TMPGEnc Convertion

[Anonymoususer]

Im trying to convert Akira Digitally Remastered [Part - 1].avi to Mpeg using TMPGEnc. The movie is 720 X 368, and it plays widescreen on the computer but after converting the movie it came out fullscreen on the DVD player Ive tried changing the Aspect Ratio option,and tried the following options :- 1:1VGA, 4:3 525 - NTSC(Line) and it still keeps coming out fullscreen. Im soo pissed off cuz it takes a long ass time to convert because I have a 450MHZ processor. The last option that is left the the 16:9 525 Line (NTSC) is the one I have not yet tried, I really don't want to because it might not be the one to make my movie come out widescreen. So if anyone knows how to make my movie widescreen please tell me.

Lastly when I sometimes convert the movie it has blocks on it, but usually you see them on dark areas for example black background, gray or dark green, how the hell do I get rid of these blocks..?

Excuse the language but Im pissed.

[DJRumpy]

Alot of the DVD authoring programs incorrectly set the MPG to 4:3 for an aspect ratio. You need to make a disk image with your authoring software, and then edit the movie IFO using IFOEdit.

From there, it's pretty simple. Just doubleclick on your movie stream ( it will be specified as 4:3 in the list). A popup gui will let you pick 16:9 for the aspect ratio.

As a side note, make sure you set both your source, and your output as 16:9 in TMPGenc (if you cannot edit all of the settings, use the LOAD button, and look in the TEMPLATES\EXTRAS folder of TMPGenc. There is a template there called UNLOCK, that will unlock everything.

For your 'Video Arrange Method', on the Advanced tab, make sure you select "Full Screen (Keep Aspect Ratio)". This will supposedly encode your MPEG properly. If it's encoded properly as 16:9 and your authoring software works properly, you can then skip the IFOEdit step.

The blocks your seeing is due to the fact that a tv supports something like 235 or so shades of gray, where a PC supports 255. The Akira rip was not exported properly to TV format. The PC is seeing shades of gray (or green), where your TV would only see black. You can ding around with the contrast settings to eliminate them with VDub.

Just a suggestion, when your working with a slow PC, or a large project, make a small sample file to burn to DVD. It will take about a half hour, but could save you days of work. A 5 minute encoded sample is usually a good place to start.

[Anonymoususer]

Oh I think the movie is encoded good it;s one of the TMPGEnc settings I need to check. The movie is 720 X 368 so I think Im gonna try the 16:9 525 Aspect Ratio settings l like you said, to see if it workss. If anyone has any suggestions please tell me.

Still waiting for the solution to blocky picture.

[DJRumpy]

See above. I edited my post to include info on the block problem. I have the akira rip as well, and noted this problem. It also has a bit shortage in high motion scenes. It would appear they skimped a little on the motion detection.

[Anonymoususer]

How do I Ding with with the contrast settings with VDub ?

Do I go to Color Depth in the Video's Tab if so should I choose the settings to go Higher or Lower ?

Thanks for the suggestion...Im such an ass

[banjazzer]

Im trying to convert Akira Digitally Remastered [Part - 1].avi to Mpeg using TMPGEnc. The movie is 720 X 368, and it plays widescreen on the computer but after converting the movie it came out fullscreen on the DVD player

If an avi has correct aspect ratio to start with, then you should always choose *Source aspect ratio* = 1:1(VGA). Without exception. The *Video arrange method* should be one of the *full screen* options, and this will give you the full widescreen when you play it.

It is always a good idea to use the *source range* setting to encode a sample to see how your mpeg is going to turn out. 8)

If you are getting blocks, then this is something you must live with if you are encoding to mpeg-1. If you are encoding to mpeg-2 then you should not see blocks, provided you are encoding at a sufficient bitrate to fit no more than 50-60 minutes video to a 60 minute disc. Again, a test encode of the problem area is well worthwhile.

[DJRumpy]

You can either look for a brightness/contrast filter, or see if you can download one somewhere. I don't recall if it has one built in. The trick is to lower the brightness so that the lowest gray levels drop off, and become the color black. There may be a filter out there specifically for this.

Anyone? Beuler?....

[Anonymoususer]

I see, so what I should just basically do is convert it to Mpeg 2 and the blocks should be gone by themselves...or try to lower the contrast settings...Got it !

Thanks for the help peoples.. If anyone has any more suggestions please tell me..


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[DJRumpy]

Sorry about that. I didn't note that you were converting Akira to VCD MPEG-1. The original post was in MPEG-2 SVCD.

MPEG-1 has the blocky look on high action scenes. These are not related to the gray scale problem I mentioned before. If you are seeing these blocks on only dark area, and they are not related to fast action, then you can eliminate them with a filter.

If they show up on high actions scenes, then your only recourse is to use SVCD format, which has more than twice the bit rate of VCD.

[Anonymoususer]

Actually they not only appear in any dark area etc black, dark blue or green, they also appear in high action scenes I think. Using the filter to remove that stuff, I can also use VDub to remove that also right !?

Also If I DO convert to Mpeg 2 which I am thinking about what option should I choose in the TMPGEnc systems settings ?.

Also Can I make an 800MB NON Standard Mpeg 2 file like you can with Mpeg 1 files...?

[DJRumpy]

If there is too much action in a scene, it's not uncommon for VCD to get blocky. If you keep running it through filters to compensate, you'll get a blurry movie.

Try encoding in MPEG-2 SVCD format instead. Definately the way to go.

[banjazzer]

There are inbuilt limitations to using VCD because of the low bitrate. If your DVD player will accept non-standard VCD then you can get more than 80 minutes on a single disc using an unlocked VCD template, and better quality. To do so you could typically use 2-pass VBR or CQ mode with a minimum bitrate of 300 and a max bitrate of 1300 (or possibly higher). This way, scenes requiring more than 1150 can go to 1300, and bits can be saved when they don't require anything like 1150!

If this interests you, then visit Kwag's website, as he has optimised templates to do this kind of thing.
http://www.kvcd.net/

But once you have seen the quality of SVCD, you may not want to use anything else. However, Kwag also has high quality templates to try... 8)

[Anonymoususer]

My DVD player does accept NON Standard VCD's and to get an 800MB 1 hour long file I usually encode at 1501KB/s and The sound is set at 320KB/s. Previously I was able to put a 2 hour long movie on just one CDcame out pretty good...but I will try that website. Thanks dude !

[Anonymoususer]

Ok on this website what template do I need to download...?Someone tell me AAAAAAAH !

[banjazzer]

Try a few! What I would do is use a CDRW and encode a few samples, to see what works for you.

[Anonymoususer]

OOOOOOO...OH ok

[banjazzer]

If that is a daunting prospect, try some standard SVCDs. The point of Kwag's site is that you can get exceptional quality without necessarily using SVCD. But, not all players will accept all the formats.

[Anonymoususer]

Pain in the ass..I tried converting it to an Mpeg 2 messed around with the Aspect Ratio and the FUCKIN file still comes out full screen on the TV. Now someone suggested that I use IFO Edit to correct the Aspect Ratio.

The file is 720X368. Someone help me if you can and if I use IFO Edit to what shold I correct the Aspect Ratio too..?

[banjazzer]

The settings I gave in my first reply will preserve aspect ratio and display the full movie on your TV. By the way, unless you view an mpeg-2 with something like PowerDVD or WinDVD, it is not guaranteed to display with the correct aspect ratio, even though it will produce a perfect aspect-ratio SVCD.

[Anonymoususer]

It's not working, Ive tried all the options available, it still is coming out full screen...WHY THE HELLL !!!!!

[DJRumpy]

If your movie is in 720 x 368, then you will need to add in letterboxing. It depends on whether or not the mpeg has already been reformatted for 4:3.

Does the MPEG look right when you play it in Media Player? A properly formatted 16:9 mpeg should look a little tall.

The mpeg must also be formatted to 720x480 for full DVD resolution (or you can use any of the half resolutions ( 356x480, 352x240)

If you already have all of your files ready to burn, just open the IFO's with IFOEdit, and change the aspect ratio for the movie (don't mess with the menu) to 16:9.

If the movie is formatted correctly, it will play full screen on a 16:9 tv, or letterboxed on a 4:3 tv (your dvd player will autoformat it, according to the options set with IFOEdit).

You didn't mention what the movie looked like while playing full screen. Did the aspect ratio look right? If it did look right, then your movie isn't formatted correctly. Remember it should look squeezed in from the sides:

-->[ ]<--

The DVD player will stretch it back out in the horizontal direction to make the aspect right.

[scottrempel]

When I create a VCD from a 16:9 DVD I use the following settings in TMPEG:

I set the source as 16:9 NTSC, set the stream to 4:3 NTSC, use clip frame to cut the black bars off and then set to Full Screen (keep aspect ratio 2). This creates a VCD that has the same size black bars as the original DVD when played on a regular TV. Hope this will help in your case!

Also, for anyone that has experienced problems with dark scenes on there VCD (grayish blocks mixed in) I recommend changing the brightness level under Simple Color Correction in TMPEG to around -17. This seems to make the VCD the original brightness of the DVD and totally gets rid of those annoying gray blocks.

[banjazzer]

When I create a VCD from a 16:9 DVD I use the following settings in TMPEG:

I set the source as 16:9 NTSC, set the stream to 4:3 NTSC, use clip frame to cut the black bars off and then set to Full Screen (keep aspect ratio 2). This creates a VCD that has the same size black bars as the original DVD when played on a regular TV. Hope this will help in your case!

The source setting shouldn't help, because the source is an avi. From DVD, source should be set to one of the 4:3 or 16:9 options. For an avi the source range should be 1:1(VGA), unless the avi has a screwed up aspect ratio to start with.

[DJRumpy]

Also remember to set the 'Video Arrange Method' to "Full Screen - Keep Aspect Ratio". Assuming you've ripped the right VOB's (the widescreen, and not the pan&scan version), then set your Video Tab - Aspect ratio settings to 16:9 ( or 1:1, I've heard both versions), but the guides usually say 16:9.

On the Advanced Tab, set the source aspect ratio to 16:9 (do not select any of the ones specifying a line count)

Last but not least, set the Video Arrange Method on that tab to Full Screen - Keep Aspect Ratio.

According to the guides, if your player is compliant, it should produce the proper aspect ratio depending on your DVD Player settings (16:9 TV or 4:3 TV). Your player should automatically letterbox it for a 4:3 tv, or display it fullscreen on a 16:9 tv.

[Anonymoususer]

I downloaded one of the KVCD templates and basically it did it for me. The movie came out widescreen but the color is messed up. Im gonna try the other template to see if it works. Thanks to everyone for the help !

[Anonymoususer]

what an ass I used to be...that was few months a go people..After reading and advancing a lot from where I was before the problem was that I didn't press Ctrl+N when I opened up TMPGEnc to remove the previous settings which were interferring with my encoding..

I also found out that my DVD Player plays everything...from Non Standard to Standard..

Thanks for the help to all the people...I have one more question..honestly are Kwags templates as High Res as some people have claimed..Ive read numerous discussions, criticisms about his "templates"...Im exploring the settings myself to raise the bitrates to enhance my movies furthermore...I would really like to know..

[RabidDog]

I just used one of kwags templates and I didnt think it was particularly good .. in fact the file size came out to be about 850mb .. when I did the same thing as a hi bitrate (1300CBR) vcd the file size came to 650mb maybe I did summat wrong but........the quality was good. I will persist and try other ones ....

[banjazzer]

I have one more question..honestly are Kwags templates as High Res as some people have claimed..Ive read numerous discussions, criticisms about his "templates".

The best thing to do is use the Source range setting in TMPG to select a short sample of source material. Then use the Batch list feature to encode lots of test encodes with various templates and settings. Then, and only then, will you know the quality possible. Quality is very subjective, and high quality to one person can sometimes be barely acceptable to another. Provided your DVD player will play non-standard material, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[Anonymoususer]

since I started making SVCD;s I've become very picky about quality..blockiness etc. I converted Ghost In The Shell DVD Rip and I was soooooo surprised because that was the best SVCD I had ever made..since then I have not been close to makin something like that..used the same settings and everything...but they are high quality though...normal people don't seem to care and say "It Looks good to me"...so Im thinking about breaking the movie into 3 parts instead of 2 and then encode it..don't know if I should...

[banjazzer]

Generally, and depending on the movie, I find I can fit 50-65 minutes to a SVCD with quality I find very acceptable. With 4:3 source material, then I tend toward the lower end of the scale. Widescreen material and I can go closer to 65 minutes. However, this is with VBR multipass encoding, minimum bitrate 1200 and maximum bitrate 2496. This works for me. But the final judge is your eyes. 8)