Two .avi files on 1 DVD?

[d wade]

this may sound dumb, but search gave me nothing.

i have 2 .avi files that i would like to burn to a DVD-R.

one file is about 710mb and the other file is about 550mb. so i know they will both fit onto the 4.7gb DVD-R.

what i did was open up Toast 7. click video tab, and have the DVD-Video option clicked. is this the right way to do it? or do i need to have a different option selected? please let me know before i click the big red burn button.

 

[iBookG4user]

you can just put it as a data disc if you don't need to play it on a dvd player.

 

[d wade]

nah... i want to view it on my DVD player.

but for future references.. if i just wanted to keep em on a DVD, i could do it as a data disc. and just insert the DVD into the computer to view it, right?

but back to my original question. i want to be able to view this DVD in my player and watch on the big screen. thanks...

 

[risc]

I've done this multiple times using Toast. All I had to do was make sure the files played in QuickTime, and when I knew they did I could just drag them in to Toast and burn them from DVD-Video. They take a while to transcode but when complete I'd have a DVD movie of multiple avis.

HTH

 

[d wade]

I've done this multiple times using Toast. All I had to do was make sure the files played in QuickTime, and when I knew they did I could just drag them in to Toast and burn them from DVD-Video. They take a while to transcode but when complete I'd have a DVD movie of multiple avis.

HTH

great thats what i needed to know. i am going to try that tonight. i will do it before i go to sleep because i hear it takes a while to do. hopefully when i wake up i'll be able to post good results. thanks!

 

[balamw]

one file is about 710mb and the other file is about 550kb. so i know they will both fit onto the 4.7gb DVD-R.

Your assumption here is incorrect. By the time you transcode from "AVI" (DivX? MPEG-4) the files will grow significantly and you may not even be able to fit one of them on a 4.7 GB disk.

That's why people use the newer codecs, MPEG-2 (as used on DVDs) isn't quite as efficient as the newer codecs.

B

 

[d wade]

Your assumption here is incorrect. By the time you transcode from "AVI" (DivX? MPEG-4) the files will grow significantly and you may not even be able to fit one of them on a 4.7 GB disk.

That's why people use the newer codecs, MPEG-2 (as used on DVDs) isn't quite as efficient as the newer codecs.

B

interesting. what program would i use to convert a .avi into a newer codec?

 

[balamw]

interesting. what program would i use to convert a .avi into a newer codec?

.AVI is just a container format. Like QuickTime .MOV, it can have almost any codec in it. You AVI files are probably already in a modern codec like DivX.

What is the resolution of the AVI, the file size and the length in minutes?

B

 

[risc]

This is seriously a silly discussion, if the files don't fit TOAST WILL TELL YOU. It has nothing to do with the physical size of the files more the total length in play time _BUT_ Toast will transcode them at lower quality to fit. Why is this discussion going on 2 days laters? OP just try it, if it works it works!

 

[balamw]

This is seriously a silly discussion, if the files don't fit TOAST WILL TELL YOU. It has nothing to do with the physical size of the files more the total length in play time _BUT_ Toast will transcode them at lower quality to fit. Why is this discussion going on 2 days laters? OP just try it, if it works it works!

I'm sorry, but if the price to pay for putting some AVI's on to a Video DVD is that they end up being downsampled to 320x240 at a crappy bitrate so they'll fit. Seems like a a big price to pay. Better to buy the S-video adapter and play them directly from your Mac.

B

 

[risc]

balamw you do realise the 2nd file is under a MB? Sure if you have multiple 2 hour avis you might not want to do this, but I've had no problem fitting 3 (or even 4) x 30 minute avis on to a disc and the compression ended up looking no different to the original divx avis. If I bothed with dual layer discs I'm sure I could fit 8 or more 30 minute avis with no problem.

 

[d wade]

well, i got a "hardware error" or something like that w/ about 6 mins to go left in the process. disc didnt work in DVD player and i just threw the disc out.

any ideas what that could be from?

 

[balamw]

balamw you do realise the 2nd file is under a MB?

I hadn't noticed that one of them was under 1 MB, thanks for pointing that out. I read it as two ~CD sized videos and with typical DivX compression settings that could easily be 4 hours or so of full resolution video, complete with MPEG-4 artifacts and all.... You're right that the main issue is how long the videos are in minutes, and that's what I was asking the OP to address. If the larger file was already > 2 hours (e.g. it was a DVD rip from a dual layer DVD) you can easily end up with something that looks worse than VHS after transcoding so many times.... To each his or her own.

The main problem is that once you encode with low bitrate DivX or H.264 or the like, lots of compression artifacts are introduced that can be largely invisible to the eye, but the MPEG-2 encoder ends up focusing on them when transcoding since it doesn't represent the data the same way. So you end up spending your MPEG-2 bandwidth encoding the artifacts rather than the picture you want, and it can look really blocky and just bad.

FWIW I generally find the quality of any single layer DVD over ~1 hour or so to be so-so, unless it has been encoded directly from previously uncompressed video or downsampled from a high bitrate DVD.

B

 

[cedric]

I hadn't noticed that one of them was under 1 MB, thanks for pointing that out. I read it as two ~CD sized videos and with typical DivX compression settings that could easily be 4 hours or so of full resolution video, complete with MPEG-4 artifacts and all.... You're right that the main issue is how long the videos are in minutes, and that's what I was asking the OP to address. If the larger file was already > 2 hours (e.g. it was a DVD rip from a dual layer DVD) you can easily end up with something that looks worse than VHS after transcoding so many times.... To each his or her own.

The main problem is that once you encode with low bitrate DivX or H.264 or the like, lots of compression artifacts are introduced that can be largely invisible to the eye, but the MPEG-2 encoder ends up focusing on them when transcoding since it doesn't represent the data the same way. So you end up spending your MPEG-2 bandwidth encoding the artifacts rather than the picture you want, and it can look really blocky and just bad.

FWIW I generally find the quality of any single layer DVD over ~1 hour or so to be so-so, unless it has been encoded directly from previously uncompressed video or downsampled from a high bitrate DVD.

B

The other option would be to use a double-layer DVD. They cost a little more, but if the guy really needs to get both movies on one disk, that might be the answer. Just make sure the DVD player can handle double-layer disks. Some can't.

 

[d wade]

guys... my fault. the smaller file is i MB, not KB. i musta been on a different planet when i was typing. it is about 550mb, not kb. my bad. however, i dont know if that is a big deal or not.

i burned the files in toast, and when i tried playing it... i got only audio. i feel like i am close, any ideas of what it could be?

 

[balamw]

i burned the files in toast, and when i tried playing it... i got only audio. i feel like i am close, any ideas of what it could be?

How big are the AVI files in terms of resolution, and total length in minutes?

B

 

[d wade]

How big are the AVI files in terms of resolution, and total length in minutes?

B

1 file is 710mb and 1:19:46
the other file is 550mb and 1:02:58

the .toast file that i saved says it is "4.24GB UDF Bridge DVD"

that is after i encoded it, i am pretty sure. so it should fit on the 4.37GB DVD-Rs i have.

 

[balamw]

1 file is 710mb and 1:19:46
the other file is 550mb and 1:02:58

the .toast file that i saved says it is "4.24GB UDF Bridge DVD"

that is after i encoded it, i am pretty sure. so it should fit on the 4.37GB DVD-Rs i have.

Yeah, but you're pushing the bitrate for single-layer DVDs. Single layer DVD media is often quoted as holding 120 minutes, while dual layer is 240 minutes. Stay within these limits for maximum compatibility with standalone DVD players and decent quality...

I estimate your DVD ended up at about 4MB/s for the video which is pretty lousy for DVDs. Typical pressed DVDs are in the 6-8 range.

B

 

[d wade]

maybe ill just try 1 per disc. just seems such a waste to put a file less than a GB when it holds close to 5gb

 

[Ultimatelox]

You know with toast you can avoid wasting dvd-rs. By setting everything up like you're gonna burn a disc. Then going under File go to Save As Disk Image and when it finishes go under Utilities and choose Mount Disc Image. It when then open that file as a dvd on your desktop. Once that's done you could use the Apple DVD Player to test the "dvd". That will help you trouble shoot your problem without using another dvd-r disc.

Also if you do find out how to put 2 or more avis on one dvd-r disc that'll play in a dvd player let me know I've been havin the same problem I just gave up and said forget it