Okay, I'm sure it's around here somewhere, but I can't find what I'm looking for -- I've read through guides, searched the forums, etc. Nothing. I want to author DVDs of my miniDV home movies. I've been capturing them to AVI format, which I then encode to mpeg-2. Then I want to author a menu system for the DVD which will hold these movies, but when I get to the end, it seems like the software (whether it be Nero, Ulead, or others I've tried) want to re-encode them! I understand about .vob files, although calling them "just mpeg-2s" seems to be a stretch. DVD file structure compliance is kicking my butt here! I don't want to use the internal encoders of the authoring programs, because they are inefficient (the movies are too large compared to the results I get elswhere). I can't use DivxtoDVD for anything other than a straight play-from-insert movie, although it otherwise does what I need done. If I could find a way to use the resulting files in an authoring program that won't try and use its own encoder to mess with these source files, that would make my day. I'd like not to encode twice, or get pointlessly huge files. That's why I want to do these two steps (authoring and encoding) separately, but I can't figure out how to marry the two procedures. The closest I've gotten is to use DivxtoDVD, then dump these files into DVDShrink. This works for ordering various files (using re-author), but I still need a menu! Where's the missing step? Anyone?
DVDLab will take your mpeg-2's and author them. No re-encoding. The only thing it insists on, is 48khz audio, and it will transcode for you if necessary.
Well, I've got the 30-day trial of DVD-Lab, but for some reason it took an hour and 45 minutes to compile the DVD! Is that normal? Would it work faster if I used .vob files, or should I stick with elementary mpeg streams?
Elementary streams are best. Depending on the speed of your computer, hard drive speed, if it's compiling on the same drive as your OS, complexity of the menu structure, etc., it can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours or more. If you import the .vob's, dvdlab will have to demux them first, which is going to add to your time.
hi just a thought, but TMPGenc DVD Author will take mpeg2 dvd compliant files or the vob/ifo/bup files of a dvd and you can make menus / chapter pionts etc.... with mpeg2 its quite fast so not sure if it encodes twice? and gets to vob/ifo/bup and it burns then too... just a thought... also TMPGenc PLUS will make mpegs dvd compliant...
Thanks for the input, folks. I have four hard drives. I was compiling the DVD on a separate hard drive (I never put working files on my C drive). Possibly I was saving the temp files to the C drive, though. That might have been the problem. I'll find out soon, I guess.
That's always been a sore spot with me. I always use a large NTFS drive for video work, but tmpgenc insists on using my OS drive (C) for it's temp. It's changeable, but what a hassle!
