TS MPEG2 -> AVC-HD compliant H.264

[Schlotkins]

First, let me say I'm a noob so PLEASE be gentle. I'm trying to learn and I've tried a few things (unsuccessfully). My goal is to take about 11-13gig TS MPEG2 1080i files I recoded off my HD cable box and get them to fit on a DL DVD+R.

- I've tried to have MF6+ convert the files and create a AVC-HD disc; however, the quality of the encode was very poor, even if I put up the bitrate to like 16,000kbit/sec!

- I then tried Nero Vision to make the AVC-HD disc. This seemed to be more successful. The encodes looked pretty good. the problem? Nero seems to be REALLY bad at calculating bit rates. For example, I told it to encode at 12,000kbit/sec and the file size it estimated was close to 14,400 kbit/sec. I don't know which size would come out of the encoder but that was not comforting.

So, here I am. I'd like to encode the files outside of Nero and then pull them into Nero Vision or MF6+ as compliant files and burn them onto a DL DVD. the question is: How I do that at the maximum quality with minimal effort on my part? My assumption is a high quality H.264 VBR 11,000kbit/sec should look pretty darn close to my original 17,000kbit/sec MPEG2 file. Not perfect of course, but certainly very good.

Thank you for any time and help you provide - I really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Chris

[Schlotkins]

OK I have been messing around with MeGUI and trying to get this to work, but I have some questions:

1) I'm trying to encode 1920x1080 without resizing. Of course, 1080 is not divisible by 16 and I get a warning. Is this a problem? If so, how do I get around it?

2) Whill "Insane" quality playback on a blu-ray playing when wrapped as a AVC-HD disc?

3) Finally, I need the end file to have ac3 audio. The audio in the file is ac3. Is there away to just have it remuxed with the new video file instead of reencoding it? I can select ac3 but I get an error message from MeGUI.

Thanks,
Chris

[Dark Shikari]

OK I have been messing around with MeGUI and trying to get this to work, but I have some questions:

1) I'm trying to encode 1920x1080 without resizing. Of course, 1080 is not divisible by 16 and I get a warning. Is this a problem? If so, how do I get around it?You're using a very old version of MeGUI. x264 hasn't shown that warning for ages, and even when it does, its not a problem. Update your x264 to the latest version (r736).
2) Whill "Insane" quality playback on a blu-ray playing when wrapped as a AVC-HD disc?No, because "Insane" has too many reference frames. Choose a compatible profile with the right options (VBV maxrate, reference frames, NAL HRD, etc).

[Schlotkins]

You're using a very old version of MeGUI. x264 hasn't shown that warning for ages, and even when it does, its not a problem. Update your x264 to the latest version (r736).
No, because "Insane" has too many reference frames. Choose a compatible profile with the right options (VBV maxrate, reference frames, NAL HRD, etc).

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm using MeGUI v0.2.6.1044. Is that an old version? I also downloaded x264 from here:

http://mirror05.x264.nl/Cef/

I'm still getting this error message:

"Your AviSynth clip has the following problem:
AviSynth clip doesn't have mod16 dimensions:
Width: 1920
Height:1080
This could cause problems with some encoders,
and will also result in a loss of compressibility.
I suggest you resize to a mod16 resolution.
Continue anyway?"

In terms of the profiles, could you please direct me to where I can see which ones will work? I'm not familiar with the Blu-ray AVC-HD limitations.

Thank you again,
Chris

[Dark Shikari]

I'm using MeGUI v0.2.6.1044. Is that an old version? I also downloaded x264 from here:

http://mirror05.x264.nl/Cef/Use the built-in autoupdate. Cef's builds are out of date.
I'm still getting this error message:

"Your AviSynth clip has the following problem:
AviSynth clip doesn't have mod16 dimensions:
Width: 1920
Height:1080
This could cause problems with some encoders,
and will also result in a loss of compressibility.
I suggest you resize to a mod16 resolution.
Continue anyway?"Ignore it. Its meaningless, especially for 1080p.
In terms of the profiles, could you please direct me to where I can see which ones will work? I'm not familiar with the Blu-ray AVC-HD limitations.Neither is anyone else, as the spec isn't public. Everyone is basically just guessing.

You mostly have to obey DPB size (refs no more than 4 for 1080p), VBV maxrate (50 megabits, I believe), VBV buffer (14475 is what people have guessed it to be), and you need the HRD/pulldown info in the stream (the built in SA-HDDVD profile has all of this, I believe).