This is the file in question:

[REMOVED WAREZED MEDIA. PLEASE DO NOT POST THAT AGAIN]

Is there any linux application to do the job? I guess it would have to take the .avi as input, and generate the VIDEO_TS files.

I use tovid. It can indeed convert your avi file to a mpeg2 dvd compliant video. It can also create a dvd filesystem with the VIDEO_TS folder and it's associated files. Tovid can run from a gui or the command line.

Check your repos for tovid. If it's not available, you can download it from http://tovid.wikia.com/wiki/Tovid_Wiki

Another program you can use is dvdstyler. Again, check your repos first.

Lastly, there is DeVeDe. Again, check your repos first.

Thank you very much, DeSoto. I'll try them. In the meantime, I booted in Windows and used Nero 7. But it did a bad job, or else the optical drive is to blame. This is the second time I'm having trouble with a burner when trying to burn dual layer discs (I hope it did leave the VIDEO_TS files on the hard disk).

Have you successfully burn dual layer discs on that drive before?

I use k3B in linux, a dvd burning program. Maybe you can try it. It's easy to use. Just select the type of disc project, for example, DVD video and follow the steps. BTW, k3b doesn't author a video file(s) to a dvd file system. You'll need to create a dvd file system first, then use k3b to write it to the disc.


If using K3b still produces a bad disc, then the issue could be the drive or incompatible dual layer dics.

I've only burned a few dual layers. The first with a Philips low end drive was quite a failure and it was definitively the drive's fault. Now, as my only operational machine is all SATA as to hard disks (fixed and removable), and the removable (i.e, the optical one) is also low end (LG) I think I'll have to buy a new one, but this time of the highest possible quality. First I'll get a descent set of VIDEO_TS files (Nero is very good at this, and everything else I should add). Then I'll try to burn them once more and see what happens. The original DivX are OK.

After this long introduction, perhaps you could tell me this: what I saw is that at a certain point in the reproduction of the movie in my TV set, driven by a stand alone DVD player, the image presented little squares (my ISP calls this phenomenom "pixelling") when parts of the image are moving fast, a failure usually present at cable TV transmissions. But this happened just when the player was beginning to read the second face (layer), I think. So perhaps the fault was in the transcodification? It's a question.

I'm not an expert on video transcoding issues but I did had a few instances where the video on the disc would have some pixelations. Usually, this was the cause of a bad disc with bad sectors or bits. I buy those dvd spindles that have 50 to 100 and sometimes there will be a few bad ones.

Another possibility is the burning speed. Use a slower speed to burn the disc.

Another possibility is a dirty lens from the computer dvd drive or on the home dvd player.

Another possibility is the transcoding of the video. If the original source has some pixels it may appear on the transcoded video as well. Or, if the source is fine and the final transcoded video has some pixelation, perhaps it could be the quality settings setup for the final video(s).

I use tovid to create a dvd filesystem from my videos and it does a good job. I also preview the dvd directory where tovid created the dvd filesystem. For example:

If the videos are fine, I'll burn it to the disc. If not, I'll use a higher bitrate for the video(s) and redo the dvd filesystem.

I cane across this article. Here is an example on Nero 7

http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-...-Premium.shtml

I think you should do a test. Use Nero 7 to create the dvd filesystem as you usually do. Then instead of using nero 7 to burn the disc, use k3b and see if the problems continues or is resolved.

I did as you suggested, and successfully created the video files on the hard disk with Nero 7. Then I played them with mplayer, and all seemed to be well. Now, I can't get dual layer DVDs here, which came as a surprise to me. Is it possible to split the VIDEO_TS files into two single layer DVDs? Thank you very much for your help by the way.

Sorry to hijack your communications between you and desoto. While you await desoto's reply. I can say probably not in splitting a VIDEO_TS structure.

What you can do is shrink the VIDEO_TS folder to fit onto a single layer disc.

In windows, you can use dvdshrink and it's FREE to download.

In linux, there is k9copy. It's available in the linux repositories.

Both programs can shrink dvds and from VIDEO_TS folders on the HDD.

I have just bought ten dual layer DVDs (they are hard to get here but I was lucky). So splitting is no longer an issue. As the VIDEO_TS files are OK (mplayer saw no faults on them), I'm afraid my LG drive is to blame. I'll use K3b to make the DVD-Video disc using the aforementioned files and see what happens. If my stand alone player distorts the image, then I'll use a Philips burner I have.

One remarkable thing is that mplayer plays the DVD well (I can notice no defects), whereas my stand alone player plays it disastrously from about the middle of the movie up to the end.