GFD problem. I think.

[Fedor1979]

I'm going AVI-->MPEG2-->DVD files. I use TMPGEnc Xpress 4.0 for the 1st step, and GUI for DVD Author to convert to DVD files. When I try to author I'm getting a prompt, just after I drag the MPEG2 file into the blue area, that says "...inconsistent timecodes..". I click continue, and then somewhere along the way I get another prompt about not having "navigation packs".

It looks like it would have allowed me to continue despite the potential problems, but I was wary of all these warnings, so instead I tried to demultiplex using TMPGEnc Xpress, and then authoring using the individual video and audio streams, but it's not working right for some reason.

When I play back the resulting DVD files on my PC the movie stutters. The first time I tried authoring the demultiplexed streams, I actually went ahead and burned the resulting files to a DVD, but I didn't get any audio when I played it in my player. I think this was because I selected an incompatible audio format, but whatever, FYI I guess, in case it could be related. Every attempt after this resulted in the playback stuttering, and I didn't want to waste another DVD before I hit you guys up.

And I have required codecs.

I searched around for threads covering the above prompts, but it didn't do much good. I got some results but they never covered my specific problem.

Thanx

[borax]

You can set up TMPGEnc to directly create elementary streams (at least TMPGEnc 2.5.xx has this option), then you do not need to demux.
...playback stuttering
Sounds like a frame rate problem.
Check the properties for the video and audio files carefully...
Audio must be 48 kHz mp2 or ac3 (or wav if muxman is used)
The frame rate (25 for PAL or 29.97 for NTSC) should fit the the default project settings (PAL or NTSC), other values are not allowed.
Aspect ratio must be either 4:3 or 16:9, other values are not allowed.
When you encode AVI to mpeg with TMPGEnc, you often run into problems if the audio in the AVI is a VBR MP3 stream (at least this caused a lot of problems with TMPGEnc 2.5.xx).

You may post a screenie from gspot or similar with the properties of your AVI file and the encoded streams (before authoring), then we can have a look...

[guns1inger]

Note also : the NTSC framerate of 29.970 can be obtained by encoding at 29.970 fps, or encoding at 23.976 fps and applying 2:3 pulldown. If your source avi is 23.976 fps then the best results will come from encoding at this framerate.

[Fedor1979]

It looks like the file is actually 23.97 FPS, so I guess I can try the 2:3 pulldown. Everything else checked out.

-I encoded to NTSC
-the audio in the AVI file is AC3.
-The demuxing was an after thought which is why I ran it through TMPGEnc a 2nd time. I didn't anticipate needing seperate streams, but maybe I should always demux initially.

So what about inconsistent timecodes, or no navigation packs?

Thanks. I guess I'll have to continue on the deduction method. Meanwhile I'm building an extensive coaster collection.

[guns1inger]

I always test play on the PC first, and if I have any doubts, burn to an RW to test on standalones. That should reduce the coaster count.

As for your other problems . . . . I don't use tmpgenc Xpress, however I never encode to programme streams when I am going to author, and if I am using a programme stream taken from a FTA digital broadcast then I always demux. Authoring always gooes smoother when you start with elementary streams.

[borax]

...So what about inconsistent timecodes, or no navigation packs?
The internal multiplexer in tmpgenc does not a good job if you want to author the video on a DVD (see also guns1ingers comment...).

If you have encoded the file with 23.97 FPS, use dgpulldown to insert the 2:3 pulldown flags. It's the best application for this job.

[Fedor1979]

Alright I'll keep trying different things. Maybe I'll demux with VirtualDubMOD, use TMPGEnc to transcode and multiplex, then author.

I also just looked at a guide that included TMPGEnc transcoding, and I think there may have been some settings selected differently than when I did it. I'll report back. Thanks again.

[Fedor1979]

This is lame. Nothing works. I guess I could try another file, maybe ten, as a control just to see what's up.