what format does dvd use

auggybendoggy wrote on 9/27/2003, 8:58 AM
can a file be rendered to avi and then burn a dvd disc (movie) and a dvd player will play it? Or does it have to be in mpg2 or mpg1 or some other format?

I see my MPG2 quality is not as smooth as my avi

I've tried everything bit rate, about every setting and number and it always looks like the same render...hmmm

Anyone, anyone?

Auggy

Comments

John_Cline wrote on 9/27/2003, 9:22 AM
No, you cannot simply copy an AVI to a disc and have a DVD player play it. The video must be converted to MPEG2 and then be "authored" to disc using a program such as DVD Architect.

John
auggybendoggy wrote on 9/27/2003, 11:18 AM
is it possible for a mpg2 to be just as smooth as the original avi
John_Cline wrote on 9/27/2003, 11:58 AM
Yes, using a good MPEG2 encoder, the correct settings and a high enough bit rate, it should look virtually the same as the original AVI.

What do you mean by "smooth?" Describe what you are seeing.

Depending on your computer's speed and the quality of the MPEG2 decoder, it may be dropping frames in order to keep up while playing back the MPEG2 file. Also, viewing MPEG2 files, which are interlaced, on a computer monitor, which is progressive, may be giving you visual artifacts that would not be there if you authored a DVD and played it back on a television.

John
johnmeyer wrote on 9/27/2003, 12:18 PM
is it possible for a mpg2 to be just as smooth as the original avi

Yes. When you encode to MPEG2, you can choose a variety of bitrates. The higher the bitrate, the better the quality. At the maximum bitrate allowed (just over 8,000 kbs), the quality is very close to the original. If you look really hard you can see some differences, but those differences are small. If you are seeing big differences between your original AVI and your DVD, then there is a problem somewhere in your process that needs to be corrected.
kameronj wrote on 9/27/2003, 6:22 PM
Well, I'm just going to say what everyone else said.

It has to render to MPEG2. In DVDA you could start out with an AVI - but it will render it to an MPEG2 before burning (during the prepare stage).

Depending on the AVI you are starting with - yes, an MPEG2 render in Vegas will turn out as good (and smooth) as the original. Especially when you choose a higher bit rate.

From the sound of the question - it appears as though you are having an issue with an avi file (or files) that you would like to burn to DVD. What types of files are they (or asked a different way - what was the source?)

As in, did you capture uncompressed AVI from a digital camcorder and edit in Vegas to render to MPEG2 and are getting choppy video?
Former user wrote on 9/27/2003, 9:47 PM
Are you judging the quality of the MPEG on your DVD player or on your computer?

Dave T2