Need Help Trying to Figure out MeGUI

[DigitalDivide]

I've always exclusively used GK to encode my .mkv files with x264, however I would love to give MeGUI a try. However I have no idea how to even start. I've given it a try using the following method but I get a file which does not play.
Rip via DVD Decrypter
Open GK and and create my project file, then open the project and crop then save as .avs file.
Open MeGUI, point to my .avs file created above, select output location and select output as .mkv, Also selected a video profile.
Go to Bitrate Calculater, select a target file size (in this case a sample file which I set to 37mb, selected .ac3 and the ac3 track.
Saved all this and sent it to the queue and started encoding.

I can see the job encoding, it finishes, and I can see the .mkv file it created. Although I set the target file size at 37MB it created a file of 27MB.
When I try to play the file I get nothing but a blank screen, no sound, no nothing. However I can play an .mkv file done via GK.

Am I going about this all wrong?

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

Same thing happens to me, I don't know why. Anyone help us?

[Sirber]

Does GK has the same DGIndex version as MeGUI?

[stax76]

Maybe it's only a playback problem so you can test different playback methods like VLC and ffdshow.

[DigitalDivide]

I have the following
C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\DGMPGDec\dgindex.exe version 1.43.

I tried the outputted file with WMP and TT using the latest version of ffdshow. As mentioned any .mkv files encoded via GK work perfectly fine. It's only when done with MeGUI that it doesn't work.

Am I okay using the .avs file created from GK?

[Sirber]

I really don't know...

maybe DGDecode.dll have different version. Can you post your AVS?

[DigitalDivide]

Here's the contents of my .avs file

# Created with Gordian Knot
#
# http://gknot.doom9.org

# PLUGINS
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\DGMPGDec\DGDecode.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\decomb.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\KernelDeInt.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\UnDot.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\dgbob.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\Convolution3d.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\FluxSmooth.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\TomsMoComp.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\VSFilter.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\GordianKnot\AviSynthPlugins\SimpleResize.dll")

# SOURCE
mpeg2source("D:\Projects\VTS_03_1.d2v")

# TRIM
#trim(startframe,endframe)

# IVTC
#Telecide(order=1,guide=1).Decimate()
# or use
#IVTC(44,11,95)
#GreedyHMA(1,0,4,0,0,0,0,0)

# DEINTERLACING (1)
#FieldDeinterlace()
#FieldDeinterlace(blend=false)
#TomsMoComp(1,5,1)

# DEINTERLACING (2)
#KernelDeInt(order=1,sharp=true)
# or maybe
#DGBob(order=1,mode=0)

# DEINTERLACING (3) - special requests
#GreedyHMA(1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
#Telecide()
#SeparateFields()

# CROPPING
crop(28,4,668,468)

# SUBTITLES
#VobSub("FileName")

# RESIZING
LanczosResize(640,368)

# DENOISING: choose one combination (or none)
Undot()

[Sirber]

ok ok... next question :)

Does the AVS play in MPC (or any good dshow media player)?

[DigitalDivide]

Well I opened in with WMP and it does play.

[Sirber]

hum.....

ha!!!

hum.... no

do you use the latest build of megui and x264?

[Doom9]

I have a suspicion: GKnot used VFW so your MKV files will be using VFW compatibility mode (which is no longer officially supported), whereas the MeGUI route ensures that you have native AVC in MKV. Are you sure your matroska playback filters are all up-to-date? And naturally, you cannot open those MKV files in VirtualDubMod anymore but you need to use mkvtoolnix for any editing.

And as far as size goes... where's that logfile?

[DigitalDivide]

Well unfortunately I don't have a log file. I closed MeGUI before realizing I had a problem and it didn't save it.

Before trying to use MeGUI I downloaded and installed the latest mkvtoolnix. I also have 20051125 version of ffdshow installed. I'm not using the Haali splitter but instead GABEST...I think that's what it's called.

Just curious if I get the CLI version to work does that mean my VFW version won't? Am I in a big pickle?

[DigitalDivide]

I'm redoing my sample video to get the log file since it only takes 5min.

[DigitalDivide]

Here's what I got.

Next job job1 is a video job. encoder commandline:
"C:\Program Files\x264\x264.exe" --bitrate 1150 --analyse p8x8,b8x8,i4x4 --direct none --threads 2 --progress --no-psnr --output "D:\Projects\VTS_03_1.mkv" "D:\Projects\VTS_03_1.avs"
successfully set up video encoder and callbacks for job job1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Log for job job1

avis [info]: 640x368 @ 23.98 fps (5469 frames)
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2
desired video bitrate of this job: 1150 kbit/s - obtained video bitrate: 1145.48533731212 kbit/s
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sirber]

Just curious if I get the CLI version to work does that mean my VFW version won't? Am I in a big pickle?CLI version is a normal EXE. It work with no dependency on windows. It's completly separate from VFW :)

[Doom9]

no log? I wonder why people always report that.. I have never not received a log.. unless I stop debugging MeGUI.. my log directory is always filled with stuff I don't really need. Basically unless MeGUI crashes, I see no reason why no long is being written.. the code looks OK to me.
I suppose if you're using the latest MPC the internal splitter will be fine.. yes, I just tested.

[DigitalDivide]

Sorry I meant will I be able to play both cli and vfw .mkv files on my pc or is it one or the other? I have about 20 movies already encoded using VFW version and I don't want to lose these.

[Doom9]

No, you can of course play both. But VDubMod can only handle its own files (it's also possible to store ASP content in its native format in MKV... VDubMod can't handle that either, it always uses VfW compatibility mode).

[DigitalDivide]

Re the log. Well I copied and pasted it here, exited out of MeGUI and restarted it. The log page is now empty and no log file was saved. Soooo it obviously clears the log page when exiting. Unless I'm totally missing something.

So any other suggestions? If I try to open up the comleted file in WMP it just starts to open the file then stops. I never actually get a pic. I usually use TT and nothing plays there either.

[DigitalDivide]

BTW my version of MeGUI is 0.2.3.1023.

Anything else? I'd really like to get this to work.

[Sirber]

if you try that player (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=88470), does the output made by meGUI work? Don't worry, it doesn't modify any of your system and can be safely deleted after.

[DigitalDivide]

yup that worked. Wonder why?

[Doom9]

Re the log. Well I copied and pasted it here, exited out of MeGUI and restarted it. The log page is now empty and no log file was saved. Soooo it obviously clears the log page when exiting. Unless I'm totally missing something.Yes it does, but it should also write it to the logs subdirectory in your megui directory. That directory contains files that have names like this: logfile-06.12.2005-17-31.log .. as you can see it puts the date and time in the filename. And it always writes that file even if it makes no sense (because empty).. MeGUI is really stubborn that way

[DigitalDivide]

Is this a filter problem then. BTW the sample didn't play with sound. No big deal. But just curious when I used MeGUI I select my AC3 track. Did this automatically convert it to AAC. I wanted to keep my AC3 stream intact hence why I'm using .mkv.

[DigitalDivide]

Well lol hate to tell you but I checked the log folder and it's blank. By now it should have at least 3 log files saved and there's nothing. Is there an option in MeGUI to select to save on exit?

[DigitalDivide]

I downloaded the following filter and was able to finally play back my file.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.phpgroup_id=82303&package_id=84361

So just one question outstanding. As asked earlier, if I select AC3 then select the AC3 track does MeGUI keep the AC3 stream or does it convert it to AAC? I want to keep my AC3 stream.

Thanks for all your help guys.

[charleski]

no log? I wonder why people always report that..
Actually, I worked out why I was never getting a logfile as well - it's because the routine called to create the logfile name can put backslashes in the date under certain locales, which of course means it won't save.
The patch is simple, sorry I haven't posted it yet, but things are a bit busy right now, and i see Sharktooth has been integrating other stuff as well.

Does GK has the same DGIndex version as MeGUI?One of the changes I made to meGUI was to ensure that it uses the version of dgdecode.dll that resides in the same directory as DGIndex so that we don't get this sort of problem. Don't put a copy of degdecode.dll in your meGUI directory for any of the newer (0.2.3.10xx) versions).

[Sirber]

Great!

Keep the good work guys!

@DigitalDevide

PAGE NOT FOUND :(

Good to know your problem has been fixed :D

[Doom9]

if I select AC3 then select the AC3 track does MeGUI keep the AC3 stream or does it convert it to AAC? I want to keep my AC3 stream.MeGUI has 3 modes of operation.. unless you tell us which one you chose, and how you configured it, nobody can give you an answer on this. Is it possible to keep the AC3, yes, is it possible that it converts the audio, yes again.

[DigitalDivide]

Hmm every time I try to get a target file size in MeGUI I get something totally different. I tried to get a filesize of 2GB and instead got 750MB with no sound. So maybe I should ask if I'm doing it right.

I select my avs file and output file.
Select .mkv as output.
Go to Bitrate calculater and select target Total File Size - set it to 2010MB
For audio track 1 I would like to keep my AC3 track so I select AC3 and the Select the .d2v AC3 track outputted when I created my project. Apply it.

Then queue the job and start it. Is this correct?

Also I noticed that when I tried to play the .mkv file outputted with MeGUI it takes about 30 sec or so before the movie plays, whereas one done via GK plays right away. Is this normal?

[Doom9]

what you describe sounds reasonable. You realize though that in the end you still have to mux in your AC3 manually because it sounds like you're queueing just the video job.

What bitrate does the calculator show? And then when you start encoding, what's in the log?

[DigitalDivide]

I did a test sample with a smaller file and again I didn't get sound, so I used MKVToolnix and muxed in the AC3 sound. I then got my sound. So how do I mux in the AC3 track in MeGUI? I don't see any options for muxing in the AC3 track.

Unfortunately I didn't save the log file again. I had MeGUI set to shut down on completion and forgot to uncheck that. I did that now and will redo a movie. Am I at least doing the file size thing right by selecting it in the Bitrate Settings?

Thanks for the help I appreciate it.

[Doom9]

I don't see any options for muxing in the AC3 track.Well, for one there's the mkv muxer available from the tools menu. But there's in fact a better way to have it all done automatically: the auto mode. Basically you set up your video as usual, and since you only want to mux in audio, do NOT!! select the AC3 audio in the main MeGUI screen. Then instead of pressing Queue, press Auto Encode. A new window comes up.. there you configure your desired size (so there's no need for the bitrate calculator).. and then before pressing Queue in the "Automatic Encoding" window, you check "Add additional content". Then when you press Queue, a new window comes up where you can add audio and subtitle tracks as well as load a chapter file. This will create an additional job that muxes your audio together with the video output and you don't have to worry about a thing.

If you download the latest release from Sharktooth, the logfile should now also be written in your case. What's interesting isn't so much that you do the whole encoding again, basically you can abort once encoding has started.. the pertinent information will already be in the log tab, so it'll only take you two minutes instead of having to encode the whole movie.

I have a feeling your size problem is caused because the wrong bitrate was set.. either you didn't press apply in the bitrate calculator, or you did and then changed it by changing the codec, or loading a profile. Using the auto mode, this cannot happen because the you do not get a chance to influence the bitrate.. it's automatically filled in (using the exact same calculation code as in the calculator of course).

[DigitalDivide]

Ohh ohhh I think I found the problem. Seems my version of MeGUI doesn't have an MKV Muxer. I have the following options under Tools
AVC Quant Matrix Editor
Bitrate Calculater
Settings
Validate AVC Level

That's it. I downloaded the x264 CLI Full Version which comes with MeGUI. Well I'll download the full MeGUI package and install and see what happens. Redo my movie according to what you suggested and hopefully that'll work.

Gee I feel kinda dumb...must be all that last minute christmas shopping.

[DigitalDivide]

Can't seem to download the full build from
http://files.x264.nl/Sharktooth/?dir=./megui/Binaries

I get an error "page cannot be displayed"

[Sharktooth]

click on "mirror 1"...

[DigitalDivide]

Okay let's be clear should I be downloading the full CLI version which comes with MeGUI? I did this using Mirror 1 and got the exact same version of MeGUI. It only has the following items under Tools
AVC Quant Matrix Editor
Bitrate Calculater
Settings
Validate AVC Level

I tried going to http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=96032
and clicked the link from there to download just the full version of MeGUI but once again got "page cannot be displayed".

[DigitalDivide]

Hmm anybody know if there's a problem with the site as indicated in my previous email? Can't seem to download MeGUI.

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

Just to announce : I solved problems, now I can convert AVS scripts in MeGUI and play output MP4 files without any problems.

[Sharktooth]

Hmm anybody know if there's a problem with the site as indicated in my previous email? Can't seem to download MeGUI.
yes.... the server is down for a while...
check the megui development thread to get the latest builds.

[DigitalDivide]

Sharktooth, as far as I can tell the MeGUI Dev thread only has the source code. I don't see anything else. If you can point me in the right direction would be happily appreciated.

Thanks

[Doom9]

here's the link for the binaries: http://www.webalice.it/f.corriga/megui/megui_0.2.3.1024.7z

[Sharktooth]

Sharktooth, as far as I can tell the MeGUI Dev thread only has the source code. I don't see anything else. If you can point me in the right direction would be happily appreciated.

Thanks
always check he last page or 2. however doom9 provided you the link.

[DigitalDivide]

Got it, thanks.

Sorry for being a pain in the @rse!

I'm going away for the next two days and want to get some movies queued up so when I come home all is done.

Hope everyone has a safe and merry christmas.

[DigitalDivide]

Ahh what a christmas morning. Got up and found my completed movie. Everything worked so thanks everyone for your help.