SVCD MPG to AVI (for use in Toast 6)

[smuudge]

Hi peeps, Ive extracted a MPG file out of a SVCD Bin file and all i really want to do is convert the MPG file into AVI that Toast 6 with Jam will happily encode and burn......

The file im trying to convert is this:

VIDEO: mpeg-2, size: 480x576, 25.000 fps, 2556 kbps. AUDIO: mp2, 44100Hz, 224 kbps.

When ever i drop it onto Toast and try and encode and burn as a DVD it errors in Toast. The MPG file plays ok in Quicktime. Ive tried to use one of the AVI settings in FFmpeg but the AVI file i got didnt have any sound in it...any help would be appreciated. cheers. PS: i dont have a registered copy of FFMPEG so not all the features work!

[Case]

If you're going to transcode, why not directly to DVD in ffmpegX? Two encodings will result in extra quality loss. Also, Toast’s DVD encoder has very little quality control.
No idea about your audio loss, though.

[smuudge]

Im open to all suggestions but i really could do with some help! THanks.

[Case]

Okay, here's a little just-tested how-to.

Open: Open your SVCD file or folder in ffmpegX. Save as: Set output location and filename. I prefer a new folder in root for easily finding my files again. From the Quick Presets, choose 'fast DVD'. Hit encode and wait. After ffmpegX is finished, a new folder with a name ending in '.DVD' is in your output location. Rename that new folder to what you like the DVD disc title to be, within naming specs. Drop on Toast in UDF mode. Record.

This is re-encoding to 720x576, not SVCD-on-DVD, so it takes some time. My 50 second test clip took 4:12 processing time, or roughly 5 times as much as the duration of the movie. So I expect a full movie could easily take 8 hours+ on my machine.

[smuudge]

Thanks for that however i dont seem to have a 'Fast DVD' preset! I have fast VCD and fast DivX though....

[Case]

i dont seem to have a 'Fast DVD' preset!

It should be there since version 0.0.9c. Scroll down further, it's no. 17 from the top.

[smuudge]

Ah yes ive updated FFmpeg and thats done the trick, thanks, it is now encoding so I will post my findings when it is complete....thanks again.

[smuudge]

Case, its happily encoding one of the MPEGs i extracted from the SVCD but when i hit the preview button in FFMPEG it plays the movie but with no sound??? is this correct?

I seem to remember encoding the same file as a AVI before using FFMPEG and it had no sound at the end of the encoding also..

[Case]

It is encoding the video and audio separately, so I wouldn't worry about it. Putting them together again is one of the last steps. Audio was fine on my test file.

[smuudge]

Hi Case, encoding has finished and i now have 2 files.... they are movie.mpv and movie.ac3

Unfortunately movie.mpv (the movie file) doesnt have any sound! Help!

Thanks.

[Case]

movie.mpv is the video-only file. movie.ac3 is the audio-only file. there should also be a movie.mpg which is a (multiplexed) combination of both.

[smuudge]

Only 2 files have been created and the audio file is zero k in size....not sure whats happened here but ive followed your instructions by the book..any clues?

[Case]

Did the ffmpegX Progress window say it was finished, with the 'ping' sound? There should be a log with useful information if you press the blue (i) in the Progress window.

[Case]

Or try a new encoding of just the audio, using "Movie audio to ac3" preset. Should only take about 7% of the time compared to the video. If somehow there are no errors this time, you should be able to combine the video from earlier with the new AC3 file. If there are errors, report the log.

[smuudge]

OK ive tried the movie audio to ac3 and it takes 2 seconds to encode??!!!, dings and the file is zero k in size....

I didnt have any errors on the original encoding either.

[Case]

So what does the log say?

[smuudge]

Encoding started on Thu Aug 5 00:11:32 BST 2004
audio channel = 1, 18900 Hz, 2 channels, 8 bits/sample 0
Input #0, psxstr, from '/Users/ben/Desktop/Downloads/movies/movie1.mpg':
Duration: N/A, bitrate: N/A
Stream #0.0: Audio: adpcm_xa, 18900 Hz, stereo
Could not find input stream #0.1

[Case]

audio channel = 1, 18900 Hz, 2 channels, 8 bits/sample 0
Stream #0.0: Audio: adpcm_xa, 18900 Hz, stereo

Doesn't look like mp2, 44100 Hz, stereo, 224 kb/s or ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1, 448 kb/s at all!

To Major: I'm out of my league here, maybe you can tell what's going wrong here.


For comparison, my 'Movie audio to ac3' log is:

Encoding started on Thu Aug 5 08:13:00 CEST 2004
Input #0, mpeg, from '/Source/Movie.SVCD.CD1.mpg':
Duration: 00:51:59.6, bitrate: 2083 kb/s
Stream #0.0: Video: mpeg2video, 480x576, 25.00 fps
Stream #0.1: Audio: mp2, 44100 Hz, stereo, 224 kb/s
Output #0, ac3, to '/Output/audio_1.ac3':
Stream #0.0: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5:1, 448 kb/s
Stream mapping:
Stream #0.1 -> #0.0
video:0kB audio:170664kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.000000%
bench: utime=760.920s
Encoding completed on Thu Aug 5 08:26:14 CEST 2004

[smuudge]

im wondering if the mpegs i have are abit corrupt? They have been ripped cleanly out of a SVCD bin file and play perfectly on the Mac........seems strange that when i ever encode using ffmpeg the resulting files are empty of audio..

[Case]

Two things to try, if you're up for it:
- Enable 'invert mapping' in the Audio tab. This could possibly make the app find the audio stream that it couldn't find earlier.
- Demux your SVCD in the Tools tab. That should split the source file into .mpv and .mpa streams.

[major]

Encoding started on Thu Aug 5 00:11:32 BST 2004
audio channel = 1, 18900 Hz, 2 channels, 8 bits/sample 0
Input #0, psxstr, from '/Users/ben/Desktop/Downloads/movies/movie1.mpg':
Duration: N/A, bitrate: N/A
Stream #0.0: Audio: adpcm_xa, 18900 Hz, stereo
Could not find input stream #0.1

This looks like a Playstation STR movie file.

[smuudge]

OK i will try that thanks......for your info the movie hasnt come from Playstation....will post my findings when ive had a chance to mess around with it again. Cheers.

[smuudge]

ive finally given up on this, no joy with ffmpeg and toast is still refusing to burn the files. If anyones got any bright ideas im all ears! If not the files are going in the bin! THanks for all the help anyway.