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General discussion

Output to AVI or MPEG2?

by avjam Oct 28, 2007 11:29AM PDT

Say I transfer video from tape to hard drive in DV-AVI format, should i output the final edited video in DV-AVI, Windows AVI or MPEG2? the video will be burnt to DVD not exported back to tape, thanx

Discussion is locked

8 Posts
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What is Windows AVI?
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 28, 2007 11:37AM PDT

Windows AVI is a "container" which could be MPEG 1 to 4, DivX or many other encodings. It's not so much a standard for encoding but a standard for holding encoded content.

DV is a standard as well as MPEG2.

Which one you use depends on your goals.

If the final goal is DVD I don't bother to encode it to MPEG2. I let my DVD creation software do that step.

Bob

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He specified the format.
by Kiddpeat Oct 28, 2007 5:01PM PDT

He said DV-AVI is the input. Several output options were specified, and are not ambiguous. DV-AVI amd Windows AVI (strongly implies WMV) are pretty unambiguous, so why the razzle dazzle?

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The question was.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 29, 2007 12:31AM PDT

"Output to AVI or MPEG2?"

I offered some insight about AVI. I wonder if there is a web site that could explain it better that AVI does not dictate the encoding?

My answer is that I wouldn't bother since the final output is DVD and why I don't (I let my DVD software do the work.)

Bob

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No, the question was:
by Kiddpeat Oct 29, 2007 2:42AM PDT

"Windows AVI or MPEG2"

That's why I questioned your response. The poster strongly suggested a Windows format within the AVI (i.e. WMV). At least, that's how I read it.

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AVI is a container.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 29, 2007 3:12AM PDT

Since it could contain MPEG2 the issue becomes blurry very quickly.

I hoped my final method (let the DVD creation software deal with it) could be the easy answer.

Bob

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If the poster had said mpeg2 avi, there might be some doubt.
by Kiddpeat Oct 29, 2007 5:38AM PDT

However, that was not said.

Why not simply tell the user to use mpeg2 instead of confusing the issue with containers?

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(NT) Let them clarify it.
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Oct 29, 2007 6:07AM PDT
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The standard DVD format for video is mpeg-2.
by Kiddpeat Oct 28, 2007 5:02PM PDT

That will be playable for everyone.

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