Great, thanks a lot. I very much look forward to it. :)

To possibly put an end to this post once and for all, here are my settings in MainConcept. Please tell me if they are all right, or if I need to change anything. These are settings for a 3 hour video.

Video & Audio Source - Same File (Named the same in both boxes)

Output Source - Different File Name (ex. video name-Encoded, no extension after)

Output Format -
MPEG Type - MPEG 2
Stream Type - Elementary Video & Audio
Video Mode - NTSC
Audio Mode - LPCM

Detailed Settings -
Width - 352
Height - 480
Frame Rate - 29.97
Field Encoding - Top Field First
Check mark next to Keep Proportions
Check mark next to 2 Pass Encoding

Advanced MPEG Settings -
Frame Rate - 29.97 fps- NTSC, Non Drop Frame Rate
Aspect Ratio - 4:3 Display
Bitrate Type - Variable Bitrate
Rate Mode Control - Mode 1
Variable Bitrate - 3200 avg, 4000 max, 1000 min.

Audio Settings - PCM

Is this all correct, or should I change something?

I just encoded a video, and when it was done MC added the extension .pcm for the audio. Is that ok?

Thanks.

Yes.

Good.

Yes.

No. Change it to "Wave" option instead. I forget that MainConcept will encode PCM audio to a wrapper-less file if told.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, this is still PCM. It's PCM mode audio in a WAV wrapper.

So.....

This should all look good, video-wise. And the audio is now in an edit-friendly format for the next stages of the workflow, the audio restoration (de-hiss, de-noise, de-hum, de-buzz, etc).

I'll assume this concludes this topic, we'll move on to some of the others you've got going on.

If I change the audio to PCM in the audio tab, it changes it automatically from Wave to LPCM..and when I change it to Wave in the audio mode box, it automatically changes it to MPEG-Layer 2 in the audio tab..

So in other words...
If I select to LPCM, I have to have PCM in the audio tab.

If I select Wave, I have to have MPEG-Layer 2 in the audio tab.

I think this is the 3rd different instruction I've had for what to put in the audio mode, all 3 have been different choices. First it was Layer 2, then it was LPCM, now it's Wave. I'm starting to get kinda confused with it...

Which one do I use?

Thanks

In MainConcept v1.4 (the one installed on this system I'm using right this moment), I can set Wave output in the main program GUI, and then PCM formatting on the audio settings tab. So I don't know, that's weird. Not to be redundant, but are you sure?

If MC 1.5 wants to be a pest, we can always skip MC's source>WAV conversion, and do it manually in another program. BeLight/Besweet would work here too. It can go to WAV just as easily as it can go FROM wav. Then all you'd have to do is encode to an elementary video file, no audio required out of MC.

Try again, see if you can set WAVE, then go change it to PCM/LPCM in the audio settings tab.

I just tried again, and it's doing the same thing. When I select Wave, it automatically changes it to MPEG-Layer 2 still.

Yeah, I get that. It happens to me too.
But can you not change it from MPEG Layer II to PCM? I can do that too. Therefore I get Wave PCM audio. The settings are partially independent of one another, not tied.

Everytime I change it to PCM, it goes back to LPCM..I'm not sure why..

And everytime I change it to Wave, it goes back to MPEG-Layer 2

I've tried it with 2 different videos, and it does that same thing on them both.

Weird.

It's not worth fighting. Encode video only, elementary stream, forget the audio. We'll do all audio in BeLight/Besweet or Goldwave. Don't throw away your EDITED source video (the one after the Womble edit). We'll demux from it.

Ok, I'll redo the videos that I encoded already with the previous audio settings (LPCM, and PCM)..

So, I just bring the source video into the video box, leave audio empty and put something in the output box like I've been doing?

You said elementary stream, is that elementary video, or elementary audio? I've been using Elementary Video & Audio on the 3 I already encoded..

I won't be using Womble for these 3 videos that I already encoded that I have to redo because I don't need to edit out anything..

If you already encoded some videos, and the video is good, then don't worry about redoing the encode. We can just demux the video, save the M2V, and discard the muxed MPEG file.

Then go back to the captured source where nothing needs to be edited out, and demux the audio there, and then work with it from there.

Yeah, it is as easy as it looks. Video is just video, audio is just audio, audio+video is audio+video. So you'd just select the video option, it won't output any audio file. It will ignore the audio.

When I go to author my video, will I be putting the edited video from Womble into DVD-Lab, or will I be putting the encoded one from MC into DVD-Lab?

Also, when I encode, I encode the edited video from Womble and not the original capture...right?

Remember your workflow, follow the logic...

1. Capture
2. Edit with Womble
3. Take edited file, encode video in MainConcept
4. Take edited file, extract audio and restore
5. Take encoded video, restored audio, author to DVD

I would split it up.
352x480 @ 5,000kbps CBR (not VBR).

What do you think I should split it up into? 1 hrs and 45 min each maybe?

So for in MainConcept, I should use CBR 5,000 for avg or max?
what should I use in the other 2 ...if 5000 is avg, what do I put in Max and Min? If 5000 is max, what do I put in avg & min?

Should I use the same capture settings that I've been using in WinTV for 3 hr videos? I'm currently using Constant, 15000 bitrate, 720x480

No more than 2 hours per "half". It does not matter than exact number, just anywhere in that range would be fine.

CBR does not have min/max/avg -- it's s single bitrate, not variable. Set CBR to 5000kbps (5.0Mbps) and that's all it is.

Ok, I'll set it to CBR at 5000 in MC.

For WinTV 32, should I use the same capture settings that I've been using in WinTV for 3 hr videos? I'm currently using Constant, 15000 bitrate, 720x480

Leave WinTV settings alone, they're fine as is.

now that I'm only encoding the video, do I keep the same settings in MC?
This is what I'm using -

2 Pass Encoding
Top Field First
352x480
Frame Rate - 29.97 fps NTSC Non Drop Frame Rate

Should I keep all of these?

Yes, use those settings.