Trouble joining mpgs

[fredvig]

I've got 2 mpgs that I'm trying to make into one. I'm able to open them and view them in VLC, so I know they're fine. If I do a "get info" on the files it says that they are "multiplexed MPEG-1/2". If I attempt to join them using mpgtxwrap or MPG2 Works 4, I get the same message:

"Skipped -1 zeroes at start of file
mpgtx: AT EOF - please stop me!
mmm, this file does not start with a pack, offset: -1
use the desperate_mode switch as the first option -X to search for a header in the whole file!
if you want to force the operation. May yield to an endless loop if no valid header is found!
Does not even begin with a 00 00 01 xx sequence!"

Can anyone tell me the problem here? I just want to take these two files and make them into one for DVD burning.


Thanks,
Fred V

[havema-1]

MPEG Streamclip can join similar MPEG files:

The joined files must have the same PIDs, the same start codes, and the same audio/video properties (that is, they must come from the same source or channel).

Using "Convert to MPEG" before joining the files can be helpful, because it changes PIDs and start codes to a default value.

Put the desired MPEGs in the same folder, and rename them so that they sort as desired in list view. Then select them via MPEG Streamclip's "File/Open Files..." dialog box (Shift- or Command-click to select multiple MPEGs).

Then choose "Edit/Fix Timecode Breaks". After this MPEG Streamclip should report the combined length of all MPEGs. Then choose "File/Convert to MPEG..." to save them in a single file. If the video transition between two files looks bad, you can use the Cut command to improve it.

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCD_on_a_Macintosh.html#edit_convert_MPEG

[fredvig]

I've tried opening these files in MPEG Strreamclip and I get an error message saying it's an "unsupported file type"

I don't get it. Both QuickTime and VLC can play the files, so how is an "unsupported file type"?

[havema-1]

That's weird -- MPEG Streamclip has worked OK for me with MPEG1/2.

Maybe you could make a small sample MPEG available on your web site and make the MPEG Streamclip author aware about the error. He appreciates feedback although he doesn't neccessarily have time to answer all posts.

The only VOB I have had trouble with was a PAL MPEG1 352x288 @ 1875 kb/s CBR authored and burned with Sizzle.

The failed sample DVD and its VOB (VIDEO_TS/VTS_01_1.VOB, 500K .dmg) is still at:

http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/test.sit

It plays OK via Apple's DVD player as well as on a Pioneer 444 standalone. But MPEG Streamclip and QuickTime Player fail to show its image.

It is possible that this PAL 352x288 MPEG1 is used so seldom in DVDs that the authoring applications don't handle it right. QuickTime Player reports it to be MPEG2 muxed although it is MPEG1.

PAL MPEG1 352x288 at up to ~1800 kb/s with CBR should be valid for a DVD.

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.4

[pixeljammedia]

It sounds like your mpeg has a bad header. Try using vcdgear to fix the header before joining.

[fredvig]

VCD Gear worked. At least as far as re-encoding the files so they're recognizable as mpegs.

Thanks.

Now If I can just figure out why Toast keeps wanting to burn the DVD as PAL . . .

[havema-1]

The reason for my trouble with the VOB I mentioned above, was that QuickTime Player and MPEG Streamclip don't display the image if the VOB file has MPEG-1 video. MPEG-2 video inside a VOB is OK.

MPEG Streamclip's internal engine can handle this strange mixed format (i.e. MPEG-1 inside a VOB which is usually a container for MPEG-2 files), but Apple's MPEG-2 Playback Component cannot.

I could fix the issue by demultiplexing the file and then remultiplexing it with MPEG Streamclip. THEN the QuickTime Player and MPEG Streamclip showed the video in it.

I must now decide whether to encode PAL 352x288 as MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 for the ultra-low bitrate DVDs. Obviously there is not much difference and most DVD players play both without hiccups. The valid MPEG-1 video rate may be limited to 1.856 Mbps, but there is no reason to exceed it with such a low resolution anyway.