Usability of Capture Output

[Starry173]

On the EMC9 Deluxe, I have been using the Dazzle capture for old VCR tapes. I end up with .mpg files between 4-8 GB. If I try to use these files in MYDVD (copy to ISO and then copy to DVD), then I get a DVD that appears to work, but somewhere around 3/4 through the video, the playback on my DVD player just STOPS and starts making pitiful noises, like it is trying to go forward, but can't. If I fast-forward it, I can get past the bad spot, but it keeps on doing this over and over to the end of the DVD.

 

I find I can at least get a DVD by converting the .mpg file to a .dvx file and then copying the resulting dvx file to DVD format. It works, but I can't use the menus in MYDVD.

 

Also, if I use VideoWave to edit the video, like if I want to trim the video down a bit, I end up with a degraded video source going into creating the DVD . I found the degrading to happen in other programs also, including DixX Author 1.5.

 

Why can't I work with these capture files? What is wrong with them? We're talking television captured originally on VCR and family slikdeshows. Is there something else I should be doing at captyure time to prevent this? I would like to use MYDVD, so it really upsets me that it creates DVDs that won't play on my DVD player.

 

Any ideas?

[Starry173]

Thanks for the reply. The DVDs are DVD-R and made by Maxell which is a brand I consider to be very good. They are the the 16x variety and I upgraded my cabling to take advantage of the faster speed. At one point, when I was burning, I noticed it going as fast as 13x, so I suppose that could be a problem. The video will play just fine on the PC. I do have problems with the original .mpg capture file. Some programs just don't like it. Usually can't open them in Windows Movie Maker and other programs usually abort. The main reason I went the DivX route was that the DivX Converter has no problem converting my capture file to divx. Do you know why I might see such a loss of clarity just from trimming in Videowave and still trying to process in MyDVD? At that point, I suppose I am staying at the mpeg level, so the quality seems like it should be the same. I will try lowering the burn speed (if I can do that in MYDVD) and see if that helps. The other thing I haven't tried is playing the DVD on a different DVD player...although, if I convert from mpeg to divx and back and then it works, then I'm not sure it is the player's fault.

 

Although we did have one strange thing with it (and I'm looking to replace it as soon as I can) where I rented an old movie (An Affair To Remember) and at a certain spot in the movie is stopped the same way and if I fast-forwarded, I was able to watch the remaining part of the movie. Well, we assumed it was just a bad rental copy (had no other problems with other movies), but then I saw an inexpensive copy of the movie at the store and picked it up. Well, it did the same thing. So then I tried it on my PC and I could watch the whole movie without any problems.

 

So, maybe the real problem isn't MYDVD, but my cheap DVD player...

[Larry]

Do you get that same behaviour when playing the DVD on your computer?

 

BTW, goiing from mpeg to divx back to mpeg is only going to degrade the final quality of the video. Divx is a much more compressed format than mpeg2 is, and once it's compressed down to it, you cn't recover the loss in video quality by converting it back to mpeg2. It's also not a process that you need to be doing for the problem you are having.

 

It sounds to me more like a problem between your set top player and the discs you are burning to. Does your player support the type of discs you are using? DVD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW

 

What speed are you burning them at? Sometimes lowering the burn speed to like 4x can help.

 

What brand of discs are they? It's usually recommended to use a good quality brand like Verbatim. Cheap ones have been known to be troublesome at times.

[Larry]

Thanks for the reply. The DVDs are DVD-R and made by Maxell which is a brand I consider to be very good. They are the the 16x variety and I upgraded my cabling to take advantage of the faster speed. At one point, when I was burning, I noticed it going as fast as 13x, so I suppose that could be a problem. The video will play just fine on the PC. I do have problems with the original .mpg capture file. Some programs just don't like it. Usually can't open them in Windows Movie Maker and other programs usually abort. The main reason I went the DivX route was that the DivX Converter has no problem converting my capture file to divx. Do you know why I might see such a loss of clarity just from trimming in Videowave and still trying to process in MyDVD? At that point, I suppose I am staying at the mpeg level, so the quality seems like it should be the same. I will try lowering the burn speed (if I can do that in MYDVD) and see if that helps. The other thing I haven't tried is playing the DVD on a different DVD player...although, if I convert from mpeg to divx and back and then it works, then I'm not sure it is the player's fault.

 

Although we did have one strange thing with it (and I'm looking to replace it as soon as I can) where I rented an old movie (An Affair To Remember) and at a certain spot in the movie is stopped the same way and if I fast-forwarded, I was able to watch the remaining part of the movie. Well, we assumed it was just a bad rental copy (had no other problems with other movies), but then I saw an inexpensive copy of the movie at the store and picked it up. Well, it did the same thing. So then I tried it on my PC and I could watch the whole movie without any problems.

 

So, maybe the real problem isn't MYDVD, but my cheap DVD player...

Don't really have any ideas on why other programs wouldn't like the mpeg files. They should just be normal mpeg2 files since you're using the DVC90 and Media Import to capture them.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "loss of clarity" after editing. Have you checked for updated video card drivers and updates for Directx9?

 

Avoid down converting to Divx unless that is the type of video you plan to leave it in. Once you convert it to Divx you can't get the quality back by converting it to mpeg2 again.

 

Not sure if Maxell is a good brand off hand or not. Others may have opinions on them. I use Verbatim myself. They are one of the best I've found.

 

Burning at higher speeds can cause errors on the disc, especially when you consider it actually goes at a faster rate as it gets closer to the outer edge. You'll find most here probably burn no faster than 4x or 8x when working with a dvd video disc, and recommend that practice. Higher speeds are fine for data.

 

Since it does play ok on the pc, you may well be correct that your set top player is the problem. Could be just dirty (could try cleaning it), or maybe it just doesn;t lik that disc. Not all players like all brands and/or type of discs (+/-) or home burned discs in general. Sometimes you just have to try some different ones until you find what works for you. You could also try taking that disc and see if it plays ok on some friends players or even try it out at a store on a few.