MPEG2 --> XVCD in tmpgenc

[NuclearNed]

I've seen this question asked in several different threads throughout the forums, but I've never seen an answer to the problem.

I am trying to use tmpgenc to convert the header info on a mpeg2 file to an xvcd as described here.

When I try to open the original mpeg2 file in tmpgenc, I get an error message saying "illegal mpeg stream".

I have the mpeg2 codec from Stinky's site. I can play the mpeg2 file on WinDVD. Oddly enough, Windows Media player seems to be unable to play the file. It's a large file, and WMP lights up my hard drive light and acts like it it trying to load it -- forever. I have let it load for a long time with no results. Also, WMP displays a "media changing" message.

The reason I am trying this conversion is because my Panasonic DVD-RP56 doesn't support SVCD's, but I have seen where several people have gotten this conversion trick to work on this particular player.

Any help is appreciated.

[NuclearNed]

Here's the solution to the problem:

The MPEG2 file was valid (which explains the reason it played flawlessly in WinDVD), but there was something about it that TMPGENC didn't like. I had suspected this early on and tried to "fix mpeg errors" with mpeg corrector. This didn't work, so I assumed that the mpeg was fine and I went about looking for other solutions.

A day later, at my wits end, I decided to tinker with the mpeg file again. This time I used vcdgear and did a mpeg->mpeg conversion, with the option chosen to correct mpeg errors. This seems to have worked, as TMPGENC now opens the file and no longer gives me the "illegal mpeg stream" error.

On a side note, the trick that I was trying to do to get a SVCD to run on my panasonic rp56 worked. See the link in the post above for details. So now I am able to get perfect svcd quality, even though my player technically doesn't play svcd's. The only problem I have, which someone else mentioned, is that using the "fast forward" feature on the player screws up the playback so badly that the movie has to be restarted.