crappy audio

[nille]

Hi experts!

I'm in desperate need of some help.
For a few days now I've been trying to make a dvd from an avi. I've extracted the sound, using Virtual dub, then made a dvd mpeg file in TMPGenc(I've loaded the audio as well as the video into TMPGenc).
Then I've authored it in Ulead dVD movie and later burnt it in Nero.

The video is excellent, but the audio is metallic and very crappy.
Please help me out, what can I do to improve the audio?

Nille

[Tommyknocker]

What was the audio format you extracted?

[nille]

Wav, 48,000

[Tommyknocker]

You may want to try a different audio encoder in TMPGEnc. Try TooLame or SSRC.

[nille]

If I do, does that mean I won't have to extract the audio before loading the avi file into TMPGenc?

[rsuave5]

why extract the audio at all? try loading the avi into tmpgenc with audio and all and see how that works. i never extract the audio and it seems to work just fine

[nille]

It's just that I've heard that TMpGenc isn't supposed to do as very good job on the audio.

[kazzer]

I had the very same problem with poor 'metallic' audio from TMPGEnc. I now just use TMPGEnc for video and BeSweet for audio. Then I remultiplex in TMPGEnc, the improvement is fantastic. No more crap audio on my VCD's!

Always use an external audio tool for best results.

[housepig]

I use TMPG for audio and video, and I don't have any problems - if the audio is bad, it's bad in the source avi as well....

[kazzer]

if the audio is bad, it's bad in the source avi as well....

No not always.

I recorded a tv progam onto my DV cam from a satellite receiver.
The Video is perfect.
The Audio is perfect.

When I render the AVI both video and audio are perfect.

Now, when I make a VCD with TMPGEnc, the audio is distorted and metallic (on this particular project - an old tv show). Its very definite and I'm not imagining it. I dont get this problem with BeSweet

I used to think the audio encoder in TMPGEnc was good.....then I tried BeSweet and I realised you can get better results with other tools

I suppose it all depends on the quality you are looking for (both video and audio) and also how conscientious a person is.

[nille]

So if I use Besweet instead, do I then extract the audio using Besweet and then load the two files separately into TMPGenc and create a DVD mpeg file?

Nille

[kazzer]

Yes you're on the right track.

Heres what I do:

1. Capture video and audio
2. Save AUDIO as a WAV file (48000 khz) - I use Sound Forge.
3. Render VIDEO only.
4. Encode VIDEO only in TMPGEnc.
5. Use BeSweet to transcode/convert the audio from WAV to MP2. I use MP2 because I'm making VCD's, you can convert to AC3 for DVD in BeSweet.
6. Finally, use TMPGEnc to 'mulitiplex' the new audio file and the encoded video file. Multiplex basically just combines the two streams. You find this option under File -> MPEG Tools

Good Luck!

[nille]

Sorry, a few more qucik questions, the I think I've got the hang of things.

Do I set "Render video only" in TMPGenc and then encode just the video in TMPGenc?

After I've multiplexed the video and audio in TMPGenc, do I then go straight to an authoring programme( I use Ulead DVd......) or do I have to do any more encoding?

Nille

[pibble]

I've never had a problem with the audio output of tmpgenc. I usually produce SVCDs, most of the time with nonstandard 48khz audio (to avoid downsampling to 44.1khz in tmpgenc.) Even when I did downsample to 44.1khz on some discs, I wasn't able to notice any real degradation of the audio quality.

It's possible that your tinny audio is resulting from some other factor. I guess you'll just have to try different things to see what works best for you. Have you tried a different VCD player?

I assume the audio on your source material sounds perfect before the VCD encoding?

[nille]

It's strange that some people seem to have a problem with the audio in TMPGenc and others don't.

I'd still like to know what I do after I've encoded the video only in Tmpgenc and multiplexed the encoded video file and my ac3 in TMPgenc.
Is my next step to go to an authoring programme or what?

Nille

[nille]

A few more questions: How do I extract the audio from a divx file in sound Forge?
I try to open the divx file, but it doesn't work.

Nille

[kazzer]

Sorry nille i cant help you with divx, i'm not familiar with it at all.

But to answer your other questions....

1. Rendering is done by your video editing tool, after you have edited your video etc. It is not done in TMPGEnc, this is just used for encoding. So just select "video only" for the stream type.

2. When you have multiplexed you are ready to author.