Thread: Video Conversion and Burn for AZBox

Originally Posted by AcWxRadar

I am using VideoReDo to edit my movies and shows recorded on the AZBox.
...
Then I open this edited file with DVDVideoSoft. This converts the *.ts file to DVD *.vob file and automatically burns it to the DVD.

I like the VideoReDo TV Suite as it edits very nicely to the precise frame.

The TV Suite can also author DVDs.
That's a feature added after I started using the package; I'm old-school and have my own ways.
In fairness, it gets the job done, and can provide you with suitable menus, et al.

It also has an automatic commercial (ad) detection and cut mode.

I go way back with these people, and got good at manual editing in the beginning.
They detect black frames and loss of audio, to trigger a commercial detection.
Lot of users seem to be quite happy with its bulk editing capability.
I hand-craft all my shows, and never use the feature.
You get good with it after a little experimenting. I've done thousands.

Any trouble you might have with video that's not clean, can be fixed up by running it through their QSF (quick stream fix) procedure, first.
Normal editing applies the same clean-up rules to your video, but if it's so bad you just cannot edit, QSFing it first will probably help.

The company has an extensive forum, and further inquiries should be handled there.
Some of their editor quirks are less than intuitive, but are pretty well documented and discussed.
Once a solution is found, it wouldn't hurt to expose the SatGuy's to it over here.

There is another editing software you might explore:
Womble MPEG Video Wizard
A year or two back, users of that package came to the VideoReDo forum, bitching about Womble, and looking for other solutions.
In the ensuing months, I believe Womble cleaned up their product and stole some ideas from VRD, so you might want to give it a look.
In some modes, it has a drag 'n drop interface, which may feel more natural to beginners.

And yes, there are also many freebie products that do an excellent job.
Some of those authoring solutions used to be discussed on the VRD forum, before they began offering their own DVD-making capability.
You can search through the VRD forum for a lot of interesting ideas.
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Originally Posted by B.J.

I'm curious why you don't just let VideoReDo burn to DVD???

I use VideoReDo, and VideoReDo Suite all the time, and love it. I never use the burn to DVD option because everything I record is HD, but it IS supposed to be able to burn to DVD. I'm just curious why you don't use this feature, and instead use this other program???

Mainly, I was using the DVDVideoSoft for the conversion. I didn't know that the VideoReDo would convert the .ts to .vob. So, I was allowing VideoSoft to convert and go directly into burning.

I just got the full (non-trial) version and therefore haven't spent too much time with it yet.

I did go to the VideoReDo forum last night and print out all of their "tutorials" and FAQs for a sort of manual. Found out a lot more information.

Such as conversion, buring single and multiple title DVDs, chapter marks and lots of other stuff that I wasn't aware that it could do.

It's a lot better than I thought.

A long time back, I had a LiteOn DVD/HDD recorder that I used to make DVDs with. I actually had two of them and both took a dump. The DVD drive would fail to recodnize the DVD or would burn partially through the title and just up and quit. There is no longer any support for these units as the Liteon company disbanded this division so, I had been searching for a replacement. With software like this and the AZBox combined, I have a much better system now!

RADAR

It looks like the next step would be to find a high quality MPEG2-to-MPEG4 transcoder and burn to DVD or keep on your HD everything in MPEG4. There're reports that pic quality from a good H.264 transcoder is indistinguishable, if not better, while file size is a lot smaller. Any suggestions of a good H.264 transcoder program and codecs pack, free or not?

Yes, H.264 is the latest hot stuff.
But for a number of years, DivX and XviD have been the standard of good compression & quality.
There have been stand-alone DVD players which'll play 'em directly.
Plus, I for one have been reluctant to dedicate a computer to playing my video.
Stand-alone suited me far better, as you can never run out of DVDs, where as I was always running out of hard disc space.

Today, with cheap terabyte drives, it's fashionable to use a computer.
But, for many years I was storing anywhere from half to a full season of a TV series onto one DVD in DivX.

I look forward to improved DVD players, which will popularize h.264 even more.

It looks like LG BD370 and the rest of this LG lineup play H264 in .MKV container and DivX & XviD without a problem.

What DivX & XviD transcoders you found of high value from own experience?

Originally Posted by zamar23

It looks like the next step would be to find a high quality MPEG2-to-MPEG4 transcoder and burn to DVD or keep on your HD everything in MPEG4. There're reports that pic quality from a good H.264 transcoder is indistinguishable, if not better, while file size is a lot smaller. Any suggestions of a good H.264 transcoder program and codecs pack, free or not?

The DVDVideoSoft converter V 1.2.1.54, which is freeware apparently performs this conversion. I used it this morning and it did convert a file that I had recorded.

I could not watch the original file (the video was available when I attempted to view it with VLC media player, but it was very choppy or steppy and the audio was garbled) nor could I edit it with VideoReDo TV Suite. When I attempted to edit it with VideoReDo TV Suite, It gave a message that H.264 support was not yet available. But, after running it through the DVDVideoSoft converter, I could do both.

It did leave me with a question, however. It divided it up into two separate video files and an audio file and I am not sure that I need to merge these later of if they will burn properly to a DVD. I will have to experiment with this when I have more time.

In any case, the DVDVideoSoft accepted this H.264 MPEG4 file and successfully converted it to a viewable format. It took a very, very long time to convert, however.

RADAR

I will have to continue to research this avenue. It isn't always as pleasant as my first try. I must have got lucky there.

When the video format changes, or there is any copy protection flags, things get rather confused. The last DVD that I made required me to involve Slysoft DVD Clone in order to burn the DVD.

I was trying another recorded program, to burn to DVD and it sure isn't as easy as it was the first time around.

RADAR

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