MPEG II files, can't play from anywhere except beginning???

[Hulk]

I've had this problem for quite a while. When I play a MPEG II file using either MS Media Player or ATI Media Player, I can only play the video from the beginning of the clip. If I move the slider bar to a different location in the clip, the sound will play from that point, but the video is just a frozen still at the point the video last played correctly.

I've reinstalled Win98SE a few times and have the same problem on two different BX based systems. Both have ATI All In Wonder video cards.

MPEG I files are fine, as are SVCD MPEG II encoded files. Any other MPEG II encoded files exibit this behavior. I have tried encoding using TMPGEnc and MS Pro 6.0. Same result with either program.

Has anyone ever had this problem?

[FoX_M1]

Usual

I faced this problem a couple of times. The only solution is to re-encode the MPEG-2 movie (to change the GOP structure adding more I-frames).

Fox M.

http://www.labdv.com/

[Hulk]

Thanks for the suggestion, but that's not the problem. I tried encoding a clip using only I frames. Same problem.

This is a tough one because it makes MPEG II files all but useless to me!

[FoX_M1]

Tough one !

Maybe try some MPEG analyzer:

http://www.offeryn.com/ for MPEGanalizzatore

http://www.pixeltools.com/ for MPEG Repair

Fox M-

[Graham Meredith]

Try burning your file to a CDRW like you're backing your data up. Then play it off the CDRW, or transfer it back to your hard drive. Sometimes burning the file adds headers to the file, such as length time and other data points, that might be missing or incomplete. I've found this worked with MPEG 1 files that were joined together - Media player wouldn't recognise the file occuring after the join, but when I burned it, it did. Maybe It might do it for MPEG 2 also.

Graham

[mikiem]

Hi

Reading Ligos docs, there's a couple of issues involved I think. One is closing the GOPs & the other is sequence headers. Quoting ((C) Ligos):

"For instance, closed GOPs make it easier for you to edit MPEG files, and DVD authoring requires the use of sequence headers. If your application is having a difficult time using your MPEG files, you may need to experiment with one or a combination of these options.

In an MPEG file, every GOP has a flag indicating whether it is an “open” GOP or a “closed” GOP. An open GOP has B frames the may be dependent on P frames outside of the GOP. A closed GOP contains B frames that only rely on P frames within the same GOP for prediction. Although this is generally not important in decoding, it is very important in MPEG editing. Editing is often a frame-by-frame process, and the IPB structure of MPEG can make the concept of “frames” a difficult one. Closing the GOPs, or every N number of GOPs, can make editing MPEG easier.

By default, LSX-MPEG Encoder produces MPEG files where only the first GOP is closed. You can choose to close all GOPs, but it is not recommended and probably unnecessary."

"Sequence headers are codes within the MPEG stream that provide hints about the nature of the stream for MPEG decoders. A sequence header includes information such as a start code, the horizontal and vertical size, frame rate, aspect ratio, bit rate, as well as MPEG-2 extensions about profile and level information, chroma format, and other characteristics about the video to follow the header. Certain decoders look for this information, and certain applications of MPEG (for instance, systems that are always broadcasting an MPEG stream) may require sequence headers. In fact, if you are creating MPEG-2 files for use in DVD authoring, be aware that every GOP requires a sequence header."

mikie

[Hulk]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I have an idea. Perhaps someone could e-mail me a small, highly compressed MPEG II file. Something on the order of 1MB. One that can be played at different points on the senders computer. This way I can see if it's my encoding or my playback.

Mark
e-mail: mdileo@flash.net

[Rob100]

Have you tried playing your files back with WinDVD or PowerDVD - don't try Cinemaster 2k.

When you play back the files in Media Player, if you right click on the window, choose properties and then click the advanced tab what codec if playing the file back? I suspect you are gonna say "Ligos" as this gets installed with MSP6.

[impact]

Re: MPEG II files, can't play from anywhere except beginning???

Originally posted by Hulk
I've had this problem for quite a while. When I play a MPEG II file using either MS Media Player or ATI Media Player, I can only play the video from the beginning of the clip. If I move the slider bar to a different location in the clip, the sound will play from that point, but the video is just a frozen still at the point the video last played correctly.

And what if you wait a while... will the image eventually start playing right? This might just be a problem with divx files that don't have many keyframes encoded in them, because everytime you skip part of the movie, the player has to start at the nearest preceding keyframe - and if there's not enough keyframes, it might take the player quite a while to get from the keyframe to the place in the movie you skipped to.

[FoX_M1]

>Hulk:

you can download SVCD MPEG-2 files from labDV Dolby example:

http://www.labdv.com/en/examples/dolby_surround.htm#material

Fox

[Hulk]

My playback filter is listed as Software Cinemaster DVD.

Doesn't matter how long I wait, the picture never changes from that frozen frame while the audio continues to play correctly.

SVCD MPEG II work correctly for some strange reason.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Mark

[FoX_M1]

TMPG templates

Try to use templates from Leon:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/lelab/video/svcdcompet_en.htm

Fox