[b]First SVCD, Horrible...... Newbie in need of direction.[/

[acio1]

I attempted to ripp my first DVD to SVCD (Spiderman the Movie), only to discover that it was a horrible Outcome. I followed the "Sefys classical newbie start DVD Ripping guide

This Guide reccommended to use:

Smart Ripper
DVD2AVI
TMPGEnc Plus
Chapter-X-Tractor
VCDEasy

I made it all the way to TMPGEnc, and created a SVCD Mpeg... before going any futher, I decided to lauch the Movie (mpeg) into Windows media player. Results..... jumpy, blocky, and staticy black bars that will appear anytime there's motion in the movie. I tried this twice thinking mabe I did something wrong, but still same outcome. I thought TMPGEnc was the best encoder out there, so I know it's got to be me doing something stupid! and can't figure it out. I looked at hardware. But, I think I have what it takes to Create SVCD's.

I thought... I do have a Onbard Video card (intel motherboard) But my computer play's DVD's great! so I don't think that is the problem do you?

Do anyone have any pointers, or ideas? I followed the guide and understood everything. My guess is The encoding part is the most important part when it comes to Creating SVCD's? I also configured TMPGEnc 2 different ways and used the SVCD template the last time I tried to do it.

Is there something i'm missing? Your help will be much appreciated.

[poopyhead]

force film ON in dvd2avi right?

[acio1]

yes it was on. it read "Film 99%" for whatever that mean, all way throught the encoding process.

Question? What is the primary function for using DVD2AVI?
The Help Guide had me use it to make a soundtrack of the movie(if you will)

is this the primary function? and can it affect the video outcome after the encoding process?

[acio1]

sorry that was the CONVERTING process not encoding.

[liquid217]

i think the lines your referring to are interlace lines... which means you used the wrong template in tmpgenc, you should have used ntsc film.

the encode with the lines in it will not show up on your tv though. Televisions are based on an interlace signal, so the lines will not be apparent.

[acio1]

So... are you saying that if I use the "NTSC FILM" Template, it will eliminate all of my current issues? and it will play well on my PC & TV?

Thanks for the input.

[adam]

DVD2AVI serves several purposes. First off, it allows you to select which audio track you want. It also allows you to send multiple large vob files to your encoder as if they were one file. The main benefit of dvd2avi is its forced film option, which is the single greatest thing since sliced bread for ntsc users. Almost all ntsc dvds store the film at 23.976fps and use pulldown flags to telecine the movie to 29.97fps as it plays. This free's up ~%20 of your bitrate since you have ~%20 less frame to encode, which translates into a real and noticable quality increase of about ~%20.

So by using forced film you disable this pulldown flag and export the footage as it is stored, 23.976fps. You can then encode at 23.976fps and add your own pulldown flags if you are making a svcd or dvd and your disk will be have the same %20 increase in bitrate that the DVD had. The easiest way to encode in 23.976fps with the 3:2 pulldown flag is to use the ntscfilm template in TMPGenc.

So in short, if your NTSC DVD is a candidate for forced film (%95 or higher film or just pure film) then always use forced film and always encode at 23.976fps w/ 3:2 pulldown, or just use the ntscfilm template.

If forced film will not work, which is fairly rare, then disable forced film and either do an IVTC or just encode at 29.97fps, essentially just use the ntsc template in TMPGenc as opposed to the ntscfilm template. The good news is that for theatrical released ntsc movies, this very rarely happens.

If you use forced film on a pure film source, which you have, and use the ntscfilm template than your svcd will be progressive. Since there is no interlacing you will not see any of those horizontal white lines during movement, well at least they won't be any more noticable then on the original DVD.

[acio1]

Thanks. I think I can see some light at the end of the tunnel!

I still have some grey area's. So... First if I'm using DVD2AVi, I should be concerned with using the Forced film feature. With that in mind... should I not use those simiular Features in TMPGenc? How should I have these two programs set up so that I get the maximum benefit from both of them working together?

[adam]

As I said, if your source dvd can benefit from forced film then use it,
(%95 or higher film) If you use forced film than use the ntscfilm template or manually encode at 23.976fps with the 3:2 pulldown. As far as framerate is concerned you cannot optimize your procedure any more than this.

If you can't use forced film then disable it and encode accordingly. The ideal way to handle this ntsc material is to perfrom an IVTC but this is not always possible. If you would like more info on this just do a forum or web search but the good news is that you rarely have to worry about this with dvds.

Other than that, you just need to realize that your source is now progressive so all settings should be set accordingly. In the advanced tab of TMPGenc make sure and specify that the source is progressive. In the video tab the progressive nature of the source is already taken into account by the 3:2 pulldown setting.

Some other encoders like CCE let you tweak other options like the sequence scan order, which may make a difference depending on whether your source is progressive or interlaced. But as far as TMPGenc is concerned you shouldn't worry about this.

[acio1]

Adam,

I think I got it. The information you're sharing is PRICELESS. I recieve this with great gratitude!

one more last thing.... I hear alot about "BITRATE" on this site, can someone explain to me and other newbies out there from more of a "DOWN TO EARTH" standpoint what do it do and how important is this during the encoding process? and what things can I do that will ensure me that I have the bitrate calculated properly within the encoder when making SVcd's from a DVD?

[davemcg37]

why don't you try making an (x)vcd? theres a great guide on this site and the quality you get is dependant on the length of the movie you're doing. i ripped lord of the rings onto 2 discs and the quality is superb. spiderman you would be able to get onto 1 disc with great quality. of course being an(x)vcd not all stand alone players support them, although i've yet to come across one that doesn't.