TMPGenc mpgs STUTTER in dvd player,but other encoders fine

[adam_v64]

Movies encoded to VCD 2.0 format with TMPGenc stutter and generally behave weirdly on my Cyberhome DVD-402

The image will freeze up, the sound continues, and the OSD of the dvd player jams, i.e it shows the same time for a few seconds.

DVDx films work fine, and so do other commercial VCD's.

AND the tmpgenc movies run fine on my other dvd player.

You may be thinking "why dont he use DVDx then?", because its slower and the quality bites in comparison with tmpgenc.

I assume that TMPGenc does something different to its MPG's which confuses my dvd player. Are there any settings i can tweak on this or anything i can try?

[txpharoah]

No offense, but most likely this is user error. Are you following the templates? Or doing your own thing? I don't like the templates, but if you change settings on your own, you'll easily muck up stuff. Check out the guide in my signature for some info on proper MPEG2 DVD settings. Alter as needed for MPEG1 VCD bitrates/resolution. You'd have to post screen caps of you settings for me to help any more.

[adam_v64]

Ok, i AM using the standard templates. I can understand that you may think that as i only have one post that i am some newbie who knows nothing, but thats not the case.

I did actually read on the web that TMPGenc movies wont run well on this DVD player, but as it plays other mpeg's from other encoders i would have thought there would be a setting that would make them compatible.

I mean the fault that i get ATM is usually localised to the beginning of the film, I.E Back To The Future, after the "universal" logo, the screen goes black (as it should) but then stays black for a long time,while the timer on the lcd freezes. It then comes back to life after about 20-30 seconds.

Would u think motion search settings would have something to do with it? I usually leave it on "normal".

Thanks for your help. Anything you can tell me will be of use

Cheers.

[adam]

Try encoding audio and video separately and then multiplexing via bbmpeg. TMPGenc has many problems with its multiplexor, especially when you directly export a program stream (mpg.)

Also, TMPGenc does not adhere well to your set bitrate. Even in CBR 1150k, it still seems to have peaks much higher than this. On a very strict standalone DVD player, this could cause the types of freezes you are experiencing. You may want to try ticking Closed GOPs on the GOP Structure tab. This can decrease quality when encoding in VBR, but it shouldn't really have much effect with VCD since its CBR. Other than that, the default VCD templates should be fine. I think if you simply use bbmpeg as your multiplexor instead of TMPGenc, then everything will be fine.

BTW: motion search precision has no effect at all on compatibility. Use either normal or higher to maintain quality. Only lower it if encoding speed is of more concern then image quality.

[adam_v64]

Thanks, will let u know how it goes.

[adam_v64]

Hi, Ive tried multiplexing with bbMPEG, but still the problem occurs!!

I also tried the GOP option to no avail.

Anything else i can try?

PS ive noticed that the problem is worse with newer versions of TMPGenc, with older versions the problem only seems to occur around the start of the films, then sorts out. On newer versions it keeps occuring all the time.

[FulciLives]

Hello

I have a Cyberhome CH-DVD 500 model. Not the same machine as yours but it IS the same company. Anyways I have had very good results with the VCD format on this DVD player. However, I found it works best if you use the following settings:

Use the NTSC template with the 29.97fps not the NTSC FILM template which uses a 23.976fps

Make sure the sound is in STEREO. Not Dual Channel nor Joint Stereo.

I have done the MOTION SEARCH PRECISION to either the highest quality (slowest) setting or the high quality (slow) setting. I've never done any other setting than those two. Either seem to work fine.

I use TMPGEnc Plus 2.5 and in the ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS (under the audio tab) you should set the audio to HIGH (SLOW) instead of the default of LOW (FAST). This only needs to be done once and the program will remember it.

Using these settings I have created VCD mpeg1 complaint file which I then burn to a CD-R using Ulead DVD MovieFactory 2 (which has an MSRP of $50 USD). So far ALL of my VCD discs using these settings have played back A-OK including VCD discs with multiple mpeg1 files which have included a simple menu to select the mpeg1 video you want to play. Gotta love DVD MF2 for making VCD design so easy and painless and for working CORRECTLY!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

RELATED LINKS:
Ulead website

P.S.
If I recall I have both checked as well as left unchecked the "closed GOP" option which doesn't seem to make a difference. My understanding is this should be set to "closed GOP" if you need to edit the mpeg1 file afterwards (for instance to split it over 2 CD-R discs). Otherwise you shouldn't have to set it.