Avi video fails using DVD2SVCD

[Burning Fury]

I used the guide for DVD2SVCD to convert avi to mpeg but for some reason the video does not get encoded.
I have the DVD2SVCD 1.2.2 Bundle and, as you may know it contains several applications in it. Such is DVDAuthor.
When i load my avi into it to convert to DVD (avi>dvd) it all goes fine, the audio gets encoded but there's no video at all...?
Even if i use avi to SVCD, same result.
Yes, i also have TMPGEnc, this avi file was originaly encoded into Xvid, a message came on screen when using TMPGEnc and said.
Could't fine appropiate codec for Xvid CC4 ? Don't know what that really is tho. I have uploaded the log file and the DVDAuthor file, maybe you can tell me where it all went wrong. Thanks

WNASPI32.DLL 4.7.0.0
--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:08:50 PM
- AVI to SVCD Conversion
- AVI2DVD ver. 1.2.2 build 3
--------------------------------------------------------
Initializing
- C:\Documents and Settings\Onizuka\My Documents\My Music\OB.avi.avi
Initializing finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:08:53 PM
- Free on drive D: 89696.40 mb
- AUDIO Extraction
--------------------------------------------------------
Undoing Nandubs 1152 BlockAlign value to 1
Redoing Nandubs 1152 BlockAlign value
Audio extraction finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:09:48 PM
- Free on drive D: 89604.45 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:09:51 PM
- Free on drive D: 89604.45 mb
- AUDIO conversion
--------------------------------------------------------

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


Encoding Audio. Filename: D:\Mymovie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa
Executing BeSweet. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa.wav" -output "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa" -payload -logfile "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_audio_1.log" )
Audio conversion of D:\Mymovie\Extracted_audio_1.mpa finished.

Audio conversion finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:14:56 PM
- Free on drive D: 87183.49 mb
- Video Encoding using TMPGEnc
--------------------------------------------------------
- Encoding D:\Mymovie\AviSynth_Script_file.avs
StreamSectors: 4546875788
AudioSectors: 2324
VideoPAPO: 70433496
ScanOffsetBytes: 216
SeqAligningBytes: 13728
DVDBytes: 0
VideoEndHeader: 4
SubtitleSectors: 0
EmptySectors: 238.00
PictureSectors: 0.00
PureMPEGStream: 4476426020.00
Seconds: 12.00
CalcMPEGStream: 4476426020.00
Frames: 240
CDSize: 4350.00
Number of CDs: 1
Cut point 4346.00
Max. Bitrate: 8000
Avg. Bitrate: 7200.00
Min. Bitrate: 800
Executing TMPGEnc. Commandline:
"C:\My eBooks\TMPGEnc-2.524.63.181-Free\TMPGEnc.exe" "D:\Mymovie\TMPGEnc_Project_file.tpr" /Encode /Close
Video Encoding finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:15:36 PM
- Free on drive D: 87181.82 mb
- Multiplexing Audio and Video
--------------------------------------------------------
Executing MPlex. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\DVDAuthor\mplex.exe" -f 8 -o "D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg" "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_Video_TMPGEnc_NTSC.mpv" "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa"
--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:15:40 PM
- Free on drive D: 87181.81 mb
- Determining length of audio
--------------------------------------------------------
Analyzing finished.

Saving Subtitle Timecodes.
SVCD subtitles.
--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/2/2005 4:15:45 PM
- Free on drive D: 87181.81 mb
- Authoring DVD
--------------------------------------------------------
Executing DVDAuthor. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\DVDAuthor\dvdauthor.exe" -x "D:\Mymovie\DVDAuthor.xml"
DVDAuthor failed for unknown reasons!
For details open: "D:\Mymovie\DVDAuthor_log.txt"

Here's the DVDAuthor log:

DVDAuthor::dvdauthor, version 0.6.10.
Build options: gnugetopt iconv freetype
Send bugs to <dvdauthor-users@lists.sourceforge.net>

INFO: Locale=C
INFO: Converting filenames to US-ASCII
INFO: dvdauthor creating VTS
STAT: Picking VTS 01

STAT: Processing D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg...
ERR: Error opening D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg: No such file or directory

[Nick]

If the file plays in Media Player, try the fix regarding the file avisynth.ini found in the "AVI2xxx fails (at some point)" sticky near the top of the forum index.

[Burning Fury]

NICK, YOU are a genius, it worked fine, a preview of the movie came on screen when TMPGEnc loaded the file. However, i ended up with an
MPV file instead of the mpeg file. Therefore, DVDAuthor couldn't recognize the file and the process was not completed.

Please take a look a the new info i have loaded up, thanks.
This is the MPlex file which tells me about the MPV file.

INFO: [???] mplex version 2.0.0 (2.2.3 $Date: 2004/01/13 20:45:26 $)
INFO: [???] File D:\Mymovie\Encoded_Video_TMPGEnc_NTSC.mpv looks like an MPEG Video stream.
**ERROR: [???] File unrecogniseable!
**ERROR: [???] Unrecogniseable file(s)... exiting.

Here is the DVDAuthor file:
(Note that it loads the file but it is not supported,as it should be an mpeg format tho).

DVDAuthor::dvdauthor, version 0.6.10.
Build options: gnugetopt iconv freetype
Send bugs to <dvdauthor-users@lists.sourceforge.net>

INFO: Locale=C
INFO: Converting filenames to US-ASCII
INFO: dvdauthor creating VTS
STAT: Picking VTS 01

STAT: Processing D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg...
ERR: Error opening D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg: No such file or directory

And here is the process that TMPGEnc did on the avi file:

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/4/2005 6:12:48 AM
- Free on drive D: 91358.38 mb
- Video Encoding using TMPGEnc
--------------------------------------------------------
- Encoding D:\Mymovie\AviSynth_Script_file.avs
StreamSectors: 4546875788
AudioSectors: 2324
VideoPAPO: 70433496
ScanOffsetBytes: 155268
SeqAligningBytes: 9868144
DVDBytes: 0
VideoEndHeader: 4
SubtitleSectors: 0
EmptySectors: 238.00
PictureSectors: 0.00
PureMPEGStream: 4466416552.00
Seconds: 7197.53
CalcMPEGStream: 4466416552.00
Frames: 172520
CDSize: 4350.00
Number of CDs: 1
Cut point 4345.00
Max. Bitrate: 8000
Avg. Bitrate: 4964.39
Min. Bitrate: 800
Executing TMPGEnc. Commandline:
"C:\My eBooks\TMPGEnc-2.524.63.181-Free\TMPGEnc.exe" "D:\Mymovie\TMPGEnc_Project_file.tpr" /Encode /Close
Video Encoding finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/4/2005 6:09:09 PM
- Free on drive D: 87102.51 mb
- Multiplexing Audio and Video
--------------------------------------------------------
Executing MPlex. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\DVDAuthor\mplex.exe" -f 8 -o "D:\Mymovie\MPlex_Muxed_File00.mpg" "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_Video_TMPGEnc_NTSC.mpv" "D:\Mymovie\Encoded_audio_1.mpa"
--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/4/2005 6:09:12 PM
- Free on drive D: 87102.51 mb
- Determining length of audio
--------------------------------------------------------
Analyzing finished.

--------------------------------------------------------
- 5/4/2005 6:09:30 PM
- Free on drive D: 87099.68 mb
- Authoring DVD
--------------------------------------------------------
Executing DVDAuthor. Commandline:
"C:\Program Files\DVD2SVCD\DVDAuthor\dvdauthor.exe" -x "D:\Mymovie\DVDAuthor.xml"
DVDAuthor failed for unknown reasons!
For details open: "D:\Mymovie\DVDAuthor_log.txt"

[Nick]

Ah, no. MPLEX recognises the mpv file as an mpeg stream.
It is the audio file it doesn't recognise.
My suspicion is that you have "Do not convert audio" checked in the Audio tab. This option is only for AVI's with a DVD-compliant audio stream, eg an AC3 stream.

If your AVI has mp3 audio or whatever else, which is not allowable on DVD, allow DVD2SVCD to convert the audio for you.

Uncheck this box and try again.

Finally you should be there :)

[Burning Fury]

It worked...!!!, NICK you are super awsome man.LOL.
You were right, the file contained an mp3 audio format and therefore it was not processing it right, so i did what you said and there it was, i have an ISO image ready for burning, along with the rest of the files. Now i have to ask you something else.I had noticed when you select the audio for conversion in DVD2SVCD it gives you many options to choose,i had seen one that said (MPEG 5.1), is that a 5.1 surround audio?, can it do that...?, also is it possible to have multiple audio streams, i selected Stereo but could i have Stereo and 5.1 in the same movie...?

Now for the video, it came out rather good, but is there a program that can upgrade the video quality...?, and how do i do that.?

And one more last thing, i have the file now in an ISO format ready to burn, but i only have the movie to play, a few menus would be nice, like chapter selection and the works, can you suggest a program that can create menus for DVDs? and a guide too...? :XD

It really was great to know the great support on your part tho, thank you very much for all your help, the only downside was that TMPGEnc took literally 12 whole hours to encode the video, but i don't know if it was because i had set the resolution to the max and it went very slow, or the program is set up like that...?

In any case, i'm happy with the result, i was getting a bit frustrated to be honest. Ok, hit me up with some news, and thank you once more man, you rule. (^-^)/

[Venom_IL]

regarding 5.1 - yes, that is surround sound, but you cannot hope to get surround from a regular mp3, right? generally it is recommended to leave that option alone. use joint stereo, unless your audio is AC3 in which case use "do not encode audio". mono isn't supported by besweet anyway (at least from my experience)

I am not terribly sure about multiple audio tracks since i can't remember using them in D2S so anyone feel free to correct me - i think it should be possible, but you would need a DVD source or multiple audio AVI source to do that because D2S doesn't accept external audio streams. also, it doesn't let you use different settings for each stream (except for the bitrate) and i can see options for only 2 streams, so if you wanted one 5.1 and one stereo you'd probably have to have them like that in your source. of course, you can always use D2S to encode the movie, main audio channel and subtitles for you and add audio streams as you please externally (for example, mux to bbmpeg_muxed_file00.mpg).

regarding video quality - TMPG is considered a decent, if slow, encoder. first of all notice the motion precision option - the higher it is, the better quality you'd get (and the longer the conversion would take). there is also the obvious solution of using a higher average bitrate (from your log i gather you use VBR with 2 passes ? if not consider it over CBR). there's also TMPG's CQ but since you can't predict the final size i wouldn't use it.

you can also try QUENC, the freeware codec written by forum resident Nic. it is considered to be almost as good as CCE (which is largely considered the best MPG-2 encoder and costs 1900$ in its fully functional version).I think it should be considerably faster than TMPG, too.

RE menus - TMPG DVD AUTHOR does a pretty good job at it (very easy), but doesn't support subtitles. if you want subs you could use professional tools like DVD-LAB pro or DVD Maestro, but they're very difficult to use. there's probably a way to create the menus in TMPG DVD Author and export them somehow to a project already created by D2S with subs and everything, but I'm not that knowledgeable in those subjects. you could try reading the DVD guides for more information, or hopefully you'd get an answer here

[Burning Fury]

Hello Venom_IL, i can see what your saying about the audio, my guess was that maybe i could do it but since i had a file with an MP3 audio to begin with, i had to first convert the audio in order to be acknowledge by DVDAuthor,I had come accros a thread one time about audio issues and there is a program called AC3Machine which i think would let you convert an AC3 audio into a 5.1 surround, correct me if i'm wrong for that.I'm fairly new when it comes to avi conversion but i appreciate the tips tho.

Thanks for the "DVD menus" hint, i'll look into it tho.

And YES, i'm using TMPGEnc right now as my codec, and it is fine, the video quality was good, it looks like VCR tape quality and i had uploaded subs into the file so i can't complaint about that, but i have the free trial version at the moment and i think is going to expire soon.
I wasn't aware there was a freeware i could use as a substitute for TMPGEnc, i'll look into that right now.
For now, i'll experiment with making the menus tho, if i know something relevant i'll definetly let you know.

I appreciate your concern tho, thanks a lot. (^_~)v

[Venom_IL]

AC3 = 5.1 surround, no need to convert

MP3 = stereo at most, so if that's what you have to begin with, there's no use converting it to 5.1

let D2S handle the conversions. if your source is AC3 tick "do not convert audio" and you'll get an AC3 which DVD Author could read. if it's mp3 or something else untick said checkbox and you'll get an mp2 which, again, could be read by DVD author.

Glad to be of assistance =)