"Where's progress app?" error when trying to decode VCD

[rossi]

When trying to decode a VCD to iphone preset I get the "Where is Progress app? error.

this is the file structure of the VCD (Below):


I'm dragging the DAT file to the source window (which it reads as a mpeg1video, yuv420p, 352x240, 115 kb/s) then selecting the iPhone preset from the video format window.

[Case]

I get the "Where is Progress app?" error.

This error is unrelated to the conversion. It may have to do with the setup of the ffmpegX application itself.
It has happened to some others too. This link also has the fix.

this is the file structure of the VCD

It's always a good idea to do conversions from a harddisk, so copy first. The default Save location is the same
as the source file, and the output can not be saved on read-only media.

[jman98]

Doing encodes when the source is on disc and not a hard drive is also a great way to shorten the lifespan of your CD/DVD drive.

[rossi]

X-A-Lent! that did the trick, although when it finished decoding, I have a mp4 file and a wav file, which seems to be blank / unreadable. The movie has no sound.


yea, goes quicker too coping the file to my local drive.

[rossi]

ok i figured it out, i had to decode it twice, 1st to get the .wav audio file (the mp4 that was decoded had no audio) then under the audio tab, I added the wav as audio, then encoded it again for iphone.

I'm sure there must be a easier way, but this worked!

[rossi]

ok my bad that only works for "preview" or play, still no audio

[Case]

Look at the file size of the .wav file, it's probably 0 KB. For some reason it failed to get the audio from the source file.
No worries: the ffmpegX toolbox is big enough. De-select the Decode with Quicktime checkbox in the Options tab, so that ffmpeg will be used for decoding instead. This avoids the .wav creation routine, and may help to give an output file with audio in this case.

Also take note of some settings for best results:
- Your source audio is 44.1 kHz, but the iPhone preset defaults at 48 kHz, meaning some of the audio bitrate is wasted on 'details' that weren't even in the original. Change the sampling rate to 44100 Hz in the Audio tab.
- VCD has a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the iPhone preset defaults to a 16:9 aspect ratio. To avoid stretched faces, set the Auto Size to 4:3 in the Video tab.

On a last note: the .DAT file isn't a proper MPEG file, because you're copying a raw VCD 'track' as if it were a file. Which may hinder a smooth conversion. Getting an MPEG file out of a VCD is more work, but using the .DAT file will work on many occasions anyway, when the software is forgiving.

[Ai Haibara]

There's also VCDGearX (http://homepage.mac.com/bauer.w/vcdgearx/ ) for converting/extracting a .dat to a proper MPEG file.

[rossi]

Yea! that worked, I now have sound and video! thanks Case!