Why did I buy the Hitachi 415u?

[Bong]

I just bought my Hitachi 415u yesterday and I really think it sucks. If anyone has a TmpegEnc template other than standard SVCD or standard SVCD, I'd love to know what else this thing will play. None of the other templates posted on this site will work on it. It doesn't even seem to like playing 23.98 fps dvd rips in vcd 2.0. It's like watching a security video. I bought it based on the reviews on this site, so if you have a (S)XVCD template that works on your Hitachi 415 please email it to me. Thanks.

[Iview]

Quote: "It doesn't even seem to like playing 23.98 fps dvd rips in vcd 2.0."
23.98 fps?
From VCD Technical Info:
VCDs are in two format, NTSC and PAL (and a third one also, NTSC Film but that is almost never used).
Please consult guide and check your encode settings.

[Bong]

That's my point. It doesn't play anything except vcd and svcd spec discs and I am questioning what makes it such a highly recommended (on this site) player. Does anyone have a template for a TmpegEnc that is out of spec that it will play? Anyone? Thanks.

[Harpreet]

I have successfully created SVCD's 480x480 with VBR upto 2400, and also 2400 CBR. I even created some SVCD's with 352x240 resolution. These play without any problems on the Hitachi.

However, VCD's do not seem to play at any bitrate other than 1150. I am trying to find out if the VCD problem is because of the hardware or if it is the conversion/authoring.

My only other issue with this player is that it pauses/jitters at the same point in SVCDs. The video pauses for half a second, sound continues, then 1/2 second later, video jumps & catches up with a little stutter on the sound. From then on, the video continues playing fine. This jitter might happen 2-3 times in a 45 minutes SVCD.

[volswagn]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE>
23.98 fps?
From VCD Technical Info:
VCDs are in two format, NTSC and PAL (and a third one also, NTSC Film but that is almost never used).
Please consult guide and check your encode settings.
</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR size=1 color=black></TD></TR></TABLE>
On the contrary, NTSC Film is the format I use most of the time, and I imagine others would as well if it were, um, "advertised" a little more often. Most of my source is film (taped on S-VHS off satellite) and when capturing, I capture at 29.97fps, but use the NTSC Film template together with inverse telecine to remove the interlaced frames and the "extra" frames added for padding to get to 29.97. The disc is encoded with Nero at 23fps progressive (because film frames are progressive) and many hardware DVD players (my pioneer) do 3:2 pulldown during playback. Less frames means better quality in the same amount of space and the SVCDs look smoother as well.

Of course, this is for items originally done on film (more programs that you might think)...

Just my worthless $.02

Don't slam the NTSC Film template.