recently i have started using 2pass vbr @4000 average in tmpgenc to encode mpeg2. oddly enough i find the results visually far exceed what i had been getting with CQ100, which always resulted in a file over twice as big as the 2pass vbr file. i now only use the 2 pass vbr.

after creating the first 2pass .m2v file i played it back only to find it played back twice as fast as the original. it turns out that all my 2pass files behave this way until i mux the .ac3 into the .m2v, then it plays back at normal speed.

but here is where it gets odd:

the 2pass files muxed into .mpg sync wildy when played back as .mpg. words do not line up with mouths, sounds dont line up with images. authored onto a dvd everything is fine played back on the same computer with the same software. is this normal behaviour?

on the pc i use sonic cineplayer and WMP to play and these dont sync the 2pass files well at all. sync drifts in and out constantly. oddly the macintosh will play these .mpg files in sync with VLC, but VLC reports the files as being about twice as long as they really are (although they play fine from beginning to end)

havent tried VLC on the pc yet.

because the final dvd's are fine on pc and standalone and the mac will play the .mpg files correctly, i beleive the files themselves are fine. i just find it odd that all the software (even on both platforms) i use with these 2pass files results in such oddity.

anyone else have this weird behaviour?