Is it possible to make an XVCD with an audio bitrate of 384 kbits/sec instead of the usual 224? Would the MPEG come out larger? And will it take the conversion process longer?

Yes I suppose you could and it would make the File Bigger, But I don"t really see much Point in it because any audio quality gain wouldn"t be noticeable and it is Bitrate that would be better used for Video Quality....

I agree with Minion, it's a complete waste of time and space encoding to any higher than standard. Even 192 kb/s is plenty and is the recommended setting for Prologic tracks, so 224 should be more than enough.

Remeber MPEG audio is only two channel, but AC3 tracks have 5 channels and thus require more bitrate to encode these channels.

Actually before anybody comes along and corrects me, Ac3 has 5.1 channels where the .1 is the LFE.

XVCD, XSVCD, some players wont play the disks, unless the audio bitrate is higher, else there are skips and jumps. You need to know whats best for you, not whats best for everyone else.

That doesn"t make any Sence....The VCD standard calls for 224kbs so why wouldn"t that play in some Players.....Skips and Jumps on your DVD Player is Caused more from too high of a Bitrate as opposed to too low of a Bitrate...

Sorry, I just noticed I switched my name with the subject title. Anyway, thanks for the insight. Was just wondering!

I agree, saying that if the audio bitrate isn't high enough it won't play doesn't make sense to me either.

If a player is able to play XVCD or XSVCD in the first place then it means the player is quite tolerant to out of standard tracks which means it should have no problem with slightly higher or lower bitrates.

Some really picky players may not like disks with any more than the standard VCD or SVCD bitrate, but it is very rare for a player to reject the disk just because it has a different audio bitrate.

Hello!
I've converted a DivX video into MPEG2 in order to make a SVCD with TMPGEnc: the sound is ok but the video doesn't play "smoothly", it seems that skips same frames during play.
Not so bad to make the video un-seeingable but the source DivX plays good, nobody knows why? Does that depend on the DivX codec?
The video is encoded with DivX v3 ;-) codec.
For MPEG2 encoding I've used CQ 85, max bitrate 2450, min 300 and system set to MPEG-2 Super VideoCD (VBR).
Thanks for the help.

What was the Source- and what the Target-Framerate?

>What was the Source- and what the Target-Framerate?

Source framerate: 23.976 fps
Target framerate: 25 fps

I play the SVCD on a desktop DVD player connected to a PAL TV: for this reason I've set 25,00.
If this is the problem, how could I do?

Thanks.

Do a Propper PAL-SpeedUp, this prevents any jerky Motion.

Setting -> Advanced -> Do not frame rate conversion

All other Settings set to PAL.

Yes you can do that But if you do the Audio will be out of Sync by about 4%...
So what I would do is first Extract the audio from the Source file to Wav format, The encode the Video to a Pal Mpeg video file But with the "Do Not Frame rate Convertion" checked in the "Advanced settings"...After encodeing the Video you should find out the exact length of the Video File and write it down...You will Notice that the Video is shorter than the Audio by about 4%, to Fix this you use an audio editor like "Goldwave" and go to "Effects" to "Time Warp" and Type in the exact length of the mpeg Video file and then save as a New Wav audio file...Now you just encode the new wav audio file to Mpeg audio and Multiplex the audio to the Video and they should then be in Perfect sync..I have done 3 movies from Pal 25fps to NTSC 23.97fps in the Last week and they all turned out perfect.....

I never tried GoldWave, because i own WaveLab. Does GoldWave over a way to pitch the Sound too? Or does it only a slow down or speed up?

It has a couple Time Stretch options ,the most accurate is the Slow down speed up method ,But it also has a time streth method that does not Change the Pitch, it does it by adding or subtracting audio samples to change the Length but I find this method doesn"t sound as good..Sound forge and Vegas Video also have the same features and it works just as well but I found Goldwave easier to use and easier to explain how to use....Cheers

Actually Goldwave does alter the Pitch. It never used to in earlier versions, but it does in the new versions and works perfect.
Just select 'Rate' as the 'Algorithm' method.

Yes...Goldwave has 3 Different methods, the Slow Down Speed up method is the one that also alters the Pitch...The other 2 Methods Do not alter the Pitch but they don"t seem to sound as good or are as accurate....Cheers

ProSonic TimeFactory does an extrem good pitching, but that tool is VERY slow. So i use WaveLab 3. It isn't that perfact than TimeFactory, but much faster, and on good Audio-Sources, you can't notice bad effects after the Pitching.

I am trying to encode an original divx file into a svcd file and I am having an odd problem. If you go here:

http://webhome.idirect.com/~telsan/noise.html

You will find a snapshot of what is happening.

This boxiness only happens on a few frames, but it is noticable. It does NOT appear when I play the original divx file with either divx player or mplayer (with ffdshow) decoder. It appears when I *open* the file in MPEGenc to encode it into a SVCD and in the subsequent svcd file.

I have three such files. The first one converted from divx to svcd without a hitch. The other two exhibit this symptom. So where is this problem comming from? The original? The conversion?

It's very annoying to have those corrupted frames in those files. Is it a conversion problem? Can it be fixed?

Any imput would be very helpful.

Thanks

It is Most Likely because there is Corruption in the AVI files and only shows up after being decoded by Tmpgenc ...I get this quite often with Downloaded DivX/XviD movies and there isn"t anything you can really do about it accept maybe edit out the Bad Parts ....

Artefacts are sometimes the cause of downloading errors, capture problems and a whole lot more. All AVI's should be scanned for junk frames before any encoding is done

http://www.movieking.co.uk/guides/badframes.html

This tool is awesome for creating motion menu thumbs -- I only have two complaints:

1. we need the ability to add subtitles -- many people like me import their dvdshrink processed files into this tool to add menus, but then we lost our subtitle or other language track.

2. if the above is a big deal, then, allowing users to add their own frames (in addition to adding background images and rectangula buttons, which the tool already supports) and modify the themes shouldn't be that hard. Plus, can you provide better background images, frames and buttons, the ones come with the tool are simply awful. Also, provide more motion menu backgrounds like other similar apps do.

I will wait to see if these two issues can be addressed quickly before I put my money in.

Is there a link between TMPGEnc and NEC Smartvision? My PC occasionally crashes when encoding. Microsoft's Help Centre says the problem is with Smartvision. Link takes me to the NEC site for a possible driver upgrade - but it's in Japanese.

Not that i know of.....

I just downloaded the newest free version of tmpgenc and when I tell the program to start processing, I getn an error message that reads "cannot load P3Package.dll". I am using Windows XP. Does anyone know how to resolve this problem. A reply to my email address of Jlcm3@yahoo.com would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

>A reply to my email address of Jlcm3@yahoo.com would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Yes, and a proper subject line would also be appreciated if you want an answer.

Thanks, glad someone knows the answer. A program that has a no online support other than a BBS which has 340 pages of complaints and questions, is not worth keeping.

Glad you got it sorted.

Mr. JM

If you had done a search you would have easily found the answer to your question. This same question has been answered countless times already. You said that there are 340 pages of posts, but it is obvious that you didn't take the time to read any of them.

Next time put in a proper subject line.

Mr. Video Guy

>I just downloaded the newest free version of tmpgenc and when I tell the program to start processing, I getn an error message that reads "cannot load P3Package.dll". I am using Windows XP. Does anyone know how to resolve this problem. A reply to my email address of Jlcm3@yahoo.com would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi

I am trying to overlay a stopwatch or timer counting up in the corner of a movie of a burning chair. Does anyone know where I could find a video file of a counting 'clock'? and I will try to merge it into my existing mpeg.


Thanks

Well I know a Lot of High end Video editors have an option to add a Time Stamp to each Frame but I don"t know how you could do it in Tmpgenc?

Hi,

I'am working with Windows 98 and TMPGEnc.
I'am capturing videos (lots of AVIs, each 1GB) and then encode them with TMPGEnc.
I encoded many videos in the last months, without any Problems (older TMPGEnc Version), then i upgraded to the newest Version 2.521.58.169
Since then, i have problems.
After encoding some AVIs i get an write error.
This time i startet IrvanView and made a screendump:
s. http://www.mdml.de/manfred/TMPGEncAbsturz.jpg
The File ....009.avi was the last one that encoded perfectly.
Then occured the error.
I then started the task manager, killed the TMPGEnc process.
startet TMPGEnc again and...
... now the file ...010.avi is encoded and at the moment ...011.avi is encoding.

>>> So the Problem is not the file ...010.avi...

Sometimes its necessary to reboot the computer and then it works for a few files.
The last days, i 2 Tips which i found here in the BBS:
1) i renewed the kernel32.dll, to make sure that the DLL is not corrupted.
(the Problem was still there)
2) then i cleaned up the disks (defragmenting)

Does anybody else have an idea, what else could be the problem?

Regards,
Manfred

As you Screenshot says, ...009.avi wasn't encodet properly...

Did you install anything other in the last Days?
Did you change the Environmental Settings?
Do you have enough Space on the Drive with the Temp-Files?
Maybe your PC has a RAM- or a Heat-Problem, this can cause this Error.

Were are there file from, cuz something downloaded movies get corrupted which causes errors like this while encodeing...

>>> Did you install anything other in the last Days?

Yes, i reinstalled my whole PC:
The master HD is now partitioned:
C: 1,3 GB: Windows 98, MS Office, ...all neded Software... and TMPGEnc (still 500 MB unused)
(an image of this partition can be zipped to ca. 800 MB which fits on a CD-R. So in the case of a Problem i can go back to a proper installation)
E: 18 GB: data, for example alle encoded movies before they are burded as VCD via VCDEasy (still 6 GB unused)
The slave HD is
D: 80 GB: only used for capturing movies, nothing else is on this HD

>>> Did you change the Environmental Settings?

When installing the new Version, i only changed the "folder settings".
All other settings are not changed:
http://www.mdml.de/manfred/TMPGEncSettings.jpg
May be, there is someting i have to change (???)

>>> Do you have enough Space on the Drive with the Temp-Files?

The Temp-Files are on E: 6GB still unused.
I also tried C: (500MB unused) the same result: Error.

>>> Maybe your PC has a RAM- or a Heat-Problem, this can cause this Error.

How can i check a RAM-Problem? (384 MB RAM)
Heat? I don't think so. It worked earlier and the Hardware is still the same.

>>> Were are there file from, cuz something downloaded movies get corrupted which causes errors like this while encodeing...

I do not download movies.
I have the "DAZZLE DV NOW AV"-Card an capture with "FAST.Forward" which is Part of the DAZZLE distribution.
The videos are VHS-videos.
FAST.Forward produces for each 4:40 minutes a AVI with 1GB.
Thats the reason for the 80GB HD for capturing.
So normally TMPGEnc was "batch encoding" the whole night (up to 10 hours).

>>> end of answers

I hope, i gave you all the needed information so that you can give me a hint.
I will try to install the earlier used Version of TMPGEnc and then try the same AVIs again (they are still on my D:-Drive). But i dont know, if i changed the environmental settings that time (more than 1 year ago!).
I will try and put the results here in the BBS.

kind regards,
Manfred

Hallo Manfred,

OK, if you have the Target- and the Temp-Directory on the same Drive, you need up to 4 times the Space free than the Target-Filesize will be.

> How can i check a RAM-Problem? (384 MB RAM)

There are several Test-Programms. I guess, you'r a german Guy, right? So look at chip.de or heise.de in the Download-Sections.

>Heat? I don't think so. It worked earlier and the Hardware is still the same.

A couple of moths ago, i had a similar problem. It was caused by the CPU-Fan...

Hallo B_Racer,

thanks for the quick answers!
This is really great help!!!

>>> OK, if you have the Target- and the Temp-Directory on the same Drive, you need up to 4 times the Space free than the Target-Filesize will be.

When encoding the 1GB AVIs to mpg, the resulting filesize is each 47.195 MB.
So 4 times is nearly 200 MB, which i have on every partition of my System, even on C:
No space problems i think.

>>> How can i check a RAM-Problem? (384 MB RAM)
>>> There are several Test-Programms. I guess, you'r a german Guy, right? So look at chip.de or heise.de in the Download-Sections.

OK, :-) i am german. Whow did you notice (my bad english???)
I downloaded ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/ctramtst.zip and testet my Memory.
All the 384 MB were testet and they are OK.
No RAM problems.
Thanks for this good tip!
2 weeks ago i had a problem with my system. The computer did not start anymore. It was the RAM did not stick right (english OK???).
Now i testet ist and do know, that everything is fine now.

>>> A couple of moths ago, i had a similar problem. It was caused by the CPU-Fan...

On the installation disc of my moterboard i found the USDM (Unified System Diagnostic Manager). There i can see the temperature auf CPU and System.
After a few minutes the temperatur is stabel at 38 Grad Celsius (100 F).
I think this is OK, isn't it?

Do you have any other ideas?
Do you think its a good idea to test the old TMPGEnc version which i used earlier?

best regards,
Manfred

I installed the old Version i have: Beta 12f (0.11.24.108)
The same problems.
And the language is really funny now:
http://www.mdml.de/manfred/TMPGEncStackdump.jpg

Lustige Fehlermeldung (funny Error Message).

Hm, you are driving me at the edge of my Knowledge. If the RAM is OK (did you try a Stresstest?), there are not much options left. Checked the HD for Errors?
If you have more than one RAM-Module, try to change it's order.

> OK, :-) i am german. Whow did you notice (my bad english???)

Hey, i saw your Screenshots. ;) (and i'm a german too).

38°C is fantastic, my CPU becomes much hotter... (52° while Encoding) :)

We are capturing a movie from minidv and dvd and the sound is perfect. When we open it into tmpgenc to compress it to mpg format the sound has problems. In some areas the sound has echos and other parts there is a sqealing. Can you advise on a fix or what I can do to help elimate the problem.

Thanks

Some minidv cameras record audio at 32 khz rate. DVD's require a 48 khz rate. Go in the TMPGEnc environmental settings, go to the audio part and make sure you check the "high quality" box. If this does not help, then download the plug-in SSRC (do a google search to find it) and specify in environmental options that you want TMPGEnc to use it.

Now if your camera does record in 48 khz sound, then you could try an outside encoder such as tooLame. You could use it as either a plugin or at the command line. There are also GUI's available for it.

Video Guy

I have SONY TRV340E Digital handycam and have ULEAD Media studio pro software.
MY system configuration:PII 450 MHz, 196 MB RAM, 4MB Video RAM.
I use IEEE 1394 firewire card for transfer of digital images from handycam to my computer. I try to edit the images and put in VCD format. When
iexport it to VCD (.dat format), I observe that the image quality is not good. I see very small rectangles in the images and the images is not at all clear. The real colour is also lost. Even the .mpg or .avi which I see in my system after transferring from the handycam is of poor quality.
When I see the same images in my handycam,it is crystal clear.

I understand that, a vcd can have only a limited quality only at that bitrate. But I saw some VCD films has perfect crystal clear images.
How to achieve that clarity? I have tried giving maximum resolution in the software while saving in VCD format;p but , only the .dat size increases.
How to get crystal clear images at 60 mins / VCD?
Must I upgrade my system? or is there any other software for this?
Any weblinks regarding this?

I dont know how to create good clarity images in VCD. All I have now is unclear/low quality images in VCD. I dont know how to translate that very good high clarity digital images in to VCD without loss in the quality of images.

Any small help is highly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards,
Rajesh

You say that you are transferring digital images from your camcorder to the PC. I am taking this to mean photographs and not movies.

Most camcorders capture still images at 1 megapixel if they use a card, or they capture at 720x480 if they capture to tape. This is not much resolution to begin with. You are then resizing it to 352x240 making it even lower quality.

If you are dealing with photographs it might be better to make a Kodak PhotoCD instead. There are a number of programs to make them or you could use an online photo service or your local photo shop. This will give much better quality and all computers and many dvd players today will play them. Another advantage to this is that you could more easily search through them. You would have to view them in a linear fashion on VCD.

Video Guy

I am very sorry for the misleading word images.
It is not pictures but normal video files.

Thanks for your answer.

Regards,
Rajesh

I noticed that TMPGEnc could make DVDs. What's the difference between TMPGEnc and TMPGEnc DVD Author? And, is the DVD-making in TMPGEnc free or trial? What is the price?

If you want to use MPEG1 to burn your DVD, yes, It can.
But TMPGEnc is only for encode the MPEG1 but not MPEG2.

Guess you mean:

"But TMPGEnc is only free for encode to MPEG1 but not MPEG2."

Well then, what's the difference between TMPGEnc Plus! and DVD Author?

Tmpgenc Plus is an Encoder and Tmpgenc DVD Author is a DVD authoring Program...They are 2 Totally seperate Program that serve 2 seperate Purposes, Were Tmpgenc is used to encode your files to Mpeg2 for DVD, Tmpgenc DVD author adds Menu"s and Chapters to your Movie and Formats it to a Video-TS Folder that then gets burned to DVD..Tmpgenc has No DVD authoring Abilitied and DVD author has no Encodeing abilities so the 2 Programs to 2 totally seperate things.....Cheers

Hello All,

I'm trying to make SVCD from homemade video (PAL) using TMPGEnc Version 2.521.
I have audio out of sync and about 1-3 sec freeze if I encode 2-pass VBR mpeg
on standalone DVD/SVCD player (PHILIPS).
Configuration for VBR:
Average: 2520
Maximum: 2520
Minimum: 0
Max pass: 2 pass (old type)

I thought it might be a sound problem, so I split and reencoded sound using
192 kbit/sec (was 224). Then merged using bbMPEG and it displayed
interesting things. bbMPEG says that maximum bitrate is about 3012 kbit/sec
and average is 2520. I reencoded in CBR (2520 kbit/sec) and problem is gone.

Can someone explain why maximum bitrate run over specified 2520 in VBR mode?
Is there any tool that can help analyse VBR MPEG file in order to
find out max/min/avg bitrate?

Thanks,
Alex.

Well First off you should Not set your Average and Max to the Same Value because that defeates the Purpose of useing 2-Pass VBR ..There is a Little Tool called "Bitrate Viewer" "http://www.tecoltd.com/bitratev.htm" that will analize the Max and Min bitrates...Tmpgenc does not have the best Bitrate controll and has a Habbit of Going over the Max bitrate specified especially with the settings you were useing.....