Merging Two Video Parts - Having Problems!

[JonVic]

Hey guys,

I need some help with merging different parts of a dvd video to create 1 seamless dvd.
I made a rip of an old family video about a year ago on a cheap dvd recorder. The first 10-15 mins of video captured very well but the rest did not. I have re-recorded the video onto a better dvd recorder i have now and it appears there has been some vhs degredation to the tape since i made the original copy a year ago where the first part of the vhs now has some sound issues. What i want to do is cut the first 15 mins of the dvd i made a year ago and join it to the new copy i have made so the resultant dvd will have the first 15 mins of the old dvd and the rest will be the new dvd i have recorded. However there is a problem i have cut the 2 parts out fine using tmpgenc and some other peices of software and joined them but i get a jump when the switch between the 2 parts that is very significant on some dvd players as they all play the jump differently. What is the best way to do this so that i do not get the jump so it looks like the original tape, even if it measn encoding the dvd to a different format and then re-authoring to dvd, any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Edit: Just to add i have tried almost every bit of software on the net to do this and it seems like i will always get a pause even if i join 2 mpeg's and then author them as a dvd it still retains the jump, i see videos all the time on YouTube that people have edited and they have no jumps between different video parts but i just cannot work out how they do this...

[senu]

Have you tried Sony Vegas Movie Studio.. ??
You can not only join seamlessly you can crossfade
With all you might need to be prepared to lose a second or so of the video to get a seamless join. The slight change in scene e need not be a "jump"
Just what have you used?

[redsox_mark]

Agree with Senu.
If you put 2 different video titles (separate .mpg files) on a DVD, there will be a slight pause when moving from one to the other (the amount of pause will vary per DVD player). But if you create a single file, and make the transition at a scene change, there should be no issue.

[jaymac]

All as said but for the transition consider using a relevant stillframe or import one
Particularly one suited to Panning to maintain the flow so to speak

[JonVic]

so if when there is a scene change i can add for example a black still screen for 5 sec and have text saying what the next scene will be? Can i do this in the sony software? This would mean that is would 'hide' the jump at the scene change? This actually would be a good thing to have to identify each scene coming up.....

[senu]

Originally Posted by JonVic

so if when there is a scene change i can add for example a black still screen for 5 sec and have text saying what the next scene will be? Can i do this in the sony software?

Yes
You could also do it over a relevant still
I recommended Sony as I know it to be quite easy to come to grips with once you get over its initial unfamiliar GUI but it is actually possible with any of the current editors used in the right way. With HDD SD card camcorders the scenes are recorded as discrete clips , so it is the case that they have to be joined in software to make a seamless video. Even from tape scenes can be captured to PC as separate clips but after editing it all gels seamlessly

This would mean that is would 'hide' the jump at the scene change? This actually would be a good thing to have to identify each scene coming up.....

The point is that there should be no jump at the scene change at all if they are joined in software. You can chose to use a transition ( simple crossfade) , a still ( or framegrab ) as similarly suggested
or indeed a black frame or text with black or image background
The possibilities are endless and limited by your imagination once you know how

[JonVic]

Last night i briefly joined a clip and it seemed to join with no jump, i tried it in Power DVD, VLC and BS player on my PC as well as in my Sony DVD recorder which was always the worst for showing up the glitches between scenes before and it seemed to be fine. I will do some more checking tonight and see if this applies to all clips but thanks for all the help so far guys its really appreciated, i really like the Sony software, i have always used TMPGENC before but now i will be using the sony as it is a really good piece of software, i will be back with my results of the rest of the joining

[JonVic]

Okay well good news and bad news. The videos seem to be merging perfectly but i have 1 major issue. The video files i am using were all captured at maximum bitrate on my dvd recorder and are around 9mbps bitrate. When i merge the 2 files and click the 'make movie' button i am creating an mpeg file that i then load back into TMPGENC and re-author into a DVD. It works great except for some reason the Sony Vegas software when it joins the files is downsampling the bitrate to around 5-6mbps which is a big drop over the files original 9mbps, how can i save the same bitrate as the file was originally because i just cannot see any options to do this....cheers

[JonVic]

I have been looking at this and it seems that i may need to install dvd architect? Also it seems like it won't encode the audio as well if i use dvd architect to change the bit rate like i explained above, oh dear im really confused

[senu]

Originally Posted by JonVic

Okay well good news and bad news. The videos seem to be merging perfectly but i have 1 major issue. The video files i am using were all captured at maximum bitrate on my dvd recorder and are around 9mbps bitrate. When i merge the 2 files and click the 'make movie' button i am creating an mpeg file that i then load back into TMPGENC and re-author into a DVD. It works great except for some reason the Sony Vegas software when it joins the files is downsampling the bitrate to around 5-6mbps which is a big drop over the files original 9mbps, how can i save the same bitrate as the file was originally because i just cannot see any options to do this....cheers

Encoding at maximum bitrateis generally not advised anyway
A decent variable bitrate with 2 pass will give you better results |( albeit more time ) without space/incompatibility problems
However you can use a custom encoding parameter if you must use 9mbs within Vegas
For authoring
Why not try Ulead movie factory? It will not reeencode DVD ready mpegs

However DVDA will arthor mpegs with audio and those with audio as separate streams ( elementary files) provided the mpeg and audi have similar names and are in the same directory
TMPE

[JonVic]

So to encode with 2 pass and a variable bit rate i have to use DVD architect then do i?

[senu]

Originally Posted by JonVic

So to encode with 2 pass and a variable bit rate i have to use DVD architect then do i?

No you can do this within Vegas but you have to go into "custom" ( next to template to acess the manual configuration ( under video tab) ,
I have both Vegas Movie studio and DVD A studio and the ful version
I dont tend to use DVDA often myself

[JonVic]

Thanks for the advice so far i have found the place to edit what you suggested but i have tried every possible combination of settings for MPEG1 and MPEG2 and whatever i do the file that is created is always coming out with a bit rate of 5mbps....? This means it is not nearly as good quality as the 2 dvd's i have joined looked originally with their 9mbps bit rate.....

[senu]

Ive just had another look at SVMS P and the encodig options within custom and they seem rather more lilited than in the ful version

Im sure you can download the full version trial ( which I think definitely has it)
One thing you can do is output the file as a DV AVI, then use something else . PM me if you can later today

[JonVic]

If i do not output as mpeg though i will then have to re-encode twice i would imagine though because if i change it to an avi and then i will need to author to dvd?
I am sure i have the full version and it basically flatly refuses to go on a higher bit rate than i have stated - i wonder if it is possible to output 2 files joined together and not lose all this quality in the Sony software, maybe thats just a price i pay for joining 2 files but it certainly is not acceptable to me to lose this kind of bit rate and quality - very frustrating for what i thought was a very good piece of software it does everything i could ask of it then just lets me down when it encodes at the end, i will PM you as soon as i can later today, many many thanks for continuing to help me with this