I want to post small video clips for my movie review site. I *was* using my video editing software's default .wmv export, but it's not exactly the most widely supported format.

But first I need to figure out how to get a comparable balance between filesize and sound/video quality. Ideally, the 10-30 second video clips would be small enough for a 56k modem user (like me) to download.

Here's a short (128k) clip from my site: http://ironicconsumer.com/movies/mazes_couldbeparents.wmv

So, basically my question is, what settings do I use to compress an .mpg of comparable quality?

When I attempt to convert my Xvid file (717mb), TMPG is showing 7885mb. This is using a 3000 bit rate. While encoding, it is also showing 10hrs. Is this correct. I had 8% of the file encoded and it was over 600mb. How will this fit, and is this the normal time? Thanx for the help.

when i try to convert to svcd only the sound is outputted.no vision.i've checked everything a million times over(frame rates etc..).the original file is a torrent avi file which plays perfectly in media player.its just when i try and output it to svcd.any help appreciated.......lee

Raise the priority of the 'Directshow file reader' to 2 or 3 in the VFAPI plugins.
If that doesn't cure it install the latest FFDSHOW.

Hi,

i ahve the following problem:

I downloaded the Episodes of 24. Now i want to burn them on a Video DVD. For this i have to change the Format to mpeg-2. If i start the conversion, everything seems to be fine (and at the first two episodes it was fine), bat after the first commercial break, which was cutted out, the screen fades out to black and then will be black the next 30 Minutes. What can i do?

I am converting some MPEG-2 NTSC (TV recordings) files to VCD. Often when I move the slider or scan forward with the >> << buttons in the Source Range window, TMPGEnc will hang. If I close the program and restart it, often I can scroll back and forth with no problems, so the problem is pretty random.

Some files were created with a Hauppauge PVR-250, others with an ATI TV-Wonder and BeyondTV. Makes no difference where the files come from, all can hang the program.

HELP?

bump.

Hi all,

I'm just trying the newest version of TMPGEnc (2.521 ?) to convert DV-AVI files into DVD format. The program is great, the quality very good.

The problem is that TMPGEnc is crashing to desktop, without any error message.

Usually it happens at the end of the encoding process, leaving a working and complete MPG file but preventing from batch encoding (I'm making lots of short DV clips and the batch encoding is almost a must...).

Out of 20-30 encoding done till now, only 2-3 times the program did not crash and continued the batch, although it took 2 minutes after completing the MPG, before returning control and continuining the batch.

I also have crashes during the encoding, leaving an useless 0Kb MPG file on the hard drive. These crashes were not frequent until yesterday, but now they're so frequent that I could not encode my last AVI in 6 attempts (and it's still there to be encoded).

What I already checked:
- It's not memory/disk overflow (temp and output files are on an empty 80GB HD)
- RAM banks have been tested with docmem for 5 hours, no errors reported
- Other programs (including games and other encoders) don't give any problems
- No virus reported by McAfee (DAT files is 1 day old)
- No programs running in background, also system restore is disabled

I'm encoding DV-AVI files captured through Windows Movie Maker (my Pinnacle Studio 1.10 has been abandoned since when I installed XP Pro), but this shouldn't be the problem because, when the TMPGEnc works, the output is OK.

My system:

Q-TEC 550W Dual Fan Gold -
EPoX 4PDA3I i865PE FSB 800 -
P4 2.6GHz HT FSB800-
2x512Mb DDR400 Dual Channel -
GeForce4 Ti 4600 (Omega KX 1.4523a) -
Realtek AC'97 Audio -
QUANTUM FIREBALLlct20 40GB –
Maxtor 6Y080L0 – 80GB
Win XP Pro + SP1&2 + all security patches

Update:
the problem was the DV-AVI format produced by Windows Movie Maker.

Since this format is not read by AVI2DVD, when I used AVI2DVD usually I converted the files with the Canopus DV Converter (using the "Canopus Reference AVI" as output format)

I tried encoding the "Reference AVIs" with TMPGEnc and now everything works: at the end of each MPG the program returns control and eventually proceeds to the next file in the batch. Also the "shutdown at end of the batch" is working correctly

Hope this info is useful also for someone else, I'll spread the news around, since I've found several other people in this and in other forums having the same crash issue...maybe they can solve it in the same way.

Bye, Corrado

I have the same problem, but with Type-1 DV-AVI from MediaStudioPro.
What is strange is that I used to have no problem with this ....even though TMPGenc site now reckons it can't cope with Type-1 at all.
I guess something has been lost in a version update.
Next stop, to check if the new TMPGenc 3 supports DV Type-1.....

File : 190 MB (190 MB), duration: 0:34:23, type: ASF, 1 audio stream(s), quality: 34 %
Video : 175 MB, 712 Kbps, 12.79 fps, 640*480 (4:3), WMV3 = Windows Media Video 9, Not checked
Audio : 16.21 MB, 65 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, 0x161 = Windows Media Audio 9, Supported

This is the original source file that I have. Is there any point in increasing the bitrate to a higher number? I beleive that this would just make larger file but not improve on the quality of this file.Infact other than applying sharpness filters or noise filters there is not much improvment to be had. Are there any experts that would give me a pointer for the best approch when converting these files to be stored on a DVD (using a DVD at this bitrate means I can store larger number of VCD quality mpegs?) but quality will not be improved over the original file. Right?

Right and wrong.
You cannot compare bitrates between different formats.
What may be OK for one format may not not be a high enough bitrate for another format.

WMV has a good compression>filesize ratio. This same ratio does not apply to MPEG1/2.
While the compression for MPEG1/2 is good it is not as good as WMV or MPEG4.
If you try to encode an MPEG at 712 kb/s it will look awful.

If you do not want to degrade the quality any further then it is best to use at least the same resolution, in this case you would need to use standard DVD resolution 720x480 and a higher bitrate. In fact I would use standard DVD bitrate settings.

You also have another problem. The frame rate is wrong. If you attempt to convert to DVD from this frame rate you will have playback problems. TMPG does not do frame rate conversion too well.

However you could try using the frame rate setting 25 / 2 = 12.5 but you would then need to set the resolution to 720x576 as this is a PAL frame rate.

The nearest frame rate setting for NTSC is 29.97 / 2 = 14.985 however this will still cause playback problems unless you speed up the original frame rate to 14.985 fps first.

In any case looking at this movie it seems pointless even bothering as it's such low quality in the first place.

So what you are saying in essence is to use the standard NTSC DVD template, however I amy have some issues with the frame rate as my original is non standard.
The standard bitrate for a NTSC DVD in TMPGE is CQ max 8000-2000. This is fine I have tried it and it does give good result to date I have not had any frame rate issues other than a time issue. Would re-encoding the this file throu MS movie maker help in getting a good frame rate better suited for conversion with TMPGE.

As usual more knowledge means more factors to decide from. I did not know that frame rate is not applicable to all media formats. Thanks again for your time and info.

Re-encoding your clip with MS Movie Maker will only make your clip look worse. It is a really bad idea to keep compressing your clip over and over. You want to put your cleanest most uncompressed into TMPGEnc.

That clip has a very unusual frame rate. I don't think you will ever get a smooth playback of that clip if you convert it to DVD, especially if the clip has a lot of panning side to side. There is professional software that will perform frame interpolation to adjust the framerate but I never used it so I can't say how it does.

Where did the clip come from? Perhaps you can get the original uncompressed source and encode that.

There is a saying: Garbage in, garbage out.

I think that the saying is right!! At this point all I am trying to do is to clean my HD of all the files I had, I just wanted a format that would remain the closest to my original(the original was probably a mini-dv it was then encoded to ASF for broadband diffusion using a standard template) so I am stuck with this unusual format as my source. At this point I will probably just load it into Tmpge and ask for a DVD NTSC 4:3 format conversion using the standard template. Since the consensus is that I will not be able to improve the quality the aim is to preserve what I already have.

Thanks again to all the positive insight.

I captured 60 minutes from my dvcamcorder (using Moviemaker) and got a 12gig AVI file. I used TMPGENC to make a PAL SVCD out of my AVI file.
Picture is okey but audio lags and sounds like it's played with half the speed.
How can I fix this??

Simple answer: Don't use Movie Maker!
And take care about the settings. Movie Maker likes NTSC more than PAL. *rolleyes*

Maybe a stupid question....can I use TMPGENC to capture video from my dvcam instead of Moviemaker? Or do you have any other suggestion?
(I live in Sweden and use PAL)

TMPGEnc does not capture, it only encodes.

I personally use the Ulead products to capture DV. You have to pay for it, but there is a 30 trial. Try it to see if it works. Ulead supports PAL.

There are a couple of free programs that will capture DV video via firewire.
You could try WinDV, http://windv.mourek.cz
A new one is "Avid Free DV", http://www.avid.com/freedv/features.asp

Why do I need the ac3 plugin? I am new to all of this dvd making, and I have successfully made a couple of dvds without ac3 encoding.

I love both the dvd authoring and encoding programs and was going to get the audio encoder, but saw a possible problem.

I am about to move out to the sticks where no high speed internet is available and I will be using cell phones for my phone service. So I probably won't be getting 56k internet service. I'll use my work for internet access.

My concern is, if I get the ac3 plugin, will it become unusable after a period of time. I saw that you would have to update every so often to keep the software running.

How often is the ac3 plugin to be re-registered?

You don't need the Ac3 plugin.
It's only required if you want to encode to Ac3 audio. If you don't need it and are happy with just using PCM or Mp2 in your DVD's then your fine.

Okay, maybe I phrased my question wrong. Why would I want the ac3 plugin?

I have spent a ton of time getting my capture card working right. Sorting through all the crappy dvd making software. I've got everything working great now, so I started looking into the audio side of things.

I'm just curious what advantages ac3 brings. I was going to download the plugin to check it out, but I saw where you had to re-register it every so often. Was wondering how often, a week, a month, a year?

Here is a quick review of the 3 audio formats:

ac3 = 100% compatible with the dvd standard, great compression, up to 5.1 channels, small file size

PCM (wav) = 100% compatible with the dvd standard, up to 2 channels, no compression, huge file size, gives less room for video, can offer the best sounding audio due to no compression but at the cost of video quality for longer movies

mpa (mpeg audio) = not 100% compatible with dvd standard but almost every player can play it, up to 2 channels (there are some mpeg audio surround encoders however), file size comparable to ac3 2 channel.


In my opinion ac3 is a better choice. Some people will say that mpeg audio is good and I would agree. It all depends on what you like and what sounds good to you. When I play mpa and ac3 audio with my speakers on my television they sound the same. But when I play them through my expensive surround sound system ac3 clearly sounds better. It depends on your ears.


If you purchase the ac3 plug-in from TMPGEnc you do have to activate it. When you install it, it will connect to the internet. It's no big deal if you purchased it legally and have an internet connection. In fact you won't even notice it really, it does it automatically.

Just a couple of things to add.

The AC3 plugin only encoded 2 channel audio not 5.1

MPEG audio is infact 100% compatible with the DVD standard. However it is only supported in the PAL specification. Having said this I would say 99.9% of all NTSC DVD players, if not all, will play MPEG audio.

As for compression I would say MPEG and AC3 are comparable as they are based on the same technology.
In my opinion sound quality is comparable also if not sometimes better in MPEG than 2 channel AC3 when using Dolby Prologic systems.
It requires a full Dolby digital decoder to appreciate AC3 as it should sound.

TMPG will encode the MPEG using surround sound, as will any other MPEG encoder, as long as the Wav source has been down mixed to dolby surround from a 5.1 source.
Most applications such as VOB2AUDIO and DVD2AVI will do this as will many others.

ashy is correct about the 2 channel limit of the TMPGEnc ac3 encoder. I was just giving an overview of the formats and did not make it product specific.

In NTSC land, mpeg audio is not part of the DVD standard, so it depends if your country uses NTSC or PAL.

For more information about the ac3 activation visit this site:
http://www.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tsp_ac3.html

I forgot to add this in my previous post:

If you have no internet connection like you stated, you will run into problems with the activation. In that case, mpeg audio would be a good choice.

@ashy

To be correct:
MPEG1 Layer 2 Audio is fully DVD compatible - in PAL and NTSC. But according to the Specs:
In NTSC-Land it is only alowed as additional Audio-Track, not as Main-Audio-Track. But like you wrote: Nearly any DVD-Player should be able to play back DVDs with MP2-Audio only.
In the PAL-World, MP2-Audio is alowed as Main-Audio-Track.

Thank you for your input guys, this stuff is starting to make a little sense.

i have an avi file using the divx codec that i want to convert to svcd. when I choose the file, it is unsupported. how come some avi files work and some dont? is there anyway to correct this problem?

I have an avi file encoded with divx. WHen i try to convert it, it says that its unsupported. What do I do?

How can you put a startup/opening video in a vcd. This video plays before the main menu is shown.

al

Just put it as the first track in your burning/authoring program.

i'm using Nero 5 and the menu page i created is default in track 1 and wont let me change it. Any suggestion how to do it in Nero or is there a better software?

Oh I see what you are trying to do now.
I don't think it is possible to do what you are asking.
I don't know of any software that can accomplish what you ask or if it supported in the VCD 2.0 spec.