Well I have tried 2 forms of media that were reccommended from VCDhelp.com. Neither one work. I am able to play them on my PC butI want them to work on my DVD player. The quality is pretty nice..

I figured out how to get rid of the black bars in the photos. I also figured out why ULEAD wanted to create a SVCD.


So now if I can just get a VCD to work. I wonder if I would have any luck just burning with VF?? Maybe my DVD players do not like the menu's and such...

"I wonder if I would have any luck just burning with VF??"

The answer is yes. I had some trouble at first, but with the help of these forums, I got it to work. The one thing I don't have with VF or VV is the menus. I will get to that at some point. Right now I just want to get good quality VCD's (and now I do).

I e-mailed Vince with some questions, and I could not believe he was getting good quality VCD's. I thought he was using VW5 (he has VW4). Well, I was using VW5, and you know what the problem with that is? Yes you do, that product is crap. I had the best luck with VF. Vince and pl have advice on how to get the menus.

Uncheck those boxes and try again. Let VF render an MPEG1, and burn to disk.

BTW, I bought a 10 pack of CD-RW's and one of them just would not work. Maybe just try another disk.

Jon

ANDREMIKE-
Convert your file to MPEG-1 in VF then author and burn it from Ulead's MF. I don't think it's the MF menus that's giving you the problem. To test that theory, you could convert your MPEG-1 file in MF WITHOUT a menu and see if your DVD player will play it.

I GOT IT TO WORK!!! well only on one of my players. I got rid of the menu's and I put the CD in my DVD player and at first I didn't think it was going to work because it was taking awhile but then it worked!!! I had to use a CD-RW. THE QUALITY IS AWESOME!!! AND I HAD NO AUDIO VISUAL SyNC PROBLEMS!!!

I know I can burn directly from VF but if I produce in MPEG1 and save that file to my hard drive can VF then take that file and burn it to VCD? I was probably doing something wrong but VF wanted to produce my storyline again. Is there just a burn option?

<< if I produce in MPEG1 and save that file to my hard drive can VF then take that file and burn it to VCD? >>

Yeah, the quality is awesome, isn't it??? Anyway, VF does have a burn only option. Just do this:

1. Make Movie
2. Write your movie to Video CD or CD-ROM
3. Create a Video CD
4. Check "Use an existing file"
5. Press "Browse" to find the MPEG you want to use
6. Select your drive, write speed and write mode and press next

Have fun!!!

Qualiy was awesom!! I will try burning tonight with VF. Too bad I couldn't get the menu's to work in DVD Movie Factory. Does anyone think NERO might be any different?


I just wish we can get everyone in the MGI/VW forum to switch!! I actually find VF easier to use then VW. The VCD quality was much better then one of the movies I burned with VW.

I'm glad you got it to work.

ANDREMIKE-
You can use Nero to make a basic menu, but Nero does not have chapter support. In other words, you can add multiple MPEG files and title them, but you can't take a single MPEG file and divide it up into chapters like you can with DVD MF.

Something else you might find interesting. I created a menu with Nero and my old DVD player would not play it. I took the same MPEG file and authored a menu with DVD MF and my lousy old problematic DVD player played it with no problems at all. That's what made me think the DVD MF's menus were more reliable than Nero.

Good luck!

Bad news!!! I can't get my VCD's to work again!!! I am now burning VCD's with VF and none of the VCD's are working. I got it to work before because I was using Ulead DVD movie Factory. But now my trial period is over with. Does anyone have any ideas....

The good news is you did get it to work at one point. Keep at it!

A couple of small tips:
-Different stand-alone players have different compatibilities, so check to see what yours can play. I got lucky with my run-of-the-mill RCA from Walmart; it plays just about everything I throw at it. See it here and also check yours out at: http://www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=682&Search=Search&list=0#comments
-Ulead DVD MF is well-worth the $45. You can get something more sophisticated, but for the price, it's great tool.

ANDREMIKE-
I need more information from you before I can truly help. Are you trying to burn the same MPEG files you burned earlier with MF or are you trying to convert new MPEG files with VF and then burn those?

A. If you're trying to convert new files in VF, I would suggest walking you through all the steps to make sure you are converting correctly.

B. If you are using the same files that worked earlier in MF and now you are just trying to burn them using VF, then something is not right. Bottom line is, a burner is a burner is a burner. If MF burns an MPEG file successfully and it plays on your DVD player, then VF's burner should produce the same results. It's the encoding that causes problems.

When you convert your files to MPEG in VF, make sure you use "VCD NTSC" template for MPEG-1. The width and height should be 352x240. The constant bitrate should be 1,150,000 or you can bump it up to 1,151,929 like I do. The "Video Type" should be "VCD" not "MPEG-1."

Good luck!

I think I jumped the gun... I put the cd in my player a couple of more times and it worked. I think burning at 2X helps to. Is there a way to erase a CD-RW in VF? What does bumping up the bitrate do? What do you think about XVCD's? Appearently my player can play those because I tried. However the quality actually looks worse.

Bumping up the bitrate puts more information on the file, slows down the rendering process a bit and gives you a better picture. The best analogy I can give is like the "dpi" - "dots per inch" on a still picture. The higher the dpi, the better the picture will look.

A VCD is restricted to how high the bitrate can be set. A bitrate set too high will not play on a VCD. You won't be able to go too high with the bitrate in VF as the folks at Sonic Foundry have maxed the bitrate out at a little over 1,150,000 for VCDs which is PERFECT! This will ensure that you don't set it too high. The normal bitrate for a VCD is usually 1,150,000.

Can't comment on XVCDs cause I don't do them.

1,500,000 or 1,150,000 Which number is it?

My bad-
The number is 1,150,000. I just changed it in my previous post too.

ANDREMIKE, hay...

You have asked a couple of times about XVCD's. I don't know anything about them, but are you looking for better quality with them? The DVD compatability does not look that good for a XVCD, I think an SVCD would be my choice. Unless you are trying to put more space on a CD.

Right now I'm happy with making VCD's with VF, VV. I know now, that I can get about the same quality as the original source. Sometime soon I will try to do a SVCD with menus. Although, while I was trying to make anything to play on my DVD I have learned a couple of things:

1. MGI (VW 4 or 5) in my eyes is junk! The quality of a VCD made with VF is much better quality than VW. I have done the test myself with the same file. (But we all know that - about VW)

2. CD-R's do not work for me, I need CD-RW disks.

3. Not all CD-RW are not the same (at least not for me). Sony CD-RW650 seem to work better than other disks.

4. Some disks that I burn to do not work...Try a different disk before you think it is something you did.

That's just my deal, page back up to p_l's post...and get back to the basics and check his link.

Good Luck. :)