How to convert to .mpg without failing?

[Grahamf]

Bascially I have a bunch of .mov files which I need to convert to .MPG files with the following:
MPEG2 720x480 (NTSC)
Audio MP2 or AC3, 48000Hz

the original files are motion JPEG at 720x540, and I believe they are interlaced (capture from vhs tape)

Because I need to pass them to DVD Styler, which chokes when it trys to convert.
Although they play fine in quicktime, everything else choked when trying to convert, and windows can't handle them at all.

I have been trying ffmpegx, and it worked for one, but after that it crashes at 99% and only makes a *.ff.m2v file

What are the exact settings I need to use to produce a .mpg file that works?
thanks

[Case]

the original files are motion JPEG at 720x540, and I believe they are interlaced (capture from vhs tape)

The frame height (540px) seems odd, as NTSC capture should produce 480 active scan lines (out of 525) [and PAL should be 576 active scan lines (out of 625)]. Does the capture allow for cropping 60px total from top and/or bottom to get a good size? You will need to get the correct height to maintain interlacing as-is.

I have been trying ffmpegx, and it worked for one, but after that it crashes at 99% and only makes a *.ff.m2v file

Even if ffmpegX fails, it shouldn't crash. When ffmpegX doesn't produce the desired output, it is helpful to post the Process Information log, to see what ffmpegX was doing when it errored. You may access this log by clicking the blue "i" in the ffmpegX Progress window.
If the process halts near the end, then it may be due to the audio, as normally video gets processed first (.m2v), and after that ffmpegX works on the audio (.mp2/.m1a/.ac3), before muxing them together.

What are the exact settings I need to use to produce a .mpg file that works?

If your file is faulty according to ffmpeg, then there may not be such a setting. However, I would try going with a DVD preset, and de-select authoring in the Options tab. You may change the audio settings to your needs, as the default AC3 5.1 seems excessive for VHS capture, although that shouldn't be a reason for errors.

[Grahamf]

The frame height (540px) seems odd, as NTSC capture should produce 480 active scan lines (out of 525) [and PAL should be 576 active scan lines (out of 625)]. Does the capture allow for cropping 60px total from top and/or bottom to get a good size? You will need to get the correct height to maintain interlacing as-is.

I really have absolutely no idea why it chose that resoultion. I'm using EasyCapViewer for mac with an EasyCap DC60, and that's what it chose for NTSC. Come to think about it, I checked the settings and under deintelace it was set to "line double" whatever that means. so it may be deinterlaced after all.

Even if ffmpegX fails, it shouldn't crash. When ffmpegX doesn't produce the desired output, it is helpful to post the Process Information log, to see what ffmpegX was doing when it errored. You may access this log by clicking the blue "i" in the ffmpegX Progress window.
If the process halts near the end, then it may be due to the audio, as normally video gets processed first (.m2v), and after that ffmpegX works on the audio (.mp2/.m1a/.ac3), before muxing them together.

I don't know exactly how to describe it. Last night I set it to convert three movies. this morning I found the first one finished successfully, but the other two were marked as failed. in the folder those ones only had *.mov.ff.m2v files. I stupididly deleted them without first trying to check if they werer good (didn't have VLC at the time and 'll be damned if i';m going to pay $20 to Apple for a simple codec)
I just tried again and this time it failed while making the audio track. it gave me a .m2v file and a .wav file, both of which work fine. I of course closed the application to rest my configurations so I can't read the error log anymore

If your file is faulty according to ffmpeg, then there may not be such a setting. However, I would try going with a DVD preset, and de-select authoring in the Options tab. You may change the audio settings to your needs, as the default AC3 5.1 seems excessive for VHS capture, although that shouldn't be a reason for errors.

I don't know what's wrong. I had it at mpeg2enc which may be why, but IDK.
I'm trying again. this time I set it it the MPEG-2 preset, changed the resolution to DVD, changed audio to .mp2, and selected sterio.

I'll now in a few hours if this works or not. I might just hackintosh my work laptop so I can access it's faster chips.