A very simple sound sync fix

[Koshiro]

I just found this forum recently and would like to begin by saying thanks to everyone that posts here. I was able to find a lot of good info on converting DVDs and video files for use on my newly aquired iPod Video.

One thing that has been lacking, I believe, is information on making correct audio/video sync. I was unable to find much information on this subject here. After running the .vob files of The Incredibles and Robots through Videora iPod Converter, I was disapointed that the sound was way off, enough that they were very much unwatchable.

After spending countless hours trying out multiple video converters, I finally found PocketDivXEncoder (well geez...I can't even post the url because I'm not an "established member". Just google it and pick the first link). I was very pleased to find that it included an option not found in all the other software I had tried, a feature called "direct audio stream copy" which when checked allows for no audio compression. After playing with the settings a bit and encoding a few files, I was finally getting perfect sound and video sync every time. The Incredibles and many other previously unwatchable movies were now perfect.

Here are the exact settings I used in PocketDivXEncoder.

1. Click "Advanced Options" and then click the "Direct audio stream copy" box. THIS MUST BE DONE TO INSURE PERFECT SOUND SYNC!

2. Just beside the "File to encode" area, click the browse button and select the .vob file of the movie on your hard drive. (DVD Decrypter is my program of choice for ripping DVDs)

3. A box will come up asking you to select an audio stream. Select the first choice (assuming you selected the 5.1 English stream in DVD Decryptor).

4. Set the "video quality" slider all the way to the right for the best quality video. It doesn't take any longer to encode and you want to ensure the best quality file. NOTE: you will still have to encode the resulting .avi file one more time in Videora. More on that later.

5. You will not be able to change the "audio quality" slider because of the "direct audio copy" box that you checked already.

6. If you leave the "brightness" slider alone, the video will show up darker than it was on the dvd. I have found that it needs to be pushed up to about 25-30 for most movies ripped from a DVD. Experiment to find out what looks best to you.

7. "Saturation" and "contrast" sliders can be left the same. Again, feel free to experiment with those to find out what looks best to you.

8. You now want to change the Output dimensions. Press the "Output" button. It is important here to pick a video size that is proportional to the original. For The Incredibles and Robots, I used 320x192 for instance. If you use the standard 320x240 for all movies, regardless of whether or not it's widescreen, you will get some stretched, out of shape videos. Don't forget what size you used. It will be important later.

9. The final step in PocketDivXEncoder is to click the "Direct encoding" button. Make sure you wait until a new screen pops up telling you that the file has finished. The progress bar is not even close to the real percent. Just be patient with it.

Now you are all done with PocketDivXEncoder. The remaining steps are all done in Videora iPod Converter.

10. Make sure you make a new profile using the same video size as the .avi file that PocketDivXEncoder created. (I told you it would be important to remember 320x192) You will have to manually type the size in the drop down box. It doesn't have all of the sizes that you may need, and again if you pick the wrong size, the resulting video will appear distorted.

11. The rest should be self explanatory. I use H264>CBR at 640kbps and 128kbps stereo audio. Leave the aspect ratio as 1:1 and framerate as "input". The final video using these options is usually around 500-600mb depending on the length of the movie.

12. Once you save your profile, go to the convert screen and browse for the .avi file that PocketDivXEncoder created. Select the profile that you created from the drop-down box and start converting it.

I know this method may take a bit longer because of having to run the .vob through PocketDivXEncoder first, but in the long run it is well worth it to have movies that are actually watchable on your iPod. I have used this method successfully to get correctly synced audio multiple times now and just wanted to my steps with everyone else. This was quite a first post for me here on the forums. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated. I would love to hear if anyone else tries it out as well. If this has already been posted before, you have my apologies. Don't jump all over me too quickly as it did take a bit of time to type up.

Let me know what you think.

[Koshiro]

No opinions/comments?

[strahanfan92]

great topic, im going to try it.

[strahanfan92]

can you use this without a dvd, like a movie file.

[miklehems]

to my complete surprise, this actually worked! i've only done it once, but so far so good. hopefully this is the final answer to my video problems.

[Koshiro]

Glad it's working or you guys. Yeah, use it for any movie file that won't sync up right in Videora.

[Koshiro]

I wanted to make a few corrections in my instructions. After playing with the settings in PocketDivXEncoder, I am now going to say that the brightness is best left at about +10 or so. I am also now setting the contrast and saturation up a few notches to +8 to +10. I am finding that while it looks a bit over saturated on the computer screen, it looks really good and very close to the dvd on the iPod screen

The iPod screen is known for being a bit dull, so bumping up these settings really helps the final look on the iPod.

Let me know what's working for you guys.

[Koshiro]

I'm bumping my post. I've seen a lot of people asking about audio sync.

This has worked with every movie that I tried it on so far. I have 30 DVDs on my iPod among other things. I think I have tested it out quite extensively.

Don't take my word for it though, try it out yourself.

[iMonster]

awesome post man!

[Koshiro]

Originally posted by iMonster
awesome post man!

Why thank you very much. Happy to help.

[redlittlewing]

This is good, but you might want to update it. the version of PocketDivXEncoder I have (0.3.60) seems to be missing a few of the options.

The output dimensions is now only a "change" button. (320x192 is now no longer an option - you can only get 324)

There isn't a "direct encoding" button anymore. The one I have that seems to be the one that starts the encoding is called "Encode Now".

Just letting you know! I hope even with all these changes that this will work for me...

[mashpg]

Just what I've been looking for. Thanks, I'll try it now.

[Koshiro]

Originally posted by redlittlewing
This is good, but you might want to update it. the version of PocketDivXEncoder I have (0.3.60) seems to be missing a few of the options.

I actually haven't tried the 0.3.60 version yet. I'll play around with it and see how it works out. You can still get the 0.3.50 version from the same web site however. There is a mirror site for downloading it under the newer version.

[tsmit078]

Okie dokie here...Iam VERY fraustrated...I thought I FINALLY found some good info on putting DVD's onto my video IPOD player....

I followed your instructions EXACTLY to the tee SEVERAL times....Here is what I did...

I have WINDOWS XP and a 60G Video IPOD
-I downloaded DVD Decrpter 3.5.4.0.
-Pocket DivXencoder 3.50
-Downloaded Videora iPod Converter 0.91

I used these instructions on how to rip the DVD:

-RIPPING THE DVD

1)Place the DVD you want to rip your video from into your DVD drive.

2)Launch DVD Decrypter.

3)Go to the Mode menu and select IFO I mode. This will give you access to two new tabs; Input & Stream Processing.

4)Go to the Tools menu, select Settings, go to the IFO tab, then under Options, change File Splitting to None and press OK.

5a)Go to the main screen and click the Input tab. It will automatically have the section open where the movie is located (usually "VTS_02"). The PGC file that's highlighted should be the movie you're wanting to rip, double-check this by looking at the time/length of the PGC file highlighted.
*NOTE: If you are downloading episodes from a TV show DVD (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.) that has multiple episodes on one DVD, there will be a file for each episode (PGC 1, PGC 2, ...). Just highlight the one you want to rip - they're in the same order as they are on the DVD.

5b) Now click the Stream Processing tab. Check the "Enable Stream Processing" box at the top. Next, only select the first TWO boxes in the window. The 1st should say "Video" and the 2nd should say "Audio". Note that home encoded movies do not support subtitles of any kind and that your file can only have one type of audio.

6)Before you begin ripping your video, note the destination of the video file. This is where your raw DVD rip is going to go and it will be rather large in size. If you want to change the directory that DVD Decrypter will output to, click on the Browse button and navigate to the folder you want and press OK.

Now that you know where the movie file is going, click on the Decrypt button to start decrypting the DVD to your hard drive.

Once it is done, close DVD Decrypter. Expect a 4 GB to 6 GB movie to take about 12 to 18 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------



After that I started with ur instructions....Did exactly what you said and the final result was nothing transfering to ITUNES

When I did use Videora, it only took like one second to work....

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!!! Geer....PLEASE help...U seem to know what ur doing.....

[Koshiro]

Originally posted by tsmit078
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!!! Geer....PLEASE help...U seem to know what ur doing.....

Have you tried playing the resulting .avi file that PocketDivXEncoder produces? To figure out what you are doing wrong, that would be helpful to know. It should be playable in Windows Media Player, or some other media player.

What movie/tv show are you trying to decrypt?