.avi to VIDEO_TS audio issues?

[floggens]

I know many topics similar to this title have been covered, but haven't been able to find specific answers to my issue. I'm trying to convert a .avi file to VIDEO_TS as to burn it to DVD. I get the files outputted I'm looking for including the VIDEO_TS folder, .mpg, and .mv4, but the audio is either off sync or completely inaudible. Any suggestions would be of great appreciation as I've tried tweeking the settings as much as I can and understand. The .avi files stats are this when dropped into ffmpegx:

Video: mpeg4, yuv420p, 664X280
Audio: mp3 48000 HZ, stereo, 112 kb/s

My output to DVD options are:

Video: mpeg2enc mpeg2, 720x480, 4000 kbps, 29.97 fps, no crop
Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 448 kbps

This may be something simple or basic I am doing or not, but I am at a loss. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Case]

the audio is either off sync or completely inaudible.

Sync issues can be
(a) constant (a fixed amount of time between the video and the matching audio);
(b) progressive (the 'lag' gets progressively worse further into the movie);
(c) irregular (neither of the above).
The first type is easy to fix, as ffmpegX allows setting a time offset to repair the sync. (Can happen when there was an offset in the source file.)
The second type can often be fixed by stretching or condensing the timing on the whole of the audio. Requires processing in an audio editor. (Can happen with framerate conversions, where the video is the actual source of the problem, although the audio may be easier to fix.)
The third type is loads of work, as one may have to cut the audio up in short segments and match the pieces to the video, one bit at a time. (Can happen e.g. when video and audio have different sources, or when the video has VFR (variable framerate).)

Try playback in VLC of the output .mpg file or VIDEO_TS folder. Using the 'f' and 'g' keys, you may try to find an offset that will make it sync. The OSD (on screen display) will tell the amount of time between audio and video in milliseconds. Using this offset, will it remain in sync throughout the movie? Please report if this describes your issue. Make note of the number of milliseconds for use in ffmpegX.

I've seen that sometimes using QuickTime as a decoder for ffmpegX does help keeping sync. Set the 'Decode with Quicktime' checkbox in the Options tab to activate this mode, if it wasn't set already. If it was set, then one of the types of fixes mentioned above is needed.


The "completely inaudible audio" is sort of mysterious, as it could mean different things. Do you get silence? Is the audio 'moved' to the end of the output file? Do you get distorted audio? Is the distortion a phase shift/inversion? Is the distortion frequency related? Is there an audio speed up/slow down? Try describing "completely inaudible" as precisely as you can.

[floggens]

The audio is off sync and distorted for the duration of the file. The is no speed up or slown down just a steady distortion that sound frequency related, as there is a echoed distortion that rattles of the audio track. Not exactly sure what a phase shift/inversion would sound like, but will try to output decoded with Quicktime.