Create DVD file

Software name : Avidemux
Software version : 2.4

The following material will show you how to create a MPEG2 file which can be used to create a Video DVD. The process does not cover creating the DVD itself, just preparing a file that can be used for creating a DVD.

It's assumed that you already have a video file which you want to turn into a DVD file that will play on PAL system TVs. This may be a DV or avi file, or other file. Usually this file has come from capturing video from a tape or it's a file from a video editing programme. It may also be a file you have downloaded from the Internet.

If you don't already have a suitable file, then you may need to:

1. export a file from a video editing programme
2. capture a DV tape to a file on your hard drive
3. download an appropriate file

The file should be as high quality as you can get - this is because every time you convert a video file into another type of file quality is lost. So you want to start with the highest quality file as possible to ensure the newly created file is the highest quality it can be. Ideally it will be a DV file exported from a video editing program or captured from a camera or an MPEG2 file or VOB from a DVD.

Opening the File

So, assuming you have a file ready to go... Open the source file you have for your DVD. Click on 'File' and 'Open' :

You will be presented with a file browser similar to this:

Find the DV file or similar on your computer by browsing the files and folders. You can't mess anything up doing this so just click around until you find the file you want. When you have found it, highlight it by clicking on it and then either double-click on it or press 'Open'.

The video should then open up in the screen in the centre of Avidemux.

Deinterlacing

The next thing that we might want to do to the video file is to add a deinterlace filter. This would be appropriate if you had a video that was edited from a DV camera and is still interlaced. If we create a DVD that isn't played on a standard TV then we might see the effects of the interlacing which will look like strange horizontal lines through the video.

If you don't know what the effects of interlacing are you can see them in the screen shot below (most clearly visible on the face of the man at the top left).

Where there is motion in the screen, especially the man walking by you can see jagged edges. We can remove this by adding a deinterlace filter.

To do this click on 'Filters' under the 'Video' section.

Then click on the 'Interlace' tab, and select 'yadiff'.

Then click on the '+' button at the bottom of the list :

You will see the following pop-up and you can Click 'OK' to the default settings shown below .

It's important that the deinterlace filter is at the top of the list of filters on the right :

That's why we add it first.

Then click 'Close' on the bottom right of the screen:

 

DVD Encoding Settings

Now you will see the front of the Avidemux application again.  Select from the top menu 'Auto' and then 'DVD'

You will see a pop-up window from which you can choose the relevant aspect ratio for source and destination of your project. Normally for PAL or NTSC video the aspect ratio will be 4:3 unless you have chosen other settings on your camera or video editing software.

Choose the correct settings from the drop down menu. When you have done so click 'OK' on this pop-up window.

Trimming the Video file

If needed you can trim the video file using Avidemux before you save it as an MPEG2 file.

To do this click on the rectangle shaped slider at the bottom of the window :

Drag it to the new in point or starting point you wish to define. When you do this you will see the video fastfoward as you drag the button. When you are at the right starting point click on the symbol with an 'A' as part of it just below of the centre of the playing head line:

You can then move the playing head to where you want the end point to be and click on the button marked 'B' :

That's all you have to do, when you save the file it will be trimmed.

Saving the file

To save the file click on the 'Save' button.

You will see a file browser open :

Choose a place to save the file by clicking on the folders you see. The you need to give the file a name by typing this into the text box at the top:

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Make sure the name ends in ".mpg". When you have done this click 'Save'.

You should see a box which lets you know how long you have to wait for the encoding to finish and shows the progress:

When it's done you'll get a success message if the encoding works correctly :

Next steps

The ultimate test to see if your file has been encoded currently is to try to make a DVD with it. Most DVD authoring programmes will tell you if your file is the right format or not when you try to import it.