DVD space very large & stuttering

PABrowns · Post by **PABrowns** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:52 am

I am using VS10+ in Windows XP. I want to burn an MPEG-2 movie to DVD with a simple menu and no chapter points.

My MPG file is about 1.8GB. However, when I place it in the time line for DVD creation, it is reported as being over 5GB and too large for the DVD. (In fact even when I try another MPEG file that is about 2.5GB, it still comes out as just over 5 GB -- but not exactly the same -- in the time line.)

So I adjust the bit rate from 9000 variable to 5500 variable. It will fit. Quality is turned up to 100% (I personally think that this should be the default). But when the DVD is played, the video (but not the audio) stutters (it sometimes looks like it goes backward a frame or two and then jumps to catch up). The audio is fine.

A couple of observations. VS10+ reports my MPG as 480x480 although it should be 720x480 NTSC. I have tried to use the 352x480 setting but this does not change the burn size, only bit rate adjustment changes size.

Also, I am clipping the leader and trailer (about a minute) from the beginning and end of the video with the clip tool in the preview pain.

If I use the main program to clip and then and re-render, the quality is too degraded for use.

heinz-oz · Post by **heinz-oz** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:07 am

That indicates to me that the source mpeg is not DVD compliant. Possibly a variant of DivX, Xvid or mpeg4 which are all not supported by the DVD standard.

What are the source clip properties? Project settings?

Post by **Ron P.** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:11 am

It sounds like the field order is reversed. What is the properties of your video file and your project properties? What is the source of your video file? If it is an analog video, then you should be using UFF (Upper Field First), for digital video (DV) it should be LFF (Lower Field First).

Also when editing MPEG files, it is best to match up your project properties with that of the video file. Then maintain that throughout. With Smart-Render enabled and "Do not Convert DVD Compliant" checked, the only parts that should be recoded is the parts that were changed. The rest should not be recoded.

Also several people use a special purpose editing program called Womble. It reportedly does a good job with MPEGs.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:28 am

A couple of observations. VS10+ reports my MPG as 480x480 although it should be 720x480 NTSC.

What do you mean "should be"? It depends on how it was encoded. 480x480 is a valid MPEG format, its just not a valid DVD format. (For example, 480x480 MPEG-4 will play on an iPod.)

I have tried to use the 352x480 setting but this does not change the burn size, only bit rate adjustment changes size.

That is correct. Bitrate is kilobits-per-second. That can be simply scaled-up to gigabytes per hour. (You have to include the audio bitrate to make the calculation.) MPEG is lossy compression, and with a different resolution, it's just a different compromise... Here's a handy Bitrate Calculator.

For the record, I am one of those traitors who uses Womble for editing MPEGs. That solved all of my "lip-sync" and crashing problems. (I still use Ulead to author and burn the DVD .)

These problems don't always happen, and some users never experience them. It may be caused by some slight corruption in the original MPEG structure that gets worse when the file is edited or re-coded. It seems to be more common with the more-compressed formats. AVI/DV (at 13GB per hour) rarely causes trouble. DivX and other MPEG-4 formats seem to frequently cause all sorts of weird problems.

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:50 am

Was the mpeg file from an SVCD

If so, I would recommend re-encoding to 352x480 at a bitrate close to what the original was...

Regards,
George

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:07 am

If I were you I would start off by reading the Recommended Procedure. Give that a try, and if you continue to have problems give us a shout.

PABrowns · Post by **PABrowns** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:34 pm

The MPEGs are TV captures using a Moonlight MPEG2 filter.

I just tried another method and have a 720x480 file. So it may have been my filters.

However, windows reports the MPEG2 file as 1,996,098KB but VS10+ reports it as 5.21GB so it won't fit on a single layer DVD without adjusting resolution or bit rate.

Why would non-DVD compliance create a such a disparity in file sizes? The bit rate and resolution as within DVD specs.

Looking at the specs it is LFF so I'll change that. I guess I've been working in digital too much lately.

Also, I have read and use the recommended procedures. However, this is a quick and dirty archiving of my TV shows, so I really don't want to edit the commercials out, render to AVI, then burn the DVD. Too much time and too hard drive space.

Thanks for the advice, I'll change the field order and see if that solves the problem. I'll also check out Womble.