VV DV AVI to Ulead MovieFactory SVCD: Calling the Big Brains

p_l wrote on 3/7/2002, 2:09 AM
A fellow VV newbie is trying to make an SVCD in Ulead Movie Factory from an NTSC DV AVI render in VV, but it's just giving him audio and botched video (see the VideoWave forum Ulead DVD MovieFactory thread at mgisoft.com for details, please), and I'm trying to help out but I think we may need advice from the big brains here. Here are my step by step musings to him, but any expert input would be appreciated:

My guess is that VV/VF is not the problem, since you can open the NTSC DV "master" you made with it in Media Player and you say it also opens in MF, but then MF doesn't encode it right, correct? So let's look at MF.

1. When you open your file in MF, do you open it in Capture Video or Author Menus? I first clicked on Capture Video, then clicked on the File icon at the bottom left, and selected All Formats from the Files of Type drop-down, and opened my VV master. I double-clicked on the thumbnail in the bottom strip and it appeared in the preview. Then I clicked on Make Movie and selected the new Corrected SVCD template I've previously described how to create. Then I wait while it encodes (it can take a while). Then I close MF and check the new file in Media Player. If your SVCD template has the standard 480x480 resolution, it plays square and horizontally squeezed in MP, unless I watch full screen.

2. Next, I reopen MF and this time I choose Author Menus, click on ADD MPEG and open my new (X)SVCD file, add chapters, background pictures and music, and then proceed to burn at 4x (no simulation first). In Advanced SVCD options, I chose the Legacy setting, which I think is what ANDREMIKE was asking about.

Excellent results! Both on my computer (WinDVD) and on my stand-alone DVD player, RCA RC5240P, a ubiquitous, run-of-the-mill machine I picked up at Walmart for cheap, but to which vcdhelp.com's compatibility list give high marks. I guess I just got lucky.

Other thoughts:
- You mentioned you had difficulty installing MF. Maybe a bad install? Try reinstalling?
- I consider SVCD and especially XSVCD a kind of specialty "personal use" format, since not all computers or stand-alone players play them. For distibuting, good old-fashioned VCD is a lot more compatible with other people's computers and stand-alones. Most of what I burn is VCD, therefore, like for family and friends.
- Was I lucky, or were you just unlucky? I don't know, so it would be great to hear from other people about their success with this method (1. Capture and edit in Video Factory / Vegas Video, and render to an NTSC DV AVI "master." 2. Open that in Ulead DVD MovieFactory, make movie [VCD/SVCD], author and burn.)

Comments

Lody wrote on 3/7/2002, 9:14 AM
Salut PL,

I think you are doing this for VinceG right? :)

I have used MV for a while and had intitial problems creating SVCDs and DVDs because the PAL templates were based on NTSC. Could overcome that by creating new templates like you said.

After experimenting with various products I had some problems that various editing application were in each others ways, especially on the codecs. So I deinstalled everything and installed only the applications I needed and noticed that if I installed VW and Ulead in the wrong order, I had simular problems. Maybe worth a short experiment.

I understand that VinceG has VV now. Have you tried the SVCD template there? I am very happy with the DVD results (had to change the template though), haven't tested it for SVCD.
p_l wrote on 3/7/2002, 1:23 PM
Yes, it's for Vince, since he's helped so many people himself. On the other hand, if his method works fine for him, encoding in VV, that's fine too. I hadn't noticed VV had an SVCD template. I truly still have a lot to learn. The reason I prefer to encode in MF is that you can play around with the bitrates and improve the quality by making XSVCDs, and I also like having that VV "master" for future uses, like making clips for email and web posting, or whatever. But you can modify bitrates when you encode in VV (VCD/SVCD), right? Lody, when you talk about making your own templates in MF, that's just to make them PAL, right? Other than their SVCD template we've corrected, their other NTSC templates are OK, aren't they?
lvildosola wrote on 3/7/2002, 8:25 PM
Send me an e-mail (lvildosola@htcal.com) and I will send you my custom templates for rendering to DV AVI using VV3 and for rendering to XSVCD (MPEG2) using TMPGEnc. I have ran lots of tests and I think I managed to get pretty descent results.

My particular process is record using Canon GL-1 (NTSC - 4:3/16:9), capture/edit using VV3, render as DV AVI (NTSC - 4:3/16:9 - do not letterbox) using VV3, render to XSVCD using TMPGEnc (letterbox and/or perform any noise reduction or clean-up here, if required), author and burn to CD using DVD MovieFactory/DVD Workshop/Nero, play back on Electrohome EH-8181A.

If this fits your bill I don't mind sharing the templates. I would post them but I don't think I can add attachments.
p_l wrote on 3/8/2002, 12:25 AM
Thanks for the kind offer. For the time being, I've cut TMPGEnc out of my process. Not that it doesn't do a good job on video, but I found the audio a bit scratchy and tinny, even with the TOOLame plugin, whereas MovieFactory's audio gives me a smoother, clearer result, and it's one fewer steps. The XSVCDs I made by modifying bitrates in newly created MF templates now give me a result I'm quite pleased with. Unless newer versions of TMPGEnc (past three months or so) have improved its audio?

BTW, if you're interested in TMPGEnc templates, there are some available in the Tools section of vcdhelp.com.