Another Newbie here, I'm sure this will seem dumb, but when I compress my DV footage (DV-AVI file), I get an *.m2v and a seperate .wav file for the audio. Of course when I play the .m2v file, no audio. I checked all the settings and it will only output to .m2v; how do I get a combined video/audio output in mpeg2 format??

Thanks and Happy New Year

Well, I figured it out, drop down box on first page of wizard for PCM Audio (splits audio) or MPEG layer audio which combines. To author DVD I need to resplit the audio and video anyway, so it worked fine once I figured out the rest of the process.

I'm trying to convert files that are about 80mb each, and I was wondering if there was any way to do it so that the output of normal resolution NTSC files wasn't so huge (ie 800mb), anyone know? or does the size of the mpg have no relationship to the size of the avi, only to length?

No. MPEG is more standard: Size MPEG-1 (VCD) = 10 MB x min. Size MPEG-2 (SVCD) = 30%-40% larger (you use VBR, therefore larger size = better quality, use FitCD to calculate the size).
More or less, a 80' CD-R = 80' VCD or 55'-60' SVCD.
Instead, AVI size goes from a profile fit from lowest quality (176x144) to DVD-like (720x576-PAL) quality. Even here, you can choose from minimum encoding quality (31) to maximum encoding quality (1) (see Xvid): the size can range from few tenths of megabites to some gigabites, for a 2h movie.

In general you can use: if I want to make a (S)VCD from an AVI, use the above formulas (or FitCD for a SVCD, since it's VBR).
Making vice versa is NON STANDARD and needs a bitrate calculator for every codec (and quality) you use/want to reach.

I've tried to convert some avi-files with divx5-codec with tmpgenc 2.51, but when I tried to select them over the browse-button or drag-and-drop them into the field I got the message about the filetype to be unsupported.

I upgraded tmpgenc to version 2.52 and tried it again - this time there was no message, but as I tried to start one of the files I noticed that there's no sound except of the first half second. I tried the other files and all of them were converted without sound although tmpgenc shows the file after drag-and-drop in video and audio-file folder.

The avi-file is made with sound, I've tested all files with virtualdub to prevent them from having bad or delayed soundtracks.
It's sure possible to extract the soundtrack of the avi first before converting to avoid this problem but I'm wondering if I do anything wrong as it happens to all my videos with DivX5.0-codec - but it works really good with DivX4 and XVid...

If the file contains AC3 audio then you will need to install the AC3ACM decompressor first.

I'm having the same problem, albeit only on SOME .AVI files.
(Ones that TMPGenc claims are longer than they are (i.e., 1H31M when they are actually 43M - not exactly 2x though... whether I correct length in Source Range window)
Dumb question: Hoe DO I "install the AC3ACM decompressor"?
Thanks for your help!

The AC3/ACM decompressor can downloaded frop Pegasys' page but works only on TMPGenc XPress.
Otherwise, extract the sound stream with VirtualDubMod (Stream --> Stream list --> Demux) and convert the output sound file to MP2 using BeSweet (+ GUI).
After thet, use tha MP2 you made as Audio Input in TMPGenc and choosing as 'profile' 'MP2 for SVCD'.

No, the AC3ACM decompressor is not made by TMPG. It can be downloaded here: http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/AC3ACM/
it can be used for decoding AC3 in AVI files loaded into TMPG or Virtualdub.


>Dumb question: Hoe DO I "install the AC3ACM decompressor"?
Does nobody ever read the readme.txt file that comes with the package or what?
As already stated in the readme, right click on the AC3ACM.inf and select 'install' from the menu. Done.

>Otherwise, extract the sound stream with VirtualDubMod (Stream --> Stream list --> Demux) and convert the output sound file to MP2 using BeSweet (+ GUI).
After thet, use tha MP2 you made as Audio Input in TMPGenc and choosing as 'profile' 'MP2 for SVCD'.

Very longwinded and unecessary.
No need to convert anything to mp2, just extract to wav and load that into TMPG.

Would increasing the video bitrate from 4000 to 8000 improve video quality?

Any help will be appreciated.

Depends on the source, but in most cases with a good quality source, yes.

What would you define as a "good quality source"

One of a decent resolution and with no artifacts such as block noise.

An excellent source would be DVD, VCD would look crap when re-encoded and likely wouldn't benefit from extra bitrate.

Thank You :-)

every time I set up a divx or other avi to transfer to mpeg the length of the movie in the window that shows you how big it is going to be says it is more than double what the origional movie was and the size of the file is always larger than what would fit on a dvd and I am using avi's that are about an hour and a half long. They always report about 277 min to 300+ does anyone know why it would do this also I try to set the bitrate as low as it will let me and it is still over the 4.7Gb that will fit on a dvd. Please help me.............

A search on VFAPI plugins should help.

I had the same problem. Go into Options>Environmental settiong>VFAPI and Upgrade the priority of "Direct Show Media File Reader" to 2 and that should do it... it did for me.

I'm getting the same problem - tripling movie lengths. It won't let me edit this option. Any ideas?

I am using Avid Pro and exporting QT Ref Files into TMPG (using the qtreader download). For about a year it worked flawlessly, on a Pentium 4 computer. However, I have tried installing TMPG on 3 different computers, and on all three I experience the same problem = about 30 seconds after I import the QT Ref File into TMPG the whole TMPG program shuts down without any warning. Of these 3 computers, two of them have Athlon Processors and the other is an Intel Celuron.

The only possible thing that I see different between the 3 computers that shut down unexpectedly and the 1 computer that works is a setting within TMPG Environment Settings. Under the CPU tab, the checkbox is CHECKED for "enable SSE-2" on the working Pentium 4 computer, and on the other three computers this option is greyed out. Can this be the problem???? On the Athlon computers it does not allow me to check the "enable SSE-2" checkbox, it is simply greyed out.

Also, am I right that SSE-2 is only for Pentium 4 processors? Does this have anything to do with TMPG shutting down unexpectedly???? Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

I have some MPEG2 files that were creted using a hardware encoder that I want to burn on to DVD. The files were created to be either S-VCD compatible or DVD compatible. Can I use TMPGEnc for creating the VIDEO_TS files? If not what other software can I use?

Thanks

>I have some MPEG2 files that were creted using a hardware encoder that I want to burn on to DVD. The files were created to be either S-VCD compatible or DVD compatible. Can I use TMPGEnc for creating the VIDEO_TS files? If not what other software can I use?
>
>Thanks

Hello Krish,

AFAIK 'TMPGEnc' is only an encoder. To create VIDEO_TS files as exist on a standard DVD you have to author your *.mpg files you already have (for example with 'TMPGEnc DVD Author') and then burn them on a DVD (why not Nero, but other programms are also suitable). I think 'TMPGEnc DVD Author' has also itself an internal burning procedure.

Raphael

Just bung the MPEGs into TMPGenc DVD author, by far the easiest program for a newbie to use and even a good choice for advanced users.

The MPEGs MUST be DVD compatible files otherwise TMPG DVD author will not accept them.

Hi guys, i have a problem. I have a few videos that are good quality that im putting on DVDs later, but the problem is when i convert them to mp2, the black lines from the top of the video and from the bottom dissapear.

What option do i need to set so that i will be able to keep these lines there?

Please e-mail me. :) Zlatko@europe.com or Ihatenato@hotmail.com, also try to add me on msn if you ahve it too..thanks

I just started scratching the surface of burning DVD's and it seems the deeper I dig into the DVD burning world, the more confused I get.

So far I have been using DVD Shrink a simple point and click program that seems to simply copy the movie that I RENT and in turn activates Nero on it's own and burns the movie.

A friend of mine suggested I use this program but I have no idea where to start and have looked through every help file.

All I wish to do is download movies from various sites, File Transfer Programs and burn them to my DVD+R's that I buy in an abundance.

In turn these questions arise.

What file types should I be downloading?

In Newby terms what does TEMPgenc do?

What settings should I be using on TEMPgenc

Once the file is encoded, what file type am I looking for and what program is the easiest for me to use for burning the movie to my DVD+R's?

Any other tips and things I haven't considered would be appreciated

Two really good sites that are full of the type of information you're looking for are http://www.doom9.org/ and http://www.afterdawn.com/

Be prepared to wade through about 30 or so different programs just to find the 6 or so programs you really like.

As far as what TMPGEnc is used for, it can demultiplex (split the audio and video streams) and multiplex (combine streams) MPG movie files, and can edit, filter, and re-encode AVI files to MPG movie files or elementary streams.

VCD, SVCD, and DVD formats all require MPG encoded video, which makes TMPGEnc the ONLY good choice for quality conversions of AVI -> VCD, SVCD, and DVD.

Good Luck!

Matt

Keep it simple use use TMPG's wizard to set up the encoding process and then use TMPGenc DVD author for creating the right DVD format and burning.

Hi, I have a real newbie question. I saved a bunch of recordings captured on an old ATI Rage 128 Pro AiW card in MPEG-2 format, 720x480, NTSC (525 lines). I realize now that my choice was sub-optimal for using the files to create SVCD's, but it's too late now.

I'm trying to salvage them by using TMPGEnc to re-encode the files into a more SVCD-friendly 480x480 resolution, but what seems to happen is the top and bottom (and possibly the left and right) get cropped off.

I used the standard SVCD template, and selected a source aspect ratio of 1:1 and a video arrange method of "Center (custom size) - 720x480" (in the Advanced tab). I've tried various other settings, but I can't seem to prevent the cropping. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just asking the tool to do something it can't do?

I like TMPGEnc, think it's really cool, but getting the right settings is really confusing me. :(

Newbie here. Can use some help--- I;m trying to encode an .AVI file to scvd. After going thru the settings and start encode I get an error message, Unalbe to load p3 package. What am I doing wrong?
thankx, Altdog

Extract the whole of the contents from the zip and DO NOT move any of it's contents.
You must run the .exe from the TMPG folder.

Hi, I have a real newbie question. I saved a bunch of recordings captured on an old ATI Rage 128 Pro AiW card in MPEG-2 format, 720x480, NTSC (525 lines). I realize now that my choice was sub-optimal for using the files to create SVCD's, but it's too late now.

I'm trying to salvage them by using TMPGEnc to re-encode the files into a more SVCD-friendly 480x480 resolution, but what seems to happen is the top and bottom (and possibly the left and right) get cropped off.

I used the standard SVCD template, and selected a source aspect ratio of 1:1 and a video arrange method of "Center (custom size) - 720x480" (in the Advanced tab). I've tried various other settings, but I can't seem to prevent the cropping. Am I doing something wrong, or am I just asking the tool to do something it can't do?

I like TMPGEnc, think it's really cool, but getting the right settings is really confusing me. :(

Well you could just leave it as it is and not bother re-encoding. Just simply run it through the 'Simple multiplexer' in the MPEG tools using the SVCD option and burn as normal.
This way you will maintain maximum quality and your DVD player should handle it fine.

If you still want to re-encode then use the settings below.
Under advanced tab:-

Source ratio: 4:3 525 line(NTSC)
Arrange method: Fullscreen(keep aspect ratio)

Under System tab:-

System stream setting: MPEG2 Super VideoCD(VBR)

Under Video tab:-

Stream type: MPEG2
Size: 480x480
aspect ratio: 4:3 display

Bear in mind SVCD will always look compressed when played in a non SVCD capable player such as Mediaplayer. You will need a real MPEG2 player such as Windvd.

Thank you for your advice. I will give it a try.

Happy New Year! :)

Nope, the re-encoding settings didn't work. :( I understand that the SVCD file will look compressed on Mediaplayer, because it doesn't 'know' that the file will be played back using a stand-alone DVD player; it just 'knows' that the file frames are 480x480, so it displays the SVCD as looking squashed. But what I don't understand is why TMPGEnc clipped off the tops and bottoms of the frames during the encoding process.

I would rather not bother with re-encoding, but I'm trying to get the file size down to where I can burn it onto a CD-R rather than a DVD-R.

I would really appreciate any more advice you could give me! Thank you! :)

Nope, the re-encoding settings didn't work. :( I understand that the SVCD file will look compressed on Mediaplayer, because it doesn't 'know' that the file will be played back using a stand-alone DVD player; it just 'knows' that the file frames are 480x480, so it displays the SVCD as looking squashed. But what I don't understand is why TMPGEnc clipped off the tops and bottoms of the frames during the encoding process.

I would rather not bother with re-encoding, but I'm trying to get the file size down to where I can burn it onto a CD-R rather than a DVD-R.

I would really appreciate any more advice you could give me! Thank you! :)

Make sure you haven't actuall got a check mark in the cropping option under the advanced settings.

What does the image look like in the preview before encoding?

Nope, cropping isn't enabled. The preview does show the the same truncated frame that is produced; thank you for suggesting looking at it before running the encoding. :)

I did find a workaround after reading and searching a few message boards all night... I used Virtual Dub to resize the frame, and then frameserve the result to TMPGEnc for encoding. Perhaps not the most elegant solution, but it works well (and reasonably quickly), and the final output looks great!

Now my only problem is that the audio and video have gotten out of sync somehow... the original wasn't perfectly sync'd correctly (drift), but my final file is off by about 4 seconds at the beginning, and over 10 seconds at the end (two hour capture).

Funny thing is, I ran a small test case using a custom setting to save an SVCD-compliant file (instead of the 720x480 one that's causing the problems), and demuxing and remuxing it doesn't appear to create any sync issues.

Maybe I should consider giving up on trying to make SVCDs and use the files to make mini-DVDs as is described in pcphotovideo.com

ashy, thank you for your patience, help, and suggestions! :)