After several tries ...

[maltre]

Hi,

after several attempts, I'm searching for help.
I've been occasionally busy with capturing now for the past months, and haven't been able to get a good result ... this is really starting to annoy me, so here we go - hoping anybody will be so kind to hold my hand and do this step by step :)


I captured from my VCR:

Frames: 130923
Total time: 1:27:17
Total file size: 42.34 GB
Video: 41.40GB
avr rate: 24.99694
Datarate: 8290kb/sec
Captured at 640*480

Audio
size: 959.3MB
Datarate: 188KB/s
PCM 48,000kHz;16 Bit; Stereo 187kB/sec

I used VirtualDub, it dropped +- 24 frames.

What I want:
Now I want this to be placed on one or two cd-r's, I don't care in what format, but these are "available":

Divx 4 Fast/Low Motion (don't know the difference :( )
Xvid MPEG 4
TMPGEnc - 2.56.39.143 - Plus

I have tried Divx 5, but the result was horrible.

I want a good video file, with good sound THAT'S PLAYABLE FULLSCREEN ON MY TV. I've noticed the wonderfull results with SVCD's (480*360, right ?) So that's the framesize I want to work with (480*360).

Since SVCD/MPG only handles 48min/disc ...

So if anybody has some time, please help me out to create this file. I'm sure, once I had one succesfull file, I'll be able to do it by myself ... but now I'm just really tired and want to see some results :(

What went wrong before ?
- very bad quality of image. This is really important for me, I'm capturing because I want a backup of my old videotapes, so when I play the disc and view it on my TV, I want to have "perfect" quality = as good as the videotape. I don't want to see a difference.
- 2 pass with Divx5 didn't work, VirtualDub placed it in the "job window" but when I asked to do the job, it just stood there and freezed.

- Bitrate. KB/sec.
I thought you calculated like this:
640*480*25(frames)*5520(length of movie in seconds)
But that doesn't work ?!

- The audio ! I don't know why, but with the MPEG3 Layer, the maximum I can select is 56kBit/s, 24,000Hz, Stereo 6 kB/sec :confused:


Thank you very much first of all for reading this :)
Like I said, hope anybody can help me.
If you need further information, please post or mail me !



Greetz,

maltre

[Ookami]

Uiuiui...

First, I would suggest you to take your time and read/follow the guides from Doom9 ! http://www.doom9.org/guides.htm

Read some FAQ's etc.

For startes, what do you exactly want? How many min. per CD? It's always a compromise! Will you go for a sparely (compared to SVCD/VCD) supported format like MPEG4 (or MS MPEG4 etc.) and cram more min. per CD?

As you're a newbie, I would suggest you to:

a) read Doom9's FAQ's about resolution/bitrate/codecs etc.
b) read the capture FAQ and follow BaronVlad's new guide
c) make some test CDs (for example 1 SVCD and 1 DivX 5.0.3. form the SAME material), use 1-2-3 tools like DVD2SVCD (or even TMPGEnc as you just have to load the AVI in it and tweak it a bit) and GordianKnot for the encoding

-MP3 bitrate

That's normal you just don't have installed the "correct" MP3 version :) . You can install LAME's filter or install Divx 3.11 ;-) and this will install the Radium MP3 where you can choose up to 356 (?), but Radium is illegal in many/most countries!

Hope this written in a hurry will help you.

Cheers,

Mijo.

[jggimi]

Your trouble with DivX, perhaps, was not using one of Doom9's many guides, and then, perhaps, not asking questions in the appropriate forum or Newbie forum when questions or problems arose. Video encoding is complex, and using well understood and tested processes at the start usually raises the odds of success, and, when problems occur, allows this community to help.

SVCD is typically for use with set-top DVD players, while DivX is typically for use with PCs, either with PC monitors or with TV-out video cards. The general consensus is that DivX, being more flexible with resolution and bitrate, can produce higher quality results. That said, the convenience of set-top players makes SVCD just as popular.

Not all set top players support SVCD, and of those that do, not all support SVCD from CD-R or CD-RW. If you plan to go with SVCD, look up your DVD player's capabilities at www.vcdhelp.com/dvdplayers first. Oh, and the fixed resolution is 480x576 PAL, 480x480 NTSC, with a Display Aspect Ratio of 4:3.

If your 42 GB of video is in segmented AVI files, rather than a single file, you will probably have to use an AviSynth script (.avs file) with any encoding suite you choose to use from the guides. For example, if you have a set of files starting with capture.00.avi, the script will need to be a one-line .avs file, containing the line:

SegmentedAviFile("capture.avi")

AviSynth is included with many encoding suites, such as Gordian Knot (DivX) and DVD2SVCD (VCD/SVCD).

----

Please use a better subject line next time, as "After several tries" doesn't describe your question. Also, since you have a successful capture, your question is about post-capture encoding, which doesn't belong in the Capture forum. I'm taking the liberty of moving your question to the Newbie forum, as your question is not about capturing, nor is it specific to any particular process, but instead, you're looking for general guidance and are new to encoding.

I'd also like to refer you to our forum rules (http://forum.doom9.org/forum-rules.htm), as you seem to have missed them during the registration process.

[EDIT: Ookami jumped in ahead of me, he's the faster typist...]

[maltre]

First of all, thank you both for your replies.
Indeed, come to think of it, this wasn't the appropriate forum to post in.

My apologies.
The MP3-codec seems fixed, I got the right version so that problem is solved.
I'm going for as much quality on my discs as possible. Of course, you can keep it in 640*480 and use 55 discs, but that would be a little bit ... euhm ... you know.
Won't play it on a standalone either, I connect my pc with my tv using a simple S-VHS cable

I've noticed now the new structure in the guides of Doom9 (I've read them a lot before, but they seem updated (been a while since I visited that - I read them and thought I knew them by know)

So again: Sorry !!
I'll all over again with those guides, try some more and will reply here with more specific problems (I hope I'll never have to post here again :))


So ... this seems like a failed first impression on you guys ... :(

[Ookami]

Originally posted by maltre
So ... this seems like a failed first impression on you guys ... :(

Well, no one will skin you alive :) . But, it would be nice that you first read and test and then post in the future :) .

All the best,

Mijo.

[jggimi]

Trust me, you did not give a bad first impression. 1) You managed to figure out how to do a capture, and got it done! Be very proud ... I couldn't do that without help. 2) You described where you were, how you got there, and 3) you asked for guidance in getting to where you wanted to end up.

And just a thought... 640*576, if you can do it, might be better for PAL capture than 640x480.