TMPGenc DVD-Author erratic results

[tedpnyc]

Capturing VHS through HopHog WinTV PVR VBR between 5 and 8k
each captured file is about 10, 12 mins, no more than 15 minutes. Certainly smaller than 1G

I preview each MPEG2 file with Windows Media Player before proceeding to authoring. Only files that play through to end go to next step.

I author the unmodified MPEG2s with TMPGenc DVD-Author. Each file becomes a chapter. Carry on & burn using the plug-in that comes with DVD-Author

Result - some chapters play through to end, others stop after 2-3 minutes. I have the same problem if I try playback using computer or Sony set-top DVD player.

BUT if I feed the exact same MPEG2s to the ULEAD sw that came with my Sony burner, author each MPEG2 as a separate chapter & burn, the resulting DVD disk plays perfectly- no problems.

So why bother with TMPGenc? because it allows me to cut extraneous material from the MPEGs and put the abridged vesion as a chapter, & I don't think the freebie version of ULEAD does this.

Cutting sections from the MPEG does not correlate with the failure after 2-3 minutes. Both edited and non-edited MPEGS will stop dead.

The frustrating thing is that the problem is erratic - some chapters play A-OK, others stall. I have yet to find a common factor between bad & good chapters.

I suspect that when TMPGenc hits a bad frame while authoring, it treats the file as having ended, & moves on to author the next chapter. ULEAD seems to complete the chapter, regardless of what errors there may be.

Has anyone had this erratic performance?

Thanks
Ted

[Turtle49]

I did have a situation where the DVD would just stop at a certain frame. They original MPG did not, but the Video_TS folder on my hard drive did.

I found that my hard drive needed to be defragged. I then ran the output from TMPGEnc DVD Author again without any adjustment, and it worked fine after that.

I hope this helps.