AVI to VCD

[Slip Kid]

How do you do it?

I've been converting with ffmpegx and every time I get either failed or the file size won't fit on a cd. I never get .img files or when I tell it to produce .cues or .bins it never happens

This is the resulting error that keeps me from succeeding:

(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `About.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
**ERROR: could not stat() file `About': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
++ WARN:
(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `a.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
**ERROR: could not stat() file `a': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
++ WARN:
(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `Dog-1.mpg.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
**ERROR: could not stat() file `Dog-1.mpg': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
++ WARN:
(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `About.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
**ERROR: could not stat() file `About': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
++ WARN:
(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `a.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
++ WARN:
**ERROR: could not stat() file `a': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
(Super) VideoCD xml description created successfully as `Dog-2.mpg.xml'
++ WARN: initializing libvcd 0.7.12 [darwin5.2/powerpc]
**ERROR: could not stat() file `Dog-2.mpg': No such file or directory
++ WARN:
++ WARN:
Encoding completed on Sat May 23 13:22:52 EDT 2009

Maybe I have something checked that I don't need it to be checked

Why is it saying SVCD when all I want is a VCD?

I'm so lost. Could anyone help me?

[tomlee59]

How do you do it?


Maybe I have something checked that I don't need it to be checked

Why is it saying SVCD when all I want is a VCD?

I'm so lost. Could anyone help me?

You seem to have several related, but separate questions.

If you properly selected the VCD preset, (which you seem not to have done) then the encoding should proceed with normal VCD specs. Whether or not the result will fit on a single CD depends on the duration. You can fit just slightly more than 79 minutes on a 700MB CDR. If your movie is longer than that, you'll need to split up the result across several discs, or reduce bitrate (thus creating a non-compliant VCD, aka "XVCD").

In the authoring tab you should select -- of course -- "author VCD", which should produce bin/cue files.

Perhaps if you describe, step by step, in detail what you did, we can fully debug your problem. But from your description, it sounds as if you didn't select the presets correctly.

[Slip Kid]

Thanks for the reply.

I perhaps am not selecting the right settings.

However you pinpointed the problem that I have. it does create mpeg1's (can I even plural that word?) The problem that I have is that I wanted it to fit on 1 cd which isn't going to happen according to you.

While the original .avi is within file size the range to put on a cd, the run time isn't for a VCD

I've given up on a VCD. I'll just go out and buy DVD-R or if you would suggest any other type of blank DVD's.

Again thanks for the insight on this matter

[tomlee59]

If quality doesn't matter much to you, it's possible to squeeze more onto a single CD (the XVCD option I mentioned earlier), by reducing the bitrate. For example, you can reduce the audio bitrate to 128kb/s (from the 224kb/s VCD standard), and also reduce the video bitrate until the whole movie fits. Ffmpegx has a calculator that will compute the video bitrate needed to fit (set the audio bitrate first, then go back to the video tab, and click on the bitrate calculator). The less fussy about quality you are, the more you can fit. For TV shows and other "throw-away" vids, I've regularly put 100-120 minutes on a single CD. Again, quality is poor. The only advantage is that the result will play on most standalone DVD players, and in computers so old that they only have a CDROM drive.

If standalone playability matters to you, but there's no need for the disc to be CD, then DVD is of course the best option, because of quality. If quality is not a factor, then the XVCD option is still available to you with the software that you have.

Just fyi, VCD frames must be 352x240 (NTSC) or 352x288 (PAL). Drop your original source onto ffmpegx's window, and select VCD as the target format (I recommend the mpeg2enc option; it's slower but works better). Then you can go fiddle with the bitrates (only), making sure that the author option is checked.

But all that aside, since you have the ability to burn DVDs, then just do that and avoid all these low-quality, obsolete approaches.

[DereX888]

to add to what previous poster said:
if you were to go with a non-standard VCD (xVCD or such) then why not go for variable bitrate for both audio and video?
That would give you best quality for both audio and video. ("best" in the terms of bit allocations, more where needed and less where not needed - NOT that it would look "best" as in HDTV or even DVD quality of course)
(assuming your player is capable of playing non-standard VCD it most likely would play it too - or it won't play neither).