Tried encoding MPEG-2 to MPEG-1 using:
1)MPEG-2 VFAPI plugin
2) Directshow (which uses ligos)

Thing is, the resulting MPEG-1 files really variated between the two...

For start with Ligos I noticed that there is an actuall shift in colors, Orange became more red and Blue became more cyan! Further more there was also an noticable extra brightness that could especially be seen in the darker areas...

The VFAPI plugin didn't have the above odd problems, but it did have few disadvantages. For start it didn't let me use SSE-2 despide haveing a Pentium-4 computer and Putting in it's directory the P4Package.dll file. Further more, unlike ligos, it didn't let me import the MPEG-2 system (program?) stream so I had to demux the original mpeg-2 file and add the extracted mp2 file as audio source.

In terms of speed the two are te same except when useing Floating point at the VFAPI plugin's setup which made it almost 8 times slower(!!!), but maybe if I could enable the SSE-2 it wouldn't be that slower.

Thoughts anyone? Comments? Questions?

ABS

Note: I meant to say that the VFAPI plug in, when selecting the MPEG-2 program stream as video source, wouldn't allow using the audio part of the file (unlike ligos). So I had to demux the audio to mp2 file and add it to the audio source.

Go back to version 2.56 or earlier and try this codec,
http://www.plmovies.com/mpeg2codec_installer.zip as it doesn't seem to work with the new 2.57 version. It's the fastest one I have used and gives good results or you could use DVD2AVI and create a d2v file.

As for importing the audio from an MPEG2 file, why bother? The audio is already in the correct format, so why encode it again. All you need do is multiplex it with your re-encoded video file, saving time and quality.

P.S. Did you try the AVIsynth filter?

ASHY

Will give the codec a try.
If not, I guess I'll try DVD2AVI... Used it only twice until now. For the avisynth/decomb and for a very complex VHS restoring process that also involved avisynth. But haven't chacked for any brightness/color problems...

And about avisynth, I tried using decomb and the video did come out progressive. However when playing the video was jumpy as if it dropped the wrong frames... Tried changing parameters but didn't help.

ABS

Well, codec didn't work so I guess I'd be using DVD2AVI

ABS

I can't understand why the codec didn't work unless you are usind TMPG 2.57 as I know it works.
Anyway as far as using the decomb filter in AVIsynth. I had more or less the same problem, but managed to reduce the jerking by using the decimate function to decimate every 12th frame.

ASHY

Tried 12 and still was quite jumpy... Depends on the video itself too I suppouse...

And to note, that MPEG-2 plugin for which you sent me a link, not only that it didn't work but it also messed up the directshow/ligos so I can't play mp2 files... Actually they do play but change the playing speed of the files randomly while playing... Very odd sounding... Maybe Direct-x has something to do with it, or it doesnt work with win2k? who knows...

ABS

Looks like you are having more or less the same probs as me with that movie, I don't know how many hours I tried to get a smooth movie and then just settled for the best I could get it. It's funny how there are plenty of utilities and filters out there for removing 3:2 pulldown, but I have never come across anything specifically made for removing 24:1 pulldown nor have I came across any software which can actually apply 24:1 pulldown.

Maybe the problem you are having with the MPEG2 codec is due to the other MPEG2 codecs you have installed which I would guess are causing a conflict as they both use direct show. I know they work on any system as there are many other on this BBS who use them and never have a problem with them.

ASHY

Another thing I forgot to mention. The MPEG2 filters I gave you the link to are in fact LIGOS filters. So it looks as if you have two sets of more or less the same filters installed which is casuing the problem.

ASHY

Apparently TMPGEnc ver 2.57 had a bug fix included that would let audio for movies longer than 3 hours to encode. However, I am not having much success with this. If I convert the audio to an mp3 file (filesize ~400 mb), the audio shows up in TMPGEnc. Same audio in a wav file (filesize ~2.7 GB), no audio displays.

Any suggestions? TIA.

knish

There is a fairly simple work around for this, you can just encode the video then encode the audio then mux them together, but if the audio still cut"s out in tmpgenc after a certain time you can use a audio encoder like "db power amp" with the mp2 codec to encode the audio then mux the audio and video together........

Minion:

I read about that workaround in one of your previous posts but when I try to encode audio, TMPGenc takes about a second and generates a mp2 file of 2 KB size. Is there something I am missing?

TIA

knish.

There might be something wrong with the audio file, so try the "db power amp" work around the program is free and it is one of the better audio encoders, you can download it here:http://www.dbpoweramp.com/
but don"t forget to download the mp2 audio codec...

Minion:

I do appreciate the help you have provided and just wanted to make sure that I do not sound argumentative. This is the second wav that I have had the problem with. Exact same symptoms. Leads me to believe that there has to be an issue with TMPGEnc. But, hey, I have not paid for TMPGEnc, yet :) so I will try what you suggested.

Thanks, again. Still any other pointers are appreciated.

knish.

When you say you have tried encoding the audio separately with TMPG and it only results in a 2kb file, well I think this is the problem.
It seems as though the same think is happening when you try to encode the movie with the sound. It seems TMPG is encoding the movie ok, but is only encoding 2kb of audio with it.

I guess if you examine the movie with the audio you will probably find a 2kb audio file.

I would also guess that if you can sort out the problem of why TMPG only encodes a 2kb seperate audio file then I think your problem will be solved.

Have you tried any earlier versions, try going back a few versions because you don't know when this anomalie started.

Have a look for version 2.52 on google, seemed quite stable. I can't give you the direct link 'cos it will get deleted, but if you search for
tmpgenc-2.52.34.129.zip on google you may find something.

ASHY

When setting the audio gap in 2.57, it seems that if I adjust the gap just a little (100ms for example) it might skip the audio one whole GOP. The best adjustment I seem to be able to make is 500ms (one GOP at 15 per second)...

Joe

I have made a VCD with an 16/98 avi film . I encode it in MPEG VCD format ( using 16/9 option ). When I play it on my TV ( 4/3 ) the image is not complete ( left and right parts are missing ) but when I play the original MPEG ( not burn ) with a window player the image is fine ....
What do you think about it ? Do you think it come from my TV format ( not 16/9 format but 4/3 ) ? Thanks for your help :p

If you are watching the vcd on a regular 4:3 TV then you have to set the output to "4:3" with the video arange setting to "fullscreen keep aspect ratio" this will give you the proper aspect for your TV...

What is the VBV setting I should use to accomodate the "112 x 2048" specification that Alcorn McBride gave me for this parameter? Originally I tried a setting of 230 KB, but I got an error message "The VBV buffer size is too large for the selected level".
Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,
Colin McCartie
CGM Multimedia

224 is the standard size for mpeg2 but for mpeg1 I have used as low as 40 with no problems......

Why don't you set the buffer to 0 and let TMPG decide for you.

ASHY

When encoding a film, playback from a DVD R results in studdering motion. The video has been encoded as both a and b field. The source is film, telecined to digibeta, digitized into an Avid Meriden (b field) Output to quicktime using the Avid codec.

The best results seem to be using inverse 3:2 pulldown on playback, b field, but then when audio is added, the video breaks up. Different frame rate?

How can I get smooth motion from film originated footage? removing telecine won't work because the footage is edited and the pull in frame will change from shot to shot.

thanks

Are there any tricks to improving encoding speed when using TMPGE? Any preferred environmental settings or Windows OS tricks to improve encoding speed?
Thanks

Haveing a really fast processor helps,I encode vcd at real time on a 1.7ghz, but if you set the "motion search precition" to "motion estimate search" this can double the speed of encodeing from high quality but the quality won"t be as good......

Minion,

Thanks for you prompt reply. I have a 2.2 GHz P4 and 1 Gbyte of RDRAM using Windows XP. I brought up Windows XP "Task Manager" while encoding on TMPGE and noted that only 200 Mbytes of Cache was being used with ~ 800 free for use. Either TMPGE or the Windows XP OS is limiting the amount of RAM being used during the encoding process. Any was to increase usage of Cache memory rather than accessing hard drive so much?

Thanks, Bill

I use Windows XP also with the default cache settings accept I use "Norton System Works" to optimize and manage my cache and I think it seems to help cuz my encodeing speeds are fairly good and you have a faster cpu than me so you should be able to encode vcd at close to real time also(high resolutions take a little longer)With CinemaCraft I can encode at twice real time..So maybe it is Norton that is helping with my cache settings so go and download a copy it might help...

Minion,

Thanks for the information. I decided to run a test using TMPGEnc version 2.57 on two different platforms (Athlon 1.2 GHz with 768 Mb of SDRAM and a P4 2.26 GHz with 1 GB of RDRAM). Using the same TMPGEnc settings and encoding the same file ( 3.3 GB AVI File), the results weren't all that dissimilar. The P4 system system came in first with a total encoding time of ~ 1 hour 10 minutes while the Athlon system completed in 1 hour 39 minutes. What do you think?

Minion,

I tried an experiment that had interesting results. I installed "RAM Disk" software that sets up a portion of System RAM to act just like a hard drive. I installed the TMPGenc application and the AVI file to be encoded on to "RAM Drive". I then started TMPGenc, selected the AVI file to be encoded from "RAM Drive" and stored the outputed MPEG2 rendered file on "RAM Drive". There was virtually no encoding time difference between running the application and it's data completely from RAM versus running application and it's data from hard drive. The TMPGenc encoding process is clearly CPU dependent (atleast when encoding high quality MPEG 2 files.

If you use TMPGEnc Plus, and enable "Saves analyzing result of multi pass VBR to cache", and specify the RAM disk at "Folder setting" in Environmental setting, it may be faster comparing to HDD. But you need a lot of space for cache if you encode large file.

I agree that encoding is mostly CPU dependent. I'm not suprised you got the results you did.
It would seem pretty obvious that there is no way that even the fastest CPU could encode fast enough to cause a hard drive lag even when reading and writing to the same drive. Look at it this way my hard drive can sustain a transfer rate of 40 MB/sec.
If a processor could match this rate with processing speed it would mean a 2hr movie would be completed in roughly 40-60 secs. Highly unlikely wouldn't you say. I know there are other factors to take into account such as temp files, cache, virtual memory and reading and writing to the same drive which all slow down the hard drive and the process, but still no processor is going to match it for speed thus causing the hard drive to struggle supplying the data fast enough.

The bottle neck IS the processor, but a reasonable amount of RAM would almost certainly help.

ASHY

Ashy,

Thanks for you commentary. I will use TMPGenc as is with the understanding that CPU processing speed is the bottleneck. Thanks All!

Hello,
I am trying to encode AVI capture file into NTSC Film VCD. The file info: size ~35GB, AVI 2.0, codec Huffyv. After loading it into TMPGenc (not so fast but OK) and setting filters (Noise reduction, Inverce telecine, Sharp, Crop, Resize) it goes to encode. First it process Inverse telecine (slow, but working), after TMPGenc goes to actualy encode file and strage things starts - it working for ~30-40 seconds using 100% CPU and after it stops (0-2% CPU) and becomes "Not Responding", after some time it wakeups and load CPU with work again until next "sleep" session. The remaining time become very long and very bad thing it constantly increasing and does not go to end. So anybody knows where is problem and what the solution? The hard drive is fast, memory is enough - so what is wrong?

I can't tell you what the problem is, but may have a work around.

Use Virtualdub to frameserve the file to TMPG. You could also use Virtualdubs filters on the file, (Noise reduction, Inverce telecine, Sharp, Crop, Resize) as I think they are faster than TMPG's filters.

ASHY

When i convert a DivX codeced movie into vcd , there seems to be this flickering of white lines in the output video. It looks like white lightning or something, and sometimes its even in the margin (if on widescreen. this problem started when i downlaoded the new free version of tmpgenc.. and i re-installed the old version and it now its doing the same thing..do you guys know anything about this.. thanks

Those flickering lines are probably "interlace" lines, try useing the "de-interlace" filter and see if that helps solve the problem........

It's the P's that are set to 5823. Not the I's

(5823 = KVCD) looking at your telephone keypad. It's their signature. They explained that in the kvcd.net forum. It's really a dummy value.

Being new to this, I've just used tmpgenc to create a VCD compatible MPEG file. It seems to run ok on my PC. So far so good. Now, if I want to burn it to cd so I can watch it on my DVD player, do I just use something like Adaptec Easy CD Creator and create a data disc (like I do to back up my machine) or do I need other software to make the CD compatible with my DVD player. Thanks in advance for any advice.

You need a program that can burn in "vcd" format, there are quite a few programs for this but "VCDeast" and "Nero" are the most popular, "VCDeasy" is good cuz it is totaly free and it supports chapters, but I use the "ulead dvd plugin" to burn vcd"s cuz it does titles, menu"s and chapters and you can import and introduction video file to play at the beginning of your vcd movie...

Is this program compatible with windows XP Home Ed.??

Visit "Download" page.

This should not be asked judging from "Term of Use" of this BBS.
http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_bbsrules.html

You should have no problem.

Jaysus, I think we've all broken the rules judging by the terms of use.
I think I'm breaking one now.

ASHY

Im having this "out of memory error" message.

I have 2 hd (4.5 and 60 gigs). Im using Premirer 6-Avisynth-TMPEGenc-compressed to MPEG1. I never had this problem before but when i tried the KVCD template i started getting this error. I rerouted all my files to my 60gig hd i.e. TMPEGenc Output File and Environmental setting, for Premiere 6 all files are stored in the 60gig hd as well. After doing this , i tried compressing a 2 minute file again and watch my c:/drive get filled up again. Did i miss anything?

al

Are you saying that you encode a 2 minute clip and your 60gb hard drive gets filled up????If thats true then that is the first time I have ever heard of this problem...

I take your C: drive is 4.5 gb.

Did you make sure you set the TMPG temp file output to your 60gb drive.
Also you may need to increase you Virtual memory and/or move it to your larger drive.

ASHY

I encoded the 2 min clip in the 60gig HD, and change the setting in the environmental settings to store the temp file to the 60gig hd. But when i try to encode the 2 min clip i see my C drive getting filled up, i suppose this is the temp file. Also i still have about 500mb remaining in my c drive. This should be enough for a 2 min clip.

I checked the settings on KVCD and i noticed that the I on GOP is set at 5328,i asked them this they said this does not cause my out of memory error.

al

Hi there,

I'm having an "out of memory" error as well. Although it seems to be quite a different one, i decided to post it here because it might be related somehow,

I get the error whenever i try to join 2 (or more) vbr mpegs with the included mpeg tools (merge&cut). it worked before but then i must have changed a damn windows switch i don't remember now. i get the error just when the program tries to multiplex the audio and the video stream. when i start the task-manager i can see that it uses up to one GB! of virtual memory before crashing.

Problem sound easy to me, but changing the virtual memory settings had no effect :((

Free hd space: about 5,5GB
File size: 2x600 MB
Fragmentation: 35%! no free space left at hd end! only in the middle of the hard drive.
It still works with smaller files.

Could defragmentation help?
Why uses the multiplexing the virtual memory without showing in the progress bar?

Any ideas?

THANX
chasor

Defragmenting your hard drive probably will help a bit especially if you are getting close to the end of your memory....

Well, we figure it out what my problem is. It so happen im still using the beta version of TMPEGenc and the KVCD template is designed for 2.0 and up version.