Error Message from DVDRB and/or CCE Basic

[nathanaa]

I would like some help understanding an error message I have gotten several times now, I'm trying to process Desperate Housewives S2 D6 (NTSC R1). Here's the message:

---------------------------
Cinema Craft Encoder Basic
---------------------------
cce encoding failed: VBR VBV ovf frame# 4554 (00:03:09:20) P 63004 max 46384.99 pln 248.00 rel 16619.01 1.36 qsv 1.00->1.51
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

Ok, first, I have *no* idea what this means.

Second, I have re-ripped the original disc, and cleaned it (although, it's BRAND NEW, no scratches or marring of any kind); it seems to be ripping just fine.

Third, the first time I got the error message it was in the middle of a batch run, and it seems to have finished fine. I ran the completed rebuild through DVDShrink and it appears that it will burn with no problem. BUT - will it play?

Like I said, I have no idea what that error message means, or what affect it will have upon the completed disc when I burn it and try to play it. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, I'm using DVD-RB v1.205 and CCE Basic.

[Fishman0919]

First, you are using a old ver of DVD-RB Pro... if you are a legitimate owner of the software... you should upgrade. 1.22 is the current ver.

Second, seems CCE Basic doesn't like that frame.... I did S2 with HC Encoder with out a problem. Try using that.

What ver of CCE Basic are you using.... some of the early ver of 2.70.##.## had issue that would product errors like this.

[nathanaa]

First off, I am a "legitimate" owner of DVD-RB.

Second, I did as you suggested and upgraded to the most current version, re-ran the process, and got the same error in the same place.

Third, I'm using CCE Basic for multiple reasons, the most important of which is, I guess, simplicity. I don't want to muck about overly much with different encoders, and I've been very happy with what I've been using so far. However, I may have to try your suggestion of HC Encoder if I have no other choice.

I'm using CCE Basic v2.69.1.10. I bought it a couple years ago now, and honestly I don't think it's ever been updated. I had to go into the C drive Programs folder to check for the version, I can't find it in my Start Menu/Program list anywhere. Obviously DVD-RB is using it, but I'm not sure if there's any free updates I could get. Anyone know?

Last, not that it might mean much to me (I'm not a programmer at ALL, just an avid fan/user of DVD-RB), but what might have caused this error to occur? You say CCE didn't like a frame - *why* wouldn't it "like" a frame? A poor rip? Something esoteric within the programming? Sun spots?

Thanks for any help folks.

[jdobbs]

What version of AVISYNTH are you using? Make sure it is 1.4.5 or 1.4.6. Also, have you changed any of the default values? What you are describing normally would only occur when the minmum bitrate is set to an odd value (if I remember correctly). It might occur with an alternate matrix. Could you post your REBUILDER.INI?

[nathanaa]

What version of AVISYNTH are you using? Make sure it is 1.4.5 or 1.4.6. Also, have you changed any of the default values? What you are describing normally would only occur when the minmum bitrate is set to an odd value (if I remember correctly). It might occur with an alternate matrix. Could you post your REBUILDER.INI?

I'm not entirely sure about the AVISYNTH version, the folder says "Avisynth 2.5" but I cannot find anything specificly within the folder with a version on it. As lame as this sounds, very specific directions on what folder and file to check would help immensely.

And I haven't changed any of the default values, the most adventurous I get is stealing space from extra's sometimes. I've got no idea how the check the bitrate.

I would be happy to post the REBUILDER.INI file if I knew where to find it. Tell me where please? There's a lot of Notepad files without extensions and I can't remember where it is from the last time you told me, sorry.

[nathanaa]

I think I found the file, I just took the part off the end I think is most recent, the file's over 1.5MB in size, please let me know if this is what you need:

[16:57:36] One Click encoding activated...
-----------------
[16:57:38] Phase I, PREPARATION started.
- DVD-RB v1.20.5
- AVISYNTH 2.5.5.0
- CCE 2.69.1.10 encoder selected.
- Source: DESPERATE S2 D6 SF
<snip>
- Creating M2V for VTS_05 segment 11
Aborted.

[Rippraff]

@nathanaa

Don't get confused, this
What version of AVISYNTH are you using? Make sure it is 1.4.5 or 1.4.6.
is only a typo! ;)
What jdobbs meant, only use version 2.5.5 or 2.5.6.
As you're working with 2.5.5 that should be okay.

The ini file is in the same folder where RB is installed.
What you've posted is the log file.

Cu Rippraff

[nathanaa]

Ok, I think I found the REBUILDER.INI file, I hope this is what you need, if it's not please direct me further:

[Options]
Mode=1
OneClick=1
ReduceOpt=0
NoWarn=1
AdditionalOutput=1
LogFile=1
QuEncHQ=1
EncoderMinimized=0
RemoveDTS=0
HC_Quality=1
HC_Matrix=1
SkinVersion=12
Skin=Windows Standard
AudioDub=1
QuEncodeType=0
iDCT=0
GOP=0
DCPrec=0
MainMatrix=Encoder Default
LowMatrix=Same as Main Feature
VLowMatrix=Same as Main Feature
ExtraMatrix=Same as Main Feature
ProCoder_Quality=4
DVD_Label=DESPERATE S2 D6 SF - BAD
DVD_Name=DESPERATE S2 D6 SF - BAD.ISO
MovieOnly=0
HalfD1=0000000
Convert_16_9=0000000
DisableInterlace=0000000
ConvertToYUY2=1
CCE=2
Backcolor=8421631
Completed=101
Encode_Menus=1
RemoveDC=1
closed_captions=0
[Paths]
QuEnc=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\QuEnc\QuEnc.exe
ReJig=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\ReJig\ReJig.exe
HC=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\HC Encoder\HCbatch.EXE
ProCoder=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\EclPro\EclPro.exe
DECOMB=C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb521.dll
MPEG2DEC=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll
Working=C:\TEMP DVD-RB A - WORKING FOLDER\
Output=H:\RB DESPERATE S2 D6 SF\
CCEBasic=C:\Program Files\CCE Basic\cct2.exe
Source=I:\DESPERATE S2 D6 SF - BAD\VIDEO_TS\
FFMPEG=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\FFMpeg\ffmpeg.exe
NICAUDIO=C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\nicaudio.dll
[Audio]
Selected=11110101
Remapping=
[Subpictures]
Selected=1
[Setup]
Languages=1111111111111111111111110111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
sLanguages=1111111111111111111111110111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

[Rippraff]

Yep, that's the right one. :)

But I can't see anything that might be wrong.

Cu Rippraff

[wmansir]

Ah, good old "VBR VBV ovf". I haven't seen this with CCE Basic, but I use to run into it with CCE 2.5 from time to time.

The error message translates to: Video Bitrate Video Buffering Verifier Overflow, and that basically means the encoder choked on that frame usually because the video/image is so complex it overflowed the buffer. The HBO "static" logo is known to causing this error at low bitrates.

There are basically 3 options:

1. As fishman says, use a different encoder.

2. Increase the bitrate for that segment, or if it's a small segment you can set it to "No Reencode" in DVD-RB segment editor.

3. Decrease the complexity of the video. Back in the day I would edit the .avs file to apply a heavy noise filter or blur to just the few problem frames.

You could do something like:

#------------------
# AVS File Created by DVD Rebuilder
# VOBID:01, CELLID:01
#------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll")
mpeg2source("H:\Work\D2VAVS\V02.D2V",idct=5)
Video=trim(0,177)
PreV=Video.trim(0,X-1)
Problem=Video.trim(X,Y)
PostV=Video.trim(Y+1, 0)

Problem=Problem.blur()

PreV + Problem + PostV

ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=true)



Bold is the code I added. Here frame X is the start and frame Y is the end of the problem section. Generally it's only a few frames and anything that causes this error will look like TV static or similar so heavy filtering doesn't substantially effect it. The only non-static case I've encountered was a Superbowl video that showed the sky filled with confetti.

[nathanaa]

Ah, good old "VBR VBV ovf". I haven't seen this with CCE Basic, but I use to run into it with CCE 2.5 from time to time.

The error message translates to: Video Bitrate Video Buffering Verifier Overflow, and that basically means the encoder choked on that frame usually because the video/image is so complex it overflowed the buffer. The HBO "static" logo is known to causing this error at low bitrates.

There are basically 3 options:

1. As fishman says, use a different encoder.

2. Increase the bitrate for that segment, or if it's a small segment you can set it to "No Reencode" in DVD-RB segment editor.

Ok, I kind of like the sound of this option - how would I set it up to do this? Is there an option somewhere I can choose so that if this occurs again in the future it just doesn't reencode it? I mean, if it's only a couple frames, I can't imagine it would be that much - a couple MB's at most, right? Or are we talking KB here? Anyway, if I wanted to do this, how would I set it up? Bearing in mind I have no idea what you are explaining in the rest of your message (below), lol.

3. Decrease the complexity of the video. Back in the day I would edit the .avs file to apply a heavy noise filter or blur to just the few problem frames.

You could do something like:

#------------------
# AVS File Created by DVD Rebuilder
# VOBID:01, CELLID:01
#------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll")
mpeg2source("H:\Work\D2VAVS\V02.D2V",idct=5)
Video=trim(0,177)
PreV=Video.trim(0,X-1)
Problem=Video.trim(X,Y)
PostV=Video.trim(Y+1, 0)

Problem=Problem.blur()

PreV + Problem + PostV

ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=true)

Bold is the code I added. Here frame X is the start and frame Y is the end of the problem section. Generally it's only a few frames and anything that causes this error will look like TV static or similar so heavy filtering doesn't substantially effect it. The only non-static case I've encountered was a Superbowl video that showed the sky filled with confetti.

See, I also still haven't had anyone weigh in on what they think happened with the completed output. I mean, the file is ready to burn, and DVDShrink seems to think it will be able to burn it, but what am I likely to see or experience when I try to play the disc? Would it have an error somewhere and refuse to play, or be video hash for a few seconds somewhere, or ???

Any input appreciated folks, thanks so much for the explanations! Please keep 'em coming!

[wmansir]

With option 2 you have to use DVD-RB segment editor. Run the prepare step and then click on the Preview/Edit tab. Then under Video Title Sets find the problem segment based on the name of the file CCE threw the error on.

For example if the problem encode was

V04001800001019

The key numbers are V04001800001019. This says the segment is VTS 04, V01/C19 under the Segment Editor. Once you have clicked on the segment you can then use the slider to change the bitrate for that individual segment or check off "No Reencode" to have DVD-RB skip the encode and just use the original video. Making this change will increase the total size of the video so you may have to reduce other segments in order to keep the "DVD Output size" from going over target size. The segment editor will let you know if that happens.

Using this method you can only adjust the entire segment the error occurs in. You cannot pin it down to just the few problem frames of the video. The Editor will show you how big it is. If the original disc encoded the episodes without chapters it is possible for the segment to be an entire episode long, which would make this solution practically unworkable.

RE: The output if this error occurs.

When CCE encounters this error it just stops encoding the video, so the output file is missing the end of that segment. Usually this will cause an error during the rebuild phase of DVD-RB, but if you do manage to get a final DVD-RB output then the DVD will still be missing that video. A dvd player could just skip it, play garbled/frozen video while the audio continues or it could stop playback.

[nathanaa]

With option 2 you have to use DVD-RB segment editor. Run the prepare step and then click on the Preview/Edit tab. Then under Video Title Sets find the problem segment based on the name of the file CCE threw the error on.

How do I find out which was the problem segment? Where would I look (please be VERY specific as to how I can find this)?

[wmansir]

I'm not overly familiar with CCE Basic but you may be able to see the file name in the status window when the error occurs.

If you can't see it there then you can go by the DVD-RB log file. The last line tells you what segment was trying to be encoded when the job stopped. The log doesn't give the V/C number, but the Segment number itself. We have to find the file with that segment number and then get the V/C numbers to find the segment in the Segment Editor.


So for instance your log says:

Creating M2V for VTS_05 segment 11
aborted.

So we are looking for VTS 05 segment 11.

Go into your working folder, then the D2VAVS folder inside. There you will see a bunch of files. we want the any file that starts with "V050011". For example it could be:

V05001100002008.avs

In this example we would need to go into the segment editor and adjust VTS 05 V02/C08

You can verify that it is the right segment by opening the .avs file in a media player and comparing it to any .mpv or .m2v file with the same name. The .avs file is the source and if the encoding completed successfully the resulting .mpv/.m2v file should contain the same video content, but if it is the problem segment than CCE stopped before finishing the encode and the video won't match. It's also possible for this error to occur during the CCE's first pass, when it is created a .vaf file containing info about the video. In that case it would have never gotten to the second pass where it creates the .mpv file, so there will not be a .mpv file for that segment.

[jdobbs]

I think you may be able to fix it by setting this in the "[Options]" area of REBUILDER.INI:

min_bitrate=500

I seem to remember long ago setting the default to 500 because of that error -- but then backing it down to 300 because I thought it was corrected in later versions of CCE... I don't know where my mind was when I typed in v1.4.5 and v1.4.6 -- I meant 2.5.5 and 2.5.6 (nothing even similar between the two).

[Geekman]

Could upgrading to CCE Basic 2.70.01.15 fix this overflow issue?
Possibly nathanaa is entitled to a free upgrade here:
http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/download.html#basic

Just wondering...

Wait he has CCE... Not sure what the license upgrades / changes are.

I'll be quiet now.

[nathanaa]

I think you may be able to fix it by setting this in the "[Options]" area of REBUILDER.INI:

min_bitrate=500

I seem to remember long ago setting the default to 500 because of that error -- but then backing it down to 300 because I thought it was corrected in later versions of CCE.

So I can just add that line anywhere under the [Options] section? Or does it have to be before/after anything in particular?

And, once I'm done with this particular DVD, should I return to the .INI file and remove that line? Kind of sounds like this is a pretty rare problem, and having that might be unnecessary.

Thanks jdobbs, I appreciate the help!

[nathanaa]

Well, I tried adding the line to the Options section of the REBUILDER.INI file as suggested; I put it as the second line in the file. After running it in One-Click mode the same error occurred in the same place. I went back in and deleted the line and tried the other method recommended above.

It seems to have worked, after the Prepare Phase I went in and located the Segement, and using the Segment Editor I changed a few things around. Took me 3 tries, but I seem to have found the appropriate changes to make, as DVD-RB just finished the Endcode phase and I just clicked to start the Rebuild phase. It hasn't gotten that far yet so I think I'm good.

If I run into any problems I'll report further, but my problem seems to have been solved - thanks for the help folks, most especially for the detailed instructions on how to proceed with the "repair" work I needed to do, and for the information on exactly how the end product would likely have been screwed up if I didn't get this straightened out.

Thanks again all!