AVI to VCD / DVD FAQ Version

Main features

1. Convert avi to VCD/DVD/SVCD compatible mpeg file

2. Support burning VCD/DVD/SVCD.

3. Embedded "DVD author Express" is inside.

4. Support .VOB, .asf, .wmv, .rm, .rmvb, .mov format as input file

5. Support DivX, XviD avi format

6. Support MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 video format

7. Support MPEG layer1, layer2, layer3 audio format

8. Support Subtitle, you can add subtitle onto your output movie. (You need to install VobSub software first.)

9. "Split function" to split big mpeg file to several small segment, so that it can be burn into a cd-r or dvd-r

10. NTSC/PAL setting option, support PAL to NTSC , NTSC to PAL

11. Input/Output preview at the same time

12. Two output modes: Stretch to Fit / Lock Aspect Ratio

13. High Audio and Video quality

14. Support no sound avi files

15. Optimized for Intel Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 processors and AMD Athlon ,64-bit CPU including Intel EM64T and AMD64

16.Batch Function, Support converting multiple avi files to DVD VCD SVCD MPEG1/2 at the same instance

17.Merge/Join function, Support selecting several avi clips from different sources and combine them into one single output

18.Online upgrade/help service site (click here to enter)

19. In full version, added an Update Detector, you can easily know if a new version is available

20.Advanced setting feature added, so you can customize your own DVD/VCD/SVCD/MPEG format

21.Support "Drag and Drop"

22. Just one click, you can create the vcd/dvd/svcd

PLEASE NOTE:

MOST PROBLEMS WITH 'AVI to VCD / DVD' CAN BE FIXED BY INSTALLING THE LATEST
VERSION OF DIRECTX (8.1 AS OF THIS WRITING) AND THE LATEST VERSION
OF THE CODEC YOUR AVI USES AND THE LATEST VERSION OF THE DRIVERS
FOR YOUR VIDEO CAPTURE CARD (IF ANY).

YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PLAY THE AVI YOU WISH TO ENCODE WITH MEDIAPLAYER! IF
MEDIAPLAYER CAN'T PLAY THE FILE, THEN 'AVI to VCD / DVD' WON'T BE ABLE TO ENCODE IT!
Even if Mediaplayer can play it, there is a chance 'AVI to VCD / DVD' won't be able
to encode it.


Contents:

Question 1 - What is 'AVI to VCD / DVD'?

Question 2 - OK, I have encoded my files, how do I get a VideoCD out of it?

Question 3 - I made a VideoCD, but my DVD player cannot play it.

Question 4 - I get a "FATAL ERROR: Could not retrieve video frame xxxx" error".

Question 5 - The encoder will not encode the avi I have.

Question 6 - What's a codec?

Question 7 - Where do I get a codec?

Question 8 - Why is 'AVI to VCD / DVD' so slow?

Question 9 - My audio/video "lipsync" is bad after encoding to mpeg.

Question 10 - When I encode a video of 10 frames per second, the mpeg player I
use claims the frame rate of the resulting mpeg is 23.976FPS, but
the video still looks jerky?

Question 11 - When I encode a video the resulting mpeg is larger than the
source?

Question 12 - When I encode an avi file that uses the Cinepak (or other) codec,
the resulting mpeg is very "blocky".

Question 13 - When I encode a screen capture sequence, or a computer generated
animation, the resulting mpeg is not very clear.

Question 14 - When I play back the resulting mpeg, the video occasionally
freezes, or it plays like a slide show with a new still frame
every few seconds while the audio continues.

Question 15 - 'AVI to VCD / DVD' will not encode the video from my mjpeg capture card?

Question 16 - I'm having problems encoding videos captured from my DV
Camcorder.

Question 17 - Adaptec's Easy VideoCD Creator says the mpeg produced by 'AVI to VCD / DVD'
is not "Whitebook" compliant?

Question 18 - The VideoCD creation program I use "Brand X", does not accept the 
output of 'AVI to VCD / DVD'. What can I do?


Answers:

Question 1 - What is 'AVI to VCD / DVD'?

'AVI to VCD / DVD' is a Windows based program to encode avi files to VCD/DVD/SVCD compliant
mpeg files for recording to VCD with a VCD creation program. The
resulting VCD/DVD/SVCD can be played on VCD players, and many DVD players.

Question 2 - OK, I have encoded my files, how do I copy them to a VCD/DVD/SVCD?

'AVI to VCD / DVD' is just the file encoder. You will still need a CD recording
application which can create all the required structures required for
a VCD/DVD/SVCD, as well as write the mpeg files to individual tracks on the
VCD/DVD/SVCD. There are several such packages out there such as NTI CD Maker,
the full (Deluxe or Platinum) version of EZ CD Creator, InstantVideo, Nero,
etc. YOU CAN'T JUST RECORD THE MPEG TO A CD AND EXPECT IT TO PLAY IN A DVD
PLAYER! If your CD recording application can create VCD/DVD/SVCD's, there will
be an explicit setting for creating a VCD/DVD/SVCD. Check your manual. For 
example, with Easy CD Creator, you need to use the EZ VCD Creator
application which comes with it. For InstantCD, you need to use the 
InstantVideo selection in the startup menu.

Question 3 - I made a VCD, but my DVD player cannot play it.

Not all DVD players can play VCDs. Some DVD players that can play
commercially stamped "silver" VCD's cannot play VCD's on CD-R. You
need to try both CD-R and CD-RW media. I have found that even different
brands of CD-RW get different results.

Question 4 - I get a "FATAL ERROR: Could not retrieve video frame xxxx" error".

If the frame number is 0, then you either do not have a properly installed
codec for the compression method this video uses, or the codec in question
is not accessible from DirectShow or Video-for-Windows, and cannot be used
with 'AVI to VCD / DVD' ver 2.0. You might also need to upgrade the version of DirectX
installed on your system.

If the frame number is higher than 0:

Most likely either your video is corrupted (the video frame in question
is "damaged") or the codec has a bug. 'AVI to VCD / DVD' tries to skip over the
corrupted frame to the next good frame (it will skip up to 15 bad frames
for most codecs, or 60 frames for Divx, where this is much more common
a problem). This is most usually caused by downloading video from the
net, and having the download fail. When you restart the download where it
left off, often the video is corrupted at the point of resumption. If this
is the case, you need to re-download the avi in one single, unbroken
session.

Question 5 - The encoder will not encode the avi I have.

'AVI to VCD / DVD' will encode avi files that fit the following limitations:
Note that ??AVI to VCD /  DVD?? only supports 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 frames per second. If a media file is used that has a lower or higher frame rate than the above, and the Repeat Frame option is not used, the ??AVI to VCD /  DVD?? will play back faster or slower than normal. The Repeat Frame option can be used for a crude frame rate conversion, but other than that, no frame rate conversion is performed.

Also, ??AVI to VCD /  DVD?? only supports 22.05, 32, 44.1 or 48 kHz 16-bit audio. 8-bit audio is converted to 16 bit and 22.05 kHz audio is converted to 44.1 kHz. Other audio types are not supported and the audio from the media file being added will not be used (the video can still be included). If the first media file added has a certain kHz rate, all other media files added must have the same rate or their audio will not be used. ??AVI to VCD /  DVD?? also converts all audio to stereo, if it is not already stereo.

The video codec used should be compatible with DirectShow.

Note that for best quality, there are preferred values which will not
require 'AVI to VCD / DVD' to resize or resample the input to match VCD
specifications. The ideal values are (depending on target format):

NTSC:
Horzontal width: 352
Vertical height: 240
Frames per second: 29.97
Colour depth: 24 or 32 bits

PAL:
Horzontal width: 352
Vertical height: 288
Frames per second: 25
Colour depth: 24 or 32 bits


AUDIO (NTSC, PAL, or FILM):
44.1KHz, 16 bit, mono or stereo


If you don't know what the parameters of the video file you have are, in
explorer, right click on the file once, then select 'Properties',
then select the tab 'Details' or 'Summary', depending on the version of
Windows.

Question 6 - What's a codec?

Codec stands for "COmpressor/DECompressor". Every compressed video file uses
a codec to decompress the individual frames for playback. There are a great
many codecs. Some come with Windows, others must be downloaded and installed
before you can play back the video. Some codecs are not compatible with
DirectX, which is what 'AVI to VCD / DVD' uses to decode the video frames, in which
case you will not be able to encode the video using 'AVI to VCD / DVD'. Try getting the
latest version of the codec, it might work with 'AVI to VCD / DVD'.

Question 7 - Where do I get a codec?

There are a lot of codecs, and as many places to get them as there are
codecs. If you downloaded a video from the web, and you don't have the
codec it requires, check the website you downloaded the video from for
information on where to get the codec.

Question 8 - Why is 'AVI to VCD / DVD' so slow?

Depending on your computer system, you may experience anywhere from 1 to 10
frames (more or less) encoded per second. Some systems will be slower, some
faster. This means it might easily take from 3 to 30 hours to encode 1 hour
of video to mpeg. Mpeg encoding is a computationally intensive, and slow,
process. The characteristics of the video also have an effect. If your video
is 720x480, for example, 'AVI to VCD / DVD' needs to resize each frame to 352x240
(or 352x288 for PAL), which adds to the time required. Some codecs are
also slower than others.

Question 9 - My audio/video "lipsync" is bad after encoding to mpeg.

If the lipsync was ok in the source avi (you can play it back with
mediaplayer, and the sound and video are syncronized) then your avi
probably has compressed audio. Some forms of audio compression
(notably MPEG Layer-3) CAN result in a loss of audio/video sync,
even when you have used "decompress". I have no solution for this at this
time. Don't use compressed audio if you can avoid it!

Question 10 - When I encode a video of 12 frames per second, the mpeg player I use
claims the frame rate of the resulting mpeg is 23.976FPS, but the video
still looks jerky?

The VCD standard allows for frame rates of 23.976, 25, and 29.97.
The non-standard frame rate videos are resampled to a standard frame
rate by simple frame replication. Hence, for a 12FPS source video, each
source frame is converted to 2 frames in the resulting mpeg. The video is
still jerky as a result. There are still only 12 "different" frames in each
second in this case.

Question 11 - When I encode a video the resulting mpeg is larger than the source?

The resulting mpeg will always be 176400 bytes x # of seconds in source
video. This is a result of the VCD standard.

Question 12 - When I encode an avi file that uses the Cinepak (or other) codec,
the resulting mpeg is very "blocky".

The encoded mpeg can be no better than the original source file for video
quality, in fact it is usually significantly worse. This applies to all
codecs. To obtain maximum quality, you must use a high quality original
video that is only slightly compressed, or not compressed at all. Simply
encoding miscellaneous avi's you may have lying around will probably not
work very well. The encoder is paricularily sensitive to noise, if the
source avi has visible noise in the picture (as from VHS video tape),
it will not encode well.

Question 13 - When I encode a screen capture sequence, or a computer generated
animation, the resulting mpeg is not very clear.

Mpeg was intended to compress real world video images, not artificial
computer generated images.

Question 14 - When I play back the resulting mpeg, the video occasionally
freezes, or it plays like a slide show with a new still frame
every few seconds while the audio continues.

Try turning your screen saver off completely before starting the encode.
Many users have reported this solves the problem for them, though I have
never experienced it myself. Also make sure you have the latest version of
DirectX and the codec your video uses. The DIVX codec exhibits this behavior
on many PC's. This is a bug in the Divx codec. Divx is aware of the problem
and expects a fix in the next release of the divx codec. (Current version 
of Divx codec as of this writing, 5.02).

Question 15 - 'AVI to VCD / DVD' will not encode the video from my mjpeg capture card?

Some mjpeg capture cards use a hardware based codec which is not compatible
with the DirectShow component of DirectX. Some software mjpeg codecs are
also not compatible with DirectX. You should first make sure you have the
latest version of the codec. If that still does not work, then the only
other thing I can suggest is to contact the manufacturer and request a
DirectShow compatible version of your codec. Also make sure you have the
latest version of DirectX installed on your system.

Question 16 - I'm having problems encoding videos captured from my DV Camcorder.

Generally, there are no issues with encoding Type 2 DV avi files,
and if your DV capture program gives you the option, you should choose
Type 2 DV instead of Type 1. However, if you attempt to encode Type 1
DV avi files, you may experience the following error message:

"Error attempting to read audio from Type 1 DV .avi file
Re-render video with video editor and try again!"

This occurs when DirectShow reports to 'AVI to VCD / DVD' that a Type 1 DV file with
48KHz audio has 32KHz audio! Usually this occurs when you try to encode
a Type 1 file directly after capture from a DV camera. If this file is first
edited with an video editor (such as Media Studio Pro) then re-rendered to a
Type 1 DV file, 'AVI to VCD / DVD' can usually encode this fine. I have not been able
to correct this problem as yet, but I am still working on it. In the
meantime, it does not affect most individuals since generally avi files are
edited after capture and before encoding.

A simple workaround for the above issue is to set your camcorder to 32KHz,
12 bit audio. This seems to works fine even with Type 1 DV files.

Some camcorders work better during capture if they are powered through the
AC adapter rather than the battery. Check your owner's manual.

Sound quality: If you experience poor quality audio, generally described
as noise, when encoding Type 1 DV files, try rerendering your DV file to
Type 2, or use 32KHz audio.

Pinnacle DV500 Owners:

Make sure you upgrade to Version 8.1 of DirectX (or later) and get the
Version 4.0 (or later) DV 500 driver from the Pinnacle web site.

Question 17 - Adaptec's Easy VCD Creator says the mpeg produced by 'AVI to VCD / DVD'
is not "Whitebook" compliant?

Start up VCD creator, go to Help - > About. What does the dialog box
say next to "MCI Mpeg Video Driver:"? If it says something other than
"DirectShow" or "ActiveMovie", for example "QI Cinemaster DVD", than that's
likely the problem. Easy VCD Creator uses the default MCI MPEG driver
to determine the source mpegs characteristics. Many DVD software players
replace the DirectShow MCI Driver with their own, which may not properly
identify the mpeg file characteristics to Easy VCD Creator. All I can
suggest is that you remove whatever software installed the new MCI driver
and try again. You should also request a fix from the manufacturer of the
software which caused the problem.

Question 18 - The VCD creation program I use "Brand X", does not accept the 
output of 'AVI to VCD / DVD'. What can I do?

Make sure you are using the latest version of the program. If that still
does not work, send me an email with the name, version, and a web location
where I can download an evaluation copy of the program in question. I will
attempt to resolve this for the next version. If an evaluation version is
not available, I will contact the software company and see if they are
willing to help.