Fixing a VCD disk

[Washac]

Hi All


Another day another problem.


I have been sent a VCD disk, it has three .DAT files, the first two play through fine, but as it switched to the third and final file, the picture freezes, but the sound continues.

Does anybody know of a way to fix this problem?


Chris

[galactica]

does the disk back up to the HD via toast as a disk image with no problems?
if so then possibly

[Washac]

Ooops, possibly what? Go on please tell me


I can copy the disk with Firestarter FX without any problems....


Chris

[galactica]

what I mean to say is this...

if you can get the vcd over to .toast then you can rename it to .bin and extract its .mpeg component

as long as that happens with no problems, then you can reauthor the vcd image and burn like you normally do

if you cannot extract complete working mpeg files then chances are you wont be able to correct that problem

make since?

[Washac]

That makes sense, I will give it a try.


Many thanks.


Chris

[terryj]

i'll save you some headache.
I just made a VCD out of some mpeg-1s
I downloaded off the internet.
I went to play in VLC, and got the same errors
you did: plays first segment, switches to second segment,
errors out.

Luckliy I had my original source material, and had not
thrown it away. The problem was the audio was out of spec,
and I had to re-create the audio.

took the MPG-1 files.
ran threm through ffmpegx to make mpeg-4 (.avi) files
[ 1:1, same aspect ratio as source--352 x 240--mp3 audio 160kbps]
ran the .avis through DD2 to make .mov files
combined the .movs into one self contained movie.
exported the .mov to Toast compatible MPEG-1
( you could also in Toast 6, drag and drop the mov file
into the video CD window)
took the compatible mpeg and built the VCD with VCDBuilder 1.1
burned in Toast 6

played in VLC, everything works as it should.

[Washac]

Thanks for all that Terryj, By the way where do I get the VCDbuilder 1.1 from?


It seems I run away to fast...


I now have my Toast.bin file from the VCD disk.

How do I get the Mpegs from that, there are three of them I assume as there are three files named:- AVSEQ01.DAT, AVSEQ02.DAT, AVSEQ03.DAT


I am fairy new to all this, so please bear with me.

Chris

[Washac]

Hi All


OK, after some trial and error and a copy of VCDgearX I now have the three Mpeg files and they all work just fine in Quicktime.

Now, all I need to know is how do I stitch the three files together onto one VCD disc so that they play seamlessly....

I tried just buring a VCD disk from Toast 6 but it does work in respect of the file joins do not work


Chris

[galactica]

use VCDTOOLSX
upon adding your mpeg files, just add them in the sequential order you want them to play
then just click START
you will get .bin/.cue file that can be burned in Toast 6 or with your favorite burner

[Washac]

Hi All

OK, after spending an evening trying to sort out this problem I am no further forward,The VCD still locks up on the third file, picture freezes but the sound continues.

FFMPEGX refuses to work on my Mac..


Anybody got any other ideas?


Chris

PS: Thanks to all so far...

[galactica]

does the 3rd mpeg file play without interruption by itself? in say VLC

[terryj]

vcdBuilder can be gotten here:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/15509

I agree with Galactica, if it plays in VLC uninterrupted, then it is in your final build.
If it doesn't play fine in VLC, it is the source materials.

if the mpegs as you say play fine in QT, they should play great in VLC.
QT is less forgiving than VLC.

if they are ok, then get VCDBuilder, choose menu and 1 target.
drag and drop all three mpgs into
the target, create a jpg for you splash menu, and click burn VCD.
It will read through (scan) your mpegs and tell you if the audio
is out of sync, if the video is misaligned, etc., fix if possible, then
kick over to Toast to burn.

I have made over 300 VCDs with VCD Builder, and it kicks butt.

Not one has been out of spec for my 2 home players.

[Washac]

OK, still no joy with this.

I will start at the top.

I have three mpg files all play in QT no problems.

Here is what I have done according to all the advice above.

Built the three MPGs in VCDtoolsX 1.1 saved as .bin
burnt using Toast 5.2.3
Played using VCD

Disk would not even swap between the first two MPGs
Here is the error VCD threw up where the sequence swap should occur:-

VCD:Could not read sector 89326
VCD:Could not read block 89320
VCD:Could not read sector 89320

If I burn the same .bin image in FirestarterX iam back at square one, the third sequence freezes, but the sound plays fine.

Next using VCDbuilder 1.1
Saved the sequence build as .bin/.cue
Burnt in Toast 5.2.3
Played in VCD

Same as above, disk would not even swap between the first two sequences.

Here is the error VCD threw up where the sequence swap should occur:-

VCD:Could not read block 89320
VCD:Could not read sector 89326

If I burn the same .bin image in FirestarterX I am back at square one, the third sequence freezes, but the sound plays fine.

So that is it so far.

Anybody have ideas, other than give up


Chris

[galactica]

DUDE!
dont you know that you CANT burn .bin/.cue in Toast 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!


i suggest the following...

1. drag each .bin to VLC.
the file will open and the video will play. Verify that EACH .bin plays with out interruption in VLC

2. if thats the case Burn with Missing Media Burner. Its the halmark burner for .bin/.cue files in my opinion

im a little worried about them not working after burning with firestarter however, since it can handle the files properly

that or one thing to consider is did you choose VCD 1.0 or VCD 2.9 from VCDTOOLSX when you did your conversion of .mpeg to .bin

i did one long time ago as vcd 2.0 and it didnt work. switch it to 1.0 and it did


sorry... aside from you sending me the files and me diong it myself id say if all the mpeg play without interruption in VLC and so do the .bin files play in VLC without interruption then it shoudl work if you burn them properly!!!!!!!!!

[Washac]

Sorry, please excuse my ignorance on this I am new to burning VCDs.

Yes I realise that now, I have used the stated methods in the VCDbuilder help files with the same results.

This may help to resolve the problem:-

I made a .bin file with the three MPGs, and played the resulting .bin file in
VLC, guess what the third sequence froze and the sound played on.


Chris

[Washac]

Hi

OK, I have been playing with ffmpegx, I have it all installed as per instructions.


I load in the .mpg I choose the MPEG-4 avi conversion, a window opens the pecentage runs up it dings it says that is finished, but no new file is output, well I have had one MPEG convert out of many mnay attempts, what am I missing here.

The other thing is. what do I use to convert the /avi's that is if I get any .avis out, to .mov, join .mov etc?

Chris

[terryj]

Hi

OK, I have been playing with ffmpegx, I have it all installed as per instructions.


I load in the .mpg I choose the MPEG-4 avi conversion, a window opens the pecentage runs up it dings it says that is finished, but no new file is output, well I have had one MPEG convert out of many mnay attempts, what am I missing here.

The other thing is. what do I use to convert the /avi's that is if I get any .avis out, to .mov, join .mov etc?

Chris

My poor, poor friend Chris.
I am so sorry you are having so much trouble!

Ok here is hopefully as complete a step by step I can give you.
Please follow as close as possible, this should come out ok.

Since your problem MPG is the last one according to your last two posts
( plays sound video stops) there are obviously bad frames within.

here's what I reccomend:

1. Launch ffmpegx.
2. in the front window, choose MPEG-4 (.avi) [mencoder]
3. On the line, select input source, select your troublesome mpg.
4. on the output line, Choose the same folder, but give it a
slightly different name than the source. if the Source is
"mybirthday.mpg", then choose "mybparty.avi" and make
sure to put the ".avi" tag in there.
4. Check your audio tab, make sure it is set to 160kbps .mp3
5. go back to the video tab. Make sure it is selected to 1:1,
and that the target size matches the actual size, which I assume to be
352 x 240.
6. Click encode.
7. Terminal launches, a percentage should come up and begin
countdown to 100%. It will beep when it finishes encoding both
audio and video.
8. go to where you selected to make sure the .avi file saved there.
9. assuming it has, launch Divx Doctor II, and doctor the file to
a QT Pro compatible .mov file. If you do not have it, go http://www.3ivx.com here.
10. QT Pro should open and you should have your compatible .mov file.
Play it and make sure it plays through to the end, and doesn't have any dropped video OR audio.

OK, at this point I assume that the video and audio are fine in QT Pro,
and that there is no dropped frames of either audio of video.

12. Since you have Toast 5.21 ( legacy), you will be able to do the following out of QT Pro: Go file-->Export--> and
choose Quicktime to Toast Video CD. Choose the following settings
under options:
NORMAL
NTSC
FIT

click ok. QT will make a totally in spec MPG-1 file.

13. Once it is done, open up VCD Builder 1.1.
14. Choose from Create from Template, "Menu and 1 Sequence".
15. in the second window on the right, double click to open it.
16. Drag and drop IN THIS ORDER, your files:
A. The first of your MPGS.
B. Next, the second of your MPGS,
C. third, the new MPG we just created, which should be your third MPG,
from QT PRO.
17. Click the red ball to close.
18. Put some type of JPG file in the other ( left) window via drag and drop.
19. Click 'Burn' and it will as you for some place to store the temporary
build. Find a place, name it MY_VCD, and then click ok.
20. VCD Builder will now spec out all the files in its log. PLEASE COPY
AND POST BACK THIS LOG. this way we can determine if anything else
is still "out of spec".
21. It will send the completed build to Toast.
22. Burn the project, then test in a stand alone player or on your mac.

This is a foolproof way to (1.) fix your bad mpg file, and (2) author
a complete and compatible VCD build. Aside from this, unless one
of the other two MPGS are out of spec, this should fix your problem
and get done what you want done.

[Washac]

Hi


I have ffmpegx working now.

I am about to follow all your above advice, step by step.


Many many thanks for helping me with this.


Chris

[Washac]

Thank you Terryj for the guide that you took the trouble to write for me.

So far so good.

Chris

[terryj]

you are quite welcome.
Keep me posted!

[Washac]

OK, here is what happened, it is not good though.

I followed your guide to the letter, all went well untill I reached the VCDbuilder part.


I put all the MPGs into builder as you stated, I inserted a splash screen picture, I then clicked in Burn VCD, builder made the image files, there was no output in the log window other than build started and build finished and toast did not open.

So what done from here was burnt the image files myself, I used the Multitrack CD-ROM XA option and entered the Image files.

Burnt the disk and here is what happened.

On playing the disk instead of switching sequences even from sequence one to sequence two I got this error from VCD player(VLC):-

VCD: Could not read block 89430
VCD: Could not read sector 89430


I am now on the verge of giving up.


Chris

[terryj]

Do not give up.

You now know that the error is now in the two MPGS you HAVE NOT
done.

Go back and apply my steps to the other two MPGS, and get them
"in spec". Then burn those files in Toast ( you were correct,
in that you needed to do the XA option), and again, post back.

Also, make sure you are using VLC 0.71a. 0.71 had some problem
with audio, among other things.

[Washac]

Hi Terry

Haha, I thought that maybe your reply and have tried that already with the same results.

Here is a kicker, I have found out from replies to Version Tracker and the VLC forums that this video stop sound continues on some VCDs happens since the advent of version 7 series.

I want to try MacVCD to see is that played this VCD any better, problem with that is that it only runs for 5 minuts in demo mode, so I cannot reach the end of any sequence.

Will be downloading the latest version of VLCtonight, just popped in from work, lunch time, so just have time to post this reply.

I am now looking towards sorting out the/a player before I continue burning anymore VCDs.

Will keep you posted as to what I find.

Thanks once again for you time and efforts.


Chris

[Washac]

OK, here is where I am at now.

I installed VLC 0.6.2 and hey guess what all works fine well not quite.

If I build the VCD using VCDbuilder and save out a .bin file and burn this file in Firestarter FX every thing works fine in VLC 0.6.2.

If I do a build in VCDbuilder and save it out in .img and burn this in Toast, then the VCD does not work in VLC, no sequence switches at all just block and sector errors. A one sequence VCD burn in Toast works OK though.

Even the original VCD that I though was broken works in VLC 0.6.2

So there is still the problem with multi sequence burns not working out of Toast, but as long as I can use Firestarter FX along with VCDbuilder I think I will call it quits for now.

This is where I have ended up and am quite happy about this.

Copy and burn a VCD - Firestarter FX

Create a new VCD :-

VCDbuilder 1.1, save as .bin
Burn in Firestarter FX

Just one last thank you for helping me out with all my problems.


Chris

[terryj]

you are quite welcome.
However, your Multi Track XA files should burn fine in Toast 6.03,
as generated by VCDBuilder 1.1. Strange.

Glad you got the note about VLC 7. Yes, 7.1a was supposed to address that,
but I have played VCDs that were good under 6.2
in 7.1a, and still get the same stutter issue.
Going back to VLC 6.2 seems to be the only option.

Glad you got your problem licked!
Let me know if I can be of anymore help!