tmpgen generated SVCD screen is vertically squeezed. help!!!

[udayan]

Hi,

I am new in this, and finally could figure out how to capture the vedio cassette pictures to my camcorder then to Ulead Sytems capture software in MPEG-2, convert it to SVCD (NTSC) format in tmpgen, and finally cut the SVCD through vcdEasy, and I can play that in my DVD player. Everything is great, but there is a problem.

I just cannot get the right screen size. Tmpgen is squeezing the picture vertically. Looks like what I am getting out of Ulead is 16:9 format. I am not too sure. Now no matter what I do in tmpGen's settings, the overall screen size is always squeezed vertically.

I am talking about the real screen size, not the picture size within the screen, that I figured out how to play about. So, the bottom line is how can I make the screen size of the output MPEG-2 exactly same as the input MPEG-2? I repeat it is the screen size, and not the picture size within the screen. I tried every possible combination with my 2 second test clip, 1:1 VGA, 4:3, 16:9, "keep aspect ratio", "full screen" etc. etc. these only changes the picture size within the screen, but the screen size remain the same squeezed.

Thanks for any help. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I have just reached a point of no resolution at this stage.

[energy80s]

What are you trying to play the clip back on? Media Player, etc. will squeeze the clip if it's in MPEG2 format. Try a software DVD player as this will re-size the picture correctly.

[udayan]

Energy80s,

Thanks for replying. Yes, to begin with I tried to run the tmpgen generated mpeg2 in Media player, and it looks all squeezed. But even before that, I can clearly see that the screen size is squeezed compared to the original one (the mpeg files in XP is shown as the screen size when you open the folder through "my computer") even before I have cut the SVCD using VCDEasy. I wil certainly try to run in software DVD player and see how it looks.

This is what I did after that. I opened the unlock.mcf file from the Template->Extras directory, modified the 480X480 as the screen size to 532Xsomething (in the settings-> video->size window, which is generally gayed out in normal templates) to make the output screen size look like the source mpeg2 screen size and copied the rest of the settings exactly as the SVCD template, and reran tmpgen. Once it fiinshed, sure enough it generated the mpeg2 with correct screen size exactly as the source mpeg2.

Then I tried to burn the CD using VCDEasy, and it complained (gave error that the 532Xsomething is not a correct NTSC setting). I turned the check off and ran VCDEasy anyway, and it burnt the CD, I played the generated SVCD CD in software DVD player, and it ran fine. But when I tried to run the same in my APEX 1500 DVD player, the picture is shaking (as if somebody is shaking the DVD player), and as the screen shot moves, the screen of my TV blacks out at the bottom (tiles black out), and regains the picture as it steadies. So basically it is unusable.

I think the first problem is somewhere I have to set something (while generating SVCD mpeg2 through tmpgen) in tmpgen, that will give me the correct screen size. Also is it anything to do with the original vedio capture using ULead 4.0 software from my camcorder (which was recorded from my VCR).

Any idea what to do? Thanks