Hello, I want to share my experience of creating mpeg-1 files from DVD. I did the following steps and I got a high resolution mpeg-1 file ready to burn on cd. 1. Rip the movie to the hard disk using dvd speed ripper. 2. After copying to hard disk, I created two or three directories according to the movie size and move 2 or 3 .vob files to each directory. This helps to avoid a/v sync problems while encoding the movie in avi. Or you can do it by using the split avi option in new avi plugin, so that you can split the avi every 20 or 30 min. to avoid sync. 3. Create an avi file of size 352x240 using FlaskMPEG. I have selected the video compression as MPEG codev V-4 and audio compression as PCM 44100Khz Stereo. It took around 12 hours to encode full movie. 4. After that I have encoded the avi file to vcd complained mpeg1 file through LSX Mpeg Encoder 3.0 and I got a high resoultion mpeg-1 which is 90% quality comparing to dvd. I am using the LSX because it is the only encoder which is having sequence header options. So that you can make a chapter selection menu on the main menu of VCD. Also it is helpful to fast forward or rewind the movie through the player. 5. If you create the avi in 10 or 12 pieces you can join easily through virtualdub. 6. If you create the mpeg in 10 or 12 pieces you can join through camel's MPEG Join which is fast and easy. 7. Burn the mpeg-1 file through videopack-4.0

If anybody knows any other simple method, please share with me.

-- Balaji (vaidyasr@psgvl.ps.ge.com), March 10, 2000

Answers

Why convert to .avi - why not use Flask to go directly to .mpg?

Do you obtain better quality with the .avi conversion step?

-- (Waltmid@hotmail.com), March 10, 2000.

Since FlaskMPEG is using Panasonic Encoder, in Panasonic encoder you can't create a mpeg file with sequence headers. And also the Mpeg created by FlaskMPEG is always freezy while moving the slidebar in windows media player. The quality obtained through .avi conversion is 90% of the original dvd quality.

-- Balaji (vaidyasr@psgvl.ps.ge.com), March 10, 2000.

Balaji,

This method is good but very slow. You are trading time for chapters and menu characteristics for your VCD. As for quality wise panasonic method will give you the same quality but faster and if you want menu/chapters you can accomplish almost the same with EZ CD. Any way, I am interested in the chapter and menu characteristics with video pack 4.0 VCD creation. If you don't mind sharing this method with me, I'd appreciate your assistant. I have been getting bad burn with video pack 4 (random pixelization trashes and glitches during playback).

-- lnguyen (wingstarzz@hotmail.com), March 10, 2000.

what is the importance of an mpeg having sequence headers? this is the first i have heard of this, so excuse my "lack of knowledge"

-- ndumu (ndumu@hotmail.com), March 11, 2000.

The sequence header helps the player or editor to locate the exact frame of an mpeg file.

-- Balaji (vaidyasr@psgvl.ps.ge.com), March 13, 2000.