AVI>DVD - Audio track is ahead of the video

[whftherb]

Have 3 .AVIs that I want to convert to DVD. One {fileA} I used "WinAVI Video Converter" and burned the results to DVD and found the video quality fine but the audio 6-8 seconds ahead throughout the movie. I tried another program "DVDSanta" on {fileB} with same result. Note that both files {A/B} exhibit the same audio-ahead-of-video when played via WMP 10 so I figure this has to do with the basic composition of the indiv AVIs. {FileC} when played in WMP 10 shows the same audio-ahead symptom, yet, with DVDSanta (real easy to use) it converts and plays/sounds perfectly in my DVD player! All three are burned with Nero 6.0. I'm a bit surprised that the audio leads the video by such a wide margin; I would have thought if I was to have a problem it'd be the other way 'round...

So I guess my questions are: (1) Am I using the correct conversion software for this task? (2) Do I need to run the converted results through some other software to "delay" the audio track(s)? (3) Because these are not synchronized when played on the computer, is this whole process doomed? (4) What do the experts here use when this problem occurs?

[killingspree]

hi and welcome to the forum,

once again, i have to say that my opinion of both winavi and dvdsanta is rather low. so i won't go into specifics about why they might not do the job properly, etc...

anyway, i'd strongly recommend you to take a look at the DVD2SVCD suit which allows you to also do AVI 2 DVD conversions, but the proper way. while it might take a little more time to get a hold of the process you will most likely be very pleased with the quality of the outcome, especially compared to those abovementioned programs.

furthermore i have to mention that, no matter what programm you use it is always best to start from the original DVD and not the ripped avi file. the quality will surely suffer tremendously!

kr
steVe

[whftherb]

Thank you SteVe. That's probably the best advice you could give. See, as a complete noob, with no guidance, you sort of have to half-stab at this and guess what might be the best prog, the best procedure, the best sequence to follow. There's so much more to this than most people realize. I think we'd agree - it's absolutely not at all like getting music burned to a CD you can enjoy, which is perhaps what a lot of first timers think. You've set me on the right path, I'll go land a copy of your suggested software and move on from there.

And, if you and the folks don't mind, I'll drop in here and "reply" with any results, good or bad.

Thanks again and I'm off...

[killingspree]

hi again,
thanks for your kind feedback. what i forgot earlier, was the guide that fits to the software, it will most likely help you a lot to get through the process. http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2svcd-avi.htm

still if you encounter any problems, feel free to 'reply' :)

kr
steVe

[Bogalvator]

My two pence worth:-

Check out and install AviSynth: www.avisynth.org

An AVS script that looks like:

AVISource("{fileA}.avi")
ensureVBRmp3sync()
SSRC(48000,fast=false)

Should be just the ticket, then feed this into you DVD encoder of choice as you would your original AVI file (once you've familiarised yourself a bit with AviSynth, the above should become clear)

[whftherb]

OK, here's where I am on this project. Acquired and installed DVD2SVCD along with CCE and AviSynth. DVD2SVCD apparently automatically sees and hooks into both and calls them when needed. Now, the DVD2SVCD guide at http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/dvd2svcd-avi.htm states that, "In case of DVD output, you'll have a discimage.dvd file (being roughtly 4.37 GB large) instead of the .cue/.bin files."

Well, what I wound up with after leaving it alone for 26 hours of processing with DVD2SVCD and CCE and AViSynth was two large .mpv files called, "Pulldown_Encoded_Video_NTSC.mpv" and "Encoded_Video_NTSC.mpv" but -no- "discimage.dvd" file! The guide is silent about .mpv fies and what you must do with these. DVD2SVCD also created, "Encoded_audio_1.mp2.wav". I also searched both hds to ensure the promised .dvd file hadn't gotten tossed somewhere else.

VirtualDub found "No video frames in MPEG file" in either of the two .mpvs althrough the things are huge.

I suppose this means that conversion wasn't completed successfully? Everything terminated normally as far as I could tell from what was on the screen.

What are my possible causes for this failure? Thought I was following the guide pretty carefully. BTW, DVD2SVCD created DVD2SVCD log.txt which contains no errors that I can tell.

Knowing that DVD2SVCD is primarily targetted at converting to SVCD formats, am I using the wrong utility? Should I be looking at other worthy software out there for this? A the same time, I want to try to adhere to "Killingspree"s advice which seems to lead me away from the "all-in-one" package approach.

So, what would be my next move since I don't have an image to record to DVD?

[killingspree]

pls :logfile:

in addition, pls give us some system information. especially on file system, OS, etc

furthermore a list of all files dvd2svcd created (in the folder you specified - it doesn't write to any other directories) would help

kr
steVe

[whftherb]

OK, here's a summary of my setup.

PC - P-III 850 Mhz (Coppermine).
Chipset - VIA Tech
512 Meg RAM
Disk 0 - 10 Meg, Disk 1 - 80 Meg (abt 1/2 full)
AGP - On Mobo
Sound - On Mobo
OS - XP Pro SP1

Picture of the target folder is here:

http://img42.exs.cx/img42/5570/dvd2svcdfolderlist2qo.jpg

Again, according to the guide I should be looking for discimage.dvd and I don't see it here. Before going through another day plus of en/de-coding, I'd like to know if I'm heading in the correct direction.

Thanks, steVe (and all those folks who help out here....)

[killingspree]

hi again,
yes you are heading in the right direction. basically you have all the files you need, just the end result is somehow missing (plus some irritating facts about those file sizes). unfortunately you have forgotten to post your logfile (dvd2svcd_log.txt) and without it it is really hard to make any kind of diagnosis (unless you want me to shoot in the dark ;))

steVe

[whftherb]

OK, one log file, coming right up...

WNASPI32.DLL 4.71.1.0
--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/29/2004 11:09:52 AM
- AVI to SVCD Conversion
- AVI2DVD ver. 1.2.1 build 3
--------------------------------------------------------
Initializing
- D:\My Movies\Presentations\Nov1704.avi
Initializing finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/29/2004 11:09:55 AM
- Free on drive D: 40501.06 mb
- AUDIO Extraction
--------------------------------------------------------
Audio extraction finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/29/2004 11:10:46 AM
- Free on drive D: 40479.50 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/29/2004 11:10:47 AM
- Free on drive D: 40479.50 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------

Converting MP2 to WAV. Filename: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Executing MADPlay (mp2 to wav). Commandline:
"D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\MADPlay\madplay.exe" --quiet --output=wave:"D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mp2.wav" "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa"
Conversion (mp2 to wav) of D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa finished.


Encoding Audio. Filename: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Executing BeSweet. Commandline:
"D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mp2.wav" -output "D:\PROGRA~1\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.mp2" -logfile "D:\PROGRA~1\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_audio_1.log" ) -ota( -g max ) -shibatch( --rate 48000 ) -2lame( -e -b 192 -m s )
Audio conversion of D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa finished.

Audio conversion finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/29/2004 11:16:09 AM
- Free on drive D: 40134.56 mb
- Video Encoding using Cinema Craft
--------------------------------------------------------
Cannot find registry entries for CCE, running CCE once....
Closing program

Executing Cinema Craft Encoder.
StreamSectors: 834285788
AudioSectors: 91811944
VideoPAPO: 11501316
ScanOffsetBytes: 135491
SeqAligningBytes: 8611174
DVDBytes: 0
VideoEndHeader: 4
SubtitleSectors: 0
EmptySectors: 238.00
PictureSectors: 0.00
PureMPEGStream: 722225859.50
Seconds: 3774.39
CalcMPEGStream: 722225859.50
Frames: 90327
CDSize: 800.00
Number of CDs: 1
Cut point 796.00
Variable Settings:
Frames: 90327
Anti Noise Filter: Off
Passes: 4
Image Quality: 17
VAF file creation: On
Video Encoding Mode: Multipass VBR
Min. bitrate: 300
Max. bitrate: 2530
Avg. Bitrate: 1530
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (No borders, encoded as 4:3)

---AVS Begin---
LoadPlugin("D:\PROGRA~1\DVD2SVCD\AVISYN~1\Mpeg2dec\mpeg2dec.dll")
AVISource("D:\MYMOVI~1\PRESENT~1\NOV1704~1.AVI",False)
ConvertToYUY2()
BicubicResize(720,480,0.0,0.6)
Import("D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\ResampleAudio.avs")
ResampleAudio(44100)
----AVS End----

Closing program
CCE Max Speed: 0.410
Video Encoding finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:30:55 AM
- Free on drive D: 37959.47 mb
- Video Pulldown
--------------------------------------------------------
Executing Pulldown. Commandline:
"D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\pulldown\pulldown.exe" "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Encoded_Video_CCE_NTSC.mpv" "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\Pulldown_Encoded_Video_NTSC.mpv"
Video pulldown finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:34:35 AM
- Free on drive D: 37271.44 mb
- Converting Pictures from ES to PS
--------------------------------------------------------
Saving bbMPEG settings: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\bbMPEG\default.ini
--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:34:39 AM
- Free on drive D: 37272.44 mb
- Converting Pictures from ES to PS
--------------------------------------------------------
Saving bbMPEG settings: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\bbMPEG\default.ini
--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:34:42 AM
- Free on drive D: 37272.44 mb
- Converting Pictures from ES to PS
--------------------------------------------------------
Saving bbMPEG settings: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\bbMPEG\default.ini
--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:34:46 AM
- Free on drive D: 37272.44 mb
- Multiplexing and cutting
--------------------------------------------------------
Saving bbMPEG settings: D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\bbMPEG\default.ini
Offset in Seconds: 2
Executing bbMPEG.
Variable Settings:
Cut point: 796 mb

Executing RunbbMPEG. Commandline:
"D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\bbMPEG\RunbbMPEG.exe" "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\bbMPEG_Muxed_File.mpg"
Multiplexing and cutting finished.

Image creation finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 12/30/2004 8:36:19 AM
- Free on drive D: 37271.03 mb
- Conversion done!
--------------------------------------------------------


Mote that it claims Image Creation Finished. Not having used this before, I assumed that the "image" would be "discimage.dvd" but as I looked at the target folder, no soap. I did do a master search of both drives for it and came up nil. Again, just looking through the log it looks like everything went through. Maybe you'll compare it to one of your sucessful logs there and be able to tell what did I miss. There were no errors reported on screen during the DVD2SVCD processing.

I think the whole idea you're trying to get to me to do, is to get this processed using as few good quality progs as possible without having to reprocess the audio track by using some sort of delaying tactic.

Thanks.

[killingspree]

ok ... your error obviously happened during the muxing step. this step should create a file that is several hundred megabytes large (at least)

but i think you made an even more significant mistake earlier in the process. are you sure you selected dvd output in the misc tab when configuring dvd2svcd ??

kr
steVe

[Nick]

It looks like things did not actually go to plan. A few things leap out from that logfile.

Firstly :
Executing Cinema Craft Encoder.
StreamSectors: 834285788
AudioSectors: 91811944
VideoPAPO: 11501316
ScanOffsetBytes: 135491
SeqAligningBytes: 8611174
DVDBytes: 0
VideoEndHeader: 4
SubtitleSectors: 0
EmptySectors: 238.00
PictureSectors: 0.00
PureMPEGStream: 722225859.50
Seconds: 3774.39
CalcMPEGStream: 722225859.50
Frames: 90327
CDSize: 800.00
Number of CDs: 1
Cut point 796.00
Variable Settings:
Frames: 90327
Anti Noise Filter: Off
Passes: 4
Image Quality: 17
VAF file creation: On
Video Encoding Mode: Multipass VBR
Min. bitrate: 300
Max. bitrate: 2530
Avg. Bitrate: 1530
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (No borders, encoded as 4:3)

The CD size of 800 and the min and max bitrate settings are set for SVCD and not DVD. When you selected DVD in the output section, it should have changed these and I'm not sure why it didn't. :confused:

Next up, bbMPEG was run. IIRC this is only run if you have "no images" selected in the image tab. Please select "DVD Author" in the DVD image tab.

I'm afraid, since the output files are SVCD-sized, the output quality will probably be rather poor. You would probably be best served by starting again.

One thing before you do, can you check your output folder for the file
D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\bbMPEG_Muxed_File.mpg
If this exists, play it and check it is in sync. If this is in sync at least we know that DVD2SVCD will get you an in-sync DVD!

As for the time taken, you might want to try D2SRoBa, which is bundled with the package.

Launch DVD2SVCD as normal, select AVI input and DVD output. Check the bitrate tab has a DVD disc size (4350 or 4464) and check that max bitrate is above 8000. Check that you have DVD Author checked in the DVD Image tab and then close DVD2SVCD. Launch D2SRoBa. The default settings should be fine (again, double check CD size) then click "Go".

When DVD2SVCD launches, load up your AVI and start the process. At the encoding stage D2SRoBa will hijack proceedings and do the encode much quicker than DVD2SVCD alone.

HTH
Nick

[whftherb]

OK, folks. Thanks for the tips.

I'm just going to go ahead and bite the bullet and re-do this one all over. I absolutely know I selected "DVD" for output because on the first try, I failed to do that and it stopped me so I went back and changed that setting and it was off and running.

Give me a day or so and I'll be back. Before wasting more of anyone's time, I think what I'll do is do a small .AVI to test my setup. Probably should have done that to begin with. Then I'll know that it can succeed and what to expect when the larger one is run.

There's really a lot to this. Thanks again.

[whftherb]

OK, after a brief absence (don't get the cold I had!) I've retraced my steps and adjusted some settings in DVD2SVCD. I retried the file - took the same 26 hours!

To Nick: yes I found the BitRate tab and adjusted per your suggestions. I did not however find the "DVD Image" tab. Nor did I find the file: "D:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\Movie\bbMPEG_Muxed_File.mpg" It's just not producing it nor "discimage.dvd".

So I can't go much further until I find out where the "DVD Image"tab is located. I'm on version 1.2.1 - is that the problem?

I also got a "fatal error - can we send a report to Microsoft" on completion of bbMPEG which I dismissed and it kept right on going.

There's a bunch of issues here. I really should try a short AVI file like I was going to.

Any further comments or hints appreciated folks!

[Nick]

Ah - with that old build you need Sonic Scenarist to create the image file.

I would get v1.2.2 as this has the bundled freeware authoring engine. Sadly the current build (3) also has some issues with AVI resizing for captures - it is set to correctly resize square pixel AVI's which most captures aren't. Perhaps for camera footage you may be better to try 1.2.2 Build 1

http://www.ciscolab.dk/dvd2svcd/D2S122B1.zip

seem to be hosting it but this is NOT an official link/mirror.

EDIT - DVD Image tab is called "CD Image" in older builds - select DVD Author in this tab and check the box to create an ISO image.