Jerky MPEG playback

[Coop]

Hello all,

I'm experiencing a strange problem with MPEG playback. Used TMPGenc to convert a 36 GB avi file with 2 pass VBR with very high bitrate settings and the highest setting for motion search precision. The encoding took almost a day to complete (not unusual from what I'm reading) and the process completed normally, however when I try to play the MPEG (I've tried a few players) about halfway through I start experiencing a 6-10 second delay - the counter runs but there's no motion or sound. If I position towards the end of the clip, the counter runs but no video or sound at all.

I don't seem to experience this issue with CBR - I'm wondering if VBR has something to do with it. Any ideas?

[DJRumpy]

You didn't mention if your player was PC based (ala WinDVD, PowerDVD, etc), or a standalone player (like Sony). If your bitrate exceeds tha capabilities of your standalone (non-PC) player, or the capabilities of your CPU/Video hardware on your PC player, you'll get jumpy playback.

[Coop]

I should have clarified DJR - The burned DVD plays back perfectly fine on either my desktop player or DVD-ROM. It's the MPEG2 file itself that has this problem. My biggest issue is trying author. Inserting chapter points into an MPEG2 file is hard to do when you can't gauge the correct point to insert. I would think that if I exceeded capacity that I would notice playback issues with the entire file not part of it. Thanks for your feedback.

[DJRumpy]

As long as you stay within specification for your DVD, then your fine. Chapter points shouldn't affect your final output at all. When the playback freezes, does the audio continue on? Does foward fasting seem to bypass the problem?

[Coop]

I'm definitely within specs for the conversion (link at the bottom of the TMGenc how-to for optomized settings), as I'm able to author, burn, and play the DVD with no noticable problems.

In Windows media player (or Real player, or in my authoring program) when I drag the slider to a point halfway through the clip and push play, the time counter starts but there is no sound or video....six or seven seconds later, it kicks in. The delay gets gradually worse the further into the clip I go. If I move the slider closer to 3/4 through the clip, the counter runs but no video or audio at all. Note also that when I drag the slider, I can see individual frames as I move through the clip.

Because of the playback problem, chapter points are difficult to insert. I can't accurately gauge when to insert by the counter because it's off.

[DJRumpy]

That is a Windows Media Player problem, not an mpeg problem. Use a software DVD player like WinDVD, or PowerDVD. They shouldn't exhibit this problem.