[MitchV]

I recorded the second half of a football game with my All-In-Wonder card. I've viewed the mpg-2 file, it the results are pretty good... the only problem I have now is that it's too big to fit onto a single DVD. Is there any utility I can use to compress the file a bit so I can fit it onto a single disc?

Thanks in advance!

[iNterBeiNg]

do you need it to play in a normal dvd player or are you just burning it for backup? If its just backup I would suggest finding a divx encoder and converting it to divx format.

I think you might be stuck with mpeg-2 if you want it to play in a normal dvd player, but Im not completely sure.

[MitchV]

I'd like to play it on a normal DVD player. I'm actually about 1 hour into encoding it into a DivX file to see if I like the results...

The length of the mpg file is under 1 hour and 40 minutes, but over 5GB in size.

[MitchV]

Eh.... I converted my pretty MPG file to a DivX AVI and the results aren't so hot. Sure, it compressed a 5GB file down to a little over 700MB, and that's applaudable.... but it's WAY too compressed and pixilated now.


Any more ideas? I might have a couple of minutes I can remove from the video... but that's it. It's got to be reduced somehow to get it onto a DVD.

[iNterBeiNg]

hmm.. well after looking around a while it looks like you can actually change the quality of something that is encoded in mpeg-2. So it might be possible to lower the quality just a bit so you can shrink it down to where it will fit on a dvd. I haven't found any programs with which to do it yet but when I do I'll post a link.

[iNterBeiNg]

well I havent found a good free program yet, the ones I have found are demos that leave water marks on the video output. But anyways if you can find a decent encoder all you want to do is change the bitrate of the output video, lower it a bit. That should make the file smaller.

[Lummoxx]

What about DVD Shrink?

http://www.dvdshrink.org/what.html

Not sure if it will recognize the mpg-2 file, but...worth a look, I guess.

[Andyman902042]

What you need to do is reencode it to a lower bitrate. Unfortunatlly it will very low quality because it will have compression artifacts from both times it was compressed. It's hard to explain but imagine making a photocopy of a paper, then making a photocopy of that, then a photocopy of that....

Here's a good guide for reencoding:
http://www.videohelp.com/tmpgencdvd.htm

The tool you will be using, TMPGEnc, only works with MPEG 2 for 30 days, then you have to pay for it. It will work for MPEG 1 indefinately. There is no (legal) free encoding tool (i think) for MPEG 2 because the codec has to be licensed from whoever created it.

Next time use this tool to calculate the bitrate at which you will capture the video so you won't have to reencode.

-Andy

[syberspy9]

O come on man no one is going to look at stickys any more?

here i will give you a link not all the info but alot.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=293127

[MitchV]

Originally Posted by syberspy9

O come on man no one is going to look at stickys any more?

Uhhhh... I'll read the stickies if you read the post before you reply! I don't think DVDShrink or anything in that sticky is going to be the answer to my prayers.


Andyman, thanks for the input because that look like the exact utility I need... my only problem now is that after testing various options, it gets WAY too compressed. My first attempt shrunk my 5.8GB mpeg-2 down to about 1GB. I simply need to shave off 1 - 1.5GB.

Any tips? I wish I could simply write the MPG to a DVD image on my HD, and then use something like DVD-Shrink to compress it from there... I bet the results would be better.

[XWRed1]

You can't do that? Use some dvd authoring tool to make the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS structures, then use Nero or whatever to try burning it -- except record it to an image, not a disk.

[MitchV]

Originally Posted by XWRed1

You can't do that? Use some dvd authoring tool to make the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS structures, then use Nero or whatever to try burning it -- except record it to an image, not a disk.

That's what I thought might work the best... but I haven't figured that one out either. What software can I use to convert my MPG-2 file to a 6GB DVD image of Video_TS and Audio_TS? Anybody?

[Andyman902042]

It will be the highest qualilty using TMPGEnc.
Scratch what I said last time.

Try this:

1.Open TMPGEnc. and close the wizard that comes up.

2.On the bottom, browse for the video file you need to compress.

3.Then on the right of that click load. Find DVD (NTSC) in the list and click load.

4. Then click setting. Use this tool to help you find what bitrate to use. If you could let it encode overnight, choose 2 pass VBR and on the bottom choose very high. That will give the best quality. On the audio tab choose the bitrate that it was origionally encoded in. Click OK to close the option box.

5.Click start, and let it run overnight because it will take while.

-Andy

[MitchV]

Sweet.... Andyman, I owe ya!

I'm testing this on a smaller file first and then I'll run it on my 5GB monster. I'll let you know the results!

U DA MAN!!

[Pinky]

Originally Posted by MitchV

I recorded the second half of a football game with my All-In-Wonder card.

I've been following this thread since it was first posted.

Now that you've received some help I figured I would chime in as a friendly reminder -- anything not of your own creation (like home movies/camcorder footage) manipulated and then copied ("distributed") whether for private or commercial use is strictly prohibited...

That's the rules (#12). TIVO and other forms of broadcast recording walk a very gray line in the entertainment industry, but ocforums.com cannot afford to walk that same line. Just be aware that if you need assistence, follow the suggested links to the other site and maybe carry the details out in PMs. You also don't necessarily need to state WHAT you're receiving help with, that's an admission of guilt.

[Andyman902042]

Yea, just to be safe you might want to change

Originally Posted by MitchV

I recorded the second half of a football game with my All-In-Wonder card.

to

Originally Posted by MitchV

I recorded some stuff with my All-In-Wonder card.

I'll delete this post when you do so.

-Andy

[MitchV]

No sweat... this thread can be deleted whenever, but Andy's info was very valuable and I'd love to see it in a sticky somewhere grouped with other DVD recording info.

BTW, I mentioned a football game... "a football game" might just happen to be a highschool playoff game that was recorded with school equipment and the coach is my brother who asked me to transfer it on DVD so he can review the film while on a flight this Tuesday.

I'll definitely make certain I watch content implications in the future. No harm, no foul... thanks everyone for all the help!

[XWRed1]

Don't ask for VCR help either. Highly illegal things can be done with those.

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