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ender2002 · Jul 7, 2003, 03:59 PM

Hi. I have 2 .avi files. They will not open with quicktime. They do open with VLC. How can i burn this to a VCD/SVCD? I have searched these forums, but it has lead me nowhere. HELP!

natro301 · Jul 7, 2003, 04:30 PM

VersionTrack.com search for .AVI

ender2002 · Jul 7, 2003, 04:36 PM

i searched

convertToQt didn't work

Segue 1.11 is processing it? Anyone have any positive feedback about this?

SKP07 · Jul 8, 2003, 01:31 AM

i can't help sorry, but i know i can't seem to play SVCD's in osx, or burn them....
I can play avi's in vlc and mplayer osx.. Quicktime needs to get with it or something.

Spliff · Jul 8, 2003, 01:47 AM

Originally posted by ender2002:
Hi. I have 2 .avi files. They will not open with quicktime. They do open with VLC. How can i burn this to a VCD/SVCD? I have searched these forums, but it has lead me nowhere. HELP!

Download ffmpegX and install the binaries as per instructions in the read me. http://homepage.mac.com/major4/

Use ffmpegX to convert the .avis to VCD or SVCD.

Burn them with Toast or Missing Media Burner.

However, some people insist on creating .avis with obscure codecs. And often they are poorly encoded with errors, so even ffmpegX will choke on them.

If you really want help with converting video files to VCD/SVCD, use the Mac forum or the ffmpegX forum over at http://www.vcdhelp.com/

Uncle Skeleton · Jul 8, 2003, 10:07 AM

often if you downloaded a file called "AVI" that doesn't open in Quicktime it is just named wrong (and is not an avi). See here for pictures:

http://nsorscher.home.comcast.net/movieFAQ

ender2002 · Jul 8, 2003, 03:18 PM

Ok, Segue or whatever ran for like an hour converting the .avi to a mpg2. When i opened it the entire movie was a single frame with no sound with the words "please register". WHAT A PIECE OF CRAP.

Then I tried ffmpeg
i installed the binaries and everything, ran it. The entire process went on from 7pm last night to 6 this morning. There was no progressbar or any real indication of how long it would take. So i stopped it. Still i need to convert this to a vcd compatible format.

Should i have waited longer [iMac 500, 10.2]?

Spliff · Jul 8, 2003, 03:26 PM

Originally posted by ender2002:
Then I tried ffmpeg
i installed the binaries and everything, ran it. The entire process went on from 7pm last night to 6 this morning. There was no progressbar or any real indication of how long it would take. So i stopped it. Still i need to convert this to a vcd compatible format.

Should i have waited longer [iMac 500, 10.2]?

The current version of ffmpegX uses the terminal. You can watch the progress in there, but it won't tell you much except if there are problems with the conversion or with the avi. And it'll tell you when the process is complete.

Converting a large avi to VCD/SVCD on an older machine will take many hours. On my iMac 600, a 45 minute avi file will take 8-10 hours with ffmpegX. It's slow but it gets the job done.

ender2002 · Jul 8, 2003, 05:08 PM

Ok. I am running the .avi through ffmpeg once again. I'll wait until it is fully finished.

also

the .avi is widescreen but with bars at the top. What would be the best video and audio output options to put this onto a vcd/svcd

Spliff · Jul 8, 2003, 05:42 PM

First of all, make sure that the output fps is the same fps as your source file (your avi). Use Mplayer, Quicktime player, or VLC to find out the framerate of your avi.

If the fps is 25, then the avi is PAL and a VCD or SVCD made from it is unlikely to work in your DVD player (unless it supports PAL framerates). If the fps is 29.97, then select SVCD NTSC (29.97) for your output. If your avi's framerate is 23.976, then select SVCD NTSC Film (23.976) for your output. This all can be done in ffmpegX under the "Video" tab.

If your avi is 29.97 fps and you convert it at a different fps, your audio will be out of sync.

Under the Options tab, you'll notice the mpeg2enc options. For Divx files and avis that play fine in Quicktime player, you would leave the "Decode with Quicktime" box checked. If you had to use VLC or Mplayer to view the avi, then you'll have to check "Decode with mplayer" or else the conversion won't be successfully. Decoding with mplayer is much, much slower than decoding with Quicktime, so expect the conversion to take a long time.

Checking "Encode hi freq" will increase the image quality of your VCD/SVCD but will also give slower encoding times.

I usually uncheck "Letterbox" in Options when converting to VCD or SVCD, but you can leave it checked if that's what your prefer.

Make sure you read the manual at http://homepage.mac.com/major4/

ender2002 · Jul 8, 2003, 06:14 PM

thanks for the long post!

hopefully it will work this time.

Moonray · Jul 9, 2003, 04:17 PM

You can also give MPlayer/MPlayer OS X a try. It would also encode your avi to something else.
It is true that you might have to wait hours or more. If you have the opportunity to try with a smaller file first I would recommand you do that just to get an estimation of the needed time.

You might be able to play that avi if you get the correct codec installed and use a tool like DivX Doctor. There are easy findable webpages telling you what you need.

From my knowledge, DVD players usually support both standards, so my experience is different from what Spliff says. On www.dvdrhelp.com (formerly www.vcdhelp.com) will tell, there are also lots of reviews of players.

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ender2002 · Jul 9, 2003, 08:48 PM

i gave up on ffmpeg. i tried quicktime pro with Divx codec installed and converting the .avi to .mov. The result - crappy video with no sound! yay! So i give up on this entire thing. end of story. thanks for the help anyways.

Spliff · Jul 9, 2003, 10:08 PM

Originally posted by ender2002:
i gave up on ffmpeg. i tried quicktime pro with Divx codec installed and converting the .avi to .mov. The result - crappy video with no sound! yay! So i give up on this entire thing. end of story. thanks for the help anyways.

Were there any messages in the Terminal app during the conversion?

BTW, major, the creator of ffmpegX, is the moderator of the ffmpegX forum over at http://dvdrhelp.com

If you tell him about any error messages in the Terminal, he can usually tell you whats wrong.

Spliff · Jul 9, 2003, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by ender2002:
Hi. I have 2 .avi files. They will not open with quicktime. They do open with VLC. How can i burn this to a VCD/SVCD? I have searched these forums, but it has lead me nowhere. HELP!

How big are these .avi files?

ender2002 · Jul 10, 2003, 02:19 PM

there were no error messages in the terminal, i just got tired of waiting.

the files were about 700 megs each.

Spliff · Jul 10, 2003, 05:07 PM

Originally posted by ender2002:
there were no error messages in the terminal, i just got tired of waiting.

the files were about 700 megs each.

Yeah, those are big .avi files and they'll take a long time. Fortunately, ffmpegX use of the terminal doesn't use much more than 50% of the CPU, so you can easily browse the web, check your email, and listen to music while ffmpegX does its work.

A G4 would really speed things up, however.