how to render the project to SVCD??

newbiez wrote on 8/26/2002, 3:13 PM

Hi,

I knew how to render a project to VCD, but VCD quality is not good. I was thinking of having it render to SVCD, but I can't seem to find any option to do that with Vegas Video. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much.

PS: To create a SVCD, I've been doing it the hard way. First render project as NTSC DV widescreen. Then use TMPGenc to convert the avi to MPEG-2. The result was good, but there was lots of static (or spikes) in audio during playback on 1 of my DVD player (Malata), while this SVCD can't play at all on Apex DVD player.

-Newbiez

Comments

HeeHee wrote on 8/26/2002, 3:55 PM

SVCD is essentially the same as DVD except the aspect should be changed to 480x480 when rendering. Here are some technical tidbits for SVCD from www.vdchelp.com:

PAL

Video:
max 2524 kbit/sec MPEG-2 (if the audio is in 224 kbit/s), audio + video bitrate max bitrate is 2748 kbit/s.
480 x 576 pixels
25 frames/second
with up to 4 Subtitles

Audio:
from 32 - 384 kbit/sec MPEG-1 Layer2
with up to 2 Audio Tracks

Extra :
Menus and chapters.
Still pictures 704x576,352x288

NTSC / NTSCFilm

Video:
max 2524 kbit/sec MPEG-2 (if the audio is in 224 kbit/s), audio + video bitrate max bitrate is 2748 kbit/s.
480 x 480 pixels
29,97 frames/second
23,976 frames/second (NTSC Film)
with up to 4 Subtitles

Audio:
from 32 - 384 kbit/sec MPEG-1 Layer2
with up to 2 Audio Tracks

Extra :
Menus and chapters.
Still pictures 704x480,352x240

newbiez wrote on 8/26/2002, 5:17 PM

HeeHee,

Thanks for a quick response. The info is very helpful. As you can see, I'm a newbie in this video stuff. So as you indicated, one can render SVCD straight out from Vegas Video. I noticed a render option that's said "...MPEG-2". From Vegas Video user's manual, it said this MPEG-2 is DVD format. So only change the aspect ration to 480x480 would create a standard SVCD format?
I'm sorry for repeating your answer, but I'd like to be sure. My system is old and very slow, so one wrong render is a big waste of time.

Thanks again.

newbiez

newbiez wrote on 8/26/2002, 11:19 PM

I saw the SVCD render option. Unfortunately, there was error during render process. Right after I hit save, there was a pop-up error message that said "..Unknown error..." or something similar.
I then used HeeHee suggestion to use just MPEG-2 render option and changed aspect ration to 480x480. This render fine, but when I used Nero burner to burn SVCD, the application said my file is not in SVCD format.

Any idea, anyone?

Thanks

JumboTech wrote on 8/27/2002, 6:50 AM

You should be able to render under Mainconcept MPEG 2 and the SVCD NTSC template and then burn with Nero. I've done it so i know it works. Long term though, get a DVD burner!

Al

newbiez wrote on 8/27/2002, 2:04 PM

Thanks very much JumboTech.
I tried it, it worked if I left pretty much all setting in default, except the video bit rate. I had to change it a little bit smaller. Nero, however, did not like the final mpg. It said the format is in incorrect format. I had to use VCDImager to burn it.

Thanks

HeeHee wrote on 8/27/2002, 2:17 PM

I do not use Nero, so I am not familiar with it. However, there is usually a way to find out what bitrate it wants. This is usually the culprit. Find out what Nero wants as a bitrate and any other settings, and adjust those settings in Vegas. Vegas should be able to spit out anything you tell it to. If you aren't using VV3.0C, download it now and update. Revision C has many fixes over version A. This may fix the problem you were having earlier.

BillyBoy wrote on 8/27/2002, 10:12 PM

This is just from memory, so take it with a tablespoon of salt...

Nero (depending on version) has an option to allow making non standard VCD's. If haven't used it in a while, so don't know just where, but it should be there. The problem could be it will burn, but still not play on every DVD player.

A quick tip...

Even if you don't like it, download a copy of Ulead's DVD Movie Factory. They have the usual 30 day trial and the application is fully functional. You can burn DVD's, VCD's, and SVCD's with it very easily. Even if your don't make thumnails.

1. open DVD Movie Factory select VCD or SVCD.
2. click the Author button, then the next button,
3. click the add MPEG button, select the rendered file you made in Vegas.

If the file is NTSC/PAL MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 compliant it will take it, then you at least know you have a compliant file type. You can continue on to burn from within DVD Movie Factory or exit and burn with Nero. If it don't accept the file, you've only wasted a few seconds and not wasted burning a CD either. Don't be confused by the bloated file size it reports, that's not the space that gets taken up on the CD, that is reported at the left.

So you may be asking why use DVD Movie Factory over Vegas, or TMPGNC? To finish up.
Because it can add a powerful menu system similar to DVD Chapters to your VCD's and SVCD's and you can add multiple videos limited only by the space you have on your blank VCD. Something you can't do with Vegas...yet.

newbiez wrote on 8/28/2002, 3:04 PM

Thanks all very much for replying to my post. All was helpful.
I eventually rendered the project to SVCD. The quality is not that good though. I had to change the video bit rate to something smaller than 2000Kbps. This result in the video that is not so good.
If video rate set higher than 2000Kbps (with 192Kpbs audio), pictures will looked a bit blocky and the audio would be filled with statics. The CD play fine on PC though. My DVD player is not a bad one too (Malata M996); it actually can play SVCD with video bitrate of 2520Kbps.

Other method that I found could make SVCD is to render the project to NTSC DV widescreen; then used TMPGEnc to convert the avi to SVCD mpeg format.
Only problem I find with this is the avi file is in DVSD format. I can't extract the audio file with known utility prior to making SVCD with TMPGEnc.

Any idea?

Pardon my English. I know it might be hard for some to grab what I meant sometimes.

Thanks