What software for what task in the whole SVCD process

[Spanner]

Ulead DVD Movie Factory or Ulead Videostudio ????????


I keep reading about so much software to use and the pros and cons, I am more confused now then when I started.


I have only just got a basic grasp on making hi -res still image VCD's and now I am back to square one with movie SVCD's.......I have the following software to play with.

Ulead Movie Factory
Ulead Videostudio
VCDEasy
TMPGEnc
VCDgear

ect
ect


After Capture do I have to keep the file in AVI format to carry out the editing and effects or can I encode to MPEG2 ?????? which is the best software for each task ? ie, Capture ( via a D-Link firewire card ), editing, Encoding, burning ect ???

Are the ULead software packages up to the job and what is the difference between the Movie and Video software ?

[Gazorgan]

DVD2SVCD and TMPG-or-CCE. Click and go. You can edit advanced features or not. If you know what you are doing, you can make xSVCD, or make it do about anything you want.

[mmmbeer]

MovieFactory is good to burn only. Studio is good for encoding, faster than TMP but quality is lesser. Ulead is not the greatest for high quality anything. Typically in my experience any so called "all-in-one" programs are abysmal quality at best. Made many coasters with Ulead MovieFactory2. It wasn't worth 44.95 that's for sure. Encode with TMP then burn with MF2 should get you straight

[Spanner]

When you say burn with MF2, is that because the burn part of the process will involve the scenes and chapters ect ?


With programs like DVD2SVCD , do you edit in AVI format or encode first then edit.

This is the one thing that confuses me..........what format should the file ( AVI or Mpeg2 ) be in for the editing process ?

[mmmbeer]

Encode 1st then edit. Just don't use Ulead to encode ever and you'll be good to go. When burning with MF2 make sure the "do not convert compliant files" is checked ir it'll go out of synch again.

[Spanner]

Ok, I'm getting the hang of this !.............I think !

I have hit two problems

Encoding with TMPGenc ( even with a two pass VBR ) the quality for a SVCD burn is blocky in moving scenes and wayyyyyyyyy below that of VHS, so I am doing something wrong here !

I had to burn that MPEG file with Nero , due to Moviefactory not having a SVCD PAL template in its settings for export video ????????

[Gazorgan]

DVD2SVCD doesn't involve any AVI's, nor can you edit. You get the main movie, and whatever (1 or 2) audio streams you want. You can also get permanent subs. Chapters are fixed, not related to DVD chapters.

If you are getting blocky SVCD's, then you aren't doing something right. I suspect it's the DVD 2 PAL conversion. That's another kettle of fish, and most likely the source of your problems.

[poncho]

Hi...
I recommend read the guides here.... they are good and helpful...
I dont have too much experience with AVI to SVCD with DVD2SVCD but I have been read about interlace video , frame rate.. and a lot of things to take in mind..I made some SVCD from DVD with DVD2SVCD with the guide from here and is clear (I use TMPGenc) and read it have tips about the points to check it ...

Atte Poncho

[Spanner]

I might have led you all up the wrong road !


Let me try and explain it a bit clearer.


All I am doing is taking in DV stuff via firewire from a camcorder and burning it to SVCD ( I don't even have a DVD player on me puter !!, so I am not doing rips or anything like that ).

What I was trying to do was put all the bits of the puzzle together, i.e What software suits Capture, Editing the AVI DV files, Doing Scenes and Menus and then to burn the final SVCD.

So far I have been using the TMPGEng for encoding , but even doing it via 2 xVBR ( playing with min 300 and max 2550 up to Min 0 and max 3500 ) the high moving scenes are very blocky. I then encoded it in Ulead Movie Factory ( one I may add ! ) and the picture was far better then using TMPGEng ?????????( now I know its me doing something wrong ! ).

I can't burn with Movie Factory , cause it just hangs, so I have to burn the Mpeg with Nero, that works fine.but don't allow me Menu's or Scenes ?


The one part I cant work out, it which package to edit, add effects...cut, paste ect ? I have Video Studio 4 and it sucks big time....and I am a beginner !



I have read all through the tuturials and FAQ's on the site, and they have allowed me to come this far, but they cant answer the specific questions that I now need the answers to....without the tutorials on here the puter would have been thrown out hte windo long ago !

[gonzalimator]

Video editing software might be very expensive. I use Adobe Premiere for editing. You might find a demo on their site. You can also try Vegas Video by Sonic Foundry. They have a demo on their site I believe. Once you have your video edited with transitions and such, you can render an AVI and then encode it as an MPEG2 for your SVCD with TMPGEnc.

As for the choppy video, we may need very specific information to help solve this problem. Your exact steps, frame rate, bitrate etc. The only times that I had problems with choppy video is when I encoded mpeg2 at too high a bitrate for my DVD player and when I was doing an interlaced picture mpeg, encoding with the wrong field order. Good old NTSC .

BTW, I really recommend VCDEasy for menus and chapters. And, you can save your projects now!

Enjoy

[Spanner]

Video editing software might be very expensive. I use Adobe Premiere for editing.

I have Adobe Premiere 5.1.

Once you have your video edited with transitions and such, you can render an AVI and then encode it as an MPEG2 for your SVCD with TMPGEnc.

Ekkk!.One of my fears!. So I have to do all the editing in AVI mode and then render and encode the final Mix ( if thats the right word ) ?

( Bigger hard drive on order ! )

As for the choppy video, we may need very specific information to help solve this problem. Your exact steps, frame rate, bitrate etc.

I tried using the wizard in the SVCD Pal mode ( Standard CBR format ) no filters were slected and I used all the default settings (480x576 25fps 44.1k stereo ) Bitrate 2520 with auto setting checked.... the file was then burnt in Nero ( SVCD setting ) and blocking was a problem on a fast moving scene. Then I tried a manual encode , but this time I went into Load> Unlock > Settings and did a 2 VBR wiv various min and max settings... Thats still was blocky.

Then I tried Movie Factory. this never had any Pal SVCD settings in it, so I entered the Movie Templates Manager and entered these settings :

480 x 576 25 fps
Video Data Rate= Constant @ 2250
Frame type= Field order A

Heres the good bit, I encode with that and then when I export it, it tells me I have to make an XSVCD..........wot gives ! ( its there encoder and it tells mes its not encoded right ! )

Anyway; it gives me better results then TMPGEnc..........all I get is a little noise, but it is much better then the blocking that the TMPGEnc gives ?

BTW, I really recommend VCDEasy for menus and chapters. And, you can save your projects now!

Enjoy

I have that and will know suss it out !


Many thanks for that, loads of my questions answered there, but a few problems to sort out with my encoding now

[gonzalimator]

Sorry I can't help you with the blockiness thing, but 2-pass VBR encoding with a high enough bitrate should do it.

If you fear making an avi, you can try frameserving from Premiere. Look up frameserving in the guides or the forum. You have to download a plug-in for Premiere and then put it in your Plugins folder for Premiere. Then, instead of making an AVI, you use the videoserver plugin to make a 'dummy' AVI (I can't remember what the actual file extension is, I don't think it's .avi but something else) that can be opened by TMPGEnc. The 'dummy" sends the frames from Premiere to TMPGEnc to encode on the fly. I also can't remember if I put a special plugin for TMPG to be able to read the 'dummy' but the info is somewhere on this site. The only thing is that the Premeire plugin expires after 30 days or something. The guys at Videotools need to make their money.

Get the plugin from the Tools section link. Hope that helps.

Have you tried CVDs on your DVD player? You can get a better picture per bitrate with CVD resolution. (PAL 352x576) It might help the macroblocking prob. You might want to read up on CVDs. I swear by them. My DVD player plays everything (JVC XV-S500BK). Even when the sound is 48 kHz and not 44.1kHz. I'm sorry, I shouldn't gloat.

[Spanner]

Have you tried CVDs on your DVD player? .

My Player dont support CVD


bugger !