There are three features missing that would prevent me from purchasing this product:

1. First Play Video
The ability to have a track play before the first menu, but NOT show up in the Title or Track menu's

2. Ability to remove the Play all button.
I don't need a play all button on any of my menus, just the abiliy to select tracks

3. Ability to add arbitrary images or text in the menu editor.
I would lkike to be able to add images (with alpha) and extra text anywhere on the menu.


Are any of these features planned for future releases?

1. That's no Problem, TMPGEnc DVD Author can handle this.

2. Hm, no Chance (by now)

3. Create a Picture with the Text by using PhotoShop or any other Picture Editor and use it as a Background.

4. Don't ask me..., i'm just a Guy who helps other people ;)

Can you tell how Number 1 can be accomplished? With everything I've tried, the first track still gets its own track menu.

2. Ability to remove the Play all button.

All I do is shrink it as small as possibel and oout it down in the bottom LHS in the overscan area, not a solution but a rough workaround, you shoudl be able to delete that button !. Like you I often have the first chapter set as a "Play Feature"

3. Ability to add arbitrary images or text in the menu editor.

I do this with Photoshop, if I want music as well, I drag the resultant image into Adobe Premier, tell it change the duration to 30 secs, add a music background and crate an M2P from there. Using Preimer also allows me to use motion settings on logos etc and fly or scroll images or text onto the screen background. I would prefer to do it this way then try and have DVD Author do it,

Hiding the button really instal a solution. It is still selected (just can't be seen) when the menu is displayed, and the used has to press the correct direction (up or down depending on where you hid it) to get to the entries on the menu.

The ability to delete this button should be an easy feature for the programmers of TDA to add.

This is for the moderator or admin or whoever happens to drop by this site every now and then to maintain it.

I would like to request that some sort of reference time is placed somewhere in this BBS.

All posts seem to be referenced by the time where the TMPG BBS server is located not local time. It is therefore difficult to establish what time a post has actually been placed from your local timezone.
It would help if there was a reference time at the top of this page thus allowing users from other timezones to establish the actual time of the post in local time.

Adding this sort of function to a webpage is quite easy and I would be grateful for co-operation in this matter.

In all the time I have used this BBS I have never seen this site reviewed for improvments except when Pegasys took over distribution of TMPG and made certain aspects of this site worse.

I use a SONY Digital8 camcorder to record NTSC video off my DirecTV TIVO system. I capture and edit the material in Adobe Premiere. I than use TMPGEnc to encode the material to DVD format.

It seems that whether I use field order A or B, I get what look like interlacing effects. I than tried IVTC which seemed to take care of the problem. I than imported the IVTC MPEG-2 in DVD-Lab, only to be prompted that it needed 2:3 pulldown. I than re-encoded the material in TMPGEnc with IVTC selected (this defaults the frame rate field to 23.976)and selected 3:2 pulldown when playback (this added the information "internally 29.97fps" to the frame rate field description. The result is accepted in DVD-Lab.

Is this an OK way to go? Is IVTC really the right way to go if I'm not sure the material was FILM to begin with? Why did IVTC seem to take care of the problem? What does the 3:2 pulldown really do?

I don't know how the Tivo acheives NTSC frame rates, but it does look like it uses 2:3 pulldown if you don't see any jerkyness in the output file TMPG creates.

Once you have used IVTC the file is no longer NTSC DVD compliant. You are dealing with a file which has progressive frames at 23.976. As you have correctly discovered you need to re-apply the pulldown when encoding.
You have several options of doing this.
1. Let TMPG do it when encoding.
2. Use pulldown.exe
3. Let DVDlab do it.

Either way it should result in a 29.97 fps MPEG.

If you need to know more about pulldown then I suggest you look it up on google.
It's a complicated subject and would take too long for me explain here, however if you search this BBS you will find some of my explanations of pulldown in earlier posts.

Thank you for the reply. It does lead me to another question/observation.

For another project using DVD2AVI, I have the option of choosing Forced Film if the VOB is in progressive format. This results in a frame rate of 23.976fps. When encoding this data to DVD format in TMPGEnc, the frame rate is set at 23.976fps(internally 29.97fps).

So what I am doing in my Tivo project is essentially the same, except that I'm performing an additional IVTC step necessary to get rid of my interlacing troubles? It seems I'm taking the 29.97 fps video, making it 23.976fps, and converting it back to 29.97 again? Is the encoded DVD compliant video really 23.976fps or 29.97fps?

Your TIVO is adding pulldown to the files it creates. This is the correct way to create a compliant NTSC DVD and also saves space because of the reduced anount of frames.

When trying to encode this file in TMPG you will experience artifacts as you will see the effect of the pulldown where the extra fields have been added resulting in interlacing artifacts.

Generally you could just encode this file to 29.97 fps without IVTC as long as you encode it as interlaced. The artifacts are only visible on a progressive display while on an interlaced display such as your TV you won't see the field displacment that pulldown causes and hence no interlacing artifacts.

Having said this though it is always adviisable to IVTC a file with pulldown to return it to it's original progressive format to maintain quality and save on file size.
You have 2 options for this. Either use IVTC in TMPG or use the ForcedFILM option in DVD2AVI.
The DVD2AVI option is much prefered as it generally produces better results.

You can then re-apply the pulldown as previously stated in my last post.

Hi all, i am having audio problems.... im converting .avi(715mb) to.mpg(2gigs), and when im done converting the video is perfect!, but no audio. Now i understand that garbage in will reap garbage out, but the avi file is really good quiality. i play it as avi and everything is fine, only whenn i convert it itdrops the audio. i convert as vcd ntsc,cbr standard format, video type non interlace, aspect ratio 1:1 vga, no filters, and ste at high quiality. any1 have any suggestions? thanks, dave

Audio is probably Ac3.
Download the AC3ACM filter, which you can find the link to somwhere on this BBS, or extract the audio to a wav with Virtualdubmod or Virtualdub_ac3.

You can get the AC3 ACM Decompressor here :
http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/AC3ACM/AC3ACM.zip

Lately I find that it is better to use a Little tool called "Decompress.exe" to decompress the audio instead of useing Virtual-Dub to extract it, On occation I will still get sync problems when extracting VBR Mp3 to wav even when doing it the Proper Prescribed way...This tool comes with a VCD encoder called AVI2VCD but the encoder isn"t that good but the decompress tool is very handy...Cheers

ok, dumb question, but..............split the video and audio, then put in the seperate files when i use tmpegnc? Second is i trid to install AC3 ACM Decompressor running win xp, and it messed up my other pc(thank god i didnt run it on the main 1............lol) anything xp compatable? sorry, but i am a newbeeeeeee thanks again!!

It is XP compatible, I and many others are using it with XP. You are the only one that has ever reported a problem.

What do you mean it messed up your system, it's only an audio codec?

no never mind i was wrong, my sondecided to run a program he d/l from the net n got me a virus. when i went to install the program it stated that it hasnt passed the win xp compatability, i almost always ignore this message. but it was a virus that got the other pc, not the program, i jumped the gun. sorry

yeay got it, its perfect. thanks to all! sorry bout the ranting

I am currently evaluating the DVD authoring product.

I would like to know if there is any way of adding an introduction video prior to the initial track page. For example 20th Century Fox would first show their world famous logo before going to the menu section.

If this facility is not achievable using the current version is it planned?

Under "Create Menu," then under "Display Menu Settings," you can set the first pull-down menu to "Play the first track" when the DVD is loaded into the player. The first track will play, then the menu will be shown. However, someone else asked here a couple of days ago about a problem with this: that first track still shows up in the menu, which is not what you want in a case like you describe.

as a final product i need to produce an edl for onlining at a separate place. my source materials are generally svhs analog tape. these svhs tapes are dubbed down from timecoded betacam masters. the svhs tapes have no timecode that can be read by my computer. they only have a visible burn in window (no ltc or vitc). older versions of premiere allowed me to assign timecode to captured clips (ctrl-k in premiere 6). i simply looked at the first frame of each clip and assigned the same number that was visible in the burn in window. the current version of premiere (pro) lacks edl support. i can't believe they call it "pro." it also seems that software other than premiere cannot read premiere's assigned timecode.

how can i timestamp my avi files with timecode that will match my visible burn in window and will also be generally if not universally readable in other software? recompressing the files is something i'd like to avoid but if that's the only way i'd consider it.

re-capturing is likely not an option as the sources are very large libraries of older materials.

thanks,
BabaG

Your Question Has very Little or nothing at all to do with Tmpgenc..This is a Tmpgenc Formum and all questions have to Pertain to tmpgenc in some way..Maybe you should look for a forum that has more to do with Editing than Encodeing...good Luck

wasn't sure if there might be a way of resaving
the described files through tmpgenc or something
like it and having the resave also restamp them
such that the timecode would read properly. if
anybody knows if such a thing can be done i'd
love to hear about it. and likewise, if anyone
knows it can't be done please let me know so i
can go away quietly.

BabaG

Hi..
No .avi file i put in the load quene seems to be accepted..
What am i doing wrong?

The message reads: The file "filename.avi" cannot be opened, or not supported.

Why? Please advice.

/Dixen

Go to "options" to "Enviromental settings" to "Vfapi Plugins" and Raise the "Direct show File reader" to "2"..Now your Files should Load Normally but you also need the Correct codecs installed...Cheers

you need codecs
try either klite codec pack or nimo codec pack both are just as good
and bobs ur fathers brother

NOOOOO.........OOO!

Don't EVER install one of these codec packs! Not unless you want to seriously mess up your system.
Jaysus, these things cause more problems than they solve and anybody who is PC savvy will tell you this, just ask the guys in other forums who are experienced coders.

Installing every codec known to man on your system is NOT a good idea, the people who put these codec packs together have no idea what they are doing. They cause lock ups, conflicts and can interfere with other software which relies on it's own codecs.

You only need to install the codecs you require, so keep it minimal and you will have far less problems.
Why do you think there are so many people posting problems on this BBS? Many of them are related to and caused by these dreaded codec packs.

its the lazy newbie way i know:
but too tell you the truth i havent had any probs with (nimo or k-lite codec) no locks-ups, no slow downs, no codecs getting in the way of each other and i have 36 audio codecs and 40 odd video. now wait, i know i dont need nearly half of them but who really cares, none of them are conflicting each other or slowing down my system in any way, i find all my codecs work well together not a sign of a conflict to be seen. if anyones gonna be slowing down because of conflicting software its me, im on a P.O.S p2 350 128mb ram im slow enough already :/
the reason i gave this option is because i tried the way you suggested(ashy) and remember having no luck with avi formats (or any other format for that matter), but after installing the packs tmpgenc is my one and only for any format conversion.
If you dont want all the codecs that come with the packs, which is fair enough, there is a program called 'GSpot codec information' it will tell you exactly what codecs you need

and bobs ur fathers brother

Or your aunties husband....

Hi, I'm using the English version of DVD Author 1.5, but I would like to enter Japanese text into the menus. Is this supported, or must I use the Japanese version?

This is the only feature that I am missing, otherwise this would be the ideal DVD Authoring program!!!

it can be done with the English version.

Use the Control Panel to add Japanese language support, and add Japanese as the unicode language support.

Copy the Japanese menu text from MS word or other source, then paste the text on DVD Author menu editor. Done.

In my machine (W2K) it works by doing:

1-In control panel, regional settings, set the system default locale to Japanese (you can leave the user locale in English, it doesn't matter)

2-Enter the text using the IME (somehow copy-paste isn't working, it only works when I type it).

You'll need to install the IME (if you don't have it already).

I have made several hundred sucessful SVCD's. I keep my hard drive defragged and clean. My last couple of attempts(however) have produced SVCD's with bad video for about 5 to 10 seconds and sometimes a loud squeak. afterwards it all returns to normal.
It appears to happen at the same time no matter which movie I am watching.(about 1/3 of the way into it). I have cleaned my stand alone player with one of those disc cleaners. I have burned them from 1X to 12X(all with same results).
My only guess is the media I have been using. I believe I switched to Memorex from Sony cause they were on sale. Can the media really make a difference? even when I thought Memorex was a good brand?

The media makes a big difference and Memorex is crap for VCD anyway.

Ritek are usually best for VCD and SVCD and quite reasonable.
The burn speed is also a factor. Keep it to 4x if you can.

Ok, if I abort an encoding job, will the mpg that has been created thusfar be useless, or will it play up until the point it was aborted? Thanks in advance.

The File should play like normal ....

There's also a way to set your mark-in and out points to just render a section of the video, if that's what you're trying to do.

By cutting a 1,4GB MPG2 File (1h54min) into peaces the cutter stopps after 57 min (the cutting end is set to 59min). Also if I try to start a cut after 57 min up to the end it produces errrors. when I start at 55 it ends up after 2 mins?

Well First off Tmpgenc"s editor is only officially supposed to be for Files that were originally encoded By tmpgenc ,With that Said Tmpgenc"s editor Can at times be a Little Buggy and I do not think there is anything really you can do about it accept use a Different Mpeg editor....

Thanks 4 your informations, originally the files has been converted and merged with tmpgenc's editor, I've cutted them now with TVTool, a nice but generic tool (www.musclesoft.de/combatman/).
4 all other things TMPGEnc is realy nice!

Ok, I've been experimenting with some templates and have noticed something: on my videos, the macro blocks, etc, that I noticed in my earlier post apparently disappear when I switch from I-frame only mode to IBP mode.

Is this supposed to happen? I thought that creating an I-frame only video would result in the HIGHEST quality possible?

My goal is to create the absolutely highest quality video possible, I don't care if it takes 50 hours to encode 1 hour of video.

Can anyone shed some light on why this might be happening? My only explanation is that for some reason at 8mbps, with I-frames only there is not enough bit-rate to go around for 30fps. Does not seem right though since that equates to 26.6KB per frame, which at 720x480 should result in a decent quality JPEG image...

Thanks for any help!

Actually it's more like 34KB.

You need to remember that a frame containing motion and detail is a lot harder to compress than a still image or low detail image and therefore requires more bits per frame to maintain the quality of the image without macroblocks, so while your calculations may work for still images it's a whole new ball game when you involve motion.

If what you are saying was true then we wouldn't need VBR encoding methods or B and P frames and we could just treat each frame of video as a full frame still image and use the same amount of bits to encode each frame.

http://www.broadcastpapers.com/editing/Pinnacle4MPEGMyths01.htm