Mpeg woes and queries at DVinfo.net

Josh Bass · January 1st, 2003, 02:54 PM

I have tried creating mpegs of my five minute animate short to put on CD-Rs. The only thing I've gotten to successfully play is an Mpeg-1. I was happy with this until I noticed how "blocky" it looked much of the time, despite the fact that I set the video quality to high. I tried making an Mpeg 2 (I have to make these through Vegas Video, by the way) and it won't play on my quicktime player ("because a software component needed by the movie could not be found"). I'd make an AVI file or a .MOV, but I know those will be too large for a CD with high video quality. Any recommendations?

Jeff Donald · January 2nd, 2003, 05:09 AM

A software component is a codec, meaning the format, DivX etc. is not supported on Quicktime. Are you using the latest version of Quicktime? I think its version 6 for PC. Since I us Macs I can't be of much help on your software. Sorry.

Jeff

Josh Bass · January 2nd, 2003, 05:29 AM

I thought I was. I'll have to see. Thanks anyway.

Rob Lohman · January 2nd, 2003, 04:14 PM

Mpeg2 is not playable by every player out there yet. Software
DVD players will though! And if you make it SVCD it will also be
playable at standalone DVD players (most of them, not all!)

Josh Bass · January 2nd, 2003, 10:15 PM

Okay. I have created an Mpeg2 with the SVCD template in Vegas Video. Played it on our DVD player, and ouch does it look nasty! Every second or so everything will get real blocky, then normal, and back and forth.

Keith Luken · January 4th, 2003, 11:14 PM

Many DVD players do NOT support SVCD, most now support at least VCD. VCD is MPEG1 at 320x240 I beleive. I think SVCD increases the resolution thus you are trying to encode more with not much more bitrate. Neither SVCD or VCD will ever look as good even a low end MPEG2 DVD, it is just hard to get a good image at a low enogh bitrate that will then fit on a CD. I put events/shows that are not picture quality critical on VCD, thinsg like comedy acts and stuff where listening is more important that what you are seeing. If I want it to look good there is no getting around going to DVD where you can get a 4-6Mbs bit rate encode that will look very good. And if it is that important I runa 7-8Mbs encode for some very clean looking DVDs.

Josh Bass · January 5th, 2003, 01:16 AM

I think I should be able to fit five and a half minutes of material on a CD and have it look damn good, no?

Jeff Donald · January 5th, 2003, 06:09 AM

A Video CD is basically a compact disc that contains movies and pictures instead of audio. A VCD has the capacity to hold up to 74 minutes of full-motion video on a 650 MB CD, and up to 80 minutes on a 700 MB CD. The video is compressed using the MPEG standard, which gives about the same quality as VHS movies.

Super VCD is an extended version of VCD, which uses MPEG-2 instead of MPEG-1 to compress the video. This gives better quality video, comparable to DVD, but also mean that the CD can only fit 35-60 minutes movies depending on the CD size used and the encoding rate.

A VCD can be played in standalone VCD players, and most DVD players. Some video game consoles can also play VCDs with special add-ons. A SVCD can be played on many DVD players, but not all. You can play both VCDs and SVCDs in almost all computers with the proper software.

I would guess that your problems are caused by your encoder (VV3) or your DVD player. How old is the player? Can you try it on another DVD player?

Jeff

Rob Lohman · January 5th, 2003, 01:43 PM

Keep in mind that SVCD is 480x480 (for NTSC) or 480x576 (PAL)
instead of the full DVD resolution. I don't know what the max
SVCD bitrate is, but I usually use 2000 kbps CBR (constant bitrate).
Don't know if you are allowed variable bit rate.

Josh, what bitrate, resolution and encoding mode did you use?
With TMPGEnc I can create quite good looking SVCD files.

Josh Bass · January 5th, 2003, 05:13 PM

I'm not sure. I have to look into bitrate and all that tonight. I hadn't messed with it before.
Also, would I have to make a full resolution, high quality etc. AVI or QT file in Vegas Video first in order to compress with any program besides Vegas, or can they somehow create files straight from Vegas's timeline?

Rob Lohman · January 6th, 2003, 08:19 PM

If you use a standalone program like TMPGEnc you will have to
create an intermediate AVI file (or whatever format the encoder
in question uses).

Good luck!

Bill Ravens · January 6th, 2003, 09:29 PM

Hey Josh...

I make SVCD's and DVD's all the time that play without a hiccup in my APEX 703 DVD player. Here the proc:
1-Create avi file with VV3
2-Transcode with TMPGenc. Be sure to use a hi bitrate. I ALWAYS use 8000 kbps. At this bitrate, many of the MPEG2 files actually look better than the original avi file. Use the TMPGENc template for SVCD or DVD and modify ONLY the bitrate to the max.
3-Author SVCD or DVD with Ulead Movie Factory. I have NEVER had a failure...and they look beautiful. Movie Factory will allow you to input an auto playing company logo, as well as pausing at a chapter selection screen.
4-BTW....avoid the el cheapo discs...not all of them will play. Verbatim or Memorex seem to work fine...oh, and DVD-RW won't work...only DVD-R's work.

Josh Bass · January 7th, 2003, 12:00 AM

Thanks. I downloaded the TMPGEnc demo, and made an MPEG2 with it. Looks great!

Rob Lohman · January 7th, 2003, 08:33 AM

TMPGEnc is great... And cheap! There are also plugins
available for it (for example a QuickTime file reader!!). Also you
can find loads of tutorials and whatnot on the application.

Good luck!

Josh Bass · January 7th, 2003, 12:48 PM

Okay, this may sound stupid, but what do you mean by "software DVD players? I would assume it means the software used to play DVDs in a DVD ROM drive, yet I can't get it to work on my computer or anyone elses.

January 1st, 2003, 02:54 PM	#1
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Mpeg woes and queries I have tried creating mpegs of my five minute animate short to put on CD-Rs. The only thing I've gotten to successfully play is an Mpeg-1. I was happy with this until I noticed how "blocky" it looked much of the time, despite the fact that I set the video quality to high. I tried making an Mpeg 2 (I have to make these through Vegas Video, by the way) and it won't play on my quicktime player ("because a software component needed by the movie could not be found"). I'd make an AVI file or a .MOV, but I know those will be too large for a CD with high video quality. Any recommendations? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 2nd, 2003, 05:29 AM	#3
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I thought I was. I'll have to see. Thanks anyway. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 2nd, 2003, 04:14 PM	#4
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Mpeg2 is not playable by every player out there yet. Software DVD players will though! And if you make it SVCD it will also be playable at standalone DVD players (most of them, not all!) __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 2nd, 2003, 10:15 PM	#5
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Okay. I have created an Mpeg2 with the SVCD template in Vegas Video. Played it on our DVD player, and ouch does it look nasty! Every second or so everything will get real blocky, then normal, and back and forth. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 5th, 2003, 01:16 AM	#7
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I think I should be able to fit five and a half minutes of material on a CD and have it look damn good, no? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 2nd, 2003, 05:09 AM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	A software component is a codec, meaning the format, DivX etc. is not supported on Quicktime. Are you using the latest version of Quicktime? I think its version 6 for PC. Since I us Macs I can't be of much help on your software. Sorry. Jeff

January 4th, 2003, 11:14 PM	#6
Keith Luken Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 200	Many DVD players do NOT support SVCD, most now support at least VCD. VCD is MPEG1 at 320x240 I beleive. I think SVCD increases the resolution thus you are trying to encode more with not much more bitrate. Neither SVCD or VCD will ever look as good even a low end MPEG2 DVD, it is just hard to get a good image at a low enogh bitrate that will then fit on a CD. I put events/shows that are not picture quality critical on VCD, thinsg like comedy acts and stuff where listening is more important that what you are seeing. If I want it to look good there is no getting around going to DVD where you can get a 4-6Mbs bit rate encode that will look very good. And if it is that important I runa 7-8Mbs encode for some very clean looking DVDs.

January 5th, 2003, 06:09 AM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	A Video CD is basically a compact disc that contains movies and pictures instead of audio. A VCD has the capacity to hold up to 74 minutes of full-motion video on a 650 MB CD, and up to 80 minutes on a 700 MB CD. The video is compressed using the MPEG standard, which gives about the same quality as VHS movies. Super VCD is an extended version of VCD, which uses MPEG-2 instead of MPEG-1 to compress the video. This gives better quality video, comparable to DVD, but also mean that the CD can only fit 35-60 minutes movies depending on the CD size used and the encoding rate. A VCD can be played in standalone VCD players, and most DVD players. Some video game consoles can also play VCDs with special add-ons. A SVCD can be played on many DVD players, but not all. You can play both VCDs and SVCDs in almost all computers with the proper software. I would guess that your problems are caused by your encoder (VV3) or your DVD player. How old is the player? Can you try it on another DVD player? Jeff

January 5th, 2003, 01:43 PM	#9
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Keep in mind that SVCD is 480x480 (for NTSC) or 480x576 (PAL) instead of the full DVD resolution. I don't know what the max SVCD bitrate is, but I usually use 2000 kbps CBR (constant bitrate). Don't know if you are allowed variable bit rate. Josh, what bitrate, resolution and encoding mode did you use? With TMPGEnc I can create quite good looking SVCD files. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 5th, 2003, 05:13 PM	#10
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I'm not sure. I have to look into bitrate and all that tonight. I hadn't messed with it before. Also, would I have to make a full resolution, high quality etc. AVI or QT file in Vegas Video first in order to compress with any program besides Vegas, or can they somehow create files straight from Vegas's timeline? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 6th, 2003, 08:19 PM	#11
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	If you use a standalone program like TMPGEnc you will have to create an intermediate AVI file (or whatever format the encoder in question uses). Good luck! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 6th, 2003, 09:29 PM	#12
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	Hey Josh... I make SVCD's and DVD's all the time that play without a hiccup in my APEX 703 DVD player. Here the proc: 1-Create avi file with VV3 2-Transcode with TMPGenc. Be sure to use a hi bitrate. I ALWAYS use 8000 kbps. At this bitrate, many of the MPEG2 files actually look better than the original avi file. Use the TMPGENc template for SVCD or DVD and modify ONLY the bitrate to the max. 3-Author SVCD or DVD with Ulead Movie Factory. I have NEVER had a failure...and they look beautiful. Movie Factory will allow you to input an auto playing company logo, as well as pausing at a chapter selection screen. 4-BTW....avoid the el cheapo discs...not all of them will play. Verbatim or Memorex seem to work fine...oh, and DVD-RW won't work...only DVD-R's work.

January 7th, 2003, 12:00 AM	#13
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Thanks. I downloaded the TMPGEnc demo, and made an MPEG2 with it. Looks great! __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

January 7th, 2003, 08:33 AM	#14
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	TMPGEnc is great... And cheap! There are also plugins available for it (for example a QuickTime file reader!!). Also you can find loads of tutorials and whatnot on the application. Good luck! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 7th, 2003, 12:48 PM	#15
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Okay, this may sound stupid, but what do you mean by "software DVD players? I would assume it means the software used to play DVDs in a DVD ROM drive, yet I can't get it to work on my computer or anyone elses. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB