Well, Hcenc just finished. It messed up the aspect Ratio by making it a fullscreen and it didn't have any audio. :(

This is way too complicated.

Hi, I have some MKV & some WMV-HD (VC1/5.1) High Definition Video files on my system. They are all 1080p or 720p. I'd like to be able to play them in my standalone HD-DVD Player. How can I do this?

Hi, I have some MKV & some WMV-HD (VC1/5.1) High Definition Video files on my system. They are all 1080p or 720p. I'd like to be able to play them in my standalone HD-DVD Player. How can I do this?

your going to have to convert them to mpeg2 to make hd dvd's

Hi, I have some MKV & some WMV-HD (VC1/5.1) High Definition Video files on my system. They are all 1080p or 720p. I'd like to be able to play them in my standalone HD-DVD Player. How can I do this?

The main thrust of this HD-DVD authoring process is for MPG2 video only. You would have to transcode your video files to MPG2 before authoring to HD-DVD. It's a long process with the potential of degrading the video.

If you have a PS3, you can use MKV2VOB to convert MKVs into something the PS3 can play...no transcoding. I'm pretty sure the PS3 also supports WMV now, but not WMV in an AVI container...I think it needs to have a .wmv extension.

Chris

So you're saying I'm going to loose Quality if I do the conversion?

I have an XBOX 360, and my WMV-HD file (1080p/5.1/VC1) plays fine in my XBOX 360 via streaming or burnt to data disc.

I was wondering if there was anyway to author it as an HD-DVD to play in my standalone HD-DVD Player. Slight degradation is Ok, that happened even when I encoded my MKV to a WMV-HD (VC1) using TMPGEnc Xpress.

What 'long process' are you talking about? I tried the OP process in this thread but VideoReDo refuses to open MKV, h264 or wmv files - so I haven't gotten anywhere so far.

So you're saying I'm going to loose Quality if I do the conversion?

I have an XBOX 360, and my WMV-HD file (1080p/5.1/VC1) plays fine in my XBOX 360 via streaming or burnt to data disc.

I was wondering if there was anyway to author it as an HD-DVD to play in my standalone HD-DVD Player. Slight degradation is Ok, that happened even when I encoded my MKV to a WMV-HD (VC1) using TMPGEnc Xpress.

What 'long process' are you talking about? I tried the OP process in this thread but VideoReDo refuses to open MKV, h264 or wmv files - so I haven't gotten anywhere so far.

Since you have tmpgenc xpress it's rather easy. Next time take the mkv and convert it to mpeg2 with tmpgenc. Set the bitrate high and you wont notice much loss

Since you have tmpgenc xpress it's rather easy. Next time take the mkv and convert it to mpeg2 with tmpgenc. Set the bitrate high and you wont notice much loss

Will it maintain 1080p resolution & 5.1 audio? Also, do you know exactly which template to use when defining "Format" under TMPGEnc Xpress? Should I use the "Mpeg file output" template?

demux them and use delaycut to adjust the audio delay

What program do I use to Demux them? Also, would this work if the delay isn't a constant amount of time? For example in the begining of the file the audio is only a few seconds behind the video, but towards the end, the audio is several minutes off.

What program do I use to Demux them? Also, would this work if the delay isn't a constant amount of time? For example in the begining of the file the audio is only a few seconds behind the video, but towards the end, the audio is several minutes off.
Adjust the frame rate.

hi guys a mate was telling me to make a hd dvd its as simple as :

"1. Upload video from HD camera. (duh)

2. Edit video or do whatever you usually do.

3. Export video as HD DVD compliant mpeg2. HDV standard video works fine.render at 20mb/s.

4. Start a MovieFactory project. Use the HD DVD 15gb setting.

5. Import the video into MovieFactory. It will ask you if you want it to change the project settings to match the movie. If so, click yes. This will keep it from reencoding the video.

6. Add chapter points, and customize the menus.

7. Burn to a disc"

will this work ?? or must one do all the steps in the first post ???

Will it maintain 1080p resolution & 5.1 audio? Also, do you know exactly which template to use when defining "Format" under TMPGEnc Xpress? Should I use the "Mpeg file output" template?

Yes
Yes
Yes

What program do I use to Demux them? Also, would this work if the delay isn't a constant amount of time? For example in the begining of the file the audio is only a few seconds behind the video, but towards the end, the audio is several minutes off.

dgindex
no

hi guys i was trying to make an hd dvd but i got to this part :

Click the box labeled “Create HD DVD folders.” Click on the folder icon at the end of this option to select the folder where you wish to create the HD DVD folder. (You may create such a folder in the browser at this point, if you do not have one prepared.)

i cant see a create hd dvd folder anywhere ?? am i missing something ? i am using 'ulead dvd movie factory 5.30.0107.0' i'll post the options avaliable to me, but i can only do on my 3rd or 4th post i think.

just been looking and i still cant find it Grrrr, where is it (the box labeled “Create HD DVD folders)

ok sorry for the multiple posts guys, but i couldnt show you these pics otherwise ( had to have at least three posts up before i can post a link) anyway here are the pics from ulead dvd movie factory.. and i cant find the create dvd folder button. please some1 tell me where it is. click thumbnail for a larger pic.

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3504392534.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7617028)
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3504392532.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7617027)

ok sorry for the multiple posts guys, but i couldnt show you these pics otherwise ( had to have at least three posts up before i can post a link) anyway here are the pics from ulead dvd movie factory.. and i cant find the create dvd folder button. please some1 tell me where it is. click thumbnail for a larger pic.

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3504392534.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7617028)
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3504392532.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7617027)

On the very last screen...when you are going to burn the files...there is the option to burn folders or a disk (this is true on the latest version).

You are only on the very first screen here. You need to edit the video...add any transitions you want...click to next screen...set up your menu the way you want it...click to the next screen....that is where you will see the option.

I think some posts got deleted during the database error issues.

I'm trying to follow AJP69's suggestion, and this is what I'm trying to do:

- Extract Audio & Video from MKV
- Encode Video (only) to MPEG2 in TMPGEnc Xpress
- Use 'tsMuxeR' to join MPEG2 & Source Audio
- Use Ulead VideoStudio to author HD-DVD using the compliant MPEG2 I encoded.

Hopefully I'm on the right track with this. I just had a couple of Questions in TMPGEnc Xpress while Encoding Video Only to MPEG2.

I made some screens of what I was trying to do. Here's the options in TMPGEnc Xpress where I'm getting stuck...

- Once I input my x264 (MKV) file for Encoding, I'm assuming I have to use the "Do not use an audio source" option to just encode the video
http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T1.gif

- Is this the option I have to select to encode it to a Compliant MPEG2
http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T2.gif

- Here's the real questions. The ones circled in Red and with a "?" are the ones I'm having most difficulty with. Not sure what options to choose - I've chosen the ones I feel are the appropriate choices. I'll be changing the resolution to 1920 X 1080 in there as well...
http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T3.gif

Thanks guys!

Has anyone been able to create an HD-DVD disc using Nero 8 only? I tried to create one by recording the Super Bowl commercials to a .mpg file from my ATI HDTV wonder. Then I burned it to a dual layer DVD. The disc showed up in my Toshiba A3. However, I could not navigate any of the menus. Is it better to create it without any menus?

mickey79,

I used HDV format MPEG file. on the next screen, i used ouput all clips into one file (if you have multiple clips, it will output each clip to a separate file). don't remember the other settings on that screen, but i don't think i changed any of them.

Has anyone been able to create an HD-DVD disc using Nero 8 only? I tried to create one by recording the Super Bowl commercials to a .mpg file from my ATI HDTV wonder. Then I burned it to a dual layer DVD. The disc showed up in my Toshiba A3. However, I could not navigate any of the menus. Is it better to create it without any menus?


I haven't been able to get menus to work with my A1, either. Don't know if you've tried this, but you may be able to access the video files on the disc by using the "title" select function on the player. That works for me, anyway. Too bad it doesn't work the way it's SUPPOSED to!

Well, I tried my conversion again twice, and both times the quality suffered. I am going to have to try another application and see if I can get better results.

I haven't been able to get menus to work with my A1, either. Don't know if you've tried this, but you may be able to access the video files on the disc by using the "title" select function on the player. That works for me, anyway. Too bad it doesn't work the way it's SUPPOSED to!

I have working menus created with Nero 8 ultra playing on an A3.

I still haven't figured out how to get enough compression to allow putting a 2 hour TV show on one DL disc.

The frustrating thing is that the original MPEG2 file is almost small enough.

The frustrating thing is that the original MPEG2 file is almost small enough.
You can try super mpeg2 transcoder (http://www.download.com/Super-MPEG2-Transcoder/3000-2194_4-10401891.html)

On the very last screen...when you are going to burn the files...there is the option to burn folders or a disk (this is true on the latest version).

You are only on the very first screen here. You need to edit the video...add any transitions you want...click to next screen...set up your menu the way you want it...click to the next screen....that is where you will see the option.

thanks mate, got it :)

i had a quick Q, i would look through this whole thread but 85 pags.... i thought i would just ask. my Q is how much raw hdv video can you fit on a single 3X dvd (4.7g) and how much can you fit on a dual layer 3X dvd (8.5g) in minutes of raw hdv footage for the highest best quality as close to the origanal as possilbe. thanks.

I have working menus created with Nero 8 ultra playing on an A3.

I still haven't figured out how to get enough compression to allow putting a 2 hour TV show on one DL disc.

The frustrating thing is that the original MPEG2 file is almost small enough.


the maximum size 1080i HD mpeg2 file which will fit on a DL-DVD is ~8.2GB. there's not an exact way to specify an actual time/length (minutes) of the program or movie as it depends upon the bitrate of the file.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9917492#post9917492

the maximum size 1080i HD mpeg2 file which will fit on a DL-DVD is ~8.2GB. there's not an exact way to specify an actual time/length (minutes) of the program or movie as it depends upon the bitrate of the file.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9917492#post9917492

not to be a smart ass but if 8.2GB is the most raw hdv footage that can fit then coudnt one work it out like this ??

8200 MB ( max file size allowed on DVD DL disk ) / 187.5 Mb* ( HDV bit rate per minute ) = 43 minutes of footage

i could be wrong, but this is a theory i had.

leading 'around' 43 minutes raw HDV max per dual layer disc ???

*using native HDV MPEG-2 footage

This is why you should use MPEG-4, then you only need 10mbps instead of 20mbps for the same quality video.

8Gb - 500Mb audio = 7500Mb video space

7500Mb = about 110 minutes @ 10mbps average

This is why you should use MPEG-4, then you only need 10mbps instead of 20mbps for the same quality video.

8Gb - 500Mb audio = 7500Mb video space

7500Mb = about 110 minutes @ 10mbps average

though it would most probably have to be converted to mpeg anyway.. for it to be burnt to 3x dvd. i'm still on the hdv camp ( with the canon hv20 ) and love it, if i need 1920 x 1080, can always capture live via hdmi, not that 1440x1080 is 'that' much different ( getting off topic sorry ). but if any one could confirm my earlier post re: 43 min of hdv on a 3x dvd.

though it would most probably have to be converted to mpeg anyway.. for it to be burnt to 3x dvd...

NO - that's what I was saying - use MPEG-4 (i.e. h.264 using a free AVC encoder, or VC-1 using a free WMV encoder).

It is silly not to use MPEG-4 on DVD9s - as you have just seen, you can only fit 43 mins of MPEG-2, whereas I can get about 110 minutes of MPEG-4.

NO - that's what I was saying - use MPEG-4 (i.e. h.264 using a free AVC encoder, or VC-1 using a free WMV encoder).

It is silly not to use MPEG-4 on DVD9s - as you have just seen, you can only fit 43 mins of MPEG-2, whereas I can get about 110 minutes of MPEG-4.

didn't think of that, i might have to give it ago ( can only do test in 2 weeks, that when my plasma, toshiba hd player arrive ). thanks.

the maximum size 1080i HD mpeg2 file which will fit on a DL-DVD is ~8.2GB. there's not an exact way to specify an actual time/length (minutes) of the program or movie as it depends upon the bitrate of the file.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9917492#post9917492


I understand.

I'm just frustrated that there is no tool that will allow me to ajust the bit rate of the MPEG4 compression to allow me to fit two one hour episodes (minus commercials) on one DL disc and burn an HD DVD compatable disc.

Nero has all the tools required to do the job, they just chose not allow you to set the parameters where you need them. It's just wrong I tell you!

When I bought the player, I understood that there was a chance I would be buying into the loser in the format war. I just expected to be able to burn my own media to feed the machine if I needed to.

I have working menus created with Nero 8 ultra playing on an A3.

I still haven't figured out how to get enough compression to allow putting a 2 hour TV show on one DL disc.

The frustrating thing is that the original MPEG2 file is almost small enough.

If you could describe the parameters you use in Nero 8 to get the working menus it would be much appreciated.

Also, I have a few HD-DVDs stored as .iso files. Is there a way to extract out the original folders and video files without burning it back to an HD-DVD?

mickey79,

I used HDV format MPEG file. on the next screen, i used ouput all clips into one file (if you have multiple clips, it will output each clip to a separate file). don't remember the other settings on that screen, but i don't think i changed any of them.

"HDV format MPEG file" is not giving me a 1920 X 1080 option - it's only giving me 1440 X 1080 and it's only setting it "Interlace" and not progressive.

I understand.

I'm just frustrated that there is no tool that will allow me to ajust the bit rate of the MPEG4 compression to allow me to fit two one hour episodes (minus commercials) on one DL disc and burn an HD DVD compatable disc.

Nero has all the tools required to do the job, they just chose not allow you to set the parameters where you need them. It's just wrong I tell you!

When I bought the player, I understood that there was a chance I would be buying into the loser in the format war. I just expected to be able to burn my own media to feed the machine if I needed to.

Yes you can change the bitrate in mpeg4 but don't know how the quality will look like. The higher the better PQ. The lower value, the PQ suffers.

This one converts a transport stream to mpeg4 with video bit rate which is way way low :D There are other parameters to keep the quality as beautiful as the original. I haven't tried it yet and I'm thinking of doing it tonight as I also have 1920x1080 7.5g 1 hour recordings that I want to burn.

ffmpeg -i input.mpg -acodec libfaac -ac 2 -ab 128k -b 768k -vcodec mpeg4 test.mp4

NO - that's what I was saying - use MPEG-4 (i.e. h.264 using a free AVC encoder, or VC-1 using a free WMV encoder).

It is silly not to use MPEG-4 on DVD9s - as you have just seen, you can only fit 43 mins of MPEG-2, whereas I can get about 110 minutes of MPEG-4.
I think I have read all this thread about creating HD DVD content in DVD-R disc, and it start with mpeg2. If you have an easy solution to put AVC or VC-1 into a DVD-R that can be played in a HD DVD player please post the instructions to do so. From what I read Nero 8 can create mpeg4 but it encodes everything so even if the source is mpeg4 it takes some time to create the final disc (or I missed something).

I read there are easy and free solutions to create playable mpeg4 in DVD discs that playback in PS3 but I can't find anything about HD DVD player (without reencode).

has anyone tried programming HDi menus or content using the authoring methods here?

for a while now i have been backing up my blu-ray / hd-dvd discs to dvd+rdl to play on my A2. i dont want to buy a BR standalone until profile 2.0 and the cost of standalone BR is cheaper. i have a LG blu-ray burner in my comp so i author everything to hd-dvd format and am happy with the results i get this way.

heres a few screens of The Rock Blu-ray encoded onto 1 dvd9 disc at 1080p. the average bitrate is 7700 for this 2h20min film and i drop the audio to 448kb which for my use is just fine :

http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_1_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_1_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_2_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_2_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_3_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_3_dvd9.png)
http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_4_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_4_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_5_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_5_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_6_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_6_dvd9.png)

for a while now i have been backing up my blu-ray / hd-dvd discs to dvd+rdl to play on my A2. i dont want to buy a BR standalone until profile 2.0 and the cost of standalone BR is cheaper. i have a LG blu-ray burner in my comp so i author everything to hd-dvd format and am happy with the results i get this way.

heres a few screens of The Rock Blu-ray encoded onto 1 dvd9 disc at 1080p. the average bitrate is 7700 for this 2h20min film and i drop the audio to 448kb which for my use is just fine :

http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_1_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_1_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_2_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_2_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_3_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_3_dvd9.png)
http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_4_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_4_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_5_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_5_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/rock_6_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/rock_6_dvd9.png)

whats software are you using for the converting ??

i use x264 cmd line with settings that comply with hddvd specs. everything i use except the authoring program is opensource software.

I think I have read all this thread about creating HD DVD content in DVD-R disc, and it start with mpeg2. If you have an easy solution to put AVC or VC-1 into a DVD-R that can be played in a HD DVD player please post the instructions to do so. From what I read Nero 8 can create mpeg4 but it encodes everything so even if the source is mpeg4 it takes some time to create the final disc (or I missed something).

Nero is the cheapest, and DoStudio is the easiest.

i use x264 cmd line with settings that comply with hddvd specs. everything i use except the authoring program is opensource software.

What authoring program do you use?

i use x264 cmd line with settings that comply with hddvd specs. everything i use except the authoring program is opensource software.

Whoa! Hold on! You're authoring h.264 video to a DVD9 and actually getting your A2 to play it? PLEASE tell us how you're doing this!

What authoring program do you use?

Scenarist ACA 4.1

Whoa! Hold on! You're authoring h.264 video to a DVD9 and actually getting your A2 to play it? PLEASE tell us how you're doing this!

yes been doing this for months now. its not a "one click" process, and is very involved.

yes been doing this for months now. its not a "one click" process, and is very involved.

Ok, how about this: What command line options are you using for x264.exe. I presume you're using an hrd-patched x264?

If you could describe the parameters you use in Nero 8 to get the working menus it would be much appreciated.

Also, I have a few HD-DVDs stored as .iso files. Is there a way to extract out the original folders and video files without burning it back to an HD-DVD?

I'm sorry, I find that I am becoming luddite in my old age. I just loaded the file, edited the video and hit next. I had a choice of 2d and 3d menus, I hid 3d menu, hit next and put a DVD-r in the drive. For some strange reason, it wouldn't accept a +r. I let it transcode over night and played it the next day.

As far as your other questions, if it is that complicated, I don't seem to have the patience to deal with it anymore.

I'm looking for an easy solution. Pick your files, the program figures out if it needs to be compressed further to fit on your selected destination, the disc pops out ready to go into the player.

yes i am. heres my cmd line :


M736.x264.exe -p 1 --crf 10 --stats "HD.stats" --threads auto --thread-input --keyint 14 --min-keyint 2 --aq-strength 0.6 --aq-sensitivity 16 --qpmin 1 --vbv-maxrate 35000 --vbv-bufsize 35000 --level 4.1 -b 2 --bime --weightb -r 3 --mixed-refs --direct auto -f -1:-1 --qcomp 0.1 --ipratio 1.10 --pbratio 1.25 -A none --direct-8x8 -1 --me dia -m 3 --no-fast-pskip -t 1 --aud --sar 1:1 --no-psnr --progress -o NUL ".avs"


M736.x264.exe -p 2 -B 7700 --stats ".stats" --threads auto --thread-input --keyint 14 --min-keyint 2 --aq-strength 0.6 --aq-sensitivity 16 --vbv-maxrate 20000 --vbv-init 1.0 --qpmin 1 --vbv-bufsize 14745 --level 4.1 -b 2 --b-rdo --bime --weightb -r 3 --mixed-refs --direct auto -f -1:-1 --qcomp 0.1 --ipratio 1.10 --pbratio 1.25 -A "all" --direct-8x8 -1 --me umh -m 6 --no-fast-pskip -t 1 --aud --sar 1:1 --progress -o ".264" ".avs"



M736 is this x264 version: http://files.x264.nl/x264.736.modified.02.exe



i use h264info 0.13 to add the 3:2 pulldown and fps 29.97

http://downloads.sourceforge.net/batchccews/h264info_alpha0013.zip?modtime=1193475473&big_mirror=0

Yes you can change the bitrate in mpeg4 but don't know how the quality will look like. The higher the better PQ. The lower value, the PQ suffers.

This one converts a transport stream to mpeg4 with video bit rate which is way way low :D There are other parameters to keep the quality as beautiful as the original. I haven't tried it yet and I'm thinking of doing it tonight as I also have 1920x1080 7.5g 1 hour recordings that I want to burn.

ffmpeg -i input.mpg -acodec libfaac -ac 2 -ab 128k -b 768k -vcodec mpeg4 test.mp4


You are giving my nasty flashbacks of writing DOS batchfiles.

To be more specific, I am frustrated that Nero's lowest bitrate for MPEG4 HD DVD is 15 mb/s. If you are burning avshd for bluray, you can set it as low as 12 mb/s. If they would have just let me go as low as 8 mb/s, I would be happy as a clam. As it is, I am frustrated with both the purchase of the Nero and the A3.

I really do not have the time to learn several different programs or running those multiple programs to get to a final product.

I suppose I would be willing to buy one more program but I am going to have to have verified proof that it will do what I want to do without my having to do backflips before I fork out the money.

Can anyone suggest an external burner that will produce DVD +R DL disks that will play in a A2 or A3? I get stutters with any +R disk. +RW works fine but +RW DL does not exist.

Thanks!

You are giving my nasty flashbacks of writing DOS batchfiles.

To be more specific, I am frustrated that Nero's lowest bitrate for MPEG4 HD DVD is 15 mb/s. If you are burning avshd for bluray, you can set it as low as 12 mb/s. If they would have just let me go as low as 8 mb/s, I would be happy as a clam. As it is, I am frustrated with both the purchase of the Nero and the A3.

I really do not have the time to learn several different programs or running those multiple programs to get to a final product.

I suppose I would be willing to buy one more program but I am going to have to have verified proof that it will do what I want to do without my having to do backflips before I fork out the money.

:D It was a task when I compiled my ffmpeg on linux due to the different libraries I need to add for ffmpeg to be able to utilize them. It was easy just long.

I will keep you posted about the reencoding that has been running for 10 hours now. I thought it would be done by evening but it didn't. We'll find out tomorrow evening if Movie Factory will be able to import this file. Hopefully it does.

About the commercial applications, honestly, I don't know of one. Try searching at http://www.videohelp.com

Can anyone suggest an external burner that will produce DVD +R DL disks that will play in a A2 or A3? I get stutters with any +R disk. +RW works fine but +RW DL does not exist.

Thanks!

you must make sure the recorder is set to DVD+R and not DVD-ROM when burning DL +R for use in a hd-dvd standalone. if its for dvd then DVD-ROM is used.

i use nero to burn DVD+RDL Verbatim media with a LG GBW-H10N , pioneer burners cant be bitset to DVD+R at all so if thats what you have you could hunt down some DVD-RDL media.

I need some help, my computer does not have the drivers for the JVC DVHS tape deck and I would like to hook it up to the computer like I did with an older one that I do not have any more. They are "JVC tape device" and "JVC tuner" residing in windows/system32/drivers and will start with most likely with jvc. the button "description" will tell what they are for.

I did use them withCAPDVHS and it worked fine with the JVC DVHS deck. I want to transfer my tapes to HD DVD, the burning part works fine once those files are in the computer.

I have searched the wide and far and even MS does not have them. If someone could email me those I would be delighted.
I asked in two other threads to no avail, some of the contributors on this one certainly have the know how. I have XP Media pro and XP Home in a dual boot configeration. The XP Media is the pits, could not use Pinnacle S10 or Ulead, all because of missing drivers and had to ad the XP Home.

Eugene

Well, I tried another application, but I just can't seem to get it to convert right. Tonight I am going to look for another converter and see if I can find one that can convert it to MPEG4.

Any lite-on made after 2005 will do it. They also have a utility that will allow change of book type.
Gene

So has anyone successfully made an MPEG4 on DVD disc that's readable by HDDVD player? My reencoding is still running. I should upgrade to dual core cpu. :(

So has anyone successfully made an MPEG4 on DVD disc that's readable by HDDVD player? My reencoding is still running. I should upgrade to dual core cpu. :(

I hear you. I have spent the past 9 days with my single core PC on trying to get a good encode.

hi guys i just had some questions when making hd-dvd when it has the optoin to chooese vriable or constant data rate which do you choose ?? has any one tried constant and it worked?? heres a pic to show what i mean :

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3814373671.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7641513)

and also i'm trying to convert a quicktime 1080p trailer to use with a hd-dvd disk i'm using tmpgenc 4 to convert it, i included some pics to show the settings i'm using, can you guys check them and see it they are ok :

quick time 1080p trailer original settings:
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3814373688.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7641515)

settings :
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3814373683.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7641514)

encoding:
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/3814373686.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=7641516)

once converted i end up with a m2t wich i can use with video redo and start the hd-dvd authoring process.

reason being as i dont have my hd player yet, so i cant test the disks yet.


PS: click on thumbnails, then click on 'fullsize' for a bigger picture.
regards Marty.

Constant would allow you to control the final size of the video and should work just fine for making a disc.

Constant would allow you to control the final size of the video and should work just fine for making a disc.

cool thanks, any idea about the quicktime 1080p traler ?

cool thanks, any idea about the quicktime 1080p traler ?

Sorry, yes that looks like it should work just fine.

I hear you. I have spent the past 9 days with my single core PC on trying to get a good encode.

I think it's been running for more than 26 hours now. I remember, I started it around 11am yesterday. It's almost 2pm right now. I think I should put an egg on top of the cpu and cook it :p

This morning when I looked at it, the filesize was at 3.7g and it was still growing. This is the first pass. So looks like the final file will be seen tomorrow :(

I'll check it once I get home. Hopefully, it's doing the second pass now.

I will do another test using the same source but it will be a one time pass. I will compare the mpeg4 PQ. I'll keep you posted.

So has anyone successfully made an MPEG4 on DVD disc that's readable by HDDVD player? My reencoding is still running. I should upgrade to dual core cpu. :(


Yes, Nero gave me a successful MPEG4 encode and a working disc but they will not let you encode at less than 15 mb/s which makes the feature almost worthless.

I just received an email from nero responding to my inquiry about burning MPEG4 at less than 15 mp/s and their answer is:

"thank you for your e-mail.

I am sorry but there is no work around for this. This feature request has been already sent to our development team. I hope we can implement this feature soon."

Or, in other words, not likely.

Yes, Nero gave me a successful MPEG4 encode and a working disc but they will not let you encode at less than 15 mb/s which makes the feature almost worthless.

I just received an email from nero responding to my inquiry about burning MPEG4 at less than 15 mp/s and their answer is:

"thank you for your e-mail.

I am sorry but there is no work around for this. This feature request has been already sent to our development team. I hope we can implement this feature soon."

Or, in other words, not likely.

Ouch. That's not good especially, I only used 10 mp/s for the vbr. Did you use DVD-ROM UDF?

By the way, the first pass completed the first mpeg4 file. The completed filesize was 4.4g which is ideal for DVD-R. The source mpeg2ts file was 7.9g. The final file is being created now and it's at 2.4g. I'm doing a 2 pass so that quality will be close to original PQ.

Also, I'm not encoding in Nero. I will just drag 'n drop the HVDVD_TS folder that MF will be creating. My real big worry is if MF will be able to add this mpeg4 file. Did you use MF too to create the HVDVD_TS directory?

I have not used MF, only Nero. I'm looking for a one stop solution and frankly at this point, I'm hesitant to dump more money into this endeavor until I'm sure that not only that it will work but be streamlined enough that I will actually sit down and do it.

I have not used MF, only Nero. I'm looking for a one stop solution and frankly at this point, I'm hesitant to dump more money into this endeavor until I'm sure that not only that it will work but be streamlined enough that I will actually sit down and do it.

I'm also doing more research. It's a PITA. I created a 15 second mpeg4 file. MF doesn't understand the data. Looks like it only understands mpeg2. What a shame. Looks like that software should only be sold at $19. :p hehehe

We'll be able to do it but will take time :)

i'm just trying to figure out what booktype setting to use for dvd Regarding DVD types :

DVD-R: not sure, automatic ?? DVD-ROM ?? Physical disk type??

DVD+R: using DVD+R, single and double layer, especially with high bitrate material, may be related to the Booktype setting. In Nero, under 'Choose Recorder,' change the Booktype setting on your DVD burner from "DVD-ROM" to "Physical Disc Type."

and what is the preference in regards what people had oppted for the best playback, + or - disks ??

i'm just trying to figure out what booktype setting to use for dvd Regarding DVD types :

DVD-R: not sure, automatic ?? DVD-ROM ?? Physical disk type??

DVD+R: using DVD+R, single and double layer, especially with high bitrate material, may be related to the Booktype setting. In Nero, under 'Choose Recorder,' change the Booktype setting on your DVD burner from "DVD-ROM" to "Physical Disc Type."

and what is the preference in regards what people had oppted for the best playback, + or - disks ??

-R media doesn't have a booktype setting. It's only +R media where this applies.

For +R media, always use "Physical Disc Type" in Nero to prevent stuttering.

I use DVD+R DL media for dual layer discs, since they're basically half the price of DVD-R DL media (which can be hard to find).

For single layer media, I use -R or +R interchangably...whichever is on sale. :)

Chris

i'm just trying to figure out what booktype setting to use for dvd Regarding DVD types :

DVD-R: not sure, automatic ?? DVD-ROM ?? Physical disk type??

DVD+R: using DVD+R, single and double layer, especially with high bitrate material, may be related to the Booktype setting. In Nero, under 'Choose Recorder,' change the Booktype setting on your DVD burner from "DVD-ROM" to "Physical Disc Type."

and what is the preference in regards what people had oppted for the best playback, + or - disks ??


For some reason using Nero 6, it required that I put a DVD-R into the recorder before it would burn. I got a media not supported or some such error with DVD+R.

thanks for the replies guys, so from what i understand for burning hd-dvds its best to use dvd-r/dvd-r dl disks or at least it is the disk type of choice for burning hd-dvds ???

thanks for the replies guys, so from what i understand for burning hd-dvds its best to use dvd-r/dvd-r dl disks or at least it is the disk type of choice for burning hd-dvds ???

yes and if you own a pioneer burner you cant use +RDL at all for hd-dvd as you cant set "Physical Disc Type" at all, it will auto to dvd-rom.

i use +RDL for my hd-dvd A2 and as long as these settings are correct in nero (i use 7.9.6.0) then +RDL is perfectly ok with no stutters:

File --> Compilation Properties

Multisession --> "No Multisession"

UDF --> Enable Xbox (TM ) Compatibility Mode

Label --> (i use) HDDVD


thats it really, now save that as a .nru and use that template for evey hddvd you want to burn.

Well, I tried using Nero Recode to get the file into a .MP4 format, but the sound is off and I can't see a way to change the frame rate. Can anyone help me out?

so am i to understand that if my dvd burner can burn DVD+R DL discs, it can burn DVD-R DL too ??? i have a benq dvd burner and on the front it says "dvd+r dl and dvd+r rewritable"... does that mean a no go with dvd-r and dvd-r dl disks ??? and when using dvd-r disks one said "-R media doesn't have a booktype setting" does that mean i can leave the book type setting on automatic ? and it will be fine ? with dvd-r disks.

That drive should be able to burn all flavors of media but DVD RAM if it's one of the older ones like a 1620/1640/1655 They were great drives and still work well today except other drives are now better at burning DL media, like most later Pioneer models. When burning disks for your HD player set it to physical booktype and any plus media should play well, minus doesn't allow bootype setting and stays as native type no matter how you set your program for it.

Ave,

I'm using pretty much the same method as used by africanmarty, i.e., convert an MKV -> MPEG2 (HD-DVD Compliant) using TMPGEnc Xpress 4.

The only thing is, I don't want to reencode the Audio - I want to use the source audio (DTS or AC3 5.1) to retain the 5.1 Surround Sound Audio. What do I have to do in TMPGEnc Xpress to just encode the Video, not the Audio - and how do I get the source audio back into the MPEG2 file before putting it into Ulead Video Studio for authoring as HD-DVD?

Thanks!

I have to do in TMPGEnc Xpress to just encode the Video, not the Audio - and how do I get the source audio back into the MPEG2 file before putting it into Ulead Video Studio for authoring as HD-DVD?

Thanks!

When you start up TMPGEnc you will see some options and what you want to do is click on the mpeg tools, you can then mux the video and audio into one file.

When you start up TMPGEnc you will see some options and what you want to do is click on the mpeg tools, you can then mux the video and audio into one file.

Awesome! Just checked out that option - that will work fine.

One very important question. When I encode a regular Audio + Video file, I hit the 'Calculator' button which calculate Bitrate for me, depending upon target size (DVD5/DVD9). But in this case since I'm not using the Audio - the bitrate calculated does not leave room for the Audio at all. How Do I Calculate the bitrate in this case?
http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T5.gif

I'm assuming I can leave out the Audio by doing this ..

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T1.gif

And that I have to select this option ...

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T2.gif

Just one last confusion I have - What to select in the Output Stream...

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/T4.gif

Any idea?

Thanks!!

One very important question. When I encode a regular Audio + Video file, I hit the 'Calculator' button which calculate Bitrate for me, depending upon target size (DVD5/DVD9). But in this case since I'm not using the Audio - the bitrate calculated does not leave room for the Audio at all. How Do I Calculate the bitrate in this case?

In this case if you already have the audio file, you need to add that size to the estimated file size. It may take a few tries.


I'm assuming I can leave out the Audio by doing this ..


That should do the trick, I have encoded video only input files and the resulting output still has the placeholders for the audio (in the muxed file), just split it out and then add the audio trach of your choice.



Just one last confusion I have - What to select in the Output Stream...

Any idea?

I do not know what the difference between the HD1 mode and HD2 mode are. Have you checked the docs? If I had to guess I would say it is using a different encoding profile.

Maybe someone else knows?

Rowan

In this case if you already have the audio file, you need to add that size to the estimated file size. It may take a few tries.

Excellent! I also tried using the Bitrate Calculator at VideoHelp.Com, and that really helped. Basically I was able to add my Source Audio bitrate/format and it automatically added the correct audio file size, giving me the Bitrate I required.

That should do the trick, I have encoded video only input files and the resulting output still has the placeholders for the audio (in the muxed file), just split it out and then add the audio trach of your choice.

Did exactly that! Used MKVExtractGUI to extract the DTS from the MKV, and am encoding just the Video. Will use MPEG Tools to mux the Audio into the MPEG2.

I do not know what the difference between the HD1 mode and HD2 mode are. Have you checked the docs? If I had to guess I would say it is using a different encoding profile.
I'm not sure of the difference either, however, I did look around and saw someone doing what I'm doing and they're using the HD2 Mode, so I'm encoding using that profile right now.

I guess at this point I'll do a little hit 'n trial. Basics seems to be clear, so I'll give it a shot. I'm encoding as I write this using these settings. I'll write back on how I make out.

Thanks mate - been a big, big help!

Did exactly that! Used MKVExtractGUI to extract the DTS from the MKV, and am encoding just the Video. Will use MPEG Tools to mux the Audio into the MPEG2.

mpeg tools wont mux DTS and mpeg2 video together.

mpeg tools wont mux DTS and mpeg2 video together.

What will? tsMuxer?

What will? tsMuxer?

maybe elcecard mpeg muxer but it's payware. manzanita might as well

this is what TMPGEnc 4 xpress tells me :

"hdv-hd1 : recodring format based on hdv 720p and sd 480i/480p format.

hdv-hd2 : recodring format based on the 1080i format."

hey guys, a mate of mine has an *.mkv movie that is 1920x800p-23.976fps wich is fine as i can convert it to 1440x1080i-23.976fps as an *.m2t transport stream and then import that file into video redo and export it as a *.mpg program stream but now here likes the problem i'm in PAL country (australia) ulead movie factory 5 hd-dvd setting is at 25fps wich cant be changed... should i go ahead and burn the 1440x1080i 23.967 *.mpg ???? i have tried converting the movie (before importing to ulead) to 25fps but every few frames i get interlacing lines... maybe they wont show up on a plasma ??

what should i do ??

burn the 23.967 file wich plays back perfect on the PC, or burn the 25fps file with the interlaced frames every few frames...


B4 you say do both and try it out.. i only get my plasma/hd player in 2 weeks, i'm a student and still making the payment lol.

maybe elcecard mpeg muxer but it's payware. manzanita might as well

Thanks - let me check out those and some other options.

hdv-hd2 : recording format based on the 1080i format

That's the option I chose. The encode didn't actually take half as long as I thought it would, even with 2-Pass VBR. Encoding finished last evening but I had to attend to some other things and this morning I'm at work. I'll be checking it out and also working on the muxing later this evening.

Will report back.

That drive should be able to burn all flavors of media but DVD RAM if it's one of the older ones like a 1620/1640/1655 They were great drives and still work well today except other drives are now better at burning DL media, like most later Pioneer models. When burning disks for your HD player set it to physical booktype and any plus media should play well, minus doesn't allow bootype setting and stays as native type no matter how you set your program for it.

i really should have looked up my dvd drive before i whent and baught 50 DVD-R DL blanks on ebay... as i tried to use a number of the disks and the drive kept rejecting it... wondering why i looked up the drive to find out it only supports

DVD+R DL 8.5GB
DVD+R 4.7GB
DVD+RW 4.7GB
DVD-R 4.7GB (closed session)
DVD-RW 4.7GB (closed session)

so for dual layer i can only use DVD +R DL but from what i've read they still work ok if you follow the tutorial. so this is a heads up for people to check what their dvd drive is capable of burnig before you buy certain disks... as i now have 48 blanks i cant use....

So anyone have any recomendations for a Copnverter that I can use to convert WMV into MPEG4? I can't seem to get past this point.

My encoding of MKV -> MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc Xpress is a total no go! I don't know if i'm doing something wrong - but the quality was just horrible. Too much macro-blocking - just not as good as I expected it to be. I've tried everything - MPEG-2 Transport (HDV HD2) and MPEG-2 Program (VBR) - they both produced a pretty choppy quality MPEG-2. Just not worth it.

What's my other options? How can I take an MKV and author it as an HD-DVD?

My encoding of MKV -> MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc Xpress is a total no go! I don't know if i'm doing something wrong - but the quality was just horrible. Too much macro-blocking - just not as good as I expected it to be. I've tried everything - MPEG-2 Transport (HDV HD2) and MPEG-2 Program (VBR) - they both produced a pretty choppy quality MPEG-2. Just not worth it.

What's my other options? How can I take an MKV and author it as an HD-DVD?

use hcenc as the encoder

My encoding of MKV -> MPEG-2 using TMPGEnc Xpress is a total no go! I don't know if i'm doing something wrong - but the quality was just horrible. Too much macro-blocking - just not as good as I expected it to be. I've tried everything - MPEG-2 Transport (HDV HD2) and MPEG-2 Program (VBR) - they both produced a pretty choppy quality MPEG-2. Just not worth it.

What's my other options? How can I take an MKV and author it as an HD-DVD?

wich version are u useing ?? i'm using TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress and the results are quite good.

hey guys, a mate of mine has an *.mkv movie that is 1920x800p-23.976fps wich is fine as i can convert it to 1440x1080i-23.976fps as an *.m2t transport stream and then import that file into video redo and export it as a *.mpg program stream but now here likes the problem i'm in PAL country (australia) ulead movie factory 5 hd-dvd setting is at 25fps wich cant be changed... should i go ahead and burn the 1440x1080i 23.967 *.mpg ???? i have tried converting the movie (before importing to ulead) to 25fps but every few frames i get interlacing lines... maybe they wont show up on a plasma ??

what should i do ??

burn the 23.967 file wich plays back perfect on the PC, or burn the 25fps file with the interlaced frames every few frames...


B4 you say do both and try it out.. i only get my plasma/hd player in 2 weeks, i'm a student and still making the payment lol.

BUMP any thoughts on this ??

also i am just rendering some HDV footage shot with my canon hv20 at 1080i and i can see interlacing lines through out, when this is burned to a hd-dvd red disk and played back will the interlaced lines still be there ??? i didnt want to de-interlace as i would loose half the resolution.. although i was thinking when played back on a 1080p tv would it happen any way ?? should i burn interlaced? or convert it to progressive and loose half resolution.

i really should have looked up my dvd drive before i whent and baught 50 DVD-R DL blanks on ebay... as i tried to use a number of the disks and the drive kept rejecting it... wondering why i looked up the drive to find out it only supports

DVD+R DL 8.5GB
DVD+R 4.7GB
DVD+RW 4.7GB
DVD-R 4.7GB (closed session)
DVD-RW 4.7GB (closed session)

so for dual layer i can only use DVD +R DL but from what i've read they still work ok if you follow the tutorial. so this is a heads up for people to check what their dvd drive is capable of burnig before you buy certain disks... as i now have 48 blanks i cant use....

You can buy a DVD +/-R drive for less than the 50 discs.

BTW where did you find the discs, all the retailers around here only have +DL discs.

BUMP any thoughts on this ??

also i am just rendering some HDV footage shot with my canon hv20 at 1080i and i can see interlacing lines through out, when this is burned to a hd-dvd red disk and played back will the interlaced lines still be there ??? i didnt want to de-interlace as i would loose half the resolution.. although i was thinking when played back on a 1080p tv would it happen any way ?? should i burn interlaced? or convert it to progressive and loose half resolution.

Author it interlaced. A "good" 1080p plasma should deinterlace it properly, just as they do for broadcast/cable/sat 1080i.

My 1080p plasma does great with home brew HD DVDs played on the Toshiba A1 and A2.

But since I also have a PS3, I have found it does a really great job of converting HDV home-authored Blu-ray disks to 1080p. So that's an option if the plasma doesn't deinterlace properly without bobbing away half the vertical resolution, let the PS3 deinterlace it and output it as 1080p to supporting monitors.

You can buy a DVD +/-R drive for less than the 50 discs.

BTW where did you find the discs, all the retailers around here only have +DL discs.

i got them from ebay. i understand i could get a new drive but initially i thougt my drive could burn them and i'm not going to buy a new drive since i can burn the dvd+r dl disks on this drive without any problems.

Author it interlaced. A "good" 1080p plasma should deinterlace it properly, just as they do for broadcast/cable/sat 1080i.

My 1080p plasma does great with home brew HD DVDs played on the Toshiba A1 and A2.

But since I also have a PS3, I have found it does a really great job of converting HDV home-authored Blu-ray disks to 1080p. So that's an option if the plasma doesn't deinterlace properly without bobbing away half the vertical resolution, let the PS3 deinterlace it and output it as 1080p to supporting monitors.

thats great to know thanks :) i dont have a ps3 and dont plan on getting one, though in the future i might get a stand alone BD player. what plasma do you have ???

use hcenc as the encoder
I've never used it before but since I'm hitting a wall, I definately want to give it a try. Is there any guide, tutorial or any place you can point me to that can give me some guidance or instructions in using it?

wich version are u useing ?? i'm using TMPGEnc 4.0 Xpress and the results are quite good.
I'm using TMPGEnc Xpress 4 as well - what is your source? MKV? What settings exactly did you use in TMPGEnc Xpress for encoding to MPEG-2?

I tried using HCenc a while back to get to an MPEG2 stream that Ulead would like (this was going from .mkv). HCenc is a fast encoder - the problem I had, though, was getting Ulead to take the MPEG2 without reencoding. Even with the patcher, Ulead wanted to reencode everything. I'm pretty sure it was a settings problem somewhere. I may have to give it another try.

I tried using HCenc a while back to get to an MPEG2 stream that Ulead would like (this was going from .mkv). HCenc is a fast encoder - the problem I had, though, was getting Ulead to take the MPEG2 without reencoding. Even with the patcher, Ulead wanted to reencode everything. I'm pretty sure it was a settings problem somewhere. I may have to give it another try.

Could you possibly share your process for an HCEnc novice?

thats great to know thanks :) i dont have a ps3 and dont plan on getting one, though in the future i might get a stand alone BD player. what plasma do you have ???

I have the Elite 50 inch 1080p Pro-FHD1, but enough about me.
Last night I tried to play my home brewed Blu-ray disks in some standalone BD players. Would not play on the Panasonic DMP-BD30, would not play on the Sony BDPS-500, did play on the Sony BDPS-300. My opinion is that home authored HD DVDs are far more compatible at this point, although the format appears doomed. But in the blu-camp, the PS3 advantage is that it can play your Canon HV-20 1080i footage upscaled to 1080p. I don't know anything else that can do that right now, I mention it for solving a problem with poor deinterlacing on some 1080p tvs, the PS3 can do it right if the TV accepts 1080p input sources. But if the tv itself properly deinterlaces 1080i without bobbing half the vertical resolution, then a simple player like the A2 or A3 should be all you need for the best possible PQ from your HV-20.

Could you possibly share your process for an HCEnc novice?I'd like to see this as well.

BTW regarding the shrinkage of MPEG2 in order to fit onto a disc, I just tried Super MPEG2 Transcoder on a 5.1Gb Nature HD broadcast (1080i) and was able to set it around 87% to achieve a 4.5Gb single-layer disc size. Somehow it took the 12Mbps program down to 10Mbps without affecting anything else, e.g. GOPs or anything (according to Gspot) and certainly not fields/frames, in about 15 minutes, not much longer than it normally takes just to copy the file from disc-to-disc.

I've not found anything else that does this job quite so easily (thought AVIVO Video Converter might do the trick but it seems to output SD only). Probably will ante-up the $35 bucks when the trial period ends.

I will see what I can do as far as HCenc when I get home in a little while. I'm not sure how much help it'll be, as I could apparently never make a stream that Ulead did not want to reencode. It was very aggravating - even the patcher would not fix it. I'm not sure if it was a problem with the audio encoding or what. Maybe you guys can help figure it out.

I will see what I can do as far as HCenc when I get home in a little while. I'm not sure how much help it'll be, as I could apparently never make a stream that Ulead did not want to reencode. It was very aggravating - even the patcher would not fix it. I'm not sure if it was a problem with the audio encoding or what. Maybe you guys can help figure it out.

I'd still like to take a look at your process, and then go from there. Perhaps someone else will be able to spot the error.

@Laserfan: So you're saying Super MPEG2 Transcoder can take an MPEG-2 > DVD5 and shrink it to DVD5 without much loss of bitrate? That sounds worthwhile - I'll give it a shot with my resultant MPEG2 (If I can ever make it there).

Thanks!

...Super MPEG2 Transcoder can take an MPEG-2 > DVD5 and shrink it to DVD5 without much loss of bitrate? That sounds worthwhile...Yes, I don't know how it performs this magic so rapidly (i.e. vs completely re-encoding the file) but it worked perfectly AFAICT.

I only needed to compress to 86% of the original; I'd imagine that (like DVD Shrink) perhaps as you try to compress below 75% you'd start to see a real degradation...

Super mpeg2 transcoder is great for shrinking 6GB to DVD5 and 10GB to DVD9, if the file is larger the quality will start to suffer, so each person should pick if they prefer the final quality or split the file in 2 discs.

If your source is mpeg2 there is no faster way (that I know) to make it fit.

Well Super MPEG2 Transcoder definately sounds good and I'll give it a shot when/if I have to shrink anything around 6GB to DVD5 or 10GB to DVD9.

Just need a concrete method of encoding the MKV -> MPEG-2 now. Hope shade00 will get back with his method. Or someone with insights to using HCEnc.

Just a heads up:
ImgBurn 2.4.0.0 released Feb 10 has some fixes, changes and new features that will be helpful for people creating HD DVD folder and burning with ImgBurn, a few are:
Added: Support for additional UDF revisions in Build mode. It now supports 1.02, 1.50, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50 and 2.60
Added: Support for correct sorting of IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.
Added: Support for ECC block (64k) padding between IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.
Added: Detection of HD-DVD / Blu-ray Video images in Build mode by their folder names (in the same way DVD Video is detected by the presense of a VIDEO_TS folder).

I normally create the ISO directly from MF6+, but I'll try ImgBurn's build method.

Does HD-DVD (or BD9, for that matter) have any mandatory h.264 or VC-1 profile that supports low-bitrate (sub-8Kbit/second) 480i60 with 64-224kbit/sec audio?

The reason: I have a stack of 500-gig hard drives with a little under 3 terrabytes of DV video I captured from old VHS tapes that I'd eventually like to burn to optical discs. I wasn't satisfied with the results I got from 6-8kbit/sec MPEG-2, so I want to try a more advanced codec. Someday I'd like to be able to author them to discs capable of being played directly from a 3XDVD or BD9 without re-encoding... but seeing how the software to author such a disc doesn't seem to exist, I could live with burning them as AVI files for the time being.

Logically, it seems like HD-DVD would HAVE to have at least a FEW mandatory profiles for SD content, if only to keep the content industries happy and give them an excuse to release yet another round of shovelware like they seem to do every time a new, higher-capacity format comes out :)

So anyone have any recomendations for a Converter that I can use to convert WMV into MPEG4? I can't seem to get past this point.

Anyone have any tips for me? I can't get past this step. I have tried over a dozen different covnerters, and they just didn't work right for me(IE Lowered quality, messed up framerate). I would really appreciate some help in getting the file into the right format.

Just a heads up:
ImgBurn 2.4.0.0 released Feb 10 has some fixes, changes and new features that will be helpful for people creating HD DVD folder and burning with ImgBurn, a few are:
Added: Support for additional UDF revisions in Build mode. It now supports 1.02, 1.50, 2.00, 2.01, 2.50 and 2.60
Added: Support for correct sorting of IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.
Added: Support for ECC block (64k) padding between IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.
Added: Detection of HD-DVD / Blu-ray Video images in Build mode by their folder names (in the same way DVD Video is detected by the presense of a VIDEO_TS folder).

I normally create the ISO directly from MF6+, but I'll try ImgBurn's build method.

That's interesting.
So once I do have a compliant & quality MPEG-2 file, I can use Ulead MF6+ to author it as HD-DVD but instead of creating an ISO, let it create HD-DVD Folders and use IMGBurn to burn it to DVD5/DVD9 as an HD-DVD?

What source did you use to author as HD-DVD? I have MKV sources (1080p), that I'm trying to author as HD-DVD on a standard DVD5/DVD9 to play in a standalone HD-DVD Player.

So far it appears the only way to do this is to convert the MKV -> MPEG-2 but I'm having major issues getting a quality MPEG-2 file. TMPGEnc Xpress didn't deliver quality that I was hoping for. And I really don't know how to use HCEnc.

Does HD-DVD (or BD9, for that matter) have any mandatory h.264 or VC-1 profile that supports low-bitrate (sub-8Kbit/second) 480i60 with 64-224kbit/sec audio?
From what I read you can have AVC for 720x480 at max 15Mbit, audio can be mpeg2 or AC3 in 64-448kbit range.

That's interesting.
So once I do have a compliant & quality MPEG-2 file, I can use Ulead MF6+ to author it as HD-DVD but instead of creating an ISO, let it create HD-DVD Folders and use IMGBurn to burn it to DVD5/DVD9 as an HD-DVD?
Yes. I burn the ISO with ImgBurn, but download this version and test the new features.
What source did you use to author as HD-DVD? I have MKV sources (1080p), that I'm trying to author as HD-DVD on a standard DVD5/DVD9 to play in a standalone HD-DVD Player.
From what I read MKV is h.264, so to follow OP you need to encode that to mpeg2. I read somewhere that you can encode AVC (h.264) and author with some professional tools like Scenarist, DoStudio MX or HDAfterEdit.
So far it appears the only way to do this is to convert the MKV -> MPEG-2 but I'm having major issues getting a quality MPEG-2 file. TMPGEnc Xpress didn't deliver quality that I was hoping for. And I really don't know how to use HCEnc.
I don't know what resolution your MKV files are, but with the bitrate requirement for MPEG-2 I think you better encode to 1280x720 and keep the bitrate as high as you can (if you need to fit the movie to a DL DVD). Maybe try other tools or find some guides for HCEnc. (I don't have any MKV file to test)

I just picked up this program. It states that it directly supports burning HD DVD compatible discs on DVD. It also states that it MPEG 4. But it does not specifically state that it will make HD DVD copatible discs using MPEG 4 discs.

Has anyone used this software?
Does it allow burning HD DVD using MPEG4?

I would really like to know before I break the seal.

I've used google but I couldn't find anyone using this application for this purpose.

If nobody here has ever used the program, I may be willing to take the hit and try it and report the results back here, but if it is definately a no go, I would like to save a few bucks.

Ok, I just spent some time working on getting the .MKV to MPG. Here are the steps I took:

1) Download HCenc/HCencGUI. The GUI makes things easy. Also, download and install Avisynth 2.5. You'll need this for HCenc.

2) Create an Avisynth script to load the .MKV file. This is nothing but a text file. To load an .MKV, you will need to use something like:
DirectShowSource("d:\lifted.mkv")
but replace the part inside the quotation marks with the source file that you want to use. Just put that into a text file in notepad, then save as title.avs (title can be anything).

3) Open up HCencGUI, then open the .avs file you just made. HCenc will show you the properties of the video file. I checked 3:2 pulldown so you get a 29.97fps .m2v file. Press output file and choose where you'll save it. Then press encode. I tested this with a 5 minute 720p .MKV. On my Core 2 Duo E4500 (2.2ghz), it took about 2 minutes per pass - so 4 minutes to encode.

4) Now you have the .m2v video file, but you have to extract the audio. Download the mkvtoolnix package (available at videohelp.com) and install it, then download the mkvextractgui program and extract it to the directory where you just installed mkvtoolnix. You'll have to go into that directory to run mkvextractgui - for simplicity's sake, I created a shortcut on the desktop.

5) Load up mkvextractgui, then load your original MKV file. Select other for your output directory, and change it to wherever your video file is. Then check the box beside the audio track only and extract it. I'm not sure, but if you have an AC3 source that's not 48000hz you might have to resample. I'll look into that later.

6) Now you have to reassemble everything into an MPG - I downloaded Imago MPEG muxer (also from videohelp.com), loaded the .m2v and .ac3 files, and then muxed them back into an MPG.

I'll try to test later if the file works in Ulead - I've got to run for now. I hope I didn't miss anything - I'll try to check up later.

Ok, I just spent some time working on getting the .MKV to MPG. Here are the steps I took:

1) Download HCenc/HCencGUI. The GUI makes things easy. Also, download and install Avisynth 2.5. You'll need this for HCenc.

2) Create an Avisynth script to load the .MKV file. This is nothing but a text file. To load an .MKV, you will need to use something like:
DirectShowSource("d:\lifted.mkv")
but replace the part inside the quotation marks with the source file that you want to use. Just put that into a text file in notepad, then save as title.avs (title can be anything).

3) Open up HCencGUI, then open the .avs file you just made. HCenc will show you the properties of the video file. I checked 3:2 pulldown so you get a 29.97fps .m2v file. Press output file and choose where you'll save it. Then press encode. I tested this with a 5 minute 720p .MKV. On my Core 2 Duo E4500 (2.2ghz), it took about 2 minutes per pass - so 4 minutes to encode.

4) Now you have the .m2v video file, but you have to extract the audio. Download the mkvtoolnix package (available at videohelp.com) and install it, then download the mkvextractgui program and extract it to the directory where you just installed mkvtoolnix. You'll have to go into that directory to run mkvextractgui - for simplicity's sake, I created a shortcut on the desktop.

5) Load up mkvextractgui, then load your original MKV file. Select other for your output directory, and change it to wherever your video file is. Then check the box beside the audio track only and extract it. I'm not sure, but if you have an AC3 source that's not 48000hz you might have to resample. I'll look into that later.

6) Now you have to reassemble everything into an MPG - I downloaded Imago MPEG muxer (also from videohelp.com), loaded the .m2v and .ac3 files, and then muxed them back into an MPG.

I'll try to test later if the file works in Ulead - I've got to run for now. I hope I didn't miss anything - I'll try to check up later.

i would use tsmuxer instead of imago

Any reason in particular to use tsmuxer? Imago worked great and was extremely quick.

Any reason in particular to use tsmuxer? Imago worked great and was extremely quick.

I am almost positive it does not make a compliant HD res mpeg2 file.

Well, I have a problem somewhere. MovieFactory will not accept the Imago muxed file, patched or no. It will also not accept the tsmuxed .ts file... it says it's not available. The Image muxed mpeg plays back flawlessly, but the .ts file has out-of-sync audio. I'm going back to HCenc to see if I need to change something there.

Ok, I just spent some time working on getting the .MKV to MPG. Here are the steps I took:

1) Download HCenc/HCencGUI. The GUI makes things easy. Also, download and install Avisynth 2.5. You'll need this for HCenc.

2) Create an Avisynth script to load the .MKV file. This is nothing but a text file. To load an .MKV, you will need to use something like:
DirectShowSource("d:\lifted.mkv")
but replace the part inside the quotation marks with the source file that you want to use. Just put that into a text file in notepad, then save as title.avs (title can be anything).

3) Open up HCencGUI, then open the .avs file you just made. HCenc will show you the properties of the video file. I checked 3:2 pulldown so you get a 29.97fps .m2v file. Press output file and choose where you'll save it. Then press encode. I tested this with a 5 minute 720p .MKV. On my Core 2 Duo E4500 (2.2ghz), it took about 2 minutes per pass - so 4 minutes to encode.

4) Now you have the .m2v video file, but you have to extract the audio. Download the mkvtoolnix package (available at videohelp.com) and install it, then download the mkvextractgui program and extract it to the directory where you just installed mkvtoolnix. You'll have to go into that directory to run mkvextractgui - for simplicity's sake, I created a shortcut on the desktop.

5) Load up mkvextractgui, then load your original MKV file. Select other for your output directory, and change it to wherever your video file is. Then check the box beside the audio track only and extract it. I'm not sure, but if you have an AC3 source that's not 48000hz you might have to resample. I'll look into that later.

6) Now you have to reassemble everything into an MPG - I downloaded Imago MPEG muxer (also from videohelp.com), loaded the .m2v and .ac3 files, and then muxed them back into an MPG.


Shade00:

Thanks a Ton! This would be a big help later today evening when I give it a shot.

Quick Question: Does HCEnc *Not* work on Windows Vista? Last night I was trying to give it a shot - it installed & loaded up fine, but as soon as I hit the "Input" button to select my *.avs file, it crashed on me. Kept on crashing at that stage. Anyone would know why?

Also, does HCEnc accept an h.264 file? Or do you have to feed it an MKV? The only reason I ask is, I could extract the h.264 & ac3 from the MKV before feeding it to HCEnc.

Shade00:

Thanks a Ton! This would be a big help later today evening when I give it a shot.

Quick Question: Does HCEnc *Not* work on Windows Vista? Last night I was trying to give it a shot - it installed & loaded up fine, but as soon as I hit the "Input" button to select my *.avs file, it crashed on me. Kept on crashing at that stage. Anyone would know why?

Also, does HCEnc accept an h.264 file? Or do you have to feed it an MKV? The only reason I ask is, I could extract the h.264 & ac3 from the MKV before feeding it to HCEnc.

you might want to make a graph for the h264 in graphedit then use that for the avs

Shade00:

Thanks a Ton! This would be a big help later today evening when I give it a shot.

Quick Question: Does HCEnc *Not* work on Windows Vista? Last night I was trying to give it a shot - it installed & loaded up fine, but as soon as I hit the "Input" button to select my *.avs file, it crashed on me. Kept on crashing at that stage. Anyone would know why?

Also, does HCEnc accept an h.264 file? Or do you have to feed it an MKV? The only reason I ask is, I could extract the h.264 & ac3 from the MKV before feeding it to HCEnc.

Did you install Avisynth? I think Avisynth may need one of the Microsoft .NET frameworks - not sure which one. I don't know of any compatibility issues.

I'll give my encoding another shot this afternoon. I'm stuck at MF wanting to reencode, and it won't accept the .ts file that tsmuxer gave me - and even if it did, the audio is out-of-sync. AJP69, any ideas?

I just picked up this program. It states that it directly supports burning HD DVD compatible discs on DVD. It also states that it MPEG 4. But it does not specifically state that it will make HD DVD copatible discs using MPEG 4 discs.

Has anyone used this software?
Does it allow burning HD DVD using MPEG4?

I would really like to know before I break the seal.

I've used google but I couldn't find anyone using this application for this purpose.

If nobody here has ever used the program, I may be willing to take the hit and try it and report the results back here, but if it is definately a no go, I would like to save a few bucks.

Try it out and let me know how tht works for you. If it does, then I will definitely pick that up.

Did you install Avisynth? I think Avisynth may need one of the Microsoft .NET frameworks - not sure which one. I don't know of any compatibility issues.

I'll give my encoding another shot this afternoon. I'm stuck at MF wanting to reencode, and it won't accept the .ts file that tsmuxer gave me - and even if it did, the audio is out-of-sync. AJP69, any ideas?

Yes, AVISynth 2.5 is installed & working on my system. HCEnc itself seems to work & load up fine - it's just when I hit Input on an *.avs file that it crashes.

Anyhow, I guess since you haven't really resolved the Ulead's re-encoding of your MPEG, I'm in no rush. I'll get stuck at the same point as you.

@AJP69, You do realize I have absolutely no clue how to use GraphEdit. Any direction you can point me to?

@cobolisdead, I'll be giving that application a shot later today. I'm not sure what inputs it accepts and if it encodes to MPEG-2 before authoring to HD-DVD or not.

I probably have asked this before, I'm not sure if I've asked this here or not - but - Is there no other way to Author an HD-DVD using your compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) or MKV (h.264/AC3) WITHOUT encoding it to an MPEG-2?

Thanks.

I've posted on a format neutral thread about archiving OTA HDTV to DVD-R. It seems that it is a bit more reliable and compatible with HDDVD. Plus A top notch A35 can be had for a song. It just makes a lot of sense to me.

But, I want to use a solaris environment (actually, linux utils would be ok, just need to compile them under solaris).

I have a program stream. I can create a directory structure with audio_ts (empty), video_ts (with video_ts.bup and video_ts.ifo as null) and finally the hvdvd_ts directory. This is where I'm missing a piece. After that I would simply mkisofs -dvd-video of the folder and pipe that to cdrw. Or alternatively output to a file and then cdrw -i file.iso.

So how do I go from my mpeg2 program stream to the EVO file? and is there a open source command line tool to generate the bup and ifo files? Normally for a VOB a rename would work fine from an MPEG2 program stream. Is it that simple on EVO?

Thanks

I've posted on a format neutral thread about archiving OTA HDTV to DVD-R. It seems that it is a bit more reliable and compatible with HDDVD. Plus A top notch A35 can be had for a song. It just makes a lot of sense to me.

You seem to be implying that an A35 will play format neutral archives. Where is this thread?

Thanks.

You seem to be implying that an A35 will play format neutral archives. Where is this thread?

Thanks.

No. I was asking what I needed from a bluray and from an hddvd perspective. With confirmation that hddvd works well for this I'm now going deeper into what I need software wise that I dont already have to author a DVD-R that has HD content and plays on an HDDVD player.

Once I've figured the last part, I'll get the player.

No. I was asking what I needed from a bluray and from an hddvd perspective. With confirmation that hddvd works well for this I'm now going deeper into what I need software wise that I dont already have to author a DVD-R that has HD content and plays on an HDDVD player.

Once I've figured the last part, I'll get the player.

Nero 6 ultra + $25 plug in will do it with no other software needed. It works, but personally, I'm looking for a way to get more compression.

[QUOTE=mickey79;13108949]
I probably have asked this before, I'm not sure if I've asked this here or not - but - Is there no other way to Author an HD-DVD using your compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) or MKV (h.264/AC3) WITHOUT encoding it to an MPEG-2?QUOTE]

Sure: Scenarist. But it's a little bit pricey . . .

Right now I don't believe there are any other options besides Nero for building an HD DVD with a codec other than MPEG2.

[QUOTE=mickey79;13108949]
I probably have asked this before, I'm not sure if I've asked this here or not - but - Is there no other way to Author an HD-DVD using your compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) or MKV (h.264/AC3) WITHOUT encoding it to an MPEG-2?QUOTE]

Sure: Scenarist. But it's a little bit pricey . . .

Right now I don't believe there are any other options besides Nero for building an HD DVD with a codec other than MPEG2.

So what is wrong with Nero? And what codecs does it accept?

I probably have asked this before, I'm not sure if I've asked this here or not - but - Is there no other way to Author an HD-DVD using your compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) or MKV (h.264/AC3) WITHOUT encoding it to an MPEG-2?

Sure: Scenarist. But it's a little bit pricey . . .
DoStudio as well. Still a tad pricey though.


Right now I don't believe there are any other options besides Nero for building an HD DVD with a codec other than MPEG2.

Nero re-encodes, we need something that will allow importing compliant artifacts - that doesn't have to re-encode everything (a total waste of time and power)!

Nero re-encodes, we need something that will allow importing compliant artifacts - that doesn't have to re-encode everything (a total waste of time and power)!

Absolutely! That's exactly what I've been looking out for. And besides DoStudio & Scenarist, which are excruciatingly pricey, I don't think anything else is out there.

I'm almost tempted to just wait, and forgo the whole encode to MPEG-2 idea. There's gotta something in the pipeline that will import compliant media like VC-1, h.264, and author HD-DVD without encoding to MPEG-2.

So anyone give Magix Movie Edit Pro 12 a try?

Nero 6 ultra + $25 plug in will do it with no other software needed. It works, but personally, I'm looking for a way to get more compression.

Nero doesn't work on Solaris unless under virtualbox or qemu, but that wouldn't be very efficient. Plus you cant script this with nero. I want to be able to put 2 DVD-R in my 2 dvd writers each day, walk away and it would archive whatever is in my archive queue automatically.

I currently do this for non HD content, all transparently, so it's fairly straightforward, but would be extremely hard to do with nero or the like. Once the discs are burned, the DVD-R then goes on the shelves and is tracked by number, auto incremented and sent to my phone when the disc is finalised, so I dont forget to write it on the disc and box.

Then, when I want to play a show or movie, I have a program I wrote that displays the detail and if I try to play something that is not on the NAS (network storage), based on the extension of the placeholder, it will tell me if I need to pull a DVD, DVD-R, Laserdisc etc, and what number so I know where to pull it from.

So it works very well and is way cheaper than buying hard discs. But my non HD (analog recording) queue is getting smaller while the HD queue i(OTA HDTV) s getting bigger at a rate of 80GB per week. That's why I'm interested in burning my own HD content DVD-R in a similar fashion as what I've been doing with non HD content.

So, what do people use under Linux to author HD content? (the HVDVD_TS folder)

[EDIT: Just got a reply from another site that I can simply use dvdauthor like I've been using for regular DVDs, that it supports the various resolutions. I'll follow up after I've tried this. Going to get me my HDDVD player this weekend].

So anyone give Magix Movie Edit Pro 12 a try?

Didn't import MKV, Didn't import h.264 - the only Video it was willing to import was my compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) which I had encoded from source MKV using TMPGEnc Xpress.

It took about 20 minutes for it to import that WMV-HD, and then it looked like it was re-encoding it or something later down the pipe.

Just not gonna do it for me.

Still looking for a direct WMV-HD, MKV or x264 import.

I got a 720p video, import it into MF6+, selected OK when the program asked to change the project properties, the weird thing is that MF6+ reported the video as 2x the real time (2hrs 38min instead the real 1hr 19min), so instead of putting the chapters every 5 min, I put them every 10min, created the 3xDVD it played great in my A2 and the chapters are at every 5min.

I guess there is a bug in MF6+ that don't understand that some 720p files are twice the frame rate than normal video (59.9x instead 29.9x), so twice the frame rate that's why it reported twice the time.

BTW as said in first post, MF5 (updated) and MF6+ no need to HDpatch the 720p files for it to import them.

I got a 720p video, import it into MF6+, selected OK when the program asked to change the project properties, the weird thing is that MF6+ reported the video as 2x the real time (2hrs 38min instead the real 1hr 19min), so instead of putting the chapters every 5 min, I put them every 10min, created the 3xDVD it played great in my A2 and the chapters are at every 5min.

I guess there is a bug in MF6+ that don't understand that some 720p files are twice the frame rate than normal video (59.9x instead 29.9x), so twice the frame rate that's why it reported twice the time.

BTW as said in first post, MF5 (updated) and MF6+ no need to HDpatch the 720p files for it to import them.

Two questions - what format is your 720p video? MPEG-2? Did you create this MPEG-2 (as in, encoded from a different source format) or was it recorded as MPEG-2?

Second, what do you mean by 3xDVD?

Thanks!

Didn't import MKV, Didn't import h.264 - the only Video it was willing to import was my compliant VC-1 (WMV-HD) which I had encoded from source MKV using TMPGEnc Xpress.

It took about 20 minutes for it to import that WMV-HD, and then it looked like it was re-encoding it or something later down the pipe.

Just not gonna do it for me.

Still looking for a direct WMV-HD, MKV or x264 import.


Can you tell me if it will take broadcast MPEG2 and allow me to burn MPEG4 3x HD DVD and allow me to set the bit rate at something less than 12 mb/s? Preferably somewhere in the 8 mb/s range.

I want to be able to put at least 43 minutes of HD on a single layer and 90 minutes on a dual layer DVD.

Second, what do you mean by 3xDVD?

Using the 3xDVD option in MF will create 3 DVD5 folders instead of 1 HDDVD 15gb folder for burning to three single-layer DVDs.

Second, what do you mean by 3xDVD?

3xDVD is HD-DVD content/files burned onto a regular red-laser DVDR. It's spun at 3 times the speed in the player in order for the higher bitrates of HiDef video to play correctly.

Two questions - what format is your 720p video? MPEG-2? Did you create this MPEG-2 (as in, encoded from a different source format) or was it recorded as MPEG-2?

Second, what do you mean by 3xDVD?

Thanks!
a) it was recorded as mpeg-2 720p
b) 3xDVD is used as HD DVD content in standard DVD

I used TMPGEnc Xpress to encode my 1080p (1920 X 1080) MKV (x264) to an MPEG-2 file using the following settings:

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/screen2.jpg

The source MKV is excellent quality! I've encoded it to an WMV-HD also which came out exceptional quality.

Can anyone tell me why I'm getting this strange macro-blocking in my output MPEG-2 video? It's all over the output video. And there's a lot of pixelation as well.

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/screen.jpg

I just authored a 3XDVD with DVDAuthorGUI. It works! Well, it almost works. The video plays, and it is HD. But the video and audio are stuttery.

I used TMPGEnc Xpress to encode my 1080p (1920 X 1080) MKV (x264) to an MPEG-2 file using the following settings:

...

The source MKV is excellent quality! I've encoded it to an WMV-HD also which came out exceptional quality.

Can anyone tell me why I'm getting this strange macro-blocking in my output MPEG-2 video? It's all over the output video. And there's a lot of pixelation as well.

...
I guess is your bitrate, if I read the screen shot correctly, you want the final mpeg-2 at 1920x1080 but bitrate limited 5500 VBR and 8000 max. Just for reference Dish Network send old mpeg2 HD channels at 1440x1080 and bitrate around 10-12mbit and you can see macroblocking. You can try lowering the resolution.

I guess is your bitrate, if I read the screen shot correctly, you want the final mpeg-2 at 1920x1080 but bitrate limited 5500 VBR and 8000 max. Just for reference Dish Network send old mpeg2 HD channels at 1440x1080 and bitrate around 10-12mbit and you can see macroblocking. You can try lowering the resolution.

To add to that, you will also need the file to be 29.97fps not 24. I would think a bitrate of about 15mbps would be average. Hell my hdtv broadcasts are 15-17mbps

[QUOTE=applesandrice;13112288]

So what is wrong with Nero? And what codecs does it accept?


Good things about nero.
1. One program does all.
2. Will accept about any video input. Will output MPEG2 and AVC discs.

Bad things about Nero
1. Only supports 1080 output to HD DVD disc.
2. Seems to recode every thing.
3. AVS output for HD DVD cannot be set below 15 mb/s

What DL DVD disc is known to work flawless in our HDDVD, +R or -R? Again it's DL. :D

Thanks!

I've a toshiba hde1 and just spent several hundres dollars getting this answer.
Bye far, the dvd dl -r is much smoother ... even smoother than the +r standard dvd if playing hd dvd.

Nero 6 ultra + $25 plug in will do it with no other software needed. It works, but personally, I'm looking for a way to get more compression.

I have Nero 6 Ultra, what plugin are you talking about? I'd be interested in hearing about it as I already have the software. :)

To add to that, you will also need the file to be 29.97fps not 24. I would think a bitrate of about 15mbps would be average. Hell my hdtv broadcasts are 15-17mbps

Ok, so basically it's a bitrate issue. That's comforting, because it can be corrected. I'll re-encode at 15mbps

29.97fps? Even though the source video is at 23.976fps? Hmm, I don't know exactly where but somewhere I had read you're supposed to change fps to 24fps.

Can you confirm?

I have Nero 6 Ultra, what plugin are you talking about? I'd be interested in hearing about it as I already have the software. :)

Go to the Nero web page, There is a HD DVD plug in. You pay, download and run. If I remember right, it is a BIG down load.

I can confirm that it works. You can burn MPEG 2 and MPEG 4 3xDVDs. The problem is they do not give enough flexibility in bit rates and I would not expect them to address the problem in any way because of the demise of the format in general.

It is disappointing because of BDs general lack of support of a similar feature.

Ok, so basically it's a bitrate issue. That's comforting, because it can be corrected. I'll re-encode at 15mbps

29.97fps? Even though the source video is at 23.976fps? Hmm, I don't know exactly where but somewhere I had read you're supposed to change fps to 24fps.

Can you confirm?


I did not change frame rate but my source was 720p and 1080i broadcast video.

I would not be comforted, Nero basically told me that it would not be fixed without an upgrade and I would not be expecting any upgrades in HD DVD functionality.

The aggravating thing is that DVD (AVSHD) support is optional in the BD world. They can choose a bit rate as low as 12 mb/s in Nero, which would work for a couple of my projects but I'm not given that choice for HD DVD using the same program.

Go to the Nero web page, There is a HD DVD plug in. You pay, download and run. If I remember right, it is a BIG down load.

I can confirm that it works. You can burn MPEG 2 and MPEG 4 3xDVDs. The problem is they do not give enough flexibility in bit rates and I would not expect them to address the problem in any way because of the demise of the format in general.

It is disappointing because of BDs general lack of support of a similar feature.

Ah man, it only works on 7 and 8. I have 6 Ultra, which is what I read someone said had worked, but sadly not. :(

Let me ask you this though: Does it(Nero 7 or 8 with the HD DVD plugin) cut the bitrate at 9716k like it does now(without the plugin) or does it allow you to go to 15mpbs?

Finally, does converting HD media(from, say, a WMV HD source) via Nero allow you to play it back in HD on your HD DVD player via just a regular'ol DVD-R DL, or does it have to be one of those 3X DVD things?(sorry, kind of new to it all)

I've a toshiba hde1 and just spent several hundres dollars getting this answer.
Bye far, the dvd dl -r is much smoother ... even smoother than the +r standard dvd if playing hd dvd.

Thank you so much. So looks like there is a pattern. I also have no issues with DVD-R. I'll go with DVD DL -R then. Thank you so much. ;)

Thank you so much. So looks like there is a pattern. I also have no issues with DVD-R. I'll go with DVD DL -R then. Thank you so much. ;)

Except that DVD-R DLs cost about $4 per blank.

You're better off going with Verbatim DVD+R DLs for $2 per blank, and making sure the booktype is set to "physical disc type". I don't have any discs that stutter.

Ah man, it only works on 7 and 8. I have 6 Ultra, which is what I read someone said had worked, but sadly not. :(

Let me ask you this though: Does it(Nero 7 or 8 with the HD DVD plugin) cut the bitrate at 9716k like it does now(without the plugin) or does it allow you to go to 15mpbs?

Finally, does converting HD media(from, say, a WMV HD source) via Nero allow you to play it back in HD on your HD DVD player via just a regular'ol DVD-R DL, or does it have to be one of those 3X DVD things?(sorry, kind of new to it all)


a 3x DVD is just a regular DVD with HD DVD files on it. When that DVD is put in a HD DVD player, the player plays it as a normal HD DVD.

I don't quite understand your question but the problem I have with Nero is that it will not let me encode a 3x DVD as less than 15 mp/s.

a 3x DVD is just a regular DVD with HD DVD files on it. When that DVD is put in a HD DVD player, the player plays it as a normal HD DVD.
Ah, I see. So the DL would work for that, as well as allowing for more data on the disc.

I don't quite understand your question but the problem I have with Nero is that it will not let me encode a 3x DVD as less than 15 mp/s.
I guess it's my in-experience with the whole process, but I read a few posts back that someone had said that the minimum you want when burning HD files is 15mbps. Is that not true?

I'm not really in to the all the apps that are listed here in the authoring guide, so I'm thinking that Nero 7 or 8, with the HD DVD plug in may be the way to go, I'm just gathering some more info on it before taking the plunge(I hear bad things about Nero 7 and 8, which is why I have stuck with 6 over the years, but if 7 or 8 will burn HD files for my HD DVD player, I'll take the chance and upgrade). :)

I guess it's my in-experience with the whole process, but I read a few posts back that someone had said that the minimum you want when burning HD files is 15mbps. Is that not true?
No - even retail HD DVDs (and Blu-ray) use bit rates as low as 12 mbps.

In fact, 13mbps is ideal for home use - e.g. the Sony and Panasonic 1920x1080p video cameras all record at 13 mbps constant bit rate (AVCHD).

So using variable bit rates should mean you lose no quality at all for an average bit rate of around 10 mbps. That lets you fit more than 2 hours of 1920x1080p video onto a DVD-9 disc.

I don't have the energy to sift through all 89 pages. Sorry.

I have a Sony HD camcorder, use Sony Vegas Pro 8 for editing and have recently purchased Ulead/Corel VideoStudio 11 Plus in an attempt to burn my efforts onto standard DVDs as HD DVD. I edit with the Sony, render to MPEG2 and then bring it into the Corel software.

My attempts to burn HD DVDs seem to always end up the same. I've used two different burners at minimum speed. When played back on a Toshiba A3, they run fine for about 11 and a half minutes and then the sound becomes stuttery and then the picture. At about 13 minutes, it all seems to resolve itself and run fine. I contacted Corel Customer Service which was about as useful as talking to the wall. Has anyone else used this software with similar results??

Jerry Rutledge
jerfilm@aol.com

Thank you so much. So looks like there is a pattern. I also have no issues with DVD-R. I'll go with DVD DL -R then. Thank you so much. ;)

I've had no problems with Memorex DVD+R DL 8x, as long as you set the booktype as noted in post #1. I have no stuttering problems in A2, A20, and XA2. Haven't tried in first or third gen players though. Best Buy just had them on sale, $57 for 50 discs.

No - even retail HD DVDs (and Blu-ray) use bit rates as low as 12 mbps.

In fact, 13mbps is ideal for home use - e.g. the Sony and Panasonic 1920x1080p video cameras all record at 13 mbps constant bit rate (AVCHD).

So using variable bit rates should mean you lose no quality at all for an average bit rate of around 10 mbps. That lets you fit more than 2 hours of 1920x1080p video onto a DVD-9 disc.


I actually bought the A3 specifically for backing up HD video I have recorded on my computer. I would love to record 2 hours on one DL disc. Is there any way to do so without a PhD in esoteric, expensive video software?



I just wasted $100 on Nero, shipping and plug-in. Without a solution, I've wasted $200 on the A3.

I'd like to salvage the investment without dumping much more money in the project.

Well as long as I'm wishing, I'd like to put about 15 hrs of SD on a DL disc that will play in the A3

hi guys i was wondering about Scenarist HD. If you buy it ( who has the money lol ) and want to author hd dvds must you have a hd dvd burner to author a hd dvd disk, or can you use the hd dvd codes either H.264 AVC, VC-1 and make a 3xdvd ?? also once you buy Scenarist HD must you then buy the H.264 AVC, VC-1 codecs seperatly or do they come with the software ??? and one more question what bit rate must you use with H.264 AVC, VC-1 to keep the video exactly the same as raw hdv material ???

I just wasted $100 on Nero, shipping and plug-in. Without a solution, I've wasted $200 on the A3.

What issues were you running in to with Nero 8? I've heard that people don't like the fact that it always re-encodes what it gets a hold of, but if what it re-encoded worked, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

i just had a question for those who have managed to successfully put hd-dvd movies (actual films not home videos) on 3xdvd's >> Now all of the movies (that i've seen) are not in their native 1920 x 1080p resolution they are in 1920 x 800p ! and as you know ulead movie factory will only accept 1440x1080,1920x1080 and 1280x720 (patched)... so what do you guys do ?? do you convert it to hdv ( 1440x1080 ) or do you convert it to full hd ( 1920 x 1080 ) ??? i was thinking maybe going down the hdv route ( 1440x1080 ) ??? what do you guys do ???

regards Marty.

What issues were you running in to with Nero 8? I've heard that people don't like the fact that it always re-encodes what it gets a hold of, but if what it re-encoded worked, I wouldn't be opposed to it.

It won't encode avc at less than 15mb/s. In some cases my source MPEG2 is less than that. In other words, it won't let me record useful amounts of video.

It won't encode avc at less than 15mb/s. In some cases my source MPEG2 is less than that. In other words, it won't let me record useful amounts of video.Surely someone can hex-edit Nero to allow a 10 mbps minimum?!

What's the difference between QuEnc & HCEnc? Which is preferred to encode MKV -> MPEG-2?

I'm using the following settings to encode an MKV (h.264/DTS) 1920 X 1080 (1080p) into a compliant MPEG-2 for loading into Ulead MF6+ and authoring an HD-DVD without re-encode.

Do these settings look about right?

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/Q.gif

http://www.rahulsjohari.com/HD/Q2.gif

My attempts to burn HD DVDs seem to always end up the same. I've used two different burners at minimum speed. When played back on a Toshiba A3, they run fine for about 11 and a half minutes and then the sound becomes stuttery and then the picture. At about 13 minutes, it all seems to resolve itself and run fine. I contacted Corel Customer Service which was about as useful as talking to the wall. Has anyone else used this software with similar results??

Jerry Rutledge
jerfilm@aol.com

Jerry, I've had a very similar experience to yours with the problems starting at 11:30 or thereabouts that seem to resolve by about 13:00. My discs were created similar to yours except for my final output was with Ulead DVDMF6+. My limited tests seem to show that it is an A3 problem, because I have taken the same discs and played them on an A20, and they played flawlessly. Unfortunately, the only way I've been able to get around this with the A3 is to use a video bit rate of 20 Mbps. Several others have confirmed that the third generation of Toshiba HD-DVD players has some sort of mechanism for limiting the usable bandwidth on 3xDVD discs.

I've since given up on making 3xDVDs from my Sony HDV material and have moved on to Mini Blu-Ray discs. I don't have a stand-alone Blu-Ray player, but I have been able to successfully create Mini Blu-Ray discs that preserve the original HDV footage and don't rerender anything except for fades that play perfect from start to finish in my PS3. Plus, the PS3 plays the native HDV m2t files from the camcorder. Have you looked at this alternative route?

My guess is that Toshiba will never fix this "problem" with the A3 and not allowing the full 25 Mbps stream from 3xDVDs since they have basically conceded that the format war is now over with Wal-Mart dumping HD-DVDs and going exclusively Blu-Ray.

My limited tests seem to show that it is an A3 problem, because I have taken the same discs and played them on an A20, and they played flawlessly. Unfortunately, the only way I've been able to get around this with the A3 is to use a video bit rate of 20 Mbps. Several others have confirmed that the third generation of Toshiba HD-DVD players has some sort of mechanism for limiting the usable bandwidth on 3xDVD discs.

I've since given up on making 3xDVDs from my Sony HDV material and have moved on to Mini Blu-Ray discs. I don't have a stand-alone Blu-Ray player, but I have been able to successfully create Mini Blu-Ray discs that preserve the original HDV footage and don't rerender anything except for fades that play perfect from start to finish in my PS3. Plus, the PS3 plays the native HDV m2t files from the camcorder. Have you looked at this alternative route?.

If the A3 is so limited as described, that would be yet another disappointment to point to with Toshiba's handling of the format. The A1 digested everything, the A2 needed the +R booktype bitsetting fix, and the A3 stutters on HDV 11 minutes in? Have you tried it with a +R disk with booktype set to physical media type?

As for your observations about making the mini Blu-ray disks, the situation is less than satisfactory. In fact it's the same problem. Yes, they play on my PS3, but not on most standalone BD players. The only route that assures widespread compatibility for HDV is using the expensive BD-R/RE media and writers. There is a 17 step process on the doom9 forums for creating true BDMV on DVD5/9 red laser media that supposedly works, but you need $cenarist.

Using TSRemux to author BDMV compliant HDV mpeg2 inside an AVCHD wrapper works on the PS3, but not on most other BD players. It worked in one standalone for me, the Sony BDP-S300 yes, but not the newer BDP-S500 or the Panasonic BD30.

Conclusion: Authoring HD DVD is dead man walking. Authoring mini Blu-Ray may never move beyond BETA because Sony would like you to buy the BD writers and media.

Just my $0.02

<<If the A3 is so limited as described, that would be yet another disappointment to point to with Toshiba's handling of the format. The A1 digested everything, the A2 needed the +R booktype bitsetting fix, and the A3 stutters on HDV 11 minutes in? Have you tried it with a +R disk with booktype set to physical media type?>>

Thanks for the ideas - will surely give this a try. Are there any other settings out of the ordinary that I should know about??

Wish I had somewhere to go to try playing one of these on a non-A3.

I'm only getting around 16 minutes or so on a single layer disc. Is that about the max that I can expect?

Jerry

I'm only getting around 16 minutes or so on a single layer disc. Is that about the max that I can expect?

Jerry

At 25 mbps you should expect 21-22 minutes on a single layer dvd disk if there are no menus/extras.

No - even retail HD DVDs (and Blu-ray) use bit rates as low as 12 mbps.

In fact, 13mbps is ideal for home use - e.g. the Sony and Panasonic 1920x1080p video cameras all record at 13 mbps constant bit rate (AVCHD).

So using variable bit rates should mean you lose no quality at all for an average bit rate of around 10 mbps. That lets you fit more than 2 hours of 1920x1080p video onto a DVD-9 disc.

Those bit rates work OK with and advanced codec like VC-1 or H-264, but if you are using mpeg2 I would keep the bit rate at 12-15 mbps if you do not want to lose much quality. I have downloaded some samples of H-264 running at 10 mbps and they look outstanding, I just have not yet found a way to put H-264 on a home authored HD-DVD, still trying.

Mike T

It won't encode avc at less than 15mb/s. In some cases my source MPEG2 is less than that. In other words, it won't let me record useful amounts of video.
At 15mbps, what kind of time are you looking at for a DL DVD? I've heard quotes of around an hour, and then 30 minutes for a DVD-5.

Surely someone can hex-edit Nero to allow a 10 mbps minimum?!
I've been looking around on Google, seeing if there is such a hack. You'd think there would be, but I haven't come across anything yet.

Still debating what to do. I've found Nero 8 Ultra for a pretty cheap price, but not sure about the whole time/bitrate issue. I guess that most movies are going to have to go across two DL DVDs anyway, even if you did drop the bitrate to 10 or 12mpbs, so being forced to do it at 15mpbs isn't *that* bad.

With HD DVD just about dead, I just really want a solution that doesn't require 13 different programs, 4 patches and hundreds of dollars, you know? Sounds like Nero 8 with the HD DVD plug in could be the solution.

I just did a test with latest ImgBurn. Here are the steps:
- created HD DVD directory with MF6+
- run ImgBurn and selected the option to burn a folder
- selected the HD DVD folder to burn
- ImgBurn say that it looks like a HD DVD folder, that if I wanted to change settings to the right UDF, clicked yes
- clic the option to start burning

The final disc played without problems in my A2. You can change the title for the disc (UDF title) and there is option to include creating date, and some other text strings that will identify your disc when is read in a computer.

Pros:
- less hard drive space needed. MF6+ to output the ISO to disc it needs a temp folder to create the EVOs, and other files then read this information and create the ISO, so for a 7GB project it needs 14GB for creating the ISO but only 7GB if creating the HD DVD folder.
- less time needed. By just creating the HD DVD folder you don't need the temp folder, MF6+ will output directly to this directory and will not take time creating the ISO file (few minutes depending in your hard disk speed)

Cons:
- no con yet, but I'll keep testing for compatibility.

I just did a test with latest ImgBurn. Here are the steps:
- created HD DVD directory with MF6+
- run ImgBurn and selected the option to burn a folder
- selected the HD DVD folder to burn
- ImgBurn say that it looks like a HD DVD folder, that if I wanted to change settings to the right UDF, clicked yes
- clic the option to start burning

The final disc played without problems in my A2. You can change the title for the disc (UDF title) and there is option to include creating date, and some other text strings that will identify your disc when is read in a computer.

Pros:
- less hard drive space needed. MF6+ to output the ISO to disc it needs a temp folder to create the EVOs, and other files then read this information and create the ISO, so for a 7GB project it needs 14GB for creating the ISO but only 7GB if creating the HD DVD folder.
- less time needed. By just creating the HD DVD folder you don't need the temp folder, MF6+ will output directly to this directory and will not take time creating the ISO file (few minutes depending in your hard disk speed)

Cons:
- no con yet, but I'll keep testing for compatibility.

I don't understand this. Why not just let MF6+ create the HD-DVD directory and use Nero to burn it like the guide suggests? It's the same result as what you're describing.

I don't understand this. Why not just let MF6+ create the HD-DVD directory and use Nero to burn it like the guide suggests? It's the same result as what you're describing.
I don't want to buy Nero just to burn. It's another option.

And it looks good that the ChangeLog for ImgBurn show:
# Added: Support for correct sorting of IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.
# Added: Support for ECC block (64k) padding between IFO/BUP files in the HD DVD Video 'HVDVD_TS' folder.

Maybe Nero and even MF6+ ISO do this, but I don't know.

If the A3 is so limited as described, that would be yet another disappointment to point to with Toshiba's handling of the format. The A1 digested everything, the A2 needed the +R booktype bitsetting fix, and the A3 stutters on HDV 11 minutes in? Have you tried it with a +R disk with booktype set to physical media type?
Just my $0.02

Tom, I've used both +R and -R media and they produce the same results. I made sure to use the booktype bitsetting fix on the +R media. The A30 I tried them on also behaved the same way. I never got to try them on an A35. The A20 played the discs (both +R & -R) flawlessly from start to finish.

btw, Tom, many thanks to you and Brajesh for putting that initial guide together on the Blu-Ray movie burning experience thread.

Today I authored 480p60 video (avg bitrate 10mbps, max 15mbps) to DVD with DVDAuthorGUI, and it played on my A30. The other day, 1080i video kind of worked (stuttery). The A30, at least, is capable of playing nonstandard DVDs. This may open the door to a free way of authoring (sort of) HD DVDs. I'll try 720p when I have time.

I just did a test with latest ImgBurn. Here are the steps:
- created HD DVD directory with MF6+
- run ImgBurn and selected the option to burn a folder
- selected the HD DVD folder to burn
- ImgBurn say that it looks like a HD DVD folder, that if I wanted to change settings to the right UDF, clicked yes
- clic the option to start burning

The final disc played without problems in my A2. You can change the title for the disc (UDF title) and there is option to include creating date, and some other text strings that will identify your disc when is read in a computer.

Pros:
- less hard drive space needed. MF6+ to output the ISO to disc it needs a temp folder to create the EVOs, and other files then read this information and create the ISO, so for a 7GB project it needs 14GB for creating the ISO but only 7GB if creating the HD DVD folder.
- less time needed. By just creating the HD DVD folder you don't need the temp folder, MF6+ will output directly to this directory and will not take time creating the ISO file (few minutes depending in your hard disk speed)

Cons:
- no con yet, but I'll keep testing for compatibility.

If only it was this easy! I tried the exact same work flow and I get stutters on my A2.

I tried Nero with Physical Booktype and I get stutters. I've tried every concievable booktype and + disk and I get stutters.

Only +RW media avoids stutters. I cannot get +R DL to not stutter.

i just had a question for those who have managed to successfully put hd-dvd movies (actual films not home videos) on 3xdvd's >> Now all of the movies (that i've seen) are not in their native 1920 x 1080p resolution they are in 1920 x 800p ! and as you know ulead movie factory will only accept 1440x1080,1920x1080 and 1280x720 (patched)... so what do you guys do ?? do you convert it to hdv ( 1440x1080 ) or do you convert it to full hd ( 1920 x 1080 ) ??? i was thinking maybe going down the hdv route ( 1440x1080 ) ??? what do you guys do ???

regards Marty.

bump, any thoughts ?

i was just crunching some numbers with regards to using actual HD DVD-R blanks and using a HD DVD burner such as the Toshiba Sd-H903A HD-DVD burner.

Using standard mpeg2 HDV @ 25MB/s ( raw from what come from your tape based hdv cams untouched ) when put onto ur pc you could get :

With a 15gb single layer disk :
approx 75mins (1 & 1/4 hours)

with a 30gb dual layer disk :
approx 154mins ( 2 & 1/2 hours )

but i'm sure if one does get aburner it might come packaged with a vc-1 or AVC codec you could get more footage onto the disks.

just my 2c worth, i'd love to have a hd-dvd burner but there arnt any avaliable for sale.. a beer if some1 can point me in the direction of where to buy that tosh burner by itself and now bundled with a PC.

regards Marty.

bump, any thoughts ?

I've burn TV programing, onto 3x DVD. I have not burned a movie yet due to compression issues that I have complained about in multiple posts.

1080x1920 is not a problem. In fact, it is the default.

My software only allows 1080x1920 or 1080x1440. I wish I had the option to burn 720p as this is the native resolution of many of my recordings.

At this point, if I don't find a recording solution soon, I am probably going to watch my HD DVD's a few times and then disconnect the HD DVD player. I would get more use out of a media server.

I'm kicking myself because I didn't want to spend $300-400 on a media server and instead spent $200 on a HD DVD player.

Live and learn.

My software only allows 1080x1920 or 1080x1440. I wish I had the option to burn 720p as this is the native resolution of many of my recordings.
MF6+ can take 720p mpeg2 recordings and output the HD DVD folder and ISO file to burn.

i just had a question for those who have managed to successfully put hd-dvd movies (actual films not home videos) on 3xdvd's >> Now all of the movies (that i've seen) are not in their native 1920 x 1080p resolution they are in 1920 x 800p ! and as you know ulead movie factory will only accept 1440x1080,1920x1080 and 1280x720 (patched)... so what do you guys do ?? do you convert it to hdv ( 1440x1080 ) or do you convert it to full hd ( 1920 x 1080 ) ??? i was thinking maybe going down the hdv route ( 1440x1080 ) ??? what do you guys do ???

regards Marty.
1920x800 is an anamorphic 2.4:1 resolution. AFAIK the resolution is not valid for HD DVD (not even Blu-ray). What they do is encode with black bars in top and bottom to fill the 1080 resolution, so you will need to do this, because if you don't your video will not be in the correct aspect ratio. Is sad that such an advance products like HD DVD and Blu-ray didn't allow custom resolution where the black bars were produced by the player (just like any cheap Divx/Xvid player) instead the need to encode it to the image. I don't think is hard to do it but it wasn't included in the specs.

MF6+ can take 720p mpeg2 recordings and output the HD DVD folder and ISO file to burn.

Nero does not and I'm not investing any more money in this venture.

I've no idea what it means, but Snapstream's BeyondTV allows you to 'squeeze' MPG shows to a MP4 container (h.264) using AVC profiles for HD DVD, Blu-Ray HD, and AVCHD. It lets you set the bitrate, so I was able to take a 2.5 hour recording of a football game and get a file that would fit on a DL DVD+R disk. The encoding took about 8 hours on my core2 6700.

I've no idea what to use to create a HD DVD disk however. Would the new Nero do it?

I have successfully created a (pretty much) fully functional non-standard 1080p24 3XDVD using free software. It plays on my A30 with occasional stuttering, I think the stuttering can be eliminated by lowering the max bit rate. Here's how I did it:

1. Encoded HV20-sourced IVTC'd 24p 1440x1080 video in HCEnc using the following settings:
*INFILE k:\hdv\proc3\batch_file_0.avs
*OUTFILE K:\HDV\proc3\ACAMeeting_1080p.m2v
*BITRATE 20000
*MAXBITRATE 23000
*FRAMES 0 13992
*PROFILE best
*AUTOGOP 12
*DC_PREC 10
*PROGRESSIVE
*PULLDOWN
*MATRIX mpeg
*COLOUR 1

2. Encoded AC3 file with BeLight at 384 kbps.

3. Muxed the video and audio into a MPEG2 program stream with Avidemux 2.4 preview 2.

4. Authored a DVD with DVDAuthorGUI using the muxed file.

5. Burned DVD folders to DVD with ImgBurn.

6. Play.

The advantage of this method is that it will be playable in at least some software DVD players on computers with standard DVD drives. Another advantage: I haven't tested it yet, but I suspect you could have both a SD and a HD title on the same disc, allowing playback in SD DVD players.

I haven't tested it with standalones other than the A30, I would appreciate if others could test this method with other players.

ADDITION: Obviously, this is a sub-optimal method for creating HD DVDs. However, I believe it to be the only free method demonstrated so far. What we really need (or at least I really want) are free tools for creating true 3XDVDs/HD DVDs, complete with next-gen codecs. It may ultimately be a foolish endeavor, but then again, why shouldn't we adopt this all-but-completely-abandoned format as our own? I hold out the hope that perhaps the HD DVD standard will be opened to the masses, giving the amateurs and independents a format to call their own.

Nero does not and I'm not investing any more money in this venture.

I know you feel like you're getting burned (no pun intended), but honestly MF6+ is a great program and I've had no problems with stuttering on all the discs I've made.

@JPhillips89, I'm sorry but I don't understand your post, I read that your source is 1440x1080 and you encode VBR 20mbit with MAX 23mbit, then you use DVDAuthorGUI to create and burn with ImgBurn. Can you please tell me:
- the final resolution is 720x480 at 20-23mbit or other resolution?
- your video files are VOB files and not EVO files right?

@JPhillips89, I'm sorry but I don't understand your post, I read that your source is 1440x1080 and you encode VBR 20mbit with MAX 23mbit, then you use DVDAuthorGUI to create and burn with ImgBurn. Can you please tell me:
- the final resolution is 720x480 at 20-23mbit or other resolution?
The final resolution is 1440x1080 at 20-23mbit. Although this does not conform to DVD specs, it still plays in a HD DVD player, at full resolution. The HD DVD player apparently ignores the resolution information in the .ifo file, using the resolution given in the video header instead.
- your video files are VOB files and not EVO files right?
This is correct. However, the video still plays in my A30.

Basically, this procedure creates some kind of wacky DVD/HD DVD hybrid which somehow manages to actually work in a HD DVD player.

Here is JPhilips89's method, but in an easier to follow tutorial:
http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/02/19/creating-an-hd-disc-in-plain-dvds-for-free/

I know you feel like you're getting burned (no pun intended), but honestly MF6+ is a great program and I've had no problems with stuttering on all the discs I've made.

Will it let me create AVC discs? I bought the Nero because I thought the MF6+ only made MPEG2 discs.

@JPhillips89, thanks for the information.

@bugmenot55, thanks for the link, too bad this method doesn't work in PS3 or other Blu-ray players, I hoped that I can start doing this method and future proof my work.

Indeed, this process is not for everybody. But I like it because:
1. I invented (or at least discovered) it. A little bit of pride never seriously injured anyone. :P
2. I won't be buying a Blu-Ray player in the foreseeable future, but I will be keeping my HD DVD player for a long time.
3. It's free, and I'm cheap/poorish!
4. It may give helpful information for nuts like me who still want to develop homebrew stuff for a dead format (surely there must be at least one other one).
5. I think I had another reason or two, but I can't recall them at the moment. I assure you, they are most likely very good reasons! Maybe.

Ok, I'm done with this post.

I just created my first Twin 3xDVD Disc, the process is easy:
- create a DVD folder (with AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders)
- create a HD DVD folder (with ADV_OBJ and HDDVD_TS folders)
- move ADV_OBJ and HDDVD_TS to the DVD Folder
- fire ImgBurn 2.4.0.0 and select Folder to Disc icon
- select the DVD folder (with 4 folders inside)
- burn it (ImgBurn will say that it found HDDVD_TS folder and if you want to switch to UDF 2.5, just press No, then ask again, press No again)

the final DVD will play the normal DVD files in a DVD player and play HD DVD content in my Toshiba A2, the only "problem" is that is not a real Twin disc, I changed the option in the A2 menu (Twin option to DVD) and still played the HD DVD content.

@JPhillips89, I think you can do something like this with your method, just create separate VTS_.VOB files for normal DVD content (like VTS_01_x.VOB) and HD DVD content (VTS_02_x.VOB) and create a menu that indicate which is normal DVD and which is HD DVD, if you want to try it. You will have an advantage that the HD DVD player will be able to play normal DVD and HD DVD from the menu.

I'll definitely be trying that when I get the chance. Though someone else might beat me to it...

Well folks...after burning through over 30 DVD +R Dl disks without a single disk not stuttering I gave up on DL media. On top of all this...the newest PS3 update now shows my regular old Mpeg-2 PS files as being corrupt. Wonderful.

SO I decided to try one more avenue to get my 1 hr TV programs on a single disk. I needed to get my 5-6 gig files shrunk. I used MF6+ to give me a regular DVD...but man I can't watch 480i anymore.

So I give Super Mpeg Transcoder a shot. I was not expecting much. I hate quality loss....even on my 42" plasma, On my theater screen...intolerable.

I shrunk down a file using 85% and another using 80%, Used MF6+ to give me a HD DVD folder on a standard DVD+RW. I am really, really impressed by the outcome. On my plasma..85% is visually transparent to the original. I know Mpeg compression artifacts when I see them.. and this little program is amazing in producing an incredible result.
The 80% compression is nearly equivalent to the uncompressed file. I gotta really look for evidence of compression. Now I am using very high bit (18-19) OTA files so that aids in producing a pleasing result. It is far far superior to standard DVD...and it is 5.1.

Anyway...I suggest Super Mpeg Transcoder to anyone having the same issues I did with DL disks.

My HD DVD players will be in full use for years and years!

Star56-
At 85% of a 19 Mbps clip you're still above 16Mbps, which is OK for most shows. Anything below that will start to give a lot of artifacts. Unfortunately, on my 100" screen even 16Mbps is too low for sports and any transcoding will ruin the PQ. Most network broadcasts of sporting events are filled with artifacts.

So instead of transcoding, I've usually been splitting shows across disks. However, Super MPEG Transcoder sounds good for those recordings where I only need to trim a few minutes of video to make it fit on a disk.

I suggest Super Mpeg Transcoder to anyone having the same issues I did with DL disks.I tried Super MPEG2 Transcoder last week and after a couple days the trial stopped working, and wouldn't re-install!!!??? Regardless, I'd been so impressed with the speed & the quality of the output that I popped for it at $35. Will use it on every "1 hour" HD TV show that doesn't quite fit a DVD5.

I remain surprised that there's no easy freeware counterpart to SM2T, but can highly recommend it. The only criticism I can make is that you have to enter the size you want; you can't just check a DVD5 or DVD9 box.

Star56-
At 85% of a 19 Mbps clip you're still above 16Mbps, which is OK for most shows. Anything below that will start to give a lot of artifacts. Unfortunately, on my 100" screen even 16Mbps is too low for sports and any transcoding will ruin the PQ. Most network broadcasts of sporting events are filled with artifacts.

So instead of transcoding, I've usually been splitting shows across disks. However, Super MPEG Transcoder sounds good for those recordings where I only need to trim a few minutes of video to make it fit on a disk.

I hear ya. On my big screen compression doesn't work for me. I watch most of my episodic TV on the smaller plasma.

For my HD CBS golf I either use DVHS or split disks.

I made a basic 2xDVD (that's what I decided to call it, since it doesn't seem to be able to handle much higher than that) testing various HD resolutions. It'd be great if people could test this in their HD DVD players to make sure it works across the board. Here's the RARed ISO file: http://um3k.justinphillips.googlepages.com/2XDVDResTest.rar
Don't be fooled by the small RAR, the ISO file is over 800MB. The wonders of data compression at work!

I made a basic 2xDVD (that's what I decided to call it, since it doesn't seem to be able to handle much higher than that) testing various HD resolutions. It'd be great if people could test this in their HD DVD players to make sure it works across the board. Here's the RARed ISO file: http://um3k.justinphillips.googlepages.com/2XDVDResTest.rar
Don't be fooled by the small RAR, the ISO file is over 800MB. The wonders of data compression at work!

Since it is 800MB, I'll burn it to a single layer DVD and have a go at it in a little bit and let you know what happens. FYI, I have an HD-A3 player in case that matters.

I am looking at what I might need to start making my own HD on DVD to maybe start archiving TV shows and the like that I record from OTA so it would be nice to know what works and what doesn't.

I use the original MF5 that will create an ISO file and I've never had any stuttering issues on any media that is up to snuff, you need 6x media single or dual layer.

I was able to create a DVD with HD content with DVDlab Standard. That product give option for 2 compile engines, one is DVD compliant and the other is a relaxed muxer. I selected the relaxed muxer and was able to put 1440x1080 mpge2 files into a DVD with menus and all. The Toshiba A2 display DVD and not HD DVD in the display but play the video OK in my test.

I think DVDlab Studio and DVDlab PRO don't have that option.

Thanks, bato. Good to know about yet another tool capable of this process. What bitrate was the video, if you don't mind my asking?

Thanks, bato. Good to know about yet another tool capable of this process. What bitrate was the video, if you don't mind my asking?
The file was a 14mbit mpeg2.

I was wondering if there are any advanced compression techniques for the HD video without sacraficing too much PQ loss. I would like to fit more than 20-25 mins on a regular DVD.

I was wondering if there are any advanced compression techniques for the HD video without sacraficing too much PQ loss. I would like to fit more than 20-25 mins on a regular DVD.

Super Mpeg Transcoder does a nice job of compressing HD files with minimal PQ hit. You can set the amount of compression.

I was wondering if there are any advanced compression techniques for the HD video without sacraficing too much PQ loss. I would like to fit more than 20-25 mins on a regular DVD.

i just did a bluray version of Invasion 1h40min to a dvd9 disc which turned out nice looking on my A3:

http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_1_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_1_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_2_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_2_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_3_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_3_dvd9.png)
http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_4_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_4_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_5_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_5_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_6_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_6_dvd9.png)

helpy guys i finally got my hd-dvd player 'ep-10' and its not playing any of my home made hd-dvds it played store baught hd-dvd's no problem, but when i put the home made hd-dvd in, the player says 'hddvd' then a box comes on the tv and says "this is not a dvd format. cannot play disk." has any1 has this problem ??? how did you solve it ? i tried using nero and roxio 8 for burnig, but same thing. BTW i'm still on the original firmware that came with the ep-10, does it require an firmware upgrade to play there home made hddvds ???

helpy guys i finally got my hd-dvd player 'ep-10' and its not playing any of my home made hd-dvds it played store baught hd-dvd's no problem, but when i put the home made hd-dvd in, the player says 'hddvd' then a box comes on the tv and says "this is not a dvd format. cannot play disk." has any1 has this problem ??? how did you solve it ? i tried using nero and roxio 8 for burnig, but same thing. BTW i'm still on the original firmware that came with the ep-10, does it require an firmware upgrade to play there home made hddvds ???

need more info, what settings did you use in nero? xbox compat ??

how did you author your home made discs???

need more info, what settings did you use in nero? xbox compat ??

how did you author your home made discs???

using the raw files caputred from my camera (canon hv20) using hdvsplit i put them into video redo and exported them to .mpg then used the .mpg in unlead 5 ( used 1440 setting ) and made a hddvd folder, then burnt with nero in udf,no multisession, xbex mode enabled and burned, i evan tried dvd+R and used 'physical type'.

any thoughts if i need a firmware upgrade, or just me missing something ?

using the raw files caputred from my camera (canon hv20) using hdvsplit i put them into video redo and exported them to .mpg then used the .mpg in unlead 5 ( used 1440 setting ) and made a hddvd folder, then burnt with nero in udf,no multisession, xbex mode enabled and burned, i evan tried dvd+R and used 'physical type'.

any thoughts if i need a firmware upgrade, or just me missing something ?

what make are your discs? this type of error can come from a bad burn. try using a slower burn speed. i use 2.4x with the verbatim +RDL discs i use even tho they will do 6x. the format you use isnt how i author to hddvd spec so i cant really help other than that..

what make are your discs? this type of error can come from a bad burn. try using a slower burn speed. i use 2.4x with the verbatim +RDL discs i use even tho they will do 6x. the format you use isnt how i author to hddvd spec so i cant really help other than that..

what format do you use ?? any1 else have thoughts on my problem, its really annoying me.

i tried burning at 2.3x ( lowest setting ) and it made no difference.... help please.

Files produced from the HV20, after being packaged as mpeg-2 PS files...should NOT be converted by Movie Factory (the audio will be converted). Stay away from any transitions and you should get output exactly the same as input.

I use this work flow all the time for my HV20 files

Files produced from the HV20, after being packaged as mpeg-2 PS files...should NOT be converted by Movie Factory (the audio will be converted). Stay away from any transitions and you should get output exactly the same as input.

I use this work flow all the time for my HV20 files

the files arnt converted at all, it burned the hd-dvd folder without re-encoding. it just raw footage, no editing has been done... whats your work flow with it. does any one have an ep-10 and are able to use home made hd-dvd's ???

Here is a new tutorial that takes care of authoring AVCHD discs for Blu-Ray players on plain DVDs:
http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/02/23/create-blu-ray-video-in-plain-dvds-for-free/

According to the article: "The funny thing is that 80% of both these methods are identical for both HD architectures: from the moment you have completed step #7 (which takes care of the mutual mpeg2 encoding), creating a Blu-Ray and an HD-DVD should take 10 minutes for each from that point on, it’s that fast!"

So we might never get a system where a single disc works for both architectures, but I guess this is the fastest way we might achieve this.

i just did a bluray version of Invasion 1h40min to a dvd9 disc which turned out nice looking on my A3

That sounds great! Would you mind explaining how you compressed the video that much?

Here is a new tutorial that takes care of authoring AVCHD discs for Blu-Ray players on plain DVDs:
http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/02/23/create-blu-ray-video-in-plain-dvds-for-free/
My 'AVCHD' do you mean it lets you use MPEG-4 source files - or does it simply involve converting them to MPEG-2?

hi guys i finally got HD on dvd but i had to use this method :

http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/02/19/creating-an-hd-disc-in-plain-dvds-for-free/#comment-6011

regards Marty.

hi guys i finally got HD on dvd but i had to use this method :

http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2008/02/19/creating-an-hd-disc-in-plain-dvds-for-free/#comment-6011

regards Marty.

Interesting.

I am finally able to get DVD+R DL disks to hold HD DVD folders without skipping on my A2. I picked up a $59 LG external burner at Circuit City. Use Nero to change the booktype.....bingo no more skips.

I can now easily fit an hour show on a single disk without compression.

I must have burned through 18+ disks before trying the LG. None of the other burners would give me skipless output.

What a hobby.....:eek:

All,
Not sure if this has been covered, as I couldn't find the specifics, but here's my situation:

Sometime this week, I'm going to be receiving a HD DVD from Japan. The movie on the disc contains a 5.1 TrueHD Japanese track, and no English subtitles.

I want to copy the HD DVD to my HTPC (this can be done with AnyDVD HD, right?)

Then, I have two options:
A) Convert to .MKV retaining the PQ and AQ so it can be played in VLC Media Player. This is so I can play the file using external English subtitles that I've already downloaded.

B) Re-author HD DVD (files on HTPC) to include the external English subtitles that I've already downloaded, so it can be played in PowerDVD Ultra.

So, my questions are:
1. Is there a step-by-step guide to go from
....a) HD DVD -> MKV (with 0% loss in quality)
....b) HD DVD -> Re-authored HD DVD with new Subtitles
2. Can VLC Media Player play files with 5.1 TrueHD Audio? If not, how do I convert from TrueHD to PCM?
3. Can PowerDVD Ultra play HD DVD files directly from my hard drive, as opposed to a real HD DVD disc?
4. What else am I missing?


I definitely have the time and the patience to make this work. I just never really thought out exactly how to execute this project before ordering the disc from Japan. :)

hey guys i got my hd-dvd's to work ( needed a firmware update on my toshy player ) but the weirdest thing happened... i got ulead video studio 11 ( wich can burn straight to stand dvd5 and dvd9 disks without nero or other dvd buring software ) but wheni add a video from video redo ( *.mpg program stream ) it sais 'this may take some time to render' and starts to convert title ect... and has to do it every time... ok so i thought i would just re-install ulead movie factory 5 and do it that way... but the same thing it sais 'this may take some time to render'..... now the disks that come out do work.. there not a problem there, but i dont like the fact of it being re-encoded lossing quality ( mainly the fact of waiting for the re-encoding to finish ) before it will burn... anyone else had this ????

regards Marty.

hey guys i got my hd-dvd's to work ( needed a firmware update on my toshy player ) but the weirdest thing happened... i got ulead video studio 11 ( wich can burn straight to stand dvd5 and dvd9 disks without nero or other dvd buring software ) but wheni add a video from video redo ( *.mpg program stream ) it sais 'this may take some time to render' and starts to convert title ect... and has to do it every time... ok so i thought i would just re-install ulead movie factory 5 and do it that way... but the same thing it sais 'this may take some time to render'..... now the disks that come out do work.. there not a problem there, but i dont like the fact of it being re-encoded lossing quality ( mainly the fact of waiting for the re-encoding to finish ) before it will burn... anyone else had this ????

regards Marty.

There's something about your MPG program streams that Ulead feels the need to convert them. It could be anything, from them being 1088i instead of 1080i, or 720p. You may simply need to use HDPatch to patch the mpg file in order to 'fool' ulead into not re-encoding them.

Also, in Ulead, make sure "do not convert compliant streams" is checked.

This is all explained in the guide on the first page of this thread.

africanmarty,

Your .MPG files may not be a standard resolution that Ulead likes, and if they are not Ulead will re-encode them. My local CBS and NBC stations data streams report 1088i, and I have to patch their files to 1080i so I don't get re-encodes.

is there any type of avc/vc1 encoder that does not take a huge amount of time?

hey guys i got my hd-dvd's to work ( needed a firmware update on my toshy player ) but the weirdest thing happened... i got ulead video studio 11 ( wich can burn straight to stand dvd5 and dvd9 disks without nero or other dvd buring software ) but wheni add a video from video redo ( *.mpg program stream ) it sais 'this may take some time to render' and starts to convert title ect... and has to do it every time... ok so i thought i would just re-install ulead movie factory 5 and do it that way... but the same thing it sais 'this may take some time to render'..... now the disks that come out do work.. there not a problem there, but i dont like the fact of it being re-encoded lossing quality ( mainly the fact of waiting for the re-encoding to finish ) before it will burn... anyone else had this ????

regards Marty.
You can check the header for your mpeg file with HDPatch, and you can change the header so Ulead or another program will not try to transcode the video. I had a problem recently where I accidently encoded a file with a 1:1 aspect ratio instead of 16:9 and I changed it with HDPatch. Ulead accepted the video without any problems.

I found a way to use ffmpeg through command prompts with an avisynth script to transcode mkv and mpeg-4 files with non-compliant resolutions (like 1920x816) to mpeg-2 files with compliant resolutions with almost no loss in quality, at a faster speed than any GUI-based encoder. I've authored a few of these to HD-DVD on DVD-9's with great success. I'll try to post soon a how-to method.

You can check the header for your mpeg file with HDPatch, and you can change the header so Ulead or another program will not try to transcode the video. I had a problem recently where I accidently encoded a file with a 1:1 aspect ratio instead of 16:9 and I changed it with HDPatch. Ulead accepted the video without any problems.

I found a way to use ffmpeg through command prompts with an avisynth script to transcode mkv and mpeg-4 files with non-compliant resolutions (like 1920x816) to mpeg-2 files with compliant resolutions with almost no loss in quality, at a faster speed than any GUI-based encoder. I've authored a few of these to HD-DVD on DVD-9's with great success. I'll try to post soon a how-to method.

hey guys i did a test and both still say this will take a long time to render... but in ver 5 once i click ok its does it right away.. no conversion, same file un ver 11 and it wants to convert it... so i'll stick with ver5. i just clicked the 'do not show this dialog again' and now it doesnt say it and it burns the folder right away :) not sure why ver 11 still wants to convert but at least my prob is solved.

and yes please ost a tutorial on your mkv transcode it would be good.. as my TMPGnc4 takes along time to convert to *.mpg on a AMD dual core 6000+ (3.0ghz). so it would be helpful.
thanks to all for your help.

After reading all of these posts in this thread I think I have the ultimate solution (for television programs only):

VHS tape. Two hours plus on a single tape and you can re-use them. Works every time.

How cool is that?

John

After reading all of these posts in this thread I think I have the ultimate solution (for television programs only):

VHS tape. Two hours plus on a single tape and you can re-use them. Works every time.

How cool is that?

John
Thanks but I don't want to re-use them, and for single use this solution is expensive, I see BestBuy selling Sony brand at more than $2 each :eek:

And the other thing is that my A2 can't play VHS

After reading all of these posts in this thread I think I have the ultimate solution (for television programs only):

VHS tape. Two hours plus on a single tape and you can re-use them. Works every time.

How cool is that?

John

I hope you're joking. VHS can't store HD content. :)

i just did a bluray version of Invasion 1h40min to a dvd9 disc which turned out nice looking on my A3:

http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_1_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_1_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_2_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_2_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_3_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_3_dvd9.png)
http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_4_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_4_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_5_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_5_dvd9.png)http://www.cif-forums.com/png/small/invasion_6_dvd9.png (http://www.cif-forums.com/png/invasion_6_dvd9.png)

am i missing something is this a blu ray to dvd or is it Blu ray to Hd dvd

am i missing something is this a blu ray to dvd or is it Blu ray to Hd dvd
I think he took the Blu-ray movie, then re-encode to lower bitrate to make it fit in a DVD9 disc and authored as HD DVD.

I think he took the Blu-ray movie, then re-encode to lower bitrate to make it fit in a DVD9 disc and authored as HD DVD.


First is there a guide on how to re-encode the Blu-Ray to HD DVD that i missed:confused: and
is there a way to split the movie to put on 2 DVD9's

First is there a guide on how to re-encode the Blu-Ray to HD DVD that i missed:confused: and
is there a way to split the movie to put on 2 DVD9's
You can read bubbarayhick posts in this thread. This (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13048858&postcount=2539), this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049222&postcount=2543) and this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049411&postcount=2546) to start.

You can read bubbarayhick posts in this thread. This (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13048858&postcount=2539), this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049222&postcount=2543) and this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049411&postcount=2546) to start.

Thanks for the links, looks like alot to learn i will give it a try

You can read bubbarayhick posts in this thread. This (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13048858&postcount=2539), this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049222&postcount=2543) and this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=13049411&postcount=2546) to start.

I was wondering how you use the x264 cmd line. Do you replace parts of it with the video file you're using?

After reading all of these posts in this thread I think I have the ultimate solution (for television programs only):

VHS tape. Two hours plus on a single tape and you can re-use them. Works every time.

How cool is that?

John

Well, I've about given up on authoring my own 3x DVD's software is expensivie, the work is time intensive and I still haven't been able to put as many minutes as I wanted onto a DVD.

So I cheated. I bought a media player and a terrabyte HD this week. I just dumped all of my recordings onto it. I didn't even edit out the commercials, I just use the jump ahead button.

I would still like to figure out how to create the 3x discs the way I want them but my life just got much simpler.

Ok i found a way to convert Blu Ray to HD DVD, i dont know if its been done like this before but here it goes.
First i ripped the Blu Ray movie to hdd ( cars) i then used tsremux to convert the main stream (movie only) 26 gigs to a .ts folder. i then used TSSplitter to break the movie into pieces of the sizes of a dvd5s or dvd9s disks, than i had the movie split to fit on the disks, than i opened DVD Movie Factory 6+ added the file and let the program create the HD DVD disk which is playing back in my HD A1 perfectly , now i did not mess with the settings to much because i just wanted to see if this would work I am running it at 25mbs with no compression at 1920x1080 mpeg 2 so changing the settings could get the movie to fit on less disks i assume. so at this point it took me about an hour to convert each dvd5 disk so the whole movie would take about 5hrs not including the rip, im using a Pent D 940 running at 3.4 ghz so a newer dual or quad core could cut these times atleast in half now i know this is not perfect but it does work :)

OK guys, as promised here is my guide to making a compliant resolution mpeg2 file using ffmpeg from a non-compliant resolution mkv file. I found out how to do this by searching through many posts on the subject, so I do not take credit for the methods involved. There may even be better ways using the tools involved, but this is what has worked for me. I do not know how to add subtitles or chapter stops into the resulting file, maybe somebody can add a comment on that later. :)

You will need the various tools:

1. Make sure you have the latest Matroska Pack installed.
2. You will need to have WinFF and Avisynth installed.
3. DGPulldown
4. A program that can demux and remux mpeg2 files

The first thing you need to determine is how much resolution needs to be made up for. 1920x1080 is a valid HD resolution, as is 1440x1080 and 1280x720. If you have a video file that has a resolution of 1920x816, you need to subtract 1080-816 (which would equal 264). You would then divide that number in half (in this case 132), this is going to be the amount of top and bottom borders we will add in avisynth. These numbers are going to come into play in your Avisynth script. Here's a sample script I use:

DirectShowSource("D:\movie.mkv", fps=25.00, audio=false)
AddBorders(0, 132, 0, 132)
LanczosResize(1920,1080)

Copy and paste this script into notepad and save it with a name as an .avs file. You will need to change a few things in your script; name and location of movie, frames per second, and the amount of resolution needed in the AddBorders line.
You can use a program like mkvextract to demux your audio file from the mkv file, we will need this for later.
Open the Command Prompt from the Windows Start Menu, and copy and paste this command line;

"C:\Program Files\WinFF\ffmpeg.exe" -i "D:\file folder\script.avs" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "d:/video.mpg"

The only things you need to alter in this command line are the name of the folder your .avs script is in and the name of the .avs script. After a while (about 7 hours for a 2 hour movie on my 2.66ghz computer) you will have a transcoded mpeg2 file of your source file. If the command line did not work properly, you may not have installed the Matroska Pack correctly. You will need to demux the file (even though there really is no audio present in the file) to a mpeg2 ES stream using a mpeg2 demuxing program.

After you have a mpeg2 ES file (.m2v or equivalent) you will need to perfrom a 3:2 pulldown using DGPulldown. Use the appropiate option given the fps of your file to pulldown to 29.97 fps. After you have obtained a file, you can then remux it using the original audio track from your source mkv file. After that you may have to split the file if you want it to fit on blank DVD's, but you will now have a compliant mpeg2 file ready to be authored on HD-DVD.

Happy transcoding!

I hope you're joking. VHS can't store HD content. :)

Actually I'm not.

Who really cares if you are taping a show you only plan to watch once.
Stupid content in HD is better?

John

Actually I'm not.

Who really cares if you are taping a show you only plan to watch once.
Stupid content in HD is better?

John


VHS is unwatchable under any conditions, watching anything at all. Blurry, nasty, smeared colors...UGH. I find 480i DVD's unwatchable...VHS is an abomination and will never pass my eyeballs again.

Alright...

I have successfully turned my MKV file DIRECTLY into a compliant MPEG2 with 25Mbs VBR

I have every freaking codec on the planet installed, but most inportantly i have CCP taken from here (i had to just ignore the whole commie thing) http://www.cccp-project.net/
After that I was able to make a simple AVIsynth script by just pointing it to my file eg. DirectShowSource("C:\Documents and Settings\Jaret\My Documents\Downloads\Shrek.mkv",fps=23.9850141631509,audio=true)

After That I used QuEnc to load the script and set the paramaters and WHOLA

It spit out a compliant MPEG2 File that MF6+ (also 5+) can just pop in!

Still having trouble getting this converted to MPEG2. installed CCP, Created avisynth script and when loaded to QuEnc 0.72, I click encode and nothing happens.. Am I missing a plugin ?

Actually I'm not.

Who really cares if you are taping a show you only plan to watch once.
Stupid content in HD is better?

John

Who said ANYTHING about "only plan to watch once"?

And let's say, for the sake of argument, you only planned to watch it once...why does that make the content "stupid"?

Good grief...stop imposing your judgements.

Chris

Can anybody please help me with the burning side of things for an EP-30?
I have downloaded the test iso as mentioned earlier in this post and burned to DVD-R with imgburn, this works fine. But how do i burn my own files successfully to work in the EP-30, i have already found out that the EP-30 doesn't like +R DL but does it like -R DL? If not what is the definitive way to burn to single layer -R disks? Thanks.

Cna you tell me what setting you used in TMPGEnc to make this work. For the life of me I can not convert my mkv to mpeg to use MF6+. When every I point to the file it says unknown file in TMPGEnc. I have tried other suggestion to convet but none seem to work for me.

dwisniski,

I am trying to use your method to convert my mkv file to mpeg so I can use it in MF6+. The script is running but I keep getting buffer overflow issue. I am letting it run now but any suggestion you would have would be helpful. Here is what my script looks like. My mkv video source is 1280X720.

I feel like I am so close. By the way after you got the MPEG output did you go directly into MF6+ or did you run it thru TVReDo and followed the steps list at the begining of the forum.

Also what you mean on step 4 do i do this before or after the encode and what program. I tried CCCP and it does not work in Vista.

DirectShowSource("c:\HDDVD\movie.mkv", fps=25.00, audio=false)
AddBorders(0, 88, 0, 88)
LanczosResize(1280,720)

Thanks in advance for all the help.

dwisniski,

I am trying to use your method to convert my mkv file to mpeg so I can use it in MF6+. The script is running but I keep getting buffer overflow issue. I am letting it run now but any suggestion you would have would be helpful. Here is what my script looks like. My mkv video source is 1280X720.

I feel like I am so close. By the way after you got the MPEG output did you go directly into MF6+ or did you run it thru TVReDo and followed the steps list at the begining of the forum.

Also what you mean on step 4 do i do this before or after the encode and what program. I tried CCCP and it does not work in Vista.

DirectShowSource("c:\HDDVD\movie.mkv", fps=25.00, audio=false)
AddBorders(0, 88, 0, 88)
LanczosResize(1280,720)

Thanks in advance for all the help.

I don't worry about the buffer overun, the same thing happens to me but the mpeg-2 file encodes fine with no problems.

I didn't realize CCCP wouldn't install on Vista, I'm still on XP. You can try installing the programs and codecs that come in the package seperately. At the very least you will need Haali Matroska Splitter and a few other programs.

Step 4 is for after encoding, to get the audio track(s) from the mkv file, to remux with your mpeg-2 file. You can also change the last part of the command line I wrote to:

"C:\Program Files\WinFF\ffmpeg.exe" -i "D:\file folder\script.avs" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "d:/video.m2v"

This will give you an elementary mpeg-2 file that can easily be remuxed with an ac3 file (after you apply the pulldown with DGPulldown of course). MF6+ should have no problem with that file.

One last thing, if your source .mkv file is already 1280x720, why are you adding borders in Avisynth to your file? The AddBorders filter is only for when you have an odd resolution file (like 1280 x 528).
You are essentially adding space in an odd resolution file to make it 16:9 aspect ratio. 720 would be our target resolution, 720-528 = 192 horizontal lines to make up for. 192 divided by 2= 96 top and bottom border lines. Your Avisynth script would read;

DirectShowSource("c:\HDDVD\movie.mkv", fps=25.00, audio=false)
AddBorders(0, 96, 0, 96)
LanczosResize(1280,720)

dwisniski,

Thanks for the help. My original file was 1280 X 544. That is how I came out with AddBorders (0,88, 0,88). Did I do something wrong.

I am really confused about the muxing and demuxing of the audio can you point me to a guide or show me how to do this.

Now that you told me the buffer error is no bigge, I should have a movie.mpg. If possible can you tell me the next steps to get somthing to play in my A3 HD-DVD player.

Steps as I know them are:
1) Convert video from mvk to mpeg your instructions--> Done
2) Played the new mpeg but no audio. --> Done
3) Need to learn how to mux and demux. Which program where to do it etc...
4) Need detailed steps on how to use MF6+ without reencoding video.
5) I think I can handle the burning, but never know I have not gotton that far yet.


Some Notes/questions:
- I have a Quad processor and 4 GB or ram but it only uses 30% CPU when encoding, is there a program out there that will use full CPU, I could be done encoding to mpeg sooner.

- I also wanted to ask what this DirectShowSource("c:\HDDVD\movie.mkv", fps=25.00, audio=false) means. How come your fps is at 25.00. I thought 15-19 is sufficiant. Also if I turned audio=true what are the ramification.

- BTW I have always used the K-Lite Codec Mega Pack, which seems to have the Haali Matroska Splitter you speak of.

-Also your instruction are vastly different then nakedeye's way of doing things. Can you explain the differance. They use DirectShowSource("C:\Documents and Settings\Jaret\My Documents\Downloads\Shrek.mkv",fps=23.9850141631509,audio=tr ue) instead.


Your guide is very helpful, but I will try and create a guide once I get the hang of things for the newbee like me.

Thanks again for all your help.

Sorry if I am jumping all over the place, i am excited and can't wait to try this out.

powerplyer,

there are several programs which can remux video and audio streams. If you have TMPGEnc, you can use it in the mpeg tools section to demux and mux you files. If you used the first command line I gave you with the .mpg extension, you will need to demux your file to a .m2v file, which is essentislly a video only mpeg-2 file. If you use the new command line I gave in my last post, that will bypass this step.

You did well with the odd resolution file, but you need to know what the frames per second are for your original file (23.97, 25, 29.97 ?) and use that as the fps (frames per second) in your Avisynth file. If you use audio=true I think it will reencode you audio, though I'm not positive. It will take up a bit more processor time, and since I just remux the original audio it never mattered to me.

I don't know about using more CPU power, you do check out forums for using command lines with ffmpeg on a google search, it may yield some results. MF6+ should have no problem with your resultant mpeg-2 file, it shouldn't try to reencode it if you change the custom settings during your project. Keep me informed...

dwisniski,

very helpful. i will have to reencode.my video is 29.97 fps. i will post again once reencode. have wait a few hours. this time i will use your second command.

dwisniski,

very helpful. i will have to reencode.my video is 29.97 fps. i will post again once reencode. have wait a few hours. this time i will use your second command.

Don't forget, if you're encoding a 720p file you will have to use the HDPatch header trick listed in the beginning of this thread for MF6+ (I think you have to use it for MF6+, I know you have to use it for 5)

thanks I am still waiting for the encoding to finish.

Don't forget, if you're encoding a 720p file you will have to use the HDPatch header trick listed in the beginning of this thread for MF6+ (I think you have to use it for MF6+, I know you have to use it for 5)
MF6+ don't need the patch trick for 720p video, if the video is 59.9 fps the problem is with reported movie length (twice) and chapter points (need to put automatic chapters for 2x the desired time, i.e. every 10min instead of every 5min).