Questions regarding conversions to certain file sizes and...

[ll ReNeGaDe ll]

I'm converting regular movie files through TMPGE. A few questions.

1) I noticed that the larger my files are (the more amount of space they take), the better the quality. Is it a coincidence or is it usually true that the larger the file size, the better the quality?

2) When ever I convert a file size that is about 750 megabytes or higher, the TMPGE converts it to about a 400-500 megabyte size file. How can I control how large the file will turn out? Details please, because I'm very new at this.

3) This question isn't very important, but is there a way to check how good the quality of my video files are? If so, how?

4) What does it mean when a video has a "bad frame"?

That's all for now. Your help is very much appreciate it.

[ZippyP.]

Filesize is affected by 2 things, the bitrate in bits/second and the length of the clip in seconds.
b/s X seconds = total bits

In answer to your questions:

1. higher bitrate = bigger filesize = better quality. But only up to a point, beyond which any higher bitrate is wasted. Encoding using Variable Bitrate (VBR) can reduce filesize while retaining quality. So bigger is better, sometimes.

2. I assume you're converting from Avi to VCD? The bitrate can be adjusted to fill up a CD to get the maximum quality possible. This is done under mpeg settings>rate control mode>setting, but you need to unlock the settings by loading the unlock template first. If you're using the wizard then it's not available. If you're sticking to the VCD standard then the bitrate is fixed at 1150 kb/s for video. If you go outside the standard you create an XVCD which may or may not play on your player. You may need to test the limits of your machine. Tell me what you're making, and from what, and I can give some more details.

3. There's only one way to check the quality that I know, view it yourself and decide.

Hope things are a little clearer, just ask if you need more. 8)

[ll ReNeGaDe ll]

Hey Zippy, i hope you take the advice written in your sig for yourself because you're going to need it.

Filesize is affected by 2 things, the bitrate in bits/second and the length of the clip in seconds.
b/s X seconds = total bits

In answer to your questions:

1. higher bitrate = bigger filesize = better quality. But only up to a point, beyond which any higher bitrate is wasted. Encoding using Variable Bitrate (VBR) can reduce filesize while retaining quality. So bigger is better, sometimes.)

So how do i check how high the bitrate is, or control how high it will turn out? And where I find this VBR program?

2. I assume you're converting from Avi to VCD? The bitrate can be adjusted to fill up a CD to get the maximum quality possible. This is done under mpeg settings>rate control mode>setting, but you need to unlock the settings by loading the unlock template first. If you're using the wizard then it's not available. If you're sticking to the VCD standard then the bitrate is fixed at 1150 kb/s for video. If you go outside the standard you create an XVCD which may or may not play on your player. You may need to test the limits of your machine. Tell me what you're making, and from what, and I can give some more details.

I honestly do not know if I'm converting to a SVCD or VCD. All i know is that it's converting to .mpg. Lol. See it's like this. I download movies from servers, and when i download an SVCD, sometimes the video freezes after a few minutes, and the audio continues. So every time I download an SVCD, I use TMPGE to convert it int oa file that works, and then it works fine. I tried to unlock it, but when i click on the unlock.mcf file, it asks me which program I want to run it with. I choose TMPGE, and then when it loads, it says "illegal stream format." So i tried to click the "help from web" option and it led me to this site - http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=mcf - and it doesn't explain how to solve the problem!


Now remember, patience is a virtue! So please don't give up on me.

[ZippyP.]

OK, maybe we need to start from the top. I understand you've got some files and you're converting them. What format are the files that you've got, are they .avi files or .mpg?

TMPGEnc is an mpeg encoder, although it has other functions too. It's used to create .mpg (MPEG) files in VCD or DVD format. These files are burned to CD or DVD and viewed using set top DVD players. I kind of assumed that was what you were doing.

Are you only wanting to view your files on your PC? If so, then you can disregard most of what I said in my first post.

So, tell me what you've got, what you want to accomplish and I'll try to get you there.

8)

[ll ReNeGaDe ll]

OK, maybe we need to start from the top. I understand you've got some files and you're converting them. What format are the files that you've got, are they .avi files or .mpg?

TMPGEnc is an mpeg encoder, although it has other functions too. It's used to create .mpg (MPEG) files in VCD or DVD format. These files are burned to CD or DVD and viewed using set top DVD players. I kind of assumed that was what you were doing.

Are you only wanting to view your files on your PC? If so, then you can disregard most of what I said in my first post.

So, tell me what you've got, what you want to accomplish and I'll try to get you there.

8)

I was just about to edit my post, to make things more clear. I download SVCDs, and convert them to VCDs. I do this because the video part of the SVCDs freeze on my WMP while the audio continues. I don't have this problem after converting to VCD. So what I do basically is convert an SVCD (with the extention of .MPG) to a VCD (with an extention of .MPG). Plus, my time expired for converting to SVCDs. Now, I burn them on to CDs to view on my computer whenever I want, because I don't have a DVD player.

What I want to accomplish is:

1) Make my movie files better quality. There has to be a way! I can make some of them bigger, I don't mind, as long as the quality will be better.

2) Make some of them smaller (so i can burn them on to a CD), without losing quality.

[ZippyP.]

No matter what you do with your files you can't get any better quality than what's in the source files. You can, however, do everything you can to retain quality. Converting your SVCD-mpegs to anything else will not retain quality, there will always be a loss, especially going to an inferior format like VCD.

So, retain your SVCD's and make them playable. Check out Mpeg Corrector and VCD Gear along with VCD Gear GUI, they're in the Tools section. Do a forum search for mpeg repair, I'm sure you'll find lots of posts and tips on the subject. Got to the Edit section, half way down the page is a whole section on repairing D/L'ed files.

If your files are too large to fit on a CD then you need to cut your file. TMPGEnc is good for that and you'll find a guide in the Edit section as well.

Good luck! 8)

[ll ReNeGaDe ll]

So, retain your SVCD's and make them playable. Check out Mpeg Corrector and VCD Gear along with VCD Gear GUI, they're in the Tools section. Do a forum search for mpeg repair, I'm sure you'll find lots of posts and tips on the subject. Got to the Edit section, half way down the page is a whole section on repairing D/L'ed files.

I did a search and all I found was advice that doesn't really help my case. I checked my VCDGear, and VCDGear GUI, and I didnt find anything that will make my SVCDs playable. What is this Mpeg Corrector you speak of?

[ZippyP.]

Try this: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=126673&highlight=broken

All programs that I mentioned are in the Tools section (over on the left hand column of this page). Look up the repair part of the Edit section too. You're going to have to do a little searching and probably some trial and error. I can only point you in the right direction.

[ll ReNeGaDe ll]

Try this: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=126673&highlight=broken

All programs that I mentioned are in the Tools section (over on the left hand column of this page). Look up the repair part of the Edit section too. You're going to have to do a little searching and probably some trial and error. I can only point you in the right direction.

This might actually work, thank you very much! First I have to download a new SVCD to check. I must warn you though, if it doesn't work, I will be back!

Thank you