audio problems with TMPGEnc - not covered by FAQ

[nikkoforever]

Hello. So I'm using TMPGEnc to convert AVI files to the NTSC DVD file format. After converting, I get two files: an M2V file and a Wav file. For some reason, some of the wav files don't work. What's weird about that is the files are captures I made of my own video tapes. Some of the outputted WAV files work, some of them don't. I'm not sure why that would be the case. When I play the AVI files in Windows Media Player or whatever, the audio is just fine. Why would TMPGEnc have problems with some of the captures but not the others? By the way, the same thing seems to hold true with AVI files I downloaded via Bit Torrent, so I know it's not related to how I caputured the files. Any advice on how to troubleshoot this would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[fritzi93]

The best advice I can give is don't let TMPGEnc handle the audio. Honestly, not being a wise guy. Lots of audio editors/converters over there <---. Use TMPGEnc to do the m2v (video elementary stream) ONLY. Do the audio with something else, then multiplex and/or author. That's what I do, anyway, others no doubt will differ.

ffmpegGUI is an easy to use audio converter, fast and free too.

[stone_coldn69]

I have never had a issue with tmpgenc doing the elementary video and audio. I use toolame.exe, lame.exe and ssrc.exe for my audio engine in environment settings. Have never had a problem. I would try that route and see what happens. What is the audio format in the .AVI ?

[nikkoforever]

What is the audio format in the .AVI ?

Hmmm...well, i'm something of a newbie. I'm not sure what the format is in the AVI. How would I go about checking that?

Also, you said you use toolame.exe, lame.exe and ssrc.exe. I'm sure this is a dumb question, but you only use one of those at a time, right? What are the differences between the three? i.e. why don't you just use the same one for everything?

[nikkoforever]

The best advice I can give is don't let TMPGEnc handle the audio. Honestly, not being a wise guy. Lots of audio editors/converters over there <---. Use TMPGEnc to do the m2v (video elementary stream) ONLY. Do the audio with something else, then multiplex and/or author. That's what I do, anyway, others no doubt will differ.

ffmpegGUI is an easy to use audio converter, fast and free too.

Sorry, I'm a noob. What program do you use to multiplex after you're done doing the audio?

[jyn999]

nikkoforever,

Try DVD2SVCD. It bundles all the tools you need to create VCDs, SVCDs, and DVDs from multiple sources including AVIs. It's almost like cruise control for conversion ... set it and forget it.

It can work with TMPGEnc also.

Look for it in Tools under Convert. Check out the comments posted by other members too.

[davefx]

you use tmpgenc under MPEG TOOLS in the file pulldown.

personally i NEVER use the audio features of tmpgenc. i convert to ac3 in vegas.

the audio in tmpgenc (i used .mp2) always sounds crummy to me, and its at a very hot level. also i can hear aliasing in the audio although no SRC took place.

i just make the .m2v file in tmpgenc, then the audio in vegas, then mux them in tmpgenc

[fritzi93]

You can multiplex in TMPGEnc (look in mpeg tools), bbmpeg is good too.

The reason I say don't do the audio in TMPGEnc is there are other tools that do a better job. ffmpegGUI is minimalistic, BeSweet can do a lot more, but is difficult for beginners, lots of other possibilities. Also, TMPGEnc definitely chokes on VBR mp3, which a lot of downloaded AVIs seem to have.

You can find out the audio format with Gspot, but you say it's a WAV file, right?

If it weren't for the fact you say both your own captures and downloads have the identical problem, I'd say go back to the drawing board on your capture method. Anyway, you might read "TMPGEnc common problems and tips" under the heading "Articles" over there <--.

I don't know if you'd be willing to try this, but DVD2SVCD can automate the process for you. You can tie TMPGEnc into it for the video encoding, and BeSweet is included for the audio. bbmpeg does the multiplexing, while you can specify dvdauthor for, guess?, authoring.

I hope you solve your problem, post again on your progress. How about a little more detail on your methods? Somebody here is bound to know the answer.

[fritzi93]

Sheesh, you guys are way faster than me. :P

[stone_coldn69]

What is the audio format in the .AVI ?

Hmmm...well, i'm something of a newbie. I'm not sure what the format is in the AVI. How would I go about checking that?

Also, you said you use toolame.exe, lame.exe and ssrc.exe. I'm sure this is a dumb question, but you only use one of those at a time, right? What are the differences between the three? i.e. why don't you just use the same one for everything?

Tmpgenc re-encodes the wav file a new .mp2 file. By using external programs, which by the way are better than tmpgenc's internal encoding, you get better sound, or in my case by using tmpgenc version, no sound. I use lame, toolame and ssrc, to convert the wav file to dvd sound file, or MP2 file. It makes it so I can author it in Tmpgenc Author and then i re-encode the sound again to Dolby Digital AC3 sound.
Each of the tools has a specific function, if you do try to use it, you will see why. Tmpenc does all the work for you, you just need to tell it where to find the external tools. Another way to check the AVI file or movie file is open it with VirtualDub ---> go to File --> the file information. Look at the Audio box and Compression. That will tell you if its AC3 or fraunhofer (mp3) . If its says Unknown tag its AC3. Get this program and it will convert any sound to wav in virtualdub.

http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/AC3ACM/

Im a messy writer, bare with me.

[SatStorm]

I second: I use lame, toolame and ssrc for years now, and I never had a single problem when I encode any audio source (except ac3/ dts) with TMPGenc.