GPL command line M2V transcoder

RB · 6th October 2003, 23:23

Hi,

recently, Metakine released a DVD transcoder similar to DVD2One etc. for Mac OS X. Their transcoder engine is based on the GPL'd mpeg2enc and libmpeg2 libraries and consequently, they provide the source code to their engine under GPL. You can read more about this (in German) at heise.de.

I've taken the liberty to port this to Win32 so it can be compiled with MSVC++ and does not require the ugly Cygwin environment. Will run on Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/2003. I really don't deserve much praise for this as the port was fairly easy

Download the port (source included] from http://home.t-online.de/home/340044300675/requant.zip

It's a command line program and takes as input an quantization factor and an input and output M2V file (MPEG2 elementary stream). For example:

Code:

requant 2.0 input.m2v output.m2v

This would transcode input.m2v to output.m2v, reducing average bitrate by a factor of 2.0 (note the factor is a floating point value). Quality is pretty good to my eyes, even at factor 2.0, speed is similar to DVD2One.

This post is only meant to put the ball in the game, please don't request any additional features/improvements from me

. Anybody with enough spare time and programming skills please just take the source, obey to the GPL and take it to the next level(s). I'll post a note on this in the Development forum. Have fun!

mrbass · 7th October 2003, 00:00

thanks for the port to win32 RB.
So is int 21h Jan 2003 proposal now a reality?
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?&threadid=44321

int 21h · 7th October 2003, 00:08

I browsed that article a few days ago, but since I didn't know german, and the translation was bad.. I couldn't make heads or tails of it... I'll take a look at this now

atreides93 · 7th October 2003, 00:51

I am in awe.

This 100k program transcodes mepg2 files??

CropsyX · 7th October 2003, 05:51

I've only done a quick test but this looks extremely good so far. It's great to have a program that can work on plain mpeg2 video files. I do quite a bit of work with Digital TV captures and sometimes they're just a bit too big to fit on a DVD, this will be perfect for solving that problem.

Thanks!

RB · 7th October 2003, 07:33

Quote:

Originally posted by atreides93
I am in awe.

This 100k program transcodes mepg2 files??

Sure

. With a few compiler optimizations, you can get it down to 17k.

int 21h · 7th October 2003, 17:29

I think I am going to work on making this oO C++, and perhaps making a shiny GUI for it...

First I have to finish a simple DCT compression project for work though.. I'll post progress as I make it.

DVDRFreak · 7th October 2003, 22:41

Tested this little proggie on my favorite test subject NARC.

Wanted to decrease with the same value as recode and shrink so calculated 71% - factor 1.41.

Speed: 10 and 23 seconds to transcode (3.5x as fast as shrink or recode).

Compliancy of MPEG2 stream is no problem. Could author it without any problem at all.

Used PowerDVD to watch the resulting DVD. I mus say the quality is for this movie very good (read much better the recode or shrink).

The first scene is amazing. Recode and Shrink would cause a lot of macro blocking (even visible when just watching the scene)) because of the high motion. This little tool causes almost no macro blocking at all (even when freezing the picture I could not detects any aditional macro blocks).

Will do some further testing on other movies but until now I am impressed with the speed and the quality.

Thanks a lot RB for porting this little proggie.

Rombaldi · 7th October 2003, 23:58

Thank GOODNESS! I've been hoping someone would do this!

Must give it a whirl...

Guest · 8th October 2003, 01:13

What do you people use to demux M2V from VOBs?

int 21h · 8th October 2003, 01:16

DVDDecrypter if its on DVD...

RB · 8th October 2003, 07:01

If the VOBs are already on your hard disk, use Vobedit or vStrip.

zyzzle77 · 8th October 2003, 10:19

@RB:

What compiler optimizations did you make to get it down to a paltry 17 kbyte? Can you make this version available to download? Would be much appreciated.

-z

RB · 8th October 2003, 11:21

I only have MSVC++ Standard Edition which does not allow for any optimizations, but I also have the Windows DDK which comes with an own compiler that has several optimizations on by default. So I simply compiled it in the DDK build environment (yes, it can build user mode apps) and it came out at 17.5 kb. I'm attaching the executable to this message. This may probably not run on Win9x/ME.

DVDRFreak · 8th October 2003, 17:47

Recompiled the source using VC6 enterprice edition at work. Used optimalization setting for speed and code generation set to pentium pro.

Testing new exe on AthlonXP 1900+ 1GB memory

Did some more testing:

Movie: Gangs of new york
Compression: 1.492538 (67%)
Transcode time RB exe: 15:17 min
Transcode time optimized VC6 for speed: 11:00 min
Quality: Very Good

Shrink and recode caused a jumping pixel effect in the last scene where the two guys are fighting. This little proggie did not.

zyzzle77 · 9th October 2003, 02:11

What an excellent piece of work. In some cases, this even beats out Shrink in quality (eg, on R1 FIGHT CLUB and WEIRD SCIENCE. Elegant in utility yet very small code footprint...

RB: I couldn't download your 17.5 kb binary compile. Am I missing something, or did you upload it to another server or forget to include it as an attachment?

DVDRFreak:

Very interesting and promising results. Compiling with VC Enterprise edition & optimized for speed & P6 results in a 25% boost in speed! As I don't have Enterprise edition, could you also somehow make your optimized binary available for download?

Thank you both for such positive insight and promising results.

Rombaldi · 9th October 2003, 21:09

This is quite an AMAZING piece of work, I've been trying it out and not only is the quality quite execellent, but the speed is great. I had been archiving TV episodes that were 'just a little too big' to fit three on a disc, so I ended up authoring them and then Shrink/IC'ing them ... I swear that it seems to cut the process in half by shrinking them BEFORE authoring..

Should someone GUI'ify this.. I can think of two features that would be a blessing..

1) be able to specify the 'shrinkage' either in a percentage (that way you don't have to find a calculator all the time) and/or as a 'target file size' (let's say the file is 1546mb, you want a target file of 1400mb, let it calculate the proper shrink percentage).

2) what else... BATCH MODE! I've got a pile of files stacked up that I'll need to run thru this.. would be lovely to set an input/output/percentage (ie. an 'add to batch' button above) for a pile of files and then let it process them all...

no matter if anyone does or not... GREAT STUFF!!!!

DVDRFreak · 9th October 2003, 23:20

Quote:

Originally posted by Rombaldi
1) be able to specify the 'shrinkage' either in a percentage (that way you don't have to find a calculator all the time) and/or as a 'target file size' (let's say the file is 1546mb, you want a target file of 1400mb, let it calculate the proper shrink percentage).

I modified my version so it will except a percentage as parameter. Works great and the speed/quality is also awsome. I have a new favorite tool to do movie only backups.

Just 64KB big and it compressed the matrix_reloaded i just did buy in 8:42 min.

Quality is asome. I do not see the difference between the original and the compressed version when playing. If I freeze frame I can find one or two macro blocks in the title scene.

imho better then recode or shrink for speed and aslo for quality.

Rombaldi · 9th October 2003, 23:30

DVDRFreak...

how about letting us peons without programming skill at your modified version????

DVDRFreak · 9th October 2003, 23:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Rombaldi
DVDRFreak...

how about letting us peons without programming skill at your modified version????

I do not have a FTP server to upload it to.

6th October 2003, 23:23	#1 \| Link
RB Retired Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,349	GPL command line M2V transcoder Hi, recently, Metakine released a DVD transcoder similar to DVD2One etc. for Mac OS X. Their transcoder engine is based on the GPL'd mpeg2enc and libmpeg2 libraries and consequently, they provide the source code to their engine under GPL. You can read more about this (in German) at heise.de. I've taken the liberty to port this to Win32 so it can be compiled with MSVC++ and does not require the ugly Cygwin environment. Will run on Win9x/ME/NT/2K/XP/2003. I really don't deserve much praise for this as the port was fairly easy Download the port (source included] from http://home.t-online.de/home/340044300675/requant.zip It's a command line program and takes as input an quantization factor and an input and output M2V file (MPEG2 elementary stream). For example: Code: requant 2.0 input.m2v output.m2v This would transcode input.m2v to output.m2v, reducing average bitrate by a factor of 2.0 (note the factor is a floating point value). Quality is pretty good to my eyes, even at factor 2.0, speed is similar to DVD2One. This post is only meant to put the ball in the game, please don't request any additional features/improvements from me . Anybody with enough spare time and programming skills please just take the source, obey to the GPL and take it to the next level(s). I'll post a note on this in the Development forum. Have fun! __________________ EclCCE CCE SP Plugin \| SceneImport Scenarist Plugin

7th October 2003, 00:00	#2 \| Link
mrbass Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,034	thanks for the port to win32 RB. So is int 21h Jan 2003 proposal now a reality? http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?&threadid=44321 __________________ www.mrbass.org DVDShrink \| DVD2DVD \| DVDFAB \| Mac guides

7th October 2003, 05:51	#5 \| Link
CropsyX Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 31	I've only done a quick test but this looks extremely good so far. It's great to have a program that can work on plain mpeg2 video files. I do quite a bit of work with Digital TV captures and sometimes they're just a bit too big to fit on a DVD, this will be perfect for solving that problem. Thanks! Last edited by CropsyX; 7th October 2003 at 05:56.

7th October 2003, 22:41	#8 \| Link
DVDRFreak Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 150	Fantastic ! Tested this little proggie on my favorite test subject NARC. Wanted to decrease with the same value as recode and shrink so calculated 71% - factor 1.41. Speed: 10 and 23 seconds to transcode (3.5x as fast as shrink or recode). Compliancy of MPEG2 stream is no problem. Could author it without any problem at all. Used PowerDVD to watch the resulting DVD. I mus say the quality is for this movie very good (read much better the recode or shrink). The first scene is amazing. Recode and Shrink would cause a lot of macro blocking (even visible when just watching the scene)) because of the high motion. This little tool causes almost no macro blocking at all (even when freezing the picture I could not detects any aditional macro blocks). Will do some further testing on other movies but until now I am impressed with the speed and the quality. Thanks a lot RB for porting this little proggie.

8th October 2003, 07:01	#12 \| Link
RB Retired Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 1,349	If the VOBs are already on your hard disk, use Vobedit or vStrip. __________________ EclCCE CCE SP Plugin \| SceneImport Scenarist Plugin

7th October 2003, 00:08	#3 \| Link
int 21h Still Laughing Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Around Posts: 1,312	I browsed that article a few days ago, but since I didn't know german, and the translation was bad.. I couldn't make heads or tails of it... I'll take a look at this now

7th October 2003, 00:51	#4 \| Link
atreides93 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 948	I am in awe. This 100k program transcodes mepg2 files??

7th October 2003, 17:29	#7 \| Link
int 21h Still Laughing Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Around Posts: 1,312	I think I am going to work on making this oO C++, and perhaps making a shiny GUI for it... First I have to finish a simple DCT compression project for work though.. I'll post progress as I make it.

7th October 2003, 23:58	#9 \| Link
Rombaldi MPEG Packet Picker Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 123	Thank GOODNESS! I've been hoping someone would do this! Must give it a whirl...

8th October 2003, 01:13	#10 \| Link
Guest Guest Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 21,901	What do you people use to demux M2V from VOBs?

8th October 2003, 01:16	#11 \| Link
int 21h Still Laughing Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Around Posts: 1,312	DVDDecrypter if its on DVD...

8th October 2003, 10:19	#13 \| Link
zyzzle77 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 28	How to get it down to 17k? @RB: What compiler optimizations did you make to get it down to a paltry 17 kbyte? Can you make this version available to download? Would be much appreciated. -z

8th October 2003, 17:47	#15 \| Link
DVDRFreak Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 150	optimized for speed Recompiled the source using VC6 enterprice edition at work. Used optimalization setting for speed and code generation set to pentium pro. Testing new exe on AthlonXP 1900+ 1GB memory Did some more testing: Movie: Gangs of new york Compression: 1.492538 (67%) Transcode time RB exe: 15:17 min Transcode time optimized VC6 for speed: 11:00 min Quality: Very Good Shrink and recode caused a jumping pixel effect in the last scene where the two guys are fighting. This little proggie did not.

9th October 2003, 02:11	#16 \| Link
zyzzle77 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 28	What an excellent piece of work. In some cases, this even beats out Shrink in quality (eg, on R1 FIGHT CLUB and WEIRD SCIENCE. Elegant in utility yet very small code footprint... RB: I couldn't download your 17.5 kb binary compile. Am I missing something, or did you upload it to another server or forget to include it as an attachment? DVDRFreak: Very interesting and promising results. Compiling with VC Enterprise edition & optimized for speed & P6 results in a 25% boost in speed! As I don't have Enterprise edition, could you also somehow make your optimized binary available for download? Thank you both for such positive insight and promising results.

9th October 2003, 21:09	#17 \| Link
Rombaldi MPEG Packet Picker Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 123	This is quite an AMAZING piece of work, I've been trying it out and not only is the quality quite execellent, but the speed is great. I had been archiving TV episodes that were 'just a little too big' to fit three on a disc, so I ended up authoring them and then Shrink/IC'ing them ... I swear that it seems to cut the process in half by shrinking them BEFORE authoring.. Should someone GUI'ify this.. I can think of two features that would be a blessing.. 1) be able to specify the 'shrinkage' either in a percentage (that way you don't have to find a calculator all the time) and/or as a 'target file size' (let's say the file is 1546mb, you want a target file of 1400mb, let it calculate the proper shrink percentage). 2) what else... BATCH MODE! I've got a pile of files stacked up that I'll need to run thru this.. would be lovely to set an input/output/percentage (ie. an 'add to batch' button above) for a pile of files and then let it process them all... no matter if anyone does or not... GREAT STUFF!!!!

9th October 2003, 23:30	#19 \| Link
Rombaldi MPEG Packet Picker Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 123	DVDRFreak... how about letting us peons without programming skill at your modified version????

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