I downloaded a small video file that I wish to encode to mpeg2 and add to a DVD compilation. All of the other similar files I have dl'ed have worked fine. This file plays perfectly raw but when I encode it to mpeg2 using TMPGEnc, there is no longer an audio track. Why would it work as an .avi, but not as an mpeg2?
I often had this problem when using TMPGEnc; it's lousy at encoding audio. Convert your audio to wav first and enter that into TMPGEnc. Here is a guide using Virtualdub (free) and you can also use Goldwave but it's shareware. Here is a guide for Virtualdub: http://www.videohelp.com/virtualdubaudio.htm You can also use GSpot to ensure you have the proper codecs installed but I doubt it's that.
