Help with Nero Burning VCDs

[Queequeg]

I just went through the entire process that is listed on this sites. I began with an .avi file and used TMPGEnc to make it a VCD mpg. Then I used Nero to author and encode it. I followed all the directions and everything seemed to go fine. It all matched with the pictures on the site and I had no problems while burning, but now when I put the finished CD into my drive there is no VCD. There are a bunch of random folders: CD1, Ext, Mpegav, Segment, VCD. There is no option to simply play the VCD, and I know my computer has no problem playing VCDs, it usually autoplays them (and yes, when I burned the CD the AUTO_PLAY=ON or whatever, I checked.) So what am I doing wrong??

[Panther96]

Try opening Windows Media Player, then open the VCD from there, check the folders, and you should find your movie as either an .mpg or a .dat file.

This sould then open in Media player (hopefully)

[Queequeg]

There is no mpg or dat file at all. And even if I could find it would it autoplay in a DVD Player, because that's what matters to me.

[gll99]

First things first!!!

Before you worry about autoplay make sure you have a proper vcd.

Did you forget to load the mpg in nero when you created the vcd and did you just burn a vcd with no video file.

There has to be a dat file or mpg under one of the directories you mentionned. If its not there then that's your problem.

Take it from there.

If you find a video file on the disk then do as was suggested and try to play it directly with a media player. If the file plays ok then you can worry about the vcd autoplay feature.

Autoplay kicks in when you load a CD so eject and reload. Some apps disable autoplay temporarily when they are active so see what is in memory.

[Queequeg]

There is no .dat file or .mpg at all. I did drag the file over it showed up in the play list, and the blue bar at the bottom appeared, so I know it 'saw' the file. I also did eject and reload several times. I had already attempted to open it in many players. I also tried using VCDEasy in addition to Nero. I tried different VCD files. What am I doing wrong?

[Tbear]

Under Mpegav folder is the movie it should be with the file ext. .dat

If nothing is in that folder then you have a coaster. Which guide did you use?

[davemcg37]

to get your vcd to play on your puter with mediaplayer try doing this; double click on "my computer", double click the drive your disc is in, double click mpegav, you should now have a file called avseq01. right click on this and click on "choose program to open this file from a list. select mediaplayer from this list and tick the box that says "always use this prog for this type of file". your vcd should now play. hope this helps

[KingJohn]

I just went through the entire process that is listed on this sites. I began with an .avi file and used TMPGEnc to make it a VCD mpg. Then I used Nero to author and encode it. I followed all the directions and everything seemed to go fine. It all matched with the pictures on the site and I had no problems while burning, but now when I put the finished CD into my drive there is no VCD. There are a bunch of random folders: CD1, Ext, Mpegav, Segment, VCD. There is no option to simply play the VCD, and I know my computer has no problem playing VCDs, it usually autoplays them (and yes, when I burned the CD the AUTO_PLAY=ON or whatever, I checked.) So what am I doing wrong??

Just incase you missed something

1, load AVI into TMPGEnc
2, Load a PAL/NTSC Template
3, click start

You now have a compliant mpeg 1, but is it the correct size ?, will it fit on 1 CDR ?, if it will continue, else split the file using Merge&Cut.

Nero
1, Load Nero and Select VCD
2, Check "Make standard compliant VCD"
3, Remove the check in the "use CDi application" you don't need it.
4, Select the encoding resolution (PAL/NTSC) " To match what you made with TMPGEnc
5, Click the burn TAB and select "Write" and "Finalize CD"
6, click the New button
7, pick up and drop the .mpg into the second window down (Nero analyzes file)
8, click burn

Playback
You can add an auto play program to the disk, so that it plays when inserted. You can also add an autorun.inf which instructs Media Player to play the file. You can also associate .dat files with WMP and manually double click the .dat file to play.

Make sure you are closing the disk

How long does it take to make the disk ?, if its only a short time, then the mpeg is not being written ?

[Queequeg]

"You can also add an autorun.inf which instructs Media Player to play the file."

How do I add the autorun.inf? Where do I get this file?
And also how will this effect playing the VCD in a DVD player?

[KingJohn]

"You can also add an autorun.inf which instructs Media Player to play the file."

How do I add the autorun.inf? Where do I get this file?
And also how will this effect playing the VCD in a DVD player?

You put it in the route of the cd, when your making the CD. Take a look an any cd that auto runs when you insert it. The "Autorun.inf" is a simple text file, used to instruct the system.

autorun.inf example

[autorun]
OPEN=

The open command is used to open a program, that program could Windows Media player, already on the system or could be one that has been included on a VCD.

Roxio include a VCD player, so that when the disk is inserted, the player will automatically play the VCD.

[autorun]
OPEN=vcd_play.exe

More here
http://ww.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=330952&highlight=autorun+inf#330952

[Queequeg]

What about autoplaying in a DVD player? Do I have to do anything special to get them running in a DVD player or does the DVD player (if compatible) automatically do that.

[KingJohn]

What about autoplaying in a DVD player? Do I have to do anything special to get them running in a DVD player or does the DVD player (if compatible) automatically do that.

Ah, well that depends on your player, some you need to put the disk in the tray and "press play"

Others take the disk out of the case for you and...