photos not as smooth as motion video in VCD

[smcnally]

Greetings -

This forum has been great, thanks.

I've been using FFMPEGX to create SVCDs & VCDs from QuickTime MOVs with good success. As VCDs are more widely supported with standalone players, I've spent more time on them.

The video edited with iMovie and processed through FFMPEGX look very good, even as VCD. Photo slideshows converted to MOVs and then processed through FFMPEGX look significantly more blocky and less sharp.

I burn with both MMBurner and Toast with the same result.

Is there a faq for slideshow VCDs? Any tips from the list users?

Appreciate your help.


S

[digitaldave]

So i ran a test.

10.2.5
iPhoto 2.0
ffmpegx v.0.06i

60 photos exported as a Quicktime movie. 2 Sec each with Sound.

Processed with ffmpegx as SVCD and burned with Toast 5.2

Images look just fine and sound works good too.

I first select in ffmpegx the SVCD Preset (note in ver. i the default video size goes to 480x480, I could have swore in ver. g it was what I think is the correct 720x480, which I manually change to) and then change the number of cds to 1 (also changing this settings under the Tools to deselect number of chunks), then sit back and do something else for a while.

Then burn with Toast.

Let me know if these steps don't work for you.

Edit: My bad, SVCD standards call for 480x480, it's the XVCD that allows for larger frames.

[major]

Both VCD and SVCD standards allow for pictures being coded as high-resolution stills pictures, not as video as you're doing, leading to far better image quality and you can pack thousands of pictures in one CD that way. Use VCDBuilder or DVD Picture Show for that.

[smcnally]

Thanks, Major, I didn't realize I could create the slideshows in VCDBuilder.

The quality of the image tracks is outstanding on players that recognize those tracks.

Thing is now, however, is that I'm loosing compatibility with some stand-alone dvd players (like my Sony DVP-NC615): The MPG tracks created from ffmpegx - on the same VCD - will play fine, but the slideshow tracks and the still I use as the menu just blank out.

Again, these are standard VCD I'm creating.

For the slideshows and menu, it's just JPGs I'm dragging right into VCDBuilder.

Again, thanks -


S

[major]

VCD stills are in the VCD standard so all compatible players will play them. It seems that in VCD Builder you need to insert at least one movie (even a very short clip) in the VCD for the stills to appear. Note the video should be in MPEG-1 format.

[smcnally]

Again, thanks for your help -

I *do* have movies on the VCD - again, those movie tracks work fine. It's just the Photo tracks that don't show.

i.e. In a VCDBuilder project, I have "Menu + 3 Sequences." The menu is a jpg I dragged right to that 1st pane in the sequence. The next pane is a movie compressed to MPEG-1 with ffmpegx (another great tool, btw). The next pane is a photo slideshow (just dragged jpgs into the sequence pane then arranged them). The next pane is another movie complressed with ffmpegx.

I burn the VCD. The two movie tracks work. The menu and the slideshow show as blank on my Sony. (It all works great on the GE player - but that thing plays EVERYthing).

Do you mean I need to stick an mpeg-1 movie into the actual slideshow sequence? I can try that.

I think you might mean this should just work on my Sony DVD player ... it doesn't , but I'll look into that.

Appreciate your help, Major. Enjoy the weekend.


Steve

[smcnally]

Greetings, Major, DigitalDave, et al -

The JPG / still slideshows are now working as VCDs in my Sony player.

The issue was that I had not checked "Compress stills as NTSC" in the "project info" dialog in VCDBuilder.

All is now well. Thanks for your (plural) help.

[smcnally]

Does VCDBuilder support audio within a photo slideshow? A slideshow, i.e., created within VCDBuilder by dragging multiple JPGs into a sequence window?

The slideshows created within VCDBuilder look *brilliant*: the pictures are as sharp as the originals. But there's no sound to go along with them.

Creating a slideshow in another app - like iMovie - allows you to create transitions as well as have a soundtrack, but you loose the "original JPG quality" of the photos once you compress the MOV down to MPG.

Other apps (the new one from Ulead, e.g.) may be able to do it, but I'm interested in VCDBuilder particularly.

Thanks -


Steve