Can't make playable DVD?

[Nationalsolo]

Hi

 

I may be wrong but can Panasonic DVD players handle +r discs. I am sure I saw somewhere that they can't.

 

Nat

[Toadstool]

My Panasonic can handle +r DVDs. My problem isn't with DVDs, it's with USB files. "The file extension has to be .xvid or .avi" ...

[borate]

As you now know, XVID isn't a file type...and AVI is a container for many different encodings.

 

An earlier post linked to an AVI with H.264 encoding. Here's one encoded with MPEG4 in an AVI wrapper. Download it, then copy to your USB and test in the player.

As with the H.264, the MPEG4 USB plays fine on the Blu-Ray/DVD Samsung unit here.

[Toadstool]

Aha - THAT one does play on my DVD player, from USB stick. So How did you do it? I've just tried to replicate it - exported a VP project to Video File, choosing .avi as File Format and "MPEG4 Native" as Video Compressor. But the DVD player again says "Unsupported Format". What am I doing wrong?

[borate]

These were the settings. Note that "constant frame rate" is not enabled. File was exported directly to the USB stick.

 

 

[Toadstool]

Thanks for patience. I've tried again, this time exporting direct to usb stick, but same result: unsupported format. Then I gave it another go, & at "create" I get "the preview & export aspect ratios differ" & the choice of "crop edges" or "resize to fit". Whichever of those I pick, I then get "failed". I've tried both PAL & NTSC (the DVD manual says it can play both).

 

So I don't know why the file you sent me plays, but the ones I make just don't. Or, why I now can't make them at all (just "failed".)

[borate]

Upload one of your files that was made exactly as above, but won't play, to Dropbox, Google DRIVE, MS OneDrive or the like.

Make the link public and post it here.

[c_major]

@borate:

 

Would you mind let's see your Compression Settings?

 

 

@Toadstool:

 

Please check your resolution settings. Did you use the same resolution as above(720 x 304)? Also please make sure use MPEG4(Native) instead of XviD MPEG-4 Codec.

[Toadstool]

Dropbox link to one of my mini AVIs: https://www.dropbox.com/s/t4txhn3lrfgr4es/cricket.avi?dl=0

 

C-major: I forget what the resolution was - if I remember, the resolution in the file you sent me (the one that does play on my DVD player) wasn't available as an option when I exported from Videopad.

[c_major]

Thanks for sharing the file, I'll have a look and get back here when I find something.

 

wasn't available as an option when I exported from Videopad

 

You can type in any resolution by select "Custom" in the pull down list.

[borate]

Toadstool: Using a USB stick in the Samsung DVD/Blu-Ray player, your https://www.dropbox....ricket.avi?dl=0 video looked fine here.

 

Sam: For compression setting on the file I tested, take a look again at the graphic in my 7/11/16 post.

[Toadstool]

The mystery deepens. I've now had a reply from Panasonic to my query:

 

 

"In response, I would explain that .xvid is used as a codec name as well as a file extension. Please ensure that the USB device is formatted in either FAT12, FAT16 or FAT32 file system before adding content to it.

The device supports .avi or .xvid files from USB."

 

So, Panasonic still say (as per the DVD player manual) that .xvid is a file extension. Are they wrong?

[borate]

The file-extensions.org WEBsite states...

 

"What is xvid file? How to open xvid files?

 

XVID is not a file extension and not even a file format. It is a video codec library based in MPEG-4.

The confusion probably comes from torrents, where mostly in the past, videos shared through P2P network had several dots in their file name, ie. "movie.xvid.release.avi".

Today, most video files have spaces instead of dots in their file names. The actual file extension and the format is after the last dot. Most likely it will be the AVI format."

 

To see what formatting has been used on the USB load it into your PC, right-click the drive letter and click PROPERTIES. The FAT32 file system is being used on the USB here.

[Toadstool]

Confused. Yes I've seen these websites that say .xvid isn't a file extension, but Panasonic says it is. Also, googling for converters I find things like (e.g.) ""You would like to convert a home video to some other video formats? AVS Video Converter enables you to convert home video to DivX, Xvid, AVI, MPEG, WMV, MOV, and save converted files to your PC. ... " - but when I download the converter, .xvid turns out to be NOT an option to change a file to.

 

Yes my USB stick is FAT32. That's not the issue. And it plays jpeg stills through the DVD player fine.

[borate]

Earlier info not withstanding, it's conceivable that some files may have an xvid extension. I renamed mine and yours to .xvid and they still played, though some players weren't automatically invoked because they had no association with that file type. WMP prompts that it doesn't recognize the suffix, but may be able to play it. And it does. The Blu-Ray/DVD could not 'see' the files at all. http://tinyurl.com/hay4aoh

 

That doesn't explain some anomalies mentioned earlier with a USB in your standalone player, especially the fact that you can play the file linked in this thread, but not the one that you created with identical encoding.

And when Panasonic states that "the device supports .avi or .xvid files from USB" they don't reveal what the specs are for the AVI. As noted, it's a container - a wrapper. Perhaps some things were never meant to be known.

[c_major]

I've did a comparison with Borate's mpeg4.avi and Toadstool's cricket.avi. Here's the only difference:

 

mpeg4.avi:

Width : 720 pixels

Height : 304 pixels

Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1

Frame rate : 29.970 fps

 

cricket.avi:

Width : 1 920 pixels

Height : 1 080 pixels

Display aspect ratio : 16:9

Frame rate : 30.000 fps

[Toadstool]

Having now found we can put in other resolutions through "custom", I changed a couple of my unplayable files to 720 x 304 as you suggested. This does make a playable file - as if "unsupported format" may actually mean "unsupported resolution"? But there are a couple of problems:

 

1) the aspect ratios are wrong: people / buildings / objects are now too thin or too tall. VP warns: "the preview (16:9) and export (45:19) aspect ratios differ". It suggests either "crop edges" or "resize to fit" - I've tried both, but neither helps.

 

2) the picture quality isn't very good - but then 720 x 304 seems pretty low res?

 

But I do seem to be slowly getting somewhere. Any tips on either of the above?

 

I also tried just changing the suffix from .avi to .xvid. The unplayable files are still unplayable & the playable ones still play, but still with those 2 problems above.

[c_major]

It seems the only way to get this problem solved is to take a trail and error approach. You can try 720 x 405 (16:9) and then slowly increase the resolution and keep the aspect ratio if it success.

 

You can also try contact the manufacturer to avoid doing the experiments.

[Toadstool]

Yes I'll keep experimenting. I have to wait days for replies from Panasonic & they're not very detailed. I'll also look into hooking my laptop directly to the TV & bypassing the DVD player altogether. It plays DVDs OK but its USB port seems pretty useless.

[Kobi]

I have been following this thread with great interest. I have just purchased the program from NCH and tried to burn my video files to a DVD-R dis to play in my player to my TV screen but had the same results. I was beginning to wonder if I had purchased the right disc? As I said, I will go through these various instructions here and see if I have success. Just like Toadstool, what I have burned will play on my laptop, but not in my player!

 

[borate]

This is an old thread, and it's wise to begin anew with a descriptive subject.  But now that we're here...

What Videopad version is being used?

Consider burning a DVD/R-W disk for tests, to avoid making coasters.

Please share your project, or a portion thereof, so someone can check out DVD compatibly.  It's not difficult.

Here's how...  http://nch.invisionzone.com/topic/23659-tips-for-getting-help-on-this-forum/

If it contains sensitive material you can link it in a personal message (PM) to me, via the envelope above.  Be sure to FILE|SAVE PORTABLE PROJECT AS, not simply SAVE PROJECT, and don't forget to share it.