reading what u and giff said i was able to over come problems i incountered, this is what i posted

I hope this will help some people when it comes to backing up their DVD¡Çs

I have for the last 3 weeks constantly work on doing my DVD¡Çs and have finally got to this point.

When u are backing up your DVD¡Çs there are 2 ways to do it, 1 involves using myDVD the other not.

Step 1

Use smart ripper to read the VoB files and store them to the HD, when it has id the movie file there is another tab, called ¡Æstreaming process¡Ç click on this, u will now see a number of boxes with normally all ticked, what u need to do is un-tick all bar 2 of these boxes, tick the first 1st and the 3rd box, the first relates to the movie files the second to the audio.

Look carefully if you have 5.1 u may have to tick box 5, but here any way u will see all the subfolders contained with in the VoB files, here is where u remove all the files u will not need e.g. subtitles other audio.

Start the rip process after u have finished in this section, now smart ripper will move the VoB files to a folder u designate, when this has been done DO NOT DELETE THESE FILES UNTILL YOU HAVE CONVERTED THEM TO MPEG !!!! leave them where they are.

If u look in this folder you will see an .info folder, smart ripper has rewritten the base start-up commands for the DVD, DO NOT TOUCH THIS.

Now we are ready to convert to mpeg

Use dvd2avi as the name suggest it can create avi files, you will not be doing this as you are creating a project for TMPEGnc.

Load the VoB files in to dvd2avi

Now do not save as avi, instead save it as a project, this will take about 15 mins, after that within the same folder there is a file called ¡Ædvdname.d2v¡Ç.

Now exit and start up TMPEGnc and open this file, this is where u will be converting it too an mpeg file, load the template and set the outcome to the same folder as the other files (vob/.d2v) yep basically keeping all file within the same folder. Now start the conversion to mpeg.

After xxxx hrs sometimes up to 4-5 u will have an Mpeg file, this is what u will import to myDVD. Do so

Let me just explain what you have done !!

Firstly you have removed audio files u do not need, dus reducing the mpeg file amount, I did the same movie, first time it was 3.57 gigs, the second it was 2.9 gigs, big difference, so when u import it too myDVD and it encodes it, it will fall below the 4.7 gig problem solved, I have now backed up 6 DVD¡Çs nicely.

Secondly after smart ripper stores the VoB files it creates an info file, that tells the dvd what too read, that¡Çs why I suggest u look to see if there are any 5.1 audio files, cause this is where that important information is created.

Option 2

This is using a program called infoedit basically it dose the same encoding with the info file, it stores the VoB/info to a folder, then it will allow you too burn directly too the DVD.

You could also use nero to burn these files to a DVD, all that happens is when u insert it into a DVD it boots up with out any page or chapters, but it works.

You can read more about infoedit at www.doom9.com it has instructions on using it

Hope this helps you all and happy burning
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

thx to u both as now i can do it both ways, so i hope this helps others, do u think i should repost this under 'burning dvd's' etc ????

Nice one mate.
There are a couple of steps which I think are unecessary though.

1. There is no need to create another d2v project file as the latest smartripper automatically creates one.

2. It is not necessary to re-encode the sound track to wav. Simply extracting the Ac3 stream and importing this into your DVD authoring software should be enough and will also preserve audio quality and as I have noticed ac3 files are usually smaller than the equivalent MPEG audio file.

ASHY

Another thing you don"t really need to do if you are doing just "STep#1" you don"t need to go out of your way to dump all the extra audio and subtitle tracks cuz "DVD2AVI" extracts the needed tracks but as Ashy says you don"t really even need "dvd2avi" cuz you get a "d2v" file from "smartripper" and you can extract the english AC3 track with "smartripper" but it seems that you got it down ,Good Man and good luck......

Nice one mate.
There are a couple of steps which I think are unecessary though.

1. There is no need to create another d2v project file as the latest smartripper automatically creates one.

2. It is not necessary to re-encode the sound track to wav. Simply extracting the Ac3 stream and importing this into your DVD authoring software should be enough and will also preserve audio quality and as I have noticed ac3 files are usually smaller than the equivalent MPEG audio file.

ASHY

well it works, after 3 weeks messing around banging my head, i can now finally back up what i need, but as i said without reading your help i would most probally still be buggerd.

thx again, i will keep readng these posts and offering any help if i see it

cya around people

now trying uleaded movie factory, that in itself may bring up new problems, until dvd home producing becomes standard i think their will reman alot of confussion

:):):):0

forgot to mention

mydvd dose not accept ace files so that why i converted them to wav

dvdit or moviemaker will accept ac3

mydvd 4 is reported to accept them, but untill it is released, i have no idea

The simple solution to that would be to use TMPG to mutiplex the Ac3 stream with your re-encoded MPEG movie using the MPEGtools then import into your authoring software.

ASHY

did that

don't work that well

whats best is to seperatly import the wav file, even this is not perfect

another work around was to use 'showbiz' and create a project for mydvd, that helped, but it doubles the time as it is in real time

If you have DVD authoring software that doesn't support Ac3 too well then I would ask for a refund on that software.

It is a requirement by the DVD specs that every DVD must support an Ac3 track and is the standard audio for DVD.

If your software is not living up to this then it should not be calling itself DVD authoring software.
I would send it back and get rid and download a proper DVD authoring program.

ASHY

i agree ashy

i just d/l ulead moviemaker and it was so much simplier to use that mydvd 3.5 looks like i will be getting that after the 30 days

im new at encoding, i tried to encode an AVI file into MPEG. I tried to put my AVI in the Video Source box but an error came up saying "cannot be opened or is unsupported, can anyone help me???

Please use the search engine above to find your answer with the word 'unsupported'.
You will find your answer.

that copy and paste again ashy !!

i spent 2-3 hrs reading past posts

it needs an faq i think

I totally agree. I have asked, but as usual the request got ignored.

ASHY

I'll bet that something is wrong with the file.

I've had the same issue.

Have you tried to open the file in Virtualdub and read the file information ? If it doesn't open there I wouold go to www.vcdhelp.com and check out the listing of tools for editing and fixing files and see if the file can be repaired. Lot of options and products which would work.

I had the same problem too (i think) but resolved it by downloading an older version of the mircrosoft codec which was compatible... mp43? the version# ends in 3688

I'm going to be using my notebook to watch some movies and wonder if the qualityt is better in SVCD or just DivX. I would assume Divx is better because its not converted to a Mpeg yet.

Anyone have advice?

Divx is MPEG, but you are right Divx has a better quality/file size ratio.

ASHY

Hi
Can anyone help I am new to encoding I have ripped a Music DVD of my own so I can watch it at work on my laptop I have encoded it to VCD because my lap top has no DVD drive the problem that i am getting is that the vcd is very blocky I have used the vcd pal template does any one know how to make the vcd better I have got some other vcd's from the NET and from shops and thay are fine please help THANKS

If you intend to watch this video only on your laptop then I wouldn't encode to VCD at all, I would recommend encoding to Divx as this will give you a better quality vs size ratio.

If you still want to stick with VCD then you will have to raise the bitrate of the VCD to increase the quality. This will reduce the blocks, but will also increase the file size accordingly.
Also choosing 'high quality' as the motion search precision setting will give you a better image at the expense of encoding speed.

For more info go to vcdhelp.com and see the guides on creating XVCD.

ASHY

Hi Thanks I will encode to Divx but why is it that other vcd are better than the one's that I encode but thay all have the same bitrate I have tried differant setting but still get lots of blocks more so on the dark parts of the films THANKS

The pre-recorded VCD's you can buy are made with a special hardware encoder which is a proffesional piece of equipment and will have many post processing filters to reduce blocks and improve the image.

The cost of these is quite considerable when compared to a simple software encoder such as TMPG. Never the less TMPG is quite capable of producing MPEGs which can almost match the quality of these hardware MPEG encoders.

It all depends on your source, the bitrate you use and the encoding parameters you set.

Have a look around this BBS for some info regarding the 'Constant quality(CQ)' method of encoding or repost and ask for advice on this.

ASHY

I have been encoding to VCD for some time, and only recently had this problem. In the past when I had out-of-synch problems they were throughout the entire vcd, from start to finish. Now, even when I split out the eaudio, I am having out-of-synch trouble off and on. The movie speeds up and slows down in spots, and the audio stays constant. I end up with audio that is sometimes in synch, sometimes not, and the surges ahead every few minutes. it is really distracting. Anyone else had this trouble? Any idea what I am doing to cause it? The original is fine, and the mpeg i get has the trouble before I write to VCD, so I know it is in the conversion.

I can't say with 100% certainty, but i think it has only done this with DIVX.

Any help would be appreciated, I'm wasting a lot of cds.

Have you been using out of standard bitrates in your MPEG or been using VBR. This is usually a sign that your bitrate is too high for your player to handle.

ASHY

I have an uncompressed AVI that plays well im MS-player. After encoding to MPEG2 the end of the clip is placed at the beginning instead of the beginning and the picture is horizontally and vertically displaced. After a few seconds the MPEG clip continues playing well again.
ANY suggestion? Thanks to all halping me...

Tobias.

anybody else this problem?

Hello,

Does anyone knows how I can simly add a picture (change disk for example) to a MPEG encoded file to be burned on disk?

Thanks,

Marc

You can insert this MPG via Nero Burning ROM or other software and make a VCD by placing this logo as the last track - at the end of the Film, the logo will show up and inform you to change the CD (remember to remove any pauses between the two mpegs)
http://www.dvd-digest.net/downloads/files/trailers/change_cd.exe

ASHY

Oops forget divx digest doesn't allow direst linking.
Download here instead.
http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/trailers.html

ASHY

Thank you Ashy,

Can you simple transfer JPG's or BMP's to MPG single frame movie parts?

Thanks,

Marc

VCD does support stills, but is difficult to do and you will need the right software. Head over to VCDhelp.com they have some software and tutorials to accomplish this.

ASHY

You could even encode the jpg and bmp files to mpeg with Tmpgenc and then join them to the end of your mpeg file, just a thought......

Whenever I use TMPGENC to convert DivX files to MPEG-1, the video content is converted OK but there is no sound. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

You're not doing anything wrong, this sometimes happens with DivX files. Use Virtual Dub to rip the sound stream in the DivX move to a wav, then use TMP to encode just the video stream. Re-multiplex the seperate video and sound streams in either TMP (under "mpeg tools") or use your authoring package to do the re-multiplexing.

Griff

It could be that your Divx contains ac3 audio. In this case you will need software able to decode ac3 to wav such as AVImux. Virtualdub will not do it correctly if it is.

You will then need to load your wav file as the audio source in TMPG and encode. If you already have the movie just encode the audio seperately and multiplex the result with your movie using the MPEGtools.

ASHY

error message "mpg cannot be created" what am i doing wrong

Check that the name of your input file is not the same as the output.

ASHY

ok I've tried to chang the file name so that it differs one from another,but still no luck common ashy I know you can help me
t.i.a.(thnx in advns)

When i have done all the settings according to vcdhelp.com i press start and i get an error message that says "Can't load P3Package.dll" I have tried reinstalling TMPGEnc a few times but nothing seems to work. Any advice would be very helpful

Try typing P3Package.dll in the search window at the top of this page. This question has been asked ...and answered many times

Load in your file and click "start"....If you are haveing a problem use the "search engine" at the top of this BBS and if you can"t find your answer post a specific question about the particular problem that you are haveing..OOhh and if you are getting the "can not open or unsupported" error then go to "options" to "enviromental settings" to "vfapi plugins" and raise the priority or the "Direct Show file Reader" to "2"...

It keeps telling me that the file i want to burn is to long to fit on one CD-R do i have to strech it to 2 discs or is there somthing else i must do. I am new to trying this so any help would be great. thank you.

You can only fix a max of about 795mb on a 80munute 700mb cd-r so if your mpeg file is bigger than 795mb then you will need to split it, you can do this by going to "file" to "mpeg tools" to "merge & cut" then it is pretty easy to figure out from there but in the future you can use the "source range" setting in the "advanced settings" to encode the first half(or third or whatever)of the movie then the second half so you don"t have to split it later.Generally speaking you will need to put pretty much all vcd"s/svcd on at least 2 cd-r"s, but if after encodeing you realize that your whole movie is only say 1gb then it is sort of a waste of space to use a whole cd-r for the first 795mb and onlt 205mb for the second so it is good to figure out before hand how long the movie is and how dig it will be so you can adjust the bitrate to make the file bigger so it will fill up both cd-r"s and the quality will be better as a result.....

thank you for the information.The movie i want to burn is 735 MB but it is 90 min long so i keep getting message when i try to burn it, Is there somthing very basic i am doing wrong i am useing the 700 MB CD-Rs but it says it only holds 80 min.

You must be useing "Nero" I have noticed that the newer versions of Nero have this bug in them that won"t allow you to burn more than 80minutes of video on a cd-r even if it is smaller than the cd-r..So try useing "VCDEasy" it is free and it supports chapters, as of late I have been leaning towards "VCDEasy" as apposed to Nero for ease of use and compatability.......