Convert from VCD to mp4

first, i got sony ericsson m600i, and sony psp, that able to play movies, and is support mp4. and, i got many vcd that i have not whatched, because i dont have a lot of time to stay in front of my home theatre (i mean, tv + vcd player ... :D). so, i only have time when i'm boring in the middle of meeting, or in the middle of seminar, or when in the train. then my m600i and psp helps alot. so, if you want to convert your vcd to mp4, you are on the right place. but, i only do it from vcd to mp4. and using VLC Media player, and 3gp converter. 3gp converter is the gui of ffmpeg.

first, open VLC Media Player,
from menu -> file -> open file
choose the vcd file (ex: avseq01.dat)
above the "OK" butten, check "Stream output" then click "Settings..."
in the "output methods" section,
check "File", then click "Browse..." and select the destination you wish to save the output file.
ex: file1.mpg
in the "transcoding options" section,
check "Video codec", choose: mp4v, 1024, 1
check "Audio codec", choose: mp4a, 192, 2
then click "OK"
and then click "OK" again

this time, vlc will convert the file, from vcd, to mp4.
you will see the progress bar and timer is moving fast.

after it finished creating file1.mpg, open the 3gp converter
select the output format, for m600i or psp, i'm using QVGA/15fps/216kbps Stereo/96kbps
and select the output destination, and then, drag the file1.mpg and drop it to the 3gp_converter.
if everything ok, it should be automaticaly working on converting the file1.mpg to your destination directory, you will find file1.mp4 and file1.thm. if you would like to play it from your m600i, you only need to copy file1.mp4 to the video directory, but if you would like to play it from psp, you must rename the file1.mp4 and file1.thm to M4Vxxxxx.MP4 and M4Vxxxxx.THM and copy it to MP_ROOT/100MNV01/ in the psp. xxxxx -> sequence number, ex: M4V00001.MP4 and M4V00001.THM

now, you can play your vcd anytime you have the time ....

salaam