When attempting to encode 23.976 fps XviD sources (as verified by GSpot 2.21) into DVD-compatible MPEG2, TMPGenc 3.0 XPress incorrectly detects the source frame rate as 30 fps, resulting in jerky MPEG2 output.

These XviD sources play perfectly in a variety of players, and encode properly in NeroVision Express 3.

There appears to be no way to override the incorrectly detected source frame rate in TMPGenc 3.0 XPress, and there doesn't appear to be any reasonable work-around.

This problem exists in version 3.0.4.24 (original release) and version 3.1.5.82 (latest version as of this writing) of TMPGenc 3.0 XPress.

Codecs: XviD-1.0.3-20122004 _Final Release_
XviD-1.1.0-Beta2-04042005 _Beta Release_
Platform: Windows XP SP2 on 2 GHz Mobile Pentium 4

TMpgEnc is pretty bad at 23.97 to 29.97 framerate conversions.

Workaround:
From TMpgEnc 3.x, save the output as a wave file only, then frameserve the avi file (with no audio) from VDub to TMpgEnc 2.5x. Be sure to set the framerate conversion in VDub. Now use a DVD authoring program to create the DVD file.

You may use ffdshow or 3ivx for xvid decoding - it reports correctly the framerate to tmpgenc xpress or tmpgenc xpress correctly understands it. don't know if it is a problem of tmpgenc xpress or xvid.

>TMpgEnc is pretty bad at 23.97 to 29.97 framerate conversions.
>Workaround:
>From TMpgEnc 3.x, save the output as a wave file only, then frameserve the avi file (with no audio) from VDub to TMpgEnc 2.5x. Be sure to set the framerate conversion in VDub. Now use a DVD authoring program to create the DVD file.

Thanks for the suggestion. I suspect that work-around would indeed work, but then why bother at all with TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress? Use a separate AC3 encoder instead. With ffmpegGUI, there's not even a need to first split out the audio into a WAV file. For that matter, why then bother with any version of TMPGEnc -- any MPEG2 encoder could be used, some of which are both better and faster than TMPGEnc.

The principal attraction of TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress (with the AC3 plugin) is simple yet flexible, one-step encoding of good quality DVD-compliant MPEG2 with multiplexed AC3 audio. Take that away, and you might as well use other tools that are faster and/or better.

>You may use ffdshow or 3ivx for xvid decoding - it reports correctly the framerate to tmpgenc xpress or tmpgenc xpress correctly understands it. don't know if it is a problem of tmpgenc xpress or xvid.

I've found ffdshow to be too unstable/problematic to use. The 3ivx codec (instead of the XviD codec) does indeed solve the problem of incorrect source frame rate, including the correct Video Mode (3:2 pulldown playback), but the resulting MPEG2 video from TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress is still jerky. (Output from NeroVision Express 3 is much smoother.) Thus TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress apparently has a compatibility problem with the XviD codec (which is probably a TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress problem given that other applications see the correct source frame rate), and doesn't do a terribly good job of frame rate conversion in any event (as reported by others). Regardless, thanks for the suggestion.

Don't do any framerate conversion. Encode it in 23.976 fps with 3:2 Pulldown on playback. TMPGEnc is able to do this corretly since version 0.12a...

>Don't do any framerate conversion. Encode it in 23.976 fps with 3:2 Pulldown on playback. TMPGEnc is able to do this corretly since version 0.12a...

This thread is about TMPGEnc *XPress* (*not* TMPGEnc or TMPGEnc Plus)!

TMPGEnc XPress can do what you suggest when the 3ivx code is used (rather than the XviD codec), but the resulting output is STILL JERKY!

UPDATE: AviSynth can solve the problem! Use AviSynth to frameserve the XviD source into TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress, and TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress WILL then properly encode DVD-compliant MPEG2 and AC-3 audio output, smooth instead of jerky!

change the framerate from the avi before you encode it with avirate and rip the audio out of it with vdub and change the framerate from the audio with ac3machine encode de avi with tmpgenc on the framerate you change it to. to a M2V file and join them with ifoedit and you have a good Q dvd in the framerate you like

The solution to the 30 fps problem with Xpress that I found to work was to deselect generic MPEG-4 support in the DivX codec. Once I did that, any AVI file I loaded that had been encoded with XVID had their correct frame rate showing, along with the correct number of frames.

Many, many, many thanks for your solution.

>The solution to the 30 fps problem with Xpress that I found to work was to deselect generic MPEG-4 support in the DivX codec. Once I did that, any AVI file I loaded that had been encoded with XVID had their correct frame rate showing, along with the correct number of frames.

Sorry if this is a terribly newbie question. I do a great deal of transcoding from DivX to VCD using TMPGEnc 2.5 (although I'm open to 3.0 if I can find any good reason to switch). Usually the only filters I use are sharpening and deinterlacing. I was wondering how certain hardware may or may not affect the overall speed. The two items I'm thinking about are memory (size) and video card.

First, I currently have 1GB of DDR RAM, and I was wondering if another 1GB would do anything. I suspect any improvement would be extremely minor, but I figured I should ask the experts.

Now, for the video card. Does this have *any* bearing whatsoever on the encoding process in TMPGEnc? I'm under the impression it's all about the CPU, but again I thought it best to ask those who would know rather than just guess.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Video card will do nowt for performance. Memory may give a very slight increase, but very slight with the amount you already have.

Why are you applying de-interlace filters to an AVI? Unless this AVI comes from an interlaced source such as a capture then it's pointless. A decent HD will give an increase and decoding and encoding to different drives will also.
If you want much faster speed then it's the CPU I'm afraid. Also don't go overkill with optimizations you don't need.

Basically some of the source AVI files weren't captured properly and have annoying interlace lines when there's significant motion. Deinterlacing takes care of this annoyance with relatively minor loss in quality.

Out of curiosity, does any hardware exist that can do transcoding from DivX to MPEG1? I tried finding something on videohelp.com, but no luck.

Thanks!

Christ mate there are loads. Almost any MPEG2 capture card will capture to MPEG1 also.
Check out the link:
http://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCard=&mpeg1=1&searchconnection=Any&price=&orderby=Name&hits=25&Submit=Search&Search=Search

Just to add, after re-raeding your post, I'm not sure which ones do a direct AVI to MPEG capture. I think it would be possible, but why would you want to anyway. Software capturing is by far the better way and not always slower if you have a decent PC. You will have more control over the output quality too.

I was just researching the hardware-assisted options for the speed factor. Sometimes I need to do a great number of these conversions in a short period of time. For now I've purchased a new PC (which I needed anyway), so that will improve my situation but a hardware transcoder would be still be helpful.

And, why? Well, my clients need certain multimedia files in VCD format for their own reasons. :)

>And, why? Well, my clients need certain multimedia files in VCD format for their own reasons. :)

LOL...don't worry mate, we understand. ;)

Hi Fraggle,

It is always better to capture in an uncompressed avi format and then compress to DivX, mpeg1, mpeg2, or whatever compression that you need or prefer afterward. If you have a better capyured avi you won't need those filters which will increase the speed of the compression.

I use Virtual Dub for capture and editing, Dr Divx for DivX compression, and TMPGEnc for mpeg1 & mpeg2 compression with great (and very easy) results.

It is unlikely that more RAM would help you out (your computer may not even recognize more than 1GB of DDR RAM) and as Ashy said seperate hard drives for source and output help a great deal. When you say the video card do you mean the card that you capture the video with or the video output card on your computer? If it's a capture card, the better the card, the better the capture. If it's output it means nothing to the output.

The "annoying interlace lines when there's significant motion" is most likely from the DivX compression. In my opinion it's not as good as mpeg.

If you have some time take a good capture and encode it using different compression and you'll see what I mean.

I hope this was of help to you.

I have Tmpgenc DVD author and wish to add MPG files of different standards to the same compilation i.e. 16.9 format and 4.3 format

Presently I get an error message.....Many other programs allow this, but I find Tmpgenc dvd author the easiest to use.

Does anyone know how I can get this to work

Thanks

Calibra

I'm having no luck at all in figuring out how to adjust the audio of a captured mpeg file. The audio of my DVDs is twice as loud as a regular DVD. The Audio Filter volume function seems to have no affect on the final volume. I've set that value to 50%, tried using the normalize function. Nothing seems to work.

Any idea?

Darbre

when atempting to convert avi file in tmgenc it comes up with, cant load "p3package" help i dont know what it meant i have a free version. any ideas(anyone)

Yes we do have an idea. Please use the search function.

sorry about that i set it very late in the evening so had no time to do the serch. thankyou for the helpfull comment :-)

I am trying to encode an avi to an mpeg for a vcd. I keep getting:
"System Error: 6
The handle is invalid."

Please help.

Update your codecs. Try installing FFDSHOW.
If that doesn't work then your source may be corrupt.

I'm going to describe this as best as possible to help folks see if they can help me figure out what is wrong.

I have the following: Pinnacle StudioBox DV for ripping 8mm and VHS tapes to raw .AVI format. An hour of video results in a single 32Gb file (yeah, 32 Gb). From there I use Pinnacle Studio to cut the AVI file into smaller portions that are topic by topic. These are family videos so you get the idea, this kid, that kid, this event, that event, etc. Anyway, The resulting .AVI files look just fine in the PC running at DVD resolution and rates at 4.3 NTSC.

Now Pinnacle Studio is a bit of a pain in the neck to actually make the DVD, so I decided to get DVDlab and TMPGEnc. I am taking the .AVI files and running them through TMPGEnc to encode them into separate audio and video streams. I then collect these together with DVDlab and build a DVD. All of this works without flaw, a very happy camper in this respect.

HOWEVER. When I view the resulting video on the television the video itself is horrible. Let me describe what I see as I don't know what's happening. First, the picture is very "bright", much brighter than when played on the PC. It also won't display "solids". So if someone is wearing a blue shirt, on the TV the shirt is stripped, horizontally, blue, red, blue, red... though not a definite blue/red but hues of color stripes. The picture also apears "jumpy" and grainy. Not resolution grainy where someone took a 300x200 and enhanced it to 720x480, but still "grainy".

What am I doing wrong? I've tried many different settings to get the AVI to convert properly, none have worked. I'm thankfull that i'm using DVD-RW disks and not DVD-R.. lol

Any help would be apprecieated.

- .dave.

Seems like a decoding problem.
However it's unusual to get one like this with raw AVI, but a raw AVI at full resolution can take a fair bit of PC power if it uses RGB rather than YUY2.
FFDSHOW has the ability to decode raw AVI and does a better job of it using less system resources, however you will need to enable it in the options first.

Also try raising the priority of the 'Open DML' file reader to top of the list in the VFAPI plugins.
If you decide to try FFDSHOW the 'directshow file reader' must be top of the list.

I am using the tmpgend free version to convert avi files. However, these avi files have subtitles burned into them and it seems that when they're converted and viewed, the lower 2/3 of the screen is gone. I am not sure if this is a conversion or overscan issue so I wanted to resize the files to add "padding" along the top and bottom. But I can't seem to get it right. Any suggestions?

Using TMPGenc 1.6 to convert vcd .dat file to DVD , the "Divide by Zero" error message comes up after some minutes and the conversion stops. Can you explain what can be the problem?
Thanks.

I got this problem some time when I grouped VCD files into one DVD. Can anyone tell me how to solve it?

Yes, what the hell is that?

I have made a free, proof-of-concept program in Visual Basic that shows how it would be possible to enable mixing frame-rates in progressive video using TMPGEnc. If anybody uses/tests it, wants to help develop it, etc, I'd love to know.

It uses no blending of frames or interlaced 3:2 pulldown. Instead, it uses the "REPEAT_FIRST_FIELD" and "TOP_FIELD_FIRST" MPEG-2 flags to instruct the player software or device on how long to display each frame. By applying these differently throughout the file, a mixed frame rate can be achieved in a progressive MPEG2 video (these flags are unfortunately not available in MPEG-1).

Here's my post on the doom9 forum that tells more about the program: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93691

Here's the link to my page with the program file and a tutorial on how to use it: http://davidbloom.home.mchsi.com

Thanks!
David Bloom
tmpgbbs@3lesson.org

I have an avi movie which plays fine on windows media player (with srt subtitles showing). When I open it in TMPGEnc to convert to VCD the subtitles show up just fine, but the picture is upside down. The resulting VCD is upside down except for the subtitles which are fine.

The DirectShow Multimedia File Reader VFAPI plug-in is the highest priority. If I lower the priority the avi will be right-side-up and encode to VCD perfectly... except without subtitles.

So I encoded the movie right-side-up without subtitles thinking I could then raise the priority of DirectShow Multimedia File Reader back to the highest spot and then re-encode a second time with subtitles. No luck, the subtitles will not show up on preview when I try to re-encode the VCD to VCD with subtitles.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

You have several options depending on what codecs and software you are using.
If you are using VOBSUB to overlay the subs then you can check the option to either flip the picture or the subs or both.

If you are using FFDSHOW to decode the AVI you can check the 'flip picture' option. Anothjer option is to frame serve the AVI through AVIsynth and use the 'Flip vertical' command.

You can also try making the VFW reader or AVI2 reader in the VFAPI plugins top priority however you may lose the subs.

The mpeg files are converted through TMPGEnc Plus with AVI file and wav file which is made through VirtualDub-1.6.4 and HeadAC3he_024a12.
The mpeg file is played correctly with sound if the convert templet is "Video-CD NTSC (MPEG-1 352x240 29.97fps CBR 1150kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)"
But other mpeg file is played with NO SOUND if the convert templet is "Super Video-CD NTSC (MPEG-2 480x480 29.97fps CBR 2520kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)"
The audio source are same at both.

I wish MPEG-2 file with sound.
What is matter?
Please help...

I wouldn't bother with the wav extraction etc. Just load the avi into tmpgenc and set to ES video + audio. This works well in my experience (for a PAL DVD)