Make XSVCD's in 4 EASY STEPS - NO PhD Required! - by Mavrick

[Mavrick]

I’m converting home videos to CD. I have managed over time to get it down to 4 easy steps. I didn't want to buy more software, well at first anyway...

I just thought; “There HAS to be an EASY way to convert my VHS/Hi8 videos to CD, without using ump-teen programs and 1000 steps...”

So I made it a mission to capture, edit, and render all in one program with quality results; and without worrying about 1000 settings and filters.

After 3 Months of downloading and trying allot of programs I found the EASY way with Ulead’s Media Studio 6.5 DC! And to me it was worth every penny. After all I done dropped a few bucks for all the hardware to make it work.


Step 1: Capture the video as uncompressed AVI or use the Huffyuv codec (this gives you the best quality to work with) as close to the final output resolution as you can. This will save encoding time if it does not have to resize it. In my case 480x480 or 640x480

Step 2: Edit the captured video. I use Media Studio Pro 6.5DC for this.

Step 3: Save the edited video in Media Studio as an MPEG2 480x480 with a VBR of 4000. Field order B first. (make sure your player can play this).

Step 4: Burn the MPEG file(s) to CD with DVD Movie Factory. Make your menus etc…

That’s it!!

Works every time and I get video as good as the original… I would say its DVD quality. The Sound is ALWAYS in sync, and I never get micro blocks.

The down side is I can only get 20-30min per CD with a bit rate that high… but with this quality, I’ll take it! And for most home videos 20-30min is enough time for one "Theme".


Software Used:

You can download a trial copy of Media Studio Pro from
http://www.ulead.com/msp/runme.htm
They also offer upgrade offers from other editing software – so you can get it as cheep as $129.00 for the DC version.

You can download a trial copy of DVD Movie Factory from
http://www.ulead.com/dmf/runme.htm
It’s about $45.00

[aaronm32]

You actually fit a whole movie of uncompressed avi onto your computer??? Did you save the audio as uncompressed too? How many FPS did you capture at?

[Mavrick]

I'm working with home movies - 30min or less "themes" after capturing what i want to save. you can use some compression... the real trick is not to capture with mpeg...

[aaronm32]

I'm working with home movies - 30min or less "themes" after capturing what i want to save. you can use some compression... the real trick is not to capture with mpeg...

Oh I see But still, 30 min of uncompressed video.. i never would have thought that was possible.

[Mavrick]

When I capture I'm using around 1GB Per min. So a 30min clip will eat up 30GB of disk space... approx...

[dc91gt]

umm not many players will do 4mbps svcd.

-d

[Mavrick]

My First DVD Player would not play a VCD either, even though it said VCD on the front. Turned out it would not read CDR or CDRW discs. It would only play pressed VCDs! I think that was bad marketing...

This is why if you are going to make VCDs, you need to do your homework b4 you buy a player. Just like you do on a computer or capture card.

I went with the RCA 5240P ($99.00), and this has played anything I throw at it. The highest I've tested so far is 4500VBR and it played that too!


You can use my guide to make regular low bitrate VCD's as well. They look as good as ones made with the Ump-Teen Steps shown on this site. I just want the best quality you can get to archive my old VHS/Hi8 tapes... So the XSVCD is for me.

[Mavrick]

P.S.


Remember for most of us, VCD’s are a transitional media until we all have DVD burners. DVD’s use bitrates of 4000-8000 range. If you’ve already converted with a low bitrate for a VCD, then you will never get that quality back, even if you choose a higher bitrate later.

So using the high bitrates now, will make life better later on!

[dvfan]

can you tell me why you chose field order B? and what that is used for, cause i tried making some cvd format video and my video was scrolling on the tv screen and was wondering if it was related to the field order option

[Mavrick]

The field order has to do with interlacing that a TV uses. If the field order is set wrong, you will see “lines or jagged edges” on images, especially during fast moving scenes. You will also see this when viewing from a PC, since a PC monitor is non-interlaced.

IF you follow the instructions above, your final CD should look great…

[dvfan]

Hey, I thought XSVCD was 720 x 480 and SVCD was 480 x 480 ?

[Mavrick]

Yes and No...

the X = non-standard format. You can use resolutions up to 720x480, but a 480x480 with a higher bit rate than a standard SVCD, is also an XSVCD.

[dvfan]

Thanks for the reply! I'll try that, maybe now i can get my dvd player to play xsvcd at a higher bitrate using 480 x 480 it plays 720 x 480 but it wont allow me to go up to high on the bitrate

[Mavrick]

Thanks for the reply! I'll try that, maybe now i can get my dvd player to play xsvcd at a higher bitrate using 480 x 480 it plays 720 x 480 but it wont allow me to go up to high on the bitrate

Let me know how it goes!

[crahak]

Step 1: can't be much easier than capturing with any other program. Mind you, I don't do DV, so I stick to v'dub/huffyuv.

Step 2: Edit video? V'dub again does all I need. Juts as easy I bet.

Step 3: Encode/save as mpeg (whatever), TMGEnc or CCE do that too, so far this is the only other program I used. Nothing really hard there either.

Step 4: Well, I don't make menus, I guess that program can be good for that, but Nero works for me, and it's real easy too.

I dunno where you see ump-teen programs and 1000 steps, nor a need for a PhD. Anyone can learn this in a few hours. Filters are not less or more required just cause you use a ulead app. I find my way just as easy, and I think saying that other guides are too complex for other people are borderline insulting their intelligence. Mind you, I don't have shares in ulead. :P About the DVD Player part (doing your homework), I can't say anything bad as you're completely right. Knowing what we buy is generally speaking a good thing anyways.

Anyways. If it helps someone out, why not? No offense, but I see no point to this guide myself.

[vitualis]

I'm sure that you are very happy with your commercial proggies, but I find myself agreeing with crahak's comments.

Capturing video, encoding and putting it on a S/VCD is actually reasonably simple -- with free software.

Most of the discussion is often about tips. tricks or trying to improve quality.

In any case, thanks for your tutorial on using those programs...

BTW, are you sure capturing uncompressed AVI is necessarily a good idea? Unless you have humungous HDDs, I would suggest using an AVI codec of some sort (e.g., a MJPEG codec or HuffyUV) is perhaps a wise choice.

Regards.

[Mavrick]

crahak,

First off, the term “No PhD required” is not insulting anyone’s intelligence. It simply means it’s an easy way to do it (or an expression not to be taken literally). A way anyone, advanced or novice, can get great results with one program. If anyone does take offence to that term, they are probably a person who over-analyze everything, and finds bad where none exist. I can’t help, nor want to deal with people like that…

I personally don’t see the point in making yet ANOTHER guide on how to use VDUB, TMPG, etc. Granted they are great programs which I used to use myself. Again, the “Ump-teen programs and 1000 steps” is simply and expression of how it can "feel" to a new user. (what number exactly is ump-teen???) I however wanted to capture, edit, encode in one program if possible. In time, I wanted more powerful editing capabilities like; blue screen effects, moving paths, storyboard layout, overlay options, advanced video filters, multiple video/audio tracks, as well as 3rd party plug-in support to expand with later.

I don’t work for Ulead nor do I own stock in them. I don’t know about you, but I also don’t own stock in many of the products I buy and use… No Maytag, Whirlpool, or RCA stock in my portfolio either… I won’t get arrested if I use stuff and don’t own stocks in them will I?

No offence, but I don’t see why if anyone thinks outside the box in here, and uses/suggest other options. They are nuts or it’s the wrong way to do it…


Sincerely,

Mavrick

[Mavrick]

P.S.

The Programs I have listed are FREE to TRY... I'm not forcing anyone to buy or use them...

[Mavrick]

BTW, are you sure capturing uncompressed AVI is necessarily a good idea? Unless you have humungous HDDs, I would suggest using an AVI codec of some sort (e.g., a MJPEG codec or HuffyUV) is perhaps a wise choice.

You can use compression as I stated above, they key is not to go overboard with compression in the capture phase. The more "data" you have to work with... The better the end result... Even with TMPG, etc..

Huffy is a great codec, but I would not capture directly with MPEG. To me I loose too much quality this way.

As always the Golden Rule is: Use what works easiest and best for you!

Take Care...

[dvfan]

Mavrick, thanks for your post, and initiative to help people do something simple and fast, I thought it was all appropriate. Dont get discouraged from posting instructions, and tips in the future. It takes courage and interest in other people to go out of your way to make things better and easier. Im familiar with Ulead, Premiere, AVid Express etc. and always looking to explore new ideas. I think if people think they know it all they should not be here.

[Mavrick]

Thanks dvfan,

I kind of needed that… I’m just trying to offer another solution for people who are having problems, or who want to try something new. I know it’s not just me who gets it. I’ve seen other people who post tips and stuff get blasted if they recommend anything other than TMPG, VDUB or Nero. I was starting to wonder if this was The-Cult-Of-TMPG.com rather than VCDHELP.com…

Anyways thanks again…

Mavrick

[crahak]

Wow. I didn't say it was a bad way to do it, nor a bad guide. Just seemed a lot commercial-oriented. That's all. And I find ye olde v'dub/huffyuv solution works best for me. I can see it being different for sombody else. And the wording part is fine. Thanks again for the help to the community

dvfan: Did anyone pretend to know it all? All we said was rather basic knowledge, so, the only person thinking that people think they know it all is you. (Hmmm, hope I got this straight anyways LOL)

[vitualis]

When you post a guide, you will have to be up to some criticism...

Hopefully, the writer of the guide as well as the people reading the entire thread will learn from the discussion!

As for uncompressed video:

480 x 480 in 24 bit colour @ 25 fps = 16.5 MB per second.

That's about 60 GB of data per hour.

Sure, the less compression you use, the better the quality of the final result. However, HuffyUV can be used as a lossless AVI compression codec so you don't loss any quality. It allows for about 1:3 compression over uncompressed.

You generally don't need to capture to uncompressed video and it may not necessarily be the most appropriate thing.

Regards.

[Mavrick]

Vitualis,


I agree with putting up with some criticism and/or debating, without it learning stops. As in real life, how you criticize is also important. Tact can go a long way in starting a grate discussion on any topic. Without it, things tend to get off topic, and people will become aggressive or defensive.

I’m not above getting dragged down this bad road either. I hope however, when I do, I have the sense about me to backup and apologize.

To Crahak: I’m sorry if I responded to your first post wrongly. I did feel attacked about the stock thing and using programs off the beaten path… I should have responded to your post of course… But maybe I could have done a better job at it…


Peace,

Mavrick


P.S.

To the Huffy thing... I'll say it again... Huffy is a GREAT Codec. With the bitrates on this guide you’re limited to 20-30min CD. So this means uncompressed will only eat 20 - 30GB (approx). Both work great... ultimately; it’s up to the person who uses it... I think I'll revise my step one to include Huffy as an option... Thanks 4 the input...

[dvfan]

Without getting off into a ridiculous debate. My respect and admirations goes out to people who design programs that are freeware and people who use them. But if i want to use my 60 gig HD to capture an avi, that is my pregorative. I think personal preference applies in what we read and what we want to apply. I do not have the right to criticize a post, i am not a critic. Like mother always said, if you dont have nothing nice to say, well you know the rest, take it for what its worth.

Thanks

[vitualis]

With all due respect dvfan, I think you've missed the point of a discussion forum.

The forum is for discussion and if someone posts a tip / method, it is implicit that it will be up for some criticism (hopefully constructive). From the discussion that ensures, everyone who reads the thread learns more than what was posted in the inital post. Nobody know everything, and the collective knowledge of everyone who participates in a thread is much greater than of any one member alone.

Sure, it is your perogative to do whatever you want, but I think that mentioning using a AVI codec as opposed to uncompressed video ADDS to the thread and this guide. Simply, not everyone will have that much HDD space to play around with.

If the user guides forum was simply a stockpile of user preferences, there would be no need for a "reply" function would there?

Regards.