Making VCDs with DVD2SVCD

[rockmusicbear]

Greetings, distinguished users! Perhaps an absurd question, but one I need to ask.

Is there an easy FAQ anywhere which details which settings in the DVD2SVCD suite need to be changed to get a standard VCD compliant output?

I know, I know. "Why would anyone want to do this?". Well some of my friends who asked me to make backup copies for them have players which only support the VCD format. So those are the parameters in which I have to work.

Thanks!

[GregS]

Check out this thread http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16404

It's info on tricking players into thinking an svcd is a vcd .

[smiller667]

No need to do funny things if all you want is a plain VCD :) - just load the appropriate settings for VCD creation.use "Load Settings" in the misc. tab, the ini files is located in dvd2svcds program folder)(from the dvd2svcd readme.txt)
A lot of people seem to prefer tmpgenc as an encoder when doing VCD, btw ... perhaps try what you like better.

[rockmusicbear]

Thanks for the feedback on this, the "tricking the player" option would have been my next question. We're just in the testing phase right now and I didn't have specifics on the SVCD with the VCD header style cheat that this references. I'll give it a test and see how it fares. Thanks!

Originally posted by GregS
Check out this thread http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16404

It's info on tricking players into thinking an svcd is a vcd .

[rockmusicbear]

Very kind of the senior members to lend a hand! Y'see, I figured there was something like a template to use but perhaps I was looking too hard.

I've toyed with TMPGenc and VCDEasy and have had some success at scaling down SVCD (and those blasted MachHQ files) to a standard VCD so perhaps all is not lost. When I was testing SVCD with both CCE and TMPGenc I liked CCE better, but I'll keep your tip in mind for the basic VCD conversion.

I'll check out the referenced file for the appropriate settings. Thanks!

Originally posted by smiller667
No need to do funny things if all you want is a plain VCD :) - just load the appropriate settings for VCD creation.(from the dvd2svcd readme.txt)
A lot of people seem to prefer tmpgenc as an encoder when doing VCD, btw ... perhaps try what you like better.

[GregS]

Maybe I'm wrong , but wouldn't the quality be better
running a svcd in vcd mode ?

[smiller667]

Yes, it would be definitely better ... due to higher resolution & bitrate. If the player accepts it, it is definitely the way to go if you want decent quality. If for some reason you really have to (or want to) stick to the standards, then you're limited to plain VCD with all its limitations.

[rockmusicbear]

Any suggestions on how to do this and retain the chapter marks? When I took the muxed mpg file into TMPGEnc and faked the VCD format, VCD Easy didn't have the information to burn the chapter marks to the faux VCD.

Originally posted by GregS
Check out this thread http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16404

It's info on tricking players into thinking an svcd is a vcd .

[smiller667]

The chapter marks are not in your mpeg (no matter whether it is a faked VCD stream or not). That information is contained in the XML file created by dvd2svcd ... or you can do it manually in vcdeasy or tscv.
So: take your XML file, just replace the original mpeg2 file with your faked one, and then use vcdeasy to create your image file, burn it etc. It should work ... good luck (better try a cd-rw first :)).

[rockmusicbear]

Greets.. thanks for the input per the XML file. In the most innocent of terms, "I always wondered what that thing did". :-)

I'm really not finding where to plug that XML script into VCDEasy however. I've poked and prodded and it's not leaping out at me. Would you be so kind as to point it out?

Your kindness is appreciated.

Originally posted by smiller667
The chapter marks are not in your mpeg (no matter whether it is a faked VCD stream or not). That information is contained in the XML file created by dvd2svcd ... or you can do it manually in vcdeasy or tscv.
So: take your XML file, just replace the original mpeg2 file with your faked one, and then use vcdeasy to create your image file, burn it etc. It should work ... good luck (better try a cd-rw first :)).

[smiller667]

Sorry for the late reply ... use "Tools" -> "(S)VCD Build/Rip" and feed the XML file into VCDEasy.

[rockmusicbear]

In regards to DVD-2-VCD:

Originally posted by smiller667
No need to do funny things if all you want is a plain VCD :) - just load the appropriate settings for VCD creation.(from the dvd2svcd readme.txt)
A lot of people seem to prefer tmpgenc as an encoder when doing VCD, btw ... perhaps try what you like better.

I notice when I use the VCD-Settings.ini, it defaults to only use VCDImager which does not offer any chapter markings options.

So I guess my only work-around is to use VCDXBuild which is the default SVCD setting and does have chapter marking options, then specify the MPEG1 output manually? (And of course, create and save my own ini to retain the customized settings)

Perhaps I could also do this via I-Author but to tell you the truth I haven't noodled with that one very much.