Question 1 - What is 'AVI to VCD / DVD'?
Question 2 - OK, I have encoded my files,
how do I get a VideoCD out of it?
Question 3 - I made a VideoCD, but my DVD
player cannot play it.
Question 4 - I get a "FATAL ERROR: Could
not retrieve video frame xxxx" error".
Question 5 - I get ''can't
initialize avi file" error
Question 6 - What's a codec?
Question 7 - Where do I get a codec?
Question 8 - Why is 'AVI to VCD / DVD' so
slow?
Question 10 - When I encode a video the
resulting mpeg is larger than the source?
Question 11 - When I encode an avi file
that use the Cinepak (or other codec, the resulting mpeg
is very "blocky".
Question 12 - Whe I encode a screen
capture sequence, or a computer generated animation, the
resulting mpeg is not very clear.
Question 13 - Why in the conversion
window and preview show the vedio upside down?.
Question 14 - When I play back the
resulting mpeg, the video occasionally freezes, or it
plays like a slide show with a new still frame every few
seconds while the audio continues.
Question 15 - 'AVI to VCD / DVD' will not
encode the video from my mjpeg capture card?
Question 16 - I'm having problems
encoding videos captured from my DV Camcorder.
Question 17 - Adaptec's Easy VideoCD
Creator says the mpeg produced by 'AVI to VCD / DVD' is
not "Whitebook" compliant?
Question 18 - The VideoCD creation
program I use "Brand X", does not accept the
output of 'AVI to VCD / DVD'. What can I do?
Question 19 - How to add subtile file
into my vcd or dvd file with pro version?
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Answers |
Question 1 - What is 'AVI to VCD / DVD'? |
'AVI to VCD / DVD' is a Windows based program to encode
avi files to VCD/DVD/SVCD compliant mpeg files for
recording to VCD with a VCD creation program. The
resulting VCD/DVD/SVCD can be played on VCD players, and
many DVD players.
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Question 2 - OK, I have encoded my files, how do I copy
them to a VCD/DVD/SVCD? |
'AVI to VCD / DVD' is just the file
encoder. You will still need a CD recording application
which can create all the required structures required
for a VCD/DVD/SVCD, as well as write the mpeg files to
individual tracks on the VCD/DVD/SVCD. There are several
such packages out there such as NTI CD Maker, the full
(Deluxe or Platinum) version of EZ CD Creator,
InstantVideo, Nero, etc. YOU CAN'T JUST RECORD THE MPEG
TO A CD AND EXPECT IT TO PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER! If your
CD recording application can create VCD/DVD/SVCD's,
there will be an explicit setting for creating a
VCD/DVD/SVCD. Check your manual. For example, with
Easy CD Creator, you need to use the EZ VCD Creator
application which comes with it. For InstantCD, you need
to use the InstantVideo selection in the startup
menu.
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Question 3 - I made a VCD, but my DVD player cannot play
it. |
Not all DVD players can play VCDs.
Some DVD players that can play commercially stamped
"silver" VCD's cannot play VCD's on CD-R. You need to
try both CD-R and CD-RW media. I have found that even
different brands of CD-RW get different results.
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Question 4 - I get a "FATAL ERROR: Could not retrieve
video frame xxxx" error". |
If the frame number is 0, then you
either do not have a properly installed codec for the
compression method this video uses, or the codec in
question is not accessible from DirectShow or
Video-for-Windows, and cannot be used with 'AVI to VCD /
DVD' . You might also need to upgrade the version of
DirectX installed on your system.
If the frame number is higher than 0: Most likely
either your video is corrupted (the video frame in
question is "damaged") or the codec has a bug. 'AVI to
VCD / DVD' tries to skip over the corrupted frame to the
next good frame (it will skip up to 15 bad frames for
most codecs, or 60 frames for Divx, where this is much
more common
a problem). This is most usually caused by downloading
video from the net, and having the download fail. When
you restart the download where it left off, often the
video is corrupted at the point of resumption. If this
is the case, you need to re-download the avi in one
single, unbroken session.
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Question 5 - I get ''can't initialize avi file"
error |
We recommend that you install kazaa
codecs package, you can download it from here.
Of course, if you can be sure the decode of your avi
file, you also can go here to download the
codec you needed.
If failed again, could you please send your avi log file
to us? Please click "check log" button after you open
your avi file, the avi log file will pop up
automatically.
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Question 6 - What's a
codec? |
Codec stands for
"COmpressor/DECompressor". Every compressed video file
uses a codec to decompress the individual frames for
playback. There are a great many codecs. Some come with
Windows, others must be downloaded and installed before
you can play back the video. Some codecs are not
compatible with DirectX, which is what 'AVI to VCD /
DVD' uses to decode the video frames, in which case you
will not be able to encode the video using 'AVI to VCD /
DVD'. Try getting the latest version of the codec, it
might work with 'AVI to VCD / DVD'.
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Question 7 - Where do I get a codec? |
There are a lot of codecs, and as many
places to get them as there are codecs. If you
downloaded a video from the web, and you don't have the
codec it requires, check the website you downloaded the
video from for information on where to get the codec. We
recommend that you goto
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Codec_Pack_All_in_1.htm
to download the codec package all in 1.You also can go here to download some normal codec, but not
all.
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Question 8 - Why is 'AVI to VCD / DVD' so slow? |
Depending on your computer system, you
may experience anywhere from 1 to 10 frames (more or
less) encoded per second. Some systems will be slower,
some faster. This means it might easily take from 3 to
30 hours to encode 1 hour of video to mpeg. Mpeg
encoding is a computationally intensive, and slow,
process. The characteristics of the video also have an
effect. If your video is 720x480, for example, 'AVI to
VCD / DVD' needs to resize each frame to 352x240 (or
352x288 for PAL), which adds to the time required. Some
codecs are also slower than others.
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Question 9 - I lost my register code , how to get it
again? |
Please goto
http://support.cucusoft.com to retrieve your registe
code and the latest full version.
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Question 10 - When I encode a video the resulting
mpeg is larger than the source? |
The resulting mpeg will always be
176400 bytes x # of seconds in source video. This is a
result of the VCD standard
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Question 11 - When I encode an avi file that uses the
Cinepak (or other) codec,the resulting mpeg is very
"blocky". |
The encoded mpeg can be no better than
the original source file for video quality, in fact it
is usually significantly worse. This applies to all
codecs. To obtain maximum quality, you must use a high
quality original video that is only slightly compressed,
or not compressed at all. Simply encoding miscellaneous
avi's you may have lying around will probably not work
very well. The encoder is paricularily sensitive to
noise, if the source avi has visible noise in the
picture (as from VHS video tape), it will not encode
well
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Question 12 - When I encode a screen capture
sequence, or a computer generated animation, the
resulting mpeg is not very clear. |
Mpeg was intended to compress real
world video images, not artificial computer generated
images
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Question 13 - Why in the conversion window and
preview show the vedio upside down? |
Please have the checkbox of "Flip
vertical" checked.
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Question 14 - When I play back the resulting mpeg,
the video occasionally |
freezes, or it plays like a slide show
with a new still frame every few seconds while the audio
continues. Try turning your screen saver off
completely before starting the encode. Many users have
reported this solves the problem for them, though I have
never experienced it myself. Also make sure you have the
latest version of DirectX and the codec your video uses.
The DIVX codec exhibits this behavior on many PC's. This
is a bug in the Divx codec. Divx is aware of the problem
and expects a fix in the next release of the divx codec.
(Current version of Divx codec as of this writing,
5.05).
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Question 15 - 'AVI to
VCD / DVD' will not encode the video from my mjpeg
capture card? |
Some mjpeg capture cards use a
hardware based codec which is not compatible with the
DirectShow component of DirectX. Some software mjpeg
codecs are also not compatible with DirectX. You should
first make sure you have the latest version of the
codec. If that still does not work, then the only other
thing I can suggest is to contact the manufacturer and
request a DirectShow compatible version of your codec.
Also make sure you have the latest version of DirectX
installed on your system
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Question 16 - I'm having problems encoding videos
captured from my DV Camcorder |
Generally, there are no issues with
encoding Type 2 DV avi files, and if your DV capture
program gives you the option, you should choose Type 2
DV instead of Type 1. However, if you attempt to encode
Type 1 DV avi files, you may experience the following
error message: "Error attempting to read audio
from Type 1 DV .avi file Re-render video with video
editor and try again!" This occurs when DirectShow
reports to 'AVI to VCD / DVD' that a Type 1 DV file with
48KHz audio has 32KHz audio! Usually this occurs when
you try to encode a Type 1 file directly after capture
from a DV camera. If this file is first edited with an
video editor (such as Media Studio Pro) then re-rendered
to a Type 1 DV file, 'AVI to VCD / DVD' can usually
encode this fine. I have not been able to correct this
problem as yet, but I am still working on it. In the
meantime, it does not affect most individuals since
generally avi files are edited after capture and before
encoding. A simple workaround for the above issue
is to set your camcorder to 32KHz, 12 bit audio. This
seems to works fine even with Type 1 DV files.
Some camcorders work better during capture if they are
powered through the
AC adapter rather than the battery. Check your owner's
manual. Sound quality: If you experience poor quality
audio, generally described as noise, when encoding Type
1 DV files, try rerendering your DV file to Type 2, or
use 32KHz audio. Pinnacle DV500 Owners: Make
sure you upgrade to Version 8.1 of DirectX (or later)
and get the
Version 4.0 (or later) DV 500 driver from the Pinnacle
web site.
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Question 17 - Adaptec's Easy VCD Creator says the
mpeg produced by 'AVI to VCD / DVD' is not "Whitebook"
compliant? |
Start up VCD creator, go to Help - >
About. What does the dialog box say next to "MCI Mpeg
Video Driver:"? If it says something other than
"DirectShow" or "ActiveMovie", for example "QI
Cinemaster DVD", than that's likely the problem. Easy
VCD Creator uses the default MCI MPEG driver
to determine the source mpegs characteristics. Many DVD
software players replace the DirectShow MCI Driver with
their own, which may not properly
identify the mpeg file characteristics to Easy VCD
Creator. All I can suggest is that you remove whatever
software installed the new MCI driver and try again. You
should also request a fix from the manufacturer of the
software which caused the problem
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Question 18 - The VCD creation program I use "Brand
X", does not accept the output of 'AVI to VCD / DVD'.
What can I do? |
Make sure you are using the latest
version of the program. If that still does not work,
send me an email with the name, version, and a web
location
where I can download an evaluation copy of the program
in question. I will attempt to resolve this for the next
version. If an evaluation version is
not available, I will contact the software company and
see if they are willing to help
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Question 19 - How to add subtitle file into my
vcd or dvd file with pro version? |
1.Please install the vobsub
software,You can goto http://www.cucusoft.com/codec.asp to download it.
2.Put your avi file and subtitle file under the one
folder, please be sure they are the same name. For
example, the name of avi file is XXX.avi, the subtitle
file is XXX.srt or XXX.sub.
3.Then run our program, have the checkbox of "add
subtitle" check, click the convert button.
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