TMPG very confusing

[intelinside]

hi all hope you can help me with this...

i am converting an xvid avi to mpeg-2 video without doing framerate conversion. Virtualdub tells me that the avi is 25 fps. TMPG is configured for 25 fps mpeg-2 output. When transcoded the output is 25 fps yet it is several minutes longer - there are an extra 6000 frames. Why are there now more frames?

Sincerely

intelinside

[Abond]

I think there is a bug (?) when using audio and video together as System (audio+video) and the source is xvid file. One suggestion migth be to make only video with TMPG as ES (m2v). In fact the audio encoder of TMPG is not good. Then there are quite good free encoders and relatively easy to use. For example Besweet (GUI). You can use it to convert audio to mp2 file. When you have both files converted multiplex them with TMPG.
Good luck.
More about using TMPG to convert video you can read here (http://kvcd.net/forum/) . I think that you may find DIKO (there is a forun about) useful in your case.

[intelinside]

thanx for your reply...

in fact i am already just using TMPG to create elementary video. I use another program to adjust the audio to the appropriate length. My issue is this...

if i convert 25 fps xvid PAL avi to 25 fps mpeg-2 (without doing a framerate conversion) my mpeg-2 output plays several minutes longer than the source. Surely the playing time should be the same as TMPG should be (but isnt) keeping the same number of frames as the source?

if i convert 23 fps xvid avi to 25 fps mpeg-2 (without doing a framerate conversion) my mpeg-2 output plays several minutes longer than the source. Surely the playing time should be slightly shorter than the source as TMPG should be keeping the same number of frames but playing them faster?

im taking "do not do framerate conversion" to mean that TMPG will not add extra frames to account for frame rate differences but will simply play the existing frames at an adjusted speed.

P.S. im new to this so i might have got the wrong end of the stick completely

P.P.S. i love TMPG really

[Abond]

Hmm... weird, I really don't know. But there are some things you can try. When you open the file in VDub look how many frames it has. Then load the file in TMPG and click start. In the right top corner you will see how many frames TMPG intend to encode. Change the TMPG settings until both numbers match.
Hope it will help.

[intelinside]

thanx loads abond thats a really good idea. however ive only made progress rather found a solution. This is what i saw when i analysed the pal avi im trying to transcode...

-when i open virtual dub i have roughly 30000 frames

-when i open tmpg it wants to encode roughly 36000 frames

-if i go to a frame in virtualdub, say frame 18000 and then go to "source range" in tmpg and go to frame 18000 the two frames are different

-in tmpg in the source range popup it displays the correct resolution (544 x 448) but the wrong frame rate (it displays 30 fps)

-the duration of the mpeg-2 is exactly 20% more than that of the avi. this corresponds to 30 fps being exactly 20% more than 25 fps.

so it appears that tmpg is reading the avi wrong but what you suggest will not work because i cant communicate to tmpg i want it to take out the extra frames its put in.

Thanx loads for your help so far! If you or anyone else has any ideas just post them!

[Mtz]

Here is the way I solved that problem with TMPGenc only:
- load the avi

1. if you use any Wizard, go to source range > Next > Source range > Move to start frame > Set start frame (the beginning of the movie) > Move to end frame (previously it display at the End Frame the value (-1)) > Set end frame (and now, where previously displayed (-1) now it shows your total frames of the movie) > OK > Next.

2. if you don't use any Wizard: > Setting > Advanced > Source range > an make the same settings from 1.

[intelinside]

ok ive isolated the source of the problem...

i tried reinstalling tmpg and found that it recognised the correct frame rate of all avis without any problems.

however when i moved the directshow file reader up to a higher priority TMPG started thinking every avi was 30 fps

if i move the directshow filter back down i cant encode xvid avis anymore because it starts bombarding me with error messages

is there any way round this?


P.S. thanks for your help mtz but your solution didnt work for me. When i press "move to end frame" tmpg goes to the end of the avi. however because it thinks there are 6000 more frames it goes to frame 36000 not frame 30000. if it did go to frame 30000 then, although this is the actual end of the avi in reality, in tmpg it would only be part way through.

[Abond]

Something to clarify. I imagine your steps as follow:
1.Load the avi as Video source
2.load the PAL template
3. Leave the Do not convert framerate field unchecked
4. click start
BTW which version of TMPG you use?
I assume you have instaled recent version of XviD codec.

[intelinside]

your right abond those are my steps but i check the "do not framrate conversion" box, my version is tmpg plus 2.521.58.169...

i now have a solution thanx to you and also dialhot on the board you recommended...

it was suggested that the relatively common "write error occured at address 77F83AED of module ntdll.dll" errors experienced when encoding xvid were linked to directx. i installed directx 9.0 b from the microsoft website and this has seriously reduced the instances of these errors. although tmpg is still a bit temperamental i am now able to convert xvid avis to mpeg-2 without using the directshow file viewer and hence get the correct number of frames.

thanx loads for your help ive been trying to solve this problem for ages! :D :D

dan aka intelinside

[Abond]

And what happened if you uncheck "Do not framerate conversion"?
Change the TMPG settings until both numbers match.

[intelinside]

if i left this unchecked tmpg would still read any xvid avi file incorrectly as 30fps. i could have proceeded and got the correct length of video but i would have the jerkiness associated with framerate conversion and tmpg would probably have produced the mpeg incorrectly. im now using avisynth to frameserve to tmpg at 25fps. this seems the optimal solution. i had been trying to avoid frameserving because it seemed overcomplicated but the avisynth forum here really helped. thanx again for your help abond...

intelinside