Converting SVCD to VCD

[wsmitty]

I was reading from someone earlier having a problem with one of their spiderman movie cds. I have 3 svcds of Spiderman and have to play them on the computer using PowerDVD or WinDVD.

My question is, can I convert them using TMPGEnc and if so, do I need to install the MPEG2 codec for it?

When I try using TMPGEnc I get the cannot open or unsupported error

Is there anything special I need to know and is there a walkthrough on doing this?

Thanks.

[banjazzer]

If it's the same SVCD copy I downloaded, the aspect ratio is wrong and there are a few probs with disc 2 which stop a full demux. Here's what I did.

I extracted the mpg from each bin using Isobuster. I then joined all 3 together using TMPGEnc's mpeg tools. Then I ran new mpg through DVD2AVI which produced a d2v and mpa file. These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero. The result works perfectly in my DVD player.

It might sound complicated, buy it really isn't, and all the info to do this is in the guide section. If you want to do this but no longer have the bin files, you can use the mpg file contained on each SVCD, but check first (particularly disc 2) that you have sound and vision throughout. 8)

[wsmitty]

I don't have a cue or bin file. I have them as SVCDs. when I take the mpegs off of the svcds to convert using TMPGEnc, it says that it is unsupported or cannot open file.

I have the MPEG2 codec installed. And it still doesn't help. directshow is at 1 on TMPGEnc.

Any ideas or thoughts?

[banjazzer]

As in my previous post - you can't put them directly into TMPGenc. You need to use DVD2AVI as an intermediate stage.

[Stinky]

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

@wsmitty: Here is the process I used - I hope it helps you.

I ran each SVCD through VCDGear with the setting of MPEG->MPEG with "Fix MPEG Errors" checked as an option.

This will help because there are some errors in the headers of those spiderman SVCD's

Then I put them directly into TMPGEnc (you can either install the MPEG-2 vfapi filter or MPEG-2 codec - I use the MPEG-2 codec) ... then I convrted them to VCD PAL (using the basic TMPGEnc template) because the source is PAL (both PAL and NTSC VCD's should play fine on any DVD player - I play both on my Pioneer with no problems even though I can only play NTSC DVD's)

important TMPGEnc setting - Source Aspect Ratio: 4:3

thats it -- I converted all three just fine in TMPGEnc - I even used the source range setting to cut out "The Hulk" preview in the beginning of the first SVCD

if you have any troubles let me know

[banjazzer]

My last few outings with VCDgear have caused more problems than they solved, for some reason, so I prefer DVD2AVI. In fact, when I download any mpg I did not create myself, I always demux and mux. Even though it takes a lot longer, I now get far fewer problems with sound dropouts and other glitches!

As a matter of interest, what version of VCDGear are you using? Earlier versions I had no problems with. The one I've had problems with is 3.06.

[Stinky]

The VCDGear part is just an option - you can still drag the files directly into TMPGEnc (which was the main point in my reply)

I love VCDGear -- but since I have never had any problems with it that might be why I love it - I'm using VCDGear 3.07b12

[banjazzer]

I'll try the latest version and see if I have any joy.

Surely the point of using VCDGear was to remove the errors on CDs 2 and 3? A demux of disc 2 only gets half the material. Dragging the dodgy mpgs directly into TMPGenc might also be a bit iffy!

[wsmitty]

Thanks for your guys help. I will try. Just downloaded VCDGear myself. I'm having a wierd problem though. I got the mpegs off of CD2 and CD 3 fine. But everytime I try to get CD1 I get an I/O error when it gets close to the end. Any ideas?

[Stinky]

Surely the point of using VCDGear was to remove the errors on CDs 2 and 3? A demux of disc 2 only gets half the material. Dragging the dodgy mpgs directly into TMPGenc might also be a bit iffy!

I take a lot of precautions so I did use VCDGear to correct the errors on the mpegs so I can't say for sure if converting them directly in TMPGEnc without correcting the errors would work ok or not -- I've found TMPGEnc to be quite forgiving with mpeg's but not with AVI's ... but again I don't know for sure.

When you say demux - do you mean de-multiplex and multiplex? or are you using the "Merge&Cut" option to mux? I'm not clear on what your doing ... I know a quick fix that I use in TMPGEnc is to pull the files into "Merge&Cut" and select the correct type of MPEG and then running it (without doing any actually Merging or Cutting) because that also re-writes the headers (and pretty quickly) ... is that what your doing?

[Stinky]

Thanks for your guys help. I will try. Just downloaded VCDGear myself. I'm having a wierd problem though. I got the mpegs off of CD2 and CD 3 fine. But everytime I try to get CD1 I get an I/O error when it gets close to the end. Any ideas?

do you have the most recent version of VCDGear -- do you have mpeg->mpeg as your selection and is 'fix mpeg errors' checked? or do you mean you are copying them off the cd's directly to your hd? if so - don't - use VCDGear to do that - using the mpeg->mepg option

[wsmitty]

Thanks Stinky. Now I understand. I'll try VCDGear right now.
That is what I was doing. was taking them to the hard drive first, or at least trying to when I get that one error for CD 1.

[Stinky]

Thanks Stinky. Now I understand. I'll try VCDGear right now.
That is what I was doing. was taking them to the hard drive first, or at least trying to when I get that one error for CD 1.

I got that error also ... VCDGear will fix it all up

I couldn't copy the damn .mpg off the disk either and was pulling my hair until I let VCDGear do it for me (and supress the error and fix the mpeg)

[wsmitty]

Thanks once again Stinky. To recap here is what I am doing.
I have VCDGear with the vcdgear tab selected doing mpeg -> mpeg.
I have checked fix MPEG errors.
I then load the file and go to the folder for the mpeg file and then it asks me where it wants to save. I tell it where and then I press start.
It is doing it now but over 2 hours until done?

Thanks.

Smitty

[Stinky]

I have VCDGear with the vcdgear tab selected doing mpeg -> mpeg.
I have checked fix MPEG errors.
I then load the file and go to the folder for the mpeg file and then it asks me where it wants to save. I tell it where and then I press start.
It is doing it now but over 2 hours until done?

that is correct - though the time seems a bit long -- let it run though - I'm not sure how fast your machine is and maybe the time calculation is incorrect.

just let it go - the reason being is that it's the only way you are going to get it off the cd

[wsmitty]

that is correct - though the time seems a bit long -- let it run though - I'm not sure how fast your machine is and maybe the time calculation is incorrect.

just let it go - the reason being is that it's the only way you are going to get it off the cd

OK, now if I was able to get the mpeg from CD2 and CD3 is it okay to use VCDGear with them from the hard drive?

[banjazzer]

When you say demux - do you mean de-multiplex and multiplex?

Yes, full de-multiplex and multiplex, although if you use mpeg tools to cut or join, the files are going to be muxed and demuxed anyway.

[Stinky]

OK, now if I was able to get the mpeg from CD2 and CD3 is it okay to use VCDGear with them from the hard drive?

yep -- absolutely

[deethree]

I have a few Q's about this whole process...

Why would someone "Mux" etc I havn't really seen an example of what it really means...

And I have a load of SVCD's and I'm eager to get them xfered to VCD because my player(s) don't wanna help me out.

So I can convert the dat with VCDGear and then use TMPEnc to change it to the right NTSC etc right?

(I got DiVX -> VCD ok) Can I use the same process with the SVCD's?

Am I making sence? prolly not..

Thanks in advance.

d3.

[Stinky]

1) don't worry about the Mux thing - it's not going to help with what your trying to do

2)your confused a bit - if you have a SVCD there are no .dat files - the only thing we were using VCDGear to do was move the file off a cd-r to the hard drive and fix the mpeg errors at the same time

3)yes you can use similar procedures to convert SVCD to VCD --- if you have a MPEG-2 codec or the MPEG-2 vfapi installed then you can open the SVCD (MPEG-2) files directly in TMPGEnc -- if you don't then you can look over at the convert "how to" guides and follow the instructions on how to convert SVCD's using DVD2AVI

hint: for VCD's you don't have to convert NTSC to PAL or PAL to NTSC - your DVD player will play both so if your SVCD is PAL (25fps) convert it to PAL VCD

most of this thread delt specifically with converting the 3 disk spiderman SVCD's (which were very tricky SVCD's because of errors) but most of it translates directly to all SVCD to VCD conversions

[deethree]

Since I'm so green and the 'guys' in this thread know so much I thought I'd bump this thread and ask once more of your vast knowlege...

I followed the instructions for the MPEG2 -> VCD and then burned the result with VCDeasy follwing the instructions in the DiVX -> VCD Tutorial. I fired up the DVD player and tossed the disk in... and found that the DVD player wouldn't/couldn't read it... I know the player 'likes' the CD's because I did a DiVX -> VCD with no problems. So I'm wondering if the settings might be outdated (in either Tut) or if converting a SVCD is too hard for my simple no0b mind

Anyone care to shed some light for me?

thanks in advance...

d3

[Cooly-O]

Thanks for these tips, I plan to try them for my 3 Spiderman CDs soon.

I'm having the same (identical) trouble as some guy on another thread (buffer underun error): http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=95203&highlight=spiderman+convert

Where we were trying to correct by this simple procedure alone:
http://www.geocities.com/newestmoviesencode/dvdvcd

[chrisryn64]

If it's the same SVCD copy I downloaded, the aspect ratio is wrong and there are a few probs with disc 2 which stop a full demux. Here's what I did.

I extracted the mpg from each bin using Isobuster. I then joined all 3 together using TMPGEnc's mpeg tools. Then I ran new mpg through DVD2AVI which produced a d2v and mpa file. These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero. The result works perfectly in my DVD player.

It might sound complicated, buy it really isn't, and all the info to do this is in the guide section. If you want to do this but no longer have the bin files, you can use the mpg file contained on each SVCD, but check first (particularly disc 2) that you have sound and vision throughout. 8)

I used this step and now I am stuck on the burning part. I am using Nero but when I try to burn it as a VCD I get an invalid format error. I am also wondering if I should burn it as PAL or NTSC?

[banjazzer]

Provided you have used a VCD template in TMPGenc, Nero should have no problem accepting the mpg, as TMPGenc produces standard VCD-compliant mpg. If for any reason you have joined or split mpgs using TMPGenc, it is important that you select Type as Mpeg-1 Video-CD.

[Cassadine]

8)

Hey guys Ive been reading all the post and replies Im having the same problems I have the spider man movies on my hard drive and I watch them wit Power DVD.... But no man should watch be forced to watch a movie on his damn PC So Ive been trying to burn them as VCD's I noticed a few people mentioned NERO to burn the VCD's. I use ULEAD DVD MOVIE FACTORY to burn my vcds, the problems im having is the Movie will come up like in frames (still pictures) Ive burned em in pal and ntsc using rewrittables (memorex & Imation) and cdr (fuji film) What am I doin wrong? is it the fact that im using ulead dvd .....

FYI- after I submit this post I will use the following tips you "Masters of the VCD" posted

[Cooly-O]

These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero.

Nero still shows the resutant files as 352 x 288 even though you I used the Video arrange method at 352x320???? Shouldn't Nero be showing something different than the PAL setting since we corrected for the PAL AR??? Do we tell Nero to use PAL or NTSC???

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

I didn't find this to be the case. I had to use DVD2AVI. I have the MPEG-2 codec for TMPGENc but still needed DVD2AVI for no failures. Yes I did use VCDGear to fix the errors.

BTW, If compliancy isn't an issue, should we always convert to XVCD (as oppossed to compliant VCD) and take advantage of the extra quality and remaining disk space on the CD-R??

Also, In the "Newbie how to burn a movie to a single CD-R" guide, they have some talk about sometimes successfully burning (at a fast speed) with Nero but only to have video problems. They say to burn at a slower speed. Do I now have to be paranoid about successfully burning at my CD writer's fastest speed of 16x????

[Cooly-O]

These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero.

Nero still shows the resutant files as 352 x 288 even though you I used the Video arrange method at 352x320???? Shouldn't Nero be showing something different than the PAL setting since we corrected for the PAL AR??? Do we tell Nero to use PAL or NTSC???

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

I didn't find this to be the case. I had to use DVD2AVI. I have the MPEG-2 codec for TMPGENc but still needed DVD2AVI for no failures. Yes I did use VCDGear to fix the errors.

BTW, If compliancy isn't an issue, should we always convert to XVCD (as oppossed to compliant VCD) and take advantage of the extra quality and remaining disk space on the CD-R??

Also, In the "Newbie how to burn a movie to a single CD-R" guide, they have some talk about sometimes successfully burning (at a fast speed) with Nero but only to have video problems. They say to burn at a slower speed. Do I now have to be paranoid about successfully burning at my CD writer's fastest speed of 16x????

[Cooly-O]

These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero.

Nero still shows the resutant files as 352 x 288 even though you I used the Video arrange method at 352x320???? Shouldn't Nero be showing something different than the PAL setting since we corrected for the PAL AR??? Do we tell Nero to use PAL or NTSC???

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

I didn't find this to be the case. I had to use DVD2AVI. I have the MPEG-2 codec for TMPGENc but still needed DVD2AVI for no failures. Yes I did use VCDGear to fix the errors.

BTW, If compliancy isn't an issue, should we always convert to XVCD (as oppossed to compliant VCD) and take advantage of the extra quality and remaining disk space on the CD-R??

Also, In the "Newbie how to burn a movie to a single CD-R" guide, they have some talk about sometimes successfully burning (at a fast speed) with Nero but only to have video problems. They say to burn at a slower speed. Do I now have to be paranoid about successfully burning at my CD writer's fastest speed of 16x????

[Cooly-O]

These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero.

Nero still shows the resutant files as 352 x 288 even though you I used the Video arrange method at 352x320???? Shouldn't Nero be showing something different than the PAL setting since we corrected for the PAL AR??? Do we tell Nero to use PAL or NTSC???

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

I didn't find this to be the case. I had to use DVD2AVI. I have the MPEG-2 codec for TMPGENc but still needed DVD2AVI for no failures. Yes I did use VCDGear to fix the errors.

BTW, If compliancy isn't an issue, should we always convert to XVCD (as oppossed to compliant VCD) and take advantage of the extra quality and remaining disk space on the CD-R??

Also, In the "Newbie how to burn a movie to a single CD-R" guide, they have some talk about sometimes successfully burning (at a fast speed) with Nero but only to have video problems. They say to burn at a slower speed. Do I now have to be paranoid about successfully burning at my CD writer's fastest speed of 16x????

[Cooly-O]

These I fed into TMGEnc using a PAL VCD template. I set (in advanced settings) Video arrange method at Center (custom size) >> 352x320. This corrected the wrong aspect ratio. Then I split the resultant mpg in 2 using mpeg tools again, and burned to 2 VCDs using Nero.

Nero still shows the resutant files as 352 x 288 even though you I used the Video arrange method at 352x320???? Shouldn't Nero be showing something different than the PAL setting since we corrected for the PAL AR??? Do we tell Nero to use PAL or NTSC???

@banjazzer: you can put them directly into TMPGEnc - I find that method preferable to DVD2AVI

I didn't find this to be the case. I had to use DVD2AVI. I have the MPEG-2 codec for TMPGENc but still needed DVD2AVI for no failures. Yes I did use VCDGear to fix the errors.

BTW, If compliancy isn't an issue, should we always convert to XVCD (as oppossed to compliant VCD) and take advantage of the extra quality and remaining disk space on the CD-R??

Also, In the "Newbie how to burn a movie to a single CD-R" guide, they have some talk about sometimes successfully burning (at a fast speed) with Nero but only to have video problems. They say to burn at a slower speed. Do I now have to be paranoid about successfully burning at my CD writer's fastest speed of 16x????