Hello,
I've downloaded PowerVCR 2 to use with my pinnacle PCTV Pro, and everytime I capture a mpeg, parts of it freezes my system. When I try to repair it with TMPGEnc, it says that 3 s packets buffer underun error MPEG may not play back properly. I was wondering if anyone had experience with power vcr could help, or have any suggestions about how to repair these mpgs.
Thanks,
Zach

What you should maybe do if you are haveing problems captureing to mpeg try captureing to an avi format it isn"t as computer intencive and captureing to mpeg, then encode the avi file with tmpgenc this would be better to because it is easier to edit avi files ,so you could edit your avi format captures and then encode them to mpeg with tmpgenc you would also have much better controll over the encodeing process with better quality.....

I tried using TMPGEnc to take an .avi and transfer it to MPEG2. It completes the process but when I try to view it, I see nothing and hear nothing, but it seems like its playing. I tried viewing it in Windows Media Player. I'm running WinXP Pro. I'm thinking this is some codec problem. However, I did notice that the preview window in the TMPGEnc program also doesn't show any video or audio. So what gives.

The original file is an AVI 720x480.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Well I don"t think you can watch mpeg2 files in media player unless you have a mpeg2 codec for media player and media player suchs for mpeg anyway try useing a dvdplaying software like power dvd, but if you didn"t see you movie in the tmpgenc view screen while encodeing then the mpeg2 file has no picture, first you should try raiseing the "direct show file reader" you do this by going to "options" to "enviromental settings" to "vfapi plugins" and raise the "direct show file reader" to "2" and lower everything else to "0",and if the audio didn"t come out you have to check the audio format of your avi file and probably have to extract the audio from your avi file to a wav file with "virtual dub" cuz tmpgenc only supports certain audio formats and doesn"t like compressed audio at all, pluss you have to make sure you have all the proper codecs installed on your machine to decode the avi file....

Thanks for the info. Where would you suggest is the best site to aquire the necessary codecs?

I guess that depends on what format of avi you are encodeing but a good all around codec pack is the "Nimo codec pack" you can get it here http://www.btinternet.com/~nimosiro/ just don"t install the "G400 filter" unless you have the "g400 graphic card"...

Thanks a lot! Your tips about raising the "direct show file reader" to 2 and everthing else to 0 worked. I've got video now, but still no sound. I'll have to bring in the sound separately, which should work. Thanks for the link to the codec site as well.

One more question, do you know if TMPGenc supports wide screen 16:9. The avi was created with Premier as a wide screen movie (it was filmed 16:9), then exported as an .avi (dv avi, not microsoft avi). When I brought it into DVDit, it opens correctly in 16:9 format with the black frame on top and bottom. However DVDit won't burn it to DVD in 16:9 unless the original source file is MPEG2, so that's why I'm using TMPGenc. However, when I open the .avi in TMPGenc, it's not in 16:9 format. It stretches out the movie to cover the whole 720x480 space, eliminating the top and bottom black frame.

You seem to be very knowledgeable about digital video, so I was just wondering if you had any thoughts on this problem. If not, no big deal, and thanks for your help with the other stuff!

You can change the output aspect ratio to "16:9" but if you play it on a regular TV(4:3) the sides might be cut off, but if you choose the "full screen (keep aspect ratio)" in the "video arange method" the movie should look like the source file keeping the widescreen perspective while displaying it on your 4:3 TV correctly....

Thanks again! It worked too. If you'll be so kind as to answer another question, I'd appreciate it.

After making the mpeg2 file, it seems to be only displaying every other frame (there are lines throughout the image, and as I understand it, raw DV frames only capture every other line per frame.) The mpeg2 file looks poor because of this every other frame issue. Is there a way to improve the output, or is this how the mpeg2 compression reduces the file size?

Also, I can hear the audio from the source .avi when I go to the "audio" tab under "mpeg settings", and click the "setting" button under audio edit. It plays fine in here, but just doesn't play in the final mpeg2 file. I tried it in PowerDVD, but only video and no audio still. I must just be missing something.

Hello,
I am sure that this question has been asked before but I haven't been able to locate a well documented answer so I figured I would try here. I have been trying to create a very good quality VCD from .AVI for playback on my stand alone DVD player. I have tried to determine the correct filters to reproduce the quality found in the AVI file but once I have burned my videos to CD they still come out either blurry or blocky (if that is even a word). It looks fine on the PC but when played through the DVD player they lose their sharp picture. THerefore I was wondering if there is a place to describe in detail the purpose of the filters and which settings would provide the best possible output for viewing on a stand alone DVD (USA by the way so I assume NTSC). Any help or document would be much appreciated on the best possible filter settings for this purpose. Also does the size of the TV screen affect the picture quality as well? Thanks in advance

The best way to get rid of the blockyness or "macro blocks" is to raise the bitrate, the standard bitrate for vcd"s(1150kbs) isn"t nearly high enough to give an optimal picture quality, to raise the bitrate you will have to first load the "unlock.mcf" Template in the "Extra" folder.Raiseing the bitrate will increase the file size but you can get about 60 minutes of pretty good quality on a cd-r with tha bitrate of 1650kbs and useing the "CQ" encodeing method will allow you to increase the bitrate and still have a small file size, most of the filters won"t help with getting rid of macro blocks but they will make the encodeing take much longer....

Is there any way to create a mpg using TMPGEnc that will have the subtitles from the original? I don't even know if it's a feature of this program or not. If there's a way and I'm just not seeing it, please help :(

-kreauchee

You can not add subtitles with tmpgenc but you can add subtitles with "virtual dub" and the subtitle filter then frame serve the file with the subs to tmpgenc, you can download virtual dub and the subtitle filter at http://www.virtualdub.com

thx...ill give it a try. im rather new to this whole process and am finding it to be an unrefined field to a certain extent. again, thx for the quick answer =)

-k

when converting an pdivx avi to dvd mpeg i keep getting this error
Index of scan line is out of range(240)
what this mean ?

i'm running windows 2000 on an amd 750mhz with 512 mb memory
windows xp on two different computers
pentium 3 550 512 mb
pentium 4 1.8ghz 312mb

and get the same error

hi - i have been trying to convert my wmv file to avi with tmpgenc but it keeps saying that the file cannot be opened or is unsupported. i have all the divx and nimo codecs installed per instructions i got from the vcdhelp website. can someone tell me what i am doing wrong? thanks.

The reason is probably because "wmv" isn"t fully suported in tmpgenc, I have been able to encode short clips but the longer ones seem to crash, you can try raiseing the "direct show file reader" in the vfapi plugins to "2" and this might get your file loaded but there are better tools for converting "wmv" to "avi", I found this cool tool for encodeing wmv to avi or any other format you have the codecs for, it is called "Stoik Video Converter" it is quite fast and makes pretty good quality conversions pluss you can change the frame size and frame rate if you want, you can download it here
http://www.stoik.com/products/morphman/mm30_svc.htm

hi minion - thanks for answering my question. the software works great, but it did take a long time to finish. the only thing is my file is like 100 times bigger now. should it be like that, or do i need to compress it? please help. thanks.

Wmv is the most compressed format there is and avi is not nearly as compressed so yes that is normal, useing a divx codec would probably give you the best quality with the smallest file size for avi formats......

Hi,

I have a problem regarding the creation of MPEG2 files: whenever I try to convert from Avi or Mpeg1 to Mpeg2, the destination file has some issues...
If I analyze the Mpeg2 stream, produced by TMPGEnc 2.56 with the SVCD template, using VCDImager, I obtain this result:

mpeg user scan data: one or more BCD fields out of range for 'next_I_offset ': [00:01.0c]
mpeg user scan data: one or more BCD fields out of range for 'forward_I_offset ': [00:09.2b]
mpeg user scan data: one or more BCD fields out of range for 'previous_I_offset': [00:01.0c]

("update scan offsets" is enabled)

Moreover if I try to author a SVCD using TSCV and the Mpeg2 just created, the program hangs every time I add menu or charapters. If I encode the AVI/Mpeg1 files using BBMpeg or CinemaCraft, instead of TMPGEnc, VCDImager doesn't complain at all and I can use TSCV flawlessy.

Thanks in advance

I am transferring my video file from a DV camcorder for editing,and it is using an .avi file which is so large to edit. So i compress this with MPEG1 with the highest quality settings possible i.e CQ, 5000 kbps, high - motion setting etc., BTW i intend to make a VCD out of this.

Is compressing the file to MPEG1, so i can edit it, my best options,without affecting the quality of the video. I read in an article it has something to do with frame "references" and "differences"...encoding what only changed from the reference etc, anyways is there a setting in TMPEG that i should set --- I,B,P or GOP --- so that i can edit my file without affecting those"references" & "differences"?

It is not advisable to encode to MPEG for editing as MPEGs are not meant to be edited in the first place.

What is your problem with editing your AVI?
Just because it is large this shouldn't prevent you from editing it.
What do you wish to do with the file?

ASHY

You certainly don't want to encode to mpeg for editing, ASHY's right, mpegs were never meant to be edited. And you most certainly don't want to be converting to mpeg1 from DV, you're throwing away 3/4 of your video resolution.

If you can, get hold of a copy of Adobe Premier. It's a powerful video editing tool, which will have no problem with AVI files of ANY size (the package is aimed at the DV user), operating system permitting.

Learning to edit in Premier requires a long and somewhat steep learning curve to be traversed, but it's worth it. You can do some very neat transitions with its built in effects, and the documentation supplied is excellent.

Griff

Also consider Ulead Media Studio Director's Cut. At $180 it is a bargain for a fully featured timeline editor.

Convert your Mpegs to Huffyuv AVI files (YUV format): Use TMPGEnc to extract a WAV audio file and DVD2AVI serving into VirtualDub to merge the audio and convert to AVI. Save in segmented files of 4000 frames each since Ulead can't handle OpenDML files > 2GB. This method seems to keep audio synced up.

If you get the project settings in Ulead to exactly match the input format, it does not render/reencode when saving unless effects are used. For detailed editing, the instantaneous response AVI allows during timeline scrubbing is well worth the extra effort.

When I try to convert a AVI file to a MPG all I get is sound, no video. There is no preview during encoding. I can play the AVI file using DivX Player and it plays as a AVI file fine. Any help would be appreciated.....

See this post.
Question - divx to svcd No.24946

I then get an error of can not open, or unsupported.

sorry for mentioning your name ashy...just seems like you are really familiar whith tmpg....here's my prob....using smartripper, dvd2avi, tmpgenc plus, nero to make dvd backups....

all program settings default per the 'sefy newbie guides'..good video, good audio sync...no problems.....the problems started when i tried my first 3hr+ movie....

was able to rip movie....get the video and wav file through dvd2avi...set all normal settings in tmpg then i got the (Write error occured at address 77F52CD0 of module 'ntdll.dll' with FF2BFF02)...another user recommended to raise the priority of the direct show file reader in tmpg environmental settings....

once i did that, the video encoded and i was able to burn it down with nero....but now with no sound..i am able to play the wav file in winamp..for some reason tmpg is just not getting the file..you said something about memory shortage or just bad memory...is that the problem...you also recommended to another user to use an ac3 filter...i downloaded it but im not sure exactly how to install it...i have it in the same folder as all my other encoding programs...do i need to install it into a specific location???

i also have virtualdub...but still learning how to use it....well here are my computer specs: compaq P4 1.8g, 512ddr, 80g hdd, dvd and cdrw, runnin XP home....any other settings in tmpgenc that i can adjust? thanks for your time and any advice will be helpful..........

Just clear a couple of things up for me.
You say you were able to successfully encode the movie after raising the priority of the direct show file reader.
Did this movie then play in media player with sound or is there no sound in media player either?

Secondly, you say the wav plays ok in Winamp, does this mean you are loading this wav as your audio source.

Ok now assuming that you are loading the wav into TMPG and it just isn't getting encoded into the movie, it could be that because you have raised the priority of the direct show filter, this could be preventing the wav reader from reading the wav file.

Try raising the priority of the wav file reader also and put the rest to 0 apart from the directshow reader then do a short test encode to see if the audio encodes into the movie.

If that doesn't work there is a work around. Once you have encoded the video part of your movie you can then choose audio only in the system settings and just encode the audio. Once you have done this it is just a simple matter of using the simple multiplexer in the MPEG tools to merge the two files together.
Make sure you select 'MPEG1 Video CD' as the type if you are creating a VCD.

Regarding the Ac3 filter, you don't really need this unless you wish to open VOBS directly with TMPG which I strongly advise against.

Let me know how it goes.

ASHY

Well first off thanks for the reply....the movie did not have any sound in media player either, just video...the wav file plays in winamp and is my audio source...i played it in winamp just to make sure there was audio in the file....

like you mentioned, i have tried raising the priority of the wav reader, but then i get the (Write error occured at address 77F52CD0 of module 'ntdll.dll' with FF2BFF02)...when this comes up, i cant encode anything at all..i also get an error about memory, forgot exactly what the memory error was... i have to lower the priority of the wav reader for at least the video to work...

i am going to try and do the audio only and use the multiplexer...never tried that before, but it doesnt seem too difficult.....any other settings i might try adjusting?? well again thanks for your reply and i will try what you suggested.....................thanks

I am facing the same problem trying to back up a movie that is longer than 3 hours. Have followed the same procedure but TMPGEnc will not display audio in the "Source Range" window.

Ashy, look for my answers to your questions below. Thanks to any and all for help.

>Just clear a couple of things up for me.
>You say you were able to successfully encode the movie after raising the priority of the direct show file reader.
>Did this movie then play in media player with sound or is there no sound in media player either?
>

No sound in media player either.

>Secondly, you say the wav plays ok in Winamp, does this mean you are loading this wav as your audio source.
>

Yes, the wav is indeed being loaded as source.

>Ok now assuming that you are loading the wav into TMPG and it just isn't getting encoded into the movie, it could be that because you have raised the priority of the direct show filter, this could be preventing the wav reader from reading the wav file.
>
>Try raising the priority of the wav file reader also and put the rest to 0 apart from the directshow reader then do a short test encode to see if the audio encodes into the movie.
>

Did that but still no audio.

>If that doesn't work there is a work around. Once you have encoded the video part of your movie you can then choose audio only in the system settings and just encode the audio. Once you have done this it is just a simple matter of using the simple multiplexer in the MPEG tools to merge the two files together.
>Make sure you select 'MPEG1 Video CD' as the type if you are creating a VCD.
>
Tried this but for some reason, only the audio is not being encoded. TMGEnc spends maybe two seconds and creates the new file but that is all it does. maybe someone can outline the procedure.

>SNIPPED<

However, if I encode my vobs individually, that is make a wav and d2v file for each of my vobs on the dvd, the sound shows up in TMPGEnc. I wonder if the huge size of the single wav (more than 2GB) has anything to do with this.

Any and all help/pointers much appreciated.

knish.

hey knish...it does seem like the large size of the wav file is a problem....what you suggested does seem like a good idea as far as making the wav file readable in tmpeg....

were you able to encode and burn down the movie with no problems doing it this way?? if you were, how did you go about doing it?? i really want to have a sure way of backing up my 3hr+ dvds so any advice will be helpful.....thanks

I'm not sure about the 2gb limit problem because as far as Iam aware windows imposes a 4gb limit not 2gb limit for files and the new versions of TMPG are able to handle this 4gb limit.

If your work around is to split the audio into separate wavs to get around this unusual limit then rather than do that why not just encode the audio to a high bitrate mp3 file with DVD2AVI. This will then create a file size well under 2gb and should be very high quality as long as you choose a bitrate of say 224 kps which is the same as the standard VCD bitrate. Then load this mp3 as the audio into TMPG and encode.

ASHY

hey ashy thanks again for the info....im taking your advice and encoding the audio as mp3 file as im typing this.....hopefully it will work......ill let you know how it goes, seems like this should work............thanks again

ashy...i tried encoding the audio as an mp3 file..some audio showed up in the source screen where you set the start and ending frames....still error with audio....if the limit in tmpgenc is supposed to be up to 4gig for the wav file, how do i get through this...do i need some plug in, some crack, or some setting that may need adjusting in dvd2avi, tmpgenc, windows XP??? im using tmpgenc plus, do i need another version? again thanks for your reply, and hope to hear from you soon....................

Ok lets go down a different route. I'll show you the way I do it which hardly ever gives me any probs and is also a bit faster.

Ok, assuming you have already encoded your movie without the audio.
Download VOB2AUDIO and MPEGDJEncoder.
Use VOB2AUDIO to extract the audio from the VOBS to a wav then load the wav into MPEGDJEncoder and encode to mp2 then multiplex this with your movie using the MPEGtools.
http://www.xaudio.de/pages/encoder.html
http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/vob2audio.html

Make sure you set MPEGDJencoder up to encode to MP2, 224 kb/s, 44.1 khz, stereo.

ASHY

just a question, are you an admin of some type on this site??? you seem to be very knowledgeable and helping out a lot of people here...really good to see that....im gonna try what you suggested and i will keep you posted.......thanks again

LOL...No, I'm just a helpful guy who's trying to give the benefit of his experience to others who need it. We all need a little help when we first start this game and I know how frustrating it can be when it doesn't go right.

I have encountered most of the problems people face on this site and have solved many, so I just share this with others when I can.

ASHY

Ashy:

You're idea of converting audio to mp3 and then encoding worked. Seems like the only problem was with the file size. Thanks for the help.

knish.

It now seems this is a bug of TMPG and has been addressed in the latest version 2.57.

See the features for the latest version on the download page.

ASHY

I just downloaded the latest version and will try it out this week. Will update. THANKS for all your help.

knish.

how much of a speed difference will i see if i switch from amd 900mhz to dual xeon 2.2ghz ?? how much faster? i want to know if its worth the money.

Well in reality it should be at least 4 times faster, but there are other aspects which will influence the speed.
These include the speed of the hardrive and whether you are using more than one drive. The amount of memory you have installed is another.

In my opinion I would say no it won't be worth the money.

I have a P4 1.7 O/c to 1.9 with a 7200 rpm 40gb hard drive and 256mb of 266DDR RAM.

This will allow me to encode a 2 hour movie in real time or less.
Is 2 hours such a long time for you?

ASHY

Stick with the 900MHz machine and buy a DVD burner. You'll be able to back up and watch any movie in the time it takes to rip and burn the DVD.

Griff

I guess it would depend on the performance you are getting with your 900mhz, I guess if it takes 12 hours to do a movie on your system and you really want to encode like faster than real time and you can get a good deal on the new computer, then I would ,but maybe not to a dual, I just ordered a 1.7ghz Intel with 256mb of pc2100-ram and I got a exelent deal on it, it was only $499 canadian and I just paid over $1100 for a 800mhz 6 months ago so computers are really cheap now so if you can get a deal like that then go for it...but to each his own...

If I convert a divx file to svcd i have no video only black

Go to Options>enviromental setting>VFAPI plugin and right click the 'Directshow mutimedia file reader' and raise it's priority to 2 and the rest to 0.