I am very new to making VCD's. I have just started to record my AVI's using the G400 and VirtualDub. I am recording full video, 704x480 at 29.97fps, 23min of video at a time. When I am done, nothing(including VirtualDub)can read the avi's. I have a couple of questions. First, is there something wrong with this process or are there any settings I might be overlooking. Just for a test, I recorded the same material at the same settings(I think) using the Matrox software. It automaticly seperated the avi's into 2gig files. This will be fine if anyone knows a way that I can put the files back together in either avi or Mpeg-1(for VCD's using Panasonic encoder) without a pause in the video. I use Nero to burn my VCD's and in the past when I put two mpegs together in Nero, there was a long pause when I played the VCD back. So my second question is, is there any way to put the file seamlessly together? I hope I am not asking common questions, but I did not find these using the search engine. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Brandon

-- Brandon (thxext@earthlink.net), May 17, 2000

Answers

There a couple of ways of putting it together again, there will be others no doubt but I do not have any experience except in:

The bbMPEG encoder has the option to batch encode to one output file and does not get mixed up at the joint - its a free encoder but most people will find it to slow.

The second is using a program like Premiere with the Panasonic or bbMPEG plugin loaded so that you load up the 2G avi segments on the timeline and encode direct to a vcd compatible mpeg-1 file for burning - doing it this way means you can put up to 72+ minutes on a VCD in one operation if so required.

-- Ross McL (rmclennan@esc.net.au), May 17, 2000.

When Matrox PC-VCR created the next AVI file (automatically), there will be many seconds of video dropped. Please check.

You can use VirtualDub to capture using Matrox.

-- Mike (Yankee_Mickey@Yahoo.com), May 17, 2000.

There is a better solution to the problem of multiple AVI files: Encode all AVI files to MPG, and then join them together with iFilmEdit. This one does a terrific job, and maintains the VCD compatability.

-- Josh (none@home.net), May 18, 2000.

Try PIC VIDEO MJPEG codec. I think your problem stems from the fact that your M400 is capturing in hardware MJPEG, and without software drivers NOTHING will be able to decode it ( or encode it ).

Once that is working, you can load them up in vdub and edit away.

-- eric (eric@snowmoon.com), May 18, 2000.

Thanks so much for all the great ideas. I am going to try to manually stop recording using VDUB and encode with the Panasonic. After that I will try to put the Mpegs together using iFilmEdit. I will post here to let you know if this works. Also, what is the advantage of using VirtualDub with the panasonic encoder, if the panasonic cannot read large files? Is it because the panasonic can encode upto 3Gb(saw that number in an above post) and other software will not let you encode past 2Gb? Just wondering, just incase there is a feature of VirtualDub I am not using or using right. Thanks in advance for any help.

-- Brandon (thxext@earthlink.net), May 18, 2000.

I capture using the older Marvel G200. It does automatically create new AVI files after the preceding 2GB have been finished. The key to ensuring that no frames get dropped in between files is to use a carefully tweaked, fast PC (mine is currently PIII600, 128MB RAM), a fast HDD (UltraSCSI or UltraDMA66, 7200rpm or better) that has been benchmarked with one of apps included when the drivers of the G200/G400 are installed (so the the G200/G400 is "aware" that the capture device can inddeed go up to x Kb/sec) and then defragged, and no other application is running. On the video side make sure the source is very stable, with strong, ever-present sync, preferably with S-video connection (the video sync is the bond that times the capture process with the VCR; some old/poorly recorded VHS tapes cause this to disappear sometimes. It may just be streaks or vertical roll on the TV, but represents a whole slew of dropped frames on the captured AVI. That's why digitally-sourced material (D8, DV, DVD)is better in this respect: sync is always strong and stable. I have captured at one point with VirtualDub, which better in may respects compared with Matrox PC-VCR. But unless spillout/spillover is configured, VirtualDub can make files larger than 2GB, which Panasonic cannot encode properly. That's why PC-VCR, which automatically creates this string of 2GB AVIs, is well suited for encoding with Panasonic. After encoding, I join these MPEG clips seamlessly with VCDCutter. So long as no frames were dropped in the capturing between files, it is not easy to tell where the join is in the final VCDCutter-joined MPEG file. If you have Adobe Premiere and have installed the plug-in version of Panasonic, you may assemble the AVI clips on the timeline and direct the output to a final joined MPEG file just as seamlessly.

-- EMartinez (epmartinez@yahoo.com), May 20, 2000.