AVStoDVD Support Thread - Page 129

manolito · 26th August 2014, 06:07

Anyone interested in testing a plugin which allows to use SoX or DynamicAudioNormalizer for normalizing audio (instead of the built-in AviSynth normalizing function) ?

The reason I wrote this plugin was that I had some issues with AviSynth normalizing:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...31#post1685231

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...70#post1677270

As an additional bonus the plugin handles huge non-standard temp WAV files > 4GB.

Download:

// Link Removed - New version here: //
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...24#post1693124

Note:
The plugin requires patching of the main AVStoDVD executable. If you are not comfortable with this, please do not use the plugin.

Cheers
manolito

MrC · 27th August 2014, 20:43

Hi manolito, it looks promising in several aspects.

I'm currently in vacation with no PC and limited web access (smartphone). Next week, coming back, I will give a try for sure.

Thanks for expanding once more A2D capabilities.

Bye

SuLyMaN · 29th August 2014, 06:57

Thanks for the update! Should reinstall AVS2DVD today. Had a HDD crash. What a PITA to get windows up and running with all your previous settings/softwares...

manolito · 29th August 2014, 08:45

Maybe now you might want to use a good imaging backup software regularly...

Cheers
manolito

SuLyMaN · 30th August 2014, 10:54

@manolito: I paid the price once at start of this year

I already had backup! This is a 2nd failure on me but the damage was more of lost time and hassles than anything else

@everybody else: I was doing some searches on the net about dvd conversion softwares etc and came across an interesting read.
http://forums.vso-software.fr/encoding-q-a-t17855.html
Now, I'm a firm believer of VBR based encodes (been a DVD rebuilder/HCenc user) for years but in FAQ 3. they say that a CBR is better than VBR. I know that you are free and do not need to answer for 'them' but I am wondering why are they making such a bold claim. For all I know from being there for many years reading much contents, it is agreed that re-encoders such as CCE, HCEnc etc yield the best quality.

SuLyMaN · 30th August 2014, 12:38

Latest version is not working

HCEnc keeps crashing before first pass ends....Tried different files.
Crashes...

manolito · 30th August 2014, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuLyMaN

... but in FAQ 3. they say that a CBR is better than VBR.

You misunderstood them completely. They are not talking about CBR, they are talking about CQ (Constant Quantizer). This is something completely different.

You probably can have endless discussions if multi-pass VBR or CQ gives you better quality. I would say that both have their merits. HC for example does not offer CBR, but it does have CQ based encoding, and the modified CQ version called CQ_MaxBitrate which observes the DVD maximum allowed bitrate gives you excellent quality encodes.

Lately there have been a couple of reports that HC crashes under Win 8 or Win 8.1. Sometimes it was false alarm and it turned out that some Antivirus software caused the crashes. If you absolutely cannot get HC to work, you should probably have a look at the ffmpeg VBR plugin (available at the AVStoDVD SourceForge page under Addons).

Cheers
manolito

MrC · 5th September 2014, 20:01

@Sulyman

any update on your issue?

May I ask you if you had the same problem with older AVStoDVD releases together with the same OS? Do you get the same problem with FFmpeg or only with HCenc?

Bye

SuLyMaN · 6th September 2014, 09:31

@MrC: 2.7.4 was working awesome. I had a HDD crash and reinstalled Windows + all my other softwares (same as pre-crash). I do not know why it is crashing but it appears to stall and close before HCenc finishes the first pass encode (right before it completes it)

I have not had time to trouble shoot the problem as the first step I wanted to try is on another computer and see if I get the same problem. I will thus be able to figure out if its a software (avstodvd) issue or an issue on my PC. I intend to test it at latest tomorrow though. I am setting up a PC for a friend and it is one of the softwares that I will pre install. I will report back if it crashes on another PC also.

MrC · 6th September 2014, 14:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuLyMaN

I will report back if it crashes on another PC also.

Thanks. Please report also the system configuration (OS, directshow filters, involved codecs). The project log file would help too.

Bye

SuLyMaN · 6th September 2014, 17:25

I have good news and bad news :P

The good news is that AVS2DVD 2.7.5 is working perfectly on the other PC I tested.
The bad news is that I have to figure out why it is not working on my PC!
I will try to reinstall with the default settings. If it fails, I will post back the log.
Thanks!

MrC · 6th September 2014, 18:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuLyMaN

The good news is that AVS2DVD 2.7.5 is working perfectly on the other PC I tested.
The bad news is that I have to figure out why it is not working on my PC!
I will try to reinstall with the default settings. If it fails, I will post back the log.
Thanks!

What are the differences between the 2 PC? Operating system? 32/64 bit? Codecs?

Bye

MrC · 6th September 2014, 21:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by manolito

Anyone interested in testing a plugin which allows to use SoX or DynamicAudioNormalizer for normalizing audio (instead of the built-in AviSynth normalizing function) ?

Just tested. Config:

- mkv clip > 2h
- 2 audio tracks: 1st AC3 6ch (DSS) and 2nd AAC 2ch (FFS2)
- used default option 1
- used the modded AVStoDVD.exe from the Patch folder
- LAV Filters as DS decoders

Worked nicely, no failures, good normalization, big wav properly burped. Just minor cosmetics for the warning messages from Aften window.

Really a nice job, manolito.

When you are confident to give the add-on the "1.0 release" tag, if you agree, I will publish it on SourceForge.

Bye

SuLyMaN · 7th September 2014, 06:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrC

What are the differences between the 2 PC? Operating system? 32/64 bit? Codecs?

Bye

Both running Windows 7 Pro 32 bits, 4GB RAM. Codecs on the new system had none installed. On the old system, AFAIK, I never install codecs as I use potplayer for my viewing needs...

Downloading a youtube vid (720p mp4) for testing purposes. Will reinstall AVS2DVD and give it a try.

SuLyMaN · 7th September 2014, 10:33

I tested it again today (reinstalled) It is working properly....Thanks for helping. I still have no clue what went wrong...

manolito · 7th September 2014, 12:24

Hi MrC,

welcome back to the "old continent". And thanks for testing my plugin...

Good to know that it seems to work under Win7 because I only tested it under XP. If you have the time maybe you could also give DynamicAudioNormalizer (Mode = 2) a test run. I like it very much for DVD video content. It does bring up quieter parts, but without destroying the dynamic characteristics of the source.

When I wrote the plugin I really tried hard to make it work without patching the AVStoDVD.exe file. After more than 2 days I finally gave up, CMD.exe always evaluates the pipe character which made all my efforts useless. I tried all dirty batch file tricks I found (running aften.bat in a new instance of CMD.exe, using delayed variable expansion, escaping the pipe character), nothing worked.

I have no idea if SoX delivers a better normalization quality than AviSynth, but after what I was reading SoX does use the highest quality algorithms. The Aften parameter "readtoeof 1" which is always used in the plugin does no harm with shorter files except causing wrong values in the progress indicator. I think it should always get used.

LoRd_MuldeR just sent me a new version of his DynamicAudioNormalizer which features a new compression method. The threshold is no longer dependent on the input volume which should make pre-normalizing unnecessary (Mode = 3). I need to do a lot of testing and then probably update the plugin, even if using real compression within AVStoDVD is not all that useful. So it will take a little more time until the plugin will be 1.0

Cheers
manolito

manolito · 10th September 2014, 15:31

I just finished a new version of the plugin...

Changes:

Added Upmixing stereo to 6-ch pseudo surround
Fixed a stupid bug
Cosmetics

Download here:

http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/13534542/file.html

Cheers
manolito

//Edit: Cosmetics, release candidate, please redownload //

SuLyMaN · 12th September 2014, 11:35

Hi manolito. What does the plugin do?
How to use it?
Thanks!

manolito · 12th September 2014, 13:22

Hi SuLyMaN,

from the plugin documentation:

Quote:

This small utility allows using SoX and DynamicAudioNormalizer instead of
AviSynth Normalizing under AVStoDVD. It also removes the 4 GB limit for
temporary WAV files.
The main reason for writing this plugin was that the built-in AviSynth Normalizing
caused a few issues for me. When using ffmpeg as the video encoder, audio
normalizing was always executed twice. And more importantly I sometimes got
audio sync problems when using DirectShowSource as the audio source filter
together with AviSynth Normalizing.
This plugin remedies these issues by using SoX for regular normalizing, plus it can
use the DynamicAudioNormalizer by LoRd_MuldeR.

The plugin can be used for traditional normalizing, normalizing with DynamicAudioNormalizer ( http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=170980 ), and it can use all the other capabilities of SoX and DynamicAudioNormalizer. Currently available are a compression mode and upmix from stereo to 6-ch pseudo surround.

Cheers
manolito

Mister XY · 17th September 2014, 22:23

Hello, if i'm using the plugin which allows to use SoX or DynamicAudioNormalizer for normalizing audio, i get an error "WARNING: Failed to parse unsigned integral value "--input-rate"
ERROT: Invalid or incomplete commando-line argument have been detected.

26th August 2014, 06:07	#2561 \| Link
manolito Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 3,079	Alternative Audio Normalization Anyone interested in testing a plugin which allows to use SoX or DynamicAudioNormalizer for normalizing audio (instead of the built-in AviSynth normalizing function) ? The reason I wrote this plugin was that I had some issues with AviSynth normalizing: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...31#post1685231 http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...70#post1677270 As an additional bonus the plugin handles huge non-standard temp WAV files > 4GB. Download: // Link Removed - New version here: // http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...24#post1693124 Note: The plugin requires patching of the main AVStoDVD executable. If you are not comfortable with this, please do not use the plugin. Cheers manolito Last edited by manolito; 10th September 2014 at 15:33.

27th August 2014, 20:43	#2562 \| Link
MrC AVStoDVD Dev Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 1,302	Hi manolito, it looks promising in several aspects. I'm currently in vacation with no PC and limited web access (smartphone). Next week, coming back, I will give a try for sure. Thanks for expanding once more A2D capabilities. Bye __________________ MrC AVStoDVD Homepage AVStoDVD @ Doom9 Forum

5th September 2014, 20:01	#2568 \| Link
MrC AVStoDVD Dev Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 1,302	@Sulyman any update on your issue? May I ask you if you had the same problem with older AVStoDVD releases together with the same OS? Do you get the same problem with FFmpeg or only with HCenc? Bye __________________ MrC AVStoDVD Homepage AVStoDVD @ Doom9 Forum

10th September 2014, 15:31	#2577 \| Link
manolito Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 3,079	RE: Alternative Audio Normalization I just finished a new version of the plugin... Changes: Added Upmixing stereo to 6-ch pseudo surround Fixed a stupid bug Cosmetics Download here: http://www76.zippyshare.com/v/13534542/file.html Cheers manolito //Edit: Cosmetics, release candidate, please redownload // Last edited by manolito; 16th September 2014 at 15:42.

29th August 2014, 06:57	#2563 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	Thanks for the update! Should reinstall AVS2DVD today. Had a HDD crash. What a PITA to get windows up and running with all your previous settings/softwares...

29th August 2014, 08:45	#2564 \| Link
manolito Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 3,079	Maybe now you might want to use a good imaging backup software regularly... Cheers manolito

30th August 2014, 10:54	#2565 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	@manolito: I paid the price once at start of this year I already had backup! This is a 2nd failure on me but the damage was more of lost time and hassles than anything else @everybody else: I was doing some searches on the net about dvd conversion softwares etc and came across an interesting read. http://forums.vso-software.fr/encoding-q-a-t17855.html Now, I'm a firm believer of VBR based encodes (been a DVD rebuilder/HCenc user) for years but in FAQ 3. they say that a CBR is better than VBR. I know that you are free and do not need to answer for 'them' but I am wondering why are they making such a bold claim. For all I know from being there for many years reading much contents, it is agreed that re-encoders such as CCE, HCEnc etc yield the best quality.

30th August 2014, 12:38	#2566 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	Latest version is not working HCEnc keeps crashing before first pass ends....Tried different files. Crashes...

6th September 2014, 09:31	#2569 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	@MrC: 2.7.4 was working awesome. I had a HDD crash and reinstalled Windows + all my other softwares (same as pre-crash). I do not know why it is crashing but it appears to stall and close before HCenc finishes the first pass encode (right before it completes it) I have not had time to trouble shoot the problem as the first step I wanted to try is on another computer and see if I get the same problem. I will thus be able to figure out if its a software (avstodvd) issue or an issue on my PC. I intend to test it at latest tomorrow though. I am setting up a PC for a friend and it is one of the softwares that I will pre install. I will report back if it crashes on another PC also.

6th September 2014, 17:25	#2571 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	I have good news and bad news :P The good news is that AVS2DVD 2.7.5 is working perfectly on the other PC I tested. The bad news is that I have to figure out why it is not working on my PC! I will try to reinstall with the default settings. If it fails, I will post back the log. Thanks!

7th September 2014, 10:33	#2575 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	I tested it again today (reinstalled) It is working properly....Thanks for helping. I still have no clue what went wrong...

7th September 2014, 12:24	#2576 \| Link
manolito Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 3,079	Hi MrC, welcome back to the "old continent". And thanks for testing my plugin... Good to know that it seems to work under Win7 because I only tested it under XP. If you have the time maybe you could also give DynamicAudioNormalizer (Mode = 2) a test run. I like it very much for DVD video content. It does bring up quieter parts, but without destroying the dynamic characteristics of the source. When I wrote the plugin I really tried hard to make it work without patching the AVStoDVD.exe file. After more than 2 days I finally gave up, CMD.exe always evaluates the pipe character which made all my efforts useless. I tried all dirty batch file tricks I found (running aften.bat in a new instance of CMD.exe, using delayed variable expansion, escaping the pipe character), nothing worked. I have no idea if SoX delivers a better normalization quality than AviSynth, but after what I was reading SoX does use the highest quality algorithms. The Aften parameter "readtoeof 1" which is always used in the plugin does no harm with shorter files except causing wrong values in the progress indicator. I think it should always get used. LoRd_MuldeR just sent me a new version of his DynamicAudioNormalizer which features a new compression method. The threshold is no longer dependent on the input volume which should make pre-normalizing unnecessary (Mode = 3). I need to do a lot of testing and then probably update the plugin, even if using real compression within AVStoDVD is not all that useful. So it will take a little more time until the plugin will be 1.0 Cheers manolito

12th September 2014, 11:35	#2578 \| Link
SuLyMaN Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 156	Hi manolito. What does the plugin do? How to use it? Thanks!

17th September 2014, 22:23	#2580 \| Link
Mister XY Registered User Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 82	Hello, if i'm using the plugin which allows to use SoX or DynamicAudioNormalizer for normalizing audio, i get an error "WARNING: Failed to parse unsigned integral value "--input-rate" ERROT: Invalid or incomplete commando-line argument have been detected.