Edited January 31, 2009 by tsantee

[momech]

Toast would tell you if it is doing any fit-to-DVD compression so you would know. It also requires several minutes to complete.

 

 

This confuses me. You say your source is VIDEO_TS folders so Toast is doing nothing to the video files themselves other than authoring them into a new VIDEO_TS folder. If your source was AVIs or other MPEG 4 format then Toast does increase the file size when converting to MPEG 2 for video DVD. Three hours of video will fill a single-layer DVD when Toast is doing the MPEG 2 encoding (or re-encoding). If you are using the VIDEO_TS folders setting in the Video window, Toast does not do any encoding or re-encoding.

 

 

This indicates some incompatibility between your burner and the brand of DL media you are using. Many burners – especially Apple Superdrives –– have older firmware that may cause problems with certain discs. I recommend using Verbatim DVD+R DL media for greatest compatibility. You can check user reports about the manufacturing quality of your discs by inserting a disc and choosing Disc Info from the Toast Recorder menu. In the window that appears you will see a hotlink to a site where users comment on the reliability of different media. It's rather interesting how much the quality of media can vary.

 

Sorry, what I meant was that I had 3 .avi files at 700MB each, which Toast had made into VIDEO_TS files. Those were twice the size of the original .avi files, which as you explain must be a result of them being re-encoded from MPEG 4 to MPEG 2.

 

I used a Verbatim DVD+R DL disc. Despite the -5001 error the disc works fine in my dvd player. The quality is OK, though if I compare the original .avi files to my newly-burned DVD there is a noticeable loss in quality in the copy - lack of sharpness, fading of colour. I guess this is an inevitable part of re-encoding? Is it possible to burn to DVD without re-encoding, and still have a disc that is playable in a stand-alone DVD player (ie that I can watch on my tv)?

 

By the way, thanks again Tsantee, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions

[tsantee]

Sorry, what I meant was that I had 3 .avi files at 700MB each, which Toast had made into VIDEO_TS files. Those were twice the size of the original .avi files, which as you explain must be a result of them being re-encoded from MPEG 4 to MPEG 2.

 

I used a Verbatim DVD+R DL disc. Despite the -5001 error the disc works fine in my dvd player. The quality is OK, though if I compare the original .avi files to my newly-burned DVD there is a noticeable loss in quality in the copy - lack of sharpness, fading of colour. I guess this is an inevitable part of re-encoding? Is it possible to burn to DVD without re-encoding, and still have a disc that is playable in a stand-alone DVD player (ie that I can watch on my tv)?

 

By the way, thanks again Tsantee, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions

There are some DVD players capable of playing DivX videos, which may be the codec used in your AVIs. There is a DivX disc setting in the Video window you can use if you have one of those players. It doesn't require any re-encoding to MPEG 2 and therefore doesn't make the AVI's file size any larger. It's a big time-saver, too.

[momech]

There are some DVD players capable of playing DivX videos, which may be the codec used in your AVIs. There is a DivX disc setting in the Video window you can use if you have one of those players. It doesn't require any re-encoding to MPEG 2 and therefore doesn't make the AVI's file size any larger. It's a big time-saver, too.

 

Really? Very interesting... thanks, I'll check it out!