Mobile Encoder settings... [Archive]

esso

7th January 2007, 06:14

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on mobile encoding. I've noticed when selecting things as "H264", do I select AVI or MP4 as the container? Is there really any advantages of one over the other? Also for audio, should I pick AAC or MP3? This is just one of the encoders and options that kinda boggles me.

I read that H264 used matroska. Of course I only know what I have read, I do not personally know how any of these encoding processes work at all.

linx05

7th January 2007, 07:06

Choose MP4 as the container. Regarding the audio, it's really up to you. If you want better quality sound, which means a larger audio file size which can impact on the quality of the video if you have it set around 700mb for example, choose AAC. I use mp3 most of the time.

Digga

7th January 2007, 07:24

. I read that H264 used matroska.a video codec (H264) cannot 'use' a container (e.g. Matroska). H264 encoded content can be put into a lot of containers, including Matroska, MP4, etc and is not limited to Matroska.
I've noticed when selecting things as "H264", do I select AVI or MP4 as the container? Is there really any advantages of one over the other? Also for audio, should I pick AAC or MP3?if you want a quick answer, use MP4 and either AAC or MP3.
the longer answer would include thoughts on compatibility and personal hearing abilities (in the case of audio).

If you want better quality sound, which means a larger audio file size which can impact on the quality of the video if you have it set around 700mb for example, choose AAC. I use mp3 most of the time.since when is AAC encoded content of the same objective quality supposed to be bigger in size when compared to MP3?
that's what you implied, didn't you? otherwise your statement doesn't make any sense to me.
quite the contrary is actually the case.

esso

7th January 2007, 08:21

Thank you for your quick replies. I will make sure the use the MP4 option for H264. As I mentioned before I do not know how any of these encoding processes work at all so forgive my naiveness regarding H264. Actually, for all of the types of encoding.

jdobbs

7th January 2007, 11:31

The combinations are generally dependent upon how you plan to play them back.

For example DivX is a very popular format and can be played back on some DVD players. It is usually stored in an AVI container. You would use XviD as the video codec and MP3 as the audio one to create a DivX compatible output when using FFMPEG (which is what DVD-RB is calling for MOBILE encoding). You could also use the MPEG4 codec (XviD is an implementation of MPEG-4). The standard MPEG4 codec in FFMPEG is much faster (at least on my system), but many have praised the quality of XviD.

While you can add MP3 as the format to an MP4 container -- you may find that some players may not recognize it, and the playback will appear to not have sound. AAC is more typically used in the MP4 container. The iPod will accept only the MP4 container. It will accept either H264 or MPEG-4 video -- and AAC as audio. You can see the specifications required for iPod on this page (http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html).

It's hard to make the call unless you have a target defined for the output -- that's the reason I created the PRESET concept for it. That way you can look it up, set it up, save it, and not have to worry about it in the future.

Sharc

7th January 2007, 11:40

How can I select the Title (VTS) which I want to encode for MOBILE when there are several VTS on the original disc ? Would I have to do some preprocessing for blanking the unwanted VTS? I understood that DVD and MOBILE are totally independent from each other, so I assume that blanking with the viewer/editor has no effect on the MOBILE?

jdobbs

7th January 2007, 11:47

Right now DVD-RB will create an independent MOBILE output file for any and all PGCs that have a length of 22500 frames or more (15 minutes for PAL and 13 minutes for NTSC). It includes any VTSs that meet minimum size settings. A little more information is available in this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=119079).

You could blank the unwanted VTS, yes, or you could cancel all the encodes except the one you want. I suppose I could add a selection list. Since I do my jobs overnight, I usually just let it do them all and then delete the ones I don't want. Usually, though, with the 13 minute discriminator I only get the feature. On series discs I usually only get the episodes.

Sharc

7th January 2007, 11:53

Understood. Thanks for the quick answer.

jdobbs

7th January 2007, 11:58

You're right, by the way, about MOBILE and DVD building. They are completely independent of each other. They use the same PREPARE phase to gather information -- but that's about it. Originally I was planning to build a new program completely to do MOBILE encoding from DVD, but I decided it was already 90% done in DVD-RB -- so I just added it as an option.

It is MHO that mobile video and internet based delivery mechanisms are very likely to be future of video (including HDTV). When IPv6 gets more fully implemented don't be surprised to find yourself programming your TV through it's IP address and web interface. You may also have a slot on the top of the TV for docking your mobile device when you want to play back video content.

Cool things are happening... and here we are in the middle of it.

Sharc

7th January 2007, 14:09

The problem I just came across relates to the global language setting in the RB menu for MOBILE, which applies for all VTS.
It is not unusual that the Main Feature comes with several languages, whereas the Extras have 1 language only -- the original language.
When I encode all VTS in the same job over night, and select a local language in the global RB menu, the Extras will come out as silent movies.
Of course there are easy workarounds for this - like separate jobs for each VTS - once one is aware of it.
Not terribly critical in this early stage of the MOBILE facility - but perhaps something for future consideration?

jdobbs

7th January 2007, 14:36

Hmmm... I just kind of assumed no one would really be encoding extras much for MOBILE -- so the audio list is made from the feature. I'll have to see what I can do about selecting alternate audio based upon VTS. If I do, though, I'll have to come up with a method other than a menu choice -- because DVDs can have up to 99 VTSs.

What if I look at the VTSs as they are processed, and if the one you've selected isn't present, it will use the default? I think that will eliminate the problem for most instances. Typically when the extras don't match the feature (for audio languages) they only have one audio choice anyway.

Sharc

7th January 2007, 15:39

Hmmm... I just kind of assumed no one would really be encoding extras much for MOBILE ....
I agree, it is probably very exceptional that users might want to keep the Extras for MOBILE encodes.
I just kind of bumped into this "problem" by encoding everything for deciding later what to keep, and at a first instance I was surprised to find no audio but for the Main Feature.
Anyway, I would assume that your proposal with the "default" would solve the issue in the very most cases.

Btw. the 2-pass XviD encode worked like a charm.

jdobbs

7th January 2007, 17:11

esso

7th January 2007, 22:47

Good. I found that the MPEG4 and XVID codecs are completely different in the way they perform multiple passes. If you do a first pass using MPEG4 at a specific bitrate and the Q is less than 3, it will crash (fail to converge) when you attempt to do another (the second) pass.

I've had this happen to me alot, I thought it was my PC but I tried it on another with the same results. Is there a way to set the specific Q? Mine is usually around 2.

This is my H264 settings:

[H264 - 2 Pass - 4:3]
vCodec=H264
muxFormat=MP4
hSize=640
vSize=480
vMaxrate=2500
vBitrate=768
gopSize=300
aCodec=aac
aBitrate=128
AudioAmplify=1.2
ivtc=0
passes=2

esso

7th January 2007, 22:55

Im pretty sure its my PC, but, XVID and H264 both freeze at the end of Pass 1. XVID without fail freezes with 7 seconds left and H264 freezes with 3 seconds left. But this only happens on 2 pass. I have removed rebuilder and all the settings and registry files, including avisynth and ffmpeg but it still seems to happen.

esso

7th January 2007, 23:41

Okay, here is what happens everytime it gets to the end:

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/8525/mobileerrorwi2.th.png (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mobileerrorwi2.png)

Both rebuilder and FFMpeg become unresponsive and I have to kill the processes.

jdobbs

8th January 2007, 01:18

Try this to debug it: When the encode starts, double click on the background of the status dialog. That will copy the FFMPEG command line to your clipboard. Then run a DOS window and paste from the clipboard to the command line. Hit return and let it run. Then you should be able to see what happens when it gets stuck.

jdobbs

8th January 2007, 01:22

Is there a way to set the specific Q? Mine is usually around 2.Yes. In fact I probably should have documented that somewhere. Set the video bitrate to a value of 31 or less. That will tell the DVD-RB FFMPEG interface to use the value as a constant Q setting instead of bitrate.

esso

8th January 2007, 03:26

Ok, I set the Video Bitrate to 31. And I have a CL window open running FFMPEG CL. I will update when it is done

esso

8th January 2007, 04:31

Ok, it definitely will not work on my system. I set it for XVID 1-pass and it froze again (well in task manager its still running and taking up CPU processes, but the gui just turns white and nothing is happening. The CLI also stopped and hung. Heres a screen:

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/1228/ffmpegerrorud6.th.png (http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffmpegerrorud6.png)

jdobbs

8th January 2007, 12:41

You haven't recently moved to AVISYNTH v2.5.7 have you? I've received several reports of problems this week that started immediately after an upgrade of AVISYNTH. All of the reports were corrected by reverting to v2.5.6 (the one shipped with DVD-RB).

esso

8th January 2007, 22:11

Im using version 2.56a. Just to be sure, I uninstalled avisynth and reinstalled it and the same thing happened. Im going to look around on my system. I may have something conflicting somewhere. I do have one of those all-in-one codec packs and some other auto-encoders that install their own codecs.

jdobbs

8th January 2007, 23:21

How about DGDECODE? What version are you using there?

esso

9th January 2007, 01:47

I see it in the program folder, but how do I check what version it is? I only see DGDecode.dll in DVD-RB's root folder.

linx05

9th January 2007, 03:04

In DVD-Rebuilder, Help > Display Versions. This will print out the version numbers in the Status Log.

esso

9th January 2007, 03:48

Here's my versions:

- Versions :
-- Rebuilder: v1.20.5
-- QuEnc Version: 0.7.1.0
-- HC Version: 0.19.0.1
-- DGDECODE Version: 1.4.5
-- AVISYNTH: 2.5.6.0

I think it may have been the movie I was trying to encode. I just tried to encode Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and it's currently in its second pass.

The movie I was trying to encode was from an auto group DVD they made from some auto shows.

I will try a different DVD once this one is finished.

varekai

16th January 2007, 18:22

Hello! :)

Using DVD-RB Pro 1.20.5 full install.
I was wondering about the 2 pass setting for iPod.
I can't get it to work? It only goes through 1 pass.
It looks like a second pass is available:
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/144/2passme3.gif
Would a second pass, if available, improve quality?
Any ideas on how I can improve the mp4 output quality?

varekai

jdobbs

16th January 2007, 23:02

You're using MPEG-4 (rather than XviD) -- so the second pass will not be executed if the Q value is less than 3. That pretty much means that there is no room for improvement anyway. If fact if you do try to do a second pass with a low Q, the MPEG-4 codec will crash with a "failure to converge" error.

With XviD the first pass always results in a Q of 2, so the second pass will execute regardless of the Q value.