Can you burn MPEG to root like .avi

[PiccoloUE]

Hey all, was just wondering... can you burn mpeg format to your dvd root just like .avi's, or, do I have to do the dvd format with em (make the menus and what not)? Thnx for answers!!!!!

[GHDpro]

I'm not sure what you mean. If you want to burn it as data on a DVD then you can do that with just about any file as long as it fits. File type doesn't matter.

Though it doesn't really make sense to store the MPEG2 on a DVD as data if you also have the much smaller and better quality AVI original.

[PiccoloUE]

I use the progrom from http://www.playbackhelp.com/doc/guides/queue/ to fix overscan as 80% of all fansubs have the problem. It works well and allows me to easily queue many episodes to be done.

The rub is that in the end, I end up with a MPEG instead of an avi. So I was just wondering if I can burn the mpegs to the root directy like .avis and it can still be read by the dvd player. Or do I have to burn in like a normal dvd using dvd authoring software and creating menus and such.

[frad113]

If you want to make a DVD that will play on any regular DVD player, you need to use authoring software, although you can skip the menus for the most part and just have the videos playback immediately. You can also buy a DVD player that reads DivX encoded .avi's and in that case, you can store much more, although you will still have the overscan problem.

[PiccoloUE]

ok just taking a chance and doing it... The answer to the question is........ YES!

You can burn mpeg format video to the root (surface) of the dvd and a dvd player will be able to read it. Saves lots of space and with the encoding program from http://www.playbackhelp.com/doc/guides/queue/ I no longer have overscan (wasted 3 dvds finding the proper letterbox and resolution but everything is aces!).

So in the end everything worked out. NO MORE OVERSCAN! I get about 7-8 episodes a dvd (4.7gb lightscribe), and I can finally free up some hardrive space

[Ledgem]

I think there's some confusion over what's being asked and stated.

From what I gather, you found that burning .avi files to a DVD format (not for data, but for DVD players) resulted in the .avi's turning into MPEGs. You wanted to know if you could just burn an MPEG directly and have it work with the DVD player.

The answer, as you discovered, is yes. And the reason is this: the DVD player can only read the MPEG format. The programs you use to make the DVDs convert your .avi into the plain old MPEG as a part of the DVD creation process.

The technical explanation is that the .avi is a container for a video stream - the video streams we use are encoded more highly than MPEG is. This is why you can burn 20+ episodes of .avi's as data to a DVD, but you can only fit three or four episodes (high quality, on average) on a DVD as raw video.

It's become a bit more complex with newer technology, as now there are DVD players that can also read .avi files burned to a DVD (in the past, they only supported the DivX codec - maybe now they support XviD as well?).

[PiccoloUE]

Lol its not hard to get. I used to burn .avi's to my root directory on DVDs since it was easier and dvd players now can read em. But then I would be left with overscan on most series. So I started using queue for encoding program to compensate for the overscan. The problem was in the end I was left with .mpg's. So the question was, can dvd players read .mpgs from the root directory like .avis? And the answer was yes.

Now the significance of the question is that if you burn straight to the root directory you can fit 40% more (about 3-4 episodes) on to a dvd then using dvd autoring software. So instead of using nero to burn the programs with the whole menus and all that crap I can jjust simply copy and paste the files onto the dvd.

[frad113]

Alternatively, you can use VirtualDub to re-encode the .avi's and fix the overscan problem, then burn those to a DVD to be played on a DivX DVD player.

[PiccoloUE]

yeah but then you gotta do em one at a time, and then virtual dub always doubles the size of the avi, and its slow. I really am in love with that queue for encoding program. If I could get it to keep the avi format that would rock (would be able to fit a few more episodes on a dvd then). But its just so nice and ez to use. Simply right click the episode and away you go!

On a side note it would be awesome to know what subs have overscan and what don't, if either of ya have a clue on how to tell pre burn let me know!!!

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by frad113

Alternatively, you can use VirtualDub to re-encode the .avi's and fix the overscan problem, then burn those to a DVD to be played on a DivX DVD player.

Unless it's changed drastically since I was on the fansubbing scene, to encode well (have your product look good and be a reasonable filesize) requires a lot of time and experimentation. For more advanced encoding features, you'll need some knowledge of other programs and tricks. For regular home usage, some encoding presets should work well enough, though.

Of course, in the end, you're re-encoding an encode. It's the same argument as what happens if you save a JPG to a JPG a few times, or keep saving an MP3 as an MP3: with each re-encode, you lose a bit of quality. At least by converting it to MPEG you can be pretty sure that the quality won't be getting any worse. (Unless quality isn't a prime objective here; and in all honesty, unless you're starting with a poor source or you're encoding improperly, the quality loss won't be too bad.)

[frad113]

When you use VDub, all you are doing is transcoding, so you can keep about the same filesize. About the one at a time part, you can make a batch so that you can start that and forget about it. If you get softsubs, then you can theoretically place the subtitles themselves a little bit higher as to avoid the cutoff, but you still would be losing a part of the video. Or, the perfect solution, just buy the DVD's!

[Ledgem]

With virtualdub you can transcode, but if you're going to modify the video, you're encoding. If you're dealing with any resolution aspects of the video (which I presume you'll be using to fix overscan) you won't be able to get off without encoding. If you want to add subtitles to the video, you'll also need to encode the subtitles to the video - there's no way to transcode that, unless you're dealing with OGM/MKV (which isn't so much transcoding as adding the subtitles into the file). For soft subs on a DVD player, that'd probably have to be performed by the DVD burning software rather than a program like Vdub.

But all of that aside, the point I wanted to make was that the process isn't simple enough that the casual user can simply pick it up and have it turn out how they like. It's more of a warning so that people who might read this thread over and think that it's something they'd like to try would know what they're getting into.

[PiccoloUE]

I have never had much luck with V-Dub and I do fall under the "casual user" title. I do buy dvds and never burn licensed material.

[frad113]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

With virtualdub you can transcode, but if you're going to modify the video, you're encoding. If you're dealing with any resolution aspects of the video (which I presume you'll be using to fix overscan) you won't be able to get off without encoding. If you want to add subtitles to the video, you'll also need to encode the subtitles to the video - there's no way to transcode that, unless you're dealing with OGM/MKV (which isn't so much transcoding as adding the subtitles into the file). For soft subs on a DVD player, that'd probably have to be performed by the DVD burning software rather than a program like Vdub.

But all of that aside, the point I wanted to make was that the process isn't simple enough that the casual user can simply pick it up and have it turn out how they like. It's more of a warning so that people who might read this thread over and think that it's something they'd like to try would know what they're getting into.

In that sense you are 100% correct and the best way for a "casual user" to watch their .avi's on a DVD player is to encode to MPEG and then make the DVD via authoring software.

[LSD-25]

There are some programs out there that will do all the work for you. If you want a one-click solution I've seen "ConvertXtoDVD" do a good job at handling fan subs.

It won't look as good as doing it yourself with free tools and you'll be limited when it comes to creating menus (about all you can do is change the titles and background image) but it does get the job done.

Personally I don't use it but I did buy a copy and give it to a friend so he'd stop bugging me all the time. Sometimes subtitles will fall outside of the tv-safe area when using this program, you've been warned.

There is a free version but it watermarks the video. The price is the full version is not that much although it may or may not be worth the price to you. My advice is to learn how to do it with free tools, you'll be more pleased with the end results and you'll learn something new.

[PiccoloUE]

Yeah but you really wanna stay away from dvd authoring software as they increase the size of video files and lower the amount you can fit onto one dvd. That why personally I went with just the simple re-encoding program and then burn the videos myself. I can go from fitting 4-5 episodes using authoring software to 8-9 w/o it.

So I save money by both: Using freeware and blank DVDs. (not to mention valuable shelf space)

[frad113]

When I use CQ (constant quality) of 90 with TMPGEnc, I fit about 7-8 episodes per DVD with authoring and full motion menus, which takes about 3-5% of disc space.

[PiccoloUE]

what size dvds? and how many layers?

[frad113]

Regular 4.7 GB DVD's, single layer.

[brood-faun]

By burning mpeg directly to the root directory, how would the dvd player know which episode to play first? How would play the episode of your choice(instead of playing cronologically)?