These are several tools I use for converting captured video from 
DV format to DVD-compatible MPEG files.  To use these, you will
need the mjpegtools (http://mjpeg.sourceforge.net), the 
smilutils (http://users.pandora.be/acp/kino/smilutils.html), 
and you'll probably want Kino (http://kino.schermacher.de) for editing
your videos in the first place.  You'll also want mplayer (http://mplayerhq.hu)
for playing videos, and for the encoding checker script (checkenc).


Typical procedure:

  1) Capture DV input using dvgrab.
  2) Edit the DV in Kino, adding effects and cutting unwanted material, etc.
  3) Split the Kino edit list (smil file) into smaller bits using smilsplit.
  4) Encode to DVD using the smil2dvdHQ script (or LQ, if the source material
     isn't superior).  (This is usually done with a shell one-liner, like
         for foo in *.smil; do smil2dvdHQ "$foo"; done	 
  5) Run "checkenc" to ensure that the encode went OK, reencoding any parts
     that didn't encode completely.  (Typically, "checkenc *.smil".)
  6) Author the DVD from the MPEGs with dvdauthor's "makedvd" script.
  7) Burn the DVD using CD-RecordProDVD (DVD-R media) 
     or growisofs (DVD+R media).
  8) Enjoy the DVD with mplayer or with a standalone DVD player.


The contents of this package:

Checkenc:  A perl script that uses mplayer to check whether encoding 
           succeeded on a particular smil file.  Usage is just
	   "Checkenc *.smil" or you can name individual smil files
	   if you like.  It will look for mpeg files named as they 
	   would be if you used the smil2dvd* scripts included in
	   this package and compare the frame counts of the smil file
	   vs the mpegs.  If the frame counts match, the encode is 
	   reported as a success.  If not, an encoding error is reported,
	   and you can redo that encode.
	   
	   
frames.cpp This is just a simple program to report the number of frames
           in a smil file.  It is a standalone tool and is not used by the
	   checkenc perl script.  To build, just do:
	       gcc -o frames frames.cpp -lstdc++
	   
	   
smil2dvdHQ This is a shell script that will take a smil file and turn it 
           into DVD-compatible mpegs, using the mjpegtools.  The quality
	   and bitrate settings are such that you should be able to get 
	   just about two hours of video onto a single DVD.  However, this
	   assumes very clean source material.  If you're coming from tape,
	   this would be SVHS or better, original tapes.  Note that 
	   interlaced NTSC video is presumed.  For PAL or progressive scan,
	   just change the appropriate options.
	   
	   
smil2dvdLQ This is a shell script that will take a smil file and turn it 
           into DVD-compatible mpegs, using the mjpegtools.  The quality
	   and bitrate settings are such that you should be able to get 
	   just about two hours of video onto a single DVD.  This one uses 
	   different quality and bitrate settings so that you can use somewhat
	   noisier material.  However, the results are still very good.
	   Note that interlaced NTSC video is presumed.  For PAL or 
	   progressive scan, just change the appropriate options.

	   
smilsplit.cpp  This will split a smil file into several smaller smil files,
           based on a name template and frame count you specify.  This allows
	   you to use a smaller sample to test the "fit" potential of a video,
	   and also allows you to encode several small pieces rather than one
	   large edit list.  That way if something unexpected happens in the
	   middle of an encoding session, you can reencode just the piece where
	   the trouble occurred, rather than having to reencode the entire 
	   video from the start.  To build, just do:
	       gcc -o smilsplit smilsplit.cpp -lstdc++