caiman

I am currently downloading and encoding some MST3K episodes, and I have a few questions. (I have looked through VCDhelp.com and didnt find the answers I was looking for.)

1. What exactly is going on when I encode a file? Is it simply converting an .avi (or some other file type) to .mpeg? If so, when I DL a file already in .mpeg format, do I have to encode it?

2. Is there a way to fit an entire episode of MST3K on one CDRW? Each episode is about 700m, and run about an hour and a half. Is there any setting on TMPGEnc that would allow me to have one entire show per disk?

3. What can i do to make the encoding process go faster? Like I said, I am using TMPGEnc, and it takes about twelve hours to encode one episode. Does this simply have to do with my slow computer, or is there some way to speed things up?

Thanks for any info.

joshd2012

This is the only one I know the answer to, atleast I think I know the answer. When you encode a VCD, it takes the file and splits it up as is done for DVDs (I think). It is not simply an MPEG file, but is compressed, or changed in someway to fit more data on the disc. If you can get the files in MPEG, it will prolly be better quality for encoding.

Lint

If you wanted to fit an entire episode on one disc, the best way would be to encode the movie as a DivX file and not as a VCD. People's opinions of DivX differ, but I personally think it is a great substitute for VCD. The only downside (which may be a big one for you) is that standalone DVD player cannot play DivX files, though computers can.

In terms of the time it takes, there really isn't much you can do about that. It may be partially because of your computer, but definitely not entirely. Twelve hours seems reasonable for a 1 and half hour movie. You may try reducing the quality of the video when converting with TMPGEnc, but this would only knock off, potentially, a couple of hours. What I do is just let it convert over night.

Patman

It's best to "re-encode" a MPEG using the VCD template for "NTSC" playback if that's your TV system (otherwise, use the PAL template). To get the right VCD template, hit the "Load" button the bottom right hand corner, and the correct template file listed in the window it opens up.

The NTSC template will encode the MPEG with the correct frame rate (29.97fps), and the correct resolution display (352x240), and a CBR (1150kbps), and layer-2 audio of 224kbps.

Under the "Settings" button, also next to the "Load" button, hit the "Advanced" tab, and make sure the Source Aspect Ratio is correct (if you're sure, pick one, watch it encode in the middle screen area, and if it look right, look it continue to encode, otherwise, hit stop, and try a different aspect ratio and try it again. Once you get the hang of it, it'll come more natural to you.

The same goes with the Video arrange method which can allow you to shrink the resolution so that you can put a small border around the video which allows you to see the stuff you normally don't see due to your TV's overscan (usually 5% on all sides). I usually use "Center (custom size)" and change the pixels to 336x232 is I want to enode with the minor black borders to see all of the video on the 4 sides. But if you want it just the way it was, use the "Full screen (keep aspect ratio)" setting.

Kevlar

I dont understand why you are going to reencode the movie. If you are just converting from AVI to VCD there are programs that do it in minutes, not hours.

An AVI file is smaller than an MPEG. Once you convert the file size is going to be larger. You cannot squeeze an hour and a half on one vcd. You will have to split it and have 2.

The fastest way to do it is find a place where you can download the cue and bin files. makes it much easier to create the vcd.

Use nero, it is the best for vcd. It will allow you to write up to the full 700MB per disk and actually converts files for you if they are in the wrong format for vcd. The wizard is pretty quick and easy for making mp3, vcd, cd audio and data disks.

-K

caiman

I guess I thought converting was the same thing as encoding. Please tell me which programs will convert in minutes. That would be very helpful.

renaldow

Please list the programs that will convert a 60 minute .avi to a VCD MPEG in just minutes. I'm sure a lot of us would like to know, I know would. I do a lot of homebrew VCD making, and have never heard of this miracle program.

Kevlar

Ok, sorry guys I made a boo boo. I stopped downloading AVI's a while ago. The only conversions I have been doing lately is from cue/bin to mpg. I fired up tmpmeg and played with some avi's and yes it does take forever.... again sorry.

-K