Encoding Mpeg2 Files For Dvd Output

[AustinTom]

Using VideoWave I created 3 videos, outputing each as a "best quality" mpeg2 file. Using MyDVD, I built menus that link to these three videos. Burning the DVD goes through another encoding process for each video and then encodes the menus.

 

Two of the videos play OK, the third fails at the a point in the video (~18:08:15). It fails at that point no matter how many things I expirement with, such as picture order, output quality, output to a disk image, etc. Stand alone players lock up the video at this point but the sound continues. If I fast forward the player to this point, the video just ends and goes back to the menu. The DVD also fails at the same point when played on a computer.

 

If I change the MyDVD project to link to the VideoWave project for the problem video, rather than the mpeg2 file, it encodes that video as if it was being output from VideoWave and the DVD plays OK. It seems that the problem happens when the video player switches to the next .vob file in the video. One of the other videos has multiple .vob files though without problems. When MyDVD encodes the mpeg2 file, the second .vob file is ~249K, when MyDVD encodes the VideoWave project for this video, the second .vob file is ~787K.

 

This sure seems to be a bug in either VideoWave or MyDVD but I am open to other possibilities. Any ideas?

[AustinTom]

Jim_Hardin wins the prize; he identified what was causing the problem. I didn't have to create a new DVD project but I had to delete the movie from the DVD project and then add it back again. Just to be safe, I exited MyDVD and restarted it before adding the movie back. I don't know if that was really necessary. An odd thing is that the total file size on the DVD for the video built from the mpeg2 file is about 100 bytes less than the one built using the VideoWave project but at least it works.

 

I should have been tipped off about this because to get a DVD that worked, I had created another MyDVD project where I deleted the problem movie from the original MyDVD project and then added its equivalent VideoWave project. Yesterday, I moved all the pictures from the camera memory card to a hard drive and as expected, had to point VideoWave at the new file locations. I was rather surprised that I had to do the same thing again when I tried to burn another DVD using MyDVD. Rather than establishing links to projects and files and updating information each time the MyDVD project is opened, MyDVD seems to capture names and locations and records static information as it existed the first time the file or project was added. That is either a bug or one of the worst software designs I have ever seen, including some I have made myself.

 

So what is the prize? A really good price on a Roxio Creator 2009 license; I'm switching to a better software vendor. I've never been a Roxio fan but this was viewed as a one-time video project and I thought Roxio would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. If time is money, this ended up being the most expensive software I have ever bought. Stated another way, I got what I paid for.

 

Thanks Jim!

[bimicher]

Using VideoWave I created 3 videos, outputing each as a "best quality" mpeg2 file. Using MyDVD, I built menus that link to these three videos. Burning the DVD goes through another encoding process for each video and then encodes the menus.

 

Two of the videos play OK, the third fails at the a point in the video (~18:08:15). It fails at that point no matter how many things I expirement with, such as picture order, output quality, output to a disk image, etc. Stand alone players lock up the video at this point but the sound continues. If I fast forward the player to this point, the video just ends and goes back to the menu. The DVD also fails at the same point when played on a computer.

 

If I change the MyDVD project to link to the VideoWave project for the problem video, rather than the mpeg2 file, it encodes that video as if it was being output from VideoWave and the DVD plays OK. It seems that the problem happens when the video player switches to the next .vob file in the video. One of the other videos has multiple .vob files though without problems. When MyDVD encodes the mpeg2 file, the second .vob file is ~249K, when MyDVD encodes the VideoWave project for this video, the second .vob file is ~787K.

 

This sure seems to be a bug in either VideoWave or MyDVD but I am open to other possibilities. Any ideas?

 

I douibt very much that that is a bug. I have never experienced what you are describing nor have I read anything about it in these forums.

 

You don't have to output to mpeg2 files from Videowave if you want your 3 movies as separate menu items. Simply launch myDVD and add the 3 dmsm VW projects. They will become 3 menu items. That is the normal method for creating a DVD.

 

myDVD should not be re-encoding any mpeg2 video if it was encoded to the correct DVD compliant format by Videowave.

Does the problem mpg file play in Windows Media Player.

[Jim_Hardin]

Jim_Hardin wins the prize; he identified what was causing the problem. I didn't have to create a new DVD project but I had to delete the movie from the DVD project and then add it back again. Just to be safe, I exited MyDVD and restarted it before adding the movie back. I don't know if that was really necessary. An odd thing is that the total file size on the DVD for the video built from the mpeg2 file is about 100 bytes less than the one built using the VideoWave project but at least it works.

 

I should have been tipped off about this because to get a DVD that worked, I had created another MyDVD project where I deleted the problem movie from the original MyDVD project and then added its equivalent VideoWave project. Yesterday, I moved all the pictures from the camera memory card to a hard drive and as expected, had to point VideoWave at the new file locations. I was rather surprised that I had to do the same thing again when I tried to burn another DVD using MyDVD. Rather than establishing links to projects and files and updating information each time the MyDVD project is opened, MyDVD seems to capture names and locations and records static information as it existed the first time the file or project was added. That is either a bug or one of the worst software designs I have ever seen, including some I have made myself.

 

So what is the prize? A really good price on a Roxio Creator 2009 license; I'm switching to a better software vendor. I've never been a Roxio fan but this was viewed as a one-time video project and I thought Roxio would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. If time is money, this ended up being the most expensive software I have ever bought. Stated another way, I got what I paid for.

 

Thanks Jim!

Software is like Fords and Chevys. You find folks that swear each one is the best and the other is junk.

 

I think Roxio is the best I have used. But I have only thrown out about $1,000 on disappointments…

 

In any case, until you knuckle down and learn the software you have it will be frustrating.

 

 

[AustinTom]

The problem happens using both CinePlayer and Media Player on two seperate computers, as well as stand alone players. As a test I installed Creator 2009 on a seperate computer, generated the mpeg2 files and DVD from there with the same results. One computer has Vista Business and the other computer has XP.

 

After wasting a lot of DVD's, and eventually figuring out that MyDVD could encode the VideoWave project OK, I switched to building disk folder sets. That was how I spotted the different total size for the .vob files for the failing scenario. Using Cineplayer to play the failing scenario from the disk folder set, I can see from the progress slider that it thinks it is a much shorter video than it really is. The slider gets to the end, the video stops and the sound continues. With the disk folder set of the good scenario, the slider reflects the correct length of the video.

 

Being familiar with video editing, but not the Roxio tools, I started with VideoWave and build my mpeg2 videos before I ever looked at MyDVD. I can see now that I could have linked to the videoWave projects but it still seems that what I am trying to do should work. The mpeg2 file for the problem scenario plays with MediaPlayer and CinePlayer. The length of the mpeg2 file is consistent with the total length of the .vob files for the successful DVD but as I mentioned, it is longer than the total length of the .vob files for the failing scenario. The mpeg2 file is somehow getting corrupted when MyDVD encodes it to build the DVD.

[Larry]

Maybe the issue is the total time of your MyDVD project with the 3 files in it. If it's over 2 hours, then that is probably why the image file (.iso) route doesn't work and the video folders do. 2 hours for a standard 4.7 DVD is pushing it and will be at the lowest quality possible.

[AustinTom]

The total DVD length is around 1 hour. The problem video is about 28 minutes long, one of the others is about 22 minutes and the third about 7 minutes.

[bimicher]

The total DVD length is around 1 hour. The problem video is about 28 minutes long, one of the others is about 22 minutes and the third about 7 minutes.

 

Have you tried re-encoding the problem video to mpeg2 again? What is the source of these videos? Are they created in Videowave?

 

When you want to add several separate videos together in myDVD to form one movie they have to be added as video (preferably mpeg2 or avi). You can only create these videos in Videowave so that part of the program has to work. As I said before, if you created proper mpeg2 video in Videowave, myDVD will not re-encode them when used in myDVD. I do this often and have never had your problem.

 

BTW, until you get this problem solved I would not burn to DVDs but use RW DVDs or burn to iso files or folders and use some software player to check the video.

[AustinTom]

I've lost track of all the times I've re-encoded and all the variables I've changed to issolate the problem. All the encoding to mpeg2 is being done with VideoWave. Most of the project is still images but there some Quicktime video segments too. I am outputing as the "Best Quality" DVD format. I would call that process rendering but the term in the progress message is encoding. It is the process of building all the video frames and you can watch the progress in the preview window. The resultant mpeg2 file is a valid file and plays in MediaPlayer and CinePlayer.

 

When I set up menus in MyDVD linking to those three videos and then Burn to DVD, the progress message again calls it encoding. This encoding process of these mpeg2 fies doesn't show anything in the preview window and goes much faster than what I think of as rendering. It seems to be reading the mpeg2 file and getting them into the format or sizes for the DVD. Once it is done "encoding" these mpeg files, it encodes the menus and the progress of that is visible in the preview window like it was when the mpeg files were encoded in VideoWave.

[bimicher]

I've lost track of all the times I've re-encoded and all the variables I've changed to issolate the problem. All the encoding to mpeg2 is being done with VideoWave. Most of the project is still images but there some Quicktime video segments too. I am outputing as the "Best Quality" DVD format. I would call that process rendering but the term in the progress message is encoding. It is the process of building all the video frames and you can watch the progress in the preview window. The resultant mpeg2 file is a valid file and plays in MediaPlayer and CinePlayer.

 

When I set up menus in MyDVD linking to those three videos and then Burn to DVD, the progress message again calls it encoding. This encoding process of these mpeg2 fies doesn't show anything in the preview window and goes much faster than what I think of as rendering. It seems to be reading the mpeg2 file and getting them into the format or sizes for the DVD. Once it is done "encoding" these mpeg files, it encodes the menus and the progress of that is visible in the preview window like it was when the mpeg files were encoded in VideoWave.

 

What you describe is exactly what should be happening.

 

What is "happening" in your project at the point it fails (I believe you stated it was exactly at 00:18:05:15)?

 

Have you tried created the DVD with just the problem file?

If you create a Video_TS folder on your hard drive, does it also fails at the same point?

[Jim_Hardin]

??? When you make changes in VideoWave you have to start a new MyDVD project otherwise your changes are never applied in MyDVD…

 

So even if you use VW and Export as a new mpeg file, until you start a new MyDVD project it will continue to use the old file…

 

Not the way anyone would expect it to work, but it is the way it works…