ENC encoding versus no ENC encoding

[RL]

I downloaded a You Tube Video using Twonky Media Server which produces a MPG4 file under the generic name file name "TwonkyServer Media Browser-1.mp4". The good thing about doing it this way it saves a step processing a .flv file through Stream Clip. When processing this mp4 file back through ffmpagX to encode to a MPG2 file the program required an SVCD preset with mpeg2enc. It would not convert or encode without setting the enc flag.

When I tried to convert using a MPGffmpgX it would finish instantly with a ding and no processing.

Why do some files require enc and others don't like it? What determines how a file get processed? Is there anyway during the encode process to improve picture quality and sound quality with MPG2 encoding.

I am converting videos to MPG2 to play through my Home Theater using Direct TV Media Serve.

The video portion does not look so good on the 65" plasma. Is there any way for 5.1 audio using the MPEG-2 processing?

Comments, I find this video file stuff very interesting.

Thanks

[Case]

ffmpegX has two conversion "engines" for MPEG-2: ffmpeg and mpeg2enc. These two are separate pieces of software that handle the conversion. Each has its own options. There are differences in the Options tab, depending on which encoding engine was selected.
Besides different ways of encoding, there are also different ways of decoding (reading the source video), as set in the Options tab. ffmpeg can use its own decoder or use QuickTime. mpeg2enc can use mplayer, ffmpeg or QuickTime for decoding.
It may seem like an overwhelming array, but personal preferences quickly lead to a first choice, with the others as backup option.

Is there anyway during the encode process to improve picture quality and sound quality with MPG2 encoding.

mpeg2enc allows settings for luminance, saturation and sharpness, but that doesn't give it the controls of a full blown video editor. For sound quality there are no controls in ffmpegX. Some people choose to handle the audio separately in an audio editor.

I am converting videos to MPG2 to play through my Home Theater using Direct TV Media Serve.

Always very informative to read what the exact goal of the conversion is...

The video portion does not look so good on the 65" plasma.

Video can look good on a big screen if the resolution is high enough and if the video quality is high enough for that resolution. Both can be done with ffmpegX, but anything from YouTube will already have its quality degraded. A bad source will never be crisp and clear after conversion. All you can do is keep as much quality as possible.

Is there any way for 5.1 audio using the MPEG-2 processing?

If your source file has AC3 5.1, you may use audio Passthrough to keep the audio the same in the output. I never had much luck in converting multichannel audio (AIFF, AAC) to AC3; it always seems to come out as stereo with ffmpeg.

[RL]

Thank you for your response.

What does it mean when ffmpegX instantly goes to a finished when starting an encode?

I had to use an enc option to get it to process.

Does it mean it can read the format of the stream.

[Case]

What does it mean when ffmpegX instantly goes to a finished when starting an encode?

It probably means that the app encountered an error that halted the conversion process. To see which error, you may have a look at the Process Information log, and post that here. You may access this log by clicking the blue "i" in the ffmpegX Progress window after a conversion attempt.
Depending on what error, there may be ways to work around the error, by changing some settings.