Pioneer DV440 and SVCD???

[House de Kris]

Ever since seeing the Pioneer DV-440 player I've wanted one. I read about it in the DVD compatibility list here at VCDHelp. The comments were conflicting though. Some said it played everything, SVCDs included, and others said SVCDs don't work on this machine. So I took an SVCD I created with Nero to the shop to have some first hand experience. This, by the way, was an SVCD that works great on both of my APEX players and a friend's Affrey.

As can be expected, the results were disappointing. The sound was very bad and the video paused momentarily every few seconds. Not only that, but the image was considerably more blocky than I expected.

So the question is, for those that use the DV-440 with SVCD discs, what software was used for burning the discs? Or, what discs were used for the SVCDs? I'm trying to find out what the deal is here, if it is the limitations of Nero or the CD-R itself. BTW, I used a Pioneer disc (oddly enough) for this test.

Oh yeah, I also put this disc into a DV-343 and it behaved the exact same way.

Thanks.

[Greydog]

I have a Pioneer DV-440. I had problems with jerky video also. The solution for me was to render my video in TMPGEnc then burn the CD with Nero. I used Memorex 16X CD-R. The SVCD video and audio is great. I use Pinnacle Studio 7 to make my home movies. This has only been tested with my home movies. I posted the following on the Pinnacle web site under the Studio 7 discussion forum. It is posted under the question "Poor quality VCD- how to improve? Look for the post from Greydog. I provide a link here but that may change.

http://webboard.pinnaclesys.com/read_messages.asp?WebboardID=1&ForumID=234&SectionID=5...hread=50&lng=1

The text below is what I posted concerning settings to get good results for me................

My humble contribution...Here is what works for me. I emphasis that there are several settings I use that may not be the best. I would be very thankful to anyone who can offer better ideas, especially if they can give an explanation with the idea.

Render the video created in Studio 7 (I installed patch 7.07.1) as an AVI using the default Compression "DV Video Encoder". The VCD or SVCD encoding feature in Studio 7 is a bit weak so I use TMPGEnc V2.5 www.tmpgen.net .

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The following are the settings I use in TMPGEnc

Encoding a VCD through TMPGEnc

Close out the Wizard
Select load then choose Video CD(NTSC) and Open
Select Settings
1. Video tab, Motion search precision, the default is Normal note! High Quality (slow) gives a little better video
2. Advanced Tab, Video source typeInterlaced * Field order Bottom field first (field B) * Source aspect ratio 43 525 line (NTSC, 704x480) * Video arrange method Full screen (keep aspect ratio) Click OK

The template indicated on the lower portion of the program will read Video-CD NTSC (MPEG-1 352x240 29.97fps CBR 1150kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

Select Video source Browse. The Audio source will automatically open to the same file. Select Output file name Browse and choose your file destination. The file type should be saved as an MPEG-1 system stream

Select Start and encoding will begin
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Encoding a SVCD through TMPGEnc


Select Load
Choose SuperVideoCD (NTSC)
Select Settings, Video tab
1.Rate control mode Constant bitrate (CBR) * Bitrate 2520 * Encode mode Interlaced * Motion search precision Motion estimate search (fast) note! High Quality (slow) will give a little better video
Choose Advanced tab
2.Video source type Interlaced * Field order Bottom field first (704x480) * Source aspect ratio 43 525 line (NTSC, 704x480) * Video arrange method Full screen (keep aspect ratio) Choose OK

On the main screen interface, Select the Video source Browse then choose file source. The Audio source will automatically default to the same file. In the Output file name menu choose Browse then select a destination.

The template displayed in the lower menu should be Super Video-CD NTSC (MPEG-2 480x480 29.97fps CBR 2520kbps, Layer-2 44100Hz 224kbps)

Select Start to Encode the video

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Burn the video to CD with Nero 5.5. Must have the SVCD encoder plugin to make a SVCD. note! I believe you must have Nero V5.5.4.0 or higher to use the MPEG-2/SVCD Plugin.

Burning VCD in Nero

In the New Compilation menu, select the Video-CD icon.
In the Video tab I have the following boxes checked Create standard compliant CD, Use CD-i application, NTSC, Store source pictures in [pictures]
In the Menu tab nothing is enabled
In the ISO tab ISO Level 1 (Max of 11=8+3 chars), ISO 9660, Allow path depth of more than 8 directories, Allow more than 225 characters in path.
In the Label menu Enter a Volume Label..no spaces
In the Dates menu Use the date and time from original file.
In the Misc menu Cache disk- and Network files, 64 is in the unchecked box for Cache files smaller than.
In the Burn menu Write, Finalize CD (no further writing possible), Write speed 16x (2,400 KB/s), Write method Disc-at-Once, Number of copies 1 and Burn proof

Select New
The file directories interface will come up. Choose the source video files.Drag them from the File browser to the video Track Title box.
Select File, Write CD

Burning a SVCD I use the same settings as the VCD burn except... In the New Compilation menu, select the Video-CD icon.

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I play my VCD's and SVCD's with a Pioneer DV-440. They look great even on a 36 inch TV. The audio is fantastic.

Hope this helps !

[bbb]

For the Pioneer 440:

Using Tmpgenc beta 12:
For MPEG2 files:
You must use CBR max bitrate: 2500 or less
VBR will cause sound de-sync
*I don't know if Tmpgenc 2.51 fixed the VBR de-sync problem

Using CCE 2.5:
For MPEG2 files:
You can use VBR or CBR max bitrate: 2520

[sue denim]

Hi!
I bought a DV-444 and, similarly to you guys, had all sorts of problems getting a 'home-grown' SVCD to work.
But I finally nailed it!

I now have a TMPGenc template that works on all versions and makes great SVCD MPEG2 files.
If you want a copy, email me and I'll send it ASAP.

One other thing, did you download the example SVCD mpg file that's linked to from this site?
If not, I recommend you do ... NOW!
See if that plays ok on your 440 ...... it played fine on my 444 and it looked superb!
Of course it IS taken from a commercial SVCD so it should look good but at least I knew that my 444 COULD play SVCD after all ..........
Then all I had to do was find the correct encoder settings!

Hope this helps

Sue xxx