Which program to use for mpeg2 playback

[pjmelvin]

hi,

I am having problems with my encoding to mp4, specifically audio delay

I am using DGIndex/MeGUI and have tried audio offset whilst encoding, which works but is hard to get exactly right. I have also tried the avisynth trim keyword which also works but i am guessing at how many frames to get rid of.

I have noticed in dgindex that the audio does start at a specific frame but have found it impossible to tell exactly when.

Is there a tool out there that i can step through a mpeg frame by frame and will tell me when the audio is starting, or even just a tool that will show me some change, so that i can change the avs file manually because dginds is getting the offset completely wrong.

It is very frustrating because some dvds work fine and others have a huge offset of up to 8secs

Cheers

paul

[neuron2]

It is very frustrating because some dvds work fine and others have a huge offset of up to 8secs I'm seeing this more often. Try starting your project a few GOPs in from the start and see if the reported delay is more reasonable.

[r0lZ]

This problem is often caused by the protected cells added at the beginning of the PGC by ARccOS or RipGuard.

You can remove those cells from the IFOs with PgcEdit, and then remove the bad cells from the VOBs with FixVTS.

[pjmelvin]

Thanks for all the info, could i ask for a pointer to something on these topics as i am not really experienced with dvd structure and items.

I have used ifoedit and pgcedit in my time to remove warnings etc but are there tutorials on the subjects you have said.

And what is the best program to step through mpeg frame by frame so that i can see what is happening

thanks again

[r0lZ]

In PgcEdit, just locate your main movie PGC, and double-click on its label (in the left pane.) In the Pgc Editor, locate the tiny cells without content at the beginning of the PGC. Ue the preview to be sure they are black cells. Then, click on the Remove Cells button. When done, save the DVD.
Then launch FixVTS from the Tools menu of PgcEdit. Process the current domain. That's all.

Sorry, I don't know tools to step through VOBs.

[pjmelvin]

thanks again r0lz will try that, i am a big fan of pgcedit, have been using it on and off since v0.5.6

neuron2 suggested that it might also be due to the protection, might my ripping have done something screwy?

i know i am not in the ripping forum but what is the best/cleanest ripper, i used to used dvd decrpyter but with all the new security stuff it normally doesn't work

i would hate to think that my ripping caused all these problems, if possible i will try and rip one of these again and sees what happen

cheers

[blutach]

If you are going to re-encode, best to do a movie only rip (this usually will strip the blank protected cells off which seem to cause DGIndex some trouble).

Regards

[r0lZ]

Have a look at the cells in the PGC. If there are tiny black cells at the beginning or at the end of the main movie, it's probably a protected DVD. Otherwise, the problem is elsewhere.

[neuron2]

You can often skip the black cells in DGIndex by stepping in a few GOPs to start your project. Better to rip it without them but this may be enough for you.