[bj70alex]

Hi,

Hopefully someone will be able to provide some comments and suggestions about the software that does the conversion from AVI to DVD format.
There are lots and lots of software available, but it seems that I can't find any reviews (pros/cons). If any one can suggest or recommend one, would be great. Currently, i have a free one AVI2DVD, but it takes WAY too LONG to create a DVD.

Thanks,
Alex

[Jomama]

I've not done exactly what you are looking to do. But I use the guides on Doom9.net - The Definitive DVD Backup Resource for similar stuff...

[NaterGator]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

If any one can suggest or recommend one, would be great. Currently, i have a free one AVI2DVD, but it takes WAY too LONG to create a DVD.

What are the specs of your computer? Content creation can be a very computationally exhaustive process, and it can just take a while to transcode video.

[Jomama]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

Hi,

Hopefully someone will be able to provide some comments and suggestions about the software that does the conversion from AVI to DVD format.
There are lots and lots of software available, but it seems that I can't find any reviews (pros/cons). If any one can suggest or recommend one, would be great. Currently, i have a free one AVI2DVD, but it takes WAY too LONG to create a DVD.

Thanks,
Alex

Originally Posted by NaterGator

What are the specs of your computer? Content creation can be a very computationally exhaustive process, and it can just take a while to transcode video.

x2, I missed that part. My dual core still takes about 40 min-1hr to burn a 2hr movie.

I spent a little time converting some Lost episodes from DVD into a format I could just put on a USB dongle an play on the PS3 and that seemed almost realtime... Like an hour long episode took about a hour to convert and encode..

[spdwaver1]

Originally Posted by NaterGator

What are the specs of your computer? Content creation can be a very computationally exhaustive process, and it can just take a while to transcode video.

More specifically, please provide details such as:

Processor Brand/Model:

Socket: (s775, s478 / AM2, s939, s754)

Motherboard:

Memory Amount: (Memory type can be determined already from the motherboard)

Why are these details so important? Because, video editing / rendering will tax your computer's hardware: processor will be utilized most during rendering, memory must be sufficient and the memory type will determine latency.

Many applications (Adobe Premier Pro, Pinnacle) will take advantage of a multi-core setup since they are a multi-threaded application. In other words, the program will, in a sense, split itself into smaller pieces to make it easily processed by the processor. Make sense?

My .02

As a suggestion, try getting a newer Intel motherboard with a quad-core CPU (even the older Core 2 Q6600 is sufficient).

[NaterGator]

You can also run more advanced compressors and encoders with specifics tailored for your system (IE how large of an instruction can be cached, etc).

Granted we talking about performance differences of 2-5%, but it helps. The best thing to do right now is get a multi-core and SSSE3 capable processor. It is usually the bottleneck (then ram is, then disk IO is)

[bj70alex]

I have a Dell Inspiron 531, Win XP Pro, SP3, AMD Athlon(tm) 64X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ 2.01Ghz and 2.0GB of RAM.
The encoding process does take WAY TOO MUCH time (I am using AVI2DVD which is a beta version), close to 5 or 6 hours. Plus, it takes about 50% of the resources. It must be a much better software that will do the same task in about 60 to 90min.

Thanks,
Alex

[NaterGator]

What encoder did you use for the process?

[bj70alex]

I used HCEnc encoder.

[thugmusk]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

Hi,

Hopefully someone will be able to provide some comments and suggestions about the software that does the conversion from AVI to DVD format.

I use ConvertXtoDVD by VSO. Works great, no complaints. Has a built in burner that can burn existing DVD images where no conversion is needed.
Rich

[bj70alex]

Hey Rich,

How long did it take, let's say to convert AVI that is about 2GB into DVD and burn it???

Thanks,
Alex

[thugmusk]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

Hey Rich,

How long did it take, let's say to convert AVI that is about 2GB into DVD and burn it???

Thanks,
Alex

Couldn't tell ya exactly. I would venture to say all avi-to-DVD programs are going to be close to the same in terms of the speed it takes to convert and that it would be based on your system's hardware config to make it faster.

I use ConvertX to take small .avi's from cameras to assemble into DVDs and I can tell you it ain't quick.

[NaterGator]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

Hey Rich,

How long did it take, let's say to convert AVI that is about 2GB into DVD and burn it???

Thanks,
Alex

What are the source and destination bitrates? And is the audio stream being transcoded and remuxed as well, or is it a direct stream copy?

[NaterGator]

Alex,
I'd also be curious to know how many FPS your encoder is able to process (not 24->the DVD standard.. how many frames it can actually encode a second)

HCEnc is threaded and should be able to encode at give or take ~16fps.

[bj70alex]

When I load the .AVI file into, the software selects the Aspect Ratio = 4/3; Fps =25; Duration (sec) = 4700; Resolution = 720x544 and the Audiostream is 1AC3 6CH woth no other options available. I don't know the bitrate of the source.
Now, the output: I can select the Audio Bitrate and I usualy select between 192 & 384. Also, I select profile=best and matrix=MPEG.
I am not that familiar with this process, so I can't answer the question if an audio stream is being transcoded and remuxedl, or is it a direct stream copy?

Thanks,
Alex

[NaterGator]

Originally Posted by bj70alex

When I load the .AVI file into, the software selects the Aspect Ratio = 4/3; Fps =25; Duration (sec) = 4700; Resolution = 720x544 and the Audiostream is 1AC3 6CH woth no other options available. I don't know the bitrate of the source.
Now, the output: I can select the Audio Bitrate and I usualy select between 192 & 384. Also, I select profile=best and matrix=MPEG.
I am not that familiar with this process, so I can't answer the question if an audio stream is being transcoded and remuxedl, or is it a direct stream copy?

Thanks,
Alex

AC3 is dolby digital and should be a direct stream copy (but selecting 192 or 384 would indicate that the software is transcoding anyways).

[bj70alex]

Now I understand, why it takes forever to encode the movie. Are there any faster encoders than HCEnc that does only about 16fps?

[NaterGator]

There are faster encoders, but HCEnc isn't a slouch. There simply has to be a setting you have misconfigured or something in the encoder or AVI2DVD.

Are you following a guide? What are you using to measure your system resources that led you to believe it's using ~60%?

[bj70alex]

By looking at the Task Manager, I can clearly see that HCEnc.exe is between 45 and 55 percent. As far as AVI2DVD, i don't have any place that I can change any settings. I've checked HCEnc folder and the only thing that can be mofified is the HC.ini file. Here are the contents:
*BITRATE 4000
*AUTOGOP 15
*MATRIX mpeg

[NaterGator]

Are you using v0.22 or newer? SMP Support was added then.

Maybe try DVD Flick?
DVD Flick v1.3.0.4 (open source)

[bj70alex]

I'm using Version: 0.4.5 which is a beta version. I will definitly try DVD Flick and let you know. Thanks!!!!

[NaterGator]

Just thought I'd update you: I'm doing the reverse (DVD -> h264 MPEG4 AVI) and in linux using my dual core athlon x2 4800 from yesteryear and 1GB of RAM requires approx 3.5hrs to encode 1h47min of DVD at 2Mbit/s with AC3 pass-thru.

This is tested using both Mencoder and HandBrake in linux, maxing both cores of my machine out. So don't expect anything to do this process instantly; even though I haven't got the newest fastest computer in the world a properly setup encode operation to h264 takes around twice as long as the source material without doing anything to the audio.


I'm curious if you were able to shave some time off of your encode operation or not, though.

[bpassmore]

wont flask do this (in reverse) ?

FlasK MPEG Encoder | Software - Digital Digest

[NaterGator]

Flask does the reverse of what this guy wants to do, and is old and rubbish

[bpassmore]