SVCD Audio and Picture problems

[galvatron2004]

Ive been authoring VCDs and SVCDs from DivX and Xvid encoded movie files for a while now and Ive never been able to get the best results, and things have gotten worse recently

The files Ive been trying to author as SVCDs at the moment that are causing the most problems are Xvid ones. I extract the audio using VirtualDub, but the .wav file that is created doesnt sound right. It has a strange robotic sound to it, particularly on high pitched voices or sounds, and it dosnt go away when the audio is added to the video when re-encoding in TMPGEnc Plus. The video also skips frames when the SVCD is played on my standalone DVD player, making it appear jerky, the juddering dissapears at some points in the movie, then returns.

This combined with the strange sound makes the SVCD unwatchable. Can anyone help?

[adam]

Sounds like maybe a decoding problem (codecs). If you've added any new codecs lately get rid of them.

Do the files play ok in media player? If so, then try increasing the direct show file reader priority in TMPGenc. Look in Environmental Settings/VFAPI Plug-ins. Right click on the plugin and increase the priority until its the first one in the list.

[galvatron2004]

Ive tried playing the file from the SVCD in PowerDVD and it plays exactly the same as it does in my standalone DVD player, sound problems and jerkiness and all

The Xvid codec I have installed on my computer plays the original Xvid file perfectly, its just the conversion Xvid > SVCD that created the framerate/audio problems.

How do I get to the Environmental Settings/VFAPI plugs-ins in TMPGEnc?? I havnt tried to fiddle around with the more complex TMPGEnc settings for fear of screwing everything else up.

Thanks for the help by the way!

[adam]

If you have TMPGenc's wizard open then close it. At the very top there is a button for Options and then one for Environmental options. Then click on the tab for VFAPI Plugins. (I'm doing this from memory but I think that's right.)

TMPGenc has several methods that it can use to decode the file in order to then re-encode it. Whatever method it is currently using, it apparantly isn't working. Media Player uses direct show filters, so if it plays ok in media player then it should decode properly if you set TMPGenc to use this...its the general rule anyway. So try increasing the direct show file reader priority and see if it works.

But the fact that it doesn't play well in PowerDVD makes me think you've got some kind of codec conflict. Playing with the plugins in TMPGenc is just a temporary fix, IMO.

[galvatron2004]

Do you think it might be a good idea to remove all of the video codecs from my computer, and reinstall them?

[adam]

Yes.

[galvatron2004]

I tried to increse the priority of the MPEG2 codec using the environmental settings, and then encoded a small SVCD compliant file in TMPGenc. I got the same poor results

Is there an easy way to uninstall video codecs? I have around a dozen on my computer all used by numerous programs, and I dont particularly want to delete all of these programs.

[adam]

Some may be accessible via add/remove programs under the control panel. For others right click on my computer and go to hardware/device manager/sound, video, game controllers/video codecs. On the properties tab you can remove them individually.

[marsmayhem]

You could install GSpot and identify which MPEG2 codec is being used to render your stream. This should help you track down which application's MPEG2 codec is screwing with you.

Another way is to find a program from AnalogX that lets you uninstall video filters. I used this method originally to track down which codecs were messing me up. Problem I had was that once you get rid of it, it stays gone, so I'd go with my first suggestion before this second method.

Hope it helps