Very Many Questions (burning, converting, etc)

[Chipp_Psyke]

Hi everyone… I’m a newbie at this, and it is my first time trying to make any type of video CD… I have A LOT of questions…so whichever ones you can answer would be great, because I really want to know how to make a SVCD perfectly (with a VCD Header) since I can’t test the CD until I leave to go about 100km away where my relative’s house is . On with the questions!

1. If I gave a SVCD a VCD Header, do I burn it as a SVCD or a VCD in an application like Nero or VCD Easy?

2. Is Nero the best way to go about burning an Mpeg? I guess I’m asking if it is as successful as VCDeasy. (I made an image with VCDeasy, could I just burn that with Nero?)

3. Because my file is so long it has to be in three parts. I give each SVCD a VCD Header (I’m doing the trick), right?

4. When I go to make an image using VCDeasy, I change everything I need (names, output file, etc), and I add my SVCD mpg file that has a VCD header… It comes up with a warning saying the file doesn’t meet VCD standards (I was burning it as a VCD 2.0 file), because my resolution is higher. Is normal because of my VCD header trick?

5. Also, when I say to continue anyways after I get that warning, in the log I get a whole bunch of warnings. They all go something like this: “mpeg user scan data: one or more BCD fields out of range for “next_I_offset”, then the next one is exactly the same except it the next PREVIOUS I offset. Is that normal, or what could be messed up?

6. When VCDeasy is done making an image there are THREE files I get.. .BIN, .CUE, and .XML. I go into Nero and hit file-> burn image. Which file is my image?? What is a XML file or a CUE file anyway? I have heard of a bin before. So which file do I select?

7. Which mode do I burn my image as … mode 1 or 2? The default is 2 when I look so I'm guessing two. Sorry I know that sounds stupid but just double checking…

8. When I add the VCD header trick… I have read two guides… one says to make it a Video CD (non-standard), and the other says to make it standard in the top drop-down box… Which one is the one I want? (my DVD players are listed below)

9. When I first converted my DivX file to SVCD (MPEG -2, is that what SVCD format is called?) I followed a guide here on DVDRhelp.com and it said to choose either NTFS, NTFS film, or PAL… My file went at 25.000 fps (I used VirtualDub to check!), so I chose PAL… What are the chances that I can still watch my movie in PAL format over here? I have a JVC television and a Zenith and a Toshiba, and my DVD players a listed just below.

Ok, so that’s it…. The DVD players I am going to be using are a JVC XV M565BK, and a Panasonic CV51.. if that helps?.... Also, if there is anything else I should know, like any little finicky things that usually (or could) go wrong when making an SVCD with a VCD Header, please tell me. Thanks to all who answer my questions!!!

P.S. I’m sorry that some questions sound stupid, but please remember this is my first time.

Thanks again,

Chipp

[adam]

1) VCD

2) For VCD, Nero is pretty good, but I'm referring to loading an mpg and allowing it to do the authoring. If you are buring bin and cue files than I wouldn't use Nero. It can cause problems with some dvd players.

3) Yes.

4) Yes this is normal. Your disk does not comply with the VCD standards you are just hoping your dvd player doesn't know the difference, or doesn't care.

5) Are you adding chapters? If so then this is normal. Chapters can only be added on an I-Frame. Unless you manually force an I-Frame during encoding at the desired chapter point, then VCDEasy will simply put the chapter at the closest I-Frame and warn you of where it put it. As a result, your chapters will be as much as 1 sec off from where you set them.

6) Your image is basically both the bin and the cue. The cue is simply a text file with information which instructs the authoring software how to burn the bin file, which contains all of the actual data for the disk. As I noted above, I don't recommend burning bin and cue files in Nero, but regardless of the burning software, when you burn the image you load the cue file and the program then burns the bin. The XML file is also a text file. XML is the scripting language that VCDImager uses to author
(S)VCDS. VCDEasy is simply a frontend for VCDImager. So, you could manually make changes to your XML file, adjust chapter times for instance, and then import it back into VCDEasy and burn.

7) This is one of the things that the cue file takes care of. VCDs and SVCDs are burnt in mode 2 though, in case you ever need to manually adjust these settings.

8) I assume you mean during multiplexing. I would use non-standard. The difference is in the muxrate used. The higher the bitrate used the higher muxrate you need, othewise you get under and overflows. Basically, data is read off the disk too slowly or too quickly and the most common result is loss of audio/video sync. To avoid this use the non-standard setting. Some dvd players, however, may not play "VCDs" like this, so you may have to use the regular setting but the amount of problems you run into will depend on how high your bitrate is.

9) Yes, SVCD uses mpeg2. Check your dvd player manual or look in its setup menu. Unless it has a multi mode, or otherwise indicates that it can convert PAL to NTSC, forget about watching a PAL encoded disk on your NTSC tv, unless of course you don't mind black and white movies. If your source is PAL and you need NTSC, then you need to convert to ntscfilm during encoding. There are many posts and some guides explaining how to do this.

After getting some brief info regarding your process, I think you's be better off not using the VCD header trick. This is a very brute force type of work around for dvd players that don't support SVCD. Your disks will be highly non-standard and will not play on many hardware players and the worst part about it is that there will be really no way of knowing what does or doesn't support it. In my opinion, the only use for the VCD header trick is if you have a SVCD source and want to play it on a vcd only player and you do not want to actually re-encode the movie to VCD.

Since you are starting from an avi source, you would be much better off simply making an XVCD with properties similar to a SVCD. The only major difference between mpeg1 and mpeg2 is that the latter supports interlacing. Sure there are others, but at low bitrate they are not substantial. At the same bitrate and resolution, mpeg1 and mpeg2 should look roughly the same. An xvcd at 480x480 and 2.5mbits will be much more compatible than a similarly encoded SVCD with a VCD file header, and the quality should be about the same. So do yourself a favor and either make XVCDs or buy a player which supports SVCD.

[ZippyP.]

An xvcd at 480x480 and 2.5mbits will be much more compatible than a similarly encoded SVCD with a VCD file header, and the quality should be about the same.

Adam, can many players handle such an XVCD at that resolution? I know mine can't.

[Chipp_Psyke]

Thanks a lot adam! These responses are very helpful... Now with your reply I have another question...

I just tried out a SVCD with VCD header on my JVC XV-M565BK and success!! The first few times the video would freeze but after a few restarts it worked apparantly fine (i stopped watching after about five minutes).

I AM going to follow the XVCD guide... The compatability list says my player hasnt been tested with XVCDs but chances are if a VCD works then so will a XVcd.... RIght???

I have a movie that is three CD's long and I have just made the first one... Should i continue making SVCD's with the header or should i make the second one an XVCD??? and the third?. Is an XVCD easier for the DVD player to handle or something??? Is that why there were those freezes the first times I played my SVCD with the header???

Thank you very much adam, your replies have made my day (i was acutally jumping (really, I was) for joy when I got my svcd with header to work on my DVD player).

I'm going to bed tonight so I might not reply for some time.. Thanky you!

[adam]

Adam, can many players handle such an XVCD at that resolution? I know mine can't.

Generally speaking, if the player could play a SVCD with a VCD file header, than it could probably play an XVCD at SVCD resolution. I wouldn't say that most non-svcd compatible players could necessarily play something at 480x480, but given the option of the VCD header trick or a similarly encoded XVCD, I would say that the latter is much more compatible over all.

chances are if a VCD works then so will a XVcd.

Well most VCD compatible DVD players accept at least some deviation from the standard. You can almost always get away with a little bit higher bitrate, and can usually get away with non-compliant, yet typical resolutions such as 352x480, 720x480 etc...

XVCD simply means a non-standard VCD though. Just because the dvd player list says a player supports "XVCD" that doesn't mean it will play anything, it simply means it will support some non-standard aspects of a VCD. For even the most leniant of hardware players, there is some combination of settings which would render the disk unplayable.

I have a movie that is three CD's long and I have just made the first one... Should i continue making SVCD's with the header or should i make the second one an XVCD??? and the third?. Is an XVCD easier for the DVD player to handle or something??? Is that why there were those freezes the first times I played my SVCD with the header???

Whatever you choose to do, I suggest you be consistent. That means from cd 1 to cd2, and from movie 1 to movie 2, use the same method. That way you can customize future hardware purchases to suit your movie collection. It would be a shame to only have the first of three disks play on your dvd player.

As I noted above, generally speaking I think a SVCD with a VCD header would be less compatible than an XVCD encoded with the same settings. Try them both, and use what works best, and if both seem the same then I'd go with the XVCD.

As for your playback problems, when you deviate from the standards there is no telling what can go wrong. This very well could also happen with an XVCD, you'll just have to do some testing.

[Chipp_Psyke]

adam, thank you... all of this has helped me and I think im gonig to be consistant like you said and make my next two CD's SVCD with VCD Header. Maybe next time I will make an XVCd.. thhanks again