Will DVD Movie Factory 3 shrink an 8.6gb video file to fit a DVD? If not, what is the best software for shrinking video files (as opposed to DVD files)? DVDShrink only recognizes DVD files.

At the moment, I'm considering using a video converter which will shrink the file by 50%, but will also re-encode the file.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks.

It isn't as much a question of can you shrink it that much, as should you. You will have a lot of quality loss with that much compression. But try it and see how it plays. You should look at dvdshrink or dvdfab hd.

I should have added that I'm looking for freeware. The free converter I use produces an output file of excellent quality.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I think both those products look for specific (DVD) file extensions. I wish to transfer family video files to DVD.

What format are they in? mpg, avi?.....
Explain in detail with what and how you converted originals, so we can help...

My original question became, largely, redundant, as I found that DVD Movie Factory 3 accepted a 6.5gb file for burning on a 4.37gb disk. However, after 10 hours, the progress bar indicates only 3% of the task completed. Why so slow?

Thanks.

Because the program is re-encoding the whole thing.

As t0nee1 says: give a lot more details of what the source is and how you made it

The original source is a video camera of which I have no details. I created an avi file captured from video tape using XviD MPEG-4 compression.

So, lets see if I have this straight. You have a video tape, which was created by somebody else. You think it was originally in MPEG4 format, and you captured it as AVI? How did you capture it from MPEG4 to AVI..
Please give step by step details and list hardware and software used at each step..

No idea of the format of the video. I'm using XviD MPEG-4 compression in VDub as I capture it through Grabster hardware. This creates an avi file.

My question is this. I made a backup of a commercial DVD using dvdshrink. From decryption to end of burn took about an hour, if I remember correctly. The source file was larger than 8gb. My free converter can re-encode a 6.5gb file in 12 minutes. Why is DVD MovieFactory so slow?

Never once did you mention the running time, that's the only thing that matters if you want a playable SL DVD. Size of the various source files is not relevant. If it's less that 3 hours try DVD Flick (free) or ConvertXtoDVD.

Different softwares, different encoders. That is like asking why is photoshop faster than msn paint.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I Tried DVD Flick. The good news is that the job was done in 56 minutes. However, the audio sounds like it's been through a shredder. Any ideas?

Assuming the audio in the avi is good, you can use Vdub to remove it from the avi. (Direct Stream copy under Audio and hit File, Save Wav...)

You can convert the wav file to ac3 using ffmeggui http://www.videohelp.com/tools/ffmpegGUI

Now, when you try again with DVDFlick, use this ac3 file as your audio stream.

Or you can reauthor the existing dvd you have now and remove the bad audio and replace it with this ac3 file. I use DVDLab Pro as my authoring program and I know I can do this process with it. It is not free but a fully functional trial is available, and the help file is excellent. When you import the dvd into Lab Pro, let it demux into elementary streams. Delete the existing audio and import the new one you made in Vdub. Rebuild the dvd, with or without menus, chapter points etc. However you want to do it.

There is at least one more method to try, but I'll save it for later.

The ffmpeggui tool did the trick. It also took care of another area of concern. I could only play the defective audio DVD by right clicking it in explorer. The second version plays as soon as the tray slots in the bay. I was impressed with DVDFlick, apart from the audio result. Haven't had time to test it in a dvd player.

Thanks for all your help.

There is one more thing. I refer to occasional audio crackle in the avi file created by VDub. Not an issue with the previously mentioned tapes, but an annoyance with stereo stuff taped from TV. I found that switching to mono, in VDub's raw audio format, reduced the problem, but I'd like to be rid of it. Any help on this would be gratefully received.