Encore/Video Wizard incompatibility with high bitrates?

[moxiecat]

Anyone out there using Adobe Encore, Womble Video Wizard, and high-bitrate MPEGs? If so, please read on...

My normal workflow is to record videos on my DVD recorder, then bring the raw DVD-RW to my computer, decrypt the VOB, edit it as needed in Video Wizard, export a finished MPEG, and author the video to disc using Adobe Encore. This process usually works very smoothly.

However, I have run into a problem, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same. I have been editing a VOB in Video Wizard that is 9.0 bitrate (using the XP/highest recording mode on my DVD recorder). The final MPEG is two sections of this same VOB, edited into separate sections in the Input monitor, then both brought into the timeline, joined together, and exported as a single MPEG. This MPEG comes into Adobe Encore fine, with "don't transcode" marked as usual. However, when I go to write the disc, Encore begins the transcoding process for no apparent reason!

I have tried this in many different ways, with different high-bitrate VOBs, and even trying video from 2 different DVD recorders (both at the XP/9.0 bitrate, a JVC and a Toshiba). It always happens with MPEGs that Wizard edits that:
1. are near or above a 9.0 bitrate, and
2. have at least 2 separate sections joined together in the Wizard timeline.
A single section of a 9.0+ VOB, exported from the timeline, does not cause the problem. It's only 9.0+ MPEGs that have at least two separate sections in the timeline. (Also, I have no trouble with lesser-bitrate MPEGs that have multiple sections in the timeline.)

The obvious answer is that Encore must not accept something that Wizard writes in between separate timeline segments in a high-bitrate file. Can't figure out why it imports it as a "don't transcode" file though if that's the case! I have run the GOP fixer but that didn't fix anything in the MPEG.

Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone out there regularly edit together high-bitrate VOBs in Video Wizard and burn them to DVD in Encore? I have e-mailed Womble for help too, but I thought maybe someone else here may have had the same experience and know a workaround. Appreciative for any help. Thanks!

[moxiecat]

OK, maybe I AM the only one with this problem!

I have a possibly simpler question: Is there some type of utility out there that will analyze an MPEG for any problems?

I can't figure out why Encore imports this file as "don't transcode" and then begins transcoding when the disc is built. (And yes, only this file is in the project.) There must be something in that MPEG file that isn't quite kosher, but how do you figure that out? Is there a utility that will analyze headers or GOPs or similar? (I ran GOP fixer in Womble but that didn't do anything for the problem.)

Please let me know if there's anything out there that will do this. Thanks.

[Alex_ander]

I'd look for a reason in the authoring application and send emails to Adobe rather than to Womble . I had a similar problem with DLP v.2.32 recently and now tend to think it wants something too 'clean' to work properly at muxing and not everything just compliant.
In my case several pieces of the same video program but from different archive sources (for this reason differently encoded) were joined in Womble using frame accurate adjustment: 8000kbps CBR progressive, 8500kbps CBR interlaced and like 4000kbps VBR interlaced. That's legal and as expected it was outputted by Womble without re-encoding as VBR interlaced elementary stream 8500 max. Audio track used for authoring was LPCM 1536kbps that totally made it 10036 (close to 10080kbps limit). DLP accepted this but after muxing (it doesn't re-encode and its manual suggests the user to be responsible for the compliance of the assets used) left dropouts in audio track close to one of join points. I tested the video stream in re-encode frame analyser of TMPGEnc MPEG Editor, it showed nothing to be re-encoded (with some older versions of Womble 2003 or 2004 I can remember it wanting to re-encode some frames). After this I used TDA3 and it did authoring perfectly (it only expressed its usual complaint before outputting, that total bitrate is more than 9848kbps, I simply ignored it).
Probably both DLP and Encore have some problem with MPEGs having shorter GOP length at join points, that usually comes from frame accurate cutting, and TDA doesn't have it. DLP also showed inability to go to next key frame (for previewing chapter points) in preview window when it reached join point of the source video stream.