DVD ReBuilder (DVD-RB) Frequently Asked Questions

[jdobbs]

I've decided to try and cut back on the number of repeated questions on DVD ReBuilder by putting this FAQ sticky in-place. This FAQ should grow over time as I come across more common questions.

Hopefully it will grow to become a place to go when we see something confusing or unclear about DVD-RB.


Q1. How much do I have to know about all this to make this thing work? If I browse through the options I see a lot of things like quality_prec, deinterlacing, and decombing thingees..

A1. Nothing. Those are all there for advanced "geek" users. After the initial setup, where you have to point to a few things -- you can just leave everything at the default and you should be fine.

Q2. Do I need to use eclCCE.exe with DVD-RB?

A2. If you have a newer version of CCE that you have purchased, you don't need to use eclCCE. But if using CCE v2.50 (which is very popular) or any trial version -- yes, you must use eclCCE. Version
2.50 and trial versions do not support command line parameter passing and/or saving/loading of .ECL (CCE Project) files.

Q3. That brings up another point. If I use it, how?

A3. First install the eclCCE.EXE file in the same directory as CCE (usually it is found under "C:\Program Files\Custom Technology\..." (it changes by version after that). Then run the eclCCE.exe alone. The first time it runs it will require that you "point" it to your CCE executable. You have to do this! Failure to do so makes it not work and make you angry. After that is completed -- and this is important -- point the CCE path located in DVD-RB's Setup dialog to eclCCE.EXE, NOT the CCE executable.

Q4. I set everything up -- but nothing seems to happen and/or I get video that is a black screen with orange/red lines at the bottom.

A4. You probably are having a problem with the location of MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL. In the installation instructions (see the REBUILDER.TXT file) it tells you to put that file in the AVISYNTH Plugins directory. That should work. But some 3rd party software designers (bless their hearts) have decided to change the AVISYNTH registry entry to another location... You fix that by entering the setup dialog of DVD-RB and pointing directly to the MPEG2DEC3.DLL file -- also, click on the "Add to AVS File" checkbox.

Q5. There are other tools out there that allow me to remove streams, extras, audio, and other parts of a DVD. Can I run these on the source before using DVD-RB to make the final build?

A5. Yes, I would never want to stifle creativity. But do so at your own risk. Some (well... most) of these programs "butcher" the source without taking every aspect of the DVD into consideration. A butchered source can confuse DVD-RB (or any other program downstream) and cause it to do strange things... Any DVD-RB bug reports you decide to post should only apply to non-butchered sources.

Q6. What in the name of heaven is an AudioDub(BlankClip())?

A6. That's a fair question. For those who have been around awhile there is a known bug with CCE 2.50 in which it, when used with an AMD processor, can die a terrible death when confronted with an AVS files/stream that doesn't contain audio. By inserting this line -- a blank audio clip is inserted and everything works. Some later versions have also been reported to have memory leaks that go away if this is inserted. This line would is inserted by default in every AVS file to fix these issues. Some folks, however, have reported that their encodes seem to get slower when this is inserted (although I must say it has never happened to me) -- so this option allows them to remove it if they believe it isn't necessary.

Q7. Now you did it, you lost me. What is an AVS and why do you have to talk about it?

A7. DVD-ReBuilder stands on the shoulders of some very powerful and inventive freeware and donate-ware software packages. One of them is AVISYNTH. AVISYNTH is a scripted video processor that, quite frankly, is just incredible. It can take input video files, modify them in innumerable ways, and present them to players or encoders. But you don't have to know how to use it in order to take advantage of DVD-ReBuilder. All the scripts are created by DVD-ReBuilder and you the user is kept insulated from its complexities. An AVS file is the input command structure (actually just a text file) that instructs AVISYNTH how and when to process input video. if you want to get smart on AVISYNTH look at the enormous amount of information in the AVISYNTH section of the Doom9 Forum.

Q8. Ok. Now that you're on the subject of "stuff" -- what does MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL or DGDECODE.DLL do?

A8. Good question. (Isn't it amazing that I can write a question to myself, and then complement myself on it?) AVISYNTH has many options -- including a software development kit, standard interfaces, and a way to create "plugins" so its capabilities can be extended. MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL or the updated DGDECODE.DLL is a plugin that allows AVISYNTH to read DVD .VOB (Video Object) files and move back-and-forth through them (just as if they were a simple video file). It does that through a .D2V file which stores important information about the type and location of frames within the .VOB file. The D2V format and function was created by a program called DVD2AVI -- another incredible piece of software. While DVD-RB doesn't require DVD2AVI.EXE to run (it does it's own file parsing and .D2V creation) -- my hat is off to the genius represented in this product. DVD2AVI also has its own dedicated section in the Doom9 Forum.

Q9. I got an error code '75' -- what's up with that?

A9. You have mounted the source DVD on a virtual drive and are using an old version of DVD-RB. Upgrade. It's free.

Q10. When I try to encode I get an error message from CCE that says the input was the wrong size -- a number something like 800x56 shows as the illegal size. What causes this?

A10. This is caused by an error in processing the AVS files (AVISYNTH). Often it is a result of not properly setting up the location or use of MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL. But it can also be the result of improperly modification/editing. The illegal size is actually a video stream containing an error message. If you open up the .AVS with Microsoft Media Player you will be able to read the error -- it will provide you with a line number of the offending line in the .AVS.

[windtrader]

How about adding questions:

"Just what does DVD Rebuilder do and why would I want to use it?"

and

"So how does DVD Rebuilder stack up against some of the other prominent one click solutions like DVDShrink, CloneDVD2, DVD2DVD?"

[wmansir]

Let's try and keep this thread clean.

If you have a suggestion or comment about the program, please post it in THIS THREAD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73051)

If you have a bug to report, please post it in THIS THREAD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=73853)

If you have a general question, try THIS THREAD (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=72691)

EDIT: to say I wasn't refering to windtrader's post, which is very constructive. There was another post which was graciously removed by it's author.

[alanuk]

I've just purchased Cinemacraft Basic 2.67 ($58). Now when I came to configure it with Rebuilder I referred to the Doom guides. There's one for CCE Basic, CCE 2.66 and CCE 2.67. The version I bought is called CCE Basic 2.67; which guide do I refer to the Basic or 2.67?

[wmansir]

Use the CCE Basic. If you check the dialog again you will see the box is labeled "CCE SP (new)", CCE SP is a different product line than CCE Basic, but they share the same version numbers.

[wmansir]

Q. What are all these files in the D2VAVS folder?

Here's short, vague overview of what files are created, when, and their purpose:


Prepare
Most of the files are created here. They are:

Rebuilder.inf
Contains info about the project settings, it's progress and properties for each cell.
XXX.d2v files
Each VTS to be re-encoded gets a .d2v. These files are like a map of the original video files (VOBs), it tells AviSynth how to decode it.
Vxxxxxxxxx.flg files
Each cell gets a .flg file. These files contain flags from the original video file, on rebuild they are applied to the new video to recreate the exact video structure.
vxxxxxxxxx.avs files
Each cell gets a .avs file. These files tell AviSynth how to stream the video from each cell to CCE. The .avs file does several things. It decodes the video from the original .VOB, cuts out just the cell segment we are interested in, performs any special steps (deinterlace, resize, custom filters), converts it to a format CCE will accept, and adds a fake audio track to work around a CCE bug (if needed).
Rebuilder.ECL
Contains CCE instructions (jobs) for encoding all the video cells.
[/list=1]
Encode
[list=1]
item.ecl
The CCE job for the current cell to be encoded is copied into this file. It is then loaded into CCE and the encoding begins.
Vxxxxxxxxx.vaf
During the first pass CCE creates this file which contains information about the video it gathers during the first pass.
vxxxxxxxxx.m2v
After the first pass the reencoded video is output to this file.

Rebuild
During rebuild DVD-RB looks at the rebuilder.inf and then takes the reencoded video (.m2v), applies the flags (.flg), and muxes it with the selected audio and subtitle tracks from the original source.


This is just something I typed up in another thread and though I would add to this FAQ. It's based solely on my usage of the program and what I have read here in the forums, so some parts may not be completely accurate, specifically those dealing with custom DVD-RB files (inf and flg files).

[Rockas]

Q12. Trying CCE-SP 2.70 with DVD-RB when CCE launches during the encode stage, it sits waiting for me to press "encode" on the CCE window. How can I solve this?

Open the Setup dialog (under menu "Options) and check the "Run Encoder(s) Minimized".

[jdobbs]

I've gotten a lot of questions lately on bitrates computed in DVD-RB, so I'm adding this FAQ.

Q13. When I'm encoding NTSC non-telecined source, the bitrate seems to be less than when I do the same source using another package. I'm obsessed with bitrates. Why is DVD-RB's lower?

A13. This can get complicated but here goes... DVD-RB is the only encoder-based method I know of that supports hybrid NTSC sources (alternating between telecined and regular video). A part of the way it does that is by setting a common denominator as the framerate at 23.976fps. No frames are lost -- only the rate is changed. When encoding is complete, the framerate is returned to its original state during REBUILD. One offshoot of that is that when encoding the framerate must be adjusted by a factor of .80 (29.97 divided by 23.976) -- so that it hits its target when the framerate changes back (1.25 times the encoded bitrate). The bottom line is that the true bitrate you are achieving is 125% of what you see in the ECL files.

Here's an important note to help prevent self-inflicted wounds: DON'T CHANGE THE BITRATE VALUES BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER THAN DVD-RB -- IT WILL CAUSE LOTS OF PLAYBACK AND SIZING PROBLEMS.

[dragongodz]

may i suggest a new Q about dynamic bitrate allocation, or "why doesnt DVD-RB encode the whole movie at once ?" ?
as you can see it just keeps popping up
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=740464

[AnitaPeterson]

Could you add a procedure to resume the rebuild process without having to start from the beginning, in case the process was somehow interrupted (as in the case of a power loss?) Thanks.

[Rockas]

@AnitaPeterson
That procedure already exists... as long as you use the "Three Click" mode (meaning... unchecking "One Click Mode").
If you use Three Click... when you click "Encode" button (and you previously had encoded some of the files), Rebuilder will ask you if you want to re-start or want to resume from the last succesfull encoded segment.

[gadawg]

have been trying to get dvdrb pro i click on the donate button but nothing happens. please help

[Rippraff]

i click on the donate button
Where?
There's an option in RB free under Help "Make a donation", there's also a button on the main page (http://info.dvd-rb.com/). Here's the direct link (https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=DVD-RB@comcast.net&item_name=DVD+ReBuilder+Development+Donation&item_number=DVD-RB-001&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=USD) as well. ;)

Cu Rippraff

[Madibaman]

Hi Dobbs.

Regarding your FAQ 5: Should you recommend any way to remove anything but the main movie from the source before running DVD Rebuilder, what would that be? I promise not to bother this forum with bug reports, if it dose not work...

Or, are you planning on including any kind of main movie only-functions in the program, maybe the VIP-version?

Best,

Madibaman.

[jdobbs]

That's already in the VIP version. You just click "Movie Only" mode.

[Madibaman]

Thanks jdobbs.

I "bought" the program, and rebuild "Delicatessen", and the result was awesome. I'm using CCE Basic.

Best,

Madibaman

[jdobbs]

Great!

[Voodoochild]

I didn't know in which Thread to write it...so decided to put it here for common use
Just finished test on "The 5th Element".
When compression is less then 85% (in this case 83)

1. Over all encoding process was 40 min DVD shrink quality set to smooth. 140 min DVD RB free edition all phases (prepere,encode,build), cce 2 passes.


2. took stealth images from the outputs, quality was the same
Couldn't see any difference

3. here is the big difference
When watching the movie sometime between fast switching of camera shots in the movie there tiny blocks of pixels for less then a second in DVD Shrink, it is not absolutely flow... though quality was good.
How ever In DVD RB no pixilation what so ever. Absolute flow, Perfect quality couldn't see any difference between original and DVD RB

Conclusion:
For compression less then 85% USE DVD-RB, No other program can match it, If the compression is above 85% from main movie Shrink is good enough...
That all I needed to see that convinced me to pay for the pro..
One more question though,
Is the Pro version bit faster since it uses newer DGDecode dll ??

Thanks In advance..

[jdobbs]

Slightly... but not noticably. Most of the time is spend in the encode rather than the decode. You'll find the point at which encoding shows a real advantage is variable. It's my opinion that encoding always gives you a better picture -- but when the reduction is small the difference is just harder to see. The difference in time between encoding and transcoding isn't really that great -- if I remember correctly it takes about 90 minutes to so an deep analysis "shrink" (admittedly I haven't tried it in a long time) -- and a two pass CCE encode with DVD-RB only takes about 2 hours on a middle of the road PC (1 hour on high-end machines, longer on old ones). So I've personally always just done an encode (even before DVD-RB was created).

But, as I've said before, DVD-RB isn't aimed at being competition for Shrink. Shrink is a fantastic product that is rock solid and was way ahead of its time. DVD-RB is aimed at a different audience -- those who are willing to let the computer run a little longer to reach for a higher level of quality.

[Voodoochild]

DVD is less then DVD -5 and reEncoding is not necessary?
I was backing up old western I have "The searchers". Since the move is old and bit grainy I used fluxsmooth filter, how ever, since no encoding was done... does DVD RB use the filter and use it?? I couldn't tell the differences from the original.

Thanks in Advance... Elad.

[jdobbs]

You have to reencode to apply the filters. When the disc is small and would result in a one-to-one copy -- you have to check "Force Reencoding " under the mode menu.

[Voodoochild]

I'll do that

[Rockas]

If you want to apply a filter... you must re-encode it!

[Voodoochild]

Hi I didn't know in which thread to post it, so decided to put it here.
I saw on the DVD-RB manual in the tips part, tip about lowering the vbr_bias in movies above 2 hours.
I also read the explanation in the manual about, differences between high vs low vbr_bias, still I can't seem to find in the Threads the difference betwee cbr and vbr .. ? what is better, and why it is better to lower it in long movies, or change it for that matter..?

10x for any information about it ,
Elad .

P.S
I did lower the quality setting from 16 to 14 --> output sofar very good. just wanted to know more about the above.

[jdobbs]

VBR is pretty much always better than CBR -- but it isn't always clearly possible to use VBR. VBR requires that you review (first pass) a fairly large video segment and analyze it to determine where the available bits are most effectively used... but if you are doing realtime encoding you don't have that luxury (imagine trying to sell a live tv show with a 10 minute delay so the MPEG encoder can be more efficient). Usually in that case if VBR is used it varies only slightly (from low to high bitrate) because of the relatively small number of frames in the sample size.

But don't confuse bias with making a choice between the two. Encodes using the bias setting are still 100% vbr... the bias adjustment is just a method of determining how much and how quickly the variance between bitrates occurs.... that's why they say "more like cbr" but not "cbr" at the top of the scale. One of the MPEG gurus like Hank315, MPUCODER, Nic, or DragonGodz could probably give a better detailed explanation.

Bias is a real "tweakers" setting. I've found it especially useful on sections that have dark scenes and fade-in/fade-out.

[Voodoochild]

I also did more research on the subject, together with your info, I do understand better how to use it properly. In any way all backups I do with DVD-RB so far ... comes like the original sometimes better (if I use avs script.. like denoisers).
I got to say at first I thought to use DVD-RB only for heavy compression, but after seeing the results.. I use it all the time even if no reencoding is needed... This is the reason I wanted to learn more about the tweaks, I'm enjoying so much playing with all the settings the software can give the users. I'm a programmer my self, and I got to say ... there isn't a lot of software I'm willing to pay for, but for DVD-RB I did. 10x for great software.

[Voodoochild]

Hi, How come some movies lets say 2 hours long, can fit to DVD-5 with almost no compression lets say 90%, while other movies for example the godfather part 2 cd-1, 2 hours also is 60% compression. the movie is more then 7 Giga.
I know this is normal but just wanted to know what could be the reason..
thanks.

[blutach]

Movie 1 is encoded at a higher Q and a lower bitrate to begin with.

Godfather is the opposite.

Regards

[9mmruger1]

Newby here, I noticed the update for RB pro. Should I just do the updates, or full install again? Should I uninstall first? Some programs recommend an uninstall and reinstall, some just update.

Which is preferred method to keep it working smooth? :confused:

[Rockas]

You can download the Installer and then choose UPDATE on the components selection window.

[jdobbs]

I personally always just run the install again without deinstalling -- but I say "No" when it asks whether to overwrite my INI. That way I can keep my settings.

[9mmruger1]

That's what I ended up doing, but over wrote the .ini so had to reset everything. Live and learn. Great program tho, I love it.

Thanks.

[ptrlks]

Hi,
I’ve bought DVD-RB pro v1.11, and following your ”sticky” http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=74308
I’ve installed the HC decoder (ver 0.19.01) and I downloaded and installed AviSynth_160906

As mentioned above i´m following your sticky, but can’t find MPEG2DEC3DG.DLL
However I find a folder DGDecode in C:\Program\HC

What should I do? Can I for DVD-RB pro v1.11 use DGDecode.dll insted? And should I put that file where?

Any answer we’ll be appreciated
Thx
//Peter

[linx05]

ptrlks: just download the installer. It includes all that stuff and is very trust worthy. Plus that version of DVD-Rebuilder is old. You may down the setup from here (http://www.jdobbs.com/Pages/Downloads.htm). Make sure you uninstall all that before you install this one.

[ptrlks]

ptrlks: just download the installer. It includes all that stuff and is very trust worthy. Plus that version of DVD-Rebuilder is old. You may down the setup from here (http://www.jdobbs.com/Pages/Downloads.htm). Make sure you uninstall all that before you install this one.

thx 4 your answer linx05, but are you sure that DVD-RB pro v1.11 is old?
And what should I download from that page? I can only see the DVD ReBuilder Freeware v0.98.1 package and I got the pro...I´ve uninstalled everything right now

[linx05]

Well it use to be up there for download. Check your email. You would have gotten one when it was updated. If not, email jdobbs at dvd-rb@dvd-rb.com.

Alternatively, if you are alright in using a BETA you can download 1.20.3 from here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=118541).

EDIT: Thanks zacoz

[zacoz]

Current download link for the DVD-RB Pro release version:
http://www.jdobbs.com/Pages/DVDRebuilder/DVD-RB_Pro_download.htm

As always, will only work for registered users.

[ptrlks]

Well it use to be up there for download. Check your email. You would have gotten one when it was updated. If not, email jdobbs at dvd-rb@dvd-rb.com.

Alternatively, if you are alright in using a BETA you can download 1.20.3 from here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=118541).

EDIT: Thanks zacoz

oki... I checked my email and found it.
A question: should I first install HC?

[jdobbs]

HC is included in the installer. In fact everything you need (with the exception, of course, of any commercial encoders) is included and installed automatically.

[dubious buccaneer]

I'm using DVD-RB pro 1.21 with CCE SP trial 2.70 to back up some DVD. It's pretty standard fare and DVD-RB doesn't complain about anything. I didn't mess with any advanced options too.

Ok, so I click the 'backup' button, and things appear to start working. The log gets as far as:

[16:28:33] Phase I, PREPARATION completed in 10 minutes.
[16:28:33] Phase II ENCODING started
- Extracting STILLS for VTS_01 segment 0
- Creating M2V for VTS_01 segment 1

And after that I've been waiting for about 16 hours now. The progress indicators have not advanced at all and after 'Progress:' it says 'V01000100002001'. There's a CCE process running, but it hardly seems to use any CPU time.

What's going on?

[linx05]

Get the latest version of DVD Rebuilder: 1.24.0 then retry.

[Boulder]

I've seen many DVDs that have a progressive movie (encoded as interlaced as I'm talking about PAL DVDs here) and interlaced extras in the same VTS. To get the best out of the source, the encoding mode should be set to progressive for the movie.

My question is: what happens during the rebuild phase when you manually change the encoding mode from progressive to interlaced and does it affect playback in any way? In NTSC it's probably a completely different story but what about PAL?

[jdobbs]

Thought this is something that ought to be added to the FAQ. The text below was posted by Boulder (the originator of the concept) in the original redistribution discussions.

1) Why did you come up with this silly method?

I originally began developing it when I used to cram two movies per DVD. I quickly noticed that the average quant levels between the two movies were very uneven - one would have ~3.5 whereas the other would have ~6.0. This is, of course, not a good thing so I began thinking about how I could fix the situation. One thread by DDogg (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=74141) in the DVD2SVCD forum actually helped me come up with the initial idea.

2) What is the purpose of the method?

- to shift bits from less demanding segments to those that need more
- to avoid the problems caused by using the original bitrate distribution especially if the original source is CBR or near CBR
- to maintain equal quality throughout the whole video

3) What do you do the OPV/CQ pass for?

The OPV/CQ encode acts only as a compressibility test. Every segment is encoded using the exact same parameters so a bitrate-hungry segment will have a higher average bitrate than a segment that doesn't need as much to keep the same quality level. This means that from the results of the compressibility test encodes, we can calculate a bitrate ratio which can then be used to redistribute the available space for video between the segments.

After the compressibility tests have been run and the bits have been redistributed between segments, the encoding process continues just like in any normal DVD-RB project.

For fastest possible processing, you can run the redistribution pass without any filtering.

I have not tested the effects of different Q/quant values. I usually use Q30-40 in CCE and q4-5 in HC for doing the pass. IMO the most important thing is that the bitrate stays below the specified maximum because when the bitrate gets close to the maximum, the quants need to be raised. This can prevent the redistribution from being optimal.

4) What are the pros and cons of the method?

pros:
- equal quality throughout the whole video (and DVD when all VTSs are in the same redistribution pool)
- all the pros of OPV/CQ encode apply but you get accurate filesizes

cons:
- the redistribution pass takes extra time

5) How do you know that the method works?

Lately I've been capturing a lot of DVB stuff which I then re-encode as they usually need quite heavy filtering. I often put 3-4 episodes per DVD. I've used the method for determining the average bitrate per episode so that the quality would remain constant. When all the episodes have been encoded and I've checked the log, the average quant levels have been roughly the same. The variance has usually been in the range of 0.1-0.2 units which is a very small difference IMO. If I had encoded every episode at the same average bitrate, the variance would have been much larger.

[rack04]

So how does one actually run this OPV/CQ and redistribution?

[jdobbs]

So how does one actually run this OPV/CQ and redistribution?You just check the option on the mode menu. It all happens automatically from there. If you're doing a series disc, also add "redist_all=1" to the "[Options]" area of the REBUILDER.INI file. But don't forget to remove it or disable it for non-series discs. It never actually does OPV or CQ except in the analysis (during PREPARE) -- just to equalize quality across the segments -- it is designed for use with normal multi-pass encoding.

[FoXMuLD3R]

How do convert DVD in PAL to NTSC?
DVD Rebuilder Pro can made this? How?

[blutach]

DVDRB does not do framerate conversions.

Regards

[FoXMuLD3R]

DVDRB does not do framerate conversions.

Regards

DVDRB does not be a framerate conversion or is CANNOT Be a framerate conversion? :devil:

Any Tools can made this?!

[Boulder]

A little bit of manual work?

[wmansir]

Q. The Segment Viewer doesn't work. It just shows a black screen where the video should be. How can I fix it?

I do not have Vista but disableing xvidvfw.dll (I used mmcompview to do this) got rid of problem of the segment editor viewer not working for me.

mmcompview (from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/mmview.html) allows easy disableing/enabling of individual codes to help track down the problem. I did not have to even restart RB to see the impact of changes.

See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=92439&

Installing the lastest v6.6.1 divx video codec from www.divx.com did not cause any problems for me.

[klemperal]

I donated a while back for RB Pro and over the course of time have had to do multiple fresh installations of windows. upon my last installation, RB Pro informed me that I had exceeded the amount of allowed computer IDs (something along those lines) and RB pro wouldn't run. I sent an e-mail where I was instructed to--how long should I expect to wait until I'll be allowed to run RB Pro again?

[jdobbs]

Sorry, bad timing. You caught me while I was out-of-town for few days and I can't reset your count from here (hitting the key limit is a very rare occurance since it gets reset regularly). You'll get a response later tonight.

[klemperal]

Thanks man. Also, thanks for making such a great program. Nothing else compares when your talking quality, and flexibility.

[jdobbs]

-- :) --

[goshawks]

Back in June, there was this dialogue:

rack04 said:
"So how does one actually run this OPV/CQ and redistribution?"

jdojbs replied:
"You just check the option on the mode menu... It never actually does OPV or CQ except in the analysis (during PREPARE) -- just to equalize quality across the segments -- it is designed for use with normal multi-pass encoding."

I just checked the Mode menu on DVD-RB Pro v1.26.3, and it is not immediately evident to me which is the proper option to check. Could you give the actual line name? (Newbie...) Thanks.

[blutach]

Enable Bitrate Redistribution. And upgrade to 1.26.5

Regards

[samuelal]

Hello.

Dear Mr. jdobbs, thank you very much again for this great program!

I've got a question for you, that I wanted to ask for a long time regarding the redistribution phase, I've searched a bit and didn't find reference so my apologies in advance:

Is it possible when encoding just 1 single large VTS (i.e. "Main Movie" mode) to get the redistribution going on all available CPUs?
Or does this process must remain entirely linear?

Regards,

Samuel.

**subscribed**

[help]

Why is not possible to make a DVD backup with main movie, menu and some extras if they fit on a DVD5 without reencode? Why DVD ReBuilder has to reencode?! I don't get it.

[jdobbs]

Hello.

Dear Mr. jdobbs, thank you very much again for this great program!

I've got a question for you, that I wanted to ask for a long time regarding the redistribution phase, I've searched a bit and didn't find reference so my apologies in advance:

Is it possible when encoding just 1 single large VTS (i.e. "Main Movie" mode) to get the redistribution going on all available CPUs?
Or does this process must remain entirely linear?

Regards,

Samuel.

**subscribed**The redistribution gets completed relatively quickly (5 or 6 minutes) when you use a reasonably small sample size, so I didn't think it would be necessary to split it across CPUs... but I can certainly take a look at it.

[jdobbs]

Why is not possible to make a DVD backup with main movie, menu and some extras if they fit on a DVD5 without reencode? Why DVD ReBuilder has to reencode?! I don't get it. If it will fit, DVD-RB will not reencode. It will simply demux the video, and then remux using only the parts needed.

[help]

I know it won't reencode but it will use CCE when it's not necessary.

For example, if I want to backup the main movie and menu without compression aka 'No Compression (100% video)' DVD ReBuilder won't let me do that. It always use CCE even if know that main movie and menu will fit on a DVD5.

[blutach]

Are you sure its not just doing a demux of the m2vs and a remux? This is done invisibly when stripping audio and subbie streams in editing packages. The process should be quite fast.

Regards

[samuelal]

The redistribution gets completed relatively quickly (5 or 6 minutes) when you use a reasonably small sample size, so I didn't think it would be necessary to split it across CPUs... but I can certainly take a look at it.

Thank you very much, jdobbs for the answer on the multi-threaded redistribution process question.

Currently I use an AMD A64 X2 3800+ (2.0GHz stock), overclocked to 2.43GHz & 2GB RAM running at 486MHz DDR @ 1:1 ratio with the motherboard & a RAID setup for faster preperation/rebuilding times.

Using this setup & the default sample size, for a 105-120Mins movie takes me anywhere between 9-12 Minutes just to finish redistribution.

Faster, Core2Duo or even Core2Quads will finish this substantially faster, no doubt.

I'd really appreciate it if you could look into implementing the same threads detection-&-execution that's done on the encoding process, on the distribution as well.

Regards,

Samuel.

[blutach]

I agree. I have a similar setup to Samuel (except for less RAM and striped HDD) and it takes about 1 minute of preparation for every 10 minutes of video for me, too. I have it set to 10% with low threshold of 85%. A dual core preparation would cut time in half (or, better still, enable 20%).

Regards

[shoarthing]

Thank you very much, jdobbs . . . & a RAID setup for faster preperation/rebuilding times . . . .
. . Using this setup & the default sample size, for a 105-120Mins movie takes me anywhere between 9-12 Minutes just to finish redistribution.(my emphasis) . . . what leads you to believe that simultaneously reading from/writing to a striped 'firmware RAID' array of 2x HDDs [if this is what you have] would be faster than reading from one HDD & writing to another, each on separate SATA channels?

[odin24]

DVD-RB first time user here... nice app and thanks. One question though, is it normal for the DVD5 output to be 2.5GB, or are there other options that I am missing?

Thanks again.

[jdobbs]

Not at all. It should be consistently arount 4.32GB. The exception would be sources that are no full sized. Undersizing usually indicate that the encoder options are not configured properly. If you post your REBUILDER.INI file, I may be able to see what the issue is.

[odin24]

I this what you're asking for?

Mode=1
OneClick=1
ReduceOpt=0
NoWarn=1
AdditionalOutput=1
LogFile=1
QuEncHQ=1
EncoderMinimized=1
RemoveDTS=1
HC_Quality=1
HC_Matrix=1
SkinVersion=12
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=NO_SELECTION
DVD_Name=NO_SELECTION.ISO
MovieOnly=0
HalfD1=0
Convert_16_9=0
DisableInterlace=0
ConvertToYUY2=1
CCE=2
[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
FFMPEG=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\FFMpeg\ffmpeg.exe
CMDLINE=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\CMDLINE\mencoder.bat
ProCoder=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\Encoders\EclPro\EclPro.exe
DECOMB=C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb521.dll
NICAUDIO=C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\nicaudio.dll
MPEG2DEC=C:\Program Files\DVD-RB PRO\DGDecode.dll
Working=C:\Videos\DVD-RB\WorkFlow\
Output=C:\Videos\DVD-RB\Output\
CCEBasic=C:\Program Files\Custom Technology\Cinema Craft Encoder Basic\cct2.exe
[Audio]
Selected=
[Subpictures]
Selected=

[jdobbs]

Yes. I don't see anything unusual in there... was the source a commercial disc?

[odin24]

Yup, 7.5GB

[jdobbs]

Just to be sure... you're not using the trial version of CCE Basic are you? It has a limitation on the number of frames it will encode and would cause an undersize.

I've done close to 2000 movies in testing and I've never had an undersize like that...

[odin24]

I'm not using a trial version. Limitation as in up to a certain frame, or randomly skip frames? The whole movie was processed and encoded.

[jdobbs]

It will do a certain number of frames and then exit as if it had completed it all.

Was the source preprocessed, run through other software, or modified in any way?

[odin24]

It was not preprocessed, just ripped to my PC.