Help on avi -> svcd for small hard drive

[chiga]

I've been struggling with this for a while now. From what I can tell, the main steps for a avi to svcd include:

1. Extract audio from .avi file into a .wav file (e.g., using Virtual Dub)
2. Combine/convert video .avi and audio .wav to mpeg2 file by using an encoding program (e.g., TMPGEnc)
3. Burn this mpeg2 file into SVCD format (e.g., using Nero)

My question: is this really the only way to go from .avi to SVCD? Is there an easy, free, and excellent quality way to go from .avi straight to SVCD without having to separate out the audio first?

My problem:

1. I have a super small hard drive with less than 2GB free space (so the 800MB avi file + 800MB wav file + 800MB mpeg file + a temporary burn file? exceeds my capacity!). If I could skip the audio separating step, that would leave me enough space to do it, I think.
2. I tried getting the Nero mpeg2 plugin, but although it says it was installed successfully, I still can't burn my .avi to SVCD.

HELLLLLLPPPPP, puleeeeeezzzz! Any info/corrections to my understanding would be appreciated. (I'm a super newbie & have never burned a VCD or SVCD before, and may never be able to if I can't get any help! )

[VILLA21]

FrameServing is the answer...
Open your avi in Vdub, aplly all the filters u want, --> file-->start frame server...give a name to the .vdr file(it"s only few kb), now Vdub closes and the frame server is open,...leave it running...
Open the .vdr file in TMpeg, choose your settings and start encoding.
No temp files...

[RoopeT]

Try DVD2SVCD and check "delete temporaly files"

[chiga]

Hey thanks for the suggestions! Hmmm.... I'm completely lost though.

FrameServing is the answer...

What's FrameServing? and a .vdr file? I'm feeling really helpless. I guess I'll try to research & see if there's any guides for converting via FrameServing.

Try DVD2SVCD and check "delete temporaly files"

I'll try to research this too!

P.S. If you know of any "How to" guides, I'd sure appreciate a link!

[chiga]

P.P.S. For frameserving, does that mean I don't have to extract the audio? So in TMPGEnc, I use the .avi for video & the .vdr for audio? Sorry if these are really lame questions...

[fantomlord]

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=87270

I would probably suggest using avisynth...the program is very small, and it is probably the quickest option.
you should probably take a look at the contents of your drive and see what you can dump to make more room...when your drive gets that close to full, you may start to experience some slowdown.

[chiga]

Thanks for the link. I tried frameserving with VDub, but it didn't work - I got an error in TMPGEnc when I tried to open my video.vdr.avi file (and yes, I tried upping the priority on the Direct whatever).

Do you think Avisynth would work instead? Also, from reading the "how-to" guides on frameserving, I'm getting the impression that it's only for video? Will it be able to encode the video and audio from my .avi to an mpeg2 file?

thanks!

[VILLA21]

FrameServing handles both Video and Audio!
Before run Vdub, run the AuxSetup.exe--->Install Handler.(it"S in the Vdub folder).
Be sure u have Tmpeg 2.5x.x.x plus whitch includes the VFAPI plugin.

[chiga]

FrameServing handles both Video and Audio!
Before run Vdub, run the AuxSetup.exe--->Install Handler.(it"S in the Vdub folder). Be sure u have Tmpeg 2.5x.x.x plus whitch includes the VFAPI plugin.

Thanks for easing my confusion about the video & audio. This frameserving sounds like a great solution, if I could just get it to work!

I did the install handler & the proxyon for Vdub, and I tried upping the priority for both the Direct.. and the AVI VFW compatibility... in TMPenc (version 2.5.), still.. I get the error saying that the file can't be opened or is unsupported when I try to open the .vdr.avi file.

Is there anything obvious that I'm doing wrong here?

[man_friday]

By all means do the research and read all the guides but get ready for some heartbreak, that Celery 466 is gunna groan when encoding time comes. Most folks talk about encoding overnight while they're asleep, you my friend might be able to take a vacation while the brew is cooking.

[VILLA21]

What version of Vdub u use?...I got Vdub 1.4.8, i heard that the latest version 1.4.10 has a bug with the frameserver...

[fantomlord]

I've got VDub 1.4.9
for you system(466MHz) I would definitely recommend using AVIsynth for hte speed advantage. I tried avoiding that like the plague at first because I didn't have any idea how to write a script
it's really rather easy to do once you get the hang of it.
another option for you is to extract the wav, encode your mp2 with audio encoder(BeSweet is good), delete the wav file, encode video only, delete avi if necessary, and then mux and burn.

[chiga]

that Celery 466 is gunna groan when encoding time comes

I had a feeling this might be the case.... just burning regular CD-Rs are sketchy enough on my computer... but now my will is just about killed.

What version of Vdub u use?...I got Vdub 1.4.8, i heard that the latest version 1.4.10 has a bug with the frameserver...

I have 1.4.10 ! Could this be why I keep getting the error?

fantomlord, your alternate suggestion went over my head!

Well, someone has told me that TMPGenc can encode MPEG2 using the AVI file as both the video & audio source, and that separate extraction of the audio isn't necessary. They say that the MPEG file from TMPGenc can be directly used by Nero without the plugin to burn straight to a CD-R. Is this possible?? I will try this first... wish me luck!

[chiga]

p.s. I just started trying to encode in TMPGenc and it looks like it's gonna take about 24 hours!!!! YIKES! Weird, for some reason, the file size and length estimates are hugely expanded too, and I was only able to get 317kbps video bitrate ... the preview looks okay though, although there's no sound. Does all this seem normal?

[chiga]

awww man..... okay, I let TMPGenc run overnite, I burned the file onto a disc (hey, that worked!)... then I tried playing it. The verdict: it's very pixelated, and doesn't seem like there's any sound. I'm gonna try to play it on my DVD player now, but it's not looking good... WHY?
_______________________________
Update:
After the failed attempt to only use TMPGenc to encode (using the AVI for the video & audio), I went back to VILLA21's remarks and downloaded Vdub 1.4.9 and..... IT WORKED!!!

THANK YOU VILLA21 for your suggestion to frameserve & pointing out the possible 1.4.10 bug - that must've been the problem.

This was pretty much my last attempt at trying to make a SVCD (I don't think I could've handled avisynth), so I'm so happy that I could make my first! THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP! This forum rocks!

[VILLA21]

Chiga, if u want high quality SVCDs and even VCDs try DVD2SVCD 1.09 b2 and CCE as video encoder. Change the parameters to suite your needs..Many guides to www.doom9.net

[tenders]

chiga ......my puter is even slower than yours,yet i can still produce an exellent quality svcd. to increase your space on your hard drive go to download.com and get a program(demo) called "space ace IV". it is VERY safe and it will free up alot of space so you can encode the proper way. i also have a small hd and this works great