flv to DVD conversion - help wanted

[DrDada]

Hi,

I am wanting help/advice/clarification on the process of converting flv files to DVD.

What I have done is grab the flv files (from YouTube) and used Total Video Converter to convert these files to DVD MPEG. I have then put these videos into VS9, created menus, etc. and rendered to a DVD disc.

When I play the DVD the video footage (which originated with a flv file) is very 'blocky', with much detail and clarity being lost.

Is there any way of converting flv to DVD without creating 'blocky' files?

I am wanting to get the converted DVDs as clear as possible, but I cannot figure out how.

Do I need to change bitrates, frame size, etc? (I know nothing about these things. I convert using default settings for PAL.)

Any advice gratefully received. Thank you.

Colin

[Ron P.]

First you need to understand that FLV (Flash Video) is a highly compressed file. It is compressed more then MPEG2. So when you converted it from FLV to MPEG2, it had to be recoded, which resulted in a loss in quality. Then if you done much editing to the MPEG2 before burning to DVD, they may have been encoded again, another loss in quality.

Now another thing to consider is the resolution used for the FLVs. Since they are being distributed on the internet, they are probably around 320 x 240 px resolution. When converting to MPEG2, DVD compatible, the resolution may have been changed to 720 x 480 (NTSC) or 720 X 576 (PAL). If the the original file (FLV) was smaller then that, where does the program get the extra pixels to make the larger screen resolution? It creates them, invents, makes them up. It guesses at what is suppose to be there, because those pixels are not there for the program to use to make the larger resolutions.

So to do what you are wanting to do, first you need to determine what the FLV resolution and frame rate. Then when converting, make sure the MPEG2 matches those. Now does the resolution fall into those that meet DVD standards? Those are:
PAL
352 x 288
352 x 576
704 x 576
720 x 576

NTSC
352 x 240
352 x 480
704 x 480
720 x 480

The audio compression also must meet the DVD criteria, for PAL it should be either MPEG or Dolby, for NTSC is should be either LPCM or Dolby.

Next is the Frame Rate. For PAL the frame rate is 25 frames per second, for NTSC 29.97 frames per second (fps).

In a nutshell it is more complex, then just grabbing some format of video, then burning that to DVD, to play on a TV...

[DrDada]

Vidoman,

Thank you for the detailed response.

I will try and take on board what you suggest, have a 'play' with the software/technology, and see what I get.

Thanks,
Colin

[GuyL]

Just an opinion - don't shoot me.

But I think you will be VERY dissapointed with the resulting quality. If you decide to tackle this do a very short piece to see what the end result will be. You may find it isn't worth the effort you are going to put into it.