Best MPEG-2 capture?

[DaveS]

Actually, as soon as somebody started talking about changing the "MPEG codec" I had no clue what anybody was saying!

Figured I'd just lay down the facts, and let everybody else sort that mess out.

my fault sorry - I was thinking he was capturing to avi - should have gone back & re-read / confirmed after posting

[mnkyboy]

Capture AVI, re-encode MPEG

-or-

Try MainConcept 1.4 for MPEG capture.
Maybe PowerVCR or WinDVR, but those two honestly suck.

Why do you think this is happening? Bad mpeg files that Winfast PVR is capturing? Like I said, they play fine on my computer, but when I author them with TMPGEnc DVD Author, the resulting dvd looks good, but the audio goes out of sync towards the end of each episode. This happens on my computer, and on my standalone dvd player.

If my mpeg files are incorrect or bad, is there a fast way to correct them without reencoding (which would degrade the quality) ? I think someone mentioned bad GOPs, what exactly would that do if I had some?

Like I said, I really would like to get this figured out, because I dont want to capture to AVI. I only have about 40GB to use for capture, and AVI would eat that up in no time. Thanks.

[DaveS]

Like I said, I really would like to get this figured out, because I dont want to capture to AVI. I only have about 40GB to use for capture, and AVI would eat that up in no time. Thanks.

If it helps, picvideo mjpeg avi codec is 8gig / hour for setting of 15 (of 20) at 720x480 29.97 fps video and PCM 190kbps audio (which isn't efficient) ..might be worth a shot at recording a few minutes & encode to mpeg and see how it comes out if the direct mpeg capture is giving you a hard time

[lbblock]

I'mmmm baaaack! First, thanks to all who gave their best in helping me through this capturing morass. Since lordsmurf expressed surprise that my MPEG captures were not very good, I took a few steps based on John's input.

Since ATI MMC and Pinnacle Studio 8 (OEM with my AIW) both crash despite my repair efforts (and John's suggestions), I continue to use the Ulead Video Studio 7 as it works smoothly, and flawlessly. However, the bit-rate adjustments are not 2 pass (min/avg/max?). It just has a max and at 1/2 D1 has an internal max of 4861 (that's right, NOT 4862 or 63!). So, I am running it now at VBR 4850 instead of CBR 3500. I was surprised to find that CBR takes more file space than VBr and I was able to boost the bit rate. Of course, you are wondering about the dropped frames that going to VBR (with my lowly P-3, 1 Ghz) has probably caused. From what I can tell, the image quality is looking much better and I haven't watched enough yet to say that the dropped frame issue is moot.

Oh, I double checked the Fieldorder and it is B, A is all jittery and frame-based, I understand, is for DV.

I just keep on workin' it! Thanks again, Larry

[sacajaweeda]

I was surprised to find that CBR takes more file space than VBr and I was able to boost the bit rate.

VBR is just more efficient compression. It maximizes the available bitrate, allocating more to higher action and less to still or repetitive stuff that doesn't change much, whereas CBR everything is uniformly compressed. CBR is very wasteful. I never use CBR on ANYTHING over 60 minutes for a DVD-R, and even for shorter clips I tend to use a variable rate if there is a lot of motion/action/color changes.

[mnkyboy]

Well, h_wuensche from another thread told me about a program called, PVAStrumento. It FIXES my audio drift problem! It looks like it corrects the bad frames, and keeps the audio in sync while doing so. So far so good (ive only tested on a few files)

Anyone else use this software before?

https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=470#comments

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=761424#761424

[lordsmurf]

Well, h_wuensche from another thread told me about a program called, PVAStrumento. It FIXES my audio drift problem! It looks like it corrects the bad frames, and keeps the audio in sync while doing so. So far so good (ive only tested on a few files)

Anyone else use this software before?

https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=470#comments

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=761424#761424

Has this been tested on PowerVCRII files?

[mnkyboy]

Has this been tested on PowerVCRII files?

I just started using PowerVCRII today. Its a nice program, but channel surfing sucks, very slow compared to Winfast PVR software i usually use.

What is the best settings to use for DVD compliant files?

Any other suggestions on PowerVCRII would be great.

Next, the PowerVCRII setup tried to install an older version of PowerDVD. I kept my existing install, PowerDVD 5. Does Cyberlink plan on upgrading PowerVCRII? PowerDVD 5 is alot better than the PowerDVD that comes with PowerVCRII. Just wondering...

LAST, can someone post screenshots of live tv using PowerVCRII? Im just wondering how good other tv tuners pic up signal.

Here is some screenshots of my card with PowerVCRII.

[bottle-necked]

That's good news lbblock!!! Sounds like you've got it going now!

[thatdude90210]

Doesn't PVAStrumento just removes the frames so that the audio stays in sync? I remember using it when I had a Creative DVR that had sound sync problems and the resulting videos seem to have a few little parts missing. Just wondering if that was what PVAStrumento was doing.

[mnkyboy]

Updated my post.

[lbblock]

I was going to continue on with my quest on this thread but I decided that it was time to start a new one. It is no longer exactly on-topic either (I think). Thanks to everyone! LarryB

So, in the words of the famous Rosanna Rosanadana.. "nevermind"!

[ronnylov]

how can I improve the picture quality yet stay within my 4Gb VOB limit??

When you author a DVD you will see that the VOB files are splitted to 1GB segments so there is no 4GB limit in the final DVD. You can use the full 4.38 GB of a DVD disc even if you are using the FAT32 file system!

[lbblock]

That would be great! But, I tried that and it didn't work. In the midst of authoring, W98se stopped it saying that I may have exceeded a file limit.

Maybe there is more to your authoring. What are you using?