Incomplete Conversion of Mpeg to DVD/Avi

[cdtan99]

I have tried to look everywhere for a solution to this but I can't seem to find any. Im trying to convert mpeg files to dvd and have used Winavi 7.1 and Nero (very slow) with the same results -- conversion is incomplete.
1. I don't get any error messages.
2. The converted movie cuts off a minute or two before the end.
3. It does not cut off at the same exact point all the time.
4. I initally thought that it was the conversion to dvd that was the problem but when I tried converting to avi, the same problem occurred.
5. I also do conversion from avi to vcd using Winavi and have not encountered any problems with that.
6. Size of the file to be converted is around 900MB

Hope somebody can help.

Charles

[thegeeman]

Give DivxtoDVD a try. Freeware version available. It worked on a file of mine that Tmpgenc, mainconcept and a whole host of encoders failed on.

[cdtan99]

Will definitely try this. Did you have the same problem that I had?

[thegeeman]

Not exactly the same problem but almost. Mine kept crashing part way through or some encoders would not even load the file. This program, DivxtoDVD, did work for me though. If that fails, then i'm at a loss.

[cdtan99]

You're right. It's not exactly my problem because my conversions seem to be complete and have no error messages until you check out the file at the end. Will try this anyway and find out if it works.

Thanks,
Charles

[FulciLives]

Sometimes if the encoder is having a problem you can solve it by frameserving.

For instance I once had an AVI (captured VHS) where loading the AVI directly into TMPGEnc Plus caused it to crash (twice at the same point) but loading it into VirtualDub ... then frameserving to TMPGEnc Plus solved the problem.

Other people have also "noticed" that frameserving through VirtualDub in this manner can sometimes "fix" such problems.

Anyways it's worth a try.

Also stop using WinAVI as that could be part of the problem.

Try TMPGEnc Plus or CCE Basic/Lite ... both of these are great MPEG encoders and are very reasonable (I think both are about $60.00 USD each).

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[cdtan99]

Thanks for the suggestion, John. I posted in the newbie section because, as it implies, I'm a newbie. Winavi is supposed to be a one-click solution that's why I'm using it. I don't mind trying TMPGEnc except based on the instructions I've seen so far, I'm supposed to do authoring after conversion and that sounds a bit too complicated for me. I have no idea what "frameserving" is. I have used not only WinAvi but NERO as well with the same results so I'm beginning to think that this is more than just a software issue. If the DivxtoDVD doesn't work, I'll have to roll up my sleeves and work on your suggestion.

Thanks,
Charles

[thegeeman]

I agree with FulciLives; change encoder. IMO TMPGenc Plus is by far one of the best encoders out there. This is a frameserving guide that may help.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1355359 (credits to bjs)

If you go TMPGenc route, then just that proggy instead of the one in the guide after you've frameserved with VirtualDub.

[FulciLives]

Also remember that you can download and install TMPGEnc and use it for something like 2 or 4 weeks (I forget) before it "locks" up from MPEG-2 encoding. At that point you need to buy it and register it to "unlock" it again to fully functional MPEG-2 encoding.

It is a trial period so you can use the software and see if you like it and want to buy it.

VirtualDub (I prefer VirtualDubMod myself) is freeware as is the frameserving "trick".

After you encode with TMPGEnc you do need to author it but there is a good freeware program for that called dvdauthor ... just look in the tools section.

There is also an easy-to-use DVD authoring program called ... TMPGEnc DVD Author ... it is by the same people that make TMPGEnc (which is just a MPEG encoder).

With TMPGEnc (sometimes called TMPGEnc Plus) and TMPGEnc DVD Author you have all you really need to convert/encode and burn a DVD Video disc.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[cdtan99]

Thanks for all the suggestions and the link to frameserving. I'm doing the conversion using divxtodvd now. If this fails, I'm doing the tmpgenc route.

Charles