Some VCD questions/problems

[CorsairMac]

Hello! First - this is an AWESOME site and I"ve gotten more out of this site than I would have ever dreamed possible. Not to mention revelent, useful information - versus what my friends are telling me they do. So, thanks for all the good work - keep it up.

Onward and forward:

I'm Brand New to the VCD scene and I've already decided what I'm going to do with the wasted CDs! But I do have some questions I can't seem to locate answers to or I'm missing them withint the site.

My conversion software is TMPGEnc with TooLame for the audio.

My burn softward is Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum.

I use K-Lite Codec for the frame speed which is my first ? it says the frame speed is 14.98fps? What does that convert to in NTSC?

Second question - the video once burned is "hesitant" or "stutters" may be a better word. Is that becuase I don't have the correct NTSC option?

Third question: when I view the converted file in Winamp before and after burning, the picture is amazing. When I transfer the CD to my DVD player, the picture appears grainy and blurred. Any idea why?

Thanks again for all the help I"ve received so far. I'm This Close to have quality VCDs and am looking forward to the additional help. Also, to being able to help others once I get "there".

Yours:
CorsairMac

[ZippyP.]

it says the frame speed is 14.98fps? What does that convert to in NTSC?

Second question - the video once burned is "hesitant" or "stutters" may be a better word. Is that becuase I don't have the correct NTSC option?

Third question: when I view the converted file in Winamp before and after burning, the picture is amazing. When I transfer the CD to my DVD player, the picture appears grainy and blurred. Any idea why?

The output quality is totally dependant on the quality of the source. A source of 15 fps is not going to be very good quality. Having said that:

1. Use the standard NTSC template in TMPGEnc as it is 29.976 fps or 2X your source.

2. The video will be jerky because 1/2 of your frames are missing.

3. Like I said, you can't really improve on your source and VCD is grainy anyway.

[Craig Tucker]

I use K-Lite Codec for the frame speed which is my first ? it says the frame speed is 14.98fps? What does that convert to in NTSC?

It is half NTSC (which is 29.97fps) so I suggest converting to NTSC. Whoever encoded it has discarded half the frames to reduce the filesize so dont expect the playback to be too smooth.

Second question - the video once burned is "hesitant" or "stutters" may be a better word. Is that becuase I don't have the correct NTSC option?

I refer you to my first answer. Is this only after it is burned (ie is it even choppier than the encoded mpeg), does the mpeg play ok on your PC. I suggest changing your VCD authoring/burning program to Nero or VCDeasy. If you still have problems and it is only after burning try burning at a lower speed or different media.

[Craig Tucker]

Just beat me to it Zippyp

[CorsairMac]

Thank you So Much all of you! Thanks especially for the NTSC answer...I thought maybe I had really missed the boat on that one! Also, I did try forum search but you know that whole - I have to ask the right question the right way to find the answer!

Valuable lesson: You're only going to get as good as you d/l! Thanks again ALL of you!

Wish me luck as I trudge ever on in my VCD journey!