DVD Authoring with MP2 files at DVinfo.net

Jeremiah Rickert · September 9th, 2004, 11:21 PM

I've got about four different DVD authoring programs that I've been playing with. THey are:

Impressions DVD Pro by Pinnacle
Ulead DVD Workshop
Roxio DVD Builder
TMPEG DVD

I have a Pinnacle PRO-ONE RTDV card, so Premiere has the "Pinnacle MP2" option for exporting the video timeline. When I load the resulting video into Pinnacle's own Impressions program, the video is blank, but the audio works.

When I load the mp2 into TMPEG, both audio and video are fine, but the menu creation is very clunky.

When I load the mp2 into Ulead DVD Workshop, the video loads fine, but there doesn't seem to be any way to link the separate .wav file to the video, so I'm out of luck there.

Roxio won't even load an mp2 file. (would merely renaming the thing to .mpg help it out??)

So...can anyone suggest software that has good menu creation AND support for split mp2 and .wav files?

I have the disk space so I might just export the timeline as DV and load the sucker into Roxio, whose motion menu buliding is simple but looks pretty derned good.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremiah

Mark Williams · September 10th, 2004, 05:55 AM

Jeremiah,

Try dvdlab at http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/

I have used the demos of the ones you mentioned as well as Encore. It may just be me but this is the only one that I found to suit my needs, is easy to use but has advanced functions.

Regards,

Mark

Dan Euritt · September 11th, 2004, 04:42 PM

you can't use .wav files in dvd authoring... they must be dolby digital or mpeg2 audio.

so you'll need to encode the .wavs first... there may be a few dvd authoring programs that come with dolby encoders, if not, you can pick up a dolby encoder for ~$35(??)... i've never used it, but the dvdlab pro guys talk about it a lot... besweet is the name?

keep the mpeg2 video and mpeg2/ac3 audio seperate... the dvd authoring package will multiplex 'em together.

check out the dvd menu creation software that's made by the same people that make dvdlab... it works great!

Rob Lohman · September 14th, 2004, 05:09 AM

The reason some of your applications are not accepting your MP2
file is because it is a program stream. It contains BOTH audio *AND*
video. Typically authoring applications worked with elementary
MPEG2 streams (a file that JUST contains audio OR video).

Best thing to do would be to JUST export the video and then make
a seperate audio file in preferrably AC3.

The problem is both in your Pinnacle solution and in the combination
of authoring applications. Sony's DVD Architect can read both
types for example.

There are also tools to split this program stream into seperate
audio and video elementary streams which should load into your
authoring applications. If you need this let me know and I'll do
a search on some of those tools (or look around for MPEG2
de-muxing tools yourself on sites like www.doom9.org)

Jeremiah Rickert · September 14th, 2004, 05:28 PM

I've always had split streams, one just video and one just audio. I even ran the video through TMPEGenc one more time to split out the audio and there wasn't any there. Recently, I've re-encoded the audio as mpeg-1.

DVDlab still comes up with compiling errors, even though the files are elementary streams. I was able to encode with TMPEG DVD Author, but for some reason, the project swells from 4.1 gig to 4.5, and apparently you can't burn anything over 4.4 to a 4.7 gig DVD.

This is why I wanted to stick with screenplays, the process is less technical! But when you don't have any reliable people to help out, you have to do stuff yourself, and here I am!

But I appreciate the help of this (and other) forums...saved my bacon a few times.

Jeremiah

Dan Euritt · September 14th, 2004, 11:20 PM

your biggest problem is really understanding what you have in all those files... it's the same learning curve that we have all had to go thru.

go get this little freebie tool: http://avicodec.duby.info/

it'll tell you just what those files really are... and you'll need to learn how to use windows explorer to view your files in the full detail mode, so that you can see how big that they are... it sounds like you aren't using dolby audio.

Jeremiah Rickert · September 18th, 2004, 11:09 PM

Well, I figured out that exporting using Pinnacle's MP2 was my problem. I instead exported a pinnacle AVI (much less time to export the video than microsoft avi) and then loaded that into TMPGEnc (with some settings I found here:

http://dvd-hq.info/Compression.html

Once I did that, the file not only looked better, but it was actually smaller and I found I could get a lot more on a single disc at a high bitrate.

It *did* take another round of encoding (and the double-pass VBR took some time) but the end result was worth it.

Thanks for the help

Jeremiah

September 9th, 2004, 11:21 PM	#1
Jeremiah Rickert Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newberg, Oregon Posts: 494	DVD Authoring with MP2 files I've got about four different DVD authoring programs that I've been playing with. THey are: Impressions DVD Pro by Pinnacle Ulead DVD Workshop Roxio DVD Builder TMPEG DVD I have a Pinnacle PRO-ONE RTDV card, so Premiere has the "Pinnacle MP2" option for exporting the video timeline. When I load the resulting video into Pinnacle's own Impressions program, the video is blank, but the audio works. When I load the mp2 into TMPEG, both audio and video are fine, but the menu creation is very clunky. When I load the mp2 into Ulead DVD Workshop, the video loads fine, but there doesn't seem to be any way to link the separate .wav file to the video, so I'm out of luck there. Roxio won't even load an mp2 file. (would merely renaming the thing to .mpg help it out??) So...can anyone suggest software that has good menu creation AND support for split mp2 and .wav files? I have the disk space so I might just export the timeline as DV and load the sucker into Roxio, whose motion menu buliding is simple but looks pretty derned good. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jeremiah

September 14th, 2004, 05:09 AM	#4
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	The reason some of your applications are not accepting your MP2 file is because it is a program stream. It contains BOTH audio AND video. Typically authoring applications worked with elementary MPEG2 streams (a file that JUST contains audio OR video). Best thing to do would be to JUST export the video and then make a seperate audio file in preferrably AC3. The problem is both in your Pinnacle solution and in the combination of authoring applications. Sony's DVD Architect can read both types for example. There are also tools to split this program stream into seperate audio and video elementary streams which should load into your authoring applications. If you need this let me know and I'll do a search on some of those tools (or look around for MPEG2 de-muxing tools yourself on sites like www.doom9.org) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 18th, 2004, 11:09 PM	#7
Jeremiah Rickert Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newberg, Oregon Posts: 494	finally... Well, I figured out that exporting using Pinnacle's MP2 was my problem. I instead exported a pinnacle AVI (much less time to export the video than microsoft avi) and then loaded that into TMPGEnc (with some settings I found here: http://dvd-hq.info/Compression.html Once I did that, the file not only looked better, but it was actually smaller and I found I could get a lot more on a single disc at a high bitrate. It did take another round of encoding (and the double-pass VBR took some time) but the end result was worth it. Thanks for the help Jeremiah

September 10th, 2004, 05:55 AM	#2
Mark Williams Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Deep South, U.S. Posts: 1,526	Jeremiah, Try dvdlab at http://www.mediachance.com/dvdlab/ I have used the demos of the ones you mentioned as well as Encore. It may just be me but this is the only one that I found to suit my needs, is easy to use but has advanced functions. Regards, Mark

September 11th, 2004, 04:42 PM	#3
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	you can't use .wav files in dvd authoring... they must be dolby digital or mpeg2 audio. so you'll need to encode the .wavs first... there may be a few dvd authoring programs that come with dolby encoders, if not, you can pick up a dolby encoder for ~$35(??)... i've never used it, but the dvdlab pro guys talk about it a lot... besweet is the name? keep the mpeg2 video and mpeg2/ac3 audio seperate... the dvd authoring package will multiplex 'em together. check out the dvd menu creation software that's made by the same people that make dvdlab... it works great!

September 14th, 2004, 05:28 PM	#5
Jeremiah Rickert Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Newberg, Oregon Posts: 494	I've always had split streams, one just video and one just audio. I even ran the video through TMPEGenc one more time to split out the audio and there wasn't any there. Recently, I've re-encoded the audio as mpeg-1. DVDlab still comes up with compiling errors, even though the files are elementary streams. I was able to encode with TMPEG DVD Author, but for some reason, the project swells from 4.1 gig to 4.5, and apparently you can't burn anything over 4.4 to a 4.7 gig DVD. This is why I wanted to stick with screenplays, the process is less technical! But when you don't have any reliable people to help out, you have to do stuff yourself, and here I am! But I appreciate the help of this (and other) forums...saved my bacon a few times. Jeremiah

September 14th, 2004, 11:20 PM	#6
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	your biggest problem is really understanding what you have in all those files... it's the same learning curve that we have all had to go thru. go get this little freebie tool: http://avicodec.duby.info/ it'll tell you just what those files really are... and you'll need to learn how to use windows explorer to view your files in the full detail mode, so that you can see how big that they are... it sounds like you aren't using dolby audio.