Creating DVDs on PC in 2024

I've created hundreds of DVDs, on Mac, starting in 2005. I used Compressor to compress the material and DVD Studio Pro to edit and author the discs.

I have found nothing remotely equivalent on PC, where DVD authoring seems to always have been discouraged as piracy. Everything I've tried gives you no real control over the output, encoding the material in entirely the wrong formats.

The stuff that comes closest uses FFmpeg as a basis, although without two-pass encoding the results are very bad indeed. (Or even with it.) Also ffmpeg is confusing.

I have an old Mac which barely works, and has fried several drives. It's scary and unpleasant to keep using it, and I'd like to do at least some of the work on PC.

I was experimenting with using ffmpeg, and used some complicated, "professional" commands suggested to me on Facebook. This resulted in lots of errors, the worst DVD compression I have ever seen in my life, and -again- video in entirely the wrong format.

In this case I have a PAL 50fps video (progressive) which I'd like to export as PAL 25i M2V (TFF interlaced). I keep the quality around 4.5.

Any suggestions?

Sample commands:
ffmpeg -hwaccel none -i "F:\Show Edits\IntroTestClip.avi" -pass 1 -passlogfile "F:\Show Edits\IntroTestClip.mpg" -c:v mpeg2video -dc 5 -g 6 -lmin 0.75 -mblmin 50 -qmin 1 -qmax 31 -qscale:v 1 -bf 2 -pre_dia_size 512 -dia_size 768 -qcomp 0.7 -qblur 0 -me_method dia -sc_threshold 0 -bidir_refine 4 -profile:v 4 -mbd rd -mbcmp satd -precmp satd -cmp satd -subcmp satd -target pal-dvd -intra_matrix "8, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 8, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17, 19, 11, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 24, 29, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 23, 28, 35, 14, 15, 18, 19, 23, 28, 35, 42" -inter_matrix "8, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 9, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 9, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 10, 10, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 14, 10, 11, 11, 12, 13, 13, 14, 14, 11, 11, 12, 12, 13, 14, 14, 15, 11, 12, 12, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 12, 12, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 17" "F:\Show Edits\IntroTestClip.mpg" -y

-i test.avs -aspect 16:9 -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 2000k -dc 9 -flags +ilme+ildct -alternate_scan 1 -top 0

ffmpeg -hwaccel none -i "E:\cartoon DVD EV2X.avi" -r 30000/1001 -pass 1 -passlogfile "E://cartoon DVD EV2X.mpg" -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 40000k -map v:0 -c:a mp2 -ar 48k -b:a 256k -map a:0 -pix_fmt yuv420p -sws_flags bicubic -metadata creation_time="2024-05-04T07:07:52.882Z" -y "E:\cartoon DVD EV2X.mpg"

Yes, really. Especially if I wanted something that isn't FFmpeg in a hat. (Like Shutter Encoder and most of the programs listed there.)

I've given up on even finding that, so that's why I'm asking about FFmpeg techniques.

I am looking into the current TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works ... the really old ones weren't sufficient but you get at least some control over the current model?


These FFmpeg scripts have gotten so complicated that I don't know how to customize them so they work with my intended video formats, interlacing format and bit rate.

At this point, it gives me an error and I don't know why. When something works I use it over and over.

Hmm, how would I force interlacing into this, from a 50p source that I'd like to be 25i?

Variations on -interlaced=1 and -interlace=tff seem to give me errors.

/Applications/ffmpeg -i /Volumes/Sierra/Users/tt/Movies/input.mov -vcodec prores -strict -2 /Volumes/Sierra/Users/tt/Movies/output.mov

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=174620

Also HC Enc may work for you.

btw -dc 5 is not allowed - 8 bit is minimum and 10 maximum - higher = better

there was quite recently similar thread - can be interesting for you https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/410677-ffmpeg-non-linear-quantizer?highlight=174620

Originally Posted by tygerbug

Yes, really. Especially if I wanted something that isn't FFmpeg in a hat. (Like Shutter Encoder and most of the programs listed there.)

I've given up on even finding that, so that's why I'm asking about FFmpeg techniques.

These FFmpeg scripts have gotten so complicated that I don't know how to customize them so they work with my intended video formats.

I am looking into the current TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works ... the really old ones weren't sufficient but you get at least some control over the current model?

Since it has a free trial, you should try TMPGEnc Authoring Works 7.