!!! .SFD and .USM videos playable but CANNOT CONVERT!! (updated)

Hello.   
we all know that many SFD and USM videos use ODD mpeg codec. they are from CRI company and only K-lite and MPC can play them perfectly. thanks to the staffs' work!   
BUT i CANNOT convert these videos! K-lite can only PLAY them, and no converter can decode these ODD mpeg......   
with K-lite and MPC, i can play them. but with K-lite installed, i thought WMP would play them as well, but WMP still gives me messy picture.
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like this, a .sfd video can't decode:


only with K-lite and MPC player:

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I upload two ODD mpeg sample here, one .sfd and one .usm:
SFD: http://www.speedyshare.com/Z5mCX/Activision-Logo-sfd.sfd
USM: http://www.speedyshare.com/r3NNx/usm-and-m2v-samples.rar
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so, can anyone add the converting feature to K-lite? to turn ODD mpeg to normal mpeg?
or, make a little plug-in, to set in converters like "TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5", so that i can use this converter to something else...... ?  
or i think we just need to make Windows system and WMP recognize the codec, make it playable with WMP, then any converter should decode them perfectly. am i right about this???

THANK YOU!!!
(i upload the ODD mpeg codec here:http://www.speedyshare.com/Z5m3X/ODD-mpeg-CODEC-from-CRI-company.rar )

The decoders in the pack are based on FFmpeg. Many convertors exist that also use FFmpeg. You should try Avidemux and Handbrake.

VLC Player can also convert files.

Admin wrote:The decoders in the pack are based on FFmpeg. Many convertors exist that also use FFmpeg. You should try Avidemux and Handbrake.

VLC Player can also convert files.

Thank u admin. i tried all the way you mentioned and it failed. they all came out with messy pictures. only MPC can decode it, but i want to convert. now i upload two ODD samples, a .sfd and a .usm :
SFD: http://www.speedyshare.com/Z5mCX/Activision-Logo-sfd.sfd
USM: http://www.speedyshare.com/r3NNx/usm-and-m2v-samples.rar

please take a look, and can u make a small plug-in to set in TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5, to make it able to decode the right picture?

thank u!!!!!!  
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update: with K-lite and MPC, i can play them. but with K-lite installed, i thought WMP would play them as well, but WMP still gives me messy picture. i think we just need to make Windows system and WMP recognize the codec, make it playable with WMP, then any converter should decode them perfectly. am i right about this???   

To play them in WMP:
Codec Tweak Tool > Win7DSFilterTweaker > Preferred Decoders > Change MPEG-1 to "LAV" or "Use merit"

This converter works with those files:
http://winff.org/html_new/downloads.html
(choose preset "MS Compatible AVI")

Admin wrote:To play them in WMP:
Codec Tweak Tool > Win7DSFilterTweaker > Preferred Decoders > Change MPEG-1 to "LAV" or "Use merit"

This converter works with those files:
http://winff.org/html_new/downloads.html
(choose preset "MS Compatible AVI")

thank u for giving me WinFF, it did decode ODD mpeg of .sfd and .usm.
after more trying, i found out something new with K-lite installed:
1. Handbrake cannot work.
2. VLC converting feature works, but it cannot set "2 pass encode".
3. Avidemux can decode it, but it cannot open .usm files, or video-only files, like .m2v.
4. WinFF works! but can not output HD-mpeg.
 
but since your post gave me more hint, i still have some questions...
1. i changed setting in Codec Tweak Tool as you said, and WMP can decode it! but TMPG5 yet cannot, is it that setting affect only system-basic player like WMP? how about TMPG5, can i make it work by changing another setting in Codec Tweak Tool?
2. on Avidemux, can i do anything to make it open .m2v files?
3. can u introduce me more best converters to let me try?
 
thank u! u did me a BIG favor!!!   

Handbrake/VLC/Avidemux/WinFF all use their own private codecs. The codec pack does not have any effect on them. The same probably also applies to TMPG5. I suspect it uses its own MPEG-1 video decoder, that doesn't support the non-standard MPEG-1 variants that are used by your files. So if you want to import them into TMPG5 you first need to convert them to a more commonly used format.

Why do you want to convert to HD mpeg? Your source videos are low resolution and low quality. It is not possible to make them better quality by converting them.

Admin wrote:Handbrake/VLC/Avidemux/WinFF all use their own private codecs. The codec pack does not have any effect on them. The same probably also applies to TMPG5. I suspect it uses its own MPEG-1 video decoder, that doesn't support the non-standard MPEG-1 variants that are used by your files. So if you want to import them into TMPG5 you first need to convert them to a more commonly used format.

Why do you want to convert to HD mpeg? Your source videos are low resolution and low quality. It is not possible to make them better quality by converting them.

thank u admin, i think i got the point! i'll use those converters first then TMPG5.

i have one extra question:
say... a mpeg video, 5000kbps, i convert to h264 in same resolution, about how many xxxkbps should h264 be set to export exact the same quality? i mean no better and no worse, but i just need a probable number xxxkbps. and how about output wmv or mov ect? there should be a list online, to show probable number xxxkbps to set, of different formats' output videos, to be same quality as one input source (say, a mpeg video, 5000kbps for example).
does this list exist? i want to know and also help others, but if it's hard to find this list, never mind. thank u all the same!!!   

The required bitrate depends highly on the content of the video. H.264 should need less than half the bitrate of MPEG-2, and even less compared to MPEG-1.

Instead of using a fixed bitrate, you should use a constant rate factor when encoding H.264. That will give better overall quality and you can better control the desired quality. Here is some info:
http://slhck.info/articles/crf

thank u admin, u help me out. THX