The elusive "header trick" & Sony DVD Players

[ojedapaco]

Greetings from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

I am seeking a better understanding of the so-called "header trick" that can make some Sony DVD players recognize and play SVCD movies. I have read elsewhere on this site that my DVD player is SVCD compatible as long as the "header trick" is applied.

I've tried different mpeg tools (MMT, Pipeline, etc.) attempting to take advantage of the added quality of SVCD over standard VCD with movies I've created using iMovie. However, I've been unsuccessful in burning a disc (with Toast) that my player will recognize.

Argh! Indeed, there will be the day in which DVD hardware and media will come down in price and we won't be worrying about these issues. If you think DVD media is expensive in the US, you check out the prices south of the border!

Anyway, any insight that you (Major) may have or anybody else who has experienced the problem with discs that don't play on certain DVD players unless the so-called "header trick" is applied would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Paco Ojeda

[major]

I don't have a Sony player, maybe this involves muxing MPEG-2 with a MPEG-1 XVCD profile and authoring and burning as a VCD, but I don't have precise information about this trick and I never tested it.

[muxed up]

How do you turn an SVCD bin file into a XVCD bin file so you can play it on a Sony?

With GNU vcdtools X:

1) Extract the mpeg file from the bin. Delete the SVCD xml file.

With ffmpegX:

2a) Demux the mpeg.

2b) Set to XVCD, remux the vid and audio files.

With GNU vcdtools X:

3) Create a bin with the VCD 2 option.

Note, if you tried to verify your mux with Quicktime, you'll hear the audio, but you won't see any picture. No biggie. Test it with VLC or MPlayer.

In any case, burn the bin and it'll play on a Sony. I know, because I own a DAV-500 which won't play SVCDs.

[muxed up]

How to turn an mpeg 2 quality MOV into an XVCD:

With ffmpegX:

1a) Select the MOV file you want to reformat

1b) Save as...whatever

2) Select Quick Option: SVCD, and then change the parameters as you see fit: bit rate, etc...

3) Encode your audio for VCD complaince. (it has occurred in my experience that sometimes the final encode rejects the audio, wherein certain circumstances, I have opted to extract the audio from the MOV and append it seperately in in the audio window. I have also muxed a converted aiff/wav with the audio passthrough m2v file. The results sometimes vary. Occassionally it's resulted in synch problems, and other times the mux has come out fine). Really depends how attentive you are to the orignal bit rate of the MOV file. DIVX is the trickiest I've found.)

In any case, this will all result in an XSVCD. Be sure to verify the Options window: letterboxing, etc.... Hit Encode.

4) Ignore the resulting muxed, XSVCD mpeg file.

5) Remux the m2v and m2a files as and XVCD.

6) Repeat the process to create a bin file from my previous post.

That's it. As far as I know.

[muxed up]

Neglected to mention:

1) Don't bother being concerned with PAL to NTSC coversion or vice versa. It's a waste of time, and you end up with audio synch problems. It wil play fine (well, it'll play fine on my dvd player).

2) You will, of course, have to match the frame rate of the originating MOV. If the MOV file is 23.97, select either NTSC FILM or PAL, depending on the source.

3) Don't forget to set your MOV conversion to mpeg 2 after you "Save As", and before you start fiddling with anything else. (duh)

[ojedapaco]

I don't have a Sony player, maybe this involves muxing MPEG-2 with a MPEG-1 XVCD profile and authoring and burning as a VCD, but I don't have precise information about this trick and I never tested it.

Thanks for chiming in, Major. Indeed, doing what you suggested did the trick. I used, however, MMT and not ffmpeX. I found that, when I was encoding audio and/or video, the UNIX terminal window did not show any progress, whereas the same terminal window showed me how close to completion the processes were, using MMT.

A silly difference, but one that, in my book, makes a world of difference when you are just diving into these processes that take so long to complete. Is this a simple interface feature that could be implemented on ffmpegX?

Off to a business trip, but will be back in a week to summarize my process and share it accordingly.

Thanks again,

Paco Ojeda