TMPGenc 3.0 XPress frame rate problem with XviD source

[JNavas]

Note: This report pertains to TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress, not TMPGEnc or TMPGEnc Plus

When attempting to encode 23.976 fps XviD sources (as verified by GSpot 2.21) into DVD-compatible MPEG2, TMPGenc 3.0 XPress incorrectly detects the source frame rate as 30 fps, resulting in jerky MPEG2 output.

These XviD sources play perfectly in a variety of players, and encode properly in NeroVision Express 3.

There appears to be no way to override the incorrectly detected source frame rate in TMPGenc 3.0 XPress, and there doesn't appear to be any reasonable work-around.

This problem exists in version 3.0.4.24 (original release) and version 3.1.5.82 (latest version as of this writing) of TMPGenc 3.0 XPress.

Codecs: XviD-1.0.3-20122004 _Final Release_
XviD-1.1.0-Beta2-04042005 _Beta Release_
Platform: Windows XP SP2 on a 2 GHz Mobile Pentium 4

[Baldrick]

can't you manually change to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in tmpgenc xpress?

[JNavas]

can't you manually change to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in tmpgenc xpress?

No -- the frame rate control is disabled, and setting 3:2 pulldown has no effect on either frame rate or output jerkiness.

[junkmalle]

There are two frame rates in most AVI files, one in the header and one in the video stream. It could be that the two values are different in our file. TEMPGEnc may be looking at one and GSpot looking at the other. Try using AVIFrate to set the frame rate. It will set both values.

[edit]Sorry, I remembered this incorrectly. It's not the frame rate that appears more than once, it's the frame size (width and height). So my proposed fix probably won't help.[/edit]

[Abond]

can't you manually change to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in tmpgenc xpress?

No -- the frame rate control is disabled, and setting 3:2 pulldown has no effect on either frame rate or output jerkiness.

Of course you can. You must select not "DVD NTSC" but "MPEG Output" as template. Here you can change everything.

[Robert Simandl]

I've often had the exact same problem in TMPGEnc Plus. Even though I could set the frame rate to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in the encoding options, that didn't change the fact that TMPGEnc thought the frame rate of the original AVI was 30fps... and that wasn't changeable.

Someone writing about TMPGEnc Xpress in the Tools section here said the problem could be solved by frameserving the AVI from VirtualDub instead of loading it directly into TMPGEnc Xpress.

So I gave it a shot in TMPGEnc Plus and haven't had a problem since. If that bit of advice works for TMPGEnc Plus, it should most certainly work in TMPGEnc Xpress (since it was intended for TMPGEnc Xpress in the first place).

Hope that helps...

[JNavas]

There are two frame rates in most AVI files, one in the header and one in the video stream. It could be that the two values are different in our file. TEMPGEnc may be looking at one and GSpot looking at the other. Try using AVIFrate to set the frame rate. It will set both values.
[edit]Sorry, I remembered this incorrectly. It's not the frame rate that appears more than once, it's the frame size (width and height). So my proposed fix probably won't help.[/edit]

Correct -- it doesn't help -- AviFrate shows the correct 23.976 frame rate, and even when the AVI header is rewritten with AviFrate, TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress still gets an incorrect source frame rate of 30 fps. Thanks for trying.

[JNavas]

I've often had the exact same problem in TMPGEnc Plus. Even though I could set the frame rate to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in the encoding options, that didn't change the fact that TMPGEnc thought the frame rate of the original AVI was 30fps... and that wasn't changeable.
Someone writing about TMPGEnc Xpress in the Tools section here said the problem could be solved by frameserving the AVI from VirtualDub instead of loading it directly into TMPGEnc Xpress.
So I gave it a shot in TMPGEnc Plus and haven't had a problem since. If that bit of advice works for TMPGEnc Plus, it should most certainly work in TMPGEnc Xpress (since it was intended for TMPGEnc Xpress in the first place).
Hope that helps...

That works in TMPGEnc Plus, but not in TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress. Although it does get the correct source frame rate that way, and can preview the frameserved file, it refuses to encode it. Others have reported that same problem with frameserving in TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress, and have also reported that Pegasys won't support frameserving. So that seems to be a dead end.

Update: Another suggested work-around is to: create a Project with the XviD AVI as input in TMPGEnc Plus 2.524 (which has a different Project File format from prior versions) and Save the Project File; enable TMPGEnc Project File Reader 2.524 in TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress (Preferences -> Input plug-in settings); and then Add the Project File as a source (not Open as a Project) in TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress. That does get the source frame rate correct, but results in other weirdness (e.g., incorrect pixel format) that results in incorrect output (e.g., wrong frame size) with no audio. So that appears to be another dead end.

[JNavas]

can't you manually change to 23.976 with 3:2 pulldown in tmpgenc xpress?

No -- the frame rate control is disabled, and setting 3:2 pulldown has no effect on either frame rate or output jerkiness.

Of course you can. You must select not "DVD NTSC" but "MPEG Output" as template. Here you can change everything.

No you can't. Switching to "MPEG Output" does allow you to change the output frame rate, but not the source frame rate. So that won't/doesn't help.

[JNavas]

Note: This report pertains to TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress, not TMPGEnc or TMPGEnc Plus

When attempting to encode 23.976 fps XviD sources (as verified by GSpot 2.21) into DVD-compatible MPEG2, TMPGenc 3.0 XPress incorrectly detects the source frame rate as 30 fps, resulting in jerky MPEG2 output.

These XviD sources play perfectly in a variety of players, and encode properly in NeroVision Express 3.

There appears to be no way to override the incorrectly detected source frame rate in TMPGenc 3.0 XPress, and there doesn't appear to be any reasonable work-around.

This problem exists in version 3.0.4.24 (original release) and version 3.1.5.82 (latest version as of this writing) of TMPGenc 3.0 XPress.

Codecs: XviD-1.0.3-20122004 _Final Release_
XviD-1.1.0-Beta2-04042005 _Beta Release_
Platform: Windows XP SP2 on a 2 GHz Mobile Pentium 4

UPDATE: This problem can be solved with AviSynth! Use AviSynth (2.5.5) to frameserve the XviD source into TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress, and TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress will then properly encode DVD-compliant MPEG2 and AC-3 audio output that will be smooth instead of jerky!