EazyVCD v1.14 Now Out - (X)SVCD support

[dick_p_t]

Hi There

Just wanted to let you know that I've just put up a new version of Eazy VCD (v1.14).
I know that I said that I would have DVD(-R) support in this one, but there have been a lot of thing going on right now and I just didn't get round to it.
I promise that I will have it done real soon :)

Anyways, this version supports SVCD and XVCD as well, and also there are heaps of bug fixes.

I'll keep working and you keep Ripping =8-)

Rob Ferguson

************************

Version 1.14

- Fixed Bug "Auto shutdown function would not shutdown PC untill msg box was cleared"
- Fixed Bug "Would cause a Run-Time Error 62 if dvd drive was not fully unlocked"
- Fixed Bug "Would cause a 'Division by zero' error if a Program Chain of less than one second was selected"
- Fixed Bug "If an LPCM audio track was selected the movie would contain no audio"
- Fixed Bug "If an MPEG audio track was selected, it would cause errors, or their would be no audio in movie"
- Fixed Bug "Removed DTS audio tracks from the list as no decoder is available for DTS and movie will contain no audio"
- Fixed Bug "BeSweet now rips the audio from the vob file and uses the hex id to identify the correct track, this will avoid any problems with track mapping and audio type"
- Fixed Bug "if you loaded in an evt file, and "Only Rip Vob's" was selected, it would try to rip the vob's again"
- Enhancement "Now uses 'Soften Block Noise' in TMPGEnc for smother encoding quality"
- Enhancement "Vstrip now only rips the streams requested, this will save on HDD space and also speed"
- Enhancement "DVD2AVI is no longer used during ripping process as Vstrip is creating the project file and BeSweet is reading audio from vobs. NOTE: DVD2AVI still need to be in Eazy VCD so it can read the project file in TMPGEnc"
- added function "Will now encode to SVCD"
- added function "Will now encode to XSVCD"

Known Bugs
- The first time you use Eazy VCD and it get's up to the TMPGEnc Encoding stage, TMPGEnc will show you a Splash screen, you must select the "Don't show this dialog again at startup" check box and then click ok. You will never see it again.

To Do List
- add support for ripping to DVD
- add support for subs and chapters

[mats.hogberg]

Pretty, Pretty, pretty please! For us not living in UK/USA, a ripper without subs support is about as useful as a car without wheels. Could you consider raising the priority for subtitle support a notch or 2?

/Mats

[jolo]

Allright !!

I can't wait to use it !!

After using many, many products and guides, Easy VCD has produced the best looking VCDs I have ever made, plus it ran consistently well without blowing up.

The best is that you load the CD, it reads it and you look at all of the settings. Tell it CD size, tell it about speed/quality you want, start it, a few hours later, it is done, with no further interruptions.

I can't wait to try the SVCD feature. I am a licensed user of TMPG so I should be find, but I sure would prefer to use CCE. But, no complaints !!

Jon

[Laz]

Yep, Thanks Dick

Encoding the film Croupier to SVCD as I type this, can't wait to see how the results compare to DVD2SVCD. The VCD quality is IMHO about the best out there already, let's see how it fares with SVCD.

The one thing though that I think will confuse some users who don't know that much about DVD ripping/encoding is the TMPGEnc situation for MPEG2, thinking that Eazy VCD is freeware until they get to the encoding stage of their very first SVCD and finding they have to pay for something. I know that's not your fault Dick, but it might come as a bit of a shock to them.

But heck I for one ain't complaining! Great prog, great results!!! 8)

Keep up the good work!

[Timoleon]

Can't wait to try it and compare it to DVD2SVCD! Thanks for your efforts!!

[Laz]

As expected, the SVCD results are great!

As good as DVD2SVCD in my book.

[Timoleon]

hmmm....I ripped a copy of The Thing overnight with EazyVCD to c:\Movies. Everything went smoothly --- this morning the message on my screen said that the operation was successful and that the bin/cue files were in my c:\Movies folder. Alas, the only thing there was the ifo and vob files. There ain't no bin/cue files anywhere! The only thing I did different was to replace the trial version of TMPGEnc with a registered one --- which the readme suggested doing.

Anyone have any idea what happened?

[Hertog_Martin]

great... DVD>XSVCD

[dick_p_t]

@Timoleon

What was the version of the TMPGEnc that you replaced it with?

[Timoleon]

I think it was 2.5.7. But since then i've replaced it with the latest regged TMPGEnc (2.5.9) and I'm going to give it another shot. My suspicion is that my screwing around with TMPGEnc messed things up. As a last resort I'll reinstall the program using all the defaults, including the trial version of TMPGEnc. I'm not ready to give up yet, especially when other posters here say they have had great success!!

The only problem with creating a bin/cue with EazyVCD that I can see is that you can't create a "title page" with pictures. Of course if you use the create mpeg option then you can do whatever you want with it --- I do the title/picture thing in Nero.

Anyway, I'm crossing my fingers and here goes...

[jolo]

MY first attempt at Easy VCD for SVCD was not very successful. It just froze on the small window when it analyses the DVD.
I was using it to back up a concert movie, the Eagles, "Hell Freezes Over" DVD. I do know that the sound is in LPCM and DTS. The first screen of the video asks which one you want. I was thinking that, this might be a issue.

But, I am going to try it later with another backup.

As for my VCD backups, the best and most consistent results I have ever had !!

Jon

[dick_p_t]

@jolo

Sometimes when you start Eazy VCD it can take a while to scan the DVD Disc.

So I can track down the problem, could you answer the following question for me?

How long did you let it sit there for?
Was your DVD-Rom Drive active at all?
Was your HDD active at all?
Are there any files named temp.txt or temp01.txt ect in the root of your C: dirve?
If there is, what does it say in them?

[dick_p_t]

@jolo

Also, i just rembered somthing else.

If you do not have Eazy VCD in C:\Program Files\Eazy VCD\
the program may run incorectly and cause errors.

[kwag]

@dick_p_t,

From your 1.41 Release Info:
- Enhancement "Now uses 'Soften Block Noise' in TMPGEnc for smother encoding quality"

This is incorrect. If you check this option, macroblock edges are actually sharpened, and will show more instead of less. This is a known "Feature" of TMPEG for a very long time, so you might as well leave it off

-kwag

[jolo]

Thanks so much Dick for your interest. At this moment, I have started to backup a movie which is on the beSweet part, so it looks like it is the uniqueness of the "Hell Freezes Over" DVD which probably is the problem.
How long did you let it sit there for? -

I tried it several times, it would be several mintues, sometimes an hour, until I'm told that the software is not responding.

Was your DVD-Rom Drive active at all?

Yes, I would here it spin at the beginning and then stop shortly after.

Was your HDD active at all?

Not after the DVD stopped. The problem does not freeze up the computer, other things can be done. By the way, I am using XP, revision 1.

Are there any files named temp.txt or temp01.txt ect in the root of your C: drive?

Not that I saw, but then again, I am backing up another DVD currently, when I checked. I can try "Hell Freezes Over" later and see if it creates those files.

If there is, what does it say in them?[/quote]

[dick_p_t]

@kwag

somone must be pulling your leg, or you didn't read about the option proply.

as it sates in TMPGEnc if you hold your curser over the option;
Soften Block Noise:
Reducies block noise with obvious edge when bitrate shortage occurs.
If this option is enabled, the movie gets softer, but ugly block noise will hardly appear.

This is extreamly handy with XVCD and XSVCD with lower bitrates.

[kwag]

@kwag

somone must be pulling your leg, or you didn't read about the option proply.

as it sates in TMPGEnc if you hold your curser over the option;
Soften Block Noise:
Reducies block noise with obvious edge when bitrate shortage occurs.
If this option is enabled, the movie gets softer, but ugly block noise will hardly appear.

This is extreamly handy with XVCD and XSVCD with lower bitrates.

Hi dick_p_t,

No, the option doesn't work. Actually, it works opposite as advertized. I've tried it many times. Just select the option and put 100 and 100 and make a small action clip. Do the same with the option deselected. You'll see the macroblock edges much more visible with higher values and the soften blocks option selected. This is an old bug in TMPEG versions 2.x and I have reported that many times to Pegasys, Inc, and they haven't done anything about it yet.
Also, this doesn't apply to low bit rates. It's supposed to apply to "shortage" bit rate, when the quantisizer bit rate vs. movement is exausted. That means it won't do a thing on low bit rate DCT blocks, which is completely different to macroblocks.

-kwag

[Timoleon]

...finished my burn of mpegs using the latest regged TMPGEnc, and everything was near perfect. It was the demo I was using that was screwing up. Thanks for a great program!

[dick_p_t]

@kwag

I have also tried MANY test rund myself, and the quality it mutch smoother with this opetion enabled.

I will however be adding advanced features to Eazy VCD so you will have the ability to switch this option on and off.

but try and run some tests in a newer version on TMPGEnc and have a look, try several different bitrates and you will see what I meen.

like try one on the VCD template with a bitrate of 2500 with this option on and then off, you will see hardly any diffarence.
then try it again with a bitrate of 600 with this option turned on and then off, and you will see that with this option on that the quality is much smoother. (NOTE the quality will be SMOOTHER not better)

[jolo]

Do you have any more clues about my post of Dec 01 04:09, about the inability to Rip the DVD ?

Thanks,

Jon

[dick_p_t]

@jolo

nope, not sure yet.
someone ele is also having probs with a BeeGee's DVD.

i'm gonna see if the local Video store as got em, and give em a work out.

[mickice]

Help!

mickice here i just tryed southpark and black hawk down plus the lord of the rings

the problem is that the second cd is not all of the end of the movie it stops 20 mins near the end help

[Laz]

Aarrrggghhh!

I've been trying to copy Auatin Powers: Goldmember all morning but Eazy VCD just crashes whilst scanning the DVD, done all the usual things like play in DVD software etc.

Started the rip process in DVD2SVCD just fine, also tried Smartriper to rip the VOB's, and that too was perfect.

Any ideas dick?

TIA

[dick_p_t]

hey mickice

make sure that you have downloaded and installed one of the ASPI layers from the website http://www.eazyvcd.tk and restarted after installing them.

[LabanB]

Hi Dick,

Firstly, thanks for a superb programme. I have tried a few others (and paid for one ) but yours is the best so far.

Is SVCD really so much better than VCD? I can play VCD and XVCD, but my standalone won't recognise SVCD at all.

Bill

[dick_p_t]

I don't really use SVCD to be honest, cos a lot of DVD Players have trouble playing them.

If I want to get beter quality, i just make an XVCD with a higher bitrate.
So to do this in Eazy VCD, just select XVCD and the put up the X(S)VCD MEDIA AMMOUNT higher and higher until you see the VIDEO BITRATE down the bottom get to around 2000 to 2500, this will produce a very good quality XVCD.

but then again, some DVD Players don't like going over a certan Bitrate.
It's just a mater of trying it out, and finding what your DVD Player likes.

[carolech]

Hi Dicck.

I tried to rip a new DVD to a VCD with the new version 1.14c and everything was ok until the encoding part. When it got to this point, I checked the TMPGEnc to see how it was doing, and after one hour, it had only encoded 1% and the remaining time was 70 hours!!!.

So I quitted and starter all over again just to see if I did something wrong, but again it happened the same thing 70 hours remaining time.

In the very low blank window in TMPGEnc during the encoding process said 3 process remaining. It was encoding part one.

I followed very carefully the instrucctions and in the chain program window appeared the longest vts, 01.31.00 minutes.

What could be wrong.

[mlanoue]

I'm having trouble with Goldmember, too. And Panic Room, for that matter. I've tried it on one computer with Windows 2000, and one with ME. I know it's designed for XP, but I have had a lot of success with other DVDs. Sometimes I get farther along and it crashes at TMPGenc, but it usually gets stuck scanning the disc. I'm gonna keep trying, tough.

[rude_skankin]

First I want to say thanks to Rob for writing a superb all in one program. THANKS A LOT!!! My wife appreciates it too, Less time on the computer!

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem with EAZYVCD 1.14c. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my DVD Player, but I just want to be sure.

Well first, here is what I am doing:
1. Make the mpeg-2s (XSVCDs) with EAZYVCD 1.14c (various DVDs Robin Hood-disney, Roman Holiday-B&W, Tuskegee Airmen)
2. Burn them with Nero 5.5.9...(the newest one)
3. I play them in Power DVD- they play fine no problems at all.
4. Play them in my Mintek 2110 DVD player (with header trick, of course) and they all seem shaky (jumpy) whenever there is movement. (like when you pause a VHS tape between frames they toggle back and forth) The motion doesn't slow down or speed up just has that affect.

I have made other SVCDs and XSVCDs and they play fine in the Mintek. Is anyone else having problems like this? I really like the SVCDs because the quality is just amazing compared to even my best XVCDs, and I even paid the $48 for TMPGenc Plus (didn't realize I could've saved 10% from this site, until today) So I don't really want to go back to VCD if I can help it.

So if anyone has any advice on how to fix this please let me know. I am making a CVD to see if this will fix the problem but any and all comments are welcome.

Thanks in advance

Anthony

[rude_skankin]

If anyone cares the CVD I made of (Tuskegee Airmen) fixed the problem I had. Though I don't know why and how it fixed it.

Any MPEG experts able to elaborate on this?

Thanks

Anthony