DVD Encore choking on CBR MPEGs

[moxiecat]

I'm at my wits' end, and this is probably a shot in the dark, but just in case...

In the past, I've had problems with Adobe DVD Encore choking on CBR MPEG-2 files. They import into Encore as "untranscoded," when they're actually MPEG-2 video and should be compliant. Rumor has it that Encore was set up this way to discourage piracy. (Note that my files were always home video.) Fortunately, it didn't happen too much and wasn't a big problem. Until today.

Right now I am dealing with a few MPEG-2 files that will not import as "don't transcode" no matter what I do. The files all originate from VRO camcorder files. The VROs are all constant bit rate (CBR). My workflow is simple: Womble MPEG Video Wizard loads the VROs and exports them as MPEG-2 files without re-encoding. That part is easy.

But Encore refuses to accept these files. I have used MediaInfo to compare these files with MPEG-2 files that DO load, and the only difference I can find is that the VRO-original files are natively CBR. (Changing them to VBR in Womble does not fool Encore, by the way.) If there is another compliance issue, MediaInfo doesn't report it.

Combining part of a CBR VRO file and part of a VBR VOB file on a Womble timeline and exporting a new "combo" file DOES sometimes load into Encore without problem. It seems to depend on how much of the file is the CBR portion. This is the only trick that I've gotten to work on occasion.

Unfortunately, our company uses DVD Encore for menu setup, so I don't have an alternate authoring program, and so we're stuck.

Any ideas? I'm so frustrated, I feel like I should just re-encode all these VRO files, but my standard of quality control (re-encoding=BAD!) isn't there quite yet.

[poisondeathray]

Encore accepts CBR.

There can be other reasons for incompatibility for DVD-video - eg. not vbv compliant, illegal GOP parameters, etc..

You can check with gspot for more information

[moxiecat]

Hi poisondeathray - thanks for the info.

Yes, I have imported CBR in the past - but it can choke, and the reason I read online ages ago is conspiratorial...but that aside....

I think it's possible now that some of these files may have tiny glitches that are throwing Encore off. In one test video, it imported successfully up to 90 seconds. Then there was this glitch, which I only noticed because I was focusing on small sections of video. 91+ seconds, right after the glitch, failed to import.

My problem is now, how to find these glitches. It's hard to explain, but it's a quick distortion in the video and the audio drops out briefly. I checked the file in Bitrate Viewer, and nothing shows up there where the glitch should be. My next idea is to try checking the audio for dropouts. I'm dealing with hours and hours of video though, so this will be tough to do manually.

Are there any other programs that might able to catch something like this?

[poisondeathray]

you can try videoredo's quickstream fix, or project-x , or pvastrumento, or ts doctor