Solutions For Common Encoding Problems
This page is dedicated to helping people overcome the problems of converting dvds to vcd or svcd.
Problem 1: A lot of artifact and jerkiness in ntsc vcd or svcd.
Most dvd are actually 24fps progresive. This mean the movie is actually 24fps but have a few extras frames added in to yield 29fps during playback. This process involve using 3:2 pulldown. This result in jerkiness and artifact when you try to encode the movie to ntsc 29fps. Many site will tell you different way to solve this problem but I found them complicated and confusing. The simplest solution I found is just to choose 24fps and "check recontruct proggresive frame" in flask. So instead of getting 29fps you will only get 24fps in vcd and svcd. (Note: some player can have problem playing at 24fps) This will get rid of all problems but best of all is that the image quality is improves and the encoding process is faster. Never mind the error message you might get when you burn the file, telling you your vcd or svcd must be 29fps. It will still work perfectly.
Problem 2: Cannot burn mpeg2 file as svcd in Nero. If you encode mpeg2 file with flask and lsx plugin you will need to remux and demux the mpeg2 file before it is compatible with Nero. The best one I found for this job is tmpeg. You must first demux the file and remux it again as svcd. You can use I-arthur but you will then have to use ezcd creator to burn the file.
Problem 3: Cannot play svcd created by Nero on realmagic hollywoodplus. Hollywoodplus will recognize the svcd but cannot play because it do not recognize the "mpeg2" directory where the movie files is store. You will need to patch Nero with an unofficial patch to change the file "mpeg2" to "mpegav". You can get this patch at this site http://go.to/flaskmpeg . Get it in the forum section.
Problem 4: Video and audio are not in sync If you use the panasonic or lsx plugin in flask you might get this problem. You can simply fix this by simply running the player in flask for 5 or 10 seconds before you start encoding. Run the player for several second then move the slider back to where you want to start encoding and immediatly click exit. Then start encoding. This will solve all audio and video sync problem.
Problem 5: audio misalignment error when using avisynth If you encode ntsc vcd or svcd using avisynth you will run into this problem. Avisynth will alway display audio misalignment when you try to encode ntsc movie. You should not get this problem if you try to encode pal movie. There is currently no solution to this problem. I suggest that you stick to plugin encoder like panasonic or lsx when trying to encode ntsc movies.
Problem 5: Vcds or xvcd created by panasonic have poor color. You should use the newest version of the panasonic encoder. The new version 2.5, will allow you to set the color setting. The best value I use are 12 for all color.
Problem 5: Error message when running panasonic plugin in flask for the first time. Solution: Uninstall the panasonic plugin as well as other plugins. Then delete the folder where you store flaskmpeg. Now reinstall flask and the panasonic plugin. You will have no more problem running the panasonic plugin. If everything is okay, reinstall in the other plugin like lsx or avisynth. The problem is due to software conflict.
Problem 6: Vcds or xvcd encoded by panasonic encoder look so blurry. Use the lsx plugin instead. Although the lsx produce more blockiness, it picture quality is a lot sharper then panasonic. You can get rid of the blockiness by raising the video bitrate in the lsx setting but then you will be making xvcd instead of vcd. The choice is up to you. Refer to my vcd and xvcd guides for more infos.
Problem 7: Should I use ezcd creator or Nero to burn Svcd. If you want the simplest way then choose Nero. It is very easy and simple to use. If you want to create menu and other extras then use ezcd creator. If you want to create movie using ezcd you will also need to use I-arthur to mux the file and creates an svcd image. This is a lot of work so I personally prefer Nero.
Additional Problems If you have anymore problems that you want to find answer to, then email me at [email protected]
