This is INSANE!!!!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!

[hellfire104]

Im going to lose my mind..........

I HAD TMPGENC(not TMPGENC plus)........and I was unable to put MPEG2 video into it......I was told I needed the Plus versions, so I got TMPGENC plus.

IT STILL DOESN"T WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get the same stupid message
" The file can not open, or is unsupported." I about to tear my hear out.

Please for the love of god....what is wrong?!?!

[Craig Tucker]

You need to install an mpeg2 codec or player with codec eg powerdvd, see the tools section. TMPGEnc has an mpeg2 encoder but not an mpeg2 decoder.

[Laddydaddy]

Go to the tools section and download the TMPGenc mpeg2 plugin.

[hellfire104]

Thank you, Ill give it a shot.

[hellfire104]

Theres another problem, I have that Plugin and guess what? It doesn't work. It gives me some error about long file names......

[Laddydaddy]

So rename the file with a smaller name.

[hellfire104]

Unfortunatly, I have tried that........but to no avail.

[Laddydaddy]

Let's say the movie you are trying to encode is called "the muppets go nuts." Create a new folder on your c drive with the same name and move the file into it. The path is then C:/the muppets go nuts/the_muppets go_nuts.mpg. This should be short enough for TMPG to deal with.

[hellfire104]

Thats not even the problem though. The problem is the plugin!

TMPGEnc couldn't decode my MPEG2 video....so I went and I got the TMPGEnc Plugin that is specifically for this purpose......

Upon simply trying to open the plugin, to upzip it, It hits me with this error, and nothing works..I can't open and of the files(there about about 60 of em) and obviously, I cannot use the plugin to benefit my TMPGEnc..........

[vhelp]

@ hellfire104..

Are you opening this source directly into TMPG ??

What is your source ??

* divX (then, you'll need the codec for it)
* DV (then, you'll need the codec for it)
* .AVI (if not the above.. you'll still need a codec for it)
...but you'll have to first identify the source (prob. compressed)

If anything, try and open your source in vdub. If vdub opens w/ success,
then just frameserve it into TMPG.

You can also try AVISynth, but you prob. don't have IT installed anyways,
and will prob. confuse you even more.. but never the less, you may find
it helpful in frameserving it into TMPG as well.

You can have a look at www.avisynth.org for more info.

Good luck
-vhelp

[Laddydaddy]

There is also a version of virtual dub that supports mpg2. You can frameserve from that into TMPG until you get this sorted out.

[hellfire104]

Well I'm going to have to be perfectly honest when I say that I really appreciate you guys trying to help me, but I'm not really the most experienced with this stuff......

Im just going to tell you EXACTLY what I did to get the file and then you can see where I stand.

I recorded the video off of TV with my VCR.

Then I used USB Instand DVD(which is a video capture thing) to get it into my computer. I captured it using CAPWIZ.
I Set it to 5MB/SEC. And I saved multiple video files each about 20 minutes in length into a folder.

Im not really sure what VDUB is and im not sure what frameserving is, but I'M on the Advanced forum, to get help from advanced people. :]

The MPEG2 PLugin I downloaded for TMPG doesn't work because of some long filename error, that I don't know how to fix.

You suggest that I get VDUB(must be a program) and open the videos with it and FRAMESERVE the video into TMPGEnc. And thoughts, comments, solutions?

[hellfire104]

Would it help to reencode the MPEG2 vidoes as .avi?

I mean, im not really sure what thats going to do to the video quality, but if im going to make it MPEG2 again once TMPGEnc accepts it, does it really matter?

[boldego]

I usually use dvd2avi to do what you are tring to do. I'm sure there must be a guide on the site as to how to do it.

[Laddydaddy]

Let's back up a bit. What exactly are you trying to do with your video files? The equipment you are using can convert tapes to DVD,vcd,svcd, etc. So what do you need TMPG for? What do you want to do with your videos?

[hellfire104]

What im trying to do, is remove the commercials from the video.

I would use adobe prem, but it takes 9 hours for 20 mins of MPEG2 video.
That is rediculous.

I can do the exact same thing with TMPGEnc, only it will not take anywhere near 9 hours.

After I cut the commercials, im just going to send it back to video tape.

[hellfire104]

Ive got a new error! I moved the MPEG2 Plugin onto my desktop, and this is what it says when I try to extract it.

"When working with LZH files the extract operation requires the LHA external program. This program is not installed or improperly installed."

What are LZH files?
What is an LHA external program?

[Anonymoususer]

You know this might sound stupid, but Im not an expert or anything, but since your gonna put it back to tape without commercials, instead of going through all this hassle wouldnt it be a good idea to record the movie on another tape and when commercials come just stop, and start recording again...

[secretagent]

you need winrar to open the file. LZH is one way of zipping up files that is not usually readable by standard upzip programs.

[hellfire104]

Ok, i downloaded that and it let me extract them.. thats one problem down. but now theres another problem, when i try to open up an MPEG-2 in TMPGenc after installing the plugin that supports MPEG-2, i get this error message :

"File "C:\DIRECTORY\FILENAME.MPG" can not open, or unsupported."

Does anyone know of any FREE programs that can do this?

[gmatov]

but I'M on the Advanced forum, to get help from advanced people. :]

Hellfire,
I hate to be the prick in the thread, but getting answers from the "advanced people" is not going to help you as much as going to the "newbie" section. It sounds like you are trying to run before you learn to walk. Advanced is over my head too. This is NOT an easy subject. It is getting easier daily, but you still have a learning curve. I'm learning. Most of the others are learning. Some are quite sharp, experts, really
But, it's hard to ask for a handhold without the basics under your belt.
Check out all the guides here. Almost all you need to know is there. Then, you ask for the esoterics,and, guaranteed, someone here has the answer.
I hope this is not offensive to you, but there are basics to learn. Hell, I don't have them down pat, either. That's why the site is interactive.
You joined yesterday. I don't know how long you've been studying the site, but....

[hellfire104]

GMATOV....im not going to get offensive about that. I think it is good when people express their opinions. The reason that I am so desperatly trying to find the answer here on the forums, is because the guides tell me to do so and so with MPEG2 videos using TMPGEnc and then when I try it...BAM!!!! it doesn't work, so i go to their errors section or whatever, and their solution does not work. That is why I am here. The plugin doesn't work and the program i just blew 50 bucks on, well, it doesn't do what it is supposed to either.

And I do not think that asking the "newbies" is going to really help me in an area where the websites troubleshooting failed. I dont know alot about video encoding, Adobe Prem is my forte but that really doesn't help me alot.......

[DJRumpy]

Perhaps a fresh perspective, and a little back tracking. Open one of your MPEG file using MPEG Properties, or AVI Codec (you will find both of these utilities in the TOOLS section to your left). It should report basics, like type, resolution, framerate, codec used, etc. It's possible that these 'mpegs' your trying to open in TMPGenc are not standard MPEG-2 files.

You can also try the DVD2AVI method. It's far more forgiving, and does not require an MPEG-2 codec to open these files. It will also join all of them together for you. It is also in the TOOLS section. Make sure it auto loads, or you manually load all of your segments in the proper order. You can then save it as a project file (.D2V). This D2V can be opened in TMPGenc.

[Gazorgan]

Never assume that your USB capture device is MPEG2 complient. Some devices are actually proprietary codecs. I'm impressed with a USB device that did 5 MB/sec. I think you meant 5 Mb/sec, which is an acceptable bitrate for MPEG2, but too high for a USB 1.1 device to maintain( Yes I know it's not over the limit, but try it and see).

I think what you captured isn't an MPEG2 compleint stream that TMPG can deal with. Your options are limited at this point ( I don't hold USB capture devices in a very high regard ).

Can you capture in AVI with an MJPEG codec?
Does the capture device come with some software for editing?
Did you try VDUB-MOD (different version, for doing MPEG2)?
Try capturing with IUVCR, it captures to AVI, thus avoiding all the problems inherent in editing MPEG's.

[mkelley]

Yipes -- I'm going to try a completely different tactic.

In the first place, you imply you have Adobe Premiere, but for some reason it takes 9 hours to encode a 20 minute movie? That's just plain wrong, so I suspect you're trying to export that movie as a DV-AVI.

If you have (or can upgrade to) Adobe 6.5 you will have a terrific, fast MPEG encoder that's much better than TMPGEnc, and it will encode your stuff in real time (so a 20 minute movie will take about 20 minutes). That will be all you need to make it into an MPEG2 file that can then be used to author a DVD. Even if you have to pay $150 for the 6.5 upgrade it will be worth it.

Within Premiere you can edit out those commercials easily -- this is the way I go when I capture from VHS. If you already have that superb tool and need to edit you'd be foolish going any other route.

[Dj Petro]

If you are going back to tape, why don't you just take it into a video editing software and cut the commericials then dump it back out to tape.

Unless I don't understand what you are trying to do.

_

[hellfire104]

MKELLY, what format do you suggest I export the file as?

[mkelley]

In Premiere 6.5 you export as an MPEG file -- this will invoke the Main Concept encoder (and be *really* fast -- plus it will eliminate the step of encoding again to MPEG).

Although I'm kind of with others here -- I guess I don't have the big picture of exactly what you're trying to do and how you're trying to get there.

[hellfire104]

In Premiere, it gives me the following EXPORT OPTIONS....

MICROSOFT DV AVI
MICROSOFT AVI
TIFF SEQUENCE
TARGE SEQUENCE
QUICKTIME
GIF SEQUENCE
ANIMATED GIF
FILMSTRIP
FLC/FLI
WINDOWS BITMAP SEQUENCE
or I can use the ADOBE MPEG ENCODER, however using that encoder doesn't make the export time any slower, it does make the file size gigantic, however, prehaps I do not have the proper settings....could you please be more specific about the settings for the MPEG ENCODER..

As for what im trying to do, im trying to remove the commercials from video I captured onto VHS. Then im going to combine the 2 cut mpeg clips.(2 sections per 1 episode) and then send them back to my TV for rerecording onto my VCR.

[NoHelpWhatSoEver]

I'm not sure about the particulars of your setup, but when I need to output to tape I don't bother with making too many computer files (especially if you aren't going to back then up for possible use later). Import the video you have into Premiere. Edit it down. Then use the "Print to Video" menu item. What this does is play your edited video with a couple of seconds of black in the beginning and end. If you hook up your VCR to the TV out port on you computer or capture setup, you should be record it.