Apex and SVCD

mike10670 wrote on 10/2/2001, 1:01 AM
I created an SVCD file using the built-in codec with VF2.0. I used 480x480 2600 Kbps 29.97 fps MPEG-2 with 224k, 44.1 audio.

I made the SVCD with Nero (even though it whined about the audio settings in the file).

My Apex 600-A does play the disc, but about once a minute, the audio goes slightly out of sync, then about 30 seconds after the audio artifact, the video will go slow, then fast, then normal while the audio stays at the correct speed.

The raw MPEG file plays nicely with Windows Media Player, so I am certain it is the Apex DVD player.

Does anyone know of any tricks to make sure I am not over working the Apex so that I can maximize video quality while ensuring smooth playback?

Thanks!

Comments

discdude wrote on 10/2/2001, 6:40 AM
Your render setting appear to be within SVCD's specs, however, since Nero complained, something must be slightly out of spec. For example, it is not clear whether or not VF2 uses layer II audio, which is required by the SVCD specs.

Also, doesn't Nero offer to recompress the audio for you? If it does, I would try that.

Finally, VF2 appears to have problems with APEX players, here is a line from the VF2 Readme file:

"VCD playback in APEX players truncates the last two seconds of VCDs."

Just throwing something up in the air.
wvg wrote on 10/2/2001, 10:07 AM
Most set top DVD players can't handle a bitrate higher then 2500 for SVCD, you're a little above that which could be the problem.

At the present time VF doesn't offer many MPEG rendering options for SVCD or SVCD, so if you want a high quality VCD or SVCD I suggest you do you editing in VF then render as a AVI then continue in another application better suited to making VCD and SVCD.

One such application in TMPGEnc which offers more control of the rendering process like 2 pass and variable bitrate which can make a marked improvement in final quality, however the rendering time can get painfully slow and of course the file size will grow also meaning you won't be able to get as much on one CD.

To use TMPGEnc to make a SVCD begin by clicking on the browse button to select your source (should be a completed AVI file made in VF) then click on the load button selecting the Super Video CD template. Next click load again and double click on the extra folder, then select and open the unlock.mcf which will make the grayed out options useable.

Under Video change motion search precision to high. You can set a Variable Bit Rate which uses higher bitrate in scenes that have motion. I set max to 2300 and min to 1150. If your video has some artifacts, click on the quantize tab and check soften block noise and use values between 30-40. The result will be the video will be softened, meaning less sharp, however those annoying blocks due to compression tend to disappear so it is a trade off.

Keep in mind I mostly start with MPEG source files, so I typically have to do more adjusting to compensate for lower quality then many would otherwise do if sourcing from a video camera.

The 4GB ceiling isn't really a problem. TMPGEnc has a "add" feature than can join the created MPEG's together seamlessly once you're finished.
mike10670 wrote on 10/14/2001, 11:53 PM
Which DVD player do you use, and how does it handle the SVCDs?

Can you fast forward and rewind through the SVCD? My Apex will not do that. When I try to FF, RW, or Pause, it jumps back to the beginning of the CD.
wvg wrote on 10/15/2001, 8:24 AM
I'm using a Pioneer #DVD-333 and it seems to handle fast forward and reverse OK, but to be honest I haven't tried it much being so sick of seeing the videos after all the editing, I'm just glad they play on my DVD player. :-)
djmd wrote on 10/15/2001, 8:51 AM
There is a file called 'scandata.dat' that needs to be dragged into the EXT folder of the SVCD before you burn it. This will allow forward and reverse searching.

click here for more info

jtoops wrote on 10/15/2001, 10:58 AM
With TMPGEnc, I've joined several smaller
mpegs to create a larger one and get an
audio glitch at the joined areas. (I'm
not sure if other people get this as well).

However, I'm testing AVISynth to join the smaller
AVIs to feed into Panasonic Mpeg Converter (to
the Mpeg Converter it looks like like one large
AVI file). As I said, I'm testing so I'm not
sure this works (but I believe it will).

JT
mike10670 wrote on 10/15/2001, 10:01 PM
Where does this file come from?