XMBC Can't find VCD Video Files on Hard Disk
#1
Hello,

Latest version of XBMC, new user. I have successfully loaded all my DVD's to my hard drive using DVDFab 9 and XBMC library picked them all up. Great stuff.

Now, I am trying to add VCD's. I copied a couple over my hard disk. The general structure is \VCDs\Movie Name\all the VCD folders... MPEGAV, CDI, EXT, VCD, etc.

The key files are in MPEGAV... copied over as .DAT files.

But when I attempt to add the movie path to the library, I get a "no video files found in this path".

I've tried renaming with mpg, avi, mp2... with avi I actually get small icons in XBMC in the MPEGAV folder, but still receive the same error message.

I'd appreciate finding out what I am doing wrong.

TIA.
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#2
cold hard truth: using a format that has been outdated ~ 15 years. i doubt vcd gets any attention at all.
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#3
(2014-07-14, 20:00)ironic_monkey Wrote: cold hard truth: using a format that has been outdated ~ 15 years. i doubt vcd gets any attention at all.

Actually, XBMC plays the VCD movie just fine from the VCD. It also plays the movie just fine from the hard drive when the video extensions are set to .dat.

What it doesn't appear to do is "see" those same video files when it takes the movie title and searches for it in TMDB.

PS: You'll find many places in the world where VCD's are still in common use.
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#4
Try a encode with handbrake to mpeg2, alternately you can preserve file and save as an iso
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#5
(2014-07-15, 15:39)k4sh1n Wrote: Try a encode with handbrake to mpeg2, alternately you can preserve file and save as an iso

Will encoding to mpeg2 cause a loss of quality in what is already a less than stellar image?
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#6
^ Yes and no, dependent on the avg bitrate and other things, again you can preserve as iso if quality is a factor
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#7
I provide a short update on what I have found concerning VCD conversions.

I tried handbrake. While it created a nice size output file, no matter what I set the various parameters to, it created a degraded output file, and with a VCD, already on the edge, it just didn't look too good.

Next, I resorted to trying out a variety of DVD authoring tools. All of these tools have to mess with the .DAT (MPEG) file but some did it better than others. I tested the following freeware products:

Win X Author
DVDVideoSoft Video to DVD Burner
DVD Flick
DVDStyler

Of the four, DVDStyler did the best job of video conversion to DVD, almost impossible to tell the difference between original VCD and output DVD.

You might ask, "How did you measure the output results?" And the answer is, I stopped the native VCD and various outputs at exactly the same location, zoomed the video, and examined it for detail. For example, hair is a great indicator of how well the conversion went. With DVDStyler, the hairs were as distinct as on the VCD, less so with other offerings.

I realize that VCD is mostly a non starter these days... I collected about a 100 of them while in Asia... no DVD was available... and so archiving them is XBMC is important to me.

Finally, because the movies now looks like DVD, XBMC library functions are a breeze.

I suppose I should open a new thread... and... does XBMC attempt to upscale?

Thanks for all the help.
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#8
Yrs xbmc upscales. That's how your VCD files play fullscreen.
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