TMPGEnc Plus 2.5, v.2.57.41.146

Got together some project settings that make a REALLY nice looking DVD out of the Quicktime file exported from an editing system -- except for one thing. At about 2 minutes 45 seconds into the video, there is a visual hiccup in which it jumps back one or two frames and then continues. This is consistent if the file is re-encoded, and regardless of render quality settings. It does NOT happen, though, if I set a source range and just encode the trouble area.

It occurred to me that it might be the result of TMPGEnc trying to do a frame rate conversion, so I set the option to NOT frame rate convert. Suddenly the prediction of remaining render time jumped from 40 minutes to 29 hours, and on playback of a little bit of the resulting MPEG, I see that it's running in EXTREMELY slow motion -- each frame is repeated for about three seconds before going on to the next. So in truth, it IS doing a frame rate conversion when the DO NOT FRAME RATE CONVERSION box is checked.

A check of the search engine yields nothing.

Anyone seen this one?

Pete

What is the frame rate of the source file???Doing a frame rate conversion with tmpgenc usually results in a jumpy playback like you are getting, and if you decide not to do a frame rate conversion and your files has a non-standard frame rate then tmpgenc will have problems when encodeing cuz I don"t think you can have a mpeg file with a non-standard frame rate..just a thought...

Hi Minion,

The frame rate out of the edit system is 29.97 fps, and other software (like Adobe AfterEffects) properly recognizes it as 29.97, but evidently TMPGEnc doesn't think so. I'm guessing that's where the problem is. One thought: this edit system outputs video as Quicktime, and I'm using the Quicktime reader extension in the TMPGEnc directory. Could that have anything to do with it?

Pete

That behavior sounds similar to something I've experienced, except I was creating a VCD from my own Pinnacle Studio AVI file. I posted several articles, but nobody ever figured it out. Finally, I was able to get rid of the hiccup was by decreasing the audio bitrate to 128kb. (TMPGenc did NOT create the hiccup encoding the same file as MPEG2-- only MPEG1).

Maybe you can try encoding the audio separately (I've never tried that myself, however).

>Maybe you can try encoding the audio separately (I've never tried that myself, however).

Just tried that: re-exported the video track ONLY from the edit system and told TMPGEnc to create an elementary video stream. Same problem, in the same place. *sigh*

Pete

>Just tried that: re-exported the video track ONLY from the edit system and told TMPGEnc to create an elementary video stream. Same problem, in the same place. *sigh*
>
Pete,

Hmmmm. Have you tried frameserving the video to TMPGenc from VirtualDub or some other compatible software? (I haven't tried that route myself, either- I followed the "How-To" info on the VirtualDub and VCDHelp sites, but wasn't able to get frameserving to work). I used VitualDub to scan for bad frames, but none were reported (although I've heard that this isn't completely reliable). The strangest part of this problem (to me, at least), was that I could even play back the problematic MPG file in VirtualDub, without seeing ANY problems!

I did notice that the framerate displayed (when I turn on statistics using the old MPlayer2.exe Windows Media Player) sometimes jumps up beyond 30 fps at the problem points. I *DO* think that the problem has something to do with TMPGenc, because I can use the Pinnacle encoder to make a clean VCD file and I can even use TMPGenc with different settings.

So far, my "best" solution is to decrease the audio bitrate to 128. There is a slight loss in fidelity, but it's much better than the unpredictable, annoying video glitches. I haven't tried re-encoding with version 2.57 yet, either.

Good luck!

>Have you tried frameserving the video to TMPGenc from VirtualDub or some other compatible software?

No, not yet; I was hoping to come up with a way of keeping the path from edit system to MPEG2 as straightforward as possible.

Pete

I have the following problem: I recorded a film from Television (avi file). Now I would like to divide it into several chapters (similar to a DVD). Is there any function in TMPGEncoder to start a new chapter e.g. every 10 minutes? I do not want to cut the film in many files by hand because there is a great loss of quality and it also costs a lot of time. I just want to have it divided into several chapters after encoding is finished. Modifying the mpeg file after encoding would also be fine if it works automatically without a loss of quality.

I would be glad about any hints

Thank You!
CM

To add the chapters to an MPEG file you need to use an authoring tool after you have encoded the MPEG.
There are many programs which can do this, but a very good free piece of software able to do the job is VCDeasy which can do the chapters for you.
http://www.vcdeasy.org/
ASHY

Thanks a lot!

I will try it.

CM

Another great tool for chapters and especially Menues and Titles is "ulead dvd plugin" you need to use it with "ulead video studio 6" or "ulead media studio 6" but it does good menues and titles and chapters which give the movie a real profecinal look to them, you can get a copy of each software at kazaa.....

HI all,

My question is this. Is purchasing the plus version give anymore features then the the mpeg-2 experartion? Don't get me wrong I belive in supporting authors not there are other tools I can use that are free (poor broke student) But, I would gladly purchase the plus version if it gives me more then a time out on mpeg-2 creation. (actually I would love version 3 as I am sure encoding would support p4 ect and be alot faster). Any feedback from plus owners would be appreciated that are not just buy it cause its the right thing to do.

Thanks.
graphfx

If you want an honest answer, I would say unless you need unlimited MPEG2 encoding then it isn't really worthwhile.
The main differences are as said MPEG2 encoding, a new 2 pass encoding method which you probably wouldn't use too often and a manual describing TMPG features.
It has been said that the plus version is slightly quicker. I'm not sure about this as the plus and the ordinary version use the same encoding engine thus there shouldn't be a difference in speed.
I will add that I have tested this and didn't notice a speed difference.

It is really up to you to decide. The Plus version is available for trial for 15 days, so download and give it a shot and compare then see what you think.

ASHY

I bought plus so I could make mpeg2 files for use with my DVD burner. Still, I would have bought plus even if I was still making vcd's, since I want to support tmpg (I use this program practically every day). I noticed no difference in encoding times between the free and plus versions, though.

I'm sure this is a question you guys have all heard before but I just cant figure it out. I have downloaded a few DivX movies and when I split them with VirtualDub the aduio is out of sync. Now VirtualDub told me that the audio was out of sync and to make a WAV file, which I did. Then use the wave with the AVI and recompress it. I've burt about 12 cd's now all out of sync. Do I need to use another program when the audio's out of sync?

Thanks. You guys have been a great help.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/faq.htm#fixdivx

Good Luck

Is the original AVI out of sync or not? Also why is it you are using Virtualdub to split the movies and are you creating MPEGs from these files?

If the original AVI is in sync, the problem is probably due to the fact that some sort of audio skew has been added to these files to sync the audio and video.
What is happening when you split the files is that Virtualdub is creating new files without the skew included thus causing de-sync. Unless you specifically reset the audio skew with virtualdub it will just be simply ignored and de-sync will occur.

If you are creating MPEGs from these files and they have had some sort of audio skew added, it is quite likely TMPG will ignore this skew and cause A/V desync.
It is better to load the AVI into virtualdub and frameserve it to TMPG as Virtualdub will take into account the skew while frame serving and should give you a synched movie providing of course that the original source AVI is in sync. You can then split the movie with the MPEGtools.

ASHY

One movie I'm having trouble with reports a CBR skew problem. I have tried dumping the whole audio to a WAV and using VirtualDub to process the WAV under Full processing. Then splitting the movie and then loading it in to Tmpgenc. But the audio is out of sync before I convert it to a MPG.

I've come across this before. Is it better to use Tmpgenc to split the avi when out of sync?

I've even tried to reload the WAV and create a new AVI. No luck there.

I also have DivX that again sound fine but when split the audio seems to slip and be out of sync.

Steven

Are we creating an MPEG?

If the audio is in sync in the source AVI then just frameserve the whole thing to TMPG and then split the movie after encoding.

If it isn't in sync then extract the audio from the avi to a wav and load that and the AVI into Virtualdub, using the wav as the audio source as this will remove any prior skew correction. It is then up to you to find the correct skew adjustment to add to the audio to sync the movie.
Once you have achieved correct sync frame serve the movie to TMPG.

ASHY

Hi Ashy
The quality setting on the PLUS templates is different because it uses KVCD's own q.matrix and CQ_VBR instead of CQ. That's why the number is so different than the value in the regular KVCD templates. The quality on the PLUS is really much higher than the regular templates. They explained that over at their site.

Bill

ok sorry to all how may have posted replies in the past about this subject, but i have been unable too find a clear statement.

ok i have backed up a cd, which i borrowed cause my daughter sat on my original, and have got so far, but now i have gor lost some where.

the steps i took.

1 smartripper - created the vob files

2 dvd2avi - created 2 files 1 avi (pic) 1 audio file (soundtrack)

3 (problem) tmpgen splicing of the avi file to the audio file.

as u can see part 3 is causing me problems, as i link both segments to gether, in order to create a single avi/mpeg2 file.

at differant points in the encoding tmpg comes up with a statement 'illegall error' and closes down, i tried to copy the details but it will not paste here the results :(

questions

1 can tmpg splice the 2 files, i think it can ???

2 if not will virtuadub do this, if so how do i import both fies to that (checking their forums aswell)

all i need to do is create 1 avi/mpeg2 file from their i can import it to dvdit and recreate the dvd whic was destoryed.

recommendation:

keep the kids away from dvd's don't u love them

it was an extended version of aliens, with the robo guns etc

Ok you have partly done the conversion correctly, but you have took a wrong turning.
It is not necessary to create an AVI with DVD2AVI (even though the name suggests it).
The step you should have taken after loading the Vobs into DVD2AVI is you should have created a d2v project file . After loading the vobs and setting DVD2AVI up as you want it the next step is to click File>save project.
This will then quickly create a .d2v project file and a wav file which you can load directly in to TMPG and encode.

One important thing to remember: DO NOT move, rename or delete any of the vobs, the directories the vobs are stored in or the d2v file or this will give you an error. Once the d2v is created don't remove anything until you have finished encoding the movie.

ASHY

i used v2.57 to demux a m2v file so i can encode the mp2 file. but when i tried to encode mp2 an error message saying there was an error in msvcrt.dll & i had to shutdown the program.
i have no problem using v2.56 at all.

If you are using an older version of windows, you probably need to update your Visual basic runtime files.
follow the links to download this file http://www.dll-files.com/dllindex/dll-files.shtml?msvcrt
Replace the original after backing up the file. You will find it in the windowssystem or windowssystem32 folder.

If that doesn't solve your may have to download any install the latest Visual basic runtime files.

ASHY

thank u for replied.i'm using windows 2k advanced server with sp2. the current version of msvcrt.dll (v6.1) is newer than the 1 i downloaded (v6.0)from the link u provided.

If you wish I will post my XP version to your mail address if you wish to try it.

ASHY

my email: duncon98@hotmail.com
thanx 4 ur help. i'm apprecited.

Is it possible to remove subtitles from an avi file that I have downloaded ?

-M

Not that I"m aware of.You might try to basicly cut the bottom of the frame off were the subtitles are with the clip frame option but I don"t know how good it would look.....

Look here http://www.kvcd.net/dvd-models and under each template, you'll find the times they claim for each template.

hi, can anyone help to explain what does "index of scan line out of range" means? thanks

It is an error in your AVI which probably has corrupt frames. You may be able to get around the problem by frame serving the file from Virtualdub. If not try to repair the bad frame with virtualdub or use the source range function in TMPG to encode up to the error, then advance past the error and finish re-encoding the remaining part and join the 2 MPEGs together with the MPEGtools.

ASHY

ASHY, thank you very much.I've got it done by using the source range function.
KCIP

Hello!

I'm using TMPGEnc for some times now and I really think this program is great. I'm planning to buy the Plus version because I really love MPEG-2 quality. But before doing this, I'd like to ask a question to the "experts" here. I read that most of you use some tweaks to put most of their movies on 2 discs. How do you do so? I thought that with more than 2 hours it was recommanded to use 3 discs. Can you tell me how you're making this...

Thanks for your help,
Nico

You can get pretty good quality doing svcd"s getting 45-60minutes on a cd-r useing the CQ encode mode instead of useing CBR like the template settings but the only semi "Tweaky" thing that I can think of to get more on a cd-r is maybe trying those Kvcd Templates at kvcd.com but i personally don"t like them but other poeple use them, they claim that you can get something like 90 minutes of full resolution 704 by 480 mpeg on a cd-r.....

It is possible to get 2 hours of MPEG2 on 2 disks, but you will have to sacrifice some quality.

Take a look at the templates I have sent you, these will get around 100mins of nice MPEG2 quality on 2 disks. Have a play around with them by reducing the minimum and maximum bitrates and decreasing the quality slider slightly and you should get a decent 2 hr movie on 2 disks.

One thing to remember is for a 2 hour movie on 2x 80 min disks the average total bitrate (audio+video) would need to be 13mb/m. Do a few one minute tests with different bitrate settings using a typical scene in the movie and shoot for this value. Once you have acheived this, you should be close to fitting 2 hrs on 2 disks.

ASHY

Thank you very much for your help...

I try this as soon as I can ;-)

I tried the KVCD templates... I don't think they are so bad but can you help about the differences between the KVCD and KVCD plus... I'm sorry I don't really see it :-D
And thanks ASHY, your templates are really great... I think I'll use them a lot with my MPEG-2 files!!!

I think the KVCD plus templates allow more to fit on to a cd, but are of lower quality as the quality slider for the Plus templates is set at a lower setting than the KVCD templates.

ASHY

After converting AVI files to mpg using the Video Cd(ntsc)mcf setting and then going to mpegtools - merge&cut to join them together I get an error message - Tmpgenc has caused an error in QUARTZ.DLL

The mpeg tools have a few bug"s in them and usually if you can"t get them to work properly you will have to use a different tool for joining and cutting, if you look on a search engine like Google and type in "merge mpeg download" you will get a bunch of links ot mpeg joiners.....

This looks like a directshow problem. Have you tried to re-install TMPG or use a different version. Seems daft I know, but has been known to solve many unusual problems like this.

ASHY

Does anyone know how I can put 2 different audiotracks on one SVCD using TMPGEncoder? I just ripped a DVD and now I want to have a 2 language versions as a backup.
I would be glad about any suggestions.

Thak You!
CM

To put two audio tracks on a svcd you have to use a multiplexor that supports multiple audio tracks like "bbmpeg" it is free and it will let you add an extra audio track or two but I have no Idea if the audio tracks will be selectable or will play at the same time, I guess you will have to experiment..

I succeeded in taking a video track and adding two audio track in TMPGEnc under multiplex and worked fine for me... All you have to remember is:
1) selecting MPEG-2 Super VideoCD and it will do the job fine.
2) First audio track that you add to the list will be the main track.

ABS

I just downloaded and installed 2.57, but when I tried to open an avi file, I received the following message. Win ME Error Msg - Cannot open, avi unsupported
What additional drivers or software do I need to load in order to run this properly?

OK, this isn"t a WinMe error, open Tmpgenc and go to "options" to "enviromental settings" to "vfapi plugins" and raise the "Direct Show File Reader".....