Newbie question so forgive my ignorance :)

I have an AVI file that has a frame rate of 23fps, i want to encode this to DVD, although i live in Europe and PAL is set to 25fps my DVD player will play NTSC, what is it best to encode to and why ?

Thanks

I hope, the Frame Rate is 23.976. If so, encode it with this Framerate as NTSC and all will be perfect.

You just have to take care to choose the right settings in TMPGEnc:
Frame rate: 23.976 (internally 29.97)
Encode mode: 3:2 Pulldown when playback

those settings for converting 23.97 fps are wrong, every movie that i have encoded so i can watch on my stand alone player are jerky as hell, even during playback on pc, the original avi source is fine, what i dont get is all these people trying to give advice on different ways to fix this prob, if no-one knows the answer to the probs that people are trying to fix, then please dont say nothing, im reading responses from people saying to do this and do that, when they have stated they have never converted a movie to use later on with a dvd author program, c'mon people lets have some serious responses.

That's nonsens. 23.976 is the Framerate, NTSC-DVDs are using (if they are proppery mastered from Film-Source).
Most of my NTSC-DVDs and SVCDs are encoded with 23.976 fps, and they are playing smooth. Important is the 3:2-Pulldownflag, which is only be correct with the settings i posted.

@lillgreenmaster

B_racer is absolutely correct.
You must add 2:3 pulldown to a 23.976 fps movie to make it DVD compatible or are you trying to say that every NTSC DVD movie produced by hollywood has been wrongly made?
Almost every NTSC DVD movie uses 2:3 pulldown.

You are blaming others for your mistakes and inability.
My guess is you are selecting the wrong option.

There are 2 ways to add 2:3 pulldown to an MPEG2 file.
Either using the method which B-racer has outlined with TMPG or by using PULLDOWN.EXE on an MPEG that has been encoded as progressive at 23.976 fps.

It it likely you are selecting the '3:2 pulldown' option under the 'Advanced' tab. This is wrong.

The correct 3:2 pulldown option is found under the 'VIDEO' tab where it says 'Encode mode'
From the drop down menu you can select '3:2 pulldown when playback' and the frame rate must be set as '23.976 fps(internally 29.97 fps)'

2:3 pulldown will only work on MPEG2 files that have progressive frames at 23.976 fps.

Guys

Thanks for the advice, one further issue that i have never come across before, the output according to TMPG will be over 8 gig from a 650mb AVI !!! any ideas on this ?

Thanks

Your avi file is compressed with a mpeg-4 codec, either Divx or Xvid.

TMPGEnc encodes in MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.

MPEG-4 requires about 1/4 the bitrate of MPEG-2.

If you want a 650MB file, find out the video and audio bitrate of your avi file and use that for the bitrate setting in TMPGEnc, but the results will look horrible because you are now using MPEG-2 which requires a much higher bitrate. You will have to split your movie over 2 cds or use a very low bitrate.

Refer to www.dvdrhelp.com They have many guides to help newbies understand the basics of video encoding.


Here is a common misunderstanding people have.
"A MPEG is always smaller than an AVI"

This is not true. People fail to realize that avi is not a compression format, it is a container. A codec compresses the video stream and then it is packaged into the avi container. If you use the Xvid or Divx codec then you have a tiny file. If you use DV then you have a large file. If you use HuffYUV then you have a very large file. If you use a RAW or uncompressed stream then you have a humongous file.

if the avi resolution is ***X240 ***X480 NTSC~

ok i have tried to encode my 23.97fps movies just like you guys have suggested, im sure its working fine for you all but no matter what i do they start getting jumpy every 10 seconds or so, im at a loss of how to fix this prob, these movies are downloaded so i cant get it at a different fps like some people tell you to do, i have no say on the fps when you download them, please can someone shed more light on this issue.

I have a PAL VCD compliant MPG file that I want to be able to edit the sound.

So I demultiplex it to an mp2 file, and the loaded it up in either Audacity or GoldWave, both packages say that the left channel is correct, and the right channel is empty!

Is there something wrong with the mp2 demultiplexing, or am I doing something wrong?

I tried it with both "Simple Demultiplex" and "Demultiplex" and got exactly the same result. This is with TMPGEnc 2.521.

does tmpg support the encoding of mpeg files yet...like svcd...or is there a plug in to be had.

insert svcd file....not supported...comes up on all svcd files.

The newer versions of TMPGEnc have a built in MPEG 1/2 decoder called CRI Sofdec. If you are having problems go into the environmental settings and raise the priority.

If you are still having problems demultiplex the SVCD and try to open the elementary MPEG stream.

I was wondering how the "Open sequence files as a movie" works? Can you please tell me step-by-step? I have 2 files named respectively:

amgpart1.avi
amgpart2.avi

If I check off that option, which file do I select for "Browse"? And when it finishes converting that part 1, will it automatically go on to part 2 even though I haven't selected it??

I would number your files like this amgpart001.avi, amgpart002.avi and so on then just open the first part and TMPG will do the rest.

I don't know why but the end result is a bit weird. Since my computer does not support playing an M2V and AC3 files together, I have to test it on my DVD player. So after I burned it, at the point where it joins, the DVD stops working. It just stops playing. Should I try converting the video segments separately, then join them in MPEG Tools? :( Or maybe the video is corrupt? It doesn't seem likely because the entire film looks ok to me.

What do you mean your computer doesn't support playing AC3 and M2V files together?

All you need is the right codecs.
For Ac3 you will need AC3FILTER : http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/
For M2V you need an MPEG2 codec : the LIGOS one will do :
http://download.divxmovies.com/mpeg2codec_installer.zip or simply use Videolan player which will play almost any format.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

P.S. if you have any more codec problems don't go installing any crazy codec packs, these things WILL trash your system just go to the link below.
http://dshow.narod.ru/codec.htm

I have the right codecs to play them separately. But since they're separate streams, how do I play them together? TMPGEnc does not support AC3 and Virtualdub won't take in M2V.

Also, about the DVD stopping at the point in the joined M2V file where the second segment starts. Is it because the lengths of the AC3 and M2V don't match? The length says 01:46:25 (HH:MM:SS) for audio and video in Virtualdub. When I open the M2V in an MPEG editing program (MPEG2VCR) it says it is 01:46:18. When I try to cut the M2V to make the length 01:45:35 in that program, the output becomes 01:44:41 or something like that. The output never matches. I don't understand what can be wrong here.

I also tried converting the 2 separate AVI segments in TMPGEnc Plus separately. After joining the 2 M2V files using MPEG Tools Merge & Cut, it gets the same effect where the length is 01:46:18.

Actually, I downloaded my AVI on another computer. On that computer, I have a bunch of codecs and the file plays well in VDub. But when I transferred it to my computer, I only have the Xvid codec installed as well as ffdshow, in VDub, it shows a lot of color glitches at the bottom. I know it's the codec problem because when I convert in TMPGEnc, the glitches aren't there. How do I remove the glitches so I can join it in Virtualdub and then frameserve to TMPGEnc? Another forum user said that they did that and it worked but I can't do that since the glitches will frameserve into TMPGEnc as well. :(

Don't use the XVID codec. Uninstall it and use FFVFW. Virtualdub needs a VFW codec. You can download FFVFW from the same place as FFDSHOW.
After install make sure you configure FFVFW to decode XVID AVI's.

As for opening M2V and AC3 in Virtualdub you need VirtualdubMod. However you will need to install the AC3ACM decompressor first to decode AC3.

http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net/

After I uninstalled the XviD codec and then installed FFVFW, everything crashes. When I try to load my movie in WMP Classic, it closes. In Vdub, it says:

VideoSourceAVI error: An unknown error occurred (maybe corrupt data) (error code -100)

And then when I try to quit VDub, a crash message comes up saying VDub has crashed. Do I have to deselect XviD in FFDSHOW? Also, for Decoder in FFVFW, I checked only XVID. Under Generic, XVID is not checked.

Actually, I downloaded a newer version of FFVFW and the crashes have disappeared. The movie AVI plays fine in WMP Classic but in VDub, it acts weird. When I only use the scroller, the video shows up fine. But when I click Play, the colors turn neon and unusual.

Click the second play button in Virtualdub not the first.

Ok, I merged them and saved as an AVI using VIrtualdub. WHen I converted that merged AVI, the result is the same. In the DVD, it stops at the area where part 1 ends. Why is this?

What are you using to author the DVD?
Does the MPEG play OK on your PC?

I'm using DVD Author GUI. Since it has a subtitle stream, TMPGEnc DVD Authoring wouldn't work for me. On the PC, it plays fine. However, the video and AC3 streams are separate. I didn't bother merging them because DVD Author GUI accepts them separately, not MPG.

How do you install a plugin. I have installed codecs in my system including the divx codecs both encoding and decoding, but they don't show up on the selection for conversion to AVI?

They aren't listed individually they are listed as Directshow plugins.

Everytime I try to decode/encode a long video file my XP system reboots. It starts fine but within 10 minutes or so it reboots with no warning. I thought maybe someone else had the same problem with hopefully a solution.

I'm figuring it's either some bad codecs or something running in the background. I have it down to just my HP DVD Writer helpers, Mouse stuff, and Nvidia stuff. I'll try to kill those and see if it's any better.
1. I've done a virus scan and checked for trojans.
2. It seems to happen no matter which video software I use!
3. Everything else on my system works fine, and for as long as I want.
4. I can play the videos fine, for as long as I want.
5. My system only reboots when trying to decode/encode video.

Kinda strange.
Any help appreciated..............Sam

It sounds like a CPU/memory problem. I've had something very similar. A couple of programs to download and try:

memtest-86 will test your memory thoroughly. Long video processing uses quite a bit of memory.

prime95 will test your whole system thoroughly. Make sure you have closed everything else down before prime95 because if your PC has a problem encoding video it will almost certainly crash, freeze or reboot with prime95. A healthy PC should be able to run it, but there are numerous reasons why it won't such as inadequate PSU, not quite compatible memory, PC running a little too hot are examples. Some games, internet access, word processing etc will not cause a problem even though there is one lurking in the background.

Do you know what motherboard/CPU/memory combination you have?

Bob.

Well, in an attemp to fix the rebooting while converting videos, I burned what I think now is the wrong bios to my motherboard. Oops! It was toast. So I decided to upgrade to a new motherboard (MSI K7N2-L) and while I was at it I picked up a 450W power supply.

Now I can convert videos all day long with no problems. I think my former power supply (300W) just wasn't powerful enough. Either that or I had a quirky motherboard. In any case it all works now. It certainly wasn't the software.

Moral: You can fix anything if you throw enough time, effort, and money at it!

I've played with both TMPGenc and the DVD Source Creator software downloaded from the Pegasys site. I thought that DVD Source Creator was simply a dumbed down version of TMPGenc 2.5 but it seems to be a separaate program.
I have found that some avi files just won't open in TMPenc, but DVD Source Creator doesn't have a problem with the exact same files and works perfectly.
Does anyone know why this might be? I'd think they both have access to the same codecs, etc. since it is on the same machine. Anything suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Dumb newbie!
If I'd searched the forum I would have found out about raising the priority of Direct Show files (Options -> VFAPI)
But I didn't...

Promise to save the forum to ask about less easily found answers.

Regards

I'm not blaming any product for what it does and my apologies for going on about it, but I'm determined to derive a sensible solution to this without spending any more money which means no more buying new products to cover deficiencies in the ones I have already bought.

I have two questions which would help me if anyone knows the answers:

1) Can TMPGenc be configured to mask empty frames rather than ignoring them?

2) If not, is there a freeware product that will do so.

I can't leave the empty frames in the MPEG and avoid encoding it for two reasons. Firstly, I need to change the bitrate to get the finished MPEG to fit on a DVD and secondly any VOB encoding software will remove any empty frames and cause loss of audio sync.

Thanks,

Bob.

I have a clip in a project that is fully recognized by TDA (from start to finish, video and audio). And I have created a bunch of chapters in it. The chapters are recgonized and I can click to the last chapter and last frame in the editing screen.

However, when I author the clip to DVD, the last chapter is #50 and the title ends. The help file says 99 chapters are possible.

What could be the problem? I have started from scratch twice, there is nothing wrong with the orignal clip, TDA "sees" it ok, it's just the authoring that goes bad.

Thanks,
Owen

Maybe the problem comes from your DVD player...
What are you using?

I'm using my stand alone player, which plays every other disc I've authored using TDA. I must have re-authored this project 5 0r 6 times already, and I'm convinced it's the clip itself and not TDA.

Anyone know a good format checker for VCD files? Illegal frames, bit rates, etc?

Thanks,
Owen

Hello, I've seen folks say they were able to use TMPGEnc to create DIVX movies from a stack of bitmaps. Can anyone point me to tips on how to do this?

Thanks.

Once the Divx encoder is installed, it will appear in the compressor list for any application that uses Directshow compression plugins in a "Save As" dialog.

TMPGEnc is meant to control its own mpeg encoder. It has a "Save As AVI" mode but other apps are better. A good one is VirtualDub. It can load numbered BMP sequences directly.

Search for: VirtualDubMod_1_5_4_1_All_inclusive.zip

(There might be a newer version. The "mod" version reads mpeg files and has a better "Save As" dialog.)

I am also using TDA to make back up copies of DVDs for my friends. So this is what I did:

1.Create New Project
2.Add DVD Video
3.Select DVD drive; VIDEO_TS
4.Double-click on first title
5.Uncheck reading chapters
6.Check copy to HDD
7.Ok

For some reason, near the end of the progress, it said "Stream write error" or something like that. Last time I did this, it worked and there were 3 outputted MPEG-2 files in my folder. What I'm trying to do is extract the videos from the DVD, and then load them back into TDA to burn to a DVD+R. Last time it worked, but this time, I'm getting all sorts of errors.

Hello, I was wondering if there was any way to create your own menus in TDA? Or at least provide your own backgrounds?

Have you looked at the product at all? There's a lot of editing you can do with the menus. From the "Create Menu" screen, you click on "Edit Menu Theme" or the "Edit" button to specify background images, change buttons, etc.

No, I meant to make my own backgrounds in Photoshop and use it in TDA. I don't really like their default backgrounds.

I always produce my own Backgrounds. Where's the Problem? Just klick on the Background, a PopUp will show up where you can choose your own Pic.

Cool, I never knew you could right-click it! Thanks!