joining and converting mpegs to avi

[lena_dahlings]

*sigh* alright, i really tried to find the info myself on this info-packed site, but now my head's spinning and i need mercy. :'(

i downloaded a movie (2 .mpg files about 600 megs each) and i want to put it together into one .avi 700 megs or less, keeping the quality (or making it better, is that possible?).

when i tried opening the first file in virtual dub, i got the following error: MPEG Import filter: packet sync error on packet stream (1e473ac8). the second file opened with the following (screenshot) specs and i'm assuming the other's the same.

when i tried joining the mpegs with tmpge, they joined, but with a chunk off the end of the first file missing.

when i tried converting the first from .mpg to .avi in tmpge, i got a single file of about 850 megs.

ack! help me please. :/ i hate asking the same thing for the millionth time, but i'll probably never do this again, else i'd take the time to learn, i promise. step-by-step guide? my head's throbbing, right now i can't handle anything.

p.s. flask didn't work either, started converting the first file and then disappeared within minutes.

one more thing: is it usually better to join first then covert, or vice versa, or does it even matter?

thanks a million.

(right now i'm trying the first file again with audio in mp3 format and video in divx 5 compression... fingers crossed. g'night.) - didn't work - still 700 megs... >

... and still mpeg when i open the file in virtual dub, though it shows as .avi on my desktop and i made sure to select the right features when changing... i think... >

[hermanthegerman]

If joining in TMPGEnc didn't work, make two avis and join them in VitualDub. From the Data you attached, I assume your source is a VCD, that means your data is MPEG-1. VirtualDub should be able to read and convert it into DivX. How this can be done you'll find on http://www.vcdhelp.com.
Calculate the right bitrate so that the final movie will fit onto one CD. If both parts are about 60mins, this will result in a bitrate of about 700kb/s for video and 128kb/s for Audio(MP3). Make sure you encode both parts with exact the same settings otherwise VirtualDub won't be able to join them. Be aware that the quality most probably will suffer a little bit. Maybe you can improve visual quality by using some of VDubs filters (depends on you source).
Up to now I never made avi with TMPGEnc. But if works for you you can ofcourse do this but make sure you use the same settings.

Servus,
hermanthegerman

[lena_dahlings]

thanks for your time... but the problem is it doesn't open in virtual dub. :/

and the original file has a small screen size and is therefore already a little blurry when made fullscreen.

i can't seem to figure tmpge out.

*sigh* whatever. :/

thanks again for your help though!

[lena_dahlings]

SUCCESS!

I DID IT! YAAAY! i finally figured out tmpge, converted the files to .avi and joined them with virtual dub. it's 500 megs with no loss of quality. yippee!

thanks for help.

nevermind!