MeGui Encoding - exploding file size

[musicman2311]

Hello all,
first of all - thanks to the authors for making this available.
I have successfully created backups versions for AppleTV
based on my blu rays, all vc1, avc or mpeg2 based.

Now I decided to re-code some vc1 based HDDVD and whilst i successfully created an m2ts file, I do have a strange file size phenomenon when running through MeGui.

Bitrate is set to 4200 kbit/sec and resolution is 720p.

the movie is 2h and 20 min which should give me a size of about 4.4 gigabyte. so the original 1080p file is about 17 giga in size

side note: many times quicktime refuses to open the resulting mp4 files, even those which are coded well.
i then demux with yamb and remux with the muxer in meGui. finally i insert Ac3 in quicktime.

the intersting part is that the above metioned 3 min test actually played in quicktime straight away (no yamb..) - again any comment or help is appreciated

however the result is about 17 gigabyte and is actually corrupted (blocky).

to my surprise, i recoded a 3 min piece of the same m2ts and that worked fine.

Any idea anyone? any help is appreciated.

[jeffy]

Hmmm....what about... ?

Your script?
Your log?
Do you have enough free space on the drive? (Double the resulting filesize + add something more)
What OS? What AviSynth version?

[musicman2311]

thanks, I have enough disk space (~100gig available),Os is WinXP sp3

avisynth version is 2.5, script as follows (please ignore frame rate of 29.9 vs 23.9 - was a test):

DirectShowSource("C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\apolloevo.m2ts",fps=29.97000002997,audio=false)
#deinterlace
#crop
LanczosResize(1280,720) # Lanczos (Sharp)
#denoise

what i find in attached log file is a VBV buffer underflow - is that it? what would be a suitable size and does it have any meaning for AppleTV spec?

thanks for any help

here is an extract of the log

--[Information] [06.08.2008 08:06:18] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Programme\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 4200 --stats "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\apo.stats" --level 3.1 --bframes 3 --direct none --no-cabac --subme 1 --partitions none --qpmin 16 --vbv-bufsize 1200 --vbv-maxrate 12000 --me dia --merange 12 --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output NUL "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\apo.avs"
--[Information] [06.08.2008 08:06:19] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] avis [info]: 1280x720 @ 29.97 fps (251468 frames)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 Cache64
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV buffer size too small, using 1201 kbit
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-4863 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-246671 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-666248 bits)

[musicman2311]

Hi again,
I realized that the original profile for AppleTV assumes a 700kbit/sec bitrate. I changed that to 4200.

Can I savely assume that I can scale the VBV buffer accordingly and it will be within spec?

please help

[Sharktooth]

no... Apple TV has bitrate limit. you cant exceed the specified max bitrate and you must not change the vbv parameters. if you do that it wont play on your device.

[musicman2311]

thanks,
as I understand it there is a relationship between
max bit rate and VBV buffer (something like a=b+c*d).

Since AppleTV is specified to up to 5000kbit/sec,
what would be the corresponding VBV buffer?

The preset/profile parameters for AppleTV are set to 700kbit/sec. I changed that to 4200kpbs (to leave room for AC3)

Should I hence not be able to put VBV buffer to 4000kbit?

can anybody comment that?

[Sharktooth]

VBV buffer depends on the device. 1200 is what apple TV has, you should leave it alone...
however if you specify a higher limit, usually it will be ignored or rounded down to the max device buffer.
however are you sure the Apple TV max bitrate is 5000kbps?
As for the video’s maximum bitrate, that 5Mbps isn’t a hard limit. The Apple TV will accept files that include data spikes as high as 12Mbps
source: http://www.macworld.com/article/57237/2007/04/encodeappletv.html
that means 5000kbps is the max sustained bitrate but 12mbps is the max peak bitrate.
the preset is ok, you have only to change the bitrate to your preference but just dont exceed the limits as specified in the above link (dont touch VBV maxbitrate or VBV buffer) depending on the resolution.

[musicman2311]

Thanks, Sharktooth,
I do understand the device dependency. I assume that VBV buffer size is a function of bitrate and Mpeg profile, i.e. AppleTV high dev is main profile level 3.1 (or so) with a specified max bit rate.

I just assume that
a) the profile / preset which is available for MeGui sets the VBV buffer at 1200kbit and the bit rate at 700kbit
b) when I change bit rate to e.g. 4000kbit, I must also change the VBV buffer size in a way that it is still compliant with the
device spec

My question is - how to find out what the correct settings are.

I saw a table on the web which fundamentally showed VBV buffer size = max bitrate size, but I would not dare to
state that I am sure I understand correctly.

An MPEG specialist could probably answer that question. In the mean time I will try and error ....

thanks for any help

[Sharktooth]

no... the VBV buffer depends on how much memory has the device for buffering.
also
a) the bitrarate is a random value i put there. you have to change it that depending on your preference or needs (respecting the guide linked in my previous post). the VBV buffer should not be changed!
b) no. it is already compliant with the device.
hence your question has been answered.

[musicman2311]

Thanks, Sharktooth,

looks like I am stuck, huh?

Given the above I cannot backup my movie to AppleTV?

I saw a post on the web in another forum, where somebody said h264 level 3.1 defines VBV 1708kbit.

[Sharktooth]

apple TV has different values for VBV...
please use the apple TV preset and set the BITRATE (not maxbitrate or buffer) to your desired value (max 768kbps for 320x240 and lower res, max 3000 for res higher than 320x240 up to 848x480 and max 5000 for res higher than 848x480 and up to 1280x720). it will work.
it's not that hard...

[musicman2311]

Shartooth,
I sincerely appreciate your help here, but sorry to bug you - as you can see from the log above, I have used the profile as is and set bit rate (not max bit rate) to 4200 and resolution to 1280 x 720.

where do the underflows come from?

is there anything else wrong?

to recap - the result is a blocky picture and a file size of 17 Giga (over 20 Giga in case of 29.9 fps)

thanks

[Sharktooth]

then higher the buffersize to something like the maxbitrate (12000)... the device "should" use its maximum buffer and ignore what you set if it's higher. that will eliminate the x264 warnings...
also apple TV does not support framerates higher than 25... so you have to do something for that...

[musicman2311]

thanks, I will try that.

As said, please ignore the 29.9 fps, it was just a try. I did run the video from hddvd through vc1conv and have a 24fps version which plays perfectly on blu ray.

I will keep you posted.

thanks for your help

[Sharktooth]

if 12000 doesnt work (it doesnt play on the apple TV), try 5000.

[jeffy]

Shartooth,
I sincerely appreciate your help here, but sorry to bug you - as you can see from the log above, I have used the profile as is and set bit rate (not max bit rate) to 4200 and resolution to 1280 x 720.

where do the underflows come from?

is there anything else wrong?

to recap - the result is a blocky picture and a file size of 17 Giga (over 20 Giga in case of 29.9 fps)

thanks
@Sharktooth´: 251 468 frames @ 29.97 fps -> 4200 Kbps bitrate -> why 17 GB?? Any ideas?

[musicman2311]

jeffy,
to be precise, I had run this with 23.98 fps which led to 17 Gbyte. then i tested the original 1080i version at 29.9fps and i stopped it at 20Gb.

i guess you guys are aware that there is a similar thread on here (not for appleTV) but same issue based on HDDVD input? it has screenshots of the blocky pics. I am not sure there was a clear solution to that issue.

I just aborted a vbv size 4000 trial - will try 5000 next

[Sharktooth]

they didnt deinterlace/IVTC?
also i dont know if they're using the x264 builds that come with megui or other experimental builds...

[musicman2311]

intermediate update - I just went back to original settings, bitrate 4200kbps and 1280x720. Rest as in original settings.

I started to run it with ABR instead of automated 2 pass.

4 min into the clip - no underflow error. I have not seen the result yet and I do not know whether underflow occurs later - i will report back in 7 hours

[Sharktooth]

VBV limits and 1 pass (ABR or whatever) is BAD
also ABR is BAD for quality.
stick with 2 pass encoding.
did you try buffer 12000 or 5000? coz underflows are easily to be expected if bitrate exceeds the buffer...

[musicman2311]

thanks, I will check later - the 4000 vbv two pass yielded underflow errors.

Is there a way to quickly find out which setting avoids underflow? it takes about 3 hours for the 1st pass (ok 140 min clip).

I will do the tests asap; run the clip, find at what time it starts underflowing and then create a shorter clip (10 min?) to run several settings.

my concern is obviously that a high buffer might yield no errors, but AppleTV won't play.
with that said, I want to share that elsewhere I saw a statement AppleTV has a 32Mbit RAM for the purpose which would exceed the 12000 by far.

what I do wonder though is with my 1080p BLuRay discs I have no problem whatsoever with the settings, but from HD-DVD there is this problem (both cases vc1, different movie)

anyway I will run further tests and keep you posted - thanks for help

[Sharktooth]

bitrate < buffer should avoid it... if you cant lower the bitrate... higher the buffer (but thats not recomended since the device may act weird...)
test on smaller clips... few minutes should be enough...
bku-ray presets have the VBV buffer set to 40Mbit... HD-DVD to 16Mbit or so.

[musicman2311]

thanks,
as said, i will keep you posted - I had tried with a 3 min clip from the beginning of the movie already and that was perfect.

My expectation would however be, that single pass or 2 pass do not behave differently in terms of buffer underflow, actually if they do, then underflow are more likely to happen in single pass than two pass per my understanding. If that is not the case here, then something else is wrong.

anyway - i'll be back at my house in about 2 hours and check what heppened by then - thanks for your help

[Sharktooth]

x264 VBV doesnt work at its best with 1 pass and some weird things may happen.

[musicman2311]

i stopped it based on this and it was about 65% 10 Gbyte - no undeflow error though

[Sharktooth]

10GBB... thst'd fdefinatly too much...
post your log (dont attach it, just put it somewhere like zshare or some other web sharing service... even pastebin will be ok).

[musicman2311]

that whole thing is weird - the 10 hgig thing i deleted everything based on your recommendation that ABR is useless.
I am now running a 3 gig file (24 min) at 5000 for both bitrate and buffer.
i have 10 min to go, but here is the start of the log

[Information] Log
-[Information] Version information
--[NoImage] MeGUI Version : 0.3.0.1020
--[NoImage] OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3
--[NoImage] Framework used : 2.0
-[Information] Settings
--[NoImage] YadifPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\yadif\yadif.dll
--[NoImage] AudioSamplesPerUpdate: 100000
--[NoImage] AutoScrollLog: True
--[NoImage] AcceptableFPSError: 0,01
--[NoImage] MaxServersToTry: 5
--[NoImage] AutoUpdateServerSubList: 0
--[NoImage] AutoUpdateServerLists
---[NoImage] array.Length: 2
---[NoImage] array[0]
----[NoImage] array.Length: 3
----[NoImage] array[0]: Stable
----[NoImage] array[1]: http://megui.org/auto/stable/
----[NoImage] array[2]: http://mewiki.project357.com/auto/stable/
---[NoImage] array[1]
----[NoImage] array.Length: 3
----[NoImage] array[0]: Development
----[NoImage] array[1]: http://megui.org/auto/
----[NoImage] array[2]: http://mewiki.project357.com/auto/
--[NoImage] AfterEncoding: DoNothing
--[NoImage] AfterEncodingCommand: null
--[NoImage] AcceptableAspectErrorPercent: 1
--[NoImage] UseAdvancedTooltips: True
--[NoImage] AlwaysOnTop: False
--[NoImage] BeSplitPath: besplit.exe
--[NoImage] FFMpegPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe
--[NoImage] EncAacPlusPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\enc_aacplus\enc_aacplus.exe
--[NoImage] EncAudXPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\encaudxcli\encaudxcli.exe
--[NoImage] OggEnc2Path: C:\Programme\megui\tools\oggenc2\oggenc2.exe
--[NoImage] MencoderPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\mencoder\mencoder.exe
--[NoImage] FaacPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\faac\faac.exe
--[NoImage] LamePath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\lame\lame.exe
--[NoImage] NeroAacEncPath: neroAacEnc.exe
--[NoImage] MkvmergePath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\mkvmerge\mkvmerge.exe
--[NoImage] Mp4boxPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\mp4box\mp4box.exe
--[NoImage] X264Path: C:\Programme\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe
--[NoImage] DgIndexPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\dgindex\dgindex.exe
--[NoImage] XviDEncrawPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\xvid_encraw\xvid_encraw.exe
--[NoImage] Avc2aviPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\avc2avi\avc2avi.exe
--[NoImage] AviMuxGUIPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\avimux_gui\avimux_gui.exe
--[NoImage] AftenPath: C:\Programme\megui\tools\aften\aften.exe
--[NoImage] AvisynthPluginsPath: C:\Programme\AviSynth 2.5\plugins
--[NoImage] MeGUIUpdateCache: C:\Programme\megui\update_cache
--[NoImage] RecalculateMainMovieBitrate: False
--[NoImage] AutoForceFilm: True
--[NoImage] FreshOggEnc2: True
--[NoImage] AutoStartQueue: False
--[NoImage] AutoOpenScript: True
--[NoImage] AutoSetNbThreads: True
--[NoImage] OpenProgressWindow: True
--[NoImage] ForceFilmThreshold: 95
--[NoImage] DefaultLanguage1: English
--[NoImage] DefaultLanguage2: English
--[NoImage] DefaultPriority: IDLE
--[NoImage] EnableMP3inMP4: False
--[NoImage] OverwriteStats: True
--[NoImage] Keep2of3passOutput: False
--[NoImage] NbPasses: 2
--[NoImage] DeleteCompletedJobs: False
--[NoImage] DeleteIntermediateFiles: True
--[NoImage] DeleteAbortedOutput: True
--[NoImage] VideoExtension
--[NoImage] AudioExtension
--[NoImage] AutoUpdate: True
--[NoImage] DialogSettings
---[NoImage] OverwriteJobOutputResponse: True
---[NoImage] AskAboutOverwriteJobOutput: True
---[NoImage] DuplicateResponse: True
---[NoImage] AskAboutDuplicates: False
---[NoImage] WarnAboutRDO2: True
---[NoImage] AskAboutError: True
---[NoImage] ContinueDespiteError: False
---[NoImage] AskAboutYV12: True
---[NoImage] AddConvertToYV12: True
---[NoImage] AskAboutVOBs: True
---[NoImage] UseOneClick: True
--[NoImage] SourceDetectorSettings
---[NoImage] CombedFrameMinimum: 5
---[NoImage] MinimumUsefulSections: 20
---[NoImage] DecimationThreshold: 2
---[NoImage] MaxPortions: 5
---[NoImage] Priority: BelowNormal
---[NoImage] PortionsAllowed: False
---[NoImage] PortionThreshold: 5
---[NoImage] HybridFOPercent: 10
---[NoImage] MinimumAnalyseSections: 150
---[NoImage] AnalysePercent: 1
---[NoImage] HybridPercent: 5
--[NoImage] AedSettings
---[NoImage] AddAdditionalContent: False
---[NoImage] NoTargetSizeMode: False
---[NoImage] BitrateMode: False
---[NoImage] FileSizeMode: True
---[NoImage] Container: MP4
---[NoImage] Bitrate: 700
---[NoImage] FileSize: 700 MB
---[NoImage] SplitSize: null
--[NoImage] safeProfileAlteration: False
-[Information] Log for job1 (video, ap1.avs -> )
--[Information] [07.08.2008 19:18:04] Started handling job
--[Information] [07.08.2008 19:18:05] Preprocessing
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Programme\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 5000 --stats "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\ap1.stats" --level 3.1 --bframes 3 --direct none --no-cabac --subme 1 --partitions none --qpmin 16 --vbv-bufsize 5000 --vbv-maxrate 12000 --me dia --merange 12 --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output NUL "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\ap1.avs"
--[Information] [07.08.2008 19:18:12] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] avis [info]: 1280x720 @ 23.98 fps (35756 frames)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 Cache64
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-113203 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-456739 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-141326 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-132766 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-110779 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-318955 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-450254 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-220326 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-216491 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-403491 bits)

[Sharktooth]

keep the bitrate below the buffersize OR higher the buffersize.
avoid setting bitrate greater or equal to the buffersize... or, as you can see, you will easily get VBV underflows.
also i cant understand why the file is getting so big.
correct the settings as i said, do a complete encoding and post the complete logfile (use pastebin.com and then post the link).

[Dark Shikari]

keep the bitrate below the buffersize OR higher the buffersize.
avoid setting bitrate greater or equal to the buffersize... or, as you can see, you will easily get VBV underflows.Or, of course, just use two-pass...

[musicman2311]

ok the above is 2 pass.
so you say buffer > bitrate?

i will try - will report when i have a result

any recommended settings if I want 4200kbps?

any recommended buffer size for appleTV?

right now i have a 10k/10k running seems ok (17 %)

[Sharktooth]

appleTV maxbitrate is 12000 (use that value for VBV maxbitrate). set a VBV buffersize above the bitrate or equal to the maxbitrate.
in most cases, if the device has not enough memory for buffering it will ignore the buffersize option and will use all the all the available memory.
so you should end up with buffersize 12000, maxbitrate 12000, bitrate 4200.
your video stream should end up being approximately 4.4Gigz.

[musicman2311]

thanks,
I have done many tests and all of them have underflows. however
some video file actually looked ok still.
I will do a final test with parameters as explained by you and then see how i post the logs.
that will take a while - thanks for your help

[Dark Shikari]

thanks,
I have done many tests and all of them have underflows. however
some video file actually looked ok still.
I will do a final test with parameters as explained by you and then see how i post the logs.
that will take a while - thanks for your helpIgnore underflows on the first pass; the point of the second pass is to correct them.

[musicman2311]

thanks, the log jus flows undeflows - never in first pass, always in second pass

[Dark Shikari]

thanks, the log jus flows undeflows - never in first pass, always in second passThen what did you post above?
--[NoImage] Job commandline: "C:\Programme\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 5000 --stats "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\ap1.stats" --level 3.1 --bframes 3 --direct none --no-cabac --subme 1 --partitions none --qpmin 16 --vbv-bufsize 5000 --vbv-maxrate 12000 --me dia --merange 12 --threads auto --thread-input --sar 1:1 --progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output NUL "C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\ap1.avs"
--[Information] [07.08.2008 19:18:12] Encoding started
--[NoImage] Standard output stream
--[NoImage] Standard error stream
---[NoImage] avis [info]: 1280x720 @ 23.98 fps (35756 frames)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 Cache64
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-113203 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-456739 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-141326 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-132766 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-110779 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-318955 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-450254 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-220326 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-216491 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-403491 bits)That doesn't look like a second pass to me.

[musicman2311]

no?
ok i will re run things and report - thanks

[musicman2311]

Shikari,
one more question please - as you have gathered I don't know my way round MeGUI that well.

when MeGUI runs in pass1 and I chose to export log file, there is no underflows reported.

So I watched it to start the 2nd pass , when it starts to create the mp4 file and export then. that is the log I posted.

Are you saying that only at the start of pass 2 it actually shows the log of pass 1, ie the underflows and what I see at that point in time has nothing to do with pass 2?

In that case I completely missinterpreted the logs and have to run my tests again.

Anyway - FYI - I started a complete conversion of the 140 min movie with parameters as outlined above this morning.
I will report result probably tomorrow - thanks again for everybody's help

[Dark Shikari]

Shikari,
one more question please - as you have gathered I don't know my way round MeGUI that well.

when MeGUI runs in pass1 and I chose to export log file, there is no underflows reported.

So I watched it to start the 2nd pass , when it starts to create the mp4 file and export then. that is the log I posted.

Are you saying that only at the start of pass 2 it actually shows the log of pass 1, ie the underflows and what I see at that point in time has nothing to do with pass 2?That's what it looks like.

[musicman2311]

ok gents, here is the current status - I am running with the settings as proposed by Sharktooth, movie length is 2 hours 19 min;
it is at 38% into the movie on pass 2, about 4 hours to go, it shows an actual file size of 3.9 Gbyte and a projected file size of
10.2 Gbyte right now.

intermediate log file below, but to me the above doesn't sound right. I will keep it running to obtein complete log.

http://pastebin.com/m141f2fec

[jeffy]

is this okay?
#
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: kb/s:17332.3
#
---[NoImage] encoded 201174 frames, 18.81 fps, 17332.48 kb/s

[musicman2311]

jeffy,
if it was not ok, where would that number come from? I only know that Nero 8 showtime plays the original file displaying
1080p, 23.98 fps, and the bitrate seems between 14 and 18 mbit/sec

note this vc1 file comes from hddvd and ran through vc1conv - if that info helps

[jeffy]

I might be mistaken, but I think this is the *too high* bitrate achieved by x264 encoder in the first pass. Sorry if I am wrong.

[musicman2311]

jeffy - fact is the file size is too big, the rest i do not understand enough in detail - you might be right - the question is - why is that
bitrate too high - as you can see from script, target is 4200, max is specified at 12000 - and there must be something 'strange' in my original file (vc1). Because i never have this type of issue with my blu ray backups

[musicman2311]

ok here is the result - log

http://pastebin.com/d7bec7138

file size is 13 gig , picture is blocky, i guess i give up

thanks everybody for trying to help;

[nurbs]

Does your avisynth script work if you use MPC or another player to play it?

Looking at your stats (you only posted the first pass by the way)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice I:5381 Avg QP:50.81 size:133237
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice P:153771 Avg QP:50.91 size: 77532
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice B:42022 Avg QP:50.89 size: 39531

The quants are all almost 51, which is the highest in AVC IIRC, so it can't get the file any smaller. That's why I think there might be something wrong with your input.

[musicman2311]

thanks,
what does 'wrong with input mean' ? what could go wrong in the ripping process? as i said, the file i try to convert plays fine as far as i can tell.
i am afraid i simply don't know what i look for.
FYI i also tried to use same avs to convert to mpeg2 with
hcenc - it reports 'some mismatch' whatever that means.
and after about 30 min into the movie the converted result was only noise.

hcenc log extract:
------------------
| encoding stats |
------------------

*** WARNING, 200078 frames found with small mismatch errors
*** ERROR, 483 frames found with large mismatch errors

what does that tell me?

maybe i should re-rip and re mux everything? any idea?

as for posted log - i waited until all was done with MeGui and said save log(after 2nd pass)

here is the end of file of same log:

---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-136827 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-364539 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [warning]: VBV underflow (-555491 bits)
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice I:5381 Avg QP:50.81 size:133237
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice P:153771 Avg QP:50.91 size: 77532
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice B:42022 Avg QP:50.89 size: 39531
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 61.9% 28.1% 1.3% 8.8%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb I I16..4: 68.1% 0.0% 31.9%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb P I16..4: 1.9% 0.0% 0.5% P16..4: 71.7% 3.7% 5.2% 0.0% 0.0% skip:17.2%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: mb B I16..4: 1.7% 0.0% 0.0% B16..8: 95.7% 0.0% 2.5% direct: 0.0% skip: 0.0% L0:55.0% L1:29.5% BI:15.4%
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: kb/s:13634.6
---[NoImage] encoded 201174 frames, 5.86 fps, 13634.72 kb/s
--[Information] Final statistics
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 4200 kbit/s
---[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 13636 kbit/s
--[Information] [09.08.2008 00:13:55] Job completed
--[Information] [09.08.2008 00:13:57] Postprocessing
---[Information] Deleting intermediate files
----[Information] [09.08.2008 00:13:57] Successfully deleted C:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\vo\Desktop\apollo.stats

you say this is pass 1 only? what am i doing wrong? thanks for any help

[Dark Shikari]

#
#
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice I:5381 Avg QP:49.49 size:128748
#
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice P:153771 Avg QP:48.86 size: 99658
#
---[NoImage] x264 [info]: slice B:42022 Avg QP:39.18 size: 51435

---[NoImage] x264 [info]: final ratefactor: 62.76No wonder you're getting loads of underflows, you're probably piping /dev/random into the encoder...

[musicman2311]

Dark, thanks - as you know, i open the video file with the script generator, press enque and then start. any idea what i am looking for to be wrong on my side?

[Dark Shikari]

Dark, thanks - as you know, i open the video file with the script generator, press enque and then start. any idea what i am looking for to be wrong on my side?Try looking at the output encode... I suspect it will be quite obvious that something is wrong ;)

[musicman2311]

Dark thanks, the picture is blurry and blocky if you meant that - as indicated earlier - there is a similar thread showing pics but i could not derive a solution from that.
( http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=134656&highlight=vbv+buffer+underflow&page=2 ; the input was also hddvd)
the above posted log from hcenc suggests something is wrong with my video file. i ripped it from my hddvd - my big question is - can it be, that the file i have, causes MeGui/x264 enc to fall over whilst it plays fine on pc and blu ray and if so, what am i looking for to fix it?

[musicman2311]

to whom it may concern - this is a VisualHub FFmpeg setting which codes the file entirely and at the right size.
as I reported however, VH causes a kind of stutter effect, but maybe from the below can be derived what settings could lead to success? Unfortunately I cannot judge the details myself - again any help is appreciated

0.0,,dvd1011,,,Video,mpeg2video,yuv420p,1280,720,23.98
0.1,,dvd1100,,,Audio,ac3,48000,5.1,640
'''/Library/Application Support/Techspansion/'vh131ffmpeg -y -i '/Volumes/My Book/ZZZ Blu Ray and HD material/''cast 720p.m2ts' -threads 4 -s 1280x720 -aspect 1280:720 -r 23.98 -vcodec h264 -g 150 -qmin 8 -b 4500k -level 31 -loop 1 -sc_threshold 40 -partp4x4 1 -rc_eq 'blurCplx^(1-qComp)' -refs 2 -qmax 51 -maxrate 4500k -bf 1 -keyint_min 40 -async 50 -acodec libfaac -ar 48000 -ac 2 -ab 128k -acodec copy -atag ac-3 '/Users/vo/Desktop/'/'cast 720p.m2ts'.temp.mov 2>> /tmp/vhtemp/1218335805/visualhub_time ; echo done > /tmp/vhtemp/1218335805/visualhub_working
FFmpeg version SVN-r9226, Copyright (c) 2000-2007 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
libavutil: 49.4.0 libavcodec: 51.40.4 libavformat: 51.12.1
built: Feb 12 2008 19:58:15, gcc: 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5367), i386
Input #0, mpegts, from '/Volumes/My Book/ZZZ Blu Ray and HD material/cast 720p.m2ts':
Duration-8624

[musicman2311]

ok guys, guess what - i put the file into an mkv container with eacoto.

i have a perfectly converted file of 4.2 Gigabyte size with visualhub - no idea why the container (mkv vs m2ts) makes a differernce