The big tutorial and Q&A topic
 

Hi there,

I've got quite some experience in ripping dvd's and converting avi files to vcd, svcd and dvd, but this whole kvcd thing with the dvd2svcd program is completely new. I've read this forum for a couple of days, but still have some questions that aren't explained on this board and site. I'll work out a guide for this conversionwork once I have all answers to these questions. I'll take Avalon's tutorial as the guide and have dvd2svcd v1.13 build2 installed. Here we go:

I'm working with avi files as the source. To prevent problems I always convert the sound from vbr to pcm with the easy program 'decompress.exe'.

1. audio: dvd2svcd did a good job locating all the programs used for converting the audio. So I use the presets. Audio bitrate is set to 192, audio 1 downsample 48>44 is enabled, autodetect Azid gain is also enabled, I've selected 'dual channel' as the output mode.

2. Frameserver: I want to use vobsub to take care of the subtitles, instead of the build-in subtitle features of dvd2svcd. This vobsub plugin works only for AviSynth 2.08, so I've installed that version. I've added this line to my kvcd.ini file:

I've selected the 'no editing' selection for the 'edit the avisynth script file' section. I've selected 'resize to cvd (352x480/576). This is what I've been told by another tutorial. Since I use subtitles AND want 120 minutes on 1 CD, does it matter if I choose cvd or svcd? I don't see that option in Avalon's guide, so I just need to guess.

3. Bitrate: I only want a movie on ONE cd, not two. With Avalon's .ini file, I have these settings:

I only intend to put movies up to 110 minutes to 1CD, so I wonder if these settings are the best for my situation. Because I don't mind that movies from 110 minutes and up are put on 2CD's. Are there any settings that need to be changed?

4. Encoder: I use TMPGEnc. The location and target folder are set correct. Rate control is set to 'Constant Quality (CQ)', Field Order is set to 'Automatic', Motion Search Precision to 'high quality (slow)', VBV Buffer Size to '0', Enabled Padding is disabled, Offset CQ Value is set to '72' (have been advised one time), File Prediction is set to '0.980', Use Fixed CQ Value is disabled.

Now the Adv. Settings of the TMPGEnc: the GOP settings are (from up to down): 1,4,3,1,0
Output Bitstream For Edit is disabled, Detect Scene Change is enabled, DC Component Precision is set to '8 bits', Output YUV Data... is disabled, Use Floating Point is enabled, No Motion Search For... is enabled, Soften Block Noise is disabled.

5. Matrix: I've edited the matrices.ini file and added the KVCD - Notch matrix to it:

What is the difference between selecting this matrix, and the normal kvcd matrix that's already in the matrices.ini file? Anyhow, I've selected this newly entered KVCD-Notch matrix

6. Pulldown: Nothing to change here. The pulldown.exe file is pointed to the right file

7. bbMPEG: The runbbMPEG.exe file and the target folder are set correctly. Movie Offset Seconds is set to '2 seconds', CD Overlap Seconds is enabled and set to '2'. Now the Advanced Settings:

I've seen some different settings for this bbMPEG part, so if someone can explain a little what these settings mean (and will do), it will be a lot clearer :)

5. Subtitles: I'm using Vobsub as a plugin for AviSynth 2.08, which is a whole lot nicer to see than the subtitles 'made by' DVD2SVCD, so I skip this part.


6. CD Image: I don't really care if I'd burn a (KVCD) mpg file as a non-compatible SVCD with Nero, or if I'd burn it as an image with every other burning program. But since I really enjoy the chapters feature of a KVCD (or svcd, or vcd), I need to use VCDXBuild.

Movietitle, cd label is your own choice. Since I want movies on 1 CD, I don't need the title, changecd and lastCd images. I've disabled all those. Use Entrysvcd is disabled. I have no idea what this do, so it's off.. Destination folder is pointed to the right folder, Data Preparer is set to dvd2svcd (no idea what this do), Include Movie Info On CD is enabled, Include XML on CD is also enabled, Use MPEGAV Instead Of MPEG2 is disabled (no idea what this do), Fixed Chapters is set to '300 seconds/chapter' (one chapter every 5 minutes).

7. Finalize: Nothing to change or add here

8. Misc: Everything speaks for itself. I've selected MPEG2 as the Output File Type.

9. Conversion: Since almost every movie is widescreen, I normally select the '16:9 (borders added, encoded as 4:3)' option. I'm not always watching on a widescreen television, and when encoded as 'Anamorphic' I sometimes have the movie completely stretched out to fill a whole normal-sized (no widescreen) television. Very ugly.

I have no experience with interlacing, so I have the Deinterlace option set to 'No deinterlace'. My television and dvd-player can handle ntsc (although I live in a pal country), so there's no need for me to enable the 'ntsc to pal' option.


==== Problems ====

P1 All of a sudden I get 2 CD's as a result of converting a 90 minute movie?
P2 with File Prediction set to '0.980', TMPGEnc does a lot of test to find the best setting. Besides the settings, I get a CQ of about 55? How come? I've seen movies bigger than this one at a CQ of 76?



=== Questions =====
And then I have some questions about a few things I don't really understand:

Q1 what's the difference between KSVCD and KVCD?
Q2 Is there a site with ini templates for DVD2SVCD? I've seen the templates for TMPGEnc, so it would be obvious if dvd2svcd users would share their ini files?
Q3 I've seen quite some AviSynth templates/scripts (like Dialhot's optimal script and those included in Avalon's packages), but are they all usable for KVCD's? If so, what are the difference between the ultra long scripts and the smaller ones (like the one I'm using)?


I'll edit this post with the answers I'll be getting (I hope :p), and more questions. When everything is clear, I'll transform it into a tutorial with not only the 'how?', but also the 'why?' and 'what if?' questions...


Thanks :D