Occassionally, you will drag an MPEG file to toast and it will will tell you:

this type of file cannot be used to create a video CD. Please use the Video CD option in your multiplexer"

Or something like that.

Only god knows why this doesnt work when you are clearly using a standard MPEG file so here is a SIMPLE workaround that involves NO re-encoding, NO muxing or de-muxing, and most importantly, ONLY 5 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME.

Open Missing MPEG Tools, and generate an XML file using the MPEG[s] you are attempting to make a VCD with, using VCDXGEN. Of course, select VCD 2.0 -- and then GEN XML.

THEN -- Using VCDXBUILD, select the XML file you just generated, and it will generate a .BIN image of the MPEG[s] you selected in the earlier step. Then drag the .BIN image to toast, burn and VIOLA!

This has worked for me FLAWLESSLY every single time.

NEXT --

Those of us who have shelled out an ungodly amount of money for Cleaner 5 , are most likely disappointed with its encoding speed when converting DiVX to VCD or .MOV to VCD, etc. Here is a way to encode multiple files at once [not a BATCH -- but simultaneously] using Quicktime or Toast -- which takes SUBSTANTIALLY less time than using Cleaner..

1) Duplicate the Toast or quicktime application 10 times.
2) Open each and start an export/conversion on all ten of them.
3) click to the finder, and tell it to "Hide all other applications"
4) wait for each to finish

That may sound STUPID -- but i am using a G4 800 with 512 MB ram, and i have been able to encode 10 movies in the amount of time it takes Cleaner to encode ONE before moving onto the next, and it only taxes your system just as much as cleaner does -- Expect a little slowdown, but your machine will still be perfectly usable... encoding 900 minutes worth of video should only take 15 hours or so [90 minutes per movie, 10 at a time, 15 hours total], which is pretty damned good.


FEEDBACK PLEASE.