avi file in VCD?

Nikolas · Sat 17/02/2007 11:19:16

Well...

Ok...

I have 2 avi files both under 700 Mb. The one is 1:14 and the other 2:05. And I want to put them in a CD, so I can view them in my DVD player in my TV. However the large one (although less than 700 MB) still won't fit by nothing. I'm using Nero to make VCDs as by just adding an avi file in the CD, won't work, at least in my player. And while the 1:14 ends up to fit, the 2:05 does not. It appears that NERO is enlarging the files, depending on the length.

Any ideas on how I could fit a 698 MB avi file in a CD, playable by a DVD player?

TheYak · Sat 17/02/2007 11:47:40

If it's very close, you could try overburning support. You can enable that in the Nero options. It uses the spare writeable area (CDs/DVDs are spec'd to be writeable for *at least* their labeled amount (700MB, 4.7GB, etc.)) the risks are potentially unreadable media and/or damage to the drive (I've used overburning off & on for 4 years with about 10 different drives and have only had unreadable media results at worst).

Other than that.. Nero's gonna go by the file length.. it reencodes the video from whatever to MPEG-1 (or MPEG-II for SuperVCD) and that'll be by playing length. You could use another app to trim off a bit to make it fit, but any other app you use will encode to approximately the same size since it'll be the same codec.

Matt Goble · Sat 17/02/2007 12:06:40

IIRC VCD's use a very specific bitrate of about 1.1Mbps, with now room for adjustment.

They were designed to hold 74 minutes of Video, the same amount of 'content' as an AudioCD.

So disc 1 is probably 'just' fitting, but disc 2 at 2h05m is too long. This is one reason why feature films on VCD are normally split over two discs.

HTH

hedgefield · Sat 17/02/2007 13:15:59

The reason your video files seem enlarged when burned, is because VCDs are made from MPGs. If you input an avi and try to burn a VCD, it will first convert it to an MPG. So the best thing is to avoid that and use a program like TMPGenc.

There are a few sizes you can convert to: 320x240, 352x240 and 352x288, if you want the VCD to be standard compliant (and you want that). I use the KVCD profile 352x288 max 1150 kbps for movies. That should be a good quality/size tradeoff. Although that's PAL, I assume you'll need NTSC. I've uploaded the profiles here, just extract to the TMPGenc folder and they should show up in the wizard.

Da_Elf · Sat 17/02/2007 14:13:08

i definately recommend tmpgenc as well. ive been using it for about 6 years now and never a problem.

Nikolas · Sat 17/02/2007 18:50:41

Ok!

I've found a way to make it into a smaller mpeg (not sure if finally it will again fit, but anyways, it's worth a try). Thanks to tmpeg...

The only issue is that actually the software only translates the video without the audio. So the ending mpeg has no audio...

Any advice on that? I've tried different things, but nothing appears to work, and NERO does not appear to be able to add audio on top of a video only file (mpeg format)...

Thank you again.

Da_Elf · Sat 17/02/2007 20:04:40

i wouldnt know how to do it through the wizard in tmpgenc. i learned how to setup my own settings. there is an option letting you select audio. im sure the wizard has it too

m0ds · Sat 17/02/2007 20:10:47

My advice is don't trust internet freeware and try grabbing a copy of Ulead DVD studio/workshop or any of the Adobe DVD programs. Ulead will create an MPEG for you with audio and at a file-size specified by you. The only problem then is that it's really for DVD's, and may not work for CD.

So really I don't have any advice

Also I'm quite intrigued - VCD's don't play on DVD players, so how are you getting that to work?

You could of course try turning the AVI's into DivX AVI's, which will dramatically reduce their sizes. But that won't help if you want to convert them into MPEG. Plus you probably need Adobe Premiere or similar for that kind of operation.

LimpingFish · Sat 17/02/2007 21:13:05

Actually, VCD's will run on a lot of standard DVD players, m0ds.

They run fine on my five year old Sony machine, and on my cheap multi-region Mitsubishi.

It seems the type of CD-R/CD-RW used can affect the compatibility, though.

auriond · Sun 18/02/2007 00:41:43

Nikolas: this tutorial helped me, perhaps it can help you

http://www.videohelp.com/tmpgenc.htm

hedgefield · Sun 18/02/2007 13:41:20

Quote from: Nikolas on Sat 17/02/2007 18:50:41
The only issue is that actually the software only translates the video without the audio.

Oh yes I forgot to mention that. Been a while since I used the wizard. After you've gone through the wizard be sure to tick stream type: system(video+audio) in the lower right corner of the main window before you hit Start.

Pumaman · Sun 18/02/2007 13:43:34

You could also consider getting a DVD player that supports DivX/Xvid, if you watch a lot of videos off the internet it'll save you a lot of time in the long run.

Nikolas · Sun 18/02/2007 16:30:20

Thanks everyone. It will be sorted out as soon as I find time... :'(

I think that I should consider a DVD writer actually... would make me better DVDs (and not VCDs), plus I would be able to back up properly my stuff and not cut here and there to save space everytime...

LGM · Sun 18/02/2007 18:52:48

Converting AVIs to DVD is still a pain. I suggest what Pumaman said and get a DivX capable DVD player. I have one and they're awesome.

LimpingFish · Sun 18/02/2007 21:37:23

Yeah, but an Xvid/DivX compatable player limits the viewing to the person who owns it. If someone else wants to see it, but has a DVD player that doesn't support Divx, then you're back to square one.

I think DVD writers are cheap enough now to make them a viable choice.

m0ds · Sun 18/02/2007 21:57:56

QuoteActually, VCD's will run on a lot of standard DVD players, m0ds.

Fair, I have a Sony player and although it will cycle JPEG filled CD's, it won't play AVI's or any other formats bar DVD. Which is annoying, because sometimes I see far more advantages in VCD's than DVD's.

Nikolas · Sun 18/02/2007 22:09:06

One thing I learned in this thread is that VCDs are with mpeg files, and not avi. Neither mine will play avi files, but it will play mpeg.

Matt Goble · Sun 18/02/2007 22:31:23

DVD = MPEG-2
VCD = MPEG-1

Normally the chip which does the decoding inside the player can handle both, it's just whether the manufacturer has turned it on in the 'firmware' as it were.

As Chris said, more players these days do Divx / Xvid files which are based around MPEG-4 ASP.

Samsung DVD Writer - Â£19.92

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=605732

Of course you can probably find cheaper, and personally I would go for a Pioneer or NEC drive, but you're looking at Â£20, which is very cheap these days!