I edited a bunch of video from my digital camera, using Windows Movie Maker, and now have AVI files, 704x480. I'm a very newbie. For practice I converted some DVD's to single VCD using VBR in TMPGEnc. I would like to put my movies on CDs, about 70 to 100 minutes/cd80 would be fine. I'm very interested in using your KVCD system to get better quality than VCD but am totally intimidated by the complexity. For a beginner, willing to use the standard sound etc rather than get involved in seperate conversions, what is the very simplest way to start using the KVCD advantage with TMPGEnc, without adding more steps? So far the templates I've looked at require seperate process for audio, and are for film source.

Thanks,
Harold K

Hi Harold,

You can use TMPEG to encode audio, but the result will not be the same as if you use an external encoder
Just load your favorite template, and select "Video+Audio", and encode your source. You might want to select 128kbps audio bitrate instead of 224Kbps to give more quality to your video stream

-kwag

Thanks for your patience as I learn the basics.

Do I need to make some adjustments about the 'FILM' settings?
HK

Just check the box "System (Video+Audio)" on TMPEG's main screen.
About the frame rate (film) selection, just click right on top of the word "Frame rate", and select "Unlock". Then you can change your settings and save your template

-kwag

I found the audio and the frame rate. About the bitrate - instead of having to figure the CQ, can I use the 2-pass method and the wizard?

No
Your answer of CQ vs. Multipass is here: http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2073
When you have time, read it

-kwag

I really appreciate the help and personal attention! I read the thread you mention, seems it was just about CQ versus CQ_VBR automatic, no mention of the 2 pass. Is one of these equal to the 2-pass setting?

I did my first segment last night, and at first was dismayed to find that the movie was of only skinny gumby folks. I noticed elsewhere you said to use WINDVD instead of WMP. That worked. My question - if I give a disk to a friend who only has WMP is there a way to convince WMP to use the right aspect ratio?

I believe that only if you install the Ligos CODECS, then WMP will show the correct aspect ratio in WMP. As it is, WMP will display correct aspect only for 352x240 or 704x480. 352x480 and 528x480 will not.

-kwag

Hi,

I have tried 2 pass VBR with the standard 352x288 and TMPGenc 210
and it seems to work very well. Like kornylak I also had TMPGenc
output the sound without splitting it off end re-multiplexing it. Using
2-pass VBR does make the fitting of a film onto VCD very easy.

Thanks for the site - much apprecaited.

Iainb

Hi Iainb,

Yes, 2-pass is easier to use, but only for size fitting. Not for quality
If you read this thread, you'll see our findings: http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2073

-kwag

Hi Kwag,

To be honest, I have found it difficult to get a good VCD using CQ. I
wanted to make a backup copy of "The Matrix" (using a script very close
to your optimal script - I'm at work otherwise I'd list it) but never
seemed to achieve a good quality VCD using CQ.

So I tried 2-pass VBR and am very happy with the results. I used
Avisynth 2.08, the free version of TMPGenc 210 and the standard
352x288 template, modified to output sound and to use 2-pass VBR.

I do feel that different versions of TMPGenc have different algorithms
for producing the output, but I wouldn't know to quantify or measure this. Is there any specific version of TMPGenc would you recommend?

Thanks for your help,
Iainb

Any version of TMPEG above 2.5x will work just fine. Either the free or the PLUS. You probably can't tell that much difference between CQ and 2-pass at 352x240. At higher resolutions is where you really see the difference, specially on a HDTV. Mind you, that my comments about 2-pass vs. CQ are related to TMPEG only. TMPEG produces better results than it's own 2-pass. This doesn't apply to CCE, which really shines in x-pass, but only on MPEG-2. CCE's MPEG-1 quality is pretty poor, compared to TMPEG's MPEG-1.

-kwag