Problematic DivX (3ivx) to VCD

[CGuy]

I have a strange file I am trying to make into a VCD (mpeg1)

It won't play in Quicktime (audio is OK, video is a bunch of random squares in the top 20% of the frame). Info reports:
Format: 3ivx D4 4.5.1, 512 x 384, Millions
MPEG Layer-3 Audio, Stereo, 48000 Hz
Movie FPS: 23.98
Data Rate: 129.9 K bytes/sec

It plays in VLC, which shows:
Stream 0:
Codec XVID
File:
Setting HAS_INDEX IS_INTERLEAVED

And when I drop it on ffmpegX (0.0.9h, I am on 10.2.8 ), mplayer will play it, and Info shows:
VIDEO: [DIVX] 512x384 12bpp 23.98
fps 942.0 kbps (115.0 kbyte/s)
audiocodec: framecopy (format=55
chans=2 rate=48000 bits=0 bps=16000
sample=0)

When I use the VCD preset, I get an MPEG1 that does what the DIVX file does in QT, i.e., sound good, video a bunch of random blocks at the top of the frame (in QT, VLC and mplayer). When I try switching from "Decode with Quicktime" to "Decode with mplayer", I get the error:

**ERROR: [mpeg2enc] pel_aspect_ratio must be between 1 and 14 (MPEG-1)
Using fast VCD (ffmpeg) setup, gives the same result as VCD with Quicktime decode (probably not a surprise)

Any ideas?

[major]

You can also try "VCD" and disable both "Decode with Quicktime" and "Decode with mplayer". Or "fast VCD" and disable "Decode with Quicktime".

[CGuy]

The disabling both with VCD preset seems to work - never tried that before! I always have clicked the not-selected one to switch. What engine is being used then?

Cguy