I've got an AVI that has "white snow" (black/white random pixels) as an effect of somebody switching channels on a TV. Whenever TMPG encodes this, the footage immediately after the snow has severe blockiness at first, before settling back to normal. How can I avoid this?

Here's some links showing the problem:

http://tinyurl.com/5lao -- Shows "white snow" effect.
http://tinyurl.com/5lap -- Shows blockiness after snow.
http://tinyurl.com/5laq -- Shows normal picture after a second or two.

Thanks.

Noise, whether intentional or not, needs more Megabits/sec to encode.

Try encoding just that section with CQ at 8Mbs. You will then know the best quality possible with DVD spec.

Then try 2-pass VBR with the max bitrate set high (8.4Mbs) if you can't afford the file size of the whole file at 8 Mbs.

A more tricky approach would be to encode just those sections with a different GOP structure (less B and P frames) and try to merge the pieces together. (Use closed GOPs for this).

What would lessen this effect a LOT is to use AVISynth to frame serve the File But use a Heavy Noise Filter(AVISynth"s noise filter is better than Tmpgenc"s)
This would lessen the Noise before it gets to tmpgenc so you will get Less Blockyness, and use the "Soften Block Noise" setting to help with this, and setting the "Motion Precition Search" to "High Quality" will help with Blockyness also...

I agree with Minion, better to lessen the effect then encode, but is it really necessary to include these parts in the output?

If it's not required then remove them. This can easily be done by using the 'Cut Editing' function in the 'source range' filter. Just simply cut them out.

If they are required then maybe you would be better using a CBR method of encoding rather than VBR to keep the bitrate constant and using 'High quality' for the 'Motion search precison' or if you feel like you've got the expertise use the MVBR and 'Forced picture type' setting then at least for these difficult frames right after the snow you can set your own quality.

Check the Forced picture type box then click 'setting' and set the first difficult frame as an 'I' picture and change the bitrate of the frames.


ASHY

> is it really necessary to include these parts in the output?

Of course! They're part of the edited product... are you saying we should cut
out stuff from a final edit just because it encodes badly? No way, Jose. :)

> you would be better using a CBR method of encoding rather than VBR

I'm already encoding to MPEG1, 352x240 NTSC, with CBR of 1500.

As for the other suggestions of motion speed detection, this didn't help, no
matter which speed I selected. However, I will try the forced picture settings
option and make the frames "I" type and see how it goes.

Thanks!

I have an avi encoded with xvid that must have some bad frames because the video will freeze (and actually force me to restart my whole computer). I have VirtualDub and I tried scanning the video for errors and then making a direct screen copy (this is suppose to mask the bad frames?), but this doesn't work (also, no matter what I try, extracting or not, the audio becomes out-of-sync). Am I doing something wrong? I'm quite new at this, so I'm hoping for a simple way to mask the bad frames (like Divx Antifreeze does). Is there an xvid version of the Divx antifreeze? Is there something else I should try?
Please help, thanks.

After scanning for errors did you check the Option to "Mask Selected Frames"???
You have to have this option checked before makeing a Copy of the File..Depending on the Type of De-Sync problem you are haveing would determine what method you would use to Fix the problem..If the File starts in sync But gradually goes out of sync then this is the Most difficult type of De-Sync to fix Cuz you have to Time Stretch/Shrink the audio to the Length of the Video with an Audio editor Like "Cool Edit" or "Sound forge" to attempt to fix the Problem ,But if the File is the same amout out of sync the whole way through the File then this can more easily be fixed By off-setting the audio or Video so they sync up, you can do this with the "Muxer" in BBMpeg or Better yet with the Muxer in "Womble Mpeg2VCR"....Another thing you can try is to "Scan For Errors" then "Mask Selected Frames" then Just "frameserve" the File to Tmpgenc without Makeing a Copy of the File....

i am trying to conver some new mov files into vcd but there is no sound anyhting i can download to fix this or is it a setting?

This seems to be a Common Problem with Mov Files and Tmpgenc and the Only solution I can think of is to extract the audio from the Mov file to a Format that Tmpgenc CAN Encode, like WAV..I don"t know what software you have But I know that "Adobe Premier" can do this and so can "Sound Forge".But I"m sure if you took a Little time and Looked on the Net you would Find a Freeware Program that will extract the audio from a Mov file to WAV...

I have just received, but have not yet had a chance to install or use, Ulead DVD Movie Factory version 2. I hope to be able to retire MyDVD, which came with my Pioneer A05. With MyDVD, I used TMPGEnc 2.59 to create separate elementary streams of video (.m2v) and audio (.wav), which MyDVD then combined.

I would be grateful to hear the recommendations of DVDMF2 users as to what stream types they use in TMPG, as well as any other settings that DVDMF2 may be particular about, such as VBV buffer size, GOP open/closed, etc.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
EricJ

Well One thing I can tell you From Experience is that you will be Quite dissapointed in the New version of DVD Movie Factory, your "MYDVD" is still a superior Product..The New Version seems to have even Less features that the Version 1 of Movie Factory..Movie Factory is Quite a Low End DVD Authoring Program, so is MyDVD but MyDVD is still better, you should have spent a Few more Bucks and gotten Ulead DVD Workshop 1.2 which is a Better Program than MyDVD..IF you still can I would advise you to Return Movie Factory for a refund Cuz it is the Lowest end Authoring Program that Ulead Makes, But I"m sure you will figure that out for yourself soon enough....Good Luck

I tried, unsuccessfully using MyDVD, MGI Videowave and Pinnacle's built in
authoring. Each either crashed or would not play correctly on something.

Using MovieFactory2 and selecting "do not convert complient mpeg files"
produced DVDs that played correctly on everything I tried.

I used standard GOP closed or open, 8000 CBR, m2v+wav and highest quality
settings. I replaced the audio (actually no audio) in the .m2v file in
MF2 with the wav file in a 1/2 hour video. the sound stayed synced for the
whole thing. MF2 is kinda limited, but it worked for me. I spent lots of time
with software that had neat features, but made effective coasters.

Nonstandard gop resulted in jumpy or intermittant playback on some software
players.

Your results may vary. I'll wish you luck too. I got MF2 for real cheap at
CompUSA after a rebate, so I considered it a good value.

Thanks Mark, that is all useful information.

I picked up DVDMF2 at CompUSA also, who was selling it for $30.

In addition to doing the audio replacement with a .wav, I plan on trying MPEG-1 layer 2 audio, which DVDMF2 is supposed to accept, and which should consume considerably less space on the disk.

Thanks again for the info.

Regards,

Eric J

Hi, i was trying to covert serverl avi files to mpg with tmpgenc 2.5, 2.9 and 2.51 using window xp, but for some reason, after its done converting, there is only audio and the video is gone. can anyone help?

This is Not a Windows XP Problem..You probably just need to Raise the Priority of the "Direct show file Reader" in the "Vfapi Plugins" to "2"..If you can not see your Movie in the Preview window while encodeing then there will not be Video in the File....

I'm trying to encode a AVI movie that req Xvid codec
I've installed the latest Xvid codec by nic dated 060203.
Window's media player plays this AVI movie perfectly.
But when TMPG encodes in to MPEG, there is no sound.
The origin audio in the avi is layer-2.
Can anyone help me.

Thanks

I have Never Heard of Layer 2 audio in AVI files Before are you sure that you don"t mean layer 3???any time you have Problems with the audio in your AVI files you should extract the audio from the avi file to WAV and use the WAV file as the audio source, you can do this with a Lot of different Programs But try either AVI_Mux or Virtual Dub Cuz they are Freeware...

I am new to DVD ripping. I have followed all instructions and have created a movie using Flask. When I select the mpeg1 then bring up my large file, I was told to go into the cut area to make 2 or 3 pieces so that I can download it to a disk. However everytime I do this I try to cut and name it(which works for the first cut) But then when I go back to cut again it is the whole file still there and it starts to search for the first cut file?

Basically I do not know what the heck I am doing and the instructions that were given to me are very vague as to the steps to follow.

Can someone tell me how to cut a mpg movie into three parts so I can then process them to a couple of discs?

Tmpgenc is Notorius For Only Being able to Cut the First Part and even if it did cut the second and third parts chances are that the audio would be out of sync..You either have to encode the Movie in Parts or Buy a Real Mpeg editor like "Womble Mpeg2VCR"..And there are Much easier and better ways of ripping DVD"s to make VCD/SVCD than Useing Flask, Flask is Quite old and Out Of Date...

go to vcdhelp.com

>Tmpgenc is Notorius For Only Being able to Cut the First Part and even if it did cut the second and third parts chances are that the audio would be out of sync..You either have to encode the Movie in Parts or Buy a Real Mpeg editor like "Womble Mpeg2VCR"..And there are Much easier and better ways of ripping DVD"s to make VCD/SVCD than Useing Flask, Flask is Quite old and Out Of Date...

Ok, so what do you suggest. I am a novice at DVD ripping and bought this stuff offline. Now I know most of it I can get for free. Even as difficult as it was, I managed to get all the way to the cut. But alas have failed.

In other words what do you reccommend to copy DVD's and then burn them to my own disc. Yes I am trying to build a collection. I have spent far to much money on DVD already? So what products do you recommend that are easy to use even for a novice like me???

I have an avi file with no chapter markers and would like to add chapters to it as I convert it to mpeg-2. Is this possible?
thanks.

You Can Add chapters after you have encoded it to Mpeg2 with your authoring Software..If you are Makeing a VCD or SVCD you can use VCDEasy to Add Chapters to the File and if you want to make Chapters and Menu"s then you can use VCDEasy also But DVD Workshop makes Better looking ones.You can not add Chapters while Encodeing ,Well not with Tmpgenc, You can With some versions of CCE...

I'm very new to this so I hope you may be able to help.....I am trying to encode an AVI and create an mpeg-1 file

The AVI file properties are:

AUDIO
=====
bit rate - 56kbps
Audio format - MPEG Layer 3

VIDEO
=====

Frame rate - 14 fps
Data rate - 44kbps
video sample size - 24 bit
video compression - MS-MPEG4 V3

When I load in the avi file it populates both the video and audio fields, then I carry on with the wizard and choose the source range, but when I move the slider, the audio is fine but there is no picture!

Is this common and am I missing something?? I have been able to see the pic before on all AVIs that I've created, although they have had a video compression of MS-MPEG4 V2.

hope to get some answers and thanks in advance!

I'm very new to this so I hope you may be able to help.....I am trying to encode an AVI and create an mpeg-1 file

The AVI file properties are:

AUDIO
=====
bit rate - 56kbps
Audio format - MPEG Layer 3

VIDEO
=====

Frame rate - 14 fps
Data rate - 44kbps
video sample size - 24 bit
video compression - MS-MPEG4 V3

When I load in the avi file it populates both the video and audio fields, then I carry on with the wizard and choose the source range, but when I move the slider, the audio is fine but there is no picture!

Is this common and am I missing something?? I have been able to see the pic before on all AVIs that I've created, although they have had a video compression of MS-MPEG4 V2.

hope to get some answers and thanks in advance!

Raise the priority of the 'Direct show file reader' to 2 in the VFAPI plugins.

Also you cannot encode that frame rate to 14 fps and expect it to play on your DVD player.

You will need to choose '14.985 fps(internally 29.97 fps)' as the frame rate.

ASHY

Hello,

I am trying to refine my dvd rip - mpeg process. (clips for the internet)

I am confused about the following:

The ripped DVD 'd2v file' has a framerate of 25fps when opened in TMPGEnc but in DVD2AVI it says its 29.97fps, Is the actual vob file 29.97fps or 25fps? If I encode 29.97fps in TMPGEnc, will it cause audio/video desyncronization? ( I prefer 29.97fps for web media)

I have a mother load of interlacing artifact "lines" when ripping from smart ripper an encoding with TMPEGEnc.

I tried to convert the d2v file with DVD2AVI into a MPEG-4 Fast Motion DivX clip and then use the Virtual Dub Deinterlace filters http://home.bip.net/gunnart/video/ (Area based v1.4filter / smooth v1.1 filter -this doubles the framerate) but the results are not much different than TMPGEnc's filter.

I have decided to just open the d2v file in TMPGEnc and use its filter.
The 'deinterlace' filter's features are confusing me, I found the following filters to have the best/similar results. But I don't know which is the overall best

Even field
Even field (adaptation)
Odd field
Odd field (adaptation)
(All of them cause a little black bar at the top left edge of the picture but guess clipping can solve that)

Please recommend or explain the use of these filters because I cannot find an explanation on the internet.

Regards
Fess

You probably wont need to use any de-interlacing filters.

If the disk is region 1 then it is most likely 29.97 fps, but I have had a situation where smartripper will create a 25 fps d2v so use DVD2AVI to create the d2v.

If it's region 2 it will be 25 fps. With Region2 the format is PAL. You shouldn't really get any interlacing artifacts with PAL.

If this is a region 1 DVD then use the FORCEDFilm option in DVD2AVI to return the movie back to a 23.976 fps progressive movie.
This is far better than having an interlaced 25 or 29.97 fps movie as it will save you all the problems of interlacing artifacts.

Also why the heck would you prefer 29.97 fps for web media?
This will only serve to make the files larger and would be pointless if it can be returned to a 23.976 fps progressive clip.


ASHY

>Please recommend or explain the use of these filters because I cannot find an explanation on the internet.

Have a look in the TMPG manual. It explains what they do.


ASHY

Hey ASHY...

Thanks for the input.

I checked the 'Stream Processing' tab in SmartRipper and it said 'Video NTSC 720x480', so I assume it is 29.97fps because that framerate is for NTSC (Pal is 25fps)

I went ahead an did as you suggested (use the FORCEDFilm option in DVD2AVI to return the movie back to a 23.976 fps progressive movie)

I then opened the created d2v file in TMPGEnc and the Video tab/Advanced Tab all stated that it was 23.976fps/progressive but looking at the movie, it still had the 'interlace artifacts'.

I opted for 29.97fps because it looked smoother than 25fps(made a bad comparsion of MPEG-4 fastmotion divX avi and 25fps MPEG) so I could be way off. And also, most of the clips on the internet are 29.97fps. Still, I am farily new to video editing so I will consider what you have said.

Regarding the filters, I don't have any such manual as referance. Is the 'manual' you're referring to the one accompanying the interview with TMPGEnc creator?

Regards
Fess

Ok, if you have used the FORCEDFilm option in DVD2AVI and you still see interlacing artifacts then it is likely that the Film is not stored as progressive frames on the DVD.
The way to tell is to click 'preview' in DVD2AVI. In the statistics window it should tell you whether the 'Video type' is 'Film' and if the 'Frame type' is 'progressive'.

If not then you can't use the 'ForcedFilm' option. You will just have to use the de-interlace option in TMPG.
Either 'Even' or 'Odd' should give the best results. I'd prefer to use 'Even', but either will do.

As for the smoothness of play between 25 and 29.97fps. It highly unlikely that you would see a difference here. Almost all footage originates at 24 fps and is converted to either 25 fps or 29.97 fps. This means that even if the frame rate was converted to 50 fps, you would still be actually watching a 24 fps movie.

Regarding most of the clips on the net being 29.97 fps, this is just a co-incidence and has no relevence or reason to be. It's just that a lot of these clips are posted on websites in countries that use the NTSC system, mainly the US.

The frame rate of any clip should be the same as the source wherever possible as conversion causes motion artifacts.
Original 25 fps clips will play just as smoothly as 29.97 fps ones, as a matter of fact 25 fps is closer the the original frame rate of 24 fps than 29.97 fps.


The manual can be found in the Plus version of TMPG.

ASHY

>The way to tell is to click 'preview' in DVD2AVI. In the statistics window it should tell you whether the 'Video type' is 'Film' and if the 'Frame type' is 'progressive'.


I see what you mean. Video type was (NTSC), Frame type (Interlaced).

I'll also keep in mind that the frame rate of any clip should be the same as the source wherever possible.

After reading your reply to "Bug report - Fuzz & Lines Inserted Into Movie" I was curious about (CQ)

From my 'mountain bike' rip, I have encode two 1min clips with these settings

Video Tab:
Size 352x240
Aspect ration: 1:1(VGA)
Framerate 29.97fps
Rate control mode: SEE BELOW
Motion Search Precision: normal

AdvancedTab:
Video source type: Interlace
Field order: Bottom field first (field B)
Source aspect ratio: 4:3 525 line (NTSC 704x480)
Video arrange Method: Full Screen
filter: Even Field (Adaption)

The only difference between the 2 clips is the 'Rate control mode'.

Made 1 clip using Constant Bit Rate (CBR) 5,967kbs - block noise occurs which defeats the purpose of my 'rip'

Made 1 clip using Constant Quality (CQ) 6,243 kbs - had much less block noise that is not noticble, looked great.

I've read here : http://www.dvdrhelp.com/tmpgencexplained.htm about the Rate control mode(s) but the CQ is vague. I am worried about using 'constant quality' for web media as I have been using CBR only for web clips. I don't see any problems, should I be concerned about using CQ?

Thanks
Fess

Not really why should there be any concerns.
CQ is simply a VBR encoding method. As you have noticed higher quality can be obtained with smaller file size. This obviously makes sense for web publishing.
CQ is the method both TMPG and CCE use for DVD.

By the way if you are ripping DVD your source aspect ratio should be 4:3 display for 4:3 MPEG2 sources or 16:9 display for 16:9 MPEG2 sources.
Most DVD is 720x480 or 720x576 not 704x480. TMPG chooses the wrong ratio.

ASHY

Great, so CQ and High Quality Slow will work out nicely.
I get the same quality mpeg-1 with 'CQ', 'High Quality Slow' and 112kbs audio at 6 mbs.
As opposed to mpeg-1 with 'CBR'-1000kbs, 'High Quality Slow', 96kbs audio at 8mbs

Although I am not making mpeg-2, (I use only mpeg-1 for the internet so no user will have codec problems) I will note the 4:3 display and 16:9 display for the Mpeg2 sources.
(I changed the Source aspect ratio from 4:3 525 line (NTSC 704x480) in my mpeg-1 to 4:3 and it looks the same)

Thanks again for all your help bro....

Regards
Fess

I am trying to encode "Lord Of The Rings" special edition but tmpg inserts lines & fuzz into the picture. I am encoding the dvd as it is not altering the resolution & not clipping either with both source & output set at 16:9. At the begining of disc 1 when the words come up my encode shows purpleish lines accros the right side of the screen & when the name lord of the rings is shown the screen is filled with fuzz, i get the same results on disc 2 as well. I am using 2 pass VBR.

I have since tried encoding that part at the begining of lord of the rings at different resolutions divisable by 32 & by 16 but still the problem occurs.

This is **NOT** a bug!!

Please ensure you have the facts before reporting faults as a bug. If it was a bug everybody would have the same problem and they don't!

You need to give us more info if you want help.

1. How have you ripped the VOBS to the drive?
2. What format are the VOBs in?
3. What are you using to decode the VOBs?
4. Are you encoding to SVCD or VCD?
5. What format is your TV?

ASHY

I have ripped the DVD using smartripper in backup mode, the source vobs are mpeg2 all i am trying to do is encode the film so it will fit on a single layered dvd-r, i use a dvd2avi project file to frameserve to tmpg using the unlock template:

Size: 720 x 576
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frame Rate: 25
Rate Control: 2 pass VBR
Buffer Size: 0
Video Format: PAL
Encode Mode: Interlace
Component Precision: 10bits
Motion Search: Highest Quality

Advanced
Source Type: Interlaced
Field Order: Top Field First A
Source Apect: 16:9
Video Arrange: Full Screen (keep aspect ratio)

Ive Tried cliping & resizing to see if it makes any difference but i always get the same result ive also tried the dvd template.

I hope someone can help me on this problem, its so frustrating.

The Purple Lines and Discoloration can be caused By a Couple Things usually by Hacked Codecs on your Computer Namely the "Angel Potion Codec", If you have this Codec on your Computer then it Could be causeing the Purple Discoloration, so look for it and Delete the Codec..

Firstly you are ripping with Smartripper in the wrong mode. You DO NOT want to use back up mode as you are ripping unecessary streams.

Use 'Movie' mode and leave all settings at default.

Also even though unrelated, I feel it is pointless using 2pass for DVD (actually 2pass is usually unecessary for any output format as CQ does a better job)
You would be better off using the CQ method of encoding as the results will be quicker and usually better.
It is pointless using a 2pass method when using high bitrates such as DVD encoding as you won't see a benefit. 2 pass only really makes a difference with low bitrate movies.
When encoding for DVD there is more than enough bitrate provided for each frame, so using 2 pass to try and allocate the bitrate as judiciously as possible is a waste of time.

Trust me, just ask anyone with any encoding knowledge on any encoding board and you will get the same answer, (CQ) is the way to go.


What do you see when using the Preview (File>Preview) before encoding?
Do you see the same effect or is it only after encoding the effect is apparant?

Try unchecking all the filters except the 'DVD2AVI project reader' in the VFAPI plugins and see if the effect remains.
As minion says the effect could be related to rogue codecs so doing the above should help if it is.

ASHY

Also raise the priority of the 'DVD2AVI project reader' to 2

I am ripping in backup mode because i use ifoedit to remux the m2v file so i can fit the film with the menus intact on a single layer dvd-r, this process works ok but i cannot understand what is causing this problem. I use 2 pass vbr because i am encoding at an average bitrate of 4200 leaving the maximum bitrate at 8000, if i use anything else i get blockyness in the film, time is not an issue for me as long as the quality is there. I see this both in the preview window & on the finished encode. I unchecked all the boxes except the dvd2avi project reader & raised the priority to 2 but it made no difference. I tried unchecking the boxes again except the ligos mpeg2 decoder & raised the prioity on that, this seemed to have cured the problem i dont get the purple lines anymore but i still get a screen full of fuzz when the "LORD OF THE RINGS" logo appears also this way has tripled my encode time.

Maybe You should look into a Program called "DVD2One" it will copy your DVD to your DVD-R in about 30 minutes and keep all the menus and chapters intact and fit it all on a single DVD-R with Good Quality....

>I tried unchecking the boxes again except the ligos mpeg2 decoder & raised the prioity on that, this seemed to have cured the problem i dont get the purple lines anymore but i still get a screen full of fuzz when the "LORD OF THE RINGS" logo appears also this way has tripled my encode time.

Right you've got me confused now. Are you importing a d2v or an m2v file into TMPEG?

If it's a d2v then this wouldn't be able to be opened by the Ligos decoder, so I assume you are importing an m2v.

Does this m2v file actually play ok? Why don't you just open the VOBs directly with DVD2AVI and frameserve.

ASHY

If i open the vobs directly with dvd2avi, create a d2v file and frameserve from dvd2avi i get the purpley lines on the right hand side of the screen & the fuzz when the film logo comes up.

If i open the vobs (with sequence files ticked) or extract the video as an m2v file & load that into tmpg with ligos mpeg2 decoder the purple lines disappear but the fuzz on the logo still remains.

The m2v file plays ok with no lines or fuzz on it. I cant understand why this is happening.

So this must be related to TMPG and is probably because of rogue codecs or maybe a dodgy TMPG install.

Try removing TMPG completly and do a re-install. If that doesn't cure it remove any codec packs you have installed and as many codecs as possible and re-install only the basic ones you need and try again, but I would guess you will still have the same problem. The only true way to completly remove traces of rogue codecs is a clean install.

I never install any codec packs on my system, they only cause more problems than they are worth. Do yourself a favor and only install what you need.

Also remove any other authoring or encoding programs, especially Ulead products which always seem to conflict with TMPG.

ASHY

I tried removing tmpg, placing a fresh install in its place but still had the same problem, i installed a second operating system (win xp pro) and basically theres nothing on it (accept dvd2avi 1.77.3 & tmpg) but still the problem persisted. I am so frustrated at this as it only happens on a couple of films the majority of films i have encoded have been without any troubles at all (thats on both systems).

Let me ask a question.
Is this DVD a Region 1 or Region 2 disk?

I have encoded Lord of the Rings recently and had no problem at all.
The DVD was a Region 2 disk and I encoded it to MPEG 2 PAL format. I didn't encounter any of your problems.

My system is basically the same as yours using WinXP pro, Smartripper to rip, DVD2AVI 1.76 to frameserve (not 1.77.3 as this version is incompatible with smartripper d2v's) and TMPG to encode.

It would be helpful if you could post some image grabs of the problem you are having somwhere.


ASHY