Problem playing some svcds on my Pioneer DV 440

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

Hey, some SVCDS won't play properly on my Pioneer DV440. Some of them, like the new Spiderman SVCD from Centropy, just shake up and down. Like i can hear the audio, but the screen is black and white and shaking up and down. I have tried burning and bin, and converting to .mpg and burning with Nero. I really need help. Thanks.

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

Does anyone know the answer?

newb · Member Joined: 16 Mar 2002

Have you tried watching it on your pc to make sure the burn is good?try this..download daemon tools .. and then mount the cue and it will open up the svcd,in a virtual cdrom..then open that mpg with power dvd or whatever dvd player u have..and see if its OK..u may have a bad file to begin with and its not your stand alone player at all..

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

Yes, I have tried playing it in my PC and it works, anyone else have any other ideas? Thanks.

rcs36 · Member Joined: 07 May 2002

Dave my pioneer dv440 does the same thing with the spiderman svcd. I gave the same svcd to my friend to try on his dvd player and it worked fine.

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

Yeah.. it really sucks..i hope someone knows how to fix this!

mamamia · Member Joined: 11 Apr 2002

Probably you need do the following trick in order to play on your player .....

http://www.geocities.com/newestmoviesencode/dvdvcd

bbb · Member Joined: 25 Jun 2001

Sounds like it's encoded into PAL format being played on a NTSC player. The NTSC Pioneer 440 doesn't play PAL SVCDs/VCDs correctly, giving black and white picture that moves up and up and up.

To check if your Spiderman clip is PAL or NTSC format, drag it onto MPEGProperties (download MPEGProperties from the Tools section, under Other Useful Tools). Then tell us the resolution (e.g., NTSC:480x480 or PAL:480x576), the fps (e.g., NTSC:29.97 fps, NTSC FILM:23.97 fps, or PAL:25 fps), and the video bitrate (e.g., 2.450 Mbits, 2.500Mbits, 2.520 Mbits, 2.600 Mbits, etc.).

By the way, where do you live? U.S.? Europe?

***
Right now, I'm testing the bitrate limits and compatible modes of encoding for the Pioneer 440. I've been doing test clips all day today. I will post my findings to help those Pioneer 440 owners having trouble with SVCDs. I will try to compile the best ways to encode for the Pioneer 440 (and still remain compatible with other brand players) as I have 2 of the 440s.

rubic³ · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

I have the same issue I have the Panasonic DV-444. Info about the SVCD from WinDVD. The SVCD works great on the PC. Grey and scrolling on the DVD player.

Navigation:
Type: SVCD
Region: None
TV System: NTSC.

Stream:
Type: Interlaced MPEG2
Bitrate: 2.500 Mbps
Framerate: 25.000 Hz
Resolution: 480x576
Aspect ratio: 4x3
Audio:
Stream:
Type: MPEG Audio
Bitrate: 224 Kbps
Number of channels: 2
Sampling Frequency: 44.1khz
Sampling Bits: 16
Volume Boost: Off
Quiet Mode: Off
LFE: Off
Prologic: Off
Dual Mode: Off

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

ok thanks guys, bbb, please post your results when you get them

therick · User Joined: 05 Nov 2001 Location: Raleigh, NC

the spiderman stream is indeed PAL...so if the DV444 won't play PAL then you are out of luck...my Sony 560D plays it well, suprisingly...I think this may be the only time in the history of VCDHelp that a Sony has played something that a Pioneer couldn't...
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End of Line.

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

I got it to work :)...converted it to NTSC in TMPGEnc. I tested it out and it works fine.

sonoma · Member Joined: 12 Nov 2001

what exact process did you use in tmpgenc? I tried but got terrible audio sync problems.

Dave456 · Member Joined: 05 May 2002

I used the default settings. I just loaded the mpg, and i loaded NTSC Film, you can use that or just regular NTSC.

ishy71 · Member Joined: 09 May 2002

Everytime I try to load the mpg file, it tells me that the file is invalid or unsupported. my mpg file is SVCD format. I have no problems loading a VCD file. Is there a setting that I need to change in TMPGenc? I have TMPGenc version 2.54. TIA for any help.

sonoma · Member Joined: 12 Nov 2001

I finally got it. Had to:
1. Extract mpeg (either vcdeasy or deamon tools)
2. open mpeg in dvd2avi(be sure to deselect or delete the other two mpegs that are automatically selected, unless you want one giant finished mpeg)
3. save as a project
4. open tmpgenc and use the d2v file for video and the audio file that dvd2avi created.
5. make sure you go into source range and adjust audio gap so that the audio starts at the far left of the scale (just click the up or down arrow to move the audio)

it's easiest to use the wizard in tmpgenc

forgot to mention, use ntscfilm setting in tmpgenc wizard

ishy71 · Member Joined: 09 May 2002

Thank you very much. it worked. :D

bbb · Member Joined: 25 Jun 2001

If you are encoding/reencoding clips to be played on the Pioneer 440/444, and you are using 2-pass VBR or CQ, make sure that the minimum is set at 900 kbits/sec and the max at 2450 kbits/sec. This will prevent lowbit rate blocking and high bitrate stutter. This was tested at 352x480 resolution.

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

i got the same problem..

when i insert the SVCD in.. it load and the audio is good.. but then the image is like.. there is a line.. going up and down.. and make it shaky..

but some VCD have the same proble..

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

but the weird problem is.. i bring the SVCD and those VCD to my friend house and it work..

but when my house it doesn't work..

anyway.. i try to used the MPEGProperties to test the VCD

here is what i got

http://www.geocities.com/ctdragon54/f.html

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

i try to use TMPGenc but it doesn't support VCD which is .dat file

so i just wondering what program i can use to covert .dat(VCD) to .mpg or .mpeg

Mirror_Image · Posted: May 11, 2002 03:00

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

thanx a lot..

ok..

why whenever i put the SpiderMan SVCD in my DVD-Player.. it is like the screen keep on going up and down..

how can i fix this?

bbb · Member Joined: 25 Jun 2001

As stated above, Spiderman SVCD is in PAL format (European format).

Your friend's dvd player plays PAL format.

Your player isn't PAL compatible (not all U.S. dvdplayers can play PAL).

So, you need to encode it into NTSC format to stop the flicker.

How to do this? Do some research.

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

yea.. i have read the problem..

but this only happent to SVCD right???

my problem is.. some SVCD and some VCD got the same problem..

bbb · Member Joined: 25 Jun 2001

On a NTSC Pioneer 440 player, you can't play PAL SVCDs correctly (it will be black and white and scroll vertically). PAL VCDs will play (in color and without vertical scrolling) but the bottom (maybe also top) picture will be cut off because PAL has more vertical resolution.

You have to stick with NTSC discs or convert them to NTSC to get a decent viewing experience on a NTSC Pioneer 440.

Vi3TToNy15 · Member Joined: 08 May 2002

hehe..

i don't have a Pioneer.. but i got the same problem..

i can see the pictures.. but the pictures keep on running up and down..
it is like those Cable Channel.. that you need to paid to watch.. if you don't paid.. you got this pictures going up and down..

i got a Sharp DV-740U

ishy71 · Member Joined: 09 May 2002

I firmly believe in seeking help in this forum. That's what it's for. I used it myself on the Spiderman problem. So I don't mean to be rude but doesn't anybody actually read through all the previous posts? The same questions have been answered over and over. The Centropy Spiderman Movie is in PAL format. If you are getting the scrolling video it is because your DVD player only play NTSC format. I used Sonoma's suggestion above (DVD2AVI and TMPGenc) to convert mine. The quality wasn't as good but it's free right?. It takes a little practice and alot of time and patience(converting them took over 24 hours for my computer). I am no expert on this stuff. I learn everything through this site.
As for the person with the Dat problem, I use VCDGear 2.0 to convert any format to MPG before burning including cue/bin files. good way to check quality before wasting discs. Change the extraction/conversion to what you need; dat -> mpeg in the case above. take the 2 check marks out below it. Load the file you want to convert click on start.
All of these programs are available through hyperlinks at this site.
Good Luck everyone.

sonoma · Member Joined: 12 Nov 2001

I'm glad you actually tried it. 24 hours, ouch. It took me about 2 per cd and the quality didn't suffer much. Wasn't too good to begin with. Terrible movie anyway.