How can I get a 170 MB MPEG file on DVD without losing any quality using a brand new Macbook?

January 15, 2007 4:19 PM

How can I get a 170 MB MPEG file on DVD without losing any quality using a brand new Macbook?

I have been using my PC to burn MPEGs (roughly 170 MB each) to DVD. Specifically, Nero 7 Ultra. The DVD I create has crystal clear quality compared to the original MPEG on my hard drive and the process is simple. No convert this and convert that and match the sound after you convert the sound, bla bla bla.

Now that I have switched to Mac, I've tried iDVD numerous times. Although I absolutely LOVE how it puts everything together and the customization of it all is nice, the quality is really poor compared to the original MPEG on my Macbook. The quality is fine to watch, but it's not as clear or sharp as the original and what I'm use to.

I did a little test with MPEG Streamclip. I turned the MPEG into a DV and then create the disc image on my hard drive using iDVD. The quality appeared to be a lot better.

Here's the problem so far: when I import the episode into Streamclip, it only imports like the first 33 seconds of the episode. I've looked in and out of preferences, and I don't see anything that controls this. And it's a free program, so it's not a demo thing that only lets you test a small amount of the video like other programs you download the trail for.

Is there any way to import the entire episode into Streamclip and turn it into a DV?

Are there any other FREE programs that can turn my episode into a DV?

Am I going about this the wrong way? Please let me know what I'm doing wrong.

Please suggest an alternative if this is the long way of doing it.

Thank you all!

posted by stlboi to media & arts (8 comments total)

ffmpeg is the app you're looking for. The learning curve is a little steep, but it works like a charm.
posted by pmbuko at 4:48 PM on January 15, 2007

FROM POSTER: Yeah, I have that. Basically, what do I do with it? Turn the MPEG into a DV with it?
posted by stlboi at 5:57 PM on January 15, 2007

FROM POSTER: Shoot, they are actually .avi files. What do I do? I could of sworn they were MPEGs. Grrrrrr.......
posted by stlboi at 6:10 PM on January 15, 2007

I'd be willing to be that those are xvid or divx AVI's. Do they play directly in quicktime?
posted by crazyray at 6:24 PM on January 15, 2007

FROM POSTER: Yes.
posted by stlboi at 7:03 PM on January 15, 2007

It's not free, but visualhub has recently become my video converter of choice.
posted by Steve3 at 7:40 PM on January 15, 2007

(stboi: you don't have to preface your comments with "FROM POSTER:". We can see who you are by looking at the name attached to the comment.)
posted by alms at 8:08 PM on January 15, 2007

FROM POSTER: Okay, I've created a great .iso file of the episode. Is there a way to create a dvd with this using iDVD for a menu. Also, maybe I could convert these .avi's to MPEGs and use iDVD I wonder if it would lose quality.
posted by stlboi at 8:27 PM on January 15, 2007