TMPGEnc Question?

[coolremo]

I have many DivX movies and I want to burn them onto cd-r's so I can play them in a DVD player. I went to this site: http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/ar...pgenc_vcd.html and followed the instructions to convert my divx files into vcd. I have a couple of problems:

1) My .avi file didn't match any of these formats:
NTSC FILM 352x240 23.976
NTSC 352x240 29.97
PAL 352x288 25
so I chose the one that was closest.

2) After the movie was converted into an mpeg, it was more than a gigabyte, so it doesn't fit on a cd-r.

3) The converted mpeg file was worse quality than the original DivX file.

4) I used the "clip frame" option to crop the black border (the widescreen), and I chose "full screen (keep aspect ratio)" for the arrange setting.

Can someone who is experienced with the TMPGEnc program and burning vcd's please answer my questions.
Thanks.

[setarip]

"2) After the movie was converted into an mpeg, it was more than a gigabyte, so it doesn't fit on a cd-r."

If your video runs longer than 70-80 minutes, you'll have to subsequently split your VCD-MPG file in two. This too can be easily and precisely accomplished using TMPGEnc. Under the "Files" dropdown menu, click on "MPEG Tools" and select the "Merge & Cut" tab. Once again, make sure to change the mode to "MPEG1-Video CD". Load your file and enter a new (.MPG) name in the "Output file" box. Then doubleclick on the ORIGINAL file's name in the window, which will bring you to the cutting area. Select your desired start and end points for the first half, click on "Okay" which will bring you back to the first window and generate (in a sequence of three automated steps) the first new file. To create the second new file, repeat the steps starting with "Then doubleclick on the ORIGINAL..." (be extra patient with the second half, as the program has to do more seeking to establish the beginning of the new file).

Use a burning program, such as NERO to burn your CD-R or R/W CD as a VCD (DON'T ask NERO to format the file as a VCD, since you've already accomplished this!)



"3) The converted mpeg file was worse quality than the original DivX file."

VCDs will almost always look awful when played back on your high resolution PC monitor - They are intended to be played on a standalone DVD player hooked up to a (MUCH lower resolution) television

[coolremo]

So after I split the files in two, I have to burn them on two seperate cd-r's? If that's so, how come most dvd's fit on one cd, and have more than just the movie file on them? Also, on the dvd playre, are you able to fast forward/rewind the vcd movie?

[tigerman8u]

If that's so, how come most dvd's fit on one cd, and have more than just the movie file on them?

if i'm wrong i appologize but from reading your post i see dvd and cd mentioned. 1 dvd movie uses 1 dvd blank media not cd media. dvd media holds 4.7GB compared to 700MB for common cd media. hope this helps.

[shiny#3]

a dvd is a digital versatile disk that is designed to store
up to seven times the data amount that a normal disk
can hold.... most commercial dvds are even double
layer (dvd9) and can store almost the amount of 14 cds

check your standalone dvdplayer at www.dvdrhelp.com
it may be that you can use other formats than VCD
like svcd or kvcd.... if so this will enable you to keep
more of the original avi quality

[tigerman8u]

coolremo wrote "So after I split the files in two, I have to burn them on two seperate cd-r's?"

actually in TMPGenc you can load the "unlock.mcf" file from the "other" folder and lower the bitrate so the movie will fit on 1 cd. i've done this only once and the movie played fine on my standalone dvd player. However the problem was the quality. I didnt burn a standard vcd ,which i should have, to see the difference in quality. Maybe ,setarip, could help on settings to get higher quality using this procedure
I know i only made things worse, sorry

[coolremo]

So pretty much any DivX movie that I convert into vcd and want to play in a dvd player will have to be split in two? Also, after I convert the .avi to vcd, when I watch it on my computer it looks like worse quality than the original Divx file. Once I burn it onto a cd-r and watch it on my dvd player, will it still look like bad quality or will it look like the orginal .avi file looked on my computer?

[shiny#3]

no it will not....
most avis contain a mpeg4 compression.....
you will need a bitrate of about three to four times
the size of the original to maintain all video information when encoding to mpg.....

I suggested that you check if your dvd player is able
to play back SVCDs ....they provide higher quality......
and tmpeg can also produce this kind.....

[coolremo]

I don't understand the whole bitrate thing. How do I acutally go about doing the whole thing? Can you please write step by step how to convert an avi file to vcd and burn it, including how to split it and everything? Thanks.

[coolremo]

Where do I get Nero?

Where can I download Nero in order to burn vcd's on to a cd-r so I can play them on a dvd player?

[tigerman8u]

www.nero.com

[coolremo]

I find it hard to beleive that everyone pays over $100 for Nero. Where does everyone get Nero for free?