StaxRip x86 (development for x86 has been stopped) [Archive]

stax76

13th November 2005, 09:51

Why don't you two guys discuss and work together? Rather than releasing separate versions? This is duplication of work and also confusing for the users.

I'm working on this code since 4 years, at some point I might have to consider making it a real open source project working with svn. Two days after the release it is to early too plan such a big step.

There would also be the possibility to add a plugin system but doing this right takes much expertise and effort. DVX had such a system but it was very poorly designed. Additionally to a complex plugin system I would have to write a lot wrapper code for all things that should be pluggable (e.g. adaper pattern because of serialization). There is other problems besides complexity (which already scares me a lot) e.g. such systems are build with a techique called reflection and often additionally xml which are both core concepts in .NET but both add a performance ovehead.

Would be nice: No Java requirement.

I knew it was coming ;), Java is asked for if ProjectX is needed which is a the default value of the default project. You can customize the default project (Options/Preparer, File/Save Default Project). I have to change this because I know how scary Java and .NET can be.

Would be nicer: No .NET 2.0 requirement. At the least, people should start doing what nuhi over at nliteos.com did with nLite; packing a tiny (compared to the install size of .NET 2.0 (over 140mbs) archive with the required library files so the program works without installing .NET onto your system.

Did you try VB .NET Express 2005, for me VB .NET is the only reasonable tool and I've seen and worked with quite a few. Get it here (http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/vb/default.aspx), it's free!

@bratao

Download doesn't work, I've noticed the path contains blanks which might be the reason.

easyfab

13th November 2005, 11:51

Hello stax Thanks for your tool,

Could you tell me how to set 2 pass x264?
Because in options I select "perform first pass" and " perform second pass"
But what should i do in configuration? If i select mode 1 pass -> only 2x stats
And if i select 2 pass -> it did'nt work ( no stats generated).

On other request : could it be possible to resize more than 720 * XXX (source size).

stax76

13th November 2005, 12:21

Could you tell me how to set 2 pass x264?

The default setings should just do 2 pass, x264 support is poorly tested though.

But what should i do in configuration? If i select mode 1 pass -> only 2x stats
And if i select 2 pass -> it did'nt work ( no stats generated).

Did you understand the concept this dialog is based on? The "intermediate" thing described in the help. I hope it's not flawed, so far I don't have any feedback about it.

On other request : could it be possible to resize more than 720 * XXX (source size).

Entering manually should work, I have to find a solution for the slider, what range would be needed?

FFWD

13th November 2005, 13:22

Stax, I wasn't able to get your e-mail, so I'm posting it here.

On your site : "StaxRip requires the .NET Framework Version 2.0 to be installed. There aren't any stable versions yet. You can test however unstable prerelease alpha versions."

The NET Framework version 2.0 redistributable packages are stable/final :
http://msdn.microsoft.com/netframework/downloads/updates/default.aspx

BTW : I get a PageNotFound when I click on 'StaxRip /' (right frame)
http://www.planetdvb.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=StaxRip

bond

13th November 2005, 13:38

StaxRip supports MP4 as well as an extendible framework to easily add new codecs and containers. MP4 however is really in an alpha state, I'm hoping to get much feedback about new features such as mp4 and x264.how does staxrip handle .mp4? via mp4box or?

stax76

13th November 2005, 13:51

On your site : "StaxRip requires the .NET Framework Version 2.0 to be installed. There aren't any stable versions yet. You can test however unstable prerelease alpha versions."

It meant StaxRip, I've changed the text, thanks.

BTW : I get a PageNotFound when I click on 'StaxRip /' (right frame)
http://www.planetdvb.net/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=StaxRip

Thanks, I've should have used this as main page, still can do so and redirect the old page. Normally I would go for Dreamweaver and Fireworks doing a website but I'm not good in webdesign and wiki is a handy solution, I hope nobody abuse it otherwise I've to add some security.

how does staxrip handle .mp4? via mp4box or?

Yes, currently I got a very basic MP4Box muxer, additionally the command line muxer might be useful. I've build a framework to make it easy adding more encoding and muxing backends.

bond

13th November 2005, 14:06

Yes, currently I got a very basic MP4Box muxer, additionally the command line muxer might be useful. I've build a framework to make it easy adding more encoding and muxing backends.what does "a very basic mp4box muxer" mean? do you use the tool with the name "mp4box" from the gpac project?

stax76

13th November 2005, 14:27

what does "a very basic mp4box muxer" mean? do you use the tool with the name "mp4box" from the gpac project?

iirc I got it from here: http://www.aziendeassociate.it/cd.asp?dir=/gpac/dev

Is there a better website, version? I'm still using XviD and MKV so sorry if I'm not up to date. I hope getting a lot feedback on x264 and MP4 so I can improve those features.

bond

13th November 2005, 14:31

iirc I got it from here: http://www.aziendeassociate.it/cd.asp?dir=/gpac/dev

Is there a better website, version? I'm still using XviD and MKV so sorry if I'm not up to date. I hope getting a lot feedback on x264 and MP4 so I can improve those features.nope, its normally the latest compile

i will try to have a look at staxrip ;)

stax76

14th November 2005, 15:58

new version available:

0.9.0.5 (2005-11-14)

fix: Command Line Encoder was always using x264 as command

@bratao

I've changed my release script to include source as well meaning from now on source code and binaries come always in sync as it supposed to be.

Can you please, explain me what is wrong with the audio handling and how you use avi2wav, it wraps audio always in riff wav, do you demux only real wav, if not, how is audio processed further. Another problem is it outputs multible audio files for multibles source files, which should be tricky with simple command line preparers, a command line preparer would have to use sort of scripting or a dedicated preparer must be derived.

FSB-SPY

15th November 2005, 07:02

stax, is there a way to enable the "turbo" mode that Sharktooth uses in his HQ-Insane profile for MeGUI? I've successfully used the latest revision of his x264 builds, with your program. I went with the command line option and simply dropped in the switches produced by Sharktooth's HQ-Insane profile within MeGUI. Here is the code I am using in StaxRip for reference:

--bitrate %video_bitrate% --ref 16 --mixed-refs --bframes 3 --b-pyramid --filter -2,-1 --subme 7 --b-rdo --weightb --trellis 2 --analyse all --8x8dct --me umh --progress --no-psnr --output "%encoder_out_file%" "%source_dir%%target_name%.avs"

Ticking and un-ticking the turbo option in MeGUI yielded no additional switches, so I am guessing it's a hardcoded function that's being used within MeGUI itself?

The difference in the frames per second of encoding is quite huge: went down from 10 frames, to 2. Hence my reason for requesting this, hopefully painless, addition to your work-in-progress.

P.S. Off topic, but just in case if you needed it; I also am using a custom profile for AAC encoding. I went with the streaming profile and here is the code for that:

-core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -s stereo -c normal -L -3db ) -bsn( -2ch -vbr_streaming -codecquality_fast -aacprofile_he ) -ota( -d 17 -g max )

Note: The delay on the end is something I have to manually alter with each encode, but right now it's not a big deal... still just testing!

stax76

15th November 2005, 12:12

Ticking and un-ticking the turbo option in MeGUI yielded no additional switches, so I am guessing it's a hardcoded function that's being used within MeGUI itself?

No, you were in automated mode, you didn't see changes in the command line because you saw the second pass command line, switch to another mode and you'll see what switches turbo removes. StaxRip don't need this since it has the "All Passes" mode what is a fundamentally different concept, I hope it wasn't a bad idea, so far there is no feedback about this feature, how it works is described in the help. The big question is how popular is turbo because if it's popular I should change my default values.

Note: The delay on the end is something I have to manually alter with each encode, but right now it's not a big deal... still just testing!

Next version will have a delay macro.

stax76

15th November 2005, 17:45

new version available:

0.9.0.6 (2005-11-15)

new: Mixed references for the x264 encoder
fix: Added audio delay macro to command line audio encoder and reseted all audio related settings

bratao

15th November 2005, 21:25

@bratao

I've changed my release script to include source as well meaning from now on source code and binaries come always in sync as it supposed to be.

Can you please, explain me what is wrong with the audio handling and how you use avi2wav, it wraps audio always in riff wav, do you demux only real wav, if not, how is audio processed further. Another problem is it outputs multible audio files for multibles source files, which should be tricky with simple command line preparers, a command line preparer would have to use sort of scripting or a dedicated preparer must be derived.
Sorry, i dont get the question..
but, i say what i get
1- The audio handle, for example i open a video for encodin,but i have many files in same folder (mp3, wav), so the staxrip for me always open 2 complety different audio files for the video.
I change the code for a more smart and anti-newbie way, it only open one file and the extention that we create(for the Mpg files it open mpa and for avi it open wav)

2-(i dont undertstand this question)- The beseet cant open the direct the avi sound, the avi2wav(use the comand line:avi2wavcmd inputfile.avi outfile.wav) demux the raw sound to a format that besweet can read and encode.
This its added in the preparation code, if extention is AVi its run.

And this is the changes:
In Mainform.vb

For Each iExt As String In New String() {".mp3", ".ac3", ".mp2", ".mpa", ".wav"}

to

For Each iExt As String In New String() {".mpa", ".wav"}

And commented the If p.Audio1.File

In ApplicationSettings.vb
src.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Source", "AVISource", "AVISource(%source_files_comma%,audio=false)", "Opens AVI files.", True))
to
src.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Source", "DirectShow", "DirectShowSource(""%source_file%"")", "Opens All files, that DirectShow can handle.", True))

In Package.vb
Public Class Avi2WavPackage
Inherits Package

Public Sub New()
Name = "AviToWav"
Filename = "avi2wavcmd.exe"
Version = "1.0"
Website = "http://agrgic.tripod.com/avi2wav/"
Description = "Used to separe the sound from avi"
DownloadFilename = "avi2wavcmd.exe"
VersionDate = New DateTime(2005, 10, 1)
TreeFolder = "Video Processing"
End Sub

Public Overrides Function IsRequired() As Boolean
For Each i As Preparer In p.Preparers
If i.Name.Contains("Avi2wav") Then
Return True
End If
Next

Return False
End Function
End Class

in Preparer.vb

Dim avi2wav As New CommanLinePreparer
avi2wav.Name = "Avi2wav"
avi2wav.Input = New List(Of String)(New String() {"avi"})
avi2wav.VideoOutput = New List(Of String)(New String() {"avi"})
avi2wav.AudioOutput = New List(Of String)(New String() {"wav"})
avi2wav.File = "%application:AviToWav%"
avi2wav.Arguments = "%source_files_blank% %source_dir%%source_name%.wav"
ret.Add(avi2wav)

In Stax rip types.vb

Public Shared Avi2Wav As New Avi2WavPackage 'Bruno
.......
AddPackage(Avi2Wav)

Im putting in my tree ,"Templates" to x264 configuration (Fast, normal, best and insane)

juskixxx

16th November 2005, 12:03

So far best tool for SD/HD video conversion to xvid/x264 /w mp4 output support.

Great job guys....Thanks alot!

Bratao...yes (sourcename.(mpa/wav/mp2)) autoselect for audio would be nice :)

And if stax or you could add bits per pixel calculation box like in GK....would be helpful

Yet another request....resize slider for HR encoding ain't enough....1280x*, 960x* is enough....i use 960x544 for 1080p material....

Keep working....and thanks again!

FSB-SPY

17th November 2005, 14:25

Is anyone else having audio sync issues?

I am simply using one of the audio profiles within the program (HE-AAC 80 KBit/s), and using crop, deinterlace, IVTC, and finally a bicubic resize filters on the actual video. Since I'm doing an IVTC, I am getting the wanted 23.98fps for my video. However, I noticed that once MP4Box is ran, it was importing the stream at 25.00fps?

Is this the reason for the audio problem?

Here is the info from the log file on the muxing:

---------- Muxing ----------

Multiplexer: MP4 - MP4Box
Multiplexer Type: MP4Box Multiplexer
Video Source: E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264
Audio Source 1: E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 17ms_AudioOutput.mp4
Target File: E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1.mp4
Arguments: -nodrop -add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264#video" -add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 17ms_AudioOutput.mp4" -new "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1.mp4"

I am attaching a picture because the portion in question gets omitted from the log file.

On an un-related note, is my filter combination correct in terms of getting the best quality? I do not know the correct order and figured that this is why my video isn't looking so hot either. My current order as I said was: MPEG2Source, Crop, FieldDeinterlace, Telecine/Decimate, and Resize(Bicubic). Or maybe the order does not matter and it's all about resolution and bitrate?

Thanks! :)

stax76

17th November 2005, 17:57

@bratao

Thanks, I'll see what can be integrated.

And if stax or you could add bits per pixel calculation box like in GK....would be helpful

I hardly can put this in the main dialog because too many stuff in there is scary for the average user, plus there is not enough room. Maybe another solution can be found.

Yet another request....resize slider for HR encoding ain't enough....1280x*, 960x* is enough....i use 960x544 for 1080p material....

Thanks, got to work on it.

However, I noticed that once MP4Box is ran, it was importing the stream at 25.00fps?

I'm in a PAL country, maybe proper framerate has to be passed to MP4Box, I'll have to work on MP4Box support as well, there were also some feature requests.

JoeBG

21st November 2005, 15:54

I'm in a PAL country, maybe proper framerate has to be passed to MP4Box, I'll have to work on MP4Box support as well, there were also some feature requests.

-add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264:rate=23.98

would be the command. without "rate" mp4box imports with 25 as a standart.

@ Stax

Yes, there are some feature requests:
- name
- lang
would be most important - thank you :)

FSB-SPY

21st November 2005, 16:44

-add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264:rate=23.98

would be the command. without "rate" mp4box imports with 25 as a standart.

@ Stax

Yes, there are some feature requests:
- name
- lang
would be most important - thank you :)

Got it. At first I didn't realize why, but then I did mp4box -h import. The command was "FPS", not "RATE." ;)

Thank you!

-add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264:FPS=23.98

JoeBG

21st November 2005, 17:11

Got it. At first I didn't realize why, but then I did mp4box -h import. The command was "FPS", not "RATE." ;)

Thank you!

-add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264:FPS=23.98

rate was mp4creator, sometimes it´s confusing ;)

FSB-SPY

21st November 2005, 17:25

bond

21st November 2005, 18:44

It was still a bit off, and from the looks of things, I am guessing it's due to the half-second default setting of the "interleaving" command? I could not get it to work, however. Did not know where to add the command "-inter 0" to.interleaving is there for a reason, dont turn it off

what do you mean with "it was still a bit off"?

FSB-SPY

21st November 2005, 20:43

The sync was off.

JoeBG

23rd November 2005, 07:01

-add "E:\Work\Rip\VTS_03_1_EncoderOutput.264:rate=23.98

would be the command. without "rate" mp4box imports with 25 as a standart.

@ Stax

Yes, there are some feature requests:
- name
- lang
would be most important - thank you :)

For testing use this mp4box (http://kurtnoise.free.fr/mp4tools/MP4Box_20051108.zip)

stax76

24th November 2005, 20:21

new version available:

0.9.0.7 (2005-11-24)

new: The minimal and maximal value of the resolution resize slider in the main dialog can be customized in the settings. The default value is 720, for HDTV a value up to 1920 is possible.
new: Setup wizard like dialog allowing to config basic default project options. The dialog pops up on the very first startup and when the default project is reseted.
new: AVI2WAV which extracts any audio format to a pseudo wav file (original format e.g. MP3 but with riff wav header and wav file extension. BeSweet supports such files. AVI2WAV is also available with the download feature.
new: DirectShowSource AviSynth filter.
new: trellis and me for x264.
new: Added to x264 options if and how the target file size should be adjusted after the compressibility check.
new: MP4Box from 2005-11-08.
fix: Source code didn't compile out of the box because the Stax library wasn't included.
change: <span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Auto detection of audio files is now restricted in that audio files must begin with the file name of the video source file.</span>
change: AviSynth 2.5.6a is now required and available with the download feature.
change: Theming code had to be changed which I could not test if it works under Windows 2000.
change: Many critical internal changes to the complex x264 dialog were done and only few test were made.

Regarding MP4, some complete command line examples would be very helpful.

bratao

25th November 2005, 02:06

Thank you Stax, for puting the avi stuff..
I´m doing now some Dvd features and anti-newbie x264 configuration(Fastest ,fast ,normal, good, best and Insane)

bratao

25th November 2005, 02:58

Stax,
About the mp4box , it auto make a 25fps if you not tell.
In Muxer.vb

cl.Append(" -fps""" + p.SourceFramerate.ToString)

Would fix that

yaz

25th November 2005, 09:42

i'd love to taste this beauty but ... i'm quite unwilling to install sp2 just for that. is there any other way to install net2 final onto winxp wout letting that beast free. (my latest 2 beta is refused by SR)

thx
y

JoeBG

25th November 2005, 15:57

new version available:
Regarding MP4, some complete command line examples would be very helpful.

Here my normal batchfile for all my movies

stax76

25th November 2005, 16:17

I´m doing now some Dvd features

what features would that be, I was thinking doing some DVD related stuff as well including mkv with vobsub support

i'd love to taste this beauty but ... i'm quite unwilling to install sp2 just for that. is there any other way to install net2 final onto winxp wout letting that beast free. (my latest 2 beta is refused by SR)

probably it will ask for SP2 as well. Generally I think it's not a bad idea to install it. I hope it don't cause trouble on your system. Some time ago SP2 caused arbitrary crashes on my system but meanwhile my system is totally different and the problems are all gone.

Here my normal batchfile for all my movies

thanks, support for this is coming probably rather sooner than late.

bond

25th November 2005, 17:19

Regarding MP4, some complete command line examples would be very helpful.what do you want to do?

stax76

25th November 2005, 17:41

what do you want to do?

I would like to add all MP4 features that are popular. I hardly have enough time to add super geek features because then x264/MP4 would already be a full time job and no time would be left for anything else. I don't like adding subtitles support if it requires ocr but if it's popular I would even add that. I wish there was tools to mux vobsub subtitles because then I might not have to add mkv support. I like mkv and I like adding useful features but hardly have time to add and maintain 1000 features in particular if the features try to achieve similar things. I rather try to do one thing right than doing 100 different half baked things. Can vobsub muxing tools be expected in the near future for MP4?

JoeBG

25th November 2005, 19:26

I would like to add all MP4 features that are popular.
That´s easy to answer, popular is wahat is shown in the players:
1) language of the stream: -lang or :lang (example: "English")
2) Name of the stream: -name or :name (example: "Forced")
3) Picture Aspect Ratio: -par or:par (you can do par with x264 or mp4box -> I prefer mp4box)

Can vobsub muxing tools be expected in the near future for MP4?
Jean is working on this. But it seems to be that it is not so easy. But I think he will make it.

stax76

25th November 2005, 19:36

Thanks, I'll work on the muxing stuff then next, expect it in 1-2 days. ;)

JoeBG

25th November 2005, 20:29

Thanks, I'll work on the muxing stuff then next, expect it in 1-2 days. ;)

Would be a highlight in our day :)

stax76

26th November 2005, 01:21

Some more MP4 command lines by other people would be great, I need to know little details like what should the argument for the name parameter look like. If people use different values I have to expose control over these values to make the command line look exactly the way people want it to look.

stax76

27th November 2005, 13:23

new version available:

0.9.0.8 (2005-11-27)

new: MP4Box switches lang, fps

I'm releasing only a small update today. The fps switch for MP4Box will always be used, it will use the decimal character of the system's region settings so in most cases it will be:

-fps 25,00
-fps 25.00
-fps 29,97
-fps 29.97

The MP4Box documentation don't says something about the decimal character so I hope it works. It might be possible to generate a more terse command line but I rather have more terse source code, I hope it's OK.

What's next? I'll toy with the monad shell (Microsofts new command shell) to figure out my PAR calculations. I want to add PAR signaling totally automated not even provide a user interface. It'll be only signaled if no resize filter is enabled, would that sufficient?

bond

27th November 2005, 15:12

mp4box on german windows handles "." as decimal character fine, i would use it always

also when remuxing from .avi or .mp4 to .mp4 you dont need to set the fps! setting the fps is only necessary when muxing raw streams, which i guess is not done by staxrip

edit: another important feature might be chapters, which you can set via
-chap chapters.txt

the chapterformat supported by mp4box is, next to others, the well known "ogm format"

edit2: :name="english audio 5.1" or any other text the user wants
for extended characters, eg äöü, you need to beaware of this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=742477#post742477)

stax76

27th November 2005, 16:27

also when remuxing from .avi or .mp4 to .mp4 you dont need to set the fps! setting the fps is only necessary when muxing raw streams, which i guess is not done by staxrip

.264 should work

edit: another important feature might be chapters, which you can set via
-chap chapters.txt

I want to add it as well as very basic srt subs support but all this PAR/DAR/ITU crap I'm currently working on requires me to do a little research so it will take a little time.

edit2: :name="english audio 5.1" or any other text the user wants
for extended characters, eg äöü, you need to beaware of this

Don't know yet how I do this one, JoeBG for instance uses rather "Englisch 5.1". Thanks about the warning regarding chars, wouldn't be the first time I stumble over such things.

bond

27th November 2005, 16:56

I want to add it as well as very basic srt subs support but all this PAR/DAR/ITU crap I'm currently working on requires me to do a little research so it will take a little time.

Don't know yet how I do this one, JoeBG for instance uses rather "Englisch 5.1". Thanks about the warning regarding chars, wouldn't be the first time I stumble over such things.yep codepages are avil :D
also when adding chaptersupport make sure you store the chapter .txt file in utf-8 cause mp4box doesnt translate it to utf-8

stax76

29th November 2005, 00:40

also when adding chaptersupport make sure you store the chapter .txt file in utf-8 cause mp4box doesnt

Currently I don't have plans for chapter support other than letting define the path to a chapter file. Am I right to assume DVDDecrypter outputs ANSI chapter files?

@all

I've added DAR support to MP4Box muxing but wasn't able to playback this right. I tried using latest VLC as well as ffdshow. I followed the description found here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=729500#post729500). Maybe my ffdshow or haali splitter is too old and I just need to update. I capture DVB and encode it using XviD/AVI or use XviD/mkv with vobsub for DVD so I'm still a little bit clueless about x264/MP4 as I don't use it yet. What I've done is adding DAR arguments to the MP4Box cmdl if no filter of the category "Resize" is enabled. Must I also signal something to x264? I saw a switch called sar, never heard of this before, by now I know ar, dar and par, things are getting ugly now...

juskixxx

29th November 2005, 13:11

made some tests AMD 64 3000+@2400MHz vs. AMD X2 3800+

getting over 50-105% boost when setting:

SetMTMode(2,0)
and rest of my avisynth script

and setting number of threads to 2 in megui

http://www.avisynth.org/tsp/avisynth256MT3.zip was used, x264 version 380 and CE Highprofile from sharktooth's profiles (turbomode disabled)....same profile was used in staxrip settings.

stax could you add threads setting to your x264 configuration options....

nice to get all out of my X2 ;)

stax76

29th November 2005, 18:30

new version available:

0.9.0.9 (2005-11-29)

new: MP4Box par switch.
new: x264 thread switch.
new:macro %pos_ms% which returns the current preview position in milliseconds. Useful to start e.g. MPC (Media Player Classic) at the current frame position using the Execute action of the customizable menu of the main dialog or the menu in the preview. For MPC use the following arguments: "%source_dir%%target_name%.avs" /start %pos_ms%
minor: fixed auto resize not working in some circumstances.

sure, 2 minutes it was done, even released it the same day it was requested ;)

JoeBG

29th November 2005, 21:47

new version available:

sure, 2 minutes it was done, even released it the same day it was requested ;)

Great job ;)

bond

29th November 2005, 21:58

Currently I don't have plans for chapter support other than letting define the path to a chapter file. Am I right to assume DVDDecrypter outputs ANSI chapter files?yep

I've added DAR support to MP4Box muxing but wasn't able to playback this right. I tried using latest VLC as well as ffdshow. I followed the description found here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=729500#post729500). Maybe my ffdshow or haali splitter is too old and I just need to update. I capture DVB and encode it using XviD/AVI or use XviD/mkv with vobsub for DVD so I'm still a little bit clueless about x264/MP4 as I don't use it yet.anamorphic resize is done exactly the same way in mp4 as in avi, meaning its stored in the bitstream and not in the container

What I've done is adding DAR arguments to the MP4Box cmdl if no filter of the category "Resize" is enabled. Must I also signal something to x264? I saw a switch called sar, never heard of this before, by now I know ar, dar and par, things are getting ugly now... do you really support DISPLAY AR or more PIXEL AR?
btw the one and only right expression for pixel aspect ratio in avc is "SAR" (sample aspect ratio). the avc standard also doesnt know "display aspect ratio", meaning dar has to be recalculated to the correct sar, but you propably know that already

stax76

29th November 2005, 22:43

anamorphic resize is done exactly the same way in mp4 as in avi, meaning its stored in the bitstream and not in the container

Why MP4Box has a par switch then?

do you really support DISPLAY AR or more PIXEL AR?

PAR for MP4Box but only when no resize filter is used (assuming a resize filter uses the %target_width% macro)

btw the one and only right expression for pixel aspect ratio in avc is "SAR" (sample aspect ratio). the avc standard also doesnt know "display aspect ratio", meaning dar has to be recalculated to the correct sar, but you propably know that already

So SAR is basically the same as PAR, I feel somehow relieved now because this stuff started to bother me.

Moat

30th November 2005, 01:36

Just a little feedback. I was trying to install the external programs using the download method built into StaxRip. Everything seems to work fine but BeSweet and VirtualDubMod always come up as unknown versions even when installed thru StaxRip.

-Moat

Update: I tracked it down to:
If VersionDate.ToShortDateString = FileHelp.GetLastWriteTime( path).ToUniversalTime.ToShortDateString Then

It's the .ToUniversaltime that causes it. It changes my date of VirtualDubMod.exe to 3-9-2004 instead of 3-8-2004. If I remove it everything works fine.

stax76

30th November 2005, 20:04

Great you know VB .NET, maybe you can help me to tackle this issue. I don't get it since I took the date for all applications using universal time, needless to to say here it works.

Public Class VirtualDubModPackage
Inherits Package

Public Sub New()
Name = "VirtualDubMod"
Filename = "VirtualDubMod.exe"
Version = "1.5.10.1 build 2439"
Website = "http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net"
Description = "VirtualDubMod is derived from VirtualDub and supports additional formats."
VersionDate = New DateTime(2004, 3, 8)
DownloadFilename = "VirtualDubMod_1.5.10.1_build_2439.zip"
TreeFolder = "Video Processing"
End Sub

Public Overrides Function IsRequired() As Boolean
Return TypeOf p.VideoEncoder Is VirtualDubEncoder AndAlso _
Not DirectCast(p.VideoEncoder, VirtualDubEncoder).UseVirtualDub
End Function
End Class

Private Sub DebugCopyDateCodeClick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
Dim dt As DateTime = FileHelp.GetLastWriteTime(ActivePackage.GetPath(False)).ToUniversalTime
Clipboard.SetDataObject("New DateTime(" + dt.Year.ToString + ", " + dt.Month.ToString + ", " + dt.Day.ToString + ")", True)
End Sub

I also realize this code is a little bit dusty since .NET 2.0 has many new methods like File.GetLastWriteTimeUtc or Clipboards.SetText.

edit: the bug is what you spotted VersionDate get converted to universal date (it is already universal date)

stax76

30th November 2005, 22:38

new version available:

0.9.1.0 (2005-11-30)

fix: fixed bug in zip extraction code that was writing a false time to the extracted files.

@Moat: thanks for the help, the bug were somewhere else, in my zip exctracting code (not in the IC#Code zip lib). I hope this time I got it right. This bug was in DVX for many month. :eek:

Since the files were extracted with wrong date you have to download them again. Disabling the warnings about wrong versions would also work but I cannot suggest this.

edit: probably the bug is still there, maybe tomorrow I have more luck :(

edit 2: after reading usenet I found out dealing with file times at some place at some time it is doomed to fail (timezones, daylight saving times, wrong os or bios date, very long tool chain (reading/writing dates (packing/unpacking again reads/writes dates)) etc. etc.). As example, the .NET API to get the last write date for a file returns a different date as the windows explorer here!

I could use a checksum (.NET has algorithms built in but it would probably be too slow for large files) assuming file attributes like time have no influence on this. Using the filesize is problematic as well, it was the first approach used in DVX and it turned out some applications had a different version but same filesize. :mad:

bratao

1st December 2005, 10:57

MD5 its pretty fast , .ComputeHash can do it fast !
maybe you can take a look .
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q301053&ID=kb;en-us;Q301053&SD=MSDN&FR=1

stax76

1st December 2005, 11:13

It would have a noticeable impact I think as I loop through all packages to validate them before showing some dialogs. (I'm using MD5 in quite a few locations in StaxRip btw. :))

I'm not making much progress these days so what I'm gonna do is continue to use to compare the last write days but simply make a tolerence of two days!

fight2win

2nd December 2005, 08:18

i guess it's audieu to autogk now, coz dr. divx and staxrip rock!

JoeBG

3rd December 2005, 10:49

I want to add a custom Audio profile. Can someone give a tip how to do? I want to add a new AAC profile.

stax76

3rd December 2005, 12:09

I want to add a custom Audio profile. Can someone give a tip how to do? I want to add a new AAC profile.

I was already afraid that this is not intuitiv enough so I got think about if this can be done easier and of course better help files are needed. Regarding help I did some work already (nice css menu) but it needs a lot more work.

Generally you create new profiles in the profiles dialog. Regardless of what profile it is the dialog to manage profiles is always the same. With "Add" you create a new profile. It opens a selection with profiles usually starting with "Current" what are the current settings following with "factory" defaults so what you pick is "Current". Your customizations need to be done before of course using the "Edit" option in the drop down button in the main dialog which opens the configuration menu of the audio settings. I hope it's clear now. I really have to think if it can be done more intuitive, please let me know if you any ideas. I might see things sometimes too much from a developer view and not enough from user view.

ricardo.santos

3rd December 2005, 18:21

Hi!
I have to say i was never a big fan of your Dvx program mainly because i had to track the right versions of the programs to make it work, but now with StaxRip that has changed(button to download the right version, nicer gui, customization of the menu for foreign language users and a lot more) only thing missing is the DMF format support but judging by your posts here on doom9 youre are already working on it.

Ps: i havent compared the encoding times but being a user of AutoGk and avi.net it seems StaxRip is a bit slower, but like i said i havent compared it.

Good work!

bond

3rd December 2005, 18:25

only thing missing is the DMF format support support for the divx format is very easy, simply rename .avi to .divx ;)

no, thats not a joke...

ricardo.santos

3rd December 2005, 18:37

would it be possible that when converting dvdsubs to Divxmedia format the user could change the position onscreen of the subs?

Let me explain:

At the moment im creating my divx files by converting the dvd with AutoGk and adding subs with srt2bmp, why? lets say i have 2 tvs one being 4:3 and the other 16:9. at the moment with srt2bmp i can create one sub stream to be played on the black bars instead of on the video when viweing the video on a 4:3 tv, and another substream to positioned on the bottom of the picture when viewing it on a 16:9 tv.(one divx file with 2 different sub streams for different tvs)

when converting dvds with autogk and avi.net they will put the subs on the video, if the video has an aspect of 2:35:1 the picture is already small when played on a 4:3 tv, subs on the video will only make it worst, thats why i use srt2bmp to make the subs appear on the black bars.

i know its probably a bit confusing but this is a feature no other program has at the moment(that im aware)

Ricardo

ricardo.santos

3rd December 2005, 18:39

support for the divx format is very easy, simply rename .avi to .divx ;)

no, thats not a joke...

i meant converting the dvd to Dmf maintaing chapters, selectable audio and subs(xsubs)

more here:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=89718

http://labs.divx.com/archives/000066.html

stax76

3rd December 2005, 19:36

would it be possible that when converting dvdsubs to Divxmedia format the user could change the position onscreen of the subs?

So far I've only looked at the docs, I'm not so familiar with MP4 and DMF and hope I make soon progress with these containers. Basic support usually is not so hard, subtiltles usually involve most work.

ricardo.santos

3rd December 2005, 19:44

Thanks for the update/status.

stax76

5th December 2005, 16:53

new version available:

0.9.1.1 (2005-12-05)

new: MP4Box subtitles.
new: Help and web design and content.
change: Main menu in the main form had to be reseted because of various changes.

edit: I just uploaded this build again because it turned out the VirtulDub/Mod multiplexer needed to be newly created due to bug fix I had done. Because of this I invalidated all Encoder and Muxer settings forcing them to be newly created. Once beta stage is reached I hope I'll be able to avoid reseting so often so many settings.

edit: I wasn't able to get DivXMux to work and nobody confirmed success using it so DMF support is delayed until I can use DivXMux.

ricardo.santos

7th December 2005, 01:43

stax76

7th December 2005, 17:49

since version09.1.0 whenever i try converting something StaxRip wont let me convert anything untill i install xvid, a pop up window comes up asking for it even tough i dont use xvid, does it have to be installed even if not necessary?

You can try choosing another YV12 decoder in the settings but XviD is the only decoder I know that works reasonable so I would rather install XviD. Next build will have another change regarding that issue. I plan to release MKV support later today and DMF tomorrow (both incl. vobsub).

Sirber

7th December 2005, 17:56

try:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56972

stax76

7th December 2005, 18:36

Besides DivX and XviD this decoder will also be available in the settings dialog, I don't know any other. Don't know about Helix but DivX is bad, slow startup and bad compatibility.

Sirber

7th December 2005, 18:39

I bundle helix codec with RealAnime to decode the output of AVS scripts. Works like a charm.

stax76

8th December 2005, 18:33

new version available:

0.9.1.2 (2005-12-08)

new: mkvmerge including vobsubs.
new: Auto renaming of audio files (VTS_01_1 T01 becomes VTS_01_1 de-German).
fix: Detection of application versions.

DVD related features like subtitles are not so easy to test, I hope it's not broke.

stax76

9th December 2005, 22:28

new version available:

0.9.1.3 (2005-12-09)

new: DMF (DivX Media Format) support incl. vobsubs.

fight2win

9th December 2005, 22:31

stax dude, when can we expect a stable release, something like 1.0?

stax76

9th December 2005, 22:46

stax dude, when can we expect a stable release, something like 1.0?

It will stay alpha/beta probably for a long time. I try to release daily so if somebody finds a bug it's usually fixed the next day. :)

ricardo.santos

10th December 2005, 10:36

i cant find the executable file in the 0.9.1.3 version, for some reason i think i downloaded the source code instead of the normal StaxRip

edit: same thing happens in version 0.9.1.2(something wrong with the download links i guess)

stax76

10th December 2005, 11:50

Must be a problem on your side.

ricardo.santos

10th December 2005, 14:15

Hi!

I guess i had to much drinks last night as i was downloading the source code thinking it was the "normal StaxRip" :o :o :)

Sorry Stax for the unnecessary post

Ricardo

amango

10th December 2005, 16:50

@Stax

Thank you for your new wonderful program.

I encode DVB-material so I use the Cut-Feature in the Preview-window.

With StaxRip I can only cut if I encode an avi-file, so I am limited to XVID and DIVX. Can you enable cutting for MKV, MP4 and DIVX media? Could you enable your program to encode x264 to an avi (works if you support the VfW-Codec)...?

stax76

10th December 2005, 18:16

With StaxRip I can only cut if I encode an avi-file, so I am limited to XVID and DIVX. Can you enable cutting for MKV, MP4 and DIVX media?

Thought about this before, might be tricky and will add even more complexity but I really want to investigate this.

Could you enable your program to encode x264 to an avi (works if you support the VfW-Codec)...?

Generic VFW support would be doable meaning all installed codecs would work. It seems however the cli version is much more popular, did you try using x264 cli in StaxRip?

ricardo.santos

13th December 2005, 17:37

im not being able to get Staxrip to produce DMF files.

staxrip produces avi files only, no sign of xsubs aswell or any other kind of subs(i have vobsub installed)

In encoder i set it to divx and in the muxer i select DivxMux, i have all aplications installed.

Ricardo

stax76

13th December 2005, 19:34

When you select the muxer profile you also have to load it using double-click or clicking the Load button. Please note that the muxer belongs to the encoder, this means that if you load another encoder you get also the muxer of that encoder. Whenever the muxer changes also the file extension of the target file changes if the muxer has another container as output. Subtitle settings belong to the muxer settings.

Project -> Encoder -> Muxer -> Subtitles

ricardo.santos

13th December 2005, 20:55

stax76

13th December 2005, 21:22

Selectable subs using vobsub, if you can't get it to work you can of course send diagnostic files, select: Main Menu: Help/Send Bug Report

stax76

13th December 2005, 22:33

new build:

0.9.1.4 (2005-12-13)

new: Configuration dialog for muxing audio profiles (language and delay).
new: Delay handling for MKV, DIVX and MP4 muxing.
new: Chapters for MKV and MP4 muxing.
new: Aspect Ratio parameter for mkvmerge.
fix: language parameter wasn't applied properly using AAC with mkvmerge.

TEB

15th December 2005, 01:14

Hi. I cannot get it to start even. And yes, i have .net 2.0 installed. Works with other apps ive tested..

EventType : clr20r3 P1 : staxrip.exe P2 : 0.9.1.4 P3 : 439f3b13
P4 : staxrip P5 : 0.9.1.4 P6 : 439f3b13 P7 : 1d P8 : c6
P9 : system.invalidoperationexception

And im using the newest build.. Any idead what do do?
Running WindowsXP,sp2,AMD4600X2

stax76

15th December 2005, 01:28

@TEB

If there is no .NET error dialog with the usual debug output then we have a problem I'm afraid.

TEB

15th December 2005, 09:35

Hei. Theres a debug dialog, but its impossible to copy paste it :)
And its like 50pages of info :)

stax76

15th December 2005, 09:56

Then it must be the dialog of windows and not .NET, this debug information is not very helpful. :(

TEB

15th December 2005, 13:19

Well i now tested the newest build at work on my WS, (p4 3,6EE, ati x700) windowxpsp2eng dot net 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0.
Here i cannot get it to work at all.. When i click on the .exe it starts, but nothing comes up... no dialog at alll..

Tried it on another macine (collague - .net developer) and the start of the file gave :

EventType : clr20r3 P1 : staxrip.exe P2 : 0.9.1.4 P3 : 439f3b13
P4 : staxrip P5 : 0.9.1.4 P6 : 439f3b13 P7 : 1d P8 : c6
P9 : system.invalidoperationexception

___________

Started debugging in MS-VS2005, CLR-Debugger gave :

An unhandled exception of type 'System.InvalidOperationException' occurred in Microsoft.VisualBasic.dll

Additional information: An error occurred creating the form. See Exception.InnerException for details. The error is: Culture name 'nb' is not supported.
Parameter name: name

stax76

15th December 2005, 13:44

Did some changes, maybe works now, please download the latest build again.

TEB

15th December 2005, 14:00

Hi again!

From our developers :

Hi!

I tried to compile the project locally here, and it was ok. But running it gave the same problem. I ran it with a debugger and located the problemcode :

In project.vb in the function init() the autoselection of the twoLetterISOLanguageName
causes the problem. It returns 'nb' (Norsk Bokmål = norwegian locale) which causes the problem.

I'll try to comment it out and see if it works running 'en' in all cases.

EDIT 5 min later : Woho!!! Changed New Language(New CultureInfo("en")) as default for subtitles and audio and it worked! (cut out the autoselection)

stax76

15th December 2005, 14:05

Yes, thanks for working this out, does the build I've uploaded work?

TEB

15th December 2005, 14:08

Yupp, both works :)

weaver4

15th December 2005, 17:17

I really want to try StaxRip, but I am afraid to install .Net 2.0. I am developing a couple of applications under Visual Studio 2003 that use .Net 1.1. Anyone know if I install .Net 2.0 if it will screw up my work?

I know it is a little off-topic but I thought the author might know.

Emp3r0r

15th December 2005, 17:21

.NET 1.1 and 2.0 work fine side by side

stax76

15th December 2005, 17:27

Different .NET versions are supposed to work side by side. I had similar setups and never problems. You might as well want to give VS 2005 Express a try, it's free. Your chances to screw up are higher than of course but again, also different SDK and Visual Studio Versions are supposed to work side by side. You got to take care of the order you uninstall things.

JoeBG

15th December 2005, 21:03

@ stax

works great your new release - thank you :)

stax76

15th December 2005, 21:34

works great your new release - thank you

well, almost. The culture fix caused another culture bug, also there was another culture bug appearing when the DVD has languages not known to .NET. I'm working on it...

Kostarum Rex Persia

16th December 2005, 00:46

stax, in which folder I must to copy files DivXMux.exe and DMFCheck.exe so staxrip can start to encode my files in .DIVX container?

Currently, Staxrip can't see that I already downloaded needed files. I can't understand why.

stax76

16th December 2005, 01:08

@Kostarum Rex Persia

You can copy them where you want as long as you tell StaxRip where to find them.

The help of the External Applications dialog describes it as follows:

Applications already installed manually can be integrated using the Search option (StaxRip needs to know the location of the application).

If you got the latest build just hit Download (as suggested) for any DivX product.

Kostarum Rex Persia

16th December 2005, 02:50

What about x264 codec, it says that I use wrong version, and he try to download very old revision 334. Can you update x264 to 367B revision.

What is Mediainfo?

fight2win

16th December 2005, 09:35

will staxrip run with xvid cvs builds?

Doom9

16th December 2005, 10:07

What is Mediainfo?What is the search engine?

stax76

16th December 2005, 14:14

What about x264 codec, it says that I use wrong version, and he try to download very old revision 334. Can you update x264 to 367B revision.

Nice to get some feedback about x264, since I don't use it I already thought nobody does (using StaxRip). What about rev.387B?

What is Mediainfo?

It gives info about media files, you can reach the website directly from the External Applications dialog, select Tools, choose MediaInfo, choose Open Website In Browser, it's there explained better than I possibly could.

will staxrip run with xvid cvs builds?

I hope so, maybe you can give some feedback.

stax76

16th December 2005, 17:20

0.9.1.5 (2005-12-16)

new: Editor for command lines and scripts with support for preview and execute.
new: More than just one command line can be executed.
fix: A couple of bugs were fixed.

Gdragon

17th December 2005, 00:54

Hi,

I just came across this as it looks great program. BUT, there is a big problem with detecting-downloading-finding needed applications. I have all programs and filters required, but the program refuses to use them. I have mostly newer versions then required, and I don't understand why the program don't except them.

Can this be changed somehow? Why the program needs exactly specifig build, since there is no significant differences between close builds, for example with VirtualDubMod.

Millan

Gdragon

17th December 2005, 01:07

I noticed one more thing concidering installed codecs. I already have XvID 1.1.0-beta2, but program still claims that I have some unknown version and I must download it. Some goes with almost evrything. I have DiVX 6.0.3 but it is also not recognized. Only thing that passess check is JAVA.

How to slove this!

stax76

17th December 2005, 01:57

I have all programs and filters required, but the program refuses to use them. I have mostly newer versions then required, and I don't understand why the program don't except them.

StaxRip shows a message box telling that you are using a wrong version but that message box has also a check box Use always wrong version. If you check this it won't tell you again that you are using a wrong version. You can also disable the warning in the External Applications dialog btw. You should however use always the required versions. I use always the best versions, if not please tell me where I miss something and tomorrow it will be fixed.

since there is no significant differences between close builds, for example with VirtualDubMod.

VDM had quite often breaking changes. You can disable the warning and use another version but when something don't work please don't send a bug report until you have verified exactly the same problem occurs with the required version.

I noticed one more thing concidering installed codecs. I already have XvID 1.1.0-beta2, but program still claims that I have some unknown version and I must download it.

I'm checking last write date so somebody must have compiled this on another day so you have two options to solve this: download my version or disable the warning.

If I wouldn't check the versions 90% of all bug reports would be related to incompatible applications, that's my experience with DVX and that's why other apps like GK have software bundles and codec packs. I never liked the idea of bundles, packs etc. unless I'm looking for guarantied way to mess up my system.

I have mad verification code in StaxRip like has user more than one Decomb in the plugin dir (e.g. Decomb521.dll and Decomb.dll), does the source path has comma's (not supported by DGIndex), has the user moved his files (d2v files have hardcoded absolute path information) has the user both DGDecode and MPEG2Dec3.dll in the plugin dir, is the DGDecode.dll in the plugin dir the one that belongs to the used DGIndex version. All this things did break StaxRip until verifications were added. It might work for other apps because they might load plugins manually (LoadPlugin(...)) or they might use a special syntax to reference a function (DGDecode_Mpeg2Source(...)) but it did break StaxRip. There are hundreds of lines of code dealing with this things. I get many bug reports a day per email and quite often the fix is adding more verifications. Lately I started to offer to fix a problem instead of just giving a warning because some users don't know what to do with a warning and send a bug report instead of fixing the problem as hinted in the warning.

ricardo.santos

18th December 2005, 03:22

Hi everyone!

Stax would it be possible to add an option to shutdown the pc when conversion finishs?

I always set up the pc do do the conversions during the night (like so many others) and such a function would be usefull

Thanks

stax76

18th December 2005, 03:50

It's there already :), it's at the bottom of the window that is visible while encoding: When finished do: shutdown or standby or...

horny_german

18th December 2005, 09:19

stax76

18th December 2005, 12:33

I encode the audiopart with the default settings AAC-HE 80. The result is an playable mp4 audiofile. However after the videoencoding is done and StaxRip puts video and audio into the MP4 container you can't hear anything of the sound.
Is there any hint ?

Maybe you have no DirectShow filter that can decode the audio file. I don't know what is the best filter, maybe ffdshow but I can't tell you where to grab the best build. There is also a player that don't rely on any DirectShow filter but has everything built in, it's called VLC (VideoLan Client).

JoeBG

18th December 2005, 12:35

First of all a big thanx to stx for this really useful and nice working prog.
It helped me a lot and i was able to backup with such high quality. Very nice is the automatic download of missing programs wich are requiered to run StaxRip.
But at least I have one little problem.
I encode the audiopart with the default settings AAC-HE 80. The result is an playable mp4 audiofile. However after the videoencoding is done and StaxRip puts video and audio into the MP4 container you can't hear anything of the sound.
Is there any hint ?

That´s hard to believe :) You can hear the single audio.mp4 => so you have all splitters and decoders. 2 ideas:
- try vlc as player. vlc will also show if there is a audiostream in the mp4
- open mp4 with yamb. yamb will analyse the mp4 will show you if there is an audiostream in the file.

chipzoller

18th December 2005, 18:16

Can we not get a separate forum in the Doom9 space devoted to StaxRip?
Great program, BTW. I like the flexability with external apps, but there seem to be too many "secrets" in the GUI, like options are so spread out it's a bit difficult to know where to change a setting.

Any chance of putting an update feature directly into StaxRip, where you can check for a new version and download and apply it automatically?

thanks again,

Chip

horny_german

18th December 2005, 18:31

That´s hard to believe :) You can hear the single audio.mp4 => so you have all splitters and decoders. 2 ideas:
- try vlc as player. vlc will also show if there is a audiostream in the mp4
- open mp4 with yamb. yamb will analyse the mp4 will show you if there is an audiostream in the file.

... but true .... the single audiofile encoded as MP4 is fine as long as staxRip or i manually (withYAMB ) mux it into a mp4 container.
However if i encode manually the file with BeLight wich results in a single .aac file and mux afterwards the raw videostream and the aac file into a mp4 container everthing is fine.
The problem can't be the extension mp4 of the audiofile, can it ?
I use the latest vlc already...

Thanks
hg

ricardo.santos

18th December 2005, 18:35

but there seem to be too many "secrets" in the GUI, like options are so spread out it's a bit difficult to know where to change a setting.

at the moment im trying to figure out how to change the audio encoding from 160cbr to 128cbr?

can any of you guys give me a hand on how to do it?

stax76

18th December 2005, 19:11

I like the flexability with external apps, but there seem to be too many "secrets" in the GUI, like options are so spread out it's a bit difficult to know where to change a setting.

Can you tell me anything particular? Maybe we can find a way to make it more accessible.

Any chance of putting an update feature directly into StaxRip, where you can check for a new version and download and apply it automatically?

I hope I find soon time for this, might be a little bit tricky.

at the moment im trying to figure out how to change the audio encoding from 160cbr to 128cbr?

can any of you guys give me a hand on how to do it?

In the main dialog there is a drop down button for each audio track, choose Edit there and edit the audio settings in the dialog that pops up. If you want to use this often you can create a audio profile as described in the help of the profile dialog. Furthermore you could customize the default project to have this settings available at startup.

However if i encode manually the file with BeLight wich results in a single .aac

I hope I'm not doing something wrong with BeSweet/MP4Box. Maybe somebody can look in the log file and check if the command lines use the best possible settings.

ricardo.santos

18th December 2005, 19:49

In the main dialog there is a drop down button for each audio track, choose Edit there and edit the audio settings in the dialog that pops up. If you want to use this often you can create a audio profile as described in the help of the profile dialog. Furthermore you could customize the default project to have this settings available at startup

ive done that before but it still encodes as 160 instead of 128,

dio i have to change the value in the besweet command line as well?

edit: wow, converting to divx using the 6.1divx codec is faster than the previous divx version

ricardo.santos

18th December 2005, 20:04

Hi Stax

Sorry for being a pain, i was trying to encode a 5 minute dvdclip from starwars,reveng of the sith for test purposes only,
i wanted my final otput to be divxmedia format with 1 audio mp3 track and 2 xsub tracks.

ive followed your instructions and my final output is a avi file, the mp3 bitrate is 160cbr instead of the 128 i selected

heres the log_:

---------- Versions ----------

StaxRip 0.9.1.5
Microsoft Windows NT 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
.NET Framework 2.0.50727.42
DirectX 4.09.00.0904

AutoCrop 1.1
AviSynth 2.5.6a
BeSweet 1.5b31
Decomb 5.2.2
DGIndex 1.4.5
DivX 6.0.3 Pro
FluxSmooth 1.1a
Java
ProjectX 0.90.1
VirtualDubMod 1.5.10.1 build 2439
VirtualDub 1.5.11
XviD XviD 1.1.0 Beta 2
MP4Box 2005-11-08
x264 334
Deen 2005-07-05
UnDot 2003-01-18
AVITOWAV 3.5
DirectShowSource 2.5.6
MKVtoolnix 1.6.5
MediaInfo 0.7.0.3
DivXMux 6.1 build 24

---------- Macros ----------

application:AutoCrop C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\AutoCrop.dll
application:AviSynth C:\WINDOWS\system32\avisynth.dll
application:AVITOWAV C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\AVITOWAV\avi2wavcmd.exe
application:BeSweet C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe
application:Decomb C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb.dll
application:Deen C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Deen.dll
application:DGIndex C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\DGIndex\DGIndex.exe
application:DirectShowSource C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DirectShowSource.dll
application:DivX C:\WINDOWS\system32\DivX.dll
application:DivXMux C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\Tools\DivXMux.exe
application:FluxSmooth C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\FluxSmooth.dll
application:Java C:\Programas\Java\jre1.5.0_01\bin\java.exe
application:MediaInfo C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\MediaInfo\MediaInfo.exe
application:MKVtoolnix
application:MP4Box
application:ProjectX C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\ProjectX\ProjectX.jar
application:UnDot C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\UnDot.dll
application:VirtualDub
application:VirtualDubMod C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\VirtualDubMod\VirtualDubMod.exe
application:x264
application:XviD C:\WINDOWS\system32\xvidvfw.dll
application_dir C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\
audio_bitrate 288
audio_file1 C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3
audio_file2
avisynth_plugin_dir C:\Programas\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\
compressibility 0
crop_bottom 76
crop_height 428
crop_left 54
crop_right 2
crop_top 72
crop_width 664
encoder_out_file C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.avi
pos_ms 0
programs_dir C:\Programas\
source_dir C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\
source_file C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.d2v
source_files_blank "C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.d2v"
source_files_comma "C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.d2v"
source_files_comma_no_quotes C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.d2v
source_frames 7493
source_height 576
source_name VTS_01_1
source_rate 25,00
source_seconds 300
source_width 720
system_dir C:\WINDOWS\system32\
target_dir C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\
target_file C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.avi
target_framerate 25,00
target_frames 7493
target_height 304
target_kilobyte 51200
target_megabyte 50
target_name VTS_01_1
target_seconds 300
target_width 688
version 0.9.1.5
video_bitrate 1260

---------- AviSynth Plugins ----------

AutoCrop.dll 17-06-2003 13:45
Decomb.dll 04-09-2005 13:20
Deen.dll 05-07-2005 22:42
DGDecode.dll 01-10-2005 7:31
DirectShowSource.dll 28-10-2005 16:44
FluxSmooth.dll 29-07-2004 16:07
TCPDeliver.dll 28-10-2005 16:44
UnDot.dll 18-01-2003 18:05

---------- AviSynth Script ----------

MPEG2Source("C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1.d2v")
Crop(54,72,-2,-76)
BicubicResize(688,304,0,0.5)

---------- Audio Encoding ----------

Encoding Type: Command Line Audio Profile
Command Line: "C:\SelfRunPrograms\StaxRip\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3" -output "C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp3" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -lame( -p --alt-preset cbr 160 )

---------- Audio Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 18:46:13
End time: 18:47:12
Duration: 00:00:59
Speed: 126 fps
Size: 5,7 MB
Bitrate: 159,82 KBit/s
Video Bitrate: 1260 -> 1229

---------- First Pass Codec Parameters ----------

bitrate: 1234
chromame: 1
desired_size: 45187
display_status: 0
max_bframes: 1
mode: 1
stats: C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\Temporary Files\VTS_01_1.pass
use_bvop: 1
vhq_mode: 1

---------- First Pass Encoding ----------

VirtualDub.Open("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Windows XP\\Ambiente de trabalho\\star2\\VIDEO_TS\\VTS_01_1.avs","",0);
VirtualDub.video.SetMode(1);
VirtualDub.video.SetCompression(0x64697678,0,10000,0);
VirtualDub.SaveAVI("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Windows XP\\Ambiente de trabalho\\star2\\VIDEO_TS\\Temporary Files\\VTS_01_1_FirstPass.avi");

---------- First Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 18:47:13
End time: 18:51:15
Duration: 00:04:01
Speed: 31 fps

---------- Multi Pass Codec Parameters ----------

bitrate: 1234
chromame: 1
desired_size: 45187
display_status: 0
max_bframes: 1
mode: 2
stats: C:\Documents and Settings\Windows XP\Ambiente de trabalho\star2\VIDEO_TS\Temporary Files\VTS_01_1.pass
use_bvop: 1
vhq_mode: 1

---------- Multi Pass Encoding ----------

VirtualDub.Open("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Windows XP\\Ambiente de trabalho\\star2\\VIDEO_TS\\VTS_01_1.avs","",0);
VirtualDub.video.SetMode(1);
VirtualDub.video.SetCompression(0x64697678,0,10000,0);
VirtualDub.stream[0].SetSource("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Windows XP\\Ambiente de trabalho\\star2\\VIDEO_TS\\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp3",0x00000202,0);
VirtualDub.stream[0].SetMode(0);
VirtualDub.SaveAVI("C:\\Documents and Settings\\Windows XP\\Ambiente de trabalho\\star2\\VIDEO_TS\\VTS_01_1.avi");

---------- Multi Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 18:51:15
End time: 18:56:49
Duration: 00:05:34
Speed: 22 fps
Size: 49,8 MB

stax76

18th December 2005, 20:24

@ricardo.santos

Yes, you have to change the command line, the audio settings are cli based, it's possible to create profiles for any cli application, not just BeSweet. Building a basic GUI for BeSweet or any other application would be trivial btw. since StaxRip is build with extensibility in mind, it's just I don't need it and it's not frequently requested.

ricardo.santos

18th December 2005, 20:50

thanks for the answer.

and what about the Dmf creation im only getting avifiles instead of **.divx files with xsubs on it, like DivxConverter does

stax76

18th December 2005, 21:09

and what about the Dmf creation im only getting avifiles instead of **.divx files with xsubs on it, like DivxConverter does

Did you really load a corresponding muxer?

chipzoller

18th December 2005, 22:23

I'll have to come up with specific examples of complex GUI instances.

But for now, how do you add text subtitles, or the filter for AVISynth so it gets recognized? In general, I'm trying to figure out how to maximize this with AVISynth, but because I'm still learning AVISynth and what it can do, I'm a bit unclear on this.

Edit: Also what would be nice, if you wanted to include burn-in subtitles present in the DVD stream (vob subs, not text) you could tick a box if you wanted them. Then a demux step would be added in the processes to include those subs.

stax76

18th December 2005, 23:07

But for now, how do you add text subtitles

Generally dmf and mkv muxer have idx support (image based vobsub subtitles) and mp4 muxer has srt support (text based subrip subtitles), you can also use burnt in subtitles using a (AviSynth) filter.

or the filter for AVISynth so it gets recognized?

Did you see the walkthrough in the help?

Edit: Also what would be nice, if you wanted to include burn-in subtitles present in the DVD stream (vob subs, not text) you could tick a box if you wanted them. Then a demux step would be added in the processes to include those subs.

Edit: VSRip requires to know the pgc but how do I know what pgc was ripped?

LRN

19th December 2005, 00:50

At this moment i use Nero Recode to convert DVD->mp4 (Ateme H.264 + Nero HE-AAC). I use "Maximum Definition AVC" profile wich gives me very good video quality (2 pass), and audio is HE-AAC 192 Kbps (usually 5.1) by default. There's also support for chapters. Up to 2 subtitles, up to 2 audio streams. And it is fully automatic (GUI is good too!), i.e. click-click-click and go! All is fine (even now), BUT!
1) Recode conflicts with ANY DirectX-based application (i.e. games ;) ) and goes crazy. I must keep it inside another windows session, if i want to use my comp while Recode works.
2) Sometimes 2 audio and (more often) 2 subtitles is just not enougth...
3) On "Maximum Definition AVC" encoding is SLOW (on P4 3200 - only 1-2 fps!!!)
4) "Pause" button does not works (Recode still consumes my cpu in paused mode)
5) Anyway, Recode slows down all other processes (regardless what i set it "Low" process priority!)
Recently i learned, what x264 is, well, almost as good as Ateme H.264 (you should look at Second Annual AVC/H.264 Codec Comparison by MSU Graphics and Media Lab), and in some cases maybe even better! Then i searched for suitable application - and i found StaxRip :)
I took a look on it, and it seems pretty well for me. Still, i have some questions:
1) Will x264 + AAC + subs + chapters = mp4 work without any troubles? Any players/splitters incompatibilities?
2) I know, i should ask x264 developers, decause StaxRip is mainly DivX-related app, but i have really hard times configuring x264. I found no profiles for video, and i'm really not very informed in field of video encoding techniqes (all that features, modes, matrices, options etc). How about that? At least there IS profiles for audio...
3) Can i pause all the process at any moment (well, looks like whis is "question-to-x264-developers-not-for-stax" too ...) ? No application conflicts? Is there "idle" priority setting?
4) At this point i see support for only 2 audio streams. I think, i could mux some more to mp4 after transcode...But it's really not so easy for me to calculate result file size correctly (allright, i'm just lazy). Looks like number of subtitles is unlimited. I wish same for audio streams...
5) I think i found how to make audio profile for HE-AAC 5.1 192 kbps audio (-core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -bsn( -6chnew -vbr_normal ) and 192 in proper edit field ;), if i remember correctly), but i'm really not sure about this. I am right?
6) Will StaxRip + x264 be faster than Recode + Ateme H.264? I do not really trust Ahead in field of optimization, speed and all that stuff. I think what lack of speed is because of Recode, not codec itself, and i hope StaxRip (and its component applications) will do better.
H-m-m-m. Allright, that is all. I hope, you will not kick me with legs for it :)
P.S. I just set up small video clip conversion with StaxRip. First pass gives me only 2-3 fps...Let's see results tomorrow...

chipzoller

19th December 2005, 07:02

VSRip requires to know the pgc but how do I know what pgc was ripped?

I'm talking about subs from that source (assuming you didn't demux the streams and it's in a VOB container, MPEG2 source from DVD). So, for example you would rip (in IFO parsing mode, let's say) the main movie of your DVD of choice, then load that into StaxRip. You could then perform the sub demux and burn-in by adding a line to the queue and putting it in the AVS script, could you not?

stax76

19th December 2005, 08:20

The ultimate question is why burn in subtitles when optional subtitles could be used?

Doom9

19th December 2005, 12:53

The ultimate question is why burn in subtitles when optional subtitles could be used?I guess forced subs would be such a case.. so far unless authoring a DVD there's no way to make sure that a certain subtitle stream will be shown at a certain time. But I guess I just gave you another Christmas headache to worry about.. that's why MeGUI does no subs except muxing in existing ones.

chipzoller

19th December 2005, 14:40

The ultimate question is why burn in subtitles when optional subtitles could be used?

How about if you're encoding a foreign film and the spoken language is something other than English (assuming you only speak English) and the subs are in English. Also, if you're making an AVI and not a DIVX container you'd have to keep AVI and subtitle together (most likely). Most of the time when I encode using subtitles I always burn them in, because I'm using them for films in which I would always have them on anyway.

stax76

19th December 2005, 15:36

Thought about, only thing I'm not sure yet is how to do the GUI, should it be in the options, in the AviSynth menu or maybe some AviSynth wizard or has anybody a better idea? It should be intuitiv as I'm currently spend much thought on how to make StaxRip more accessible for the novice user.

chipzoller

19th December 2005, 16:36

Well, this isn't something that is vitally important, but would really make StaxRip stand out.

As for where to put it, if the option is checked, could it be put right after the operation starts, after the d2v project file is created?

stax76

19th December 2005, 17:20

Automated ripping would happen as one of many task opening a source but it would only work if the ifo filename contains the pgc, DVD Decrypter has a option for this.

chipzoller

19th December 2005, 17:32

So you could put an option box in the settings like "demux main subtitle PGC" so that users can elect to demux subtitles or not.

My only point in all this being if all other aspects of video processing are streamlined, it doesn't fit to have subtitles be completely manual and tedious if not necessary.

stax76

19th December 2005, 17:50

So you could put an option box in the settings like "demux main subtitle PGC" so that users can elect to demux subtitles or not.

Yes, it's likely be called "Demux DVD subtitles".

stax76

19th December 2005, 19:07

I wonder what are the most reasonable presets for audio encoding, currently there are only three audio encoding profiles:

MP3 CBR 160 KBit/s: BeSweet -core( -input "" -output "" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -lame( -p --alt-preset cbr 160 )
MP3 VBR 128 KBit/s: BeSweet -core( -input "" -output "" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -lame( -p --alt-preset 128 )
AAC-HE 80 KBit/s: BeSweet -core( -input "" -output "" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -bsn( -2ch -vbr_normal )

I'm sure there is much room for improvements, AAC multichannel is missing completely. Also I'm wondering if the delay should rather be handled by the audio encoder or rather by the muxer like it is right now.

The muxers and audio encoders interact to insure the delay is handled exactly once, all this happens fully automated, I just need to know how to put the presets.

ricardo.santos

19th December 2005, 19:50

How about if you're encoding a foreign film and the spoken language is something other than English (assuming you only speak English) and the subs are in English. Also, if you're making an AVI and not a DIVX container you'd have to keep AVI and subtitle together (most likely). Most of the time when I encode using subtitles I always burn them in, because I'm using them for films in which I would always have them on anyway.

Lets see: you want to see your native language subtitle on your foreingn spoken movie? i encounter this problem "all the time" and going by"the optional subtitle " way works for me.

example: i bought "taxi 3" a French movie.

French language
portuguese subtitles

i converte the movie to avi(divx)
ripped the dvd subs with subrip and saved them as srt
used Divxmux to creat a xsub from the srt sub and muxed it to the avi file

Final result: A divx file with a portuguese selectable subtitle that works perfectly on any divx player,

lets say my french uncle comes and visites me, he can switch the subs off on the divx player(hardware) and watch the divx file without the portuguese subs

Doesnt StaxRip do this in "1 step"?

Burnedin/hardcoded?! No more

chipzoller

20th December 2005, 07:27

Let's be clear about one important processing aspect of subtitles:

What I'm suggesting is a demux of the subtitles (whatever predominant stream it may be) in bitmap form (i.e. VobSub format). To convert the subs into text requires user intervention, something that is probably not feasible in this situation.

For instance, you could have (and select) an option to demux and add subtitles by the stream that identifies itself as 'English' (if it works that way; most commercial DVDs do) to any video project that you wish. If you wanted to take control of it yourself and demux and OCR them into text, that's fine, but probably too complex for this type of integration (SubRip is good, but not ready for this type of autopilot control seeing as how the technology of character recognition isn't perfect).

Really the only time I create a video with subtitles is when I would always watch it with the subtitles. For instance, I own a DVD called "Habana Blues" produced in Spain. The spoken language is Spanish, and seeing as how my Spanish is not quite fluent (enough), I would encode the movie using English subs and would select to burn them in. If ever I watch the movie, I'm obviously going to want the subtitles on. The same would probably hold true for anime videos or name your own equivalent.

stax76

21st December 2005, 00:45

0.9.1.6 (2005-12-21)

new: Null Encoder to remux a already encoded project.
new: Auto Compressibility Check option.
new: Auto Mode: Normally StaxRip performs various tasks directly after a source file is opened like demuxing, auto crop, auto resize etc. In Auto Mode all this tasks are performed when the encoding is started (either manually or by the joblist).
new: Profiles can be edited from within the profiles dialog, even encoder and AviSynth profiles!
change: Simplified AviSynth menu.

I hope using profiles is now easier, changing this required a lot code to change so I hope no bugs slipped through.

chipzoller

21st December 2005, 05:41

Yes! Using iprofiles is much easier now! Nice work, I'm going to try an encode out tonight.
One thing...is it possible to display the total encode time? I looked for an option but didn't see it...I may be missing something.

thanks for your hard work. I can definately see this program coming out on top of most others out there.

stax76

21st December 2005, 20:55

One thing...is it possible to display the total encode time? I looked for an option but didn't see it...I may be missing something.

Only the display of the encoder e.g. VirtualDubMod displays it.

Chris Benoit

21st December 2005, 21:05

Can this programm be used to encode compatible for psp mp4 avcs?

Doom9

21st December 2005, 21:10

Can this programm be used to encode compatible for psp mp4 avcs?What is an avc? ;) You mean a PSP compatible MP4 file using the AVC codec..
Just as MeGUI you can use this software, and there are the same limitations (you still need to use the atomchanger after encoding).

Chris Benoit

21st December 2005, 23:02

Of course that's what i meant! :)

So is there any psp profile available for this program.It seems nice,but i'm having some difficulties using it.

How can i add the avs lines on the filters section?And what features shall i avoid to make a compatible mp4 for psp?

stax76

21st December 2005, 23:33

So is there any psp profile available for this program

I'm sorry no but you might create one yourself, x264 work is stopped until there is more feedback!

It seems nice,but i'm having some difficulties using it.

I try to make it as easy as possible so maybe you can tell me what is difficult, maybe I find a way to make it easier.

How can i add the avs lines on the filters section?

What exactly do you want to achieve and ain't this documented?

ricardo.santos

21st December 2005, 23:42

I try to make it as easy as possible so maybe you can tell me what is difficult, maybe I find a way to make it easier.

i have a question on the following screenshot, why are there up and down buttons? to select a codec to use isnt it enough to select it and press load?

thanks

Chris Benoit

21st December 2005, 23:48

I try to make it as easy as possible so maybe you can tell me what is difficult, maybe I find a way to make it easier.

The audio profile you select must be the profile for the source or output audio?Cause i want ofcource lc-aac for psp,i've selected lc-aac i open an avi select settings and next,and then it says The audio profile you selected doesn't match the source file.

What exactly do you want to achieve and ain't this documented?

I'm confused as for the input of the values in the scripts.So it has crop,resize,etc.How can i select the number i want to be in the parenthesis?I've made a category named framerate,added script with Name ChangeFPS and script ChangeFPS() but now i want to register the value for the specified filter,that would be 29.97.

stax76

21st December 2005, 23:54

i have a question on the following screenshot, why are there up and down buttons? to select a codec to use isnt it enough to select it and press load?

Just in case somebody want's a special order, I'm not sure yet if it's a important feature. :p

The audio profile you select must be the profile for the source or output audio?Cause i want ofcource lc-aac for psp,i've selected lc-aac i open an avi select settings and next,and then it says The audio profile you selected doesn't match the source file.

I guess those warnings could be clearer, what's your source, what's the audio profile and what's the muxer? All this must obviously be compatible.

I'm confused as for the input of the values in the scripts.So it has crop,resize,etc.How can i select the number i want to be in the parenthesis?

You don't have to change this by hand, do you understand what a macro is, most serious applications work with macros, it's a fundamental concept important to understand if you want to do anything advanced with StaxRip.

I've made a category named framerate,added script with Name ChangeFPS and script ChangeFPS() but now i want to register the value for the specified filter,that would be 29.97.

Sounds like you want to create a filter profile. Did you try to follow the walkthrough in the help?

ricardo.santos

22nd December 2005, 00:22

i have a question on the following screenshot, why are there up and down buttons? to select a codec to use isnt it enough to select it and press load?

In my opinion wouldnt it be simpler to have a drop down menu displaying the codecs and upon clicking on it it would load it and close the codec selection menu, same thing with the muxer menu

just my opinion

stax76

22nd December 2005, 00:59

In my opinion wouldnt it be simpler to have a drop down menu displaying the codecs and upon clicking on it it would load it and close the codec selection menu, same thing with the muxer menu

Loading would be quite a bit easier yes.

ricardo.santos

22nd December 2005, 01:04

One questuion Stax:

an important feature in STaxRip is the ability to have xsubs but ive encoded 3 dvds so far and havent been able to get multiple xsubs. Staxrip produces the DMF fikle but without xsubs

iveselected divx codec, mux with divxmux and the vobsub plugin

Chris Benoit

22nd December 2005, 01:09

You don't have to change this by hand, do you understand what a macro is, most serious applications work with macros, it's a fundamental concept important to understand if you want to do anything advanced with StaxRip.

I've only heard of macro,i haven't actually worked with it.

Sounds like you want to create a filter profile. Did you try to follow the walkthrough in the help?

No i haven't yet...

Your program looks prommising!I'm very busy at the moment taking care of some things before i head out for Christmas,but i will certainly look more into your programm when i find some time!

stax76

22nd December 2005, 01:44

an important feature in STaxRip is the ability to have xsubs but ive encoded 3 dvds so far and havent been able to get multiple xsubs. Staxrip produces the DMF fikle but without xsubs

You have to load the DivX muxer and open the config dialog of the DivX muxer. In the config dialog you have to open a IDX file. The IDX file can be created with VSRip. Once the IDX file is loaded you can select which languages to mux.

I've only heard of macro,i haven't actually worked with it.

It's really simple, maybe you know environment variables in windows, that's pretty much the same. In StaxRip macros are used everywhere, without macros you can forget about most of the profile features and most of the flexibility and you are forced into a linear way of doing things like in GordianKnot.

ricardo.santos

22nd December 2005, 01:57

You have to load the DivX muxer and open the config dialog of the DivX muxer. In the config dialog you have to open a IDX file. The IDX file can be created with VSRip. Once the IDX file is loaded you can select which languages to mux.

GOT IT!

will have a go at it tomorrow

thanks

Chris Benoit

22nd December 2005, 08:22

It's really simple, maybe you know environment variables in windows, that's pretty much the same. In StaxRip macros are used everywhere, without macros you can forget about most of the profile features and most of the flexibility and you are forced into a linear way of doing things like in GordianKnot.

Where can i find some documentetation for it?

stax76

22nd December 2005, 12:48

Where can i find some documentetation for it?

I describe it in the docs as followed:

Macros are placeholders used in command lines, scripts and other customizable settings. Before e.g. a command line is executed macros in the command line get replaced with real values.

If you for instance look at a audio profile it looks as followed:

"%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -lame( -p --alt-preset cbr 160 )

So before StaxRip executes this command line it will replace %application:BeSweet% with the actual path of BeSweet that you have selected in the External Application dialog. %input% will get replaced with the audio source file selected in the main dialog.

mod

22nd December 2005, 14:05

@Stax: I've been able to solve the bitrate control problem on 2 pass XviD encoding. I saw that the problem wasn't only with your software, so I made a deep manual registry cleaning and now it works fine with latest Celtic Druid build, ty for the nice tool :)

PS: I've noted that Aspect 2.1.0 and StaxRip sometimes give different AR %errors with the same resolution settings..

stax76

22nd December 2005, 15:21

@Stax: I've been able to solve the bitrate control problem on 2 pass XviD encoding. I saw that the problem wasn't only with your software, so I made a deep manual registry cleaning and now it works fine with latest Celtic Druid build, ty for the nice tool

When ever you install another XviD or DivX build StaxRip will notice it and reset the StaxRip encoder profile as well as the XviD or DivX registry key. Hard to tell what happened but it's OK when it works now.

I've noted that Aspect 2.1.0 and StaxRip sometimes give different AR %errors with the same resolution settings..

You can load your source in GK and compare the values, it should be equal unless there is a bug somewhere.

mod

22nd December 2005, 15:27

I will :)

ricardo.santos

22nd December 2005, 22:21

Hi everyone!

Finally i managed to get xsubs with StaxRip.

on my first tests to produce xsubs i was encoding 10m vob clips "cut" with dvdshrink from my dvds, it seem VSrip doesnt extract the idxfiles properly when opening these clips done by dvdshrink.

once i copied a full lenght dvd and extracted the full stream with Vsrip i got the xsubs muxed in the final DMF file.

just wish this process could be done without the user action(extracting), vsrip would extract all sub streams automatically and present the user with a selection of subs to be muxed.

Great job Stax on what is shaping up as a really good program!!

stax76

22nd December 2005, 23:05

on my first tests to produce xsubs i was encoding 10m vob clips "cut" with dvdshrink from my dvds, it seem VSrip doesnt extract the idxfiles properly when opening these clips done by dvdshrink.

Maybe you didn't use the proper PGC number which VSRip requires. In VSRip you can select the PGC number in the left column. Hint: DVD Decrypter has a option to write the PGC number to the file name.

just wish this process could be done without the user action(extracting), vsrip would extract all sub streams automatically and present the user with a selection of subs to be muxed.

Yes, there is room for more automation and streamlining.

Great job Stax on what is shaping up as a really good program!!

Thanks, I'm glad it works now for you!

ricardo.santos

24th December 2005, 17:39

Hi
i was trying to convert a small clip using x264. Everything goes fine. VLC plays the MP4 file fine but i cant hear the audio track.

i opened the audio AAc file StaxRip produced with VLC and it played it.

any suggestions? im using latest VLC version

JoeBG

25th December 2005, 08:27

ricardo.santos

25th December 2005, 15:34

nero showtime plays the file fine, VLC doesnt

stax76

25th December 2005, 20:31

0.9.1.7 (2005-12-25)

change: streamlined profile and quality mode features.
new: Easy way to add forced subtitles.

It looks like there will be a focus shift for the StaxRip development. I've learned from this and other boards that novice users have lot's of problems figuring out how to use StaxRip while there is little feedback from expert users. In DVX I've always tried to reach novice and expert users alike but with little success. I don't want to do the same mistake for StaxRip and rather focus on trying to make things a lot more easier. This means there won't be time left for many advanced features. I hardly have time to support all 100 x264 options just like I hardly have time to support all options of the two upcoming XviD cli encoders. Not being a expert with all this codecs is another problem. Maybe I could move all this stuff into a library and try to find people working with me on it, for instance if somebody works on a similar application and want to use this dialogs as well he could work with me on such a library. If this won't happen I'll only be able to support maybe 10 options for each encoder.

Franky

25th December 2005, 20:57

It seems StaxRip won't work on 64bit Windows XP, since it seems to think that AviSynth won't work when residing in c:\windows\syswow64 instead of c:\windows\system32.

stax76

25th December 2005, 21:05

Does anybody know what's the deal with syswow64, I'm using this code to determine the sys dir:

Environment.SystemDirectory

Aladdin

25th December 2005, 21:58

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the lack of feedback means that people have very little trouble with using your app. I've started to use it instead of MeGUI for converting .avi to a format the iPod likes. Both apps work quite similarly, but I like the greater flexibility StaxRip offers. The iPod is extremely picky with encoder settings and your app allows a completely custom command line. The greater flexibility does make it a bit more difficult to figure out how it works, but only a bit.

I have only two small problems. I store a default target resolution and bitrate in the default project, but every time I open a new file these values are changed. There seems to be some logic behind it, but I'm not sure what that logic is. It's easy enough to reset the values to how I want them, but it is an extra step away from just "open file and press 'next' to encode" after having setup all the profiles.

Another problems doesn't seem to come from your app, but from avi2wav. It doesn't extract the VBR mp3 tracks from the avi files I have been transcoding. Extracting with virtualdub before opening the file in staxrip does make staxrip autoselect the mp3 file, but it would be nice to have it working without the extra step of virtualdub.

Apart from that, thank you for a very nice app :)

Franky

25th December 2005, 23:19

I'm guessing the problem is that when Environment.SystemDirectory is called, it returns system32, since that is the correct system folder for 64-bit apps, and since StaxRip is using .NET 2, it in effect is a 64-bit app.

stax76

25th December 2005, 23:43

I've started to use it instead of MeGUI for converting .avi to a format the iPod likes. Both apps work quite similarly, but I like the greater flexibility StaxRip offers. The iPod is extremely picky with encoder settings and your app allows a completely custom command line. The greater flexibility does make it a bit more difficult to figure out how it works, but only a bit.

Good to hear the CLI stuff works since I don't use it.

I have only two small problems. I store a default target resolution and bitrate in the default project, but every time I open a new file these values are changed. There seems to be some logic behind it, but I'm not sure what that logic is. It's easy enough to reset the values to how I want them, but it is an extra step away from just "open file and press 'next' to encode" after having setup all the profiles.

Target resolution get adjusted when you use the option Auto Resize (Options/Automation) which is default (dunno what is more popular), I have it enabled.

Bitrate depend on the target lenght and size so the reason why it changes is the target length changes, the size stays. This might be a limitation, if you like we can examine it further, normally people aim for a file size while other (e.g. me) use quality mode (fixed quant), doesn't the iPod fit in traditional encoding methods?

Another problems doesn't seem to come from your app, but from avi2wav. It doesn't extract the VBR mp3 tracks from the avi files I have been transcoding. Extracting with virtualdub before opening the file in staxrip does make staxrip autoselect the mp3 file, but it would be nice to have it working without the extra step of virtualdub.

It does extract the MP3 but as pseudo wav file, what is needed here is a cli demuxer and a command line to make it work, maybe somebody has a idea. Maybe even VirtualDub can be used as VD's CLI can pass args into scripts, maybe somebody can post a example.

I'm much interseted in sample clips other than PAL DVD/DVB btw. so if anybody has something that is not handled well please send it. I plan a auto deinterlace feature and could use some samples for that as well.

http://www.yousendit.com/

I'm guessing the problem is that when Environment.SystemDirectory is called, it returns system32, since that is the correct system folder for 64-bit apps, and since StaxRip is using .NET 2, it in effect is a 64-bit app.

Do all the applications you want to control with StaxRip work if you use them manually?

ricardo.santos

25th December 2005, 23:56

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing the lack of feedback means that people have very little trouble with using your app.

i agree, up tiil now i only had diffculty in creating DMF with xsubs and how to change audio bitrate(commandline)

On my first attempts with x264 i couldnt figure it out how to do it with MEGUI and with StaxRip it worked the first time(even i was surprised with it) every function was where it was supposed to be.

i think the lack of feedback means that users arent having problems with it!

In my opinion the new Encoder and Muxer selection menu are just right

Good Job Stax

Franky

26th December 2005, 00:08

Do all the applications you want to control with StaxRip work if you use them manually?

Yes, they all work absolutely no problem, since they are 32-bit and look in syswow64 for the dlls. I guess there should be some way to check both dirs for the dlls?

TEB

26th December 2005, 02:58

Well this is my first venture into stax-encodings.. and i couldnt get my little HD-Mpeg2-ts --> HD.x264 project to work.. it ends at :

System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at StaxRip.MP4BoxMuxer.Mux()
at StaxRip.MainForm.Encode()
at StaxRip.MainForm.bSkip_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)

(it does all the ts demuxing and audio transcoding, and when its supposed to start encoding with x264 it blinks and goes back to the gui and says an error)

any idea?

And another thing: How does one really set a new target directory for the encodes, demuxing and so on? I click on the target directory option but i just get the current one up and i cannot select anything..

Aladdin

26th December 2005, 12:44

Target resolution get adjusted when you use the option Auto Resize (Options/Automation) which is default (dunno what is more popular), I have it enabled.

Ah, sorry, I was still using version 0.9.1.6 where the option to disable auto resize wasn't there yet. With it disabled it works nicely for me.

Bitrate depend on the target lenght and size so the reason why it changes is the target length changes, the size stays.

Seems logical. I don't much care about the final size (within limits), but the reason I use bitrate instead of fixed quant is that the iPod has a hardware limited bitrate. I guess this is too much of a special case to implement a workflow for it. I'm not really bothered by the way it works now.

It does extract the MP3 but as pseudo wav file

I know that is what it is supposed to do, but it didn't for the files I was transcoding. It does indeed for other files that I tried. The only difference between the files is that one contained a VBR mp3 track (didn't work) and the other a CBR mp3 track (no problems there). I can't share the files, but if further examination is needed, just ask.

stax76

26th December 2005, 13:40

@TEB

I would need a bug report generated from StaxRip to find out why the x264 encoding failed. Didn't StaxRip offer to generate a bug report after the crash?

@Franky

I'll upload a hotfix later today.

@Aladdin

I'll look for a additional avi demuxer. Your source is a AVI file containing MP3 VBR and DivX/XviD?

Aladdin

26th December 2005, 16:32

@TEB
I'll look for a additional avi demuxer. Your source is a AVI file containing MP3 VBR and DivX/XviD?

Yep, that's right (XviD). I've looked for another CLI avi demuxer myself, but haven't found one that works under windows. I've also looked into VirtualDub, but it doesn't seem it's possible to add the 'Save WAV' option to a job list. So I don't think it is possible to use a script in VD from the command line. But I could be wrong, since I have no experience with VD scripting.

TEB

26th December 2005, 18:17

stax, email sent.

stax76

26th December 2005, 18:35

The scripting doc contains something which could be the thing we need:

void SaveWAV(string filename); (VirtualDub 1.4d or later)

Runs the processing engine to produce an output file in WAV format.

I can give it a try but since when supports VD MP3 VBR?

stax, email sent.

Thanks, I hope being able to code a little bit today, quite a bit posting (pm/mail/other boards...) going on today.

chipzoller

26th December 2005, 20:36

Stax, new build looks good. Although I do agree with you that the interface is a bit complicated for newbies. Just depends on to what group you're gearing this app.

Aladdin

27th December 2005, 00:01

The scripting doc contains something which could be the thing we need:
Looks like it indeed.
I can give it a try but since when supports VD MP3 VBR?
It doesn't. But just for demuxing no processing is done on the streams. For me, VD hasn't failed yet using this function. On the other hand, it might be quite a bit of overkill to use VD solely for demuxing an avi. But for now I can't think of an alternative.

ricardo.santos

27th December 2005, 00:46

I can give it a try but since when supports VD MP3 VBR?

It doesn't.

i found this, dont know if it will help, just remembered about it.

VirtualDub with MP3 VBR support (http://www.videohelp.com/download/vdub_mp3_freeze.zip)

stax76

27th December 2005, 01:07

@TEB

You've selected Pass 3 in All Pass mode and this changed all passes to use pass 3. I've should disabled this option in All Pass mode.

TEB

27th December 2005, 01:15

Hi. Im exatcly sure what u mean, i just turned on 3 passes to get the maximum quality :)

fogbav

27th December 2005, 09:33

Excelent app ! Great ... exactly what a TS (DVB) to Format XXX needs ...8)

Thank you 4 this great app !

-EDIT- found the command line syntax for encoding ac3-> HE-AAC 5.1

(-core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -bsn( -6chnew -vbr_normal )

tnx

Is there a chance to do Cutting in Project X (GUI ?) as first step and then do the complete encoding process ? DVB Streams are not exactly recorded so i have to cut off leading commercials etc ...

Would be a nice feature .... 8)

stax76

27th December 2005, 11:43

Is there a chance to do Cutting in Project X (GUI ?) as first step and then do the complete encoding process ? DVB Streams are not exactly recorded so i have to cut off leading commercials etc ...

I don't think it's possible, you can of yourse use ProjectX by hand and then open the demuxed files.

fogbav

27th December 2005, 14:01

Jup ... ok ... seems logical ...8)

First Rips are running ... perfect ... thank you very much again for this "heavy duty" App !
Go and sell it to Ahead so they know how "recode" can look like when its nearly perfect ..8)

chipzoller

27th December 2005, 16:03

Would it be possible to add a job timer somewhere? I would like to be able to see the total job time on encodes to see how long a job has taken with certain settings and across different machines. I've got your prog. on about 5 machines all with different hardware and am testing out encoding times with various AVI synth filters. I think this would be a great addition.

thanks

stax76

27th December 2005, 16:26

Would be the overall time at the end of a encode's log file OK? IMHO I got it all wrong with the x264 dialog, I think I can do better. There were absolutely no positive feedback about the intermediate state feature but quite a few bug reports because of a wrong intermediate state configuration that I didn't verify. I'll dump this feature, make it easier using automated modes while giving control over the turbo switches, add verifications, add a bitrate/quant slider and maybe even add the x264 logo on top. Before everything I have to fix the pending bugs.

mezzanine

27th December 2005, 17:03

Very nice GUI. Great job stax.

chipzoller

27th December 2005, 17:21

How about just displaying the total job time somewhere in the window? Or maybe make an option to have a box pop up with the time...I don't know. Whatever you think is best.

stax76

27th December 2005, 17:38

@mezzanine

:thanks:

@chipzoller

You mean once a job is finshed displaying how long it took in the job window? I tend to keep everything related processing as elementary as possible. As soon as the processing starts threads are involved and features here usually end up in much complexity and work and if things go worse subtle bugs.

chipzoller

27th December 2005, 17:42

Or just some way that Staxrip shows the total processing time of a given job is all I'm after, whether it be shown in the main window or in the log file. I just need to see some time frame in which jobs are completed. This is useful for a variety of reasons and should really be available in staxrip.

stax76

27th December 2005, 18:04

@chipzoller

You mean predicting the total time it takes to encode a project, it's not possible. The processing applications calculate and display values while processing. Once things are completed writing it to the job file is easy.

chipzoller

27th December 2005, 18:20

I don't mean predicting the total time, I mean displaying the total time AFTER the encoding process is finished. Meaning, starting a time from the beginning of the job and displaying the time it took to complete the job somewhere, either in a log file or other.
I'm thinking of how GordianKnot displays the complete job time when the encoding is finished in the log window...something like that.

stax76

27th December 2005, 18:39

I'll write it to the log file.

chipzoller

27th December 2005, 18:48

Great, thanks very much! I look forward to testing it out.

dinolib

27th December 2005, 19:29

Hi stax,

I'm playing with your new tool. Very interesting.
After a mini test, I have some tiny question:

- x264 automatically downloaded is rel. 334, very old. Do you think to keep it up to date, in the future?

- using Trellis, encoding fails (both kind) silently. Does exist a log file where read codec output (or x264 output)? Do you know the reasons of the error? Same problem with latest x264.
Manually running cl get me an "unknown option ( )" error. MeGUI with the same settings has no problems.

cmd line:

"x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 1443 --stats "HPII.stats" --ref 4 --bframes 5 --trellis 1 --progress --no-psnr --output NUL "HPII.avs"

- Did you planned to include x264 profile management in future releases?

Anyway, thank you for your great program!

bye

stax76

27th December 2005, 20:30

x264 automatically downloaded is rel. 334, very old. Do you think to keep it up to date, in the future?

Yes, lately there were more interest so yes I'll work on x264 related things soon.

using Trellis, encoding fails (both kind) silently.

I don't know, maybe you can find out executing it manually?

Did you planned to include x264 profile management in future releases?

There is a profile feature, only thing missing is some default profiles. It's likely a frequently requested feature (you are not the first asking) and thus will likely come, it's not really easy.

digidragon

27th December 2005, 20:34

Very nice front-end. Just trying it out now.

Is there a reason why it doesn't allow x264 in an avi container?

Sirber

27th December 2005, 22:18

Is there a reason why it doesn't allow x264 in an avi container?Not standard. Time to move to a standard one... MP4 or MKV.

sillKotscha

27th December 2005, 22:55

Not standart. Time to move to a standart one... MP4 or MKV.

standar_D_!

:)

Sirber

27th December 2005, 23:04

4) Be nice to each other and respect the moderator. Profanity and insults will not be tolerated.:devil: ;)

stax76

28th December 2005, 01:52

@Franky

Sorry about the delay, here is the fix for 64 bit system: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

I wouldn't be surprised if more 64 bit system related bugs crop up.

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 02:22

ok i am going to give this a try on my 64 bit system and see what the humbug is about.

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 02:43

ok am i missing some readmes staxrip dosent seem to see avisynth on my win 64 o/s Mr.Stax can you point me to some readmes on what i need to do to set it up.

thank you for your time your app and your help.

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 03:02

ok making some progress got OK's on most of the stuff required

stax76

28th December 2005, 03:13

I've uploaded another 64 bit hotfix which searches now in both sys dirs: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 03:16

so how do i install

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 03:19

ok i unzipped it and clicked on .exe and downloaded what it says it was missing and now it says all application are ok

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 03:24

ok look slike i get an StaxRip error Box....an error occured while processing DGIndex

edit DGIndex or send bug report

stax76

28th December 2005, 08:32

@Nrmf

Probably some wrong configuration or another 64 bit bug. If you don't find a problem you can always make a bug report.

@Aladdin

Here is a thread about avi demuxing:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104698

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 14:58

well it seems that it doent generate a bug report properly either

Nrmf

28th December 2005, 15:15

whats your email

stax76

28th December 2005, 15:39

That's much of a problem because I cannot fix a bug without a bug report. My email address can be found in the support section of the help.

Aladdin

28th December 2005, 15:42

@Stax

Simply passing a small script to VD from the command line seems to work just fine.

// $numjobs 1
// $script

VirtualDub.Open(<'\' escaped path to .avi file>,"",0);
VirtualDub.SaveWAV(<'\' escaped path to .wav file>);
VirtualDub.Close();

// $endjob
//
//--------------------------------------------------
// $done

Save to script.vcf and invoke with
VirtualDub.exe /s"script.vcf" /x

AVI2WAV seems to work just fine in most cases. Maybe you could add the use of VD as a demuxer as an option for people who prefer it or for the cases in which AVI2WAV fails.

BTW, I just noticed the fact that the files that AVI2WAV choked on contained a VBR stream doesn't seem to be the problem. Other avi files also containing such a stream are handled without a problem by AVI2WAV. I'm starting to think that if noone else has had a problem with AVI2WAV there is no need to implement an alternative at all.

chiklit

28th December 2005, 17:12

This is my first post here so hopefully you won't find me to be a nuissance. :)

Anyway, I just tried the program out and while it seems like a good concept, I'm not to sure about the implimentation.

Some gripes I have with the program:

It requires .NET (I'm glad they at least partially got rid of this in Delphi 2006, but no such luck for VB). IMHO .NET is just some bloated thing Microsoft invented to try and intigrate everything but it just seems to bog prorgams written in it down.
Everytime you do something for the first time a help windows pops up right in front of the window you were just about to work in. This doesn't really seem necessary since there's a help button on almost every form and makes using the program for the first time really annoying.
When it crashes it doesn't ask where to save the debug file. I don't know about everyone else but my desktop is not a place where I'd put a file I actually want to find :P
This might be because I downloaded the source instead of the release, but once I tried to load a file for the first time it poped up asking me to download a bunch of programs. Most of them I already had installed but it either found the wrong version or didn't find them at all. It would be nice to be able to simply tell it the directory for each of the apps in addition to being able to download them. A download all function would also be nice. If this is different in the non-source release then just ignore this.
When you do something there isn't much indication that what you did had any effect. Like when I uncheck resize the resize options don't disable themselves and still allow me to change them leading to some confusion as to whether or not resize is actually disabled. Same with crop when you disable it the cropped size is still shown as different under the input file instead of the same as the original.
The interface is a bit counter-intuitive at least for me. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that I needed to use the next button to go forwards, I was looking for an 'Encode' button and though the next button was just to go to the next hint down at the bottom.

Now for the bugs I saw:

This might not be a bug but even though noise and subtitle are shown on the filters setup box they don't show up in the list on the main form.
When it asked me to perform a compressability test it poped open a dos window but even after a few minutes it didn't seem to be doing anything so I ended up aborting.

Suggestions:

It's sort of difficult to tell what encoder and muxer your using you should probably use a check menu to indicate what encoder/muxer your using. It would also be nice to have the option to change these from the main form without having to go to the menu since it's one of the most often changed settings.
It'd be nice to have the program recgonize irregular resolutions from the uncropped/resized original instead of just on the resize adjuster since it still let me encode even though x264 said that since one of the demensions was not divisible by 16 it might effect the compression.
Since you already have the box at the bottom indicating what all the buttons do you should probably also have a tooltip on the labels for things like quality and compressability saying what the numbers there indicate.
This might just be this one error, but when you have crop disabled and then go to crop in the menu instead of saying that the filter setup doesn't allow cropping it should say something like "You must enable crop in the filters list first." Or when you uncheck crop in the filters list disable crop in the menus options.
There doesn't seem to be a precise way to adjust the cropping. You might want to do something like in virtualdub with cropping so you can adjust the values more precisely.
I don't really know why this occurs so it might be a bug but when you switch to x264 in the encoder menu it also switches to mp4 in the muxer options if this is a bug then ignore this, but if it's a feature then the menu option should probably only do what it says since having it change both the encoder and the muxer when you only expect it to change the encoder is a bit confusing.

Sorry if I came off as a bit over critical and I understand that the program is still in testing but hopefully you found some of my suggestions useful.

stax76

28th December 2005, 18:13

@chiklit

Thanks for your feedback. Is it possible you rush things a little bit? :)

chiklit

28th December 2005, 18:22

@chiklit

Thanks for your feedback. Is it possible you rush things a little bit? :)

You mean judging too quickly or working too fast? Or perhaps a little of both ;)

stax76

28th December 2005, 19:06

I mean for instance point 4, but there are many rushed points.

This might be because I downloaded the source instead of the release, but once I tried to load a file for the first time it poped up asking me to download a bunch of programs. Most of them I already had installed but it either found the wrong version or didn't find them at all. It would be nice to be able to simply tell it the directory for each of the apps in addition to being able to download them. A download all function would also be nice. If this is different in the non-source release then just ignore this.

There is a Search button in the External Applications dialog to locate existing apps. This button is well documented in the help that pops up when the dialog is opened the first time, it has a tooltip like everything.

chiklit

28th December 2005, 19:35

I mean for instance point 4, but there are many rushed points.

There is a Search button in the External Applications dialog to locate existing apps. This button is well documented in the help that pops up when the dialog is opened the first time, it has a tooltip like everything.

Yeah, I noticed that, but I figured it'd be eaiser to configure that by just specifiying a directory like when you went to the external app menu you could pick and app and then double click under where it says path and just specifiy a path in addition to being able to use the search function to find things. I think "Searches a already installed application." should be "Searches for an already installed application." though

As for being rushed, yeah I did write that a bit hurriedly since those were only my first impressions, if there's anything else you want me to elaborate on let me know. I'd help fix some stuff myself since I've been programming in VB and Delphi for about 6 years now but since I mostly program in Delphi now I don't have Visual Studio installed.

stax76

28th December 2005, 19:59

Yeah, I noticed that, but I figured it'd be eaiser to just let the user tell the program where each specific app is like when you went to the external app menu you could pick and app and then double click under where it says path and just specifiy a path, having to go to the whole process with the search menu and having two different kinds of searchs seems like a bit much to just specify a single directory.

There is probably room for improvements but no matter how you do it it will be boring to pick up the paths. Currently I don't have a clear vision how to improve it so I hope to get feedback to clear the fog.

double click under where it says path and just specifiy a path

You mean extending the custum control to add sort of button?

chiklit

28th December 2005, 20:02

You mean extending the custum control to add sort of button?

Yeah something like that. Like in avisynth's installer when you pick to install the vdub plugin you click the [...] button and tell it where the virtualdub directory is.

stax76

28th December 2005, 20:16

I agree it would intuitive but still hope to find a way avoiding to mess with my custom control as it takes time. It can scroll, scale but non of the item classes can embed child controls yet.

chiklit

28th December 2005, 20:35

You could add another button to the toolbar with something like "Specify Location"

stax76

28th December 2005, 20:47

I'll add it.

mulrich

28th December 2005, 22:14

stax76

28th December 2005, 22:49

It requires .NET (I'm glad they at least partially got rid of this in Delphi 2006, but no such luck for VB). IMHO .NET is just some bloated thing Microsoft invented to try and intigrate everything but it just seems to bog prorgams written in it down.

I'm not too fond of Delphi either ;)

When it crashes it doesn't ask where to save the debug file. I don't know about everyone else but my desktop is not a place where I'd put a file I actually want to find :P

I thought most users use the desktop for tasks like this, your method would be a addituional step for most users.

Everytime you do something for the first time a help windows pops up right in front of the window you were just about to work in. This doesn't really seem necessary since there's a help button on almost every form and makes using the program for the first time really annoying.

I should have done a global option, it's not too late.

When you do something there isn't much indication that what you did had any effect. Like when I uncheck resize the resize options don't disable themselves and still allow me to change them leading to some confusion as to whether or not resize is actually disabled. Same with crop when you disable it the cropped size is still shown as different under the input file instead of the same as the original.

I understand what you mean, probably difficult to do

The interface is a bit counter-intuitive at least for me. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that I needed to use the next button to go forwards, I was looking for an 'Encode' button and though the next button was just to go to the next hint down at the bottom.

I think the assistant way is not bad, it gives many useful warnings and creates a workflow, maybe needs time to get used to it. I thought about giving control about what it should remind.

This might not be a bug but even though noise and subtitle are shown on the filters setup box they don't show up in the list on the main form.

It's configurable and the defaults are simple because it might be scary for novice users.

When it asked me to perform a compressability test it poped open a dos window but even after a few minutes it didn't seem to be doing anything so I ended up aborting.

x264 is a console app, maybe wrong x264 options, this stuff needs work and it's the next big thing, a new x264 config dialog.

It's sort of difficult to tell what encoder and muxer your using you should probably use a check menu to indicate what encoder/muxer your using. It would also be nice to have the option to change these from the main form without having to go to the menu since it's one of the most often changed settings.

Regarding checkboxes, wouldn't make sense, after the object is cloned there is no relation. I've noticed there is no indication but hadn't a great idea yet. About putting it on the form, how would you do that?

It'd be nice to have the program recgonize irregular resolutions from the uncropped/resized original instead of just on the resize adjuster since it still let me encode even though x264 said that since one of the demensions was not divisible by 16 it might effect the compression.

Didn't understand it.

Since you already have the box at the bottom indicating what all the buttons do you should probably also have a tooltip on the labels for things like quality and compressability saying what the numbers there indicate.

The What's This help would open a help topic if writing this wouldn't be that much of a pain :)

This might just be this one error, but when you have crop disabled and then go to crop in the menu instead of saying that the filter setup doesn't allow cropping it should say something like "You must enable crop in the filters list first." Or when you uncheck crop in the filters list disable crop in the menus options.

Needs work, yes

There doesn't seem to be a precise way to adjust the cropping. You might want to do something like in virtualdub with cropping so you can adjust the values more precisely.

Aren't the values in the status bar enough? Guess what happens when I was encoding with VirtualDub by hand? I thought no way me going to all this several times a day. So I started DVX 4 years ago, I cannot even remember what the crop dialog looks like.

I don't really know why this occurs so it might be a bug but when you switch to x264 in the encoder menu it also switches to mp4 in the muxer options if this is a bug then ignore this, but if it's a feature then the menu option should probably only do what it says since having it change both the encoder and the muxer when you only expect it to change the encoder is a bit confusing.

It's by design, looking at the menu nobody would expect this and this is bad. My considerations were changing a encoder will likely need another muxer, think of formats like avc, wmv, rv10 etc. This sound stupid but the other problem was I didn't know from where to open the muxer options so it was handy being able to make the muxer part of the encoder. The fact that the muxer options are avaiable in the encoder menu is a indication that the muxer is part of the encoder.

stax76

28th December 2005, 22:58

I don't know if this has already been requested, but I don't have time to read through all pages now: can you add an option to hardsub? I tried to add a filter to use TextSub, but AviSynth just complained about not knowing the command.

There is Tools/Add Forced Subtitle but this uses VobSub(). If you need another function for forced subtitles I'll have to work on it. How is TextSub() different? Where can I download it or is it a function of vsfilter too?

mulrich

29th December 2005, 13:27

There is Tools/Add Forced Subtitle but this uses VobSub(). If you need another function for forced subtitles I'll have to work on it. How is TextSub() different? Where can I download it or is it a function of vsfilter too?

Oh yeah, the VobSub thingie doesn't work either. I tried it and AviSynth says it doesn't know what VobSub means. TextSub is part of the VobSub download, I think.

TextSub is different, because it can work with text subs like SRT, SSA and ASS without losing formatting. VobSub can't do that as far as I know.

stax76

29th December 2005, 15:01

@mulrich

try this: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Macarse

29th December 2005, 16:17

goin to check it.

mulrich

29th December 2005, 17:38

@mulrich

try this: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Thanks, stax, works perfectly now! :D You should implement that as a permanent fix.

EDIT: Now I just need to be able to add multiple subtitle tracks ;)

Nrmf

30th December 2005, 00:12

Stax did u get me email on the eroors i am getting in win 64 bit pro

stax76

30th December 2005, 00:22

Now I just need to be able to add multiple subtitle tracks

Optional subtitles are already supported for mkv, mp4 and divx ;)

Stax did u get me email on the eroors i am getting in win 64 bit pro

I received only a project file. You said generating a bug report does not work after the crash. What if you generate a bug report from the main menu?

Nrmf

30th December 2005, 00:59

how do i do that stax

stax76

30th December 2005, 01:23

In the main menu choose Help and select Send Bug Report.

Nrmf

30th December 2005, 05:05

will not create a report that way either so i will manual enter what it says...

System Exception:AVIFileOpen failed
at staxrip.avifile.open(string filename)
at staxrip.avisynthdocument.synchronized()
at staxrip.avisynthdocument.GetFramerate()
at staxrip.globalclass.solvemacros(string value)
at staxrip.info.getmacros()
at staxrip.globalclass.sendbugreport(exception ex)

think thats got it...really hope that helps

mulrich

30th December 2005, 13:16

Optional subtitles are already supported for mkv, mp4 and divx ;)

Yar, well, I meant multiple hardsub tracks :P So I don't have to go and add an extra line in the AviSynth script manually everytime.

stax76

30th December 2005, 15:57

@Nrmf

Thanks for your endurance, I much appriate it. I can't promise you we will solve it until I got such a system but as long as people send debug info I'll work on it. I just got a report by another 64 bit user. Here is the next build:

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Yar, well, I meant multiple hardsub tracks :P So I don't have to go and add an extra line in the AviSynth script manually everytime.

Eh, I think I could need some clarification, how is gonna 2 forced subtitles at the same time work? Won't they blend each other or is there a way to adjust the hight?

swaaye

30th December 2005, 17:19

I've been using Staxrip for a couple days now. Few comments.

- Would be nice if the Staxrip window wasn't "frozen" while the program is running jobs. Hard to tell how many jobs are remaining this way.

- Be able to set it to just use 1 audio file instead of two if it detects two in folder. And be able to set it to only use AC3 files.

- Staxrip's auto crop is pretty poor. I've seen it crop huge parts of the top/bottom. It seems far too agressive. I've set mine up to use the Autocrop filter in the Filters flow (autocrop(mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples=10, aspect=-1,threshold=34,samplestartframe=1000,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
). I got the latest autocrop too, the one used in AutoGK as well. (Maybe that's what's causing the prog probs?) I used AutoGK's parameters as a guide but set aspect=-1 so it doesn't change the aspect of the input. Using this causes annoying delays when Staxrip accesses the filter stream (autocrop looking at frames), but it's acceptable because it crops extremely well.

- I added a "Precise Bicubic" (BicubicResize(x,y,0,0.75)) option. According to avisynth faq it's the same config as VDub's Precise Bicubic. I've actually found it gives a better picture than Lanczos with these noisy TV DVDs and a Xvid HT NTSC setup. Precise Bicubic looks arguably better than using RemoveGrain(mode=2)+Lanczos in my testing. And it's faster. Obviously this is personal pref. Bitrate ~1100.

TIVTC is a fantastic filter btw. Might be a good addition. A lot faster than decomb and works very well with hyrids even.

stax76

30th December 2005, 18:39

- Would be nice if the Staxrip window wasn't "frozen" while the program is running jobs. Hard to tell how many jobs are remaining this way.

What you should see is the Log dialog or it's a bug, maybe I can write to the top of the log "Job 1 of 4".

- Be able to set it to just use 1 audio file instead of two if it detects two in folder.

I'll take a look at it.

And be able to set it to only use AC3 files.

Correct would be of course if it would only pick up files that are supported by the selected audio profile and it would use the priority defined in the audio profile. I'll take a look at it.

-Autocrop is pretty poor. I've seen it crop huge parts of the top/bottom. It seems far to agressive. I've set mine up to use the Autocrop filter in the Filters flow (autocrop(mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples=10, aspect=-1,threshold=34,samplestartframe=1000,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)

If possible I would like to avoid making a option. Maybe you can explain me the differences between your and my method, I'm using this:

ConvertToYV12().AutoCrop(mode=2)

Do you wanna put this in the filter setup and disable the build in feature? I've never tried something like this but it should work.

- I added a "Precise Bicubic" (BicubicResize(x,y,0,0.75)) option. According to avisynth faq it's the same config as VDub's Precise Bicubic. I've actually found it gives a better picture than Lanczos with these noisy TV DVDs and a Xvid HT NTSC setup. Precise Bicubic looks arguably better than using RemoveGrain(mode=2)+Lanczos in my testing. And it's faster. Obviously this is personal pref. Bitrate ~1100.

TIVTC is a fantastic filter btw. Might be a good addition. A lot faster than decomb and works very well with hyrids even.

Maybe you can post patches, everything that needs another dll is critical as I have to integrate it in the download feature as well.

field.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Field", "Deinterlace", "FieldDeinterlace()", True))
field.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Field", "Fast Deinterlace", "SeparateFields().SelectEven()", True))
field.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Field", "IVTC", "Telecide(guide=1).Decimate()", True))

resize.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Resize", "Sharp", "LanczosResize(%target_width%,%target_height%)", True))
resize.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Resize", "Neutral", "BicubicResize(%target_width%,%target_height%,0,0.5)", True))
resize.Fiters.Add(New AviSynthFilter("Resize", "Soft", "BilinearResize(%target_width%,%target_height%)", True))

Since it seems that you've grasped all StaxRip's AviSynth features, I hope it's a good way to do things.

swaaye

30th December 2005, 19:48

Since it seems that you've grasped all StaxRip's AviSynth features, I hope it's a good way to do things.

Yes I really like your prog. It's so much more powerful than AutoGK but is almost as simple. The way everything is editable is fairly amazing, IMO.

What you should see is the Log dialog or it's a bug, maybe I can write to the top of the log "Job 1 of 4".

Actually what I mean is that the project setup window is frozen completely and isn't displaying any useful info (other than the processing window that loads when you start an encode). It's the same sort of thing as when a program freezes up and you have to kill it. I know it's not locked though, it processes through the jobs fine though. Maybe you could set it up to minimize/hide the big project setup window and just display a job list panel? This would also hopefully allow one to kill off individual jobs instead of hitting Abort for a few minutes and ending them as Staxrip loads them. I thought AutoGK had this setup very well.

swaaye

30th December 2005, 19:55

If possible I would like to avoid making a option. Maybe you can explain me the differences between your and my method, I'm using this:

ConvertToYV12().AutoCrop(mode=2)

Do you wanna put this in the filter setup and disable the build in feature? I've never tried something like this but it should work.

The story is I used AutoGK for a ton of encodes recently and it cropped fantastically. So, I just used most of what lenn0x had set for parameters, with the one change to not force a new aspect ratio. I initially tried forcing 4.0:3.0, like his readme for autocrop 1.2 says, but that gave be a strange 5:4 aspect in the end. I just set it to aspect=-1 and all was well and it still cropped great in the 3 or 4 test encodes I did last night.

As to the other parameters he used, I don't know what the exact purpose is. I'm guessing that they optimize the crop to fit better within codec resolution limitations (hence the multiples of 4). He has 'hMultOf' set to 4 instead of the default of 2. His slightly higher threshold of 34 (from 30) is probably to help autocrop be more sensitive with a wide range of sources (dirty/clean). I set the the sample start frame to 1000 because I thought frame 0 would just be blank anyway so would be pointless.

Mutant_Fruit

30th December 2005, 20:00

I set the the sample start frame to 1000
And if the clip is 999 frames long?

stax76

30th December 2005, 20:14

Actually what I mean is that the project setup window is frozen completely and isn't displaying any useful info (other than the processing window that loads when you start an encode). It's the same sort of thing as when a program freezes up and you have to kill it. I know it's not locked though, it processes through the jobs fine though.

I've changed the title bar of the processing window to "StaxRip - Log" so it'll be called Log window in future versions. Whenever this is visible the main dialog is hidden, so it's a bug.

Maybe you could set it up to minimize/hide the big project setup window and just display a job list panel? This would also hopefully allow one to kill off individual jobs instead of hitting Abort for a few minutes and ending them as Staxrip loads them. I thought AutoGK had this setup very well.

I'll investigate it but it would be a non trivial change. This area has not the best design as it's a) difficult and b) inherited from DVX.

swaaye

30th December 2005, 21:41

And if the clip is 999 frames long?
I set it for myself, not for the general populace. I'm saying that frame 0 probably isn't useful.

swaaye

30th December 2005, 22:10

Stax,

One more idea. Can you set StaxRip to load the Virtualdub windows minimized?

stax76

30th December 2005, 22:22

Probably yes

digidragon

30th December 2005, 22:38

One small, irritating thing. When selecting an MPEG (with mp2 audio) as the source, it insists on trying to get me to download and install java in order to run ProjectX. The MPEG is not a transport stream, and if I rename it to *.vob then it's accepted without a problem.

stax76

30th December 2005, 23:06

ProjectX works great with mpg files recorded by DVBViewer. In the options you can config what demuxers to use and even config the file extensions a demuxer should handle. You can remove ProjectX or edit ProjectX to not handle mpg.

digidragon

30th December 2005, 23:20

Okay thanks - I'll look at the settings (I've only just started using it).

Nrmf

30th December 2005, 23:52

cool ...gonna try the hotfix i assume i just unzip and run the .exe in there

Nrmf

31st December 2005, 00:26

well stax i get an error still trying to pul in .vob files but this time no box just shuts down stax and a MS box pops open asking me if i want to send a report to them. so im not able to give you any info ...looks like i need to format and go back to 32 bit O/S to use your app

stax76

31st December 2005, 00:39

You can try another build, if you see the native error dialog again, then we are out of look until I get a 64 bit system.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Nrmf

31st December 2005, 01:29

man thats a ton of error messages

Nrmf

31st December 2005, 01:30

i tell you what stax since you have taken your time to make your app better and let others use as soon as a 64 bit combo comes up on sell at my local frys i will buy and send to you, it might only be a 64 bit sempron but i assume that wont make any differemce.

Nrmf

31st December 2005, 01:32

i am gonna reformat this hard drive and install it on 32 bit windows with 64 bit cpu, hop eu dont mind me fireing off a ton of questions at you.

swaaye

31st December 2005, 02:36

Stax just want to say thanks for this program. It's working really great for me and is really what I wanted to see out of AutoGK. Have a great New Years.

Aladdin

31st December 2005, 02:45

I only just now figured out it's possible to add prepare operations based on file extension. So I thought I might try to add VD demuxing myself. It's a bit ugly (didn't find a way around the 'cmd /c' yet), but it works. So if anyone else wants to use VD for the avi audio demuxing, add a new prepare operation of type 'command line' with 'avi' as input and 'wav' for audio output and the following command lines:

cmd /c echo VirtualDub.Open(VirtualDub.params[0]); > "%application_dir%\demuxaudio.vcf"
cmd /c echo VirtualDub.SaveWAV(VirtualDub.params[1]); >> "%application_dir%\demuxaudio.vcf"
cmd /c echo VirtualDub.Close(); >> "%application_dir%\demuxaudio.vcf"
cmd /c start /wait %application:VirtualDub% /x /i "%application_dir%\demuxaudio.vcf" "%source_file%" "%source_dir%%source_name%.wav"
cmd /c del "%application_dir%\demuxaudio.vcf"
Don't forget to disable to the AVI2WAV prepare operation or both operartions will get launched every time you open an avi.

travisbell

31st December 2005, 06:50

Hey guys, I just installed Stax and gotta say... looks pretty cool.

2 questions though.

1) Am I just blind or how do I enable IVTC in order to get my 29.976fps content down to 23.976fps?

2) If I want to ONLY use FFDSHOW, is there any way I can maintain AC3 audio with x264 encodes? Or do I have to use AAC?

Thanks!! Looks like a killer app dude.

Cheers,

GhaFear

31st December 2005, 13:49

I am getting the audio delay problem again. Not sure. What’s the deal.
WINXP.SP2 - Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 745 1.80GHz (Centrino)

I use DVDx v2.3. And I get perfect video & audio sync.
Something is missing not sure what it is. I am guessing it's the Framerate or CPU compatibility issue.

But I like it for what it does so far...

ZK

mulrich

31st December 2005, 15:46

Eh, I think I could need some clarification, how is gonna 2 forced subtitles at the same time work? Won't they blend each other or is there a way to adjust the hight?

When making an ASS or SSA subtitle, you can tell the subtitles where to appear. You can also tell them whether they are to move from one point to another and loads of other things.

For example, I'm karaoke subbing a videoklip. I have the Japanese Romaji moving, karaoke-style in the top of the video, while static English subs are displayed in the bottom of the video.

It's not a big deal to go and add another subtitle in the AVS file, but it would be convinient if it was possible directly from StaxRip. :)

swaaye

31st December 2005, 18:15

Nrmf

31st December 2005, 20:40

how should i have the xvid codec setup up so many settings and options to go through

weaver4

31st December 2005, 22:27

I am having a small problem with StaxRip. I got the movie "the Island" for Christmas. I have used avi.net and staxrip to make a copy of it and the staxrip copy is much worse than the avi.net copy. I have done both of them at 1100kbs rate but the staxrip copy is noticably more blocky particularly around the edges and during motion.

For example during the pre-picture the Warners-Bothers big "W" comes towards you the avi.net copy is smooth, the staxrip has a ragged, jagged edge to the "W".

I am sure it is something I have set up wrong since I am using the same XviD codec to do both.

Any hints would be appreciated.

swaaye

1st January 2006, 03:33

how should i have the xvid codec setup up so many settings and options to go through

I'd hit the load defaults button and just set a profile. I'm using the DXN NTSC profile cuz I'm making files for my DVP642.

Doom9 itself has a guide for setting up Xvid 1.1.

Nrmf

1st January 2006, 04:14

thank you

stax76

1st January 2006, 15:25

Happy new year to the community. First release this year is a urgent bug fix release as I've received more then ten bug reports about a weird bug I wasn't able to reproduce. Thanks to everybody for all the feedback, it'll keep me busy for some time.

0.9.1.8 (2006-01-01)

fix: fixed bug in settings dialog and maybe other TreeView based dialogs causing a crash on some systems.
new: experimental/beta new x264 encoder.

Regarding the new x264 dialog, I would like to improve this a little bit and hope to get a little help. I want to move the most popular options to the main tab, what could that be? I also want to add a turbo checkbox which would use faster settings for analysis passes, any suggestions for this feature? Most importantly is I'll add the possibility to add additional CLI switches for what no GUI controls are available yet.

stax76

1st January 2006, 16:16

@swaaye

I wasn't able to reproduce the freeze issue, maybe you can mail some log files.

I've changed auto crop for the next release:

AutoCrop(mode=2,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples=10)

i am gonna reformat this hard drive and install it on 32 bit windows with 64 bit cpu, hop eu dont mind me fireing off a ton of questions at you.

I'm sorry it didn't work, seems like other .NET apps have also problems. If more and more bug reports are made I have to get such a system hoping I can fix the problems this way, donations would help of course.

@Aladdin

thanks for posting the code, I'll need to work on this stuff.

Am I just blind or how do I enable IVTC in order to get my 29.976fps content down to 23.976fps?

There is some preset that can by applied using the context menu. I want to add default Filter Setup profiles. Making default profiles and default values in general is not so easy, I hope I'll find more people helping me here suggesting their favorite scripts, command lines and values. I want also add features to detect all this things automatically but that's even harder.

If I want to ONLY use FFDSHOW, is there any way I can maintain AC3 audio with x264 encodes? Or do I have to use AAC?

Could work using mkv.

I am getting the audio delay problem again. Not sure. What’s the deal.
WINXP.SP2 - Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 745 1.80GHz (Centrino)

You mean it's out of sync? Could have many reasons but with this information I can only make guesses.

@mulrich

Latest build allows to add multiple forced subtitles.

how should i have the xvid codec setup up so many settings and options to go through

StaxRip and XviD defaults are OK, you got to ensure the bitrate is high enough, here is a link about it: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104944

ricardo.santos

1st January 2006, 16:47

although i dont use x264 for backups i decided to try it using staxrip new version.

i get audio sync problems when playing the file, tried 4different video files.

when i open Staxrip one of the first things i do is to picck the encoder and muxer, i opened Staxrip picked x264 and mp4box and then opened the video file waited for dgindex to do his work, after dgindex finishes the encoder and muxer options are reverted to the default ones that in my case are divx and virtualdubmod,

Ricardo

stax76

1st January 2006, 18:08

i get audio sync problems when playing the file, tried 4different video files.

In case of problems the best thing to do is always enclosing possible reasons, for instance you can try another muxer, try another encoder or try another demuxer.

when i open Staxrip one of the first things i do is to picck the encoder and muxer, i opened Staxrip picked x264 and mp4box and then opened the video file waited for dgindex to do his work, after dgindex finishes the encoder and muxer options are reverted to the default ones that in my case are divx and virtualdubmod,

When you open a source StaxRip will load the default project if another source is already open or if the assistant don't is at the very first tip which is "Please open a source file." It would ask to save the the current project if it was modified and a source was opened when opening a new source so the only possible reason I'm aware of is the assistant wasn't at the very first tip. The assistant should not be bypassed so this makes sense. I could however just reset the assistant tips which appears to have only advantages.

ricardo.santos

1st January 2006, 21:27

In case of problems the best thing to do is always enclosing possible reasons, for instance you can try another muxer, try another encoder or try another demuxer.

the sync problem only appears when using x264 in version (0.9.1.8), before, that wasnt a problem, i used x264 as codec and mp4box as the muxer always.
can i use another muxer instead of mp4box?

stax76

2nd January 2006, 13:48

The sync problem only appears when using x264 in version (0.9.1.8), before, that wasnt a problem, i used x264 as codec and mp4box as the muxer always.
can i use another muxer instead of mp4box?

I don't know another MP4 muxer, you could try however mkvmerge to see if it works better. If it does it's a indication that MP4Box is the problem. I don't remember any recent changes that could cause a sync issue. Sync issues can happen:

*while demuxing, maybe another demuxer can be used, you could config StaxRip to load audio and video with AviSynth and then play the script in a media player to check if the demuxer is the problem.
*while audio encoding, StaxRip audio profiles don't handle delay and the StaxRip muxers will notice if the delay wasn't handled and thus handle it, check the command line, you could also use -ota( -d %delay% ) in the audio profile, the muxer wouldn't handle the delay then.
*while muxing, check the command line, for most containers there aren't many alternative muxers.
*while playback, try different DirectShow filters and try players that don't rely on DirectShow like VlC and mplayer.

bond

2nd January 2006, 13:58

i dunno what staxrip does internally, but mp4box will set 25fps by default when importing a raw video stream. so when you import from raw video with a different fps you need to use the -fps switch

also mp4box handles setting a delay, but this isnt taken into account by many players, so always make sure you correct the delay already while audio encoding

stax76

2nd January 2006, 14:04

i dunno what staxrip does internally, but mp4box will set 25fps by default when importing a raw video stream. so when you import from raw video with a different fps you need to use the -fps switch

iirc on raw streams it does pass the framerate to MP4Box.

also mp4box handles setting a delay, but this isnt taken into account by many players, so always make sure you correct the delay already while audio encoding

I better modify then all audio profiles to handle delay.

LRN

2nd January 2006, 19:30

About this new x264...How to configure 1st and 2nd passes separately? I have to set decision quality to 1 (fastest) for 1st pass, but not for 2nd pass...

stax76

2nd January 2006, 21:13

@LRN

The intermediate concept of the old dialog is to not ideal for novice users, I'm trying to make StaxRip as easy as possible as announced in a posting about a focus shift. What I can do is letting users customize the turbo switches if that aren't too many (5-10) so please tell me what exactly is decision quality. I've seen quite a few people struggle with the StaxRip intermediate concept and the MeGUI turbo/automated concept, I also received quite a few bug reports caused by misconfiguration of the intermediate feature (there aren't verifications for the settings). That's why in the new dialog I'm previewing the command lines of all passes together.

LRN

3rd January 2006, 04:20

Look at http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/menc-feat-x264.html
"Moreover, two passes need not take twice as long as one pass. You can tweak the options in the first pass for higher speed and lower quality. If you choose your options well, you can get a very fast first pass. The resulting quality in the second pass will be slightly lower because size prediction is less accurate, but the quality difference is normally much too small to be visible. Try, for example, adding subq=1:frameref=1 to the first pass x264encopts. Then, on the second pass, use slower, higher-quality options: subq=6:frameref=15:4x4mv:me=3"
As i understand, Subpixel Motion Estimation and Max Consecutive B-Frames should be 1 (both) for first pass.
As i sad before, in my previous post, it's not so easy to configure x264 for optimal speed/quality.

chipzoller

3rd January 2006, 21:12

To interject in this conversation...

I've noticed that using StaxRip I get occasional frames in my encodes that still look interlaced even though the source is FILM...I dont' think I ever saw this in GK. Has anyone else noticed this? If I set the option to deinterlace I don't see this that much, but the source is progressive FILM.

Also, is it possible when calculating bitrate from final file size (if DivX is used as the encoder) can you take the calculating function inside StaxRip from the calculator found in the codec config?

LRN

4th January 2006, 14:17

I just finished backup of "Cast Away" movie...At the end i got 1064 Mb mp4 file with only video. But! If i keep it in one directory with audio files (ac3, three of them - two language tracks and one audio comment track), it plays video AND ALL 3 audio files simultaneously! Sounds really weird and cool, but that's not what i want, really...Looks like it's Staxrip-mp4box compatibility issue. I should mention, what i used mp4 files for audio input (my first encoding attemt failed, but AAC encoder performed fine, and i got two mp4 AAC tracks, so i kept them as "Calculate size only").
I tried to mix everything manually with YAMB MP4box frontent and got full 1400 Mb mp4 movie without subtitles, with only one audiotrack (there MUST be another audiotrack in this file, but i did not found any way to switch tracks; i use MPC + ffdshow + Haali splitter), and this audio track is not syncronized with video.
---------
Yayyyy! I'm really dumb :) Did'nt noticed "Mux AAC" :) Damn...

stax76

4th January 2006, 18:46

I've noticed that using StaxRip I get occasional frames in my encodes that still look interlaced even though the source is FILM...I dont' think I ever saw this in GK. Has anyone else noticed this? If I set the option to deinterlace I don't see this that much, but the source is progressive FILM.

StaxRip leaves the AviSynth configuration for the most part up to the user, I think GoradianKnot is much different in this regard.

Also, is it possible when calculating bitrate from final file size (if DivX is used as the encoder) can you take the calculating function inside StaxRip from the calculator found in the codec config?

Something like this currently does not work, is there a problem or limitation with the StaxRip calculator?

@LRN

I'll do x264 work shortly.

FFWD

4th January 2006, 19:03

Hi Stax,

MeGUI has custom x264 video profiles. Is something similar expected for StaxRip (I like the 'HQ Slower' preset)? Can you add AAC-HE v2?

stax76

4th January 2006, 19:11

MeGUI has custom x264 video profiles. Is something similar expected for StaxRip (I like the 'HQ Slower' preset)?

Seems like it's frequently requested so probably yes. The more people request a certain feature the sooner it will be supported.

Can you add AAC-HE v2?

It would be much easier for me people sending me command lines, links and anything else that could be useful for adding it.

stax76

5th January 2006, 21:47

0.9.1.9 (2006-01-05)

fix: Fixed crash using second audio track only.
fix: Warning and refusing opening files with unicode name as it's not supported by some applications e.g. DGIndex.
fix: It's no longer possible to ignore crucial assistant instructions and warnings.
new: Enabled MP4 and MKV input for the MKV muxer, can be used with x264 and fixes also a bug.
new: x264 quality mode (--qrf).
change: Updated to x264 395 wich fixes also incompatibility bugs.
change: Added delay handling to audio profiles since it's better to use the encoder instead of the muxer to handle delay.
change: Only audio files are picked up when opening a source file that are supported by the audio profile.
change: Legacy x264 encoder removed.
change: x264 encoder command line preview includes now all file paths.

riggits

6th January 2006, 00:40

Thanks Stax, I'm just starting to use (and appreciate!) the StaxRip tool. Very nice :)
One problem: it tries to download an old XviD version, 1.1.0beta2. Maybe that needs to be fixed since the 1.1 final release is out.
Testing now..

FooFighter007

6th January 2006, 00:52

Great tool and my No.1 choice if it comes to DVB-T to mp4 conversion!

Big Th@nX!

Sirber

6th January 2006, 00:59

It would be much easier for me people sending me command lines, links and anything else that could be useful for adding it.Get BeLight. You make the settings and it gives back the cmdline :)

stax76

6th January 2006, 01:39

@riggits

I forgot to update, it's compatible so you can use it anyway, you can disable the warning.

@Sirber

Thanks, I'll take a look at this tool.

traragorn

6th January 2006, 11:53

Hi there,
this is a great tool Stax , thanks for your hardwork.I recently started using it and I have a problem , I am trying to encode some anime raws from Japan at 120 fps with your tool to make x264 mkv files.The problem is I couldnt find a way to reduce the fps to 23.976 ; in which my ssa subtitle is.I really don't know anything much about avisynth but tried this :

Decimate(5).Decimate(4).Decimate(2).Decimate(3)

which gives me : 23.98

How can I achive 23.976 fps ?

Thanks.

stax76

7th January 2006, 00:53

0.9.2.0 (2006-01-07)

new: Full controls over x264 turbo switches.
new: Additional x264 CLI switches that don't have GUI controls yet can be added.

@traragorn

You can try post to the AviSynth forum.

LRN

7th January 2006, 04:01

Here's high-quality audio profile, "Nero 5.1ch HE-AAC 192 KBit/s"

Output type: AAC-HE
Bitrate: 192
Command Lines: "%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d %delay% -hybridgain ) -bsn( -6chnew -aacprofile_he -vbr_normal --codecquality_high )

stax76

7th January 2006, 04:10

@LRN

Thanks, I'll add it.

JarrettH

7th January 2006, 09:39

I'm very impressed. I love the dialogs. so many apps are lacking clarification on options. I like that it downloads those filters too, they can be tricky to find! Is it necessary that I have all the missing apps installed before it lets me continue? I just played with it briefly!:D

LRN

7th January 2006, 13:15

You should install only required apps (i.e. if you encoding with x264, you don't need DivX, XviD etc)

Mr.BeNDER

7th January 2006, 14:19

How can i add the audio MP3 128 VBR Profile ? Thx

stax76

7th January 2006, 14:25

How can i add the audio MP3 128 VBR Profile ? Thx

Create a new audio profile by clicking New in the audio profiles dialog, one of the defaults is exactly what you want.

Mr.BeNDER

7th January 2006, 14:30

Thanks Can you add the last Xvid version, because he spend his time to saiy i don't have the good one ?

stax76

7th January 2006, 15:06

I've added it already so it will be available next release, you can disable the warning and use it anyway meanwhile.

Mr.BeNDER

7th January 2006, 15:29

stax76

7th January 2006, 16:18

In StaxRip most settings are located where they logically belong to, comp check is a encoder feature and thus filesize adjustment after the comp check options are in the encoder options.

May I ask why you want exactly 178 MB? Hitting a filesize means making compromises with image size and bitrate and that mean making compromises with quality, XviD quality mode at quant 3 might be a good alternative.

Mr.BeNDER

7th January 2006, 16:21

Well 178mo for a 20 minute video in DVB is a good deal, i have always do like that and all the people i know too.

LRN

7th January 2006, 17:03

After compressibility check StaxRip establishes a link between video bitrate and resolution (video bitrate and filesize is already linked as "filesize = VideoBitrate*MovieLength + AudioBitrate*MovieLength"), showing this as "quality". Quality 100% means, what you won't loose anything (except a small unavoidable quality loss due to recompression). Your goal is to reach quality nearest to 100% (90+ or 110-), because quality more than 100 is not better than 100. If you need EXACTLY 178 Mb filesize, then you can change resolution. If you need one PARTICULAR, exact resolution, then you should change video bitrate (and thus filesize).
I'm DVD-backuper, so i'm restricted to 700 Mb,1400 Mb and 2100 Mb filesizes. Because of it, i can only change resolution, not bitrate.
In your case, you should set resolution to 640, and then decrease (or increase) bitrate until quality reaches 100%

P.S. This is applicable for x264. I did not used XviD in StaxRip, maybe for XviD everything is different.

stax76

7th January 2006, 17:22

Well 178mo for a 20 minute video in DVB is a good deal, i have always do like that and all the people i know too.

That only applies when the compressibility is in the normal range while using quality mode would always be a good deal regardless of the compressibility. Depending on your source compressibility can differ greatly so you got to be careful with such calculations.

kudraw

7th January 2006, 18:03

Mr.BeNDER

7th January 2006, 18:05

so what i must do ?

stax76

7th January 2006, 18:12

Hi! I've a problem with StaxRip... simply it doesn't start :( I've Windows XP Professional SP2 in Italian Language with the .NET Framework 2.0 installed... maybe the problem is the language?

Sorry for my english.

:thanks:

In the main menu select Help/Send Bug Report.

edit: OK, this is my default answer and pretty stupid in that case, sorry but I don't know a possible reason.

so what i must do ?

Maybe you should give quality mode a try, in the XviD encoder options dialog check Quality Mode and in the XviD configuration dialog load defaults and change Quantizer to 3.

swaaye

8th January 2006, 00:06

I've been using VBR exclusively and it's working flawlessly, even in my standalone DVP642.

Reference for LAME settings:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28124

Instead of abr 128, you could try --preset fast medium. I use --preset fast standard almost exclusively and it's very effective at picking bitrates depending on audio complexity. In TV shows I usually end up with ~150kbps. Nice thing about VBR is the codec can use a wider spread of bitrates and you will get better quality.

Recommendation for Hybrid IVTC'ing = TIVTC. For deinterlacing, check out the amazing TDEINT/EEDI2 combo. http://bengal.missouri.edu/~kes25c/

Stax, btw, StaxRip is quite amazing. It's made me 180 rips now. A+.

chipzoller

8th January 2006, 03:32

Stax,
is there some way to prevent a second audio track being automatically added in the encode window? Most of my encodes just call for one audio track...perhaps you could put a button beside the audio track box to display a second?

stax76

8th January 2006, 12:27

@swaaye

Thanks, I'll take a look at it.

is there some way to prevent a second audio track being automatically added in the encode window? Most of my encodes just call for one audio track...perhaps you could put a button beside the audio track box to display a second?

You could try making a profile removing all input extensions. Only files get picked up that match to the input extensions ;), I should make no second audio track the default I guess.

edit: make a dummy extension as input like nothanks

Gehenna

8th January 2006, 12:39

Thanks for your god job, maybe you could help me again, i want to rip a 21 minutes anime, so i have put in staxrip a size of 178 mo but after the compressability check he put a size of 360 mo and a 2168 bitrate ! How can i fix that ? i want a 178mo video in 640x480 ....

If you don`t want Staxrip to Auto-Adjust the Size & Birate, just de-select `Auto adjust file size` which can be found in the Encoder / Options on the main screen,then save it as your default project,that way Stax Rip will never adjust the filesize & Bitrate.

stax76

8th January 2006, 20:14

@kudraw

Can you please try version 0917 and if it works send a bug report (Help/Send Bug Report)?

chipzoller

9th January 2006, 00:54

You could try making a profile removing all input extensions. Only files get picked up that match to the input extensions , I should make no second audio track the default I guess.

Yeah, I think I speak for most people when I say the majority of rips contain only a single audio track.

Man, this program is really coming along nicely. I've made many good rips with it so far! Great job there. We all appreciate your hard work! Keep it up!

ricardo.santos

9th January 2006, 01:20

Yeah, I think I speak for most people when I say the majority of rips contain only a single audio track.

Chiplozer, lets see..... profile...... Georgia......Usa!!!

StaxRip i think its fine the way it is.

"We" EUROPEANS like to backup with 2 audio tracks, for example the dvd HARRY POTTER:

available here with english and portuguese audio tracks, what we do is backup the dvd with english and portuguese audio

portuguese for the little ones that cant read the subs fast enough and english for us grown ups that understand english and like to watch it with the original soundtrack.

Ricardo

stax76

9th January 2006, 02:04

Thinking about it the defaults make no sense at all because I don't think too many do two tracks in AVI! I'll try to setup some polls on the website.

ricardo.santos

9th January 2006, 02:15

AutoGk started out as having 1audio track by default later on he changed it to 2 audio tracks on the main menu.

but its your program.......

chipzoller

9th January 2006, 05:09

I don't suggest that the ability to add a second audio track should be removed, but I don't think it should be "enabled" by default.

LRN

9th January 2006, 10:00

Hello again! I got that muxing bug again. I ripped "War of the Worlds" to 1400 mb mp4:

---------- Audio Encoding ----------

Encoding Type: Command Line Audio Profile
Command Line: "D:\stax\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3" -output "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d 0 -hybridgain ) -bsn( -6chnew -aacprofile_he -vbr_normal --codecquality_high )

---------- Audio Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 6:45:30
End time: 7:35:03
Duration: 00:49:32
Speed: 56 fps
Size: 150,1 MB
Bitrate: 187,73 KBit/s
Video Bitrate: 1365 -> 1369

---------- Audio Encoding ----------

Encoding Type: Command Line Audio Profile
Command Line: "D:\stax\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T02 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3" -output "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T02 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d 0 -hybridgain ) -bsn( -6chnew -aacprofile_he -vbr_normal --codecquality_high )

---------- Audio Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 7:35:03
End time: 8:23:33
Duration: 00:48:30
Speed: 58 fps
Size: 150,4 MB
Bitrate: 188,17 KBit/s
Video Bitrate: 1369 -> 1373

---------- x264 Single/First Pass Encoding ----------

Arguments: --pass 1 --bitrate 1373 --stats "D:\wow\Temporary Files\VTS_02_1.stats" --bframes 3 --progress --no-psnr --subme 1 --analyse none --me dia --output NUL "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.avs"

---------- x264 Single/First Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 8:23:33
End time: 11:47:49
Duration: 03:24:15
Speed: 14 fps

---------- Second Pass Encoding ----------

Arguments: --pass 2 --bitrate 1373 --stats "D:\wow\Temporary Files\VTS_02_1.stats" --ref 3 --bframes 3 --analyse p4x4,i4x4,p8x8,b8x8 --subme 6 --mixed-refs --progress --no-psnr --output "D:\wow\VTS_02_1_EncoderOutput.264" "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.avs"

---------- Second Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 11:47:49
End time: 5:32:29
Duration: 17:44:39
Speed: 3 fps

---------- Muxing ----------

Muxer Type: MP4Box Muxer
Arguments: -fps 25.00 -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1_EncoderOutput.264" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T02 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=eng" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_0.English.srt:lang=eng:name=English" -chap "D:\wow\WAR OF WORLD\Temporary Files\chapters.txt" -new "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.mp4"

---------- Muxing Statistics ----------

Start time: 5:32:32
End time: 5:37:36
Duration: 00:05:04
Speed: 550 fps

Everything is fine but video quality. I decided to recompress this movie with slightly stronger deblocking and more features. Again, i used mp4-output from previous rip, so i don't have to encode autio again :) This time i remembered to choose "Mux AAC" profile ;)

---------- x264 Single/First Pass Encoding ----------

Arguments: --pass 1 --bitrate 1373 --stats "D:\wow\Temporary Files\VTS_02_1.stats" --keyint 300 --bframes 3 --b-pyramid --progress --no-psnr --subme 1 --analyse none --me dia --output NUL "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.avs"

---------- x264 Single/First Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 6:12:58
End time: 9:54:15
Duration: 03:41:16
Speed: 13 fps

---------- Second Pass Encoding ----------

Arguments: --pass 2 --bitrate 1373 --stats "D:\wow\Temporary Files\VTS_02_1.stats" --keyint 300 --ref 3 --bframes 3 --b-pyramid --weightb --b-rdo --analyse p4x4,i4x4,p8x8,b8x8 --8x8dct --subme 6 --trellis 1 --mixed-refs --progress --no-psnr --output "D:\wow\VTS_02_1_EncoderOutput.264" "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.avs"

---------- Second Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 9:54:15
End time: 9:36:14
Duration: 23:41:59
Speed: 2 fps

---------- Muxing ----------

Muxer Type: MP4Box Muxer
Arguments: -fps 25.00 -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1_EncoderOutput.264" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_1 T02 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=eng" -add "D:\wow\VTS_02_0.English.srt:lang=eng:name=English" -chap "D:\wow\Temporary Files\chapters.txt" -new "D:\wow\VTS_02_1.mp4"

---------- Muxing Statistics ----------

Start time: 9:36:15
End time: 9:42:38
Duration: 00:06:23
Speed: 437 fps

It produced 1220 Mb mp4. Video quality is better this time...but that the hell with size? I checked - both audio tracks is there, and subtitles too. And .264 + mp4 + mp4 = 1400 Mb (.264 = 1097 Mb and both mp4 = 150 Mb). I can't get it...Ah! There it is...movie hungs up at 1:34:30 (whole length is 1:51:46). Now i'm sure - it's MP4box flaw.

chipzoller, for me it's default, what i mux 2 audio tracks. I wish i could mux more! (for example, 2 languages and english director's comments)

Stax, i suggest you to change muxing to be separate step, something like "Click on the next button to mux everything to one file".

stax76

9th January 2006, 10:46

Stax, i suggest you to change muxing to be separate step, something like "Click on the next button to mux everything to one file".

You can use the encoder of type Null Encoder to just remux the project but if it's a MP4Box bug that won't help much.

LRN

9th January 2006, 13:59

If StaxRip can be used as StaxMux - then you should add profile "No encoding (Mux only)". :)

stax76

9th January 2006, 14:42

@LRN

It's not really good as general muxer unless you know what pattern the encoder users for the output filename so it should just be used to remux a already encoded project.

I can't add it to the profiles as it would appear in the main menu and anything other than basic features in the main dialog would be confusing novice users. It's very easy to create such a profile, you just have to open the profiles dialog, click New and select No Encoding.

@ricardo.santos

Most popular might still be avi with single track, DVX/StaxRip had always many users that capture. Of cource mkv, mp4 and divx gain popularity, clarification would only bring a poll.

stax76

9th January 2006, 20:23

0.9.2.1 (2006-01-09)

update: XviD 1.1.0
fix: Fixed bug happening while StaxRip starts.

Morte66

9th January 2006, 20:31

Will StaxRip let me backup a 720x576 file without resizing? It seems determined that I should resize to 720x544 or 720x400 (according to the 16:9 flag), even if I disable auto-resizing and remove the resize filter from the chain. I get a "Please use the resize slider in order to fix the aspect ratio error" and then a "The current assistant instruction or warning cannot be skipped" if I try to ignore it.

I may be missing something very obvious (in which case sorry for taking your time), but I just can't seem to get around this. I'm using v0.9.2.0

[I don't want to introduce an extra resize (and quality drop) into the encode/playback chain. I want to just re-encode the original set of pixels, and sort out the aspect ratio in a single resize to 1600xNNN when I playback on my monitor.]

stax76

9th January 2006, 20:44

If you want to encode anamorphic, that is really not very popular so I wouldn't be surprised if StaxRip ain't really perfect or not even working for what you want to achieve. This thing has highest priority for me so any help regarding anamorphic encoding is much appreciated. I assume you want signal PAR/DAR to the codec or muxer or both, can you please elaborate. It's hard to find good information about the topic, maybe that's the reason why it's not very popular. I'll take a look at the assistant issue.

Morte66

9th January 2006, 21:09

If you want to encode anamorphic, that is really not very popular

True, but I think it darned well ought to be. ;)

[The first time I tried AGK/Xvid for a DVD backup, it gave worse results than DVD Shrink because it decided to throw 40% of the pixels away before encoding. Since I RTFMd and changed the options, it has served me well.]

This thing has highest priority for me so any help regarding anamorphic encoding is much appreciated. I assume you want signal PAR/DAR to the codec or muxer or both, can you please elaborate.

I've no idea about coding video software, I'm afraid. If you need any help with large relational databases, let me know. :)

You can manually tell any media player worth bothering with (and many TVs) to "take this file and resize it to 4:3/16:9/etc", so if I can make an original pixels backup I know I can play it back properly. But a signalling option would certainly be nice, even if it's never going to work in AVI.

I guess I would ideally like to encode both DAR (for display) and SAR (which might be useful to other video tools).

chipzoller

9th January 2006, 21:48

Stax, the new patch for the DivX codec...will the version change be incorporated into StaxRip so it doesn't give the "wrong version" warning?

stax76

9th January 2006, 21:51

According to what I was reading here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=763686#post763686) signaling using AVI works. What StaxRip currently does is signal to mkvmerge and MP4Box in case no resize filter is used, that is documented in the help of the muxer dialogs. Any signaling to codecs and more control over that features can only be added if users make a detailed feature request, telling how they would config the tools manually, what players they use, what dshow filters, what settings, what tools are involved, the more information I have the easier it will be to add it. I'll fix the assistant problem, that problem is new since I've just recently restricted the assistant since some users skipped crucial instructions that caused serious problems and even crashes so skipping something considered as crucial is no longer possible.

Stax, the new patch for the DivX codec...will the version change be incorporated into StaxRip so it doesn't give the "wrong version" warning?

No if it's not a final release, my current design allows only to support one version anyway and since this area is complex I try to avoid making changes here to not risk new bugs. You could disable the warning easily but please tell nobody that I've recommend it. ;)

chipzoller

9th January 2006, 22:02

Oh, that's right...it's a beta.

Well on to the next question....

Why is it that I have to use the deinterlace filter for most every encode, even ones that are progressive sources shot on film? I never remember having this problem with GK, but last night I did an encode of West Side Story which I know is progressive, and when looking at the finished product, the source still looks interlaced, or interlaced ever few frames.

Am I just missing something painfully obvious?

Also, if a source is detected to be interlaced, is the "Field deinterlace" filter automatically enabled?

stax76

9th January 2006, 22:14

Why is it that I have to use the deinterlace filter for most every encode, even ones that are progressive sources shot on film? I never remember having this problem with GK, but last night I did an encode of West Side Story which I know is progressive, and when looking at the finished product, the source still looks interlaced, or interlaced ever few frames.

Am I just missing something painfully obvious?

Also, if a source is detected to be interlaced, is the "Field deinterlace" filter automatically enabled?

The filters are applied exactly as configured as shown in the log file, the script should also be visible in the GK log file so in doubt you could compare your StaxRip and GK settings but both applications give full control about all settings and leave all settings up to be made by the user.

travisbell

10th January 2006, 00:40

I am having some issues getting x264 to encode mkv's all of sudden...

Encoder: x264
Muxer: MKV

And it is spitting back an error "Invalid Muxer, The Muxer doesn't support the Encoder output format."

I know this is possible... can someone explain to me what I am doing wrong?

Thanks!

stax76

10th January 2006, 01:05

travisbell

10th January 2006, 01:10

mkv muxer don't support raw input, I don't know if it can work but it's not enabled in StaxRip, you got to choose another output format in the x264 config dialog, either mkv or mp4, both work but I don't know what is better. You can check what input and output formats are supported btw. in the profiles dialog clicking Info.

Ahhhhhhhh! Got it. I didn't know you had to. Must have been using the older version of Stax before you implemented the new x264 stuff.

Thanks!

ricardo.santos

10th January 2006, 01:19

Hi everyone.

just noticed that with this new version StaxRip starts up faster, usually would take 12 to 14 seconds, now it takes 8 to 10 seconds.

Ricardo

travisbell

10th January 2006, 01:32

Hey guys, could someone help explain to me why when using IVTC and x264 it doesn't go down to 23.976 fps like XviDs do...? All of my IVTC & x264 encodes are 23.98. Is that normal or ok?

I am just checking here...

swaaye

11th January 2006, 02:18

Is there any reason Xvid 1.1 final would not work with Staxrip? I'm getting strange corruption in rips, showing up as random, well, corruption on some frames. Black blockiness for a moment. When played on my DVP642 I get frames that flash up for a split second on some scene changes. Very odd.

BigDid

11th January 2006, 02:35

Is there any reason Xvid 1.1 final would not work with Staxrip?
0.9.2.1 (2006-01-09)
* update: XviD 1.1.0
* fix: Fixed bug happening while StaxRip starts.
above in this page: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=765127#post765127

1.1.0 = 1.1 final :D

Did

stax76

11th January 2006, 18:04

@swaaye

It should be save since StaxRip changes only 3 settings (bitrate, changelog and filesize) dynamically. After installing a new codec build you should also create a new profile in StaxRip. There might still be traps so if too many people have problems I have to add more verifications.

stax76

11th January 2006, 23:09

0.9.2.2 (2006-01-11)

new: AVI demuxing using VirtualDubMod supporting, mp3, ac3 and wav. Removed AVI2WAV.
new: Preparers can be enabled/disabled and other minor changes regarding preparers.
new: Addition language info for audio tracks like directors comments is written to the filename.
change: TreeView dialog used to replace, insert and add filters is now resizable and saves the window size.
change: x264 comp check uses now --crf 18 instead of --qp 18.
change: Audio files containing the name of the source file like the ones demuxed by DGIndex are now more reliable being automatically picked up.
fix: x264 Single Pass - Quality was broke since --qrf instead of --crf was used.

weaver4

12th January 2006, 00:36

I have noticed that the video quality for StaxRip is lower than the quality of same movie made with AVI.NET and Dr DivX 2.0. Here is the same data for the same movie coded four different ways: AVI.NET - Divx; Dr Divx 2.0 - Divx; StaxRip - Divx; StaxRip - XviD.

=============================
AVI.NET - DivX
Filesize: 1073Mbytes
Bitrate: 1099kb/s
FPS: 23.976
Qf: 0.263 bits/pixel
xy: 640x272

Dr Divx 2.0 - DivX
Filesize: 1079Mbytes
Bitrate: 1104kb/s
FPS: 23.976
Qf: 0.227 bits/pixel
xy: 704x288

StaxRip (DivX)
Filesize: 1254Mbytes
Bitrate: 1270kb/s
FPS: 29.970
Qf: 0.214 bits/pixel
xy: 688x288

StaxRip (XviD)
Filesize: 1254Mbytes
Bitrate: 1106kb/s
FPS: 29.970
Qf: 0.186 bits/pixel
xy: 688x288
==========================

Notice that the Quality Factor is much lower for StaxRip codes even though the bitrate is higher or the same as other approches. I beleive this is because the FrameRate for StaxRip is 29.970 but the frame rate for AVI.NET and Dr DivX 2.0 is 23.976.

But I can't find a way to set the FR in StaxRip to make it identical to AVI.NET or DR Divx.

Am I missing something? How can I get comparable results using StaxRip?

StaxUser

12th January 2006, 02:21

Hey Stax,

First I'd like to say thanks for the great tool.

Just wanted to echo an earlier comment about the resizing. I have been processing 720x480 sources from MPEG2 to XVid, with the intention of keeping the resolution the same but getting much better compression. The UI as of version 9.1.9 doesnt allow this (doesn't like 720x480 aspect ratio). I've gotten around it for now since I have VS.NET so I changed the code a little.

Thanks again

stax76

12th January 2006, 17:31

@weaver4

There is a IVTC filter but I don't have much clue about NTSC.

@StaxUser

Should be solved in the latest release.

dimzon

12th January 2006, 18:05

@stax
WOW! I take look @ StaxRip at first time - it's amaizing(I take look @ source code too). Congratulations!

JoeBG

12th January 2006, 18:54

@stax
WOW! I take look @ StaxRip at first time - it's amaizing(I take look @ source code too). Congratulations!

It´s the most promissing programm for mpeg4. The first stable version needs Profiles for the mass of users:
- mpeg4 part 2 with AC3 ( for the ones with SA´s) -> mkv
- mpeg4 part 2 with AAC ( for Nero Digital users Standart Profile) -> mp4
- mpeg 4 part 10 with AAC (for Xoro 700 users or PC users) -> mp4

and something between these profiles.

LRN

12th January 2006, 19:38

Can you implement pause/resume, at least for video encoding process?

stax76

12th January 2006, 19:55

@dimzon

thanks

The first stable version needs Profiles for the mass of users

I've plans for profiles but it takes some effort.

Can you implement pause/resume, at least for video encoding process?

I don't know how x264 cli can be paused.

LRN

12th January 2006, 20:19

Well, it's not necessary to use x264 cli. You can just pause/resume x264.exe main thread with SuspendThread() and ResumeThread().

weaver4

12th January 2006, 20:39

@weaver4

There is a IVTC filter but I don't have much clue about NTSC.

I don't understand your answer. Are you saying that you don't understand the problem or that you don't know what to do to fix it?

weaver4

12th January 2006, 20:57

After some investigation I found that if you set DGIndex to "Force Film" it will set the framerate to 23.976.

Can you add this as an option?

I think it is: -FO=1

Thanks,

stax76

12th January 2006, 20:58

@LRN

I'll check it.

@weaver4

Right-click on the filter of category Deint and select IVTC.

edit:

After some investigation I found that if you set DGIndex to "Force Film" it will set the framerate to 23.976.

That's only good under certain circumstances.

Can you add this as an option?

Only if somebody gives me good hints about how and why to add it and if I understand it, it's a difficult topic.

swaaye

12th January 2006, 21:20

you can only force film if there is no video in the source. If it's a hybrid, with video and film, you'll screw it all up. Hybrids make life tough. Weaver you need to go read thru some guides, like the Gordian Knot guides here on Doom9. Also google for the DGIndex and DGDecode manuals.

LRN

12th January 2006, 23:23

@LRN
I'll check it.
While doing this is very easy (i wrote external pause/resume application in 30 minutes), i can provide you code example, if you want :)

stax76

12th January 2006, 23:35

That would be great.

LRN

12th January 2006, 23:38

http://lrn.no-ip.info/other/seek_and_suspend_v1.0.7z
I hope you understand Delphi :)

weaver4

13th January 2006, 16:21

Right-click on the filter of category Deint and select IVTC.

That worked! Picture quality is much better and it is running at 23.97 FPS. I am suprised that this issue did not come up before now. Wondering why I was the first person to mention it. It seemed to me that if you were running 1100Mbps for video and getting a bad video that people would wonder why.

stax76

13th January 2006, 23:31

@LRN

I hardly know Delphi but if it uses Win32 it's a help, thanks.

@weaver4

As I'm constantly trying to make StaxRip easier I'll try to add some automation regarding the issue.

0.9.2.3 (2006-01-13)

new: Workaround for DivXMux upper case file extension bug.
new: If a setting has new default values StaxRip asks if the setting should be updated to new defaults or if the customizations (if any) should be kept. As example if better audio profiles are added StaxRip will ask if audio profiles should be updated.
new: Video profile defaults.
new: Audio profile defaults.
change: More robust XviD and DivX support.
change: More meaningful assistant warnings regarding incompatibilities between encoder, muxer and audio profile.

LRN

14th January 2006, 00:16

0.9.2.3 doesn't launch DGIndex when i select several VOB files. It uses first of these files as Source.

swaaye

14th January 2006, 00:18

weaver4,

cuz most of us knew that IVTC was needed for these sources. Part of this encoding nonsense is reading up on guides and how the sources need to be converted. I suggested some reading for you. You can not IVTC a hybrid (film+video) without some more intelligent methods. It will end up with jerky sequences.

Stax,
The automated crop is skewing the aspect on my 4:3 TNG episodes. I'm still using autocrop in the filter list as a result. You should try setting autocrop to leave the source aspect as is, if you are trying to set it so a specific ratio. -1 is the setting for the property I'm thinking of.... I tried 4.0/3.0 a while back, like the readme for autocrop says, and it ended up like 5:4...very strange.

stax76

14th January 2006, 01:01

0.9.2.3 doesn't launch DGIndex when i select several VOB files. It uses first of these files as Source.

I don't remember changes in that area since last version, works here. If you can't get it to work please send a bug report.

@swaaye

I never had auto crop problems with any source, maybe you can upload a sample to some file hosting service. Are you really sure it's a bug, I thought all the AR stuff works quite well.

berrinam

14th January 2006, 01:20

Only if somebody gives me good hints about how and why to add it and if I understand it, it's a difficult topic.
MeGUI manages Force Filming (not to be confused with the Automatic Deinterlacing which I added recently). It does an automated version of what the GK guide recommends: if the Film % reported by DGIndex is higher than the threshold in the settings (the default, 95%, is what I think most people use), then use force film, otherwise, don't.

This can all be done AFTER you have indexed the file. The operation goes like this:
1. Index with whatever settings you normally use.
2. Read in the .d2v file. The last line will be something like this:
FINISHED 0.00% FILM or whatever, according to the source. Take this percentage as your value, compare it to your threshold. If it is less, do nothing. If it is more, then do step 3.
3. Modify the following two lines (near the beginning) of the .d2v file:
Field_Operation=0
Frame_Rate=?????
and turn them into
Field_Operation=0
Frame_Rate=23976
Now you have a .d2v file with force film enabled.

LRN

14th January 2006, 01:23

Can't reproduce. Maybe it's just me? :)
Also...
What does --bime option for x264 do, and where is gui-switch for this option?
Also...
While searching for pause/resume solution for x264, i found some interesting thread here, on Doom9 - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=94162 . There's encoder app with stop/resume feature! This is musthave for any AVC encoder, since AVC encoding is relatively slow.

stax76

14th January 2006, 02:11

@berrinam

Awesome, thanks, a while a go I bought 2 NTSC disc for testing purpose, crappy movies because the selection for NTSC disc is not really big here at eBay, it's time to attack the issue now. I knew there is the percentage value in the d2v file but I was wondering if DGIndex had to run a second pass depending on the outcome, now it's clear how it works.

Can't reproduce. Maybe it's just me?

Maybe I can spot it with the diagnostic files if you send some.

What does --bime option for x264 do

I'm not really using x264, there is no control but there is a box for additional switches. Either I have to support every possible features (probably more than 100) like MeGUI which is a huge task or I have to set a limit somewhere and that's pretty much reached. If there are features frequently requested I have to consider them of course.

While searching for pause/resume solution for x264, i found some interesting thread here, on Doom9 - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=94162 . There's encoder app with stop/resume feature! This is musthave for any AVC encoder, since AVC encoding is relatively slow.

Thanks, that kind of info get pasted on my ever growing to do list instantly. I guess I can be lucky being through in 2-3 hours with a movie using XviD quality mode ;)

LRN

14th January 2006, 03:17

H-m-m-m..I think you should just redesign "CLI" section (maybe implement "Add to 2nd pass" and even "Add to 3nd pass"), so anyone could modify commandline to use switches unsupported in GUI. At this moment it is used only for "fast first pass", since "Add to all passes" applys after "Remove from first pass".

stax76

14th January 2006, 03:40

@LRN

I think there are 3 issues:

1. bime gets removed but was never added before.

2. Add/remove first actually is all but last, I just named it first because I thought it's easier to understand but it's actually confusing. I'll rename this to 'preceding passes'.

3. Add all should be added before the add/remove is done because that's how it works with the gui options so the order should be:

1. add to all
2. remove from preceding passes
3. add to preceding passes

stax76

14th January 2006, 15:52

@LRN

I hope this is better: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

There was also a bug, the last switch of the remove switches wasn't removed.

Rogi

14th January 2006, 21:04

First of all thanks for excellent tool, but think I found some error in your program.
When turn on deblocking filter in x264 GUI and then check CLI there is nothing showed ( for example --filter -2,-2), but when turn off deblocking filter in GUI then actually filter is showed in CLI.
Hope you will understand what i mean because my english is not so good.

stax76

14th January 2006, 21:20

Thanks, here is a hotfix: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Rogi

14th January 2006, 22:47

Ok, now filter is showed in CLI but there is also instruction --nf which should not have been there, --nf have to be in CLI when deblocking filter is unchecked because that simple means "no filter".
Just one thing, use comma instead colon (-2,-2) in CLI.
Hope that will help you.

mulrich

14th January 2006, 22:59

I have an insane idea for a feature: the ability to convert flash movies to regular movies.

It's not a demand, but merely an idea, so I won't lie sleepless if you can't do it. :)

stax76

14th January 2006, 23:16

I've fixed the bug with the --nf switch and changed it to comma like in MeGUI, I guess that works but I understand the docs different:

-f, --filter <alpha:beta> Loop filter AlphaC0 and Beta parameters [0:0]

Here is the hotfix: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

I have an insane idea for a feature: the ability to convert flash movies to regular movies.

It's not a demand, but merely an idea, so I won't lie sleepless if you can't do it.

If there is a DirectShow filter or AviSynth filter or command line application for the transcoding than you can configure StaxRip to handle Flash source.

weaver4

15th January 2006, 01:47

weaver4,

cuz most of us knew that IVTC was needed for these sources. Part of this encoding nonsense is reading up on guides and how the sources need to be converted. I suggested some reading for you. You can not IVTC a hybrid (film+video) without some more intelligent methods. It will end up with jerky sequences.

The other tools that I use Avi.net, AutoGk, Dr1, Dr2, MPEG Mediator did not require that you set up IVTC. And since StaxRip is intended to be tool that is a simple to use as these I did not think there was anything extra I needed to know. I did look at gknot guide to learn about this. Interesting reading.

Rogi

15th January 2006, 11:58

I have done several encodings and can confirm now deblocking filter works fine.
Thanx for quick fix.

stax76

15th January 2006, 14:42

0.9.2.4 (2006-01-15)

fix: fixed two x264 bugs.
new: Added automatic aspect ratio signaling, it is automatically used for XviD and x264 (not supported by DivX) whenever no resize filter is used. Muxer aspect ratio signaling was removed.

Aladdin

15th January 2006, 15:34

stax76

15th January 2006, 15:59

It's getting better and better. The 'Ask before update profile' feature is an improvement, but I still don't like it when it overwrites my custom profiles when I give the ok to update. Would it be possible to update the default profiles without actually overwriting (or removing) any custom profiles that might have been added by the user?

It would be possible but too many features have also drawbacks. In case of profiles that use the generic profiles dialog such a feature is not really needed because when you click New in the profiles dialog you have all the factory defaults always available. Maybe you can elaborate a little bit more?

Aladdin

15th January 2006, 21:37

I mean when upgrading to a new version you now get dialogs asking if the profiles (and other settings) should be updated. In most cases, I think people want to update the default profiles to the new versions. But I also think quite a lot of people make custom profiles and the way it is implemented now, those custom profiles are lost when you upgrade. Each time I upgraded to a new version I had to recreate my custom profiles for video, audio and the filter profile, because they were removed.

stax76

15th January 2006, 21:41

0.9.2.3 doesn't launch DGIndex when i select several VOB files. It uses first of these files as Source.

A user sent a bug report about it and here is the story: Problem was a setting become incompatible, normally a force a update while developing and certainly did so but after that I changed the way setting versioning is done because of the new feature that asks if a setting should be updated. Now that I think about it I should have forced to reset everything because the older the version is that was used before the higher the chance something like this happens because all version tags are gone as I use a complete new method for versioning.

here is a build that forces preparers to be reseted: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

I mean when upgrading to a new version you now get dialogs asking if the profiles (and other settings) should be updated. In most cases, I think people want to update the default profiles to the new versions. But I also think quite a lot of people make custom profiles and the way it is implemented now, those custom profiles are lost when you upgrade. Each time I upgraded to a new version I had to recreate my custom profiles for video, audio and the filter profile, because they were removed.

I don't think merging all old profiles with all new profiles wouldn't be that great either and even if you don't update you still can preview and use what's changed and new in the profiles dialog. Create a new profile based on the factory defaults, preview it with edit, accept it with 'OK' or cancel changing anything.

ch@@boom

15th January 2006, 21:43

good app
starting my first experiences

quick q: will you support seperate credits encoding .. or is it already possible?

thx

stax76

15th January 2006, 22:03

will you support seperate credits encoding

I'm not much convinced of such a feature but I new sooner or later somebody is gonna ask ;). Would it be too much of a pain to setup a credits zone manually in the codec configuration?

LRN

16th January 2006, 00:24

Just ripped another movie...There's slight -300 ~ -500 ms delay on both audio streams...I wasted whole 30 mins trying to sync them, until i realized, what "Delay" in "Audio mix options" in "AAC-HE - Add existing profile" doesn't works :). Commandline looks ok, but delay isn't applied :-/
cmdl is something like Arguments: -fps 25.00 -add "file.264" -add "aud1.mp4:lang=rus:delay=50000" -add "aud2.mp4:lang=eng:delay=50000" -chap "chapters.txt" -new "VTS_05_0.mp4"
Tried raw mp4box mp4box.exe file.mp4 -delay 2=50000 -delay 5=50000
Doesn't works (i set delay so huge for it to become really noticeable - but i noticed no changes). As i understand, now delay is only applied in audio encoder, not in muxer? I.e. if i want to delay audio, i should re-encode it?
Also...
chapters.txt is common OGM chapter file with chapter names in CP-1251. After muxing chapter names is not visible (using Media Player Classic). What encoding i should use!?!? UTF-8 doesn't works.
In Nero Recode chapter names in CP-1251 worked fine. Looks like MP4Box doesn't support this feature well enougth :(

stax76

16th January 2006, 00:50

Delay is in BeSweet settings because some players might not handle container delay properly, might this be your problem? Did you try other players and DirectShow filters, VLC, MPC and all that stuff. A StaxRip muxer is smart enough however to check if the audio profile has handled the delay and if it wasn't handled it will handle it. A CLI profile will check if a delay macro is used and a mux profile will always assume the delay wasn't handled if I recall correctly and if there are no bugs.

Regarding chapters, I think MP4Box cannot use DVD Decrypter created chapters because of different encoding. Bond wrote something about it but I don't recall what encoding it was. I work around probably about more than 100 limitations and bugs of every other application so I might as well workaround this, if you have some implementation hints, would be great of course.

LRN

16th January 2006, 01:12

I use MPC. With two differend decoders - CoreAVC and ffdshow. Haali media splitter for mp4 handling.

I use Chapter-X-tractor for chapter x-traction :)
And it outputs chapter-file in default local codepage.

stax76

16th January 2006, 01:33

I use MPC. With two differend decoders - CoreAVC and ffdshow. Haali media splitter for mp4 handling.

Maybe you should try then let BeSweet handle delay as it's default in StaxRip or did you just that? You can also try VLC as non DirectShow alternative to check if you get different results as opposed to your DShow solution.

And it outputs chapter-file in default local codepage.

ANSII using local codepage is what's used by far most if I understand this right. Would have been great if MP4Box could handle this...

LRN

16th January 2006, 03:16

Re-encoded audio with delay. Fine. But it took nearly 2 hours, that's bad...I hoped everythig would be almost autimatic...

Regarding chapters - here's post you mentioned http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=735047#post735047

Remuxed everything with YAMB. Now, there's NO chapters at all :) (in previous cases they WERE, but without names, only with timestamps)

bomsom

16th January 2006, 04:11

Hi There! I'm kinda new to encoding and I'm a little bit lost here...

Is there a way to put selectable subtitles into the .mp4 container?

There's an option on the menu View>Project Options>Automation that says "Auto subtitle selection" and an option to add languages. I selected the languages I wanted but in the end I got no subtitles at all.

Do I have to add forced subtitles for it to work?? And doing so, will it always be displayed during the movie or can I turn it off?

By the way, I converted the movie using x264(exact file size profile) and Staxrip version 0.9.2.3, and I use VLC to play it.

Stax, keep the good job man! All this enconding process is very tricky, but you're making it easier!! I was using Nero Recode (AVC) because of it's friendly interface and encoding in a few steps, but I don't want to install all those apps included in the pack that I will not use just to have the Recode.

stax76

16th January 2006, 08:09

Re-encoded audio with delay. Fine. But it took nearly 2 hours, that's bad...I hoped everythig would be almost autimatic...

Well, firstly you didn't use the defaults which encode with delay and secondly it's not the fault of StaxRip that container delay don't work but rather a bug or limitation in either the muxer or the player and that's exactly the reason why the delay is handled by BeSweet in the first place.

Is there a way to put selectable subtitles into the .mp4 container?

No and that's exactly the reason why I don't use it and don't recommend to use it, happily there is mkv and divx.

There's an option on the menu View>Project Options>Automation that says "Auto subtitle selection" and an option to add languages. I selected the languages I wanted but in the end I got no subtitles at all.

That's only the auto selection, first you got to demux the subtitles as described in the DVD guide of the help and then you got to select the subtitle s in the muxer (container) options because the muxer is the application that puts all streams together into the target file.

LRN

16th January 2006, 13:11

Well, firstly you didn't use the defaults which encode with delay
And what defaults exactly i should use? I thought delays are detected by DGIndex and automatically added to audio profile?
Well, anyway i suspect, what this is my mistake. I added all vobs starting from VTS_05_0. There's no audio in VTS_05_0.vob, only 0.6 secs of video. This is why audio is delayed, i think

Also...
After muxing with YAMB i noticed, what in MPC in Navigate->Audio Language both tracks is "Unknown" ("Unknown 0" and "Unknown 1") and in splitter both tracks is "[Undetermined]".
After StaxRip muxing, there's NO any text in Navigate->Audio Language (only check-marks showing wich stream is selected), but in splitter there's [English] and [Russian] audio streams.

Is there a way to put selectable subtitles into the .mp4 container?

No and that's exactly the reason why I don't use it and don't recommend to use it, happily there is mkv and divx.
Errrr....And what's about srt muxing? It is not "selectable subtitles"?

stax76

16th January 2006, 13:35

And what defaults exactly i should use? I thought delays are detected by DGIndex and automatically added to audio profile?

That's how it's supposed to work, in BeSweet it is handled with -ota( d %delay% ) and in any audio profile configuration regardless of type you can see and edit the value StaxRip readed from the filename.

Also...
After muxing with YAMB i noticed, what in MPC in Navigate->Audio Language both tracks is "Unknown" ("Unknown 0" and "Unknown 1") and in splitter both tracks is "[Undetermined]".
After StaxRip muxing, there's NO any text in Navigate->Audio Language (only check-marks showing wich stream is selected), but in splitter there's [English] and [Russian] audio streams.

Does it work in VLC?

Errrr....And what's about srt muxing? It is not "selectable subtitles"?

Sorry, I forgot about that.

LRN

16th January 2006, 15:50

In VLC audio streams marked properly (Track N - [langname]) for StaxRip-muxed file
For YAMB-muxed - sorry, i already deleted the movie :)

wiak

16th January 2006, 19:22

it crashes here :(
right after dgindex
version > StaxRip 0.9.2.4

stax76

16th January 2006, 20:01

64 bit system is currently not supported.

LRN

17th January 2006, 00:00

Is there way to reuse first pass statistic? There's no reason to perform first pass again, if i decide to reencode movie with different second pass settings.

stax76

17th January 2006, 00:08

Is there way to reuse first pass statistic? There's no reason to perform first pass again, if i decide to reencode movie with different second pass settings.

You could use VirtualDubMod manually.

LRN

17th January 2006, 01:37

I mean - with StaxRip :)
Allright, here it is:
FEATURE REQUEST: Please-please-please, make some checkbox in codec options, something like "do not perform 1st pass" wich will use .stats file from "Temporary Files" directory.
Are you happy now? :)

stax76

17th January 2006, 18:19

I'm skeptical about that kind of feature, I can add only features that are really important, the scenario where this feature is really important is not obvious, maybe you can explain one.

Sirber

17th January 2006, 18:23

Someone asked me the same thing but I refused. Most codec can do "Fast First Pass" so it's pretty useless and more confusing.

stax76

17th January 2006, 18:35

Someone asked me the same thing but I refused. Most codec can do "Fast First Pass" so it's pretty useless and more confusing.

I refused it for DVX as well and Len0x probably refused it for AutoGK more than once btw.

wiak

17th January 2006, 19:46

64 bit system is currently not supported.
:scared:
64bit and 32bit uses the same .NET
and after all 64bit is the future!
it gives you over 10% in encoding boost

StaxRip runs fine but it CRASHES :(

LRN

17th January 2006, 19:49

It's not useless for x264. Remembder: AVC is much slower than ASP. Even fast first pass takes several hours. For example, my current rip took 07:22 for first pass and will take approximately 22:00 for second pass (it's still in progress, x264 shows eta 02:37, 88% complete). If i decide to reencode this movie (for example, quality is not good enought), this feature will save me whole 7 hours!
Feature itself isn't complex. Just don't perform first pass and assume, what .stats-file already exists in tempdir.

stax76

17th January 2006, 20:38

64bit and 32bit uses the same .NET
and after all 64bit is the future!
it gives you over 10% in encoding boost

StaxRip runs fine but it CRASHES

I don't have such a system to debug it, maybe next Christmas, sorry.

It's not useless for x264. Remembder: AVC is much slower than ASP. Even fast first pass takes several hours. For example, my current rip took 07:22 for first pass and will take approximately 22:00 for second pass (it's still in progress, x264 shows eta 02:37, 88% complete). If i decide to reencode this movie (for example, quality is not good enought), this feature will save me whole 7 hours!
Feature itself isn't complex. Just don't perform first pass and assume, what .stats-file already exists in tempdir.

Encoding a movie 50 hours, sorry but I don't take such scenarios into acount. StaxRip is designed for users who want encoding to be simple, quick and painless. If you can endure 50 hours, you might as well then endure to copy the command line from the log file to the shell which takes you 5 seconds.

Sirber

17th January 2006, 21:44

Encoding a movie 50 hours, sorry but I don't take such scenarios into acount. StaxRip is designed for users who want encoding to be simple, quick and painless. If you can endure 50 hours, you might as well then endure to copy the command line from the log file to the shell which takes you 5 seconds.:goodpost:

Doom9

17th January 2006, 21:52

StaxRip runs fine but it CRASHESQuite a contradiction in itself wouldn't you agree? But since it's open source, I suppose you could compile it on your machine. But if it has any dependencies on Windows components, that might be different on a 64 bit Windows. And then there's the problem that the 64 bits of the current software are rare and often a bit shaky.. not all filters are available, etc. Right now, video encoding and 64 bit should be considered an experimental playfield.

wiak

18th January 2006, 05:24

stax i have another question
can you add a option to download all needed software? automatic? :)
right now i i/we have to go to the tool and click download etc..

stax76

18th January 2006, 17:18

can you add a option to download all needed software?

I'll take a look at it, gets requested quite often.

0.9.2.5 (2006-01-18)

new: Forced Film is automatically applied if NTSC sources are at 95% film.
new: Added setting to launch all applications with minimized window like AutoGK does.
change: Some changes required to reset all settings and projects. It's the first time this was required for StaxRip and hopefully the last time.
change: Improved error handling.

wiak

18th January 2006, 23:28

I'll take a look at it, gets requested quite often.

0.9.2.5 (2006-01-18)
i have now Visual Basic Express, .Net Framework 2.0 (x64)
and can you tell me how to compile it to x64? :)
i can compile to 32bit but not x64 as i dont have to right settings

stax76

18th January 2006, 23:54

I don't know too much about 64 bit stuff and if .NET assemblies have to be recompiled, I would say no. I was reading Integer/int is always Int32 don't matter if it's .NET 32 or 64 bit. Sounds stupid but that's what I was reading. Simply recompiling would much likely not work however because there are probably XP x64 related bugs.

bratao

19th January 2006, 00:33

Maybe change int for int64 ???
i dont have a 64 system too

klicker4546

19th January 2006, 01:01

Stax, I'm really happy about the improvements made to Staxrip! Great tool!

:)

I'll take a look at it, gets requested quite often.

0.9.2.5 (2006-01-18)

Gehenna

19th January 2006, 10:34

Hi Stax,

Will sharktooth`s X264 profiles likely to be intergrated into StaxRip in the very near future ?
I think i remember seeing a thread stating that its on your `To-Do` list.
Thanks

stax76

19th January 2006, 10:46

There are quite a few things left on my to do list but currently I want to step a little bit back from developing and do more testing and if I decide to more developing again it will first and foremost be more basic stuff. Did you try to make some profiles yourself, it's really not too hard.

LRN

20th January 2006, 00:50

I think, i should remind you to look at http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=101813 for x264 video profiles

wdmalik

20th January 2006, 20:48

I want to request a feature, when I give the input files path the software goes through a quick step though DGINDEX and extracts the info and audio files etc, i want to choose the path where these files are extracted, currently these are extracted to the same folder, unfortunately for me i am mostly short on space in the drives where i placed the ripped files, so if it is possible plz do it, a dialog box asking the files path after input file selection step will do
Thnx in advance :)

stax76

20th January 2006, 21:01

@wdmalik

Using another directory don't fit in my design (see help under Options/Preparer) and also does not fit to one of my main goals with StaxRip which is simplicity having everything in a single directory. Since StaxRip currently is not scriptable or extendable you can't do much other then use DGIndex by hand and then open the created files in staxRip. A little help might be to launch DGIndex from the 'External Applications' dialog or you could customize the main menu to launch DGIndex.

mulrich

21st January 2006, 10:06

Using another directory don't fit in my design (see help under Options/Preparer) and also does not fit to one of my main goals with StaxRip which is simplicity having everything in a single directory. Since StaxRip currently is not scriptable or extendable you can't do much other then use DGIndex by hand and then open the created files in staxRip. A little help might be to launch DGIndex from the 'External Applications' dialog or you could customize the main menu to launch DGIndex.

Then, can it at least delete the temporary files used when it's done using them?

stax76

21st January 2006, 11:39

Then, can it at least delete the temporary files used when it's done using them?

What temporary files?

LRN

21st January 2006, 16:07

ac3, dts, 264, srm, log, txt (chapters), avs, stats

Also...

---------- Second Pass Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 13:04:36
End time: 15:00:46
Duration: 1:56:09
Speed: 2 fps
You should think about date-time comparison, not only time comparison. THIS rip took 25:59:09, not 1:59:09 :)))

Also...There's no info in log for compressibility check. I'm really courious about commandline for it.

Also...
-add "blah:\blah-blah-blah.mp4:lang=bla"
must be
-add "blah:\blah-blah-blah.mp4:name=SomeName:lang=bla"
Maybe because of this there's no labels for these audio tracks in "Navigation" menu in MPC.

dumbas..

21st January 2006, 17:05

Firstly bit neew to this so be gentle!

Staxrip - App looks great and just this thing for startup idiots like me with MP4. Tired of Nero Recode2 Need adventure!

Installed all required apps - forced them so the required ARE there.
Can do Avi to MP4 (!?) oK
DVD to MP4 no good - DGIndex runs to completion.
Then get this error

"Failed to load source"
5314
Help!

stax76

21st January 2006, 18:31

ac3, dts, 264, srm, log, txt (chapters), avs, stats

I consider these as small and medium and also they might still be needed for remuxing if something went wrong. StaxRip supports 20 apps and soon more, I cannot take care of everything so once a rip is done everything has to be cleaned by hand.

You should think about date-time comparison, not only time comparison. THIS rip took 25:59:09, not 1:59:09 ))

Thanks, I think I can change this.

Also...There's no info in log for compressibility check. I'm really courious about commandline for it.

Log is only encoding atm (I should extend it), comp check is same as encoding but using -crf 18

:name is not supported for audio, I don't see how this is useful though if it's requested frequently I might have to add it.

@dumbas

You could use something like ImageShack

dumbas..

21st January 2006, 21:34

@dumbas

You could use something like ImageShack[/QUOTE]

Sorry Staxrip , should have also given more info
Avisynth to blame? But don't see how (DuMb as .... !)

D2V, avs and ac3 files all present. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Files from freshly ripped DVD via DvD_Decrypter. Plays OK from dir. Vob File 998MB.
AVS:
MPEG2Source("C:\Documents and Settings\...\Documents\DVD\VTS_01_1.d2v")
Crop(0,0,-0,-0)
BicubicResize(512,416,0,0.5)

Guidance much appreciated.

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/3866/failed9kr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

stax76

21st January 2006, 21:43

Please send a bug report, in the main menu use 'Help/Send Bug Report'.

Edit: Thanks for sending the bug report, the reason why it don't work is unknown so far. StaxRip checks all possible AviSynth related misconfigurations but didn't find something. The only known reason is moving the d2v file after it was created which breaks things because the d2v file contains absolute path information. Didn't the preview pop up showing a AviSynth error? This showed likely MPEG2Source not found which normally should not happen because StaxRip already checked the configuration is OK. You can of course try to load the plugins manually, right-click the source filter, select edit and add this line on top:

LoadPlugin("C:\MY PROGRAMS\VIDEO\DVD Rebuilder\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DGDecode.dll")

Normally plugins are auto loaded but this seem to not work on your system for some wicked reason, I got quite a few reports about that but so far nobody found the reason.

rozemab

22nd January 2006, 15:05

Stax,

How I do I know if Staxrip is using my Nero AAC encoder? I noticed in the besweet directory a Nero dll. Is the Nero encoder a function of besweet or something staxrip needs to specify in the cli command?

Looking at the cli (using belight and your logfile) I could not see a difference in the command between FAAC and Nero. In belight it is a user prompt to tell it to use Nero AAC. I could not tell if there was a similar prompt within staxrip.

thanks,

Brian

stax76

22nd January 2006, 15:20

StaxRip uses -bsn for BeSweet and that means always Nero I think so it uses the Nero dll's found in the BeSweet dir so you have to copy your dlls to the BeSweet dir. IIRC FAAC is some other not so popular encoder, I don't think it can be used with the same command line but who knows. I'm not very familiar with BeLight.

mistik69

23rd January 2006, 03:49

what is the best way to update to new version of staxrip?
btw, staxrip is a great app, kudos!

vladlp

23rd January 2006, 12:46

Thanks a lot for good program. But just one question, Are you planning to add support for custom avs plugins? As I understand not it just possible to use plugins which is predefined in StaxRip

stax76

23rd January 2006, 14:49

what is the best way to update to new version of staxrip?

You can overwrite the old files with new files or:

define your settings, install and download directory in the settings dialog. If you use directories outside of the StaxRip directory nothing is saved then within the StaxRip directory and you simply can replace the entire directory.

But just one question, Are you planning to add support for custom avs plugins? As I understand not it just possible to use plugins which is predefined in StaxRip

Please read the help under filters.

vladlp

23rd January 2006, 14:59

Stax,
Sorry, probably my question was not very clear. How to add filters I have read, but there are no filed with full path to necessary dll for this filter...

stax76

23rd January 2006, 15:23

Please read the AviSynth docs regarding auto loading of plugins. When StaxRip downloads plugins it will save them in the plugin directory of AviSynth and AviSynth will auto load all plugins in the plugin directory.

In the 'External Applications' dialog select a plugin and the choose 'Tools' in the main menu of the 'External Applications' dialog and then select 'Open directory of the application'. This will open the plugin directory with windows explorer were you put your dlls and they will be auto loaded.

You still can use manual loading using LoadPlugin function as filters are fully customizable, auto loading is imho a much better solution.

stax76

23rd January 2006, 17:02

I've added support for cutting that works with any encoder and muxer:

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

dumbas..

23rd January 2006, 20:52

@stax

1. Removed Avisynth and re-installed into c:\program files\ (frankly, did this to be tidy, rather than have it in a subdir of another app.)

2. was reading this:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106189

"You must have a YV12 decoder on your system, to support AviSynth input into MeGUI. Download and install the Helix YUV codecs, and you should have no problems."

So downloaded YV12decoder, installed, rebooted. All systems go!

All worked OK:)

I'm no expert by any means, (Has been, small drip under pressure maybe!) but it worked. Any one explain why?

Perhaps this will help the 'others' with this type of problem that you mentioned in your reply?

? should ensure the staxrip user has the YU12 codec loaded?

Can now load my NAS with files.

Thankx for your help previously..

?not so Dumbas.... ? :)

stax76

23rd January 2006, 21:31

If there wasn't a YV12 decoder StaxRip should suggest installing one, I'm suspecting there was a decoder but one that does not work correctly. I'm still researching at this topic, thank you to report back!

stax76

24th January 2006, 00:21

0.9.2.6 (2006-01-24)

new: Added cutting support working with any encoder and muxer. Removed VirtualDubMod cutting.

mistik69

25th January 2006, 00:10

stax, How critical is it to rip dvd in IFO mode instead of file mode?

stax76

25th January 2006, 00:49

stax, How critical is it to rip dvd in IFO mode instead of file mode?

Never tried it and I know only little about the structure of a DVD. There are no special requiremens however but simply the files created by DGIndex are opened.

mistik69

25th January 2006, 01:37

I'll let you know Stax. I inadvertently ripped a dvd in file mode with decrypter instead of ifo mode, but dgindex seemed to go through it with no problem. Its encoding right now. Ill see how it turns out. I know autogk always said to rip in IFO mode and I saw that you said to do so too in your guide. I never really came across a reason why in any of the forums. I figured you might know.

davidlt

25th January 2006, 06:48

Hi,
I`m looking for tutorial, how to rip DVD to x264...
Here are some problems, I want to use container mp4 or mkv, so mp4 doesn`t support AC3 sound, mkv, says thats doesn`t support RAW sound and, with AVI container nothing, it doesn`t work too. So I can`t rip anything and use AC3 sound... Maybe someone could help me?..

P.S. stax, if you one day decide to make StaxRip mutilanguage, write me. I want to translate in to Lithuanian...

filipcza

25th January 2006, 08:22

I don't know if this has been suggested before, but..

One possible improvement would be BACK-button.

-Pete

filipcza

25th January 2006, 08:54

..And a way to get to vobsub-dialog. Now I have to open up Gordian Knot and open vobsub from there.

But all in all, Great application!

-Pete

JoeBG

25th January 2006, 09:42

Hi,
....mkv, says thats doesn`t support RAW sound ...

Do you have an existing AC3? In mkv there is only muxing of an existing AC3.

hellfred

25th January 2006, 09:48

Hi Stax
Due to some circumstances, I had to stop a loooong encoding session midways in the video encoding and did not wanted to start all over again.
So I only restarted the video encoding with x264 with a batch file and I am now searching a way to redo the muxing, too.

StaxRip 0.9.2.5

Files to work with
VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms.ac3
VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4

VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms.ac3
VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4

troja_crf20.264

Batch-file and Command line used to encode troja_crf20.264
::"C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\x264\x264.exe" --crf 26 --ref 6 --bframes 4 --b-pyramid --weightb --b-rdo --filter -2,-2 --analyse all --8x8dct --subme 6 --trellis 1 --mixed-refs --progress --no-psnr --qpmax 42 --bime --no-fast-pskip --output "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.264" "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.avs"
start "x264 Troja" /BELOWNORMAL /B /WAIT "C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\x264\x264.exe" --crf 20 --ref 6 --bframes 4 --b-pyramid --weightb --b-rdo --filter -2,-2 --analyse all --8x8dct --subme 6 --trellis 1 --mixed-refs --progress --no-psnr --qpmax 42 --bime --no-fast-pskip --output "D:\Filme\TROY\troja_crf20.264" "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.avs"
shutdown -s -t 20 -c "Encodieren fertig"

The command line was retrieved from loading the corresponding project once more and pressing "Codec configuration". There I have chosen Tools->Show Command Line

Simply remuxing the three mp4 files with YAMB does not give satisfying results. I did not find a switch to set the delay of -8 ms, and Haalis Matroska Splitter does not show the languages for the two audio tracks.

Is there a way to get the exact muxing command line displayed from the project like it is possible for the x264 encoding command line? I have opened the *.rip with a text editor, too. But I did not fine a readable command line for muxing there either.

Thanks for this great tool anyway

Hellfred

EDIT:
I read the output of mp4box and the documentation on its homepage.
Is the needed command line something like
MP4Box
-add troja_crf20.264#video
-add VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4#trackID=0:delay=-8:lang=DE
-add VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4#trackID=0:delay=-8:lang=EN
out.mp4

EDIT 2:
I managed to get the three tracks muxed with
MP4Box
-add troja_crf20.264#video
-add "VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4"#trackID=1:delay=-8:lang=deu
-add "VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4"#trackID=1:delay=-8:lang=eng
-new out.mp4

stax76

25th January 2006, 12:33

I`m looking for tutorial, how to rip DVD to x264...

I hope that I can work soon on the docs.

mkv, says thats doesn`t support RAW sound and

In the x264 configuration please select another output format. The assistant message is pretty clear though I'm now realizing that the message is cutted because the field is too small.

P.S. stax, if you one day decide to make StaxRip mutilanguage, write me. I want to translate in to Lithuanian...

Thanks for offering your help. The decision was made while moving from DVX to StaxRip, I decided against it because it's a way too huge task.

One possible improvement would be BACK-button.

Can you please elaborate? You mean he assistant? What tip would you like to reappear? Please note that all features available from 'Please click here...' are also available from somewhere else in the main dialog.

..And a way to get to vobsub-dialog. Now I have to open up Gordian Knot and open vobsub from there.

The main menu of the StaxRip main dialog is totally customizable so you could customize it to launch VSRip from there. Most people use the start menu to lauch application, since VSRip don't has a installer you could drag it onto the start menu. I'm working with a keyboard driven application launcher.

Simply remuxing the three mp4 files with YAMB does not give satisfying results. I did not find a switch to set the delay of -8 ms, and Haalis Matroska Splitter does not show the languages for the two audio tracks.

In this case the delay was already handled by BeSweet. Since you only want to mux you can:

*reload your project.
*create a new encoder profile of type 'Null Encoder', it's called 'No Encoding' in the profiles dialog, when you click 'New' there.
*load the null encoder into the project.
*in the encoder config set the output format of the encoder the same as the previously used encoder.
*load and config the muxer (container) (loading another encoder loads another muxer since to muxer is part (belongs) the encoder).

Is there a way to get the exact muxing command line displayed from the project like it is possible for the x264 encoding command line? I have opened the *.rip with a text editor, too. But I did not fine a readable command line for muxing there either.

No but I consider to make a 'Show Command Line' feature like the x264 config dialog has.

filipcza

25th January 2006, 12:43

Yes, I meant that you could go back and forth in the assistant using BACK-button.

One further thing, in the cut/preview-window the buttons are on top of the picture. This is not good if you want to check subtitle size and location, because you can't see them properly - the buttons block the view.

-Pete

hellfred

25th January 2006, 12:44

Thanks for the tip, Stax. I was not aware that the delay was already addressed in the Audio-MP4s. I will mux once more without the ":delay=-8" via command line and try your suggestion, too.

Hellfred

stax76

25th January 2006, 12:55

One further thing, in the cut/preview-window the buttons are on top of the picture. This is not good if you want to check subtitle size and location, because you can't see them properly - the buttons block the view.

Would be hiding trackbar (press 'T') and hiding buttons (press 'B') be sufficient?

Thanks for the tip, Stax. I was not aware that the delay was already addressed in the Audio-MP4s. I will mux once more without the ":delay=-8" via command line and try your suggestion, too.

The reason why it's done with with BeSweet btw. is because some players have problems with handling container delay properly.

hellfred

25th January 2006, 13:50

Hi Stax
I have tryed your suggested way to mux audio and video mp4's from within StaxRip (0.9.2.5), but the process fails, as it expects the video to be stored in an avi container:
File->Recent Project->"MyProject"
Profiles->Encoder->Edit
->new->No Encoding
Profiles->Encoder->No Encoder
Profiles->Audio 1 -> AAC-HE - Add existing file
(important, or the audio will be extracted again, removing the existing audio mp4 at the beginning, so chanceling will leave you without a audio track to mux)
Audio->Track1->copy&paste path to audio-mp4
(Editing the line via keyboard is nearly impossible, as the path is checked ervery time after typing one char with error/warning message box that needs to be clicked away after every char)
Profiles->Audio 1 -> AAC-HE - Add existing file
(important, or the audio will be extracted again, removing the existing audio mp4 at the beginning, so chanceling will leave you without a audio track to mux)
Audio->Track1->copy&paste path to audio-mp4
(Editing the line via keyboard is nearly impossible, as the path is checked ervery time after typing one char with error/warning message box that needs to be clicked away after every char)
Proviles->Container->MP4->OK
Next

This will fail to mux, as the video is supposed to be in a avi, not in a raw H264 (.264)
From the log:
"C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\MP4Box\MP4Box.exe" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.avi" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=deu:delay=-8" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=eng:delay=-8" -new "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.mp4"
And the ":delay=-8" is set, too. If the delay was already taken care of when encoding with the audio profile "AAC-HE VBR - encoding at 50-70 kbps", then the delay is added a second time.

Hellfred

Full log:
---------- Versions ----------

StaxRip 0.9.2.5
Microsoft Windows NT 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
.NET Framework 2.0.50727.42
DirectX 4.09.00.0904

AutoCrop True
AviSynth True
BeSweet True
Decomb True
DGIndex True
DivX False
FluxSmooth True
Java False
ProjectX False
VirtualDubMod True
VirtualDub False
XviD True
MP4Box True
x264 True
Deen True
UnDot True
DirectShowSource True
MKVtoolnix True
MediaInfo True
DivXMux False
DGDecode True
VSFilter True

---------- Macros ----------

application:AutoCrop C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\AutoCrop.dll
application:AviSynth C:\WINDOWS\system32\avisynth.dll
application:BeSweet C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe
application:Decomb C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb.dll
application:Deen C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Deen.dll
application:DGDecode C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DGDecode.dll
application:DGIndex C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\AviSynth Plugins\DGIndex.exe
application:DirectShowSource C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\DirectShowSource.dll
application:DivX
application:DivXMux
application:FluxSmooth C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\FluxSmooth.dll
application:Java C:\Programme\Java\jre1.5.0\bin\java.exe
application:MediaInfo C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\MediaInfo.dll
application:MKVtoolnix C:\Programme\MKVtoolnix\mkvmerge.exe
application:MP4Box C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\MP4Box\MP4Box.exe
application:ProjectX
application:UnDot C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\UnDot.dll
application:VirtualDub
application:VirtualDubMod C:\Programme\Stefan\VirtualDubMod_1_5_10_1\VirtualDubMod.exe
application:VSFilter C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\VSFilter.dll
application:x264 C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\x264\x264.exe
application:XviD C:\WINDOWS\system32\xvidvfw.dll
application_dir C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\
audio_bitrate 123,205236814008
audio_file1 D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4
audio_file2 D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4
avisynth_plugin_dir C:\Programme\Stefan\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\
compressibility 0
crop_bottom 76
crop_height 424
crop_left 0
crop_right 0
crop_top 76
crop_width 720
encoder_out_file D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.avi
pos_ms 0
programs_dir C:\Programme\
source_dir D:\Filme\TROY\
source_file D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.d2v
source_files_blank "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.d2v"
source_files_comma "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.d2v"
source_files_comma_no_quotes D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.d2v
source_frames 234150
source_height 576
source_name VTS_01_1
source_rate 25,00
source_seconds 9366
source_width 720
system_dir C:\WINDOWS\system32\
target_dir D:\Filme\TROY\
target_file D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.mp4
target_framerate 25,00
target_frames 234150
target_height 288
target_kilobyte 716800
target_megabyte 700
target_name VTS_01_1
target_seconds 9366
target_width 704
version 0.9.2.5
video_bitrate 502

---------- AviSynth Plugins ----------

AutoCrop.dll 17.06.2003 12:45
convolution3d.dll 22.04.2003 21:10
Decomb.dll 04.09.2005 12:20
Deen.dll 05.07.2005 21:42
dgbob.dll 06.07.2003 06:30
DGDecode.dll 01.10.2005 06:31
DirectShowSource.dll 28.10.2005 16:44
ffavisynth.dll 26.07.2005 20:31
FluxSmooth.dll 29.07.2004 15:07
kerneldeint.dll 30.08.2003 22:09
MPEGDecoder.dll 16.02.2003 21:13
SmoothDeinterlacer.dll 18.02.2003 21:46
STMedianFilter.dll 21.06.2003 22:08
TCPDeliver.dll 28.10.2005 16:44
TomsMoComp.dll 29.06.2003 09:16
UnDot.dll 18.01.2003 17:05
VSFilter.dll 25.11.2005 20:58
WarpSharp.dll 03.01.2003 13:34

---------- AviSynth Script ----------

MPEG2Source("D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.d2v")
Crop(0,76,-0,-76)
FluxSmoothT(2)
BicubicResize(704,288,0,0.5)

---------- Muxing ----------

Command Line: "C:\Programme\Stefan\StaxRip_0.9.2.5\Applications\MP4Box\MP4Box.exe" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.avi" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=deu:delay=-8" -add "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -8ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=eng:delay=-8" -new "D:\Filme\TROY\VTS_01_1.mp4"

---------- Muxing Statistics ----------

Start time: 13:26:52
End time: 13:26:52
Duration: 00:00:00
Speed: 3746400 fps

---------- Overall Statistics ----------

Start time: 13:26:52
End time: 13:26:52
Duration: 00:00:00

stax76

25th January 2006, 17:33

@hellfred

did you:

*in the encoder config set the output format of the encoder the same as the previously used encoder.

And the ":delay=-8" is set, too. If the delay was already taken care of when encoding with the audio profile "AAC-HE VBR - encoding at 50-70 kbps", then the delay is added a second time.

Muxing profiles will assume delay was not handled, here only assumptions can be made but I have think about if muxing profiles should assume delay was already handled. You can however define the delay in the config dialog of the track's audio profile settings.

(Editing the line via keyboard is nearly impossible, as the path is checked ervery time after typing one char with error/warning message box that needs to be clicked away after every char)

Such checks are important for instance when you load a project so it's ensured that all files still exists. StaxRip is rather strict, it's a great way to prevent misconfiguration that would in many cases lead to negativ effects. You can however double-click at most text boxes to make the file browser open and that should have a reasonable filter so you see only audio files and it should display the source directory so it's really easy to pick up a file, after all doing stuff easy is the main point of the application otherwise all tools could be used manually.

Your post was occasionally not easy to read for me so please let me know if you've still problems after reading my answers. I've noticed me a couple of things so thanks for the feedback, it helps me to further improve StaxRip.

LRN

25th January 2006, 18:07

davidlt, you should look at http://newage.gcnet.ru/index.php?showtopic=14526 . There's a DVD-rip guide. It's on Russian, but with LOT of pictures (1.6 meg i beleive), although some significant thigs must be read. Also this is "perfect-quality" oriented, i.e. ~100% quality, x264, HE-AAC, slow encoding. And it's a bit outdated (recent "cut-with-any-container" feature isn't mentioned etc).

stax76

25th January 2006, 18:34

@LRN

Looks awesome, thanks for your effort, I'll link of course all guides frome the help.

hellfred

25th January 2006, 20:04

@hellfred

did you:
*in the encoder config set the output format of the encoder the same as the previously used encoder.

Argh, no, I did not find that switch when I tryed your suggestion for the first time. Just now, I have tryed to mux the three files again from within StaxRip. After setting the format to raw H264, muxing worked out fine:stupid: .
@hellfred
Muxing profiles will assume delay was not handled, here only assumptions can be made but I have think about if muxing profiles should assume delay was already handled. You can however define the delay in the config dialog of the track's audio profile settings.
I have to search for this dialog and test it, too.
@hellfred
Such checks are important for instance when you load a project so it's ensured that all files still exists. StaxRip is rather strict, it's a great way to prevent misconfiguration that would in many cases lead to negativ effects. You can however double-click at most text boxes to make the file browser open and that should have a reasonable filter so you see only audio files and it should display the source directory so it's really easy to pick up a file, after all doing stuff easy is the main point of the application otherwise all tools could be used manually.
I do understand that having valid paths is necessary for avoiding complicated and largescaled exception handling in StaxRip. I simply never thought of trying a double-click on the text boxes. I was looking for a filechooser dialog hidden under some button labeled with e.g. [...] or [browse]. Now that I know of this trick, I will use it. Just wonder, how many other useres did not learn that trick up to now.

@hellfred
Your post was occasionally not easy to read for me so please let me know if you've still problems after reading my answers. I've noticed me a couple of things so thanks for the feedback, it helps me to further improve StaxRip.
Sorry for my post being hard to read. I try very hard to write easily understandable and comprehensible messabes. I would love to switch to German, but the rules of this forum do not allow this.
About improving StaxRip: I would love to have the possibility to read the MP4Box command line.

Hellfred

stax76

25th January 2006, 20:49

I have to search for this dialog and test it, too.

Click on the dropdown button and select 'Edit'.

I do understand that having valid paths is necessary for avoiding complicated and largescaled exception handling in StaxRip. I simply never thought of trying a double-click on the text boxes.

Keep in mind most devs are lazy and thus this trick works often ;)

I was looking for a filechooser dialog hidden under some button labeled with e.g. [...] or [browse].

Can be found in the menu that pops up clicking the dropdown button, I'll move this stuff a little bit more in the foreground.

I would love to have the possibility to read the MP4Box command line.

For the sake of consistency I'll add this to all CLI related dialogs.

ricardo.santos

25th January 2006, 22:10

Thanks for offering your help. The decision was made while moving from DVX to StaxRip, I decided against it because it's a way too huge task.

Hi Stax!

We at the portuguese doom9 mirror started to translate the docs included with StaxRip and we were going to contact you about including the portuguese docs in future releases.

Will that be possible?

stax76

25th January 2006, 22:22

We at the portuguese doom9 mirror started to translate the docs included with StaxRip and we were going to contact you about including the portuguese docs in future releases.

Will that be possible?

That will definitely be possible and I appreaciate it much.

ricardo.santos

25th January 2006, 23:13

we finished the translation some time ago but the docs kept on changing upon inovation/changes in StaxRip.

by the time one version was translated another one was released with different docs, making our translation kind of obsolete, i know its good to have inovations but a " pain" for part-time translators.

How far untill a stable version?

Ricardo

hellfred

25th January 2006, 23:18

The more I get to learn StaxRip, the more I love it. Really a great Program, that has so much featueres hidden in it, though, at first sight, it appears to only consist of one dialog window.
Respect.

Hellfred

And now some more pestering :)
As your useres have the ability to create, save and later choose new profiles for next to anything that StaxRip is able to do (encoding video, audio or muxing), I wonder if you will add some export and import commands for exporting and importing those profiles. So that the community can work together and share some special profiles for special tasks.
If you are just on the edge of being over-worked, forget about this suggestion. Or write it to the end of your TODO list.

stax76

26th January 2006, 00:34

we finished the translation some time ago but the docs kept on changing upon inovation/changes in StaxRip.

Good you mention it because I almost forgot that only the docs in the docs directory can be translated. The docs for the dialogs are automatically generated at runtime using handy stuff like design time integration and wiki markup. I hope you did not start to translate this docs, did you?

How far untill a stable version?

Before version 1.0 I want to do a lot more improvements for both, application and docs.

And now some more pestering
As your useres have the ability to create, save and later choose new profiles for next to anything that StaxRip is able to do (encoding video, audio or muxing), I wonder if you will add some export and import commands for exporting and importing those profiles. So that the community can work together and share some special profiles for special tasks.
If you are just on the edge of being over-worked, forget about this suggestion. Or write it to the end of your TODO list.

I thought about this a couple of times, binary import/export would likely be easy but it's a too big task too maintain a versioning method for this so I would have to force using identical versions for import/export.

ricardo.santos

26th January 2006, 00:51

just the documents folder.

LRN

26th January 2006, 04:03

I thought about this a couple of times, binary import/export would likely be easy but it's a too big task too maintain a versioning method for this so I would have to force using identical versions for import/export.
You could use XML to store this information, since XML can be backward-compatible (just freeze some basic tags and add new ones for every change you make).

filipcza

26th January 2006, 11:00

Would be hiding trackbar (press 'T') and hiding buttons (press 'B') be sufficient?

Yes that's fine. Did you have that info somewhere in help files? If not then you should make(or someone should help you to make) a comprehensive help, so that these kind of questions would be answered and we wouldn't have to bother you with them.

And regarding the other question I had, the vobsub-launching thingy..I had no idea you could make your own menu items, where you can launch pretty much anything! Now that's a great feature, which very few apps have. And since you can also add keyboard shortcuts to those menu items, you can pretty much "code" your own set of shortcuts and that's a BIG time saver!

I think I'm going to switch from GK to StaxRip! Thanks again!

-Pete

sbp

26th January 2006, 15:31

Hi I just want to thank your for Staxrip, it looks very powerfull.

But I have one problem. I would like to use staxrip to transcode my TV-captures into divx (or XVID or X264). I capture into Picvideo MJPEG.

But when I try to load one of my captured files into staxrip, Virtualdubmod(dub in progress) starts, and I can see the first frame of the captured video. Then Virtualdubmod closes, and the next thing that happend is an error stating: "Failed to load source" When I click OK on this, then another error pops up:
The preview window states: "Avisource couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc MJPG "then my filename", line 1.

I don't know what the problem is, but if it is a missing component, then StaxRip previously has quided me to download the missing - could that be possible here as well?

Steen

stax76

26th January 2006, 17:07

You could use XML to store this information, since XML can be backward-compatible (just freeze some basic tags and add new ones for every change you make).

Manual formating is out of question for my complex object graphs and XML serializer in .NET has in my experience serious limitations compared to the binary serializer, it certainly wouldn't work with my code unless I would try to make it work which possible could end up in much of a pain.

Yes that's fine. Did you have that info somewhere in help files?

It's in the menu (right-click or click the dropdown button) and in the help.

But I have one problem. I would like to use staxrip to transcode my TV-captures into divx (or XVID or X264). I capture into Picvideo MJPEG.

But when I try to load one of my captured files into staxrip, Virtualdubmod(dub in progress) starts, and I can see the first frame of the captured video. Then Virtualdubmod closes, and the next thing that happend is an error stating: "Failed to load source" When I click OK on this, then another error pops up:
The preview window states: "Avisource couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc MJPG "then my filename", line 1.

I don't know what the problem is, but if it is a missing component, then StaxRip previously has quided me to download the missing - could that be possible here as well?

Anything other than DVB and DVD sources need much likely to be configured, see 'Preperation' in the Options and 'Filters' in the main dialog. There is some docs of both of this. Of course that's were stuff get's complicated, messing with command lines, DirectShow and AviSynth filters. Maybe I can help you if you upload a 5-10 seconds sample somewhere, please let my know if you need help on how to do this.

sbp

26th January 2006, 19:51

Stax
Thank you for your offer, I can't figure out how to do it.

I have a small file (less than 25 MB), do you know of a place where I can upload it?

Steen

stax76

26th January 2006, 19:53

There are a couple of upload services e.g.:

http://www.mytempdir.com

http://www.yousendit.com

stax76

26th January 2006, 20:05

0.9.2.7 (2006-01-26)

new: Added possibility to change the AviSynth plugin directory in the settings dialog.
new: Command line preview and info dialog added to container (muxer) dialogs.
fix: A couple of bugs were fixed.
change: A couple of applications were updated.

sbp

27th January 2006, 09:09

Thank you

I have now uploaded a small clip to http://www.mytempdir.com/411879

I hope that you can find a way to transcode this into xvid or x264 using Staxrip

Thanks Steen

L4z4rus

27th January 2006, 10:34

But when I try to load one of my captured files into staxrip, Virtualdubmod(dub in progress) starts, and I can see the first frame of the captured video. Then Virtualdubmod closes, and the next thing that happend is an error stating: "Failed to load source" When I click OK on this, then another error pops up:
The preview window states: "Avisource couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc MJPG "then my filename", line 1.
Steen

Sounds like a problem with your PicVideo Codec installation - VirtualDub can't find it to decompress your capture (rather than it specifically being StaxRip).

sbp

27th January 2006, 12:25

No I dont think that this is the problem. I can play the clip in VirtualDub without problems (using virtualdub without StaxRip)

Steen

stax76

27th January 2006, 22:21

0.9.2.8 (2006-01-27)

new: Cascading profiles menu.
new: Sharktooth's x264 profiles (thanks to Sharktooth).

swaaye

28th January 2006, 00:12

Ideas for ya Stax:

1- get those vdub windows to startup minimized. I'm always afraid i'm going to hit close on one when they pop up. And, when minimized, they show % done.

2- Add a stop projects button so you can stop Staxrip's entire job queue. I sometimes have 20 jobs in there and hitting abort 20 times is a prob. Maybe also add a shutdown/hiberbate/whatever on completion of queue too.

3- Crop is still messing up my 4:3 TV shows. Wrong aspect. I always use autocrop in my filter stream and turn off your auto crop feature. I use the aspect=-1 option to make autocrop keep the aspect of the source. Works 100% for me.

4- Be able to save the job queue. I've noticed it doesn't get lost if Staxrip crashes, but would be nice to be able to manually save it too.

5- Crazy Idea: a way to search for D2Vs in a folder and autojobify them? Say you used Robot4rip. It makes folders for each rip and makes the d2v. I set up a default Staxrip profile. I have Staxrip go search for those D2Vs and it makes jobs for me with my default profile and puts them in the queue. Now that would be totally mind-blowingly spiffy and reduce a ton of clicking. :)

6- With earlier versions I was using mapped drives to "distribute" my encoding to networked PCs. Sorta a file server setup. The newer versions are telling me only local drives can be used.....

As always, good work man. This program blows AGK and GK out of the water in flexibility and ease of use.

hellfred

28th January 2006, 00:33

0.9.2.8 (2006-01-27)
Hi Stax
What vorbis dlls are being downloaded by v0.9.2.8 and have you heard of the lancer opimized vorbis encoder from Ogg vorbis accelearation project (http://homepage3.nifty.com/blacksword/index_e.htm)? The encoder is really fast, patched with latest aoTuV beta4.5 source (q -1 und -2) and the audio tracks encoded with this encoder are not distinguishable form those encoded with original auTuV. At least that is stated by the gurus from hydrogenaudio.org (link (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=15049)) AFAIK all you need is a CPU with SSE. I recomend you to give this encoder a try.

Hellfred

P.S.: Being able to use Sharktooths profiles is a great feature! Your tool becomes better and better. If only my PC would encode faster to enjoy the ease of DVD-backups with StaxRip more ...

stax76

28th January 2006, 01:47

1- get those vdub windows to startup minimized. I'm always afraid i'm going to hit close on one when they pop up. And, when minimized, they show % done.

There is a option in the settings dialog.

2- Add a stop projects button so you can stop Staxrip's entire job queue.

Maybe I could modify 'Abort' to abort the entire queue, 'Abort' was recently changed internally (using a exception), I can't even tell you what happens when you abort while using jobs.

Maybe also add a shutdown/hiberbate/whatever on completion of queue too.

That should be executed only when all jobs are done, if it get's executed after every job, then it's a bug.

3- Crop is still messing up my 4:3 TV shows. Wrong aspect. I always use autocrop in my filter stream and turn off your auto crop feature. I use the aspect=-1 option to make autocrop keep the aspect of the source. Works 100% for me.

I checked the AutoCrop docs and don't even understand what aspect=-1 is about.

4- Be able to save the job queue. I've noticed it doesn't get lost if Staxrip crashes, but would be nice to be able to manually save it too.

Joblist is part of the settings, I understand it's not nice to lose settings after a crash. I'm not sure what's the best way to handle but I'll think about it.

5- Crazy Idea: a way to search for D2Vs in a folder and autojobify them? Say you used Robot4rip. It makes folders for each rip and makes the d2v. I set up a default Staxrip profile. I have Staxrip go search for those D2Vs and it makes jobs for me with my default profile and puts them in the queue. Now that would be totally mind-blowingly spiffy and reduce a ton of clicking.

Can you please elaborate, what does that mean: 'I set up a default Staxrip profile.'?

6- With earlier versions I was using mapped drives to "distribute" my encoding to networked PCs. Sorta a file server setup. The newer versions are telling me only local drives can be used.....

Doesn't that mean the working dir is a network drive? Did that really work well?

What vorbis dlls are being downloaded by v0.9.2.8 and have you heard of the lancer opimized vorbis encoder from Ogg vorbis accelearation project? The encoder is really fast, patched with latest aoTuV beta4.5 source (q -1 und -2) and the audio tracks encoded with this encoder are not distinguishable form those encoded with original auTuV. At least that is stated by the gurus from hydrogenaudio.org (link) AFAIK all you need is a CPU with SSE. I recomend you to give this encoder a try.

I'm clueless about SSE, sounds like a feature only newer CPU's have?

davidlt

28th January 2006, 05:14

Could you make something with MKV container and AC3?.. Make it more simple, easier...

swaaye

28th January 2006, 05:44

I checked the AutoCrop docs and don't even understand what aspect=-1 is about.

From the Autocrop v1.2 manual:
aspect - Float - default 0 - Aspect is ignored

-1 - Maintain aspect ratio of the source clip
0 - Aspect is ignored
>0 - Aspect ratio will be set to this. For example for a 4:3 aspect ratio you would pass
4.0/3.0 or 1.33333333333. Note 4/3 won't work the .0 is need to tell AVISynth the value is
a float.

So I just use aspect=-1 and it doesn't change the aspect of the clip. It seems to work by far the best in this mode. I did try 4.0/3.0 once but it ended up 5:4 for some odd reason. -1 has always worked perfectly, at least with this 4:3 stuff.

Can you please elaborate, what does that mean: 'I set up a default Staxrip profile.'?

I'm referring to your default profile in the Staxrip. I always set up a default profile and save it before starting a bunch of jobs on the same source material (episodes of a series). Then I just load the d2v, the saved default profile loads and has all settings, then just add to job queue. By being able to have Staxrip go out and load those D2Vs into the queue for me, while loading your cool default profile, it would be totally automated. It should go load all the D2V's from a folder I tell it and load them from subfolders within that folder (Robot4Rip does this).

Example:
"D:\DVD" is where Robot4rip puts all the DVD rips
"D:\DVD\SERIES1" a ripped DVD disk
"D:\DVD\SERIES1\VTS_02_PGC2" One of the PGCs from the DVD. Each has its own subfolder, 4 per DVD in this show's case. D2Vs are in each of these folders.

So, StaxRip would be told to look in D:\DVD and it would then look into each subfolder for a D2V, assuming that I want it to use its Default Profile for the encoding settings, and make jobs, save them, and add them to the queue. :)

Doesn't that mean the working dir is a network drive? Did that really work well?

Yes I had 3 computers working on the same drives thru a 100MBit network! It was working very well! But now it's giving that 'local drives only' error and won't let me use the mapped drives.

StaxRip is pretty self-contained within its folder so I can just copy the folder onto each comp and I have a little video encoding distrubuted processing lab or something!! Heh. The DVD files are all on the central file server computer, which itself also encodes. The other machines think the mapped drive is their hard drive so they just use the VOBs from there and save their finished file to there too.

stax76

28th January 2006, 08:33

Could you make something with MKV container and AC3?.. Make it more simple, easier...

Can you please elaborate? I don't see much of a problem here. There is a audio profile to mux AC3, it's called 'AC3 - Add Existing File', normally it would be called 'Mux AC3' but it wouldn't be easy then ;), mux means adding without reencoding...

You can overwrite your default project to have that profile available when StaxRip starts. Go to 'File/Default Project/Save'.

So I just use aspect=-1 and it doesn't change the aspect of the clip. It seems to work by far the best in this mode. I did try 4.0/3.0 once but it ended up 5:4 for some odd reason. -1 has always worked perfectly, at least with this 4:3 stuff.

Now I understand it, it will crop both sides to maintain the same aspect ratio, since StaxRip's AR calculations take care of cropping I don't see a problem, even without resizing there shouldn't be a problem since StaxRip automatically uses AR signalling for codecs supporting it. I can only examine the problem if you upload a 5-10 seconds sample.

I'm referring to your default profile in the Staxrip. I always set up a default profile and save it before starting a bunch of jobs on the same source material (episodes of a series). Then I just load the d2v, the saved default profile loads and has all settings, then just add to job queue. By being able to have Staxrip go out and load those D2Vs into the queue for me, while loading your cool default profile, it would be totally automated. It should go load all the D2V's from a folder I tell it and load them from subfolders within that folder (Robot4Rip does this).

Example:
"D:\DVD" is where Robot4rip puts all the DVD rips
"D:\DVD\SERIES1" a ripped DVD disk
"D:\DVD\SERIES1\VTS_02_PGC2" One of the PGCs from the DVD. Each has its own subfolder, 4 per DVD in this show's case. D2Vs are in each of these folders.

So, StaxRip would be told to look in D:\DVD and it would then look into each subfolder for a D2V, assuming that I want it to use its Default Profile for the encoding settings, and make jobs, save them, and add them to the queue.

In StaxRip you probably mean project, not profile ;), StaxRip has a 'Batch Mode' I don't even recall if it's called that way and testing it with a real world scenario is still on my to do list. I simply didn't go through a batch scenario yet but it's pretty popular so I need to work on it.

Yes I had 3 computers working on the same drives thru a 100MBit network! It was working very well! But now it's giving that 'local drives only' error and won't let me use the mapped drives.

It was done because opening a source file directly from DVD can't work and resulted in a crash. I'll fix it.

sbp

28th January 2006, 09:25

Dear stax.

Did you have time to look at my uploaded clip?
I heve been trying different settings, but I can't figure out how to use StacRip on these captured files.

Thanks STeen

stax76

28th January 2006, 09:46

Did you have time to look at my uploaded clip?
I heve been trying different settings, but I can't figure out how to use StacRip on these captured files.

Not yet but I'll do so shortly, thanks for uploading clip.

hellfred

28th January 2006, 10:04

There is a option in the settings dialog.I'm clueless about SSE, sounds like a feature only newer CPU's have?
Hi Stax
SSE(alias ISSE) is an extension to the x86 instruction sets. It allows computing following the idear SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data: multiple data sets are read into special registers and worked on simultanious, resulting in higher computing performance). It was the second SIMD extension to the instruction set of x86 cpus added by Intel. It was introduced with the Pentium III series. (First SIMD instruction extension was MMX - alias Math Matrix eXtension alias MultiMedieXtension, which was integer-only). Wikipedia has some nice articles about all of this and lists of CPUs, that come with those instruction sets.
In English:
SIMD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMD)
SSE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_SIMD_Extensions)

In German
SIMD (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Instruction_Multiple_Data) (shorter)
SSE (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSE) (with CPU list)

So basically it comes down to saying:
No, some of the user of StaxRip will have CPUs that are older than Pentium III or AMD Athlon XP and the dlls will fail on them.
But hey, then they are running WinXP with Net v2.0 on those slow machines an on top of that trying to encoding videos on those old and slow hardware. Those must be pure masochinsts :). They have to replace the Lancer vorbis dlls with normal ones.

Yes, I expect all of my users to have quite up to date hardware for encoding as otherwise video processing is not practicable on their machines. And if one really wants to encode on an quite old and slow hardware, he is told in the dialogs (External applications) and documentation to manually download and copy regular vorbis dlls to their destination.

Hellfred

EDIT: Changed Pentium II to Pentium III, typing mistake

stax76

28th January 2006, 10:25

@hellfred

That's a good reasoning, I have to agree, thanks.

hellfred

28th January 2006, 11:31

Here some numbers to illustrate the benefit of using lancer:

Encoding 2 WAVs at q 7:
Oggenc Lancer: 7 sec
Oggenc classic (ICL P3 build for Pentium M): 16 sec
Oggenc classic (generic MSVC): 19 sec

Encoding 6 WAVs at q 7:
Oggenc Lancer: 1:33 min
Oggenc classic (ICL P3 build for Pentium M): 3:11 min
Oggenc classic (generic MSVC): 3:58 min

Ogg lancer build was taken from here (oggenc2_lancer20051121.zip) (http://homepage3.nifty.com/blacksword/index.htm)
Ogg classic was taken from here (oggenc28.exe aoTuV beta 4.51 (ICL compile for P3/AMD Athlon)). (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=15049)
Ogg classic generic was taken from the same place where the P3 build came form. (oggenc28.exe aoTuV beta 4.51 (MSVC compile)).

The P3 build was taken as it fits best for the Pentium M 725A, which was used for the encoding.

Hellfred

P.S.: Lancer 20051121 is based on aotuv-b4.51_20051117, so the comparison should be fair. Comparison was made with Exact Audio Copying, "Tools"->"Compressing WAVs" (in German: Hilfsmittel->Komprimiere WAVs), the durations were taken directly from EAC dialog.

stax76

28th January 2006, 13:16

@sbp

here it loads:

FourCC: MJPG
Pvmjpg20.dll (PICVideo MJPEG Codec)

Please don't ask me from where I got this dll, I don't know it. In VirtualDub when you go to 'File/File Information' you'll likely see 'VirtualDub internal MJPEG'. StaxRip of course has no internal MJPEG decompressor but I hope somebody can tell us where to find a free decompressor. In the StaxRip 'Filters' menu if you right-click the source filter using DirectShowSource might find a decompressor while AVISource don't, here it finds one using ffdshow.

Edit: After rereading your first post I realize you got PICVideo, what decompressor your system is setup to use for MJPG can be seen when searching in regedit for 'VIDC.MJPG', is that set to Pvmjpg20.dll?

@hellfred

Nice, I'll update it shortly.

hellfred

28th January 2006, 17:33

This numbers were measured on a P4@3.06GHz with other WAVs.
(first 6 tracks from U2 - POP, before it were the first 6 tracks of Metallica - St. Anger and the first 2 track from M. Manson - Golden Age of Grotesque )

Encoding 6 WAVs at q 7:
Oggenc Lancer: 1:01 min
Oggenc classic (ICL P4 build for Pentium 4): 1:40 min
Oggenc classic (generic MSVC): 2:18 min

Ogg lancer build: oggenc2_lancer20051121.zip
Ogg classic P4: oggenc28.exe aoTuV beta 4.51 (ICL compile for P4/AMD Sempron, Athlon 64)
Ogg classic generic: oggenc28.exe aoTuV beta 4.51 (MSVC compile)

The speedup compared to compiler-optimized encoder is still siginficant, the speedup compared to generic encoder even huger

Hellfred

stax76

29th January 2006, 00:11

Here is a build with experimental pause/resume for processing apps:

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

It pauses/resumes the worker thread and only one thread so it might work with all apps with single worker thread and with all normal CPU's, everything else has to be tested...

LRN

29th January 2006, 13:44

Hello again. I have some bad news.
Before muxing chapters, StaxRip converts them to UTF-8. After conversion the chapter-file in Temporary Files does not contain any non-latin symbols in any form (they're just stripped off). However it contains BOM, pointing what this file is indeed UTF-8 text file.
Chapter-file should be plain CP-xxxx text (at least when i manually muxed CP-1251 file with mp4box everything worked fine; Maybe there IS way to mux UTF or other unicode files - but i didn't find it).
Also...
I noticed, what all russian subtitles i mux with StaxRip...Well, they work improperly. For example, first 8 minutes of movie they're shown fine - but after that they disappear. In other movie they disappear on first minute.
English subtitles works perfectly. I'll investigate this. Looks like mp4box produces corrupt mp4 because of some wrong characters in subtitles...I really don't know.

stax76

29th January 2006, 14:22

Before muxing chapters, StaxRip converts them to UTF-8. After conversion the chapter-file in Temporary Files does not contain any non-latin symbols in any form (they're just stripped off). However it contains BOM, pointing what this file is indeed UTF-8 text file.
Chapter-file should be plain CP-xxxx text (at least when i manually muxed CP-1251 file with mp4box everything worked fine; Maybe there IS way to mux UTF or other unicode files - but i didn't find it).
Also...

I noticed, what all russian subtitles i mux with StaxRip...Well, they work improperly. For example, first 8 minutes of movie they're shown fine - but after that they disappear. In other movie they disappear on first minute.
English subtitles works perfectly. I'll investigate this. Looks like mp4box produces corrupt mp4 because of some wrong characters in subtitles...I really don't know.

Can you get this stuff working when you are doing everything by hand, if not then I certainly can't either. I wish StaxRip would have full local support but since not all tools like DGIndex support unicode it's not possible.

sbp

29th January 2006, 15:13

Dear Stax, Thank you for your help.

I managed by adding an extra avisynth filter: defined by adding "direct show source". Than I saw your other post regarding MJEPG support in FFDSHOW, so I enabled this (it was disabled). So now I can open these tv-capture files without any problems.

However, new problems have occured. I would like to try the X264 encoder, but StaxRip wont allow me to do this (I try to use MP3 as audio, in a mp4 container - staxrip tells me that this i wrong).
Then I try to choose aac, but now I havent Nero installed - so no luck here.
Finally, I would try to encode - choosing no audio - but StaxRip tells me that "the audio profile supports the input format - please choose another audio profile" - so basicly I'm not able to encode without audio?

Thanks
Steen

PS: would it be possible to start StaxRip from a bat file, with a input file name, a profile (like TV-show encoding), an output file name. I would realy like this because then I could transcode my tv-recordings unattended overnight. (using dirmon to start the bat file when certain options is fullfilled)

LRN

29th January 2006, 15:42

Can you get this stuff working when you are doing everything by hand, if not then I certainly can't either. I wish StaxRip would have full local support but since not all tools like DGIndex support unicode it's not possible.
at least when i manually muxed CP-1251 file with mp4box everything worked fine
StaxRip converts them to UTF-8. After conversion the chapter-file in Temporary Files does not contain any non-latin symbols in any form (they're just stripped off). However it contains BOM, pointing what this file is indeed UTF-8 text file.
That's it. This mess with chapters - it's only StaxRip's fault.

stax76

29th January 2006, 16:48

@LRN

Sorry for making this a mess, I've now removed changing it to UTF-8 but now don't change it at all, this should work:

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Then I try to choose aac, but now I havent Nero installed - so no luck here.

Installing the demo should be sufficient, StaxRip will grab then some dll and copy them to the BeSweet dir, the files are neroipp.dll, aac.enc, aacenc32.dll, you should backup those. You don't need Nero to be installed once you got those files in your BeSweet dir, though you should have a Nero license. You could also make a profile to use another free encoder or even use another free codec for which StaxRip already has some profiles.

Finally, I would try to encode - choosing no audio - but StaxRip tells me that "the audio profile supports the input format - please choose another audio profile" - so basicly I'm not able to encode without audio?

Just remove the audio source file.

PS: would it be possible to start StaxRip from a bat file, with a input file name, a profile (like TV-show encoding), an output file name. I would realy like this because then I could transcode my tv-recordings unattended overnight. (using dirmon to start the bat file when certain options is fullfilled)

Currently I don't think it can be done, I have to check it.

wdmalik

29th January 2006, 21:38

any way to 'queue' jobs

asdfsauce

29th January 2006, 22:36

any way to 'queue' jobs

"View" >> "Jobs" >> "Add".

-----
Hi stax,

I really like how your program is coming along. Some problems though - my audio is never in sync when I try to cut out pieces of my M2V + AC3 combo files using the built-in editing interface. It sounds like it's cutting the audio, just not very accurately. Do you know of this, or how I might fix it?

Feature Requests:

SAR in encoder setup. Unless it's somewhere else, I couldn't find it.

Better transport stream support. Shouldn't be hard at all since ProjectX demuxes these into formats Staxrip can handle right now.

Maybe add audio to preview/editing so people know they're not cutting off or into audible sound.

Thanks.

Edit: Oh yeah, is there any way to turn off the compression test?

stax76

29th January 2006, 22:38

any way to 'queue' jobs

Recently I modified the last assistant tip to 'Click on the next button to start the encoding process or click here to add the project to the job list'. I don't remember if it's released already but under 'View/Jobs' (press F6) you can add projects to the job list.

edit: I'm late

I really like how your program is coming along. Some problems though - my audio is never in sync when I try to cut out pieces of my M2V + AC3 combo files using the built-in editing interface. It sounds like it's cutting the audio, just not very accurately. Do you know of this, or how I might fix it?

It cuts the AC3 using VirtualDubMod. Maybe it's already out of sync after demuxing. How did you capture and demux?

SAR in encoder setup. Unless it's somewhere else, I couldn't find it.

See the 'Options/Automation': Auto Aspect Ratio Signaling (Tooltip: In case no resize filter is used StaxRip signals the codec to write the proper aspect ratio to the bitstream so players that support aspect ratio signaling playback still the proper aspect ratio. Aspect ratio signaling is not supported by DivX and also not by every player.)

Better transport stream support. Shouldn't be hard at all since ProjectX demuxes these into formats Staxrip can handle right now.

Can you please elaborate?

Maybe add audio to preview/editing so people know they're not cutting off or into audible sound.

It's hardly possible as the preview don't support playback, it's likely hard to change this and in case of AC3 AviSynth is not even used to cut. Maybe you can temporary add a filter like NicAudio and then launch a real player at the current position which can be done by customizing the menu using the macro %pos_ms% and MPC, see MPC.exe /? for help. I did some very short tests cutting AC3 from VOB sources and here it sounded good. You can also try a old version with the old cutting support to see if there is a difference though it's restricted to AVI.

asdfsauce

30th January 2006, 01:16

This is how I do it right now.

-Take the TS source that I capture with my PC HDTV tuner and load it into ProjectX for demuxing into M2V and AC3.

-Load the demuxed files into Cuttermaran (really good) for commercial editing.

-Use DGIndex to make a d2v file.

-Crop and resize with GK.

-Load the AVS script generated by GK into MeGUI for encoding.

I thought it would be nice to have an all in one kind of program as things can get a little messy/bloated/painful doing it the other way, especially when working with 10+ Gig files.

Maybe you could add an interface to set cut in/out points by frame number, but I guess that would only be useful to me and there would be the issue of audio. :-/ If I knew it required such a large change to the editing engine, I wouldn't have asked, sorry.

Can you please elaborate?

Right now, with .mpg files, staxrip will demux them with ProjectX and continue as normal. I was suggesting that same behavior for transport stream (.ts .trp) files.

stax76

30th January 2006, 02:49

Maybe you could add an interface to set cut in/out points by frame number, but I guess that would only be useful to me and there would be the issue of audio.

Please elaborate

Right now, with .mpg files, staxrip will demux them with ProjectX and continue as normal. I was suggesting that same behavior for transport stream (.ts .trp) files.

It handles ts, see 'Options/Preperation'.

If GaveUp finishes the work on his AC3 cutter I'll try it, meanwhile I can't do much. The main problem is I don't use AC3 otherwise I would have more insight.

LRN

30th January 2006, 03:45

Maybe you could add an interface to set cut in/out points by frame number, but I guess that would only be useful to me and there would be the issue of audio.
Type "xxxx-yyyy" in some edit field to cut from frame #xxxx to frame #yyyy. That's how i understand this :)

Gehenna

30th January 2006, 11:32

Hi Stax,

Many thanks for the inclusion of Sharktooth`s profiles :) , personally i prefer using x264 at the mo,but its myriad of options tends to perplex me.

Also staxrip seems to be evolving into a more user friendly app (this coming from a Noob like myself)

Thanks

jsquare

30th January 2006, 17:58

Stax, I just tried StaxRip this weekend and I must say that your efforts shows the making of a great application, very customizable and yet easy to use.

As an current user of GK and soon migrating to StaxRip I just want to bring to your attention a few things that could be improved on future versions:

- On cropping menu, an option for 1:1 PAR. Some old DVDs are encoded with wrong DAR/PAR values so adjustments have to be made manually.

- Have some doubts about the CompCheck feature, by looking a the video or avs created I noticed that skips a lot of scenes from original material.

- No really important but if possible the implementation of an permanent preview window(like in GK) that shows you the cropped/resize output without reloading the avs file.

Once again, thanks for this great GUI!

stax76

30th January 2006, 18:37

On cropping menu, an option for 1:1 PAR. Some old DVDs are encoded with wrong DAR/PAR values so adjustments have to be made manually.

For everything not basic a much more detailed description would help a lot.

Have some doubts about the CompCheck feature, by looking a the video or avs created I noticed that skips a lot of scenes from original material.

It's 3 percent, I could make it 5 if that helps, more should imho not be needed.

No really important but if possible the implementation of an permanent preview window(like in GK) that shows you the cropped/resize output without reloading the avs file.

More detailes would help me to understand this better, is the 'Reload' option in the preview sufficient?

bagel

30th January 2006, 19:18

I just did an encode and i chose the MP3 VBR 110 - 150 kbps for my audio track but the output was CBR.

Could you explain why this is. I am using StaxRip_0.9.2.8.zip and installed from scratch using all the recommended apps downloaded via StaxRip.

---------- Audio Encoding ----------

Encoding Type: Command Line Audio Profile
Command Line: "C:\Program Files\StaxRip\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "Y:\test\VTS_02_2 T01 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY -109ms.ac3" -output "Y:\test\VTS_02_2 T01 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY -109ms_AudioOutput.mp3" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d -109 -hybridgain ) -lame( -V 5 --vbr-new )

---------- Audio Encoding Statistics ----------

Start time: 18:24:40
End time: 18:27:08
Duration: 00:02:28
Speed: 200 fps
Size: 18.1 MB
Bitrate: 127.98 kbps
Video Bitrate: 1094 -> 1094

Here is besweet output from cmd line window

BeSweet v1.5b31 by DSPguru.
--------------------------
Using azid.dll v1.9 (b922) by Midas (midas@egon.gyaloglo.hu).
Using lame_enc.dll v1.32 (8/8/2003), Engine 3.90 <http://www.mp3dev.org/>.

[00:00:00:000] +------- BeSweet -----
[00:00:00:000] | Input : Y:\test\VTS_02_2 T01 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY -109ms.ac3
[00:00:00:000] | Output: Y:\test\VTS_02_2 T01 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY -109ms_AudioO
utput.mp3
[00:00:00:000] | Floating-Point Process: Yes
[00:00:00:000] | PostGain normalize to : 0.97
[00:00:00:-109] +-------- AZID -------
[00:00:00:-109] | Input Channels Mode: 2/0, Bitrate: 224kbps
[00:00:00:-109] | Output Stereo mode: Dolby surround compatible
[00:00:00:-109] | Total Gain: 0.000dB, Compression: Normal
[00:00:00:-109] | LFE levels: To LR -3.0dB, To LFE 0.0dB
[00:00:00:-109] | Center mix level: BSI
[00:00:00:-109] | Surround mix level: BSI
[00:00:00:-109] | Dialog normalization: No
[00:00:00:-109] | Rear channels filtering: No
[00:00:00:-109] | Source Sample-Rate: 48.0KHz
[00:00:00:-109] +-------- LAME -------
[00:00:00:-109] | Bitrate method : CBR
[00:00:00:-109] | MP3 bitrate : 128
[00:00:00:-109] | Channels Mode : Joint Stereo
[00:00:00:-109] | Error Protection: No
[00:00:00:-109] +---------------------
[00:04:19:187] transcoding ...ive delay..

jsquare

30th January 2006, 19:54

For everything not basic a much more detailed description would help a lot.

It's 3 percent, I could make it 5 if that helps, more should imho not be needed.

More detailes would help me to understand this better, is the 'Reload' option in the preview sufficient?

The problematic DVD is ZATOICHI 2(B/W Japanese movie/series). With GK I managed a more or less appropriate A/R at 1:1 and 656x272(~2.441:1) resolution, this looks good on my TV. With StaxRip the choices are 656x304 or 640x288 and that makes the picture look stretched out like anamorphic.

As far as the Compcheck 5% sounds good at a lower length/size, something like (280,14).

Don't worry about the preview request, currently using the "reload" feature and it works just fine, but a play option will be nice instead of External Preview, I don't associate the AVS files with a player but with with notepad.

stax76

30th January 2006, 22:03

@bagel

Thanks, good somebody found this finally, it's a BeSweet bug, I'll make a bug report.

edit: it's a BeSweet documentation bug, this works:

-lame( -v --vbr-new -V 1 )

'-v' is not mentioned in the BeSweet docs nor in the lame docs.

The problematic DVD is ZATOICHI 2(B/W Japanese movie/series). With GK I managed a more or less appropriate A/R at 1:1 and 656x272(~2.441:1) resolution, this looks good on my TV. With StaxRip the choices are 656x304 or 640x288 and that makes the picture look stretched out like anamorphic.

In the hotfix below you can ignore the assistant warning about wrong AR, simply change the height, you can use the page up/page down key (currently undocumented) in this text box.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

As far as the Compcheck 5% sounds good at a lower length/size, something like (280,14).

Since it's no longer customizable (like it was in DVX) I've hardcoded 280,14 now, again hotfix.

stax76

30th January 2006, 22:57

0.9.2.9 (2006-01-30)

new: Added possibility to pause and resume processing applications.
new: Added support for managing template projects.
new: Some command line switches added, start StaxRip using StaxRip -?
fix: Bug in MP3 command line fixed.

sbp

31st January 2006, 11:04

Dear Stax.

Thank you for making these command line switches. I'm now almost ready to use StaxRip for transcoding my tv-capture.

I use the following bat-file:
c:\staxrip\staxrip.exe -template:tvencoding "d:\sbpproeve3.avi" -encode

But the problem is (at least I think it is) that the input file and the output file have the same name, therefore Staxrip stops and tell me that the source and target filepath is identical.

As I want this process to fire up automatically from a script in the middle of the night, I would ask if it was possible to also tell staxrip (in the bat file) wich output name I would like to use?

Thanks
Steen

quake74

31st January 2006, 13:34

stax76

31st January 2006, 14:15

But the problem is (at least I think it is) that the input file and the output file have the same name, therefore Staxrip stops and tell me that the source and target filepath is identical.

I've changed it to never generate a target file indentically to the source file but append '_new'.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Hi Stax! First of all, compliments for the program. Second, the psp profile is wrong. Maybe you didn't use sharktooth's latest ones, but you also have "mixed ref" checked which was never checked in his profiles (the PSP won't play the mixed ref files).

Strange because I think my converter is robust as it calls the command line generator in StaxRip and MeGUI, compares the outputted command line and generates VB .NET code or shows a error if the command line is not identically. I've grabbed the profiles from the profiles topic. I'll check it, thanks.

jsquare

31st January 2006, 14:46

Stax thanks for the new updates/changes, the template option is a great idea.

sbp

31st January 2006, 15:02

Dear Stax. Wow that was a fast reply and change (the hotfix). Thank you.

One more request. I have discovered that when started from the command line, StaxRip doesn't close after the encoding is finished. Could you fix that?

Thanks
STeen

stax76

31st January 2006, 15:23

One more request. I have discovered that when started from the command line, StaxRip doesn't close after the encoding is finished. Could you fix that?

If '-standby' is not sufficient (which exits StaxRip) I could add '-exit' to just close StaxRip.

sbp

31st January 2006, 15:47

Thanks
-exit, would be fine.

And if possible, could all these small windows, (log file, stats, virtualdub ect) run invisible, or minimized?
Steen

stax76

31st January 2006, 15:55

@sbp

I'll make a new build once my movie is finished to encode.

EEPROM

31st January 2006, 17:29

Stax, thanks for your great program!
I have a question; How can create a list of files to encode?(Batch encode)
With AutoGK, it's possible with button "ADD Job".
In your program?

stax76

31st January 2006, 17:37

I have a question; How can create a list of files to encode?(Batch encode)
With AutoGK, it's possible with button "ADD Job".
In your program?

It's described here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=777199#post777199

EEPROM

31st January 2006, 18:13

Thanks, sorry for the repetitive question.

sbp

31st January 2006, 19:22

Hi Stax.

I have a new question for you.
Would it be possible for Staxrip to save in the template, information dealing with the encoder configuration?
So that I could have a anime template (where certain settings for the XVID encoder were saved ie cartoon settings, the bitrate ect). Another template for sport - with a higher bitrate and higher quant settings ect.

I don't know if it is possble to save these informations outside the encoder, and then force the encoder to use these settings when the template is used?

Regards
STeen

wdmalik

31st January 2006, 20:27

that job queue option is not working for me, it is grayed out ... i thought it will be functional when i start a job but no .. :(

stax76

31st January 2006, 21:11

Here is the build with the '-exit' command line switch to exit StaxRip from the command line: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Would it be possible for Staxrip to save in the template, information dealing with the encoder configuration?

A project template is like a job nothing but a mere project and nothing but that. When you load a profile you load that into the project of course so it's not only possible but works exactly like that.

that job queue option is not working for me, it is grayed out ... i thought it will be functional when i start a job but no ..

I don't know if there is a bug. I think all applications are similar, first you prepare a encode, then you add it to the job list, then you do the same for other jobs, then you start. Did you prepare a encode before you tried to add it to the job list?

stax76

1st February 2006, 03:11

Hi Stax! First of all, compliments for the program. Second, the psp profile is wrong. Maybe you didn't use sharktooth's latest ones, but you also have "mixed ref" checked which was never checked in his profiles (the PSP won't play the mixed ref files).

I'm using the latest v20 found here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=728267#post728267).

Mixed refs for PSP are enabled since v17 as explained here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=751148#post751148).

sjchmura

2nd February 2006, 01:43

How do you enable the SMP (dual core) support for x264 AVC on versions 408 and higher??? Under MEGUI it has a ncei "check box". Is there a command line we can insert someplace for AMD X2 users?

stax76

2nd February 2006, 02:07

If it's not the '--threads' switch then you could add a switch manually under 'Advanced/CLI/Add'.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/023.png
http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/024.png

LRN

2nd February 2006, 02:07

maybe you should add "--threads 2" option in x264 configuration dialog->CLI->Add to

stax76

2nd February 2006, 02:09

maybe you should add "--threads 2" option in x264 configuration dialog->CLI->Add to

No need to add it by cmdl: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/023.png

LRN

3rd February 2006, 02:50

Sidenote: russian subtitles will be muxed by mp4box correctly ONLY if they're encoded in UTF-8 (SubRip's default "Unicode" output format IS NOT UTF-8! You should open subtitles in text editor (Notepad will do fine) and re-save them as UTF-8). Doutsch, English and Francais subtitles mux without problems and does not require any encoding changes.
Using SubRip v1.50 beta 3; mp4box v0.4.1-dev; I'll report here if i find something else about this.

Also...Mp4box says "AVC-H264 import - frame size 720 x 576 at 25.000 FPS". But my video isn't 720x576 (actually it is 720x544)! Why? (resulting file is okay though)

Also...
I posted earler about ":name" tag for audio tracks. Here's explanation WHY it must be implemented:
I placed mp4box in dvd's directory and created bat-file:

MP4Box.exe -fps 25.000 -add "VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.264" -add "VTS_01_1 ru-Russian 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus" -add "VTS_01_1 ru-Russian 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus" -add "russian.srt:lang=rus:name=Russian" -add "English.srt:lang=eng:name=English" -add "Francais.srt:lang=fra:name=Francais" -add "Deutsch.srt:lang=deu:name=Deutsch" -chap "chapters.txt" -new "VTS_01_1_STAXs_WAY.mp4"
MP4Box.exe -fps 25.000 -add "VTS_01_1_EncoderOutput.264:name=Video:lang=rus" -add "VTS_01_1 ru-Russian 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus:name=Russian Surround" -add "VTS_01_1 ru-Russian 2_0ch 224Kbps DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4:lang=rus:name=Russian Stereo" -add "russian.srt:lang=rus:name=Russian" -add "English.srt:lang=eng:name=English" -add "Francais.srt:lang=fra:name=Francais" -add "Deutsch.srt:lang=deu:name=Deutsch" -chap "chapters.txt" -new "VTS_01_1.LRNs_WAY.mp4"

I attached screenshot wich explains differences: both tracks are "Russian", but with labels you can point, what one is stereo, and the second is 5.1. Also i saw once a dvd with russian 2 soundtracks (t'was refactored classic movie) - one "original" stereo with old actor's voices and one "modern" 5.1 with new actor's voices. Same thing.
Or, for example, you have DVD with 2 soundtracks (English and Director's comments (English too)). Without labels there will be just 2 English tracks, and this may confuse people.
And of course, these "GPAC blah-blah Handler" doesn't look funny :-/
Remember: there IS ":name" tag for subtitles.

If for some reason you can't see attached picture, you can find it here (http://lrn.no-ip.info/other/lrn_stax_way.png)

AnnaFell

3rd February 2006, 10:22

Hey Stax
I hope my problem is still unreported (maybe just because of a small mistake), but it's driving me crazy. :(

So, I tried to decode a DVD to a MP4-file, using x264 for video and aac 5.1 for the audio stream. Everything worked well for me, but as I took a look at the final result, I was wondering about the poor video-quality (though video-bitrate was about ~900kbit/s) …
So I had a closer look at the video properties and I saw, that there were two audio streams (the old ac3-file and the new aac-file).

What am I doing wrong? Do I have to demux the audio via DVDShrink when I copy the files on my HD? Meanwhile I had the same problem as I redecoded a mpg-file into a smaller filesize to a mp4-file.

PS: Later on I could add a screenshot, but now I'm at work :)

stax76

3rd February 2006, 15:27

@LRN

I think I can add the name tag, I'll have to do so for all muxers since this will actually be option of the audio profile. Regarding subtitles, I think creating UTF-8 is a feature SubRip should offer.

@AnnaFell

MP4 don't even support AC3, please post your muxing and encoding command lines from the log file.

LRN

3rd February 2006, 16:17

AnnaFell, if you play your mp4, while it is in the same dir as DVD (and StaxRip files: i.e. ripped ac3), you will hear two (or more) audio tracks in the same time. To correct this, move mp4 to some other place. At least I experience this bug (i think it's MPC-related)

pablorosatti

3rd February 2006, 16:26

Can StaxRip include OGG Vorbis format as one of the audio output formats???

Thanx in advance.

stax76

3rd February 2006, 16:38

Can StaxRip include OGG Vorbis format as one of the audio output formats???

Thanx in advance.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/030.png

boombastic

4th February 2006, 20:10

It would be very usefull to me if i could mange the job queue during the encoding for example to add a second job or remove one which is already there,and so on.Is there a way to do it?

wdmalik

4th February 2006, 22:44

It would be very usefull to me if i could mange the job queue during the encoding for example to add a second job or remove one which is already there,and so on.Is there a way to do it?

Just before pressing "next" for final encoding process to start, go to view->Jobs->New,

@Stax
Just a suggestion, plz rename 'New' to 'ADD', also i think the software should ask at the final stage "Do you want this job to be added to queue",

hellfred

4th February 2006, 22:46

Hi Stax
This question my sound stupid, but nevertheless:
How to cut Comercials from avi source?
I have captured a tv-show (avi, ffdshow`s mjpec as codec and two uncompressed audio channels = stereo) and want to encode it with StaxRip. The file is about 9GB in size and stored on a NTFS partition.
So I choose the avi as source and the audio gets extracted. I provide a new filename as Target. Then I follow the suggestions and crop the file and press Next. I tune the resizer and get the suggestion to tune the filters. I do so and press Next. I am advised to open the Preview and cut. I press on the text, the preview is diplayed, and i use the keys to search for the beginning of the first commercial. I press Beginn Selection. I search to the End of the first commercial, in the slidebar an yellow area is growing. I find the end of the Comerial, press End Section, the selected area turns green with a blue part at the current position. Afterwars i press delete Section, the green area is lost and I move on to the beginning of the next commercial, till i have deleted all commercials. But when looking at the avs-Script, that is used for encoding with xvid, I do not see any Trim-statements. Just the crop.
Is that all right? Should I get some sort of feedback from my trimming/cutting? Is it normal that the compressability-check, that is suggested next, is done in an instant?

Hellfred

LRN

4th February 2006, 23:46

boombastic

5th February 2006, 00:16

Just before pressing "next" for final encoding process to start, go to view->Jobs->New,

@Stax
Just a suggestion, plz rename 'New' to 'ADD', also i think the software should ask at the final stage "Do you want this job to be added to queue",

I don't understand your answer,sorry;i mean that i'd like to start the encoding for a job and in the middle of this encoding i'd like to setup another job and add it to the queue which is already being processed

hellfred

5th February 2006, 10:09

Cutting doesn't work that way. Instead of cutting movie right on the place, you must select sections, wich will not be deleted on encoding. So, if you need to cut commercials, you should select everything but commercials. When all needed parts are selected, close Preview window and continue setting up your job.
Thanks LRN. I will try it this way. After using VDub exclusivly for cutting, I never thought it would work the other way round.

Another Problem: The Audio is out of sync with the video on the live capture. Audio is delayed approx. 1/10 of a second at the beginning of the clip, and approx. one second at the end. I have found a place to enter the initial delay.
(In the main dialog, open the pulldown menue at the end of the line, that beginns with Track1, and choose "Edit...". In the upcoming dialog, there is an textbox labled "Delay:")
Is there a way to strech the mp3 while encoding the wav in BeSweet? The comandline looks like this:"D:\Software\StaxRip\StaxRip_0.9.2.8\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "I:\cap\Galactica2.wav" -output "I:\cap\Galactica2_AudioOutput.mp3" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d 0 -hybridgain ) -lame( -V 5 --vbr-new )
In the moment the only way to sync the audio is VirtualDubMod audio filtering, where there is a stretch option if one eables advanced filtering. But I am afraid that i will not be alble to cut the commercials without reencoding the clip once more.

Hellfred

hellfred

5th February 2006, 11:32

Hi folks
I had a look at the comand line switches of BeSweet and have altert the comand line to fit my needs:"%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d %delay% -hybridgain -r 10000 10027 ) -lame( -V 5 --vbr-new )
The video clip is 2 hours and 2 minutes (7320 seconds) and the audio has to be stretcht so that it is 2 Seconds longer (7320 seconds). Therefore the factor has to be 7322/7320=1.00027
So I think, the best I can get is change the frame rate from 10000 to 10027.
The "-r" switch is described in BeSweet/help/ota.html:
Rate Switches
-fs
force a sample-rate value

this bypass BeSweet's engine for determing the sample-rate of input files, and sets is manually

usefull sometime when processing an headerless pcm stream
-r
a frame rate convertor

example : "-r 23976 25000" will convert a 23.976fps stream (NTSC) to a 25.000fps stream (PAL)

stax76

5th February 2006, 13:07

It would be very usefull to me if i could mange the job queue during the encoding for example to add a second job or remove one which is already there,and so on.Is there a way to do it?

Not anytime soon and unlikely in the future. The current architecture don't allow this, changing it would be a major effort and generally likely a lot more tricky. IIRC most other apps don't allow this either and the ones that do was probably designed from the beginning to support it. If I knew before there are so many request regarding jobs (that I hardly use) I would have probably worked out a better architecture.

Just a suggestion, plz rename 'New' to 'ADD'

I was 'Add' but I changed it because I thought it would be easier use/understand even I like 'Add' more. I consider changing it again.

also i think the software should ask at the final stage "Do you want this job to be added to queue"

How exactly should it be done?

Cutting doesn't work that way. Instead of cutting movie right on the place, you must select sections, wich will not be deleted on encoding. So, if you need to cut commercials, you should select everything but commercials. When all needed parts are selected, close Preview window and continue setting up your job.

About cutting, I consider VirtualDub not being intuitive here although a topic by neuron2 proves that a lot people got accustomed to that way of cutting. On the other side I missed to check other apps like VideReDo or VDR that have a similar approach in order to possibly learn something but I still want to do it.

Another Problem: The Audio is out of sync with the video on the live capture.

Stretching sounds nasty, maybe another capture or demux software works better.

hellfred

5th February 2006, 13:34

Stretching sounds nasty, maybe another capture or demux software works better.
After having tryed different methodes to sync audio and video in the last view hours, I fianlly came to the conclusion, that it is not worth the time. The audio stream does not only have the initial delay, but the delay grows irregular over the movie with some attemps to sync it back by VirtualVCR, that bring the audio stream to somewhere nerare the initial delay, but halfway through the show things get worse. Additional, I noticed that the show (prelude of the Starchip Glactica series) was censored. So I decided to give up.
Thanks for your tips anyway, LRN and stax

Hellfred

wdmalik

5th February 2006, 18:48

I don't understand your answer,sorry;i mean that i'd like to start the encoding for a job and in the middle of this encoding i'd like to setup another job and add it to the queue which is already being processed

My apologies, :o

wdmalik

5th February 2006, 18:55

How exactly should it be done?

Like when u press next for encoding to start, instead of encoding the job is added to queue, pressing 'add' in the job window brings us back to the blank project window [by this i mean the window when staxrip is started], and the process continues

i hope this helps a bit ..

3dsnar

5th February 2006, 19:01

I have recently tested your new software DVD encoder.
I have to say this is impressive tool.

Here goes my quesion.
Is this possible for you to add Aud-X 5.1 encoder to the supported audio formats?

Please let me know what you think.

(Aud-X is a newly released 5.1 sound coding technology, compatible
with AVI and having low bitrate. Please check out our web site: www.aud-x.com)

stax76

5th February 2006, 19:39

Like when u press next for encoding to start, instead of encoding the job is added to queue, pressing 'add' in the job window brings us back to the blank project window [by this i mean the window when staxrip is started], and the process continues

I'm thinking about simplifying the process of adding a job.

Is this possible for you to add Aud-X 5.1 encoder to the supported audio formats?

I'll have to check Aud-X, if it's free and can do something valuable that can't already be done with tools already integrated and StaxRip users want Aud-X then I see no problem. The more formats StaxRip supports the better it is. I would need a URL to the cmdl apps packed using zip (without unnecessary sub directory) and the names and command lines for the profiles.

3dsnar

5th February 2006, 19:51

I'm thinking about simplifying the process of adding a job.

I'll have to check Aud-X, if it's free and can do something valuable that can't already be done with tools already integrated and StaxRip users want Aud-X then I see no problem. The more formats StaxRip supports the better it is. I would need a URL to the cmdl apps packed using zip (without unnecessary sub directory) and the names and command lines for the profiles.

Please check it out. We will have to prepare the cli interface (if you find Aud-X worth considering).
Within the first 4 weeks over 15000 poeple downloaded our software,
so it seems to be appreciated by users.

LRN

5th February 2006, 20:11

If I knew before there are so many request regarding jobs (that I hardly use) I would have probably worked out a better architecture. You could implement this in next version (StaxRip v2.0)

stax76

5th February 2006, 20:37

You could implement this in next version (StaxRip v2.0)

It would be a major effort and pain but who knows.

LRN

5th February 2006, 21:50

I'll be really pleased, if you, at some point, begin to write next major version of StaxRip. Maybe, on other language (you know, VB is nor the most spread, nor the best of the languages), with new architecture (to correct some unimplementable features, like mentioned above) and new ideas. Maybe i could even write few strings of code for StaxRip then :)

Bad news:
While Pause/Resume works indeed, x264.exe still consumes large ammount of RAM (~200 Mb). Looks like we should ask x264 for Pause/Resume feature.

stax76

6th February 2006, 03:48

you know, VB is nor the most spread, nor the best of the languages

I know quite a few languages and I don't think there is something that would have worked much better for StaxRip.

LRN

6th February 2006, 12:16

You can't maintain this project forever. If at some point you'll have to stop developement (for some reason), StaxRip will die (since there's not too much experienced VB developers in OpenSource world, IMHO (compare 2252 VB projects, listed on SourceForge, with 17570 C++ projects (it's just C++ only, not even C or C#!)). C++ is much more reliable , because almost everyone knows C++ (no, i'm NOT C++ fan, actually i'm a Delphi fan :)) and can help you in developement (or replace you, if you quit). This is why OpenSource exists.
I suggest you to think about C++ Builder (it's a good tradeoff between speed/GUI/Language).
Allright, let's stop this offtopic :) Forget what i sad.

stax76

6th February 2006, 14:29

0.9.3.0 (2006-02-06)

new: All unfinished help documents completed, new DVB Guide, guide section to list guides by other authors and some other help improvement.
new: Improved GUI for editing command lines and script.
new: Improved command line encoder incl. support for compressibility check.
new: MP4 and MKV stream name tags.

Franky

6th February 2006, 15:59

It seems MeGUI has problems with 64 bit systems as well, but apparently there's a solution. Quoting Richard Berg "The solution is to add /platform:x86 to the C# compiler options".

Now... Would this solution work with StaxRip as well?

stax76

6th February 2006, 16:07

Quoting Richard Berg "The solution is to add /platform:x86 to the C# compiler options".

Now... Would this solution work with StaxRip as well?

I'll give it a try.

dimzon

6th February 2006, 16:23

I suggest you to think about C++ Builder (it's a good tradeoff between speed/GUI/Language).
dotNet is too young yet to have same popularity as C++. But it's popularity speed is extreme fast now (mach faster than C++). So StaxRip will not die until it will provide unique and user-friendly features ;)

Comparing dotNet code vs C++ code I must say:
dotNet code is MUCH easy to maintain. And speaking about speed I must say - it's good enought for GUI...

boombastic

6th February 2006, 18:11

I wonder why the staxrip commandline says VBR encoding for the audio while the besweet windows says CBR endoing like you can see in the attached:

stax76

6th February 2006, 18:22

I wonder why the staxrip commandline says VBR encoding for the audio while the besweet windows says CBR endoing like you can see in the attached:

Maybe it's this problem: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=777770#post777770

It was fixed in version 0.9.2.9

boombastic

6th February 2006, 19:04

In fact i was using the 0.9.2.7 version,thanks!
I dreated several filter profiles,is there a way to import these profile into the new version?It wuold be quite a long job to redo them!

stax76

6th February 2006, 19:41

There is a directory 'Settings', StaxRip implements a settings versioning method (some of my best code) just greatly improved in version 0.9.3.0 so you should be able to keep your settings.

edit: Just uploaded a new build (same version) that has better backward compatibility with old settings.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/download/StaxRip_0.9.3.0.zip

nickolasemp

6th February 2006, 20:26

What do I have to do in order to give 5.1 winamp's aac-plus v2 in staxrip? What is the right one:
AAC- Add an existing he file
AAC- Add an existing lc file
or does staxrip not support v2 yet?

Thank you in advance Stax.

stax76

6th February 2006, 20:52

@nickolasemp

I don't know, unless I'm missing something (-> bug) MP4Box don't need this information so both will work.

To make this clear, can someone explain me what that means:

-sbr: backward compatible signaling of AAC-SBR
-sbrx: non-backward compatible signaling of AAC-SBR
* Note: SBR AAC cannot be detected at import time

Currently StaxRip don't use these switches.

LRN

6th February 2006, 23:23

For compressed data, like HE-AAC coded audio, which can be decoded by different decoder configurations, special attention is needed. In this case, decoding can be done in a backward-compatible fashion (AAC only) as well as in an enhanced fashion (AAC+SBR). In order to insure that timestamps are correct (so that audio remains synchronized with other media), the following must considered concerning MPEG-4 Systems and Audio:
If compressed data permits both backward-compatible and enhanced decoding, and if the decoder is operating in a backwards-compatible fashion, then the decoder does not have to take any action. However if the decoder is operating in enhanced fashion such that it is using a post-processor that inserts some additional delay (e.g., the SBR post-processor in HE-AAC), then it must notify Systems about the additional time delay incurred relative to the backwards-compatible mode. With the delay thus indicated, Systems can handle the timestamps of the composition units as needed so as to compensate for the additional delay.
For HE-AAC using implicit signaling or backward compatible explicit signaling, the original access unit timestamps hence apply to backward-compatible AAC decoding and timestamp adjustment for delay-compensation is needed in case of AAC+SBR decoding. For HE-AAC using hierarchical explicit signaling, backward compatible decoding is not possible and the original access unit timestamps hence apply to AAC+SBR decoding.

The Figure below shows the composition unit that is generated by an AAC decoder (upper half) and by an HE-AAC decoder operating SBR in dual-rate mode (lower half) when being fed with an access unit of an HE-AAC bitstream that employs backward compatible signaling. Note that the composition time stamp associated to said access unit applies to the n-th sample of the composition unit. For the AAC decoder case, n has the value 1. For the HE-AAC decoder case, n has the value 962+1 to reflect the additional algorithmic delay of 962 samples of the SBR tool at the HE-AAC output sampling rate (which is twice the sampling rate of the backward compatible AAC output).

from http://www.itscj.ipsj.or.jp/sc29/open/29view/29n7189t.doc

wdmalik

7th February 2006, 20:44

I'm thinking about simplifying the process of adding a job.

looking forward to it .. :)

A Query ...
Why the software doesn't accept divx 6.1.1 as accepted divx version ... :confused:

A Request
Can u implement auto Subtitles [I mean we only select the required subtitles and subrip rips and encodes them automatically],

What is meant by "Post Processing MODE" ?

I really like the application update setup ... cool ... efficient and extremely user friendly

stax76

7th February 2006, 21:19

@LRN

It's a complicated, so I don't need those switches?

Why the software doesn't accept divx 6.1.1 as accepted divx version ...

I think it's only available as update which is problematic for the download feature, you can however use it anyway, no problem with that.

Can u implement auto Subtitles [I mean we only select the required subtitles and subrip rips and encodes them automatically]

I would like to but it's not easy as discussed before in this thread.

What is meant by "Post Processing MODE"

It's described by a tooltip but wasn't yet tested with a real life scenario so it might be flawed.

ricardo.santos

7th February 2006, 23:34

I think it's only available as update which is problematic for the download feature, you can however use it anyway, no problem with that.

its already part of the divx create bundle (http://www.divx.com/divx/create/?hp3createmoreinfo).

stax76

7th February 2006, 23:43

What about the play bundle, last time I tried it wasn't 6.1.1.

ricardo.santos

8th February 2006, 01:12

What about the play bundle, last time I tried it wasn't 6.1.1.

correct me if im wrong:
StaxRip is a video encoding tool that supports divx(and others) and if i was to encode a video using divx i would download the create bundle not the play bundle.

divx create bundle:The DivX Create Bundle gives you everything you need to create, play, manage and burn DivX® videos.

The DivX Converter, part of DivX Create, requires an optional MPEG-2/DVD plug-in to convert MPG, VOB, TS and SVCD files.

The DivX Create Bundle requires Windows 2K/XP.

divx play bundle:The DivX Play Bundle gives you everything you need to watch, manage and burn your DivX® videos.

The DivX Play Bundle requires Windows 2K/XP.

stax76

8th February 2006, 01:18

The main difference is one contains the player and the other the converter, the codec is included in both.

wdmalik

8th February 2006, 02:22

I don't think that you have PRO Codec in Play Bundle

LRN

8th February 2006, 06:40

-sbr : forces importing the AAC-ADTS file as AAC SBR (aka HE-AAC, aka aacPlus) with backward compatible signaling (eg non SBR aware decoders should play the file).
-sbrx : forces importing the AAC-ADTS file as AAC SBR (aka HE-AAC, aka aacPlus) with non-backward compatible signaling (eg non SBR aware decoders should NOT play the file).
Note : MP4Box CANNOT detect whether AAC input is regular or SBR AAC, so you must use one fo these options if you want to import AAC SBR files.

I think we should stick with compatible mode, unless we know, what most decoders support SBR (from what i know, any HE-AAC decoder should support it since it's one of the main differences between LC and HE)

2. Also, if I choose HE-AAC and Export ISO AAC stream from the BeSweet commandline, is the resulting .aac SBR HE-AAC or just regular LC-AAC?
2) HE-AAC is always SBR HE-AAC. With Export ISO AAC stream option you get a .aac file instead a .mp4, different container but the same audio stream.

I think we missed this long ago :) All my AACs (except LC ones) were HE and thus SBR, but since you didn't added this switch to mp4box commandline, they are muxed as non-SBR :(

stax76

8th February 2006, 08:33

I don't think that you have PRO Codec in Play Bundle

I think both incl. a six month trial.

@LRN

I've used HE with mkv only because of vobsub which is much much better documented and has a reference GUI. Just checked other MP4Box GUIs and not all of them have a option to handle this so it's a common problem. I'll fix it shortly.

LRN

9th February 2006, 10:34

Just tested "pause/resume" on x264 --threads 2
Works the same way as for --threads 1. Hurray!
Also, maybe it's luck - but i feel what --threads 2 is MUCH faster than --threads 1, even with virtual processors (HT)

vladlp

9th February 2006, 11:09

After two weeks of testing I am very surprise, it’s possible to tune StaxRip almost for everything:)
Just few additional wishes:
1) In Crop menu is SmartCrop options, but I can’t find possibility to use it without going to CropMenu, just as options for TemplateProject.
2) It’s not so important, but probably you will have time to add options to setup how much percent of movie use for compressibility test. As usual 5% is OK, but from my experience some time it’s good to have this value a little bigger.
3) As I have seen you activity hear on forum in topics about auto source type detection (interlace and etc.) hope we can expect this feature in nearest feature.

And the last things. For a long time I try to solve the problem how to automatically encode few movie with target size specify for all of them together. (As I (but think not only I) encode and then burn my movies to DVD, it comes as usual 3-5 films per DVD) After you added command line support to StaxRip it’s became possible!!!! Just what is necessary to have switches to make only compressibility test and then save project (.rip) files. I am not very familiar with VB.NET (I am C++ programmer, but think it’s not so difficult:) ) but then I can write small additional program in which one can specify source files for encoding, template, and target size for all of them. From this program will start StaxRip with compressibility test only options for each of all incomes files and after it read necessary information (length, compressibility and etc. ) from saved project files and adjust it to receive specify target size by slightly changing quality for all of them proportional (or in worth case also changing width ) and then run StaxRip with modify project files to encode. As result – absolutely automatically system to encode as much as you need movies (series of some serial) with any target size for all of them.
What do you think about it?

LRN

9th February 2006, 12:24

Sounds like Nero Recode 2 :) Cool!

stax76

9th February 2006, 14:16

@vladlp

I'll see what I can add.

KorbenDallas

9th February 2006, 20:31

Hi!

First of all I have to say thank you for this great tool.

As an old DVX user I often created ogm files with 2 audio tracks.
Now I tried to do the same with StaxRip and mkv files which seemed to work flawlessly but when I watched them I had to realize that the 2 audio tracks were the same. (2x english instead of engl + german). the source files ARE different of course ;-)

So I checked the command line which says:

"C:\Programme\MKVtoolnix\mkvmerge.exe" -o "D:\\VIDEO_TS\test.mkv" --track-name 0:Video "D:\THE_ISLAND\VIDEO_TS\test_EncoderOutput.avi" --language 0:deu --track-name "0:Deutsch (AC3)" --sync 0:-24 "D:\\VIDEO_TS\VTS_02_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -24ms.ac3" --language 0:eng --track-name "0:English (AC3)" --sync 0:-24 "D:\\VIDEO_TS\VTS_02_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -24ms.ac3" --title "VTS_02_1"

I guess the second track shouldn't be track 0, too?! Or am I missing something else here?

Best regards and thanx for help!
Korben

LRN

10th February 2006, 03:21

I don't think what %language_native% is good thing, since it is in some unknown encoding format and thus displays wrong in context menus. Maybe, you should convert these tags to UTF-8, or use variables with latin names (i.e. English, Russian etc) instead of local names (i.e. English, Русский etc)

/*sets track handler name. name is either NULL (reset), a UTF-8 formatted string or a UTF8 file
resource in the form "file://path/to/file_utf8" */
GF_Err gf_isom_set_handler_name(GF_ISOFile *the_file, u32 trackNumber, const char *nameUTF8);

I failed to use UTF-8 string (for some reason it doesn't work, with BOM, or without it), and file-name too (i tried both "file://D:/test.txt", "file://localhost/D:/test.txt" and "file:///D:/test.txt"). test.txt is UTF-8, same way as chapter-file.

fogbav

10th February 2006, 12:13

Is it possible to add Proxy Support for the Updates (download) ?

Maybe fetch this from IE ...

thanx

Warrex

10th February 2006, 12:16

The DivX Codec 6.1.1 is now integrated into the DivX Play Bundle.

See here: http://www.divx.com/divx/play/

stax76

10th February 2006, 19:01

@KorbenDallas

I'll test it.

@LRN

I work on the unicode issue.

Is it possible to add Proxy Support for the Updates (download) ?

I'm clueless about security which appear to be involved here.

The DivX Codec 6.1.1 is now integrated into the DivX Play Bundle.

Thanks

Warrex

10th February 2006, 21:12

StaxRip will prompt with an error message when renaming audio output files from DGIndex if there is more than one track with both the same language and bitrate.

Example:

StaxRip will try to rename the following DGIndex out files

VTS_01_1 T01 2_0ch 192Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3 // (english)
VTS_01_1 T02 2_0ch 192Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3 // (english)

both to

VTS_01_1 en-English 2_0ch 192Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3

which will obviously cause an error on the second file as the filename already exists. I would recommend to just keep the track index from DGIndex.

stax76

10th February 2006, 21:22

which will obviously cause an error on the second file as the filename already exists. I would recommend to just keep the track index from DGIndex.

How do you know then what language the track is?

Warrex

10th February 2006, 21:39

How do you know then what language the track is?

When saying keep the track id I meant a format like this "VTS_01_1 T01 en-English 2_0ch 192Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3". Then you have language info for identification and the track id to make sure that you will not get renaming errors.

stax76

10th February 2006, 22:00

I'll change it to 'T01 en-English'.

Warrex

10th February 2006, 22:03

I'll change it to 'T01 en-English'.

:thanks:

stax76

11th February 2006, 15:33

I don't think what %language_native% is good thing, since it is in some unknown encoding format

It is unicode, the values of the chars are > 1000, .NET and Win32 both use UTF-16, it works using mkv, Haali and MPC but not with MP4, Zoom Player and VLC. Both of us could not get it to work nor somebody else I know so if and how it can work can only be answered by the developers of the according tools. What's most reasonable to use as stream name is another question that might not be so easy to answer but I welcome everybody to give input. I tend to change this as you've proposed using the english name which has best compatibility.

bratao

11th February 2006, 16:01

My encode line to use he winamp aac codec
"%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -s stereo -L -3db ) -ota( -d %delay% -g max ) -dimzon( -dllname bse_WinampAacPlusV2.dll -cbr 32 -mode 4 -v 2 )

then i chage the code to accept mp3 as input, and to output the file as extension AAC

So everything its good now with the winamp codec !, should be good if you do this with official version !
thnks !

stax76

11th February 2006, 17:16

should be good if you do this with official version

I would need more infos about all required libraries. Download URL's etc.

bratao

11th February 2006, 17:36

This is the problem.
It come with winamp, but i dont know the licence.

For me (and others test show it too) ,its the best encoder out there, it support PS, SBR and on.. Its 3 times faster and infinite better audio than the nero one,

The realAnime come bundle with it..

bagel

11th February 2006, 22:57

stax, i'm not sure if your mp3 command lines are correct for the version of lame_enc.dll included with besweet. i have upgraded the dll i use to the one recommended from hydrogenaudio forums (3.97 beta 2) and the command line now seems to work correctly. before i did this i was getting oversized mp3 :(

i am using the latest version of staxrip.

stax76

12th February 2006, 00:40

It come with winamp, but i dont know the licence.

It would have to be freeware.

stax, i'm not sure if your mp3 command lines are correct for the version of lame_enc.dll included with besweet. i have upgraded the dll i use to the one recommended from hydrogenaudio forums (3.97 beta 2) and the command line now seems to work correctly. before i did this i was getting oversized mp3

That version is included with the download but the new dll was added later (0.9.2.9 (2006-01-30))
so I recommend everybody to download BeSweet again. I don't know why BeSweet is using a three years old version. Well, I should add another warning.

boombastic

12th February 2006, 09:22

I've got a problem:i'd like to encode my dvds only cropping not resizing but if i don't select the resize filter the avis i get are always stretched in their height direction,why?

LRN

12th February 2006, 13:30

Because this is ana...amo...anomo....errr...It's 16:9 ratio DVD (frame is almost square, but in player it is autimatically squeezed by height, so it looks like rectangule). You must resize it. If in "crop" dialog frame looks square - that is the case.
Also, you MUST resize frame, if it's size (both height and width) is not x16. And after cropping it is, typically, not x16.
Now you see: you crop (now you must round resolution to nearest x16) and you have to squeeze it by height anyway.
Encoding without resizing is possible only for normal-frame-sized video and only if you don't crop, or crop by x16 (i.e. 720->704)

stax76

12th February 2006, 13:44

If no resize filter is found StaxRip signals the PAR to any codec which supports PAR signaling. This behaviour can be disabled in the options, this option has no rational reason for existing, it's only there to give users a hint that StaxRip supports AR signaling. StaxRip does not insist however the width and hight are a multible of 16 in that case but that's likely to be fixed.

Gawwad

12th February 2006, 16:55

great tool stax! :cool:
i love it :p
its the tool i always use to convert my TV captured videos
what i realy like the most about StaxRip is this:
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/2536/clipboard019ly.jpg
http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/002.png
http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/037.png

so basicly i just use StaxRip to do the whole thing, from joining mutiple captured videos, removing commercials out, cropping, encoding, etc..
it saved me from buying or using softwares such as VideoReDo Plus

amazing software!

so will we see in the future:

lower bitrate encoding for end credits in movies (preferibly with a preview screen like the FairUse Wizard one (http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7826/clipboard103vu.jpg))
notification for updates
.ifo support
.dat extension support, so it can be used to encode multiple vcds to one output video

:thanks:

pablak

12th February 2006, 18:34

Remember me from DVX times (polish translation)?

One question:
Is any possibility to use as a source rmvb format?

StaxRip works OK for rmvb video but have no idea what to do with sound.

stax76

12th February 2006, 19:52

lower bitrate encoding for end credits in movies (preferibly with a preview screen like the FairUse Wizard one)

It'll be supported for codecs with Zones (XviD and x264).

notification for updates

Not anytime soon as, my to do list is huge so some features will take longer than others.

.ifo support

I have no plans for it though StaxRip already inspects IFO files that match with the name of the opened vob files.

.dat extension support, so it can be used to encode multiple vcds to one output video

It's not common enough, maybe it's possible to make customize StaxRip for it, did you inspect 'Options/Preperation'.

Remember me from DVX times (polish translation)?

Of course I do :)

Is any possibility to use as a source rmvb format?

StaxRip works OK for rmvb video but have no idea what to do with sound.

It's likely possible but tricky and depending on what exactly you want to achieve there might be different ways.

pablak

12th February 2006, 20:07

It's likely possible but tricky and depending on what exactly you want to achieve there might be different ways.

So,

I want to transcode rmvb to avi (compatible with standalone players).
I need demux audio from rmvb then rest of the work will be standard work with StaxRip ;).

I think about making rmvb as one of standard input (maybe output too) format for StaxRip.

Then will be "..And StaxRip For All":D

Gawwad

12th February 2006, 20:37

thanx for the quick reply :p

It's not common enough, maybe it's possible to make customize StaxRip for it, did you inspect 'Options/Preperation'.

well vcds r quite popular in alot of countries such as in the middle east and hong kong, and some times some movies there are only released in vcds :(

well techinicaly, if i just rename the extension from .dat to .mpg, it will work perfectly with StaxRip, as .dat files of the vcds are mpeg1 videos as you know
so all i am trying to say, is it possible if you just enable the recoginition of the .dat extension as an mpeg video
it will just make our lives easier and save us from renaming the extensions of the video files of the vcds
well AutoGK and Dr.DivX do recognise .dat extension as mpeg video
so why not with StaxRip, which is IMO better than them :cool:

:thanks:

hellfred

12th February 2006, 20:48

great tool stax! :cool:
i love it :p
its the tool i always use to convert my TV captured videos

so basicly i just use StaxRip to do the whole thing, from adding mutiple captured videos, removing commercials out, cropping, encoding, etc..
it saved me from buying or using softwares such as VideoReDo Plus

amazing software!

I have used StaxRip for processing some analog cptures, too. One thing that came to my mind then was: Is it possible to run the audio extraction in the background (e. g. as thread), so that one can immediately progress to the cutting - resizing - triming and codec configuration for the video? For huge captured avi files of several GB (uncompressed audio and lossless compressed video at full PAL resolution), extracting the wav can take several minutes and I would prefere to use the time for setting up the video processing.

Hellfred

stax76

12th February 2006, 20:51

So,

I want to transcode rmvb to avi (compatible with standalone players).
I need demux audio from rmvb then rest of the work will be standard work with StaxRip ;).

I think about making rmvb as one of standard input (maybe output too) format for StaxRip.

Then will be "..And StaxRip For All":D

It's hard to auto handle everything and make defaults for everything like WMV, DVR-MS, PSP, iPod etc., there are dozens of different formats and devices, I don't have such source files, devices and I don't know the specs and I don't have the time to work out everything myself so the more detail in forms of tutorials, links, urls, command lines, scripts, specs or even patches people supply me the easier and more likely it is there will be better support for a given format or device. If you managed to confige StaxRip to handle your format and tell me how you did it and send me sample clip or tell me what is needed to add support for something it's much easier for me add defaults or make changes to better support the format.

well vcds r quite popular in alot of countries such as in the middle east and hong kong, and some times some movies there are only released in vcds

well techinicaly, if i just rename the extension from .dat to .mpg, it will work perfectly with StaxRip, as .dat files of the vcds are mpeg1 videos as you know
so all i am trying to say, is it possible if you just enable the recoginition of the .dat extension as an mpeg video
it will just make our lives easier and save us from renaming the extensions of the video files of the vcds
well AutoGK and Dr.DivX do recognise .dat extension as mpeg video
so why not with StaxRip, which is IMO better than them

That might be a little problem, if you modify the DGIndex preparer to handle dat, does that work? What else would be needed to change? I can change the defaults of course, I thought dat is some esoteric format...

davidlt

12th February 2006, 21:15

Can i use StaxRip for HDTV TS recoding?.. I tryed, but it didn` work...

stax76

12th February 2006, 21:20

@davidlt

So what was the problem?

davidlt

12th February 2006, 21:25

Gawwad

12th February 2006, 21:43

That might be a little problem, if you modify the DGIndex preparer to handle dat, does that work? What else would be needed to change? I can change the defaults of course, I thought dat is some esoteric format...

well i am newbie with this stuff, and i don't know how to modify the DGIndex :confused:

but i will show u here an example of a vcd clip that i got
so u can see for ur self what u can do with .dat extensions
size: 10.17 MB
extension: .dat
source: vcd
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UDKZB5HO

well its the trailer of the iraqi dubbed version of Lethal Weapon :D

:thanks:

stax76

12th February 2006, 22:08

Problem with DGIndex, "No data. Check your PIDS"...
I have tryed to chose other PID, but later I still get more problems with output...
"File doesn`t exist: D:\.. ... ...\sample_AudioOutput.pm4"
and then StaxRip crashes...

By default ProjectX should handle *.ts so I don't understand why DGIndex is receiving a ts file. Please take a look under 'Options/Preperation'.

well i am newbie with this stuff, and i don't know how to modify the DGIndex

It might be possible to customize StaxRip to handle dat using DGIndex. Please take a look under 'Options/Preperation'.

Nexium

12th February 2006, 23:18

Hi, I'm a bit of a newbie to this enconding lark but I think that I'm beginning to get the hang of things. I've tried AutoGK, avi.NET, Gordian Knot and staxrip and to me staxrip seems to give me the best results but I'm having trouble with the quality mode.

When I try and encode my files with divx in quality mode i go to codec configuration and change the BR from 780 to 950 but it doesn't save it, I go back in and it has reverted back to the default 780kbps.

Now I get around this problem with xvid by selecting the exact file size option, setting the BR and then going to xvid - constant quality, where it has saved the BR.

I've also tried setting up new profiles to save settings but this doesn't seem to work and I've tried searching through this thread to see if any1 else has this problem but to no avail.

I dont think its a problem with divx (tho i could well be wrong) which is why I've posted here. Is any1 able to help me out as I'd really like to compare my divx encodes with my xvid ones at a higher bitrate. Thanks.

stax76

13th February 2006, 00:17

When I try and encode my files with divx in quality mode i go to codec configuration and change the BR from 780 to 950 but it doesn't save it, I go back in and it has reverted back to the default 780kbps.

In quality mode you don't work with a bitrate, it seems however quality mode requires the pro version of DivX so I have to remove the quality mode profile.

In StaxRip you never have to enter a bitrate in any codec dialog, Bitrates in codec dialogs if there are any are getting adjusted dynamically according to the value used in the main dialog of StaxRip.

I've also tried setting up new profiles to save settings but this doesn't seem to work and I've tried searching through this thread to see if any1 else has this problem but to no avail.

You might have made invalid settings, StaxRip notices it and corrects it. Some settings are profile agnostic in that they get updated dynamically according to values of the project, the bitrate is a good example here, that might be another matter.

You could just load a profile from the main dialog and you should be fine.

Nexium

13th February 2006, 01:18

In StaxRip you never have to enter a bitrate in any codec dialog, Bitrates in codec dialogs if there are any are getting adjusted dynamically according to the value used in the main dialog of StaxRip.

But when I apply quality mode the bitrate setting dissapears in the staxrip user interface.

You could just load a profile from the main dialog and you should be fine.

I can only find 4 settings for divx and xvid which always revert back to the default BR setting.

stax76

13th February 2006, 01:56

But when I apply quality mode the bitrate setting dissapears in the staxrip user interface.

They wouldn't be of any use, like I wrote before in quality mode you don't work with a bitrate.

I can only find 4 settings for divx and xvid which always revert back to the default BR setting.

What do you mean with revert back?

Nexium

13th February 2006, 10:34

pablak

13th February 2006, 13:26

If you managed to confige StaxRip to handle your format and tell me how you did it and send me sample clip or tell me what is needed to add support for something it's much easier for me add defaults or make changes to better support the format.

ok
I'll try do something myself.

stax76

13th February 2006, 15:55

If I go to profiles>encoder>edit... Then I can set up a new profile (Say another Divx constant quality profile), then I edit the profile by going to Codec Configuration and changing the Bitrate (say 900Kbps) and pressing ok. But when I look at the profile again, the codec configuration has changed back to 780Kbps.

Please read what I wrote:

You might have made invalid settings, StaxRip notices it and corrects it. Some settings are profile agnostic in that they get updated dynamically according to values of the project, the bitrate is a good example here, that might be another matter.

Now for a constant file size setting in xvid or divx staxrip has a Video Bitrate: setting just under the output file path, but this disappears when I select profiles>encoder>divx/xvid>constant quality.

You say that you don't work with bitrate in quality mode. Does this mean that in xvid under codec configuration - you go to zone options and change the quantizer, as this option appears to be disabled in divx.

If you load the constant quality mode profiles and open the XviD config dialog, the third text box from the top is where you enter the quantizer.

So if you really like to play with codec settings you should be able to find help in the appropriate forums.

Gawwad

13th February 2006, 19:59

hello again stax :cool:

so about the vcd .dat file thing
well i configured the dgindex as you said and it worked!

so i added "dat" to the input
http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/5276/19vc.jpg

and then the .dat file was not shown or in other word the "Source Files" does not recognise the .dat extension
http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/8930/22cp.jpg

so i had to switch to "All Files" so i can select the .dat file
http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/6201/31jk.jpg

so it worked perfectly
i tried it with the 10.17 MB .dat clip that i posted in my previouse reply

so please i will be realy grateful if you can in the next update add the "dat" to the default input of the dgindex
and add the .dat extension recognition to the "Source Files" selection

so it will make our lives easier

:thanks:

happycase

13th February 2006, 21:20

I have a question. When I go to Open Files, drag and select my VOBs, it runs for a while, creates the d2v, but then says error, unable to load source. Any ideas?

stax76

13th February 2006, 22:15

I have a question. When I go to Open Files, drag and select my VOBs, it runs for a while, creates the d2v, but then says error, unable to load source. Any ideas?

When that happens you can send a bug report, use 'Help/Send Bug Report'. Many bug reports of that type I get these days I can't reproduce, we'll see.

pablak

13th February 2006, 22:29

This is my way:

test.rmvb - test filename

1. Open test.rmvb file with StaxRip (installed directshow filters for realmedia needed - i'm using K-Lite Mega Codec Pack)
2. In VirtualDubMode manualy open test.avs created by StaxRip
3. Next select in menu: Streams/Stream List/Save Wave as test.wave
or instead 2. & 3.
create vcf file "test_SaveWAV.vcf" which contains two lines:

VirtualDub.Open("test.avs","",0);
VirtualDub.stream[0].SaveWAV("test.wav");

4. In StaxRip select test.wav as audio source file.
5. The rest is standard.

Could StaxRip do this (automaticaly save wave) in the future?

stax76

13th February 2006, 22:55

@pablak

Thanks for working it out, I'll handle decoding, also WMV as it's the identical procedure. Lately there is lot's of forum and mail feedback so it could take some time.

@Gawwad

I'll change it, it's very easy to do it, thanks for providing great detail.

vladlp

14th February 2006, 13:51

stax76

14th February 2006, 14:24

I have just realized small bug with Post Processing mode. For test proposal I have just create template - witch is the same as default DVD but I added in project options auto compressibility and Post Processing mode and save it with name DVDtest. Then I select this template, In source menu open *.vob file and nothing happens. All filed (Source, Traget and …) are not filed and if I try to add this project to Jobs list (F6) – button Add is inactive, but If I press Next button to start encode immediately – than it works fine.

Sounds indeed like a bug.

I have just realized small bug with Post Processing mode. For test proposal I have just create template - witch is the same as default DVD but I added in project options auto compressibility and Post Processing mode and save it with name DVDtest. Then I select this template, In source menu open *.vob file and nothing happens. All filed (Source, Traget and …) are not filed and if I try to add this project to Jobs list (F6) – button Add is inactive, but If I press Next button to start encode immediately – than it works fine.

Sounds a little bit problematic to automate this, if auto crop crops top or bottom and and auto resize image size does not resize top or bottom then height is likely not a multiple of 16 which might be problematic. Automation has absolutely highest priority so you have good chances that I can help you, only problem atm I get so many requests and bug reports and my to do list and mailbox went a little bit out of control.

pablak

14th February 2006, 14:47

Thanks for working it out, I'll handle decoding, also WMV as it's the identical procedure..

I think this procedure will work for other directshow sources.

swaaye

15th February 2006, 06:34

I just updated to the latest Staxrip version and had a bunch of trouble with what I thought were corrupt d2v files. That is, until I noticed Staxrip was changing them to 23fps automatically and causing havok with TIVTC. Stax, do you really think it's wise to force film? Hybrids might be jerky and there is no way to disable your automation.

stax76

16th February 2006, 14:58

Now I tried to do the same with StaxRip and mkv files which seemed to work flawlessly but when I watched them I had to realize that the 2 audio tracks were the same. (2x english instead of engl + german). the source files ARE different of course ;-)

So I checked the command line which says:

"C:\Programme\MKVtoolnix\mkvmerge.exe" -o "D:\\VIDEO_TS\test.mkv" --track-name 0:Video "D:\THE_ISLAND\VIDEO_TS\test_EncoderOutput.avi" --language 0:deu --track-name "0:Deutsch (AC3)" --sync 0:-24 "D:\\VIDEO_TS\VTS_02_1 de-German 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -24ms.ac3" --language 0:eng --track-name "0:English (AC3)" --sync 0:-24 "D:\\VIDEO_TS\VTS_02_1 en-English 3_2ch 384Kbps DELAY -24ms.ac3" --title "VTS_02_1"

I guess the second track shouldn't be track 0, too?! Or am I missing something else here?

The command line looks OK track 0 means track 0 of the source file, for AC3 this will always be 0. Here this works perfectly. There was a bug with cutting causing your problem but you didn't cut so I don't know what's the reason.

Stax, do you really think it's wise to force film? Hybrids might be jerky and there is no way to disable your automation.

I though it's save if it's film > 95%, no?

stax76

16th February 2006, 15:16

0.9.3.1 (2006-02-16)

fix: x264 comp check was broke.
fix: sbr or sbrx MP4Box switches were not use for AAC-HE, now sbr is used.
fix: Enabled compiler switch to run StaxRip as 32 bit application on 64 bit systems.
fix: Cutting two audio tracks resulted in two identical tracks.
new: Option to automatically resize the image size after the compressibility check.
update: new DivX, x264 and MP4Box versions integrated.

LRN

16th February 2006, 18:12

I should note, what CoreAAC decoder detects my mp4's audio as SBR HE-AAC (mp4 was muxed without sbr switch).

After comp. check StaxRip autimatically reduces file size (for quality to become 70%). Can i turn it off?

stax76

16th February 2006, 18:33

After comp. check StaxRip autimatically reduces file size (for quality to become 70%). Can i turn it off?

In the options under automation choose: After the compressibility check adjust: nothing (or image size).

NightWolf1

17th February 2006, 03:36

i know of a manual way to do this but its alot of stuffing about

is there a wy instaxrip to get it to stop on the dvd2avi

for ntsc 59.97 fps videos

so i can choose force film

before it makes the d2v file so it alredy knows

stax76

17th February 2006, 04:22

NightWolf1

17th February 2006, 04:39

hi
wow
thanks for the fast reply

just out of couriosity

i did a test

2 minute file

staxrip took 2minutes some thing longer

than what the older dvx took

i use the exact same settigs for same test on both programs

any ideas

Emp3r0r

17th February 2006, 05:45

@Stax: nice app, great job

I have some suggestions:

Instead of hard-coding all the application versions into each build, perhaps you could put them in an xml file on your server and distribute each new build with an offline version of this xml file. Users could choose to allow StaxRip to check the server for newer versions of this file with an updated application list. This way you can avoid creating new builds when an application or codec gets updated and we've verified the newer application doesn't break StaxRip. I know at this point it isn't a big deal because you release new builds so frequently, but in the future if/when StaxRip development slows down this would be nice.

Also, it would be nice if you added the release date and version to the notification that newer versions are available. Perhaps even show the current version and date so you can compare between the two.

And finally for those ultra lazy folks, how bout a menu item to associate .rip files with StaxRip.

stax76

17th February 2006, 09:40

i use the exact same settigs for same test on both programs

Did you compare the log files? There must be a difference.

Instead of hard-coding all the application versions into each build, perhaps you could put them in an xml file on your server and distribute each new build with an offline version of this xml file. Users could choose to allow StaxRip to check the server for newer versions of this file with an updated application list. This way you can avoid creating new builds when an application or codec gets updated and we've verified the newer application doesn't break StaxRip. I know at this point it isn't a big deal because you release new builds so frequently, but in the future if/when StaxRip development slows down this would be nice.

DVX worked like this, there was a lot complexity, maintenance, effort and problems with the xml approach. Posting lot's of new versions in lot's of boards is currently my only chance to promote StaxRip. The more people visit at the boards the better it is. My goal is of course to make StaxRip very popular so until that is achieved auto update features don't help.

And finally for those ultra lazy folks, how bout a menu item to associate .rip files with StaxRip.

The reason why it's not supported yet is I'm very careful touching other peoples system and Win32 is really and ugly and scary beast regarding file extensions. Generally you are right of course so at one time I need to overbear.

Funkstar De Luxe

17th February 2006, 15:14

Hey Stax,

Been using your great program for ages now - I love it.

But, since 0.9.2.9 I have been unable to get the recommended version of MP4Box. I can't download it internally from Staxrip - it just times out. I can't open it in my browser because I get a 404 and I can't find the file correct file version on Google anywhere.

Do you think it's possible to keep the correct versions on your own server?

stax76

17th February 2006, 18:01

But, since 0.9.2.9 I have been unable to get the recommended version of MP4Box. I can't download it internally from Staxrip - it just times out. I can't open it in my browser because I get a 404 and I can't find the file correct file version on Google anywhere.

Do you think it's possible to keep the correct versions on your own server?

Is the download with 0.9.3.1 still broke? I had most of the stuff on my server and it exceeded my traffic volume of 50 GB, unless somebody has a better idea I can't do much other than link to other downloads.

Funkstar De Luxe

17th February 2006, 18:15

I am afraid it is still broken with 0.9.3.1. I was going to tell you I could hos some on my site - but 50GB is too much for me too :-(

Do you know where I can find the version I need for 0.9.3.1?

stax76

17th February 2006, 19:04

You can try the hotfix: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

I did a lot critical changes working on new features so I hope it's not broke. Most notable change: Added preparer that decodes using DirectShow and defaults for WMV and RMVB. ATM I'm working on a PSP template which will have quite a few new automation features and improvements as side effect.

Funkstar De Luxe

17th February 2006, 19:39

Ok, I will try it as soon as I get home and report back. Also, one more small request. Is it possible to show the user what profile is active? Ticks beside the selected profile would be good, but a better solution would show the name of the profile on the main screen somewhere. Also, is the "default profile" the one that is loaded up on start up / opening of new project?

Funkstar De Luxe

17th February 2006, 20:13

It seems the hotfix has some problems. I installed it over the top of 0.9.3.1 and stated it up. I then checked external app and it reported all were correct version (incorrectly). I then deleted MP4 box folder in the Staxrip directory. Checked the external apps again and Staxrip still said everything was ok! Tried to open a .vob file, and it of course could not.

Also, when installing a new version of staxrip it tells me that some setting had to be 'resetted' It should say 'some setting had to be reset' :-D

stax76

17th February 2006, 20:48

Ticks beside the selected profile would be good, but a better solution would show the name of the profile on the main screen somewhere.

What type of profiles do you mean?

Also, is the "default profile" the one that is loaded up on start up / opening of new project?

From where do you have "default profile"?

It seems the hotfix has some problems. I installed it over the top of 0.9.3.1 and stated it up. I then checked external app and it reported all were correct version (incorrectly).

Are you sure MP4 was used as container? I don't recall changes in that area.

I then deleted MP4 box folder in the Staxrip directory. Checked the external apps again and Staxrip still said everything was ok! Tried to open a .vob file, and it of course could not.

What exactly happened?

Also, when installing a new version of staxrip it tells me that some setting had to be 'resetted' It should say 'some setting had to be reset' :-D

Thanks!

Funkstar De Luxe

17th February 2006, 23:31

What type of profiles do you mean?

The encoder profiles. Just so I can see - at quick glance - if I am using x264 -> HQ-Slow, for example. It's be good if you could put this in the status bar.

From where do you have "default profile"?

Sorry, I meant 'Default Project'. Is this loaded up at start up?

Are you sure MP4 was used as container? I don't recall changes in that area.

I'll check in about 20 mins. However it sounds like this has been my fault. I assumed it checked for all the external apps, regardless of what encoder/container I was using.

What exactly happened?

A preview window popped up with a large font saying the video could not be read (I don't remember exact message - will find out if you need it)

I'm sorry I know little about video encoding terminology. Hopefully I can help give you the layman's point of view though :-)

Beave

17th February 2006, 23:55

I must say StaxRip is an extremely good program. I like your approach to define commandlines and customize so much. It took me some time to understand the possiblities, but I think I slowly get it.

One request/suggestion:
The auto Compressibilty is very nice and something I was looking for a long time. (I know AutoGK had it, but was pretty much closed for options)
You can not only change the compressiblity by changing the width and height or the final size, but also by applying noise filters. I would love an auto feature to automaticly change the noise profile to hit the desired quality instead of changing the resize parameters.
Could you also add the option to choose the % of the movie to check? For me it is enough to use only 2%. Especially when using a noise filter with hdtv captures it takes more then an hour for a comp-check.

To auto calculate the height that is devisible by 16 you could maybe take a look at autoGK. It uses a script like this for a 1080i video (I modified it a only little):

movie = mpeg2source("HDTV_1080i.d2v")
cropclip = autocrop(movie,mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples=10,aspect=0,threshold=34,samplestartframe=0,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
fixed_aspect = 1.00740740740741
c_width = width(cropclip)
c_height = round(height(cropclip) / fixed_aspect)
input_par = float(c_width)/float(c_height)
out_width = 1280
out_height = round(float(out_width) / input_par)
hmod = out_height - (floor(out_height / 16 ) * 16)
out_height = (hmod > 4) ? (out_height + (16 - hmod)) : (out_height - hmod)
new_aspect = (float(out_width) / float(out_height)) / fixed_aspect
Telecide(movie,order=0,guide=1,post=2).Decimate(mode=0)
autocrop(mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples=10,aspect=new_aspect,threshold=34,samplestartframe=0,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
LanczosResize(out_width,out_height)
ColorMatrix("Rec.709->Rec.601",mmx=true,hints=false)

BTW:
You should add ColorMatrix() to almost every profile that involves converting mpeg2 to mpeg4.

Keep up the great work.

stax76

18th February 2006, 02:43

The encoder profiles. Just so I can see - at quick glance - if I am using x264 -> HQ-Slow, for example. It's be good if you could put this in the status bar.

There is no status bar I'm afraid.

Sorry, I meant 'Default Project'. Is this loaded up at start up?

Sure, when you hover over a default project menu item in the main menu the assistant displays 'Please press the right mouse button for help about projects'.

I assumed it checked for all the external apps, regardless of what encoder/container I was using.

It checks only apps needed, some apps are checked dynamically e.g. preparers because it can't be forseen what type of source is gonna be used, that's why it says 'might'.

A preview window popped up with a large font saying the video could not be read (I don't remember exact message - will find out if you need it)

Without knowing the exact mesage it's hard to guess.

You can not only change the compressiblity by changing the width and height or the final size, but also by applying noise filters. I would love an auto feature to automaticly change the noise profile to hit the desired quality instead of changing the resize parameters.

That goes IMHO a little bit too far.

Could you also add the option to choose the % of the movie to check? For me it is enough to use only 2%. Especially when using a noise filter with hdtv captures it takes more then an hour for a comp-check.

That falls under the rubric frequently requested so yes, I want to add it.

To auto calculate the height that is devisible by 16 you could maybe take a look at autoGK. It uses a script like this for a 1080i video (I modified it a only little):

Calculations are a little problem, the easiest way might be uploading a sample somewhere and post a detailed description what values should be auto detected and why that values are desirable. I work on such things atm as devices like PSP have very special requirements so once that is finished it might as well be flexible enough to match your requirements. You might try to explain without providing a sample but I warn you that I'm slow to understand image calculation and auto detection related request so you better give a good explanation. ;)

You should add ColorMatrix() to almost every profile that involves converting mpeg2 to mpeg4.

I'm cluless about it, is this really crucial, what exactly means almost?

Beave

18th February 2006, 03:54

Quote:
You can not only change the compressiblity by changing the width and height or the final size, but also by applying noise filters. I would love an auto feature to automaticly change the noise profile to hit the desired quality instead of changing the resize parameters.

That goes IMHO a little bit too far.

Will you consider it, if I say "Pretty please"? It shouldn't be too hard to implement:

int noiseLevel=0
While (compcheckQuality < desiredQuality) Do
compcheckQuality = DoCompCheck(noiseLevel);
noiseLevel++;
End While

One other idea I got: It would be great if I could autoselect a filterset/profile depending on the source file resolution. If StaxRip opens a file with 1920x1088 it should use my profile:1080i for example. If SR opens 1280x720 it would choose profile:720p and so on. Maybe this could be done in the preparation part, if you could extend it?

Quote:
You should add ColorMatrix() to almost every profile that involves converting mpeg2 to mpeg4.

I'm cluless about it, is this really crucial, what exactly means almost?
Programs like G-Spot tell you the colorspace the video is encoded. It's mostly different in MPEG2 and in MPEG4. The colors are otherwise slightly off in the MPEG4 rip. There are a few threads about it here in the forum. The experts here could explain this a lot better.

About the resize calculations. I understand the script of AutoGK like this:
1920x1080 is the actual size of the movie. 1088 lines are encoded so that it will be divisible by 16. These extra 8 lines are calculated as 1088/1080=1.00740740740741
first it finds the black bars and finds out what the real aspect ratio is (input_par). Then it takes the desired width and calculates the height. The height is then reduced to be divisble by 16. The new aspect ratio is computed and then the final autocrop is used with the correct new aspect. After that resize and it's done.

stax76

18th February 2006, 12:08

Will you consider it, if I say "Pretty please"? It shouldn't be too hard to implement:

If I would accept such specialized requests I would have to refuse other more basic requests instead so the answer is I wish to but I can't because it's not the interest of the majority.

One other idea I got: It would be great if I could autoselect a filterset/profile depending on the source file resolution. If StaxRip opens a file with 1920x1088 it should use my profile:1080i for example. If SR opens 1280x720 it would choose profile:720p and so on. Maybe this could be done in the preparation part, if you could extend it?

As well too specialized. I could add Addon/Plugin support if there is demand so StaxRip could be extended with a dozen different .NET compilers and there would hardly be limits to the things that could be added.

Programs like G-Spot tell you the colorspace the video is encoded. It's mostly different in MPEG2 and in MPEG4. The colors are otherwise slightly off in the MPEG4 rip. There are a few threads about it here in the forum. The experts here could explain this a lot better.

I hardly have time to research on every possible topic so I can't do something unless somebody provides a very good explaination, very good reasoning, very good implementation hints, very good...

About the resize calculations. I understand the script of AutoGK like this:

That's script is way beyond my horizon. Why does it:

1088/1080=1.00740740740741

Also why does it:

1080/(1088/1080)=1072.05882352941

Funkstar De Luxe

18th February 2006, 12:11

The latest hotfix does solve my download problems. I had to completely delete Staxrip from my system before it solved the mp4box problem.

As for the no status bar, how about you add profile info somewhere else? It just seems silly that I can see the audio profile no problem, but have to guess the video profile. Just an idea :-)

Thanks very much for your hard work. I appreciate it very much indeed.

stax76

18th February 2006, 12:15

As for the no status bar, how about you add profile info somewhere else? It just seems silly that I can see the audio profile no problem, but have to guess the video profile. Just an idea :-)

The problem is finding a place where to put it, I already thought about it before writing a single line code ;). I will have to think about it again. Using it as text for the encoder group box instead of 'Encoder' might be the thing to do. What do you think, you like it, don't you? :)

juraba

18th February 2006, 13:02

Hi guys, Great gui StaXRip. I like it very much Thx to the developer! I'm having a little problem. When i try to use the cutting filter to eliminate spots from a film i get this message: the cutting filter setting don't match with the cutting settins used in the preview. Then if a try to go on, this one shows up:The current assistant instruction of warning cannot be skipped. Any ideas of how to solve this problem?

Thanks very much :thanks:

stax76

18th February 2006, 13:56

I'm having a little problem. When i try to use the cutting filter to eliminate spots from a film i get this message: the cutting filter setting don't match with the cutting settins used in the preview. Then if a try to go on, this one shows up:The current assistant instruction of warning cannot be skipped. Any ideas of how to solve this problem?

Hi and welcome to the forum. You have to add and remove cuts using the preview and only the preview and not add, remove, modify, disable or do anything else manually with a filter of category 'Cutting', then you should never see this warning.

Gargantula

18th February 2006, 16:10

Is it possible to do two different filter setups in StaxRip on different parts of the same video?

stax76

18th February 2006, 16:26

Is it possible to do two different filter setups in StaxRip on different parts of the same video?

A filter setup in StaxRip is a abstraction of a AviSynth script so you are asking 'Is it possible to use two different AviSynth scripts on different parts of the same video?' You could try doing it like it would be done manually, I see no reason why it should not work. It's however to specialized to add GUI support for it as still very basic features are missing.

juraba

18th February 2006, 16:34

pablak

18th February 2006, 16:46

I did a lot critical changes working on new features so I hope it's not broke. Most notable change: Added preparer that decodes using DirectShow and defaults for WMV and RMVB.

Big Thanks Stax for that (rmvb).
Little thing only is missing (not very important) - rmvb extention is not added to "source files" ("all files" must be choosed when opening rmvb file).

stax76

18th February 2006, 17:45

Thanks stax for the info. I dont know what i'm doing wrong but i still getting this message again. I used to do it like this with dvx. I open the file and press next until the cuttings options show up. then i do the cutting and press next... but i cannot go further. Can you tell me the steps for cutting

When the preview closes it will add a cutting filter if there are cut points and if there is a cutting filter it won't give a warning so I don't know how possibly this can happen unless you disable or remove the cutting filter manually.

Little thing only is missing (not very important) - rmvb extention is not added to "source files" ("all files" must be choosed when opening rmvb file).

Thanks, I missed that.

Funkstar De Luxe

19th February 2006, 13:54

Hey stax, I have two more basic questions.

When encoding video with x264 it seems it will never go above 50% CPU usage. Is this just becuase my CPU is P4 3.6Ghz HT and x264 is only using one thread, therefor it gets reported incoreectly?

Second question is more of a request. I like to watch movies when I have long encoding jobs running. However, when a new pass starts, a cmd window opens and jumps infront of my video (and exiting full screen). What I'd like to ask is, is it possible to make Staxrip keep all the windows hidden when it is minimized?

stax76

19th February 2006, 14:51

When encoding video with x264 it seems it will never go above 50% CPU usage. Is this just becuase my CPU is P4 3.6Ghz HT and x264 is only using one thread, therefor it gets reported incoreectly?

It's more a x264 problem though I would tell you if I knew.

Second question is more of a request. I like to watch movies when I have long encoding jobs running. However, when a new pass starts, a cmd window opens and jumps infront of my video (and exiting full screen). What I'd like to ask is, is it possible to make Staxrip keep all the windows hidden when it is minimized?

There is a option in the settings to start external apps minimized.

Funkstar De Luxe

19th February 2006, 15:37

It's more a x264 problem though I would tell you if I knew.

There is a option in the settings to start external apps minimized.

Thanks buddy! I'll go and bother the people at x264 to find the answer to my other question ;-)

laserfan

19th February 2006, 18:12

Hey stax I just wanted to tell you that I've been using AutoGK and Fairuse Wizard for quite a long time now, but have been looking lately for a way to "upgrade" i.e. AGK is tough to do custom settings with, and FUW only works on DVDs.

The other day I loaded-up the latest version and queued a couple of HD conversions (1080i transport streams to 720p XviDs). Probably stupid of me (as a complete newbie) given I knew the results would come after many hours. But they came out perfect! Outstanding in every way (used Xvid and HDTV profile).

Anyway just wanted to say "Thanks" and I'll be using your proggie a lot from now on!

Funkstar De Luxe

19th February 2006, 20:32

Ok, so I went and asked in the x.264 forum about the 50% issue. As we assumed it is becuase my CPU has HT. However they said it was possible to set the encoder to use two threads. Is there a setting somewhere in staxrip for this? If not, will you be putting one in in the future? HT is becoming very common.

Thanks

stax76

19th February 2006, 20:35

However they said it was possible to set the encoder to use two threads. Is there a setting somewhere in staxrip for this?

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/023.png

Funkstar De Luxe

19th February 2006, 21:13

:-D You the man, Stax.

Thanks a lot. I think that's me done know. I appreciate your help!

Gargantula

20th February 2006, 03:04

A filter setup in StaxRip is a abstraction of a AviSynth script so you are asking 'Is it possible to use two different AviSynth scripts on different parts of the same video?' You could try doing it like it would be done manually, I see no reason why it should not work. It's however to specialized to add GUI support for it as still very basic features are missing.

How is it possible to do it manually then?

stax76

20th February 2006, 03:42

@Gargantula

The AviSynth feature in StaxRip is close to doing a script with a text editor, I can't really tell you much more than is already documented.

tekNerd

21st February 2006, 02:41

Gawwad, thanks for the help. I was use to virtualdub's style of cutting and i didn't read the help. Anyways, thanks a lot!

NightWolf1

21st February 2006, 02:43

to do with dual core sups

do the apps that this use use both or just 1 core for encoding

Gawwad

21st February 2006, 02:44

Gawwad, thanks for the help. I was use to virtualdub's style of cutting and i didn't read the help. Anyways, thanks a lot!

u welcome :p

its quite weard that both of us deleted our original replies :D

rototo

21st February 2006, 10:20

thanks for this ultra-useful & efficient program :thanks:

I noticed something maybe buggy & a bit annoying though.
it's about image ratio : I recently ripped some 4/3 PAL dvds and I thought when I choosed a pure 4/3 resolution (512*384 / 576*432 / 640*480 etc) the margin indicator will gave me a 0% difference... but I obtain a 2.5% difference !
of course cropping was not active for these measures...

as the software forbids choice with a margin >3% , you have sometimes only choice between ripping in (slitghly, ok :p ) wrong format and not ripping at all (depending on choosed resolution & specific cropping)...
I don't know if this is a bug specific to pal dvds (I don't have z1 ntsc dvds)

Thanks in advance if you can correct this

stax76

21st February 2006, 11:51

@tekNerd

People constantly expecting StaxRip to look, feel and work like VirtualDub, GordianKnot etc. ;)

I've not used much application other that DVX/StaxRip directly so I've developed most features without being much biased.

do the apps that this use use both or just 1 core for encoding

Some do, others not.

@rototo

You mean aspect ratio error? This should be fine.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=42708

For a long time I try to solve the problem how to automatically encode few movie with target size specify for all of them together. (As I (but think not only I) encode and then burn my movies to DVD, it comes as usual 3-5 films per DVD) After you added command line support to StaxRip it’s became possible!!!! Just what is necessary to have switches to make only compressibility test and then save project (.rip) files. I am not very familiar with VB.NET (I am C++ programmer, but think it’s not so difficult ) but then I can write small additional program in which one can specify source files for encoding, template, and target size for all of them. From this program will start StaxRip with compressibility test only options for each of all incomes files and after it read necessary information (length, compressibility and etc. ) from saved project files and adjust it to receive specify target size by slightly changing quality for all of them proportional (or in worth case also changing width ) and then run StaxRip with modify project files to encode. As result – absolutely automatically system to encode as much as you need movies (series of some serial) with any target size for all of them.

It's a bit lengthy and I hardly understand what you want to achieve. If you download the most recent build:

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Did you try 'Post Processing Mode'? Is there something missing regarding automation? I didn't test a batch scenario yet but it's about time. Things like templates and other features like many automation features were partly done because I expected them to be needed for a batch scenario. I rather have a solution that needs nothing external. I just need to know what sources people have and how that sources should be encoded so I can check if it can be done and write some help about it.

vladlp

21st February 2006, 14:39

Did you try 'Post Processing Mode'? Is there something missing regarding automation? I didn't test a batch scenario yet but it's about time. Things like templates and other features like many automation features were partly done because I expected them to be needed for a batch . I rather have a solution that needs nothing external. I just need to know what sources people have and how that sources should be encoded so I can check if it can be done and write some help about it.

Yes, shure. End even find small bug:( in Post Processing Mode. I have posted it few days ago
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=785554#post785554.

My idea is to make possible specify target size not for one project but for few of them. As example I create few projects and add them to batch scenario and then specify, that after encoding target size for all of them have to be 4483mb (as example). In batch scenario I check all project for compressibility value. If some project have it not - than I start this project, but just to make compressibility test. After this pre-cheking I have set of project with compressibility information. Now it just simle mathematic using information from projects files find quality (in percent) to satisfy this conditions and then correct target size in each project files. And finally after it start batch encoding.

stax76

21st February 2006, 15:16

Yes, shure. End even find small bug in Post Processing Mode. I have posted it few days ago
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.ph...554#post785554.

You mean add button in job list disabled? That should be fixed in the hotfix above.

My idea is to make possible specify target size not for one project but for few of them. As example I create few projects and add them to batch scenario and then specify, that after encoding target size for all of them have to be 4483mb (as example). In batch scenario I check all project for compressibility value. If some project have it not - than I start this project, but just to make compressibility test. After this pre-cheking I have set of project with compressibility information. Now it just simle mathematic using information from projects files find quality (in percent) to satisfy this conditions and then correct target size in each project files. And finally after it start batch encoding.

I had to read it a few times until I understood. It's very specialized and I don't support things I don't fully understand. It sounds like your sources are for instance 4 DVD's, the point here is they are probably not equal so how do you want to batch process this without knowing what AviSynth filters are gonna be used?

Edit:

I remember you requested also auto deinterlacing, then it would make sense of course. I got to think about your scenario.

vladlp

21st February 2006, 17:02

I had to read it a few times until I understood Sorry for my poor English:(
You mean add button in job list disabled? That should be fixed in the hotfix above I will test it at home in the evening.
they are probably not equal so how do you want to batch process this without knowing what AviSynth filters are gonna be used?

In case when sources are different fully automates can be too hard, It’s true :(. But then we just need to know information about our source to load them with right templates and can do it manually (I think it will take not so mach time and it's not necessary to automates it).
But in case when projects are already prepared (necessary AVS filters and sounds selected for each projects) it looks not so terrible :) Then we just need 3 pass batch scenarios:
1) Go throw all projects and make compressibility test.
2) Adjust target size of each projects that sum of all of them was X mb.
(As options, one can specify acceptable minimum quality, lets say 65%. If it's impossible to reach this quality with size X, then resize each source to smaller size or something like this... scenarios can be different... but for all of them information from projects file after 1 step have to be enough)
3) Start encoding.

tekNerd

21st February 2006, 18:25

One little problem. Time to time Settings.bin is been accesed or something by System process and when I want to start SR it just crushes. I have to "close handle" to go by. What is happening? Is something wrong with my comp?
Another thing:how is going on descover why SR is not working with avi (with sound) files?
Thanks, love the app!!! (now more than ever cause has the wmv support. yuhuuhhuuhu)

ftack

21st February 2006, 19:55

In "Audio Mux Options" for AVI it is possible to specify a delay. However, I do not find options for preloading and interleaving the audio. Am I looking at the wrong place or is this not implemented?

stax76

21st February 2006, 21:53

One little problem. Time to time Settings.bin is been accesed or something by System process and when I want to start SR it just crushes.

That's kind of strange, I mean other applications have configuration files as well. When StaxRip starts it reads the file, read access is probably enough here. When it exits it writes the file.

Another thing:how is going on descover why SR is not working with avi (with sound) files?

Zen told me there might be memory corruption going on in MediaInfo and he is working on it. I tested it over and over again and I swear it never crashed here.

In "Audio Mux Options" for AVI it is possible to specify a delay. However, I do not find options for preloading and interleaving the audio. Am I looking at the wrong place or is this not implemented?

It's not supported, don't work the defaults for you?

stax76

21st February 2006, 22:18

0.9.3.2 (2006-02-21)

new: Added preparer that decodes using DirectShow and defaults for WMV and RMVB.
new: 'Auto crop until proper aspect ratio is found'. This option is useful for devices like PlayStation Portable. It's know as smart crop and the used algorithm was improved.
new: PMP Muxer and PlayStation Portable template.
new: Option to define percentage to use for compressibility check.

mistik69

22nd February 2006, 00:25

tekNerd

22nd February 2006, 00:29

Question:there is possible to do some magic(like u did so far and made this beautiful piece of software)and have a posibility to encode to .flv?

Gawwad

22nd February 2006, 00:47

I apologize in advance if this has been answered before. I follow this thread fairly closely and dont remember it being addressed. I would appreciate it if someone could answer me when I should use deinterlace? I understand definitions between PAL and NTSC and how interlaced and progressive work. Most of my source material is DVD's region 1. Is there any logical reason why I should use the deinterlace function in Staxrip?

i am not an expert on this
but as i know, the "deinterlace" option should be used to attenuates the artifacts on some poorly encoded DVDs
so for me for example i use this option most of the time when i encode dvds from the middle east, as they r interlaced them selves, and the only way to deinterlace is to use that "deinterlace" option in staxrip
i use this option as well when i encode tv captured videos, as tv captured stuff seems to be interlaced all the time
but when i encode region 2 dvds (from the uk), i never realy need to use this "deinterlace" option
i encoded 10s of dvds from reigon 2 and they were all ok
but when i encoded some dvds from the middle east with out choosing the "deinterlace" option, the out put came out interlaced!
if u r encoding original dvds from reigon 1, i doubt it that u will need to use the "deinterlace" option
my advice is encode a small cilp such a movie trailer without selecting "deinterlace" option
if the out put came out correct and not interlaced, then i guess u don't need to use the "deinterlace" option

LRN

22nd February 2006, 06:30

Stax, you should find some algoritm for detection, is video interlaced or not. Nero Recode 2 has one, and it works neraly 100% perfectly.

NightWolf1

22nd February 2006, 10:22

heres the deal

i have both stax and dvx on the same system

running both the same apps as each other

now

a 2 minute hdtv test

encoded to 960 x 544 res with ac3

both dvx and staxrip made 50 mb files

now

dvx total time 4 minutes 13 for 2 pass encode

staxrip total time 6 minutes 14

now

considerign i used the new apps for both programs

all i can put the extra time down to
is the .net 2.0 code

any ideas on why they take almost 2 minutes differance

LRN

22nd February 2006, 14:20

becasue you used different encoders (or different settings for the same encoder), or there's slight difference in the way frames are feeded to encoders.

Beave

22nd February 2006, 20:54

Sorry for my poor English:(
I will test it at home in the evening.

In case when sources are different fully automates can be too hard, It’s true :(. But then we just need to know information about our source to load them with right templates and can do it manually (I think it will take not so mach time and it's not necessary to automates it).
But in case when projects are already prepared (necessary AVS filters and sounds selected for each projects) it looks not so terrible :) Then we just need 3 pass batch scenarios:
1) Go throw all projects and make compressibility test.
2) Adjust target size of each projects that sum of all of them was X mb.
(As options, one can specify acceptable minimum quality, lets say 65%. If it's impossible to reach this quality with size X, then resize each source to smaller size or something like this... scenarios can be different... but for all of them information from projects file after 1 step have to be enough)
3) Start encoding.

This approach is better. You don't need all the videos to have the same size. If one video needs more bitrate it should get it and take it from another one.
Use this avs script as an example of three videos joined together:

e1 = mpeg2source("1.d2v")
e2 = mpeg2source("2.d2v")
e3 = mpeg2source("3.d2v")
l = BlankClip(clip = e1, length = 50, color = $FFFFFF)
e1 + l + e2 + l + e3

it puts a small white video between your videos, so that the codec can put an I-Frame there. Afterwards you just cut it there and mux the audio to each part. Having this all in one avs script makes the comp check easy as well.

Emp3r0r

22nd February 2006, 22:21

@Stax: any reason why StaxRip would require Java and ProjectX just to open a d2v file?

Funkstar De Luxe

22nd February 2006, 23:50

There is a option in the settings to start external apps minimized.

It seems that even when external apps are minimized they still steal focus from other tasks (and my video then exits fullscreen mode). Is there a way to hide them totally, or to launch them in the background?

Thanks

Gawwad

23rd February 2006, 00:01

It seems that even when external apps are minimized they still steal focus from other tasks (and my video then exits fullscreen mode). Is there a way to hide them totally, or to launch them in the background?

Thanks

and plz stax is there a way to make this the default setting for staxrip
bcz trust me the majority of newbies (like me) prefer to not see alot of programs windows open while encoding

:thanks:

vladlp

23rd February 2006, 11:36

This approach is better. You don't need all the videos to have the same size. If one video needs more bitrate it should get it and take it from another one.
Use this avs script as an example of three videos joined together:

e1 = mpeg2source("1.d2v")
e2 = mpeg2source("2.d2v")
e3 = mpeg2source("3.d2v")
l = BlankClip(clip = e1, length = 50, color = $FFFFFF)
e1 + l + e2 + l + e3

it puts a small white video between your videos, so that the codec can put an I-Frame there. Afterwards you just cut it there and mux the audio to each part. Having this all in one avs script makes the comp check easy as well.

It sounds interesting... but still takes a lot of manual works :( Till now I have made it so:
I create project for each set of source files which will be encode in one file. Make comptest and save this project, but notes somewhere necessary information. Than use next equation for all projects:
Sum(Sound+A*Length_i*Framerate_i*Width_i*Height_i*CompTest_i/8388608 )=4483mb.
Where A is Quality, Sound – size of sound in mb. As a solution => A. Then I adjust target size for each project to calculated size:
(Sound+A*Length_i*Framerate_i*Width_i*Height_i*CompTest_i/8388608)

Now I even make A dependent on the CompTest_i in next way:

If (CompTest_i/base_CompTest>1) then A=A-(CompTest_i/base_CompTest-1)*0.05

Where base_CompTest – is some average acceptable CompTest value. To encode in xvid I use base_CompTest = 0.25. The idea of it, if compressibility is to worth, than we can apply a little biggest compression. In this example if CompTest_i is 2*0.25=0.5, then I will decrease quality for 5%.

This techniques helps me to encode few movies on one DVD with as mach as possible quality and not lose any bite of free space on DVD:)

tekNerd

23rd February 2006, 11:39

It would be nice some "delogo" filters like xlogo or virtualdub filter(logoaway,delogo or msu_delogo).

LRN

23rd February 2006, 11:39

Stax, i suggest you to do as you did with Pause/Resume: Use low-level WinAPI to hide/show window, leaving a button (for show/hide) in log-window.
This would be better...though i don't know how multi-windowed apps (like DGIndex) will behave in this situation.

NightWolf1

23rd February 2006, 14:22

hi

to your paste earlier

on my comment about times taken here is the logs of both programs

dvx program log (http://www.upnaway.com/~angels/DVX.log)

and this one for staxrip

staxrip program log (http://www.upnaway.com/~angels/StaxRip.log)

these 2 logs
are for the exact same file with the same settings

LRN

23rd February 2006, 14:52

max_bframes is different :-/ Also DVX provides not very much settings in log-file, only basic ones...Maybe there's more differences...
And 00:10:46 vs 00:11:17 is not THAT much to worry :) (and StaxRip's first pass IS faster, 00:06:26 vs 00:06:11)

NightWolf1

23rd February 2006, 14:59

few minutes isnt much
but im still curious
since they are usign the idenicaly apps to encode

and dont get me wrong

i like both apps

i was jsut courious thats all

laserfan

23rd February 2006, 17:12

My large transport stream files take quite a long time to Prepare (demux w/ProjectX and DGindex etc.). It seems staxrip wants to do this every time I want to make a different output type from the same input file. Is there a setting somewhere that I've missed, that says "re-use m2v, ac3, d2v etc. files already created"?

ch@@boom

23rd February 2006, 21:27

hi stax
first of all this little piece of software totally blows current competitors away
:D

regarding jobs:

it would be nice if LOAD loads a *.rip job already saved on hd and adds it to the queue, and a button ADD adds the current open project to the queue

i think it was better implemented before, but currently if I click on LOAD now, it wants to save the current job and if I don't have a job LOAD is greyed out

what do you think?

Gargantula

24th February 2006, 06:39

@Gargantula

The AviSynth feature in StaxRip is close to doing a script with a text editor, I can't really tell you much more than is already documented.

Where is it documented?

nickolasemp

24th February 2006, 11:23

@Stax:
Could you make an oprtional option for xvid to encode credits with lower bitrate and gray color?

dvd_maniac

24th February 2006, 15:45

Gawwad

24th February 2006, 16:50

I need some help converting DVD's. I just downloaded Staxrip and installed everything. I am using DVD Decrypter to rip and want to encode using x264. I have been able to encode my TV captures just fine but what method should I rip my DVD's in? How do I get Staxrip to import the main movie?

using dvd decrypter, select and rip the video that u want to encode
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5074/dvdrippin2uv.jpg

and then with staxrip just add the vobs (in the right order) that were ripped by dvd decrypter
http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/046.png

ricardo.santos

24th February 2006, 21:06

or use the file mode(main movie only)

stax76

25th February 2006, 14:58

Could you make an oprtional option for xvid to encode credits with lower bitrate and gray color?

It's on my to do list.

Where is it documented?

In the help file under filters.

it would be nice if LOAD loads a *.rip job already saved on hd and adds it to the queue

I think it's better 'Load' loads the selected project file. A import button for that purpose would be possible but too many buttons and features have drawbacks like make it harder to use, make it less efficient and in this case duplication as there is already a way to achieve this.

and a button ADD adds the current open project to the queue

It does add the active project. IIRC it always forces to save, the reason is when you save a second job of the same source e.g. with different cut settings, you'll need another project. What I could do is only open the file save dialog when the project was not saved before (unlnown path) or the path is already in the list.

Is there a setting somewhere that I've missed, that says "re-use m2v, ac3, d2v etc. files already created"?

How about just opening that files like opening your d2v file? You can always of yours save a project and later load the project to continue exactly where you left off.

Stax, i suggest you to do as you did with Pause/Resume: Use low-level WinAPI to hide/show window, leaving a button (for show/hide) in log-window.
This would be better...though i don't know how multi-windowed apps (like DGIndex) will behave in this situation.

Is minimized not sufficient what player do you use, what dshow rendere etc.?

It would be nice some "delogo" filters like xlogo or virtualdub filter(logoaway,delogo or msu_delogo).

You can add your new filters as described in the help.

It seems that even when external apps are minimized they still steal focus from other tasks (and my video then exits fullscreen mode). Is there a way to hide them totally, or to launch them in the background?

What player do you use, what dshow rendere etc.?

@Stax: any reason why StaxRip would require Java and ProjectX just to open a d2v file?

It's required for mpg, ts and pva but you can customize what file types should be handled, find it the options under 'Preperation'. For d2v it should not ask for ProjectX (if there is no bug).

Question:there is possible to do some magic(like u did so far and made this beautiful piece of software)and have a posibility to encode to .flv?

I don't know what flv is, maybe using a command line muxer would work though I think I would have to extend the command line muxer as the file extension of the target file is derived from the the output format type. Maybe you can give me more info about flv.

but for some reasons, staxrip is not encoding some wmv videos correctly
like this one for example:
http://www.twistedcritique.com/videos/herc.wmv
Size: 3.03 MB
when i encoded with staxrip the audio was out of sychronised

Hard to tell, it wouldhave to be examined using the tools manually, did you use AviSynth, VirtualDubMod etc. manually before?

and i noticed that staxrip on default always produces xvid with "nvop" (according to gspot)
how can i disable this "nvop"?
as my Philips dvp5100 stand alone divx player hav problems with "nvop" videos, it will give very poor frame rate

There might be a codec optionm maybe it's uses another name.

LRN

25th February 2006, 15:42

Is minimized not sufficient what player do you use, what dshow rendere etc.?Player? What player? The trouble is what every new application, runned by StaxRip, pops up, switching active application (player, game, text editor, browser, anything).

stax76

25th February 2006, 15:59

Player? What player? The trouble is what every new application, runned by StaxRip, pops up, switching active application (player, game, text editor, browser, anything).

So starting apps minimized still steals focus? I'll see what I can do.

laserfan

25th February 2006, 17:07

...How about just opening that files like opening your d2v file? You can always of yours save a project and later load the project to continue exactly where you left off....Thanks, I'd hoped I was just being stupid about this! :o

weaver4

26th February 2006, 00:03

stax76

26th February 2006, 00:19

I would like to see a button or menu that would auto-setup IVTC filter. I am not sure I understand when it should be enabled and when it shouldn't. I noticed that avi.net does it automatically and FairUse has a button to set it automatically.

Auto deinterlace/IVTC is on my to do list.

Stax, i suggest you to do as you did with Pause/Resume: Use low-level WinAPI to hide/show window, leaving a button (for show/hide) in log-window.
This would be better...though i don't know how multi-windowed apps (like DGIndex) will behave in this situation.

The 'Process' .NET class allows to define the window style hidden and it gives the handle of the main window but unfortunately it returns 0 as handle when hidden is used so hidden isn't really a option. TweakUI has a option (General/Focus) to disable applications stealing focus. I've tested it successfully with a normal window and watching a clip using fullscreen.

26th February 2006, 02:49

Hello Stax;I have been using your wonderful application since version:StaxRip_0.9.2.3.It is doing everything I need it to do so far,cutting,converting etc..The only thing i've had a problem with is when I try to encode in x.264 during the process usually along toward the end,That MP4 box application crashes,I get the usual "MP4 box has encountered a problem and needs to shut down"Blah blah..I'm not to familiar in understanding the software and why this is happening.Would there be anyway you could add another MP4 container application choice to your GUI?..such as MP4UI or something like that would be great.Otherwise I have had alot of success in editing and converting and encoding with your program keep up the good work there,we have spoken before in e-mail..Regards..DW

stax76

26th February 2006, 14:14

@dw

Welcome to the forum. I don't know if other muxers are less problematic. MP4Box is by far the most popular MP4 muxer here. Maybe it's a known problem and there is a solution, didn't you find anything about it searching the forum?

fogbav

27th February 2006, 09:41

I have a little problem converting ac3 sound with staxrip ...

Every Rip with the newst version of StaxRip has AC3 Sound only up to a mark of about 1 hour 19 Minutes ... after that only silence ... converting an other track (mp2 - English) is ok until the end of the film ...

any bugs known ?

LRN

27th February 2006, 14:46

What is output file size? If it's less than you planned (i.e. 610 Mb instead 700 Mb), then track is cut.
Also, compare two tracks (english and other). If size is different (i assume they both encoded in same format with same bitrate etc, of course) then track is cut indeed.
Try to listen audio-file. If sound disappears after 1:19 - it's audio encoder issue.
If audio-file size isn't cut, but output file does - then it's muxer issue.
If audio-file size is cut, then it's audio encoder issue.
If everything is allright with size and with listening audio-file too, try to demux output file to get this audio track separately (and again look at size and try to listen).

Warrex

27th February 2006, 20:15

Hi,

I really like to see some form of time based editing in preview mode. I would already be happy if "Info" did not just display a frame counter but also a time counter. This should be really easy to add I think.

Perhaps you might also consider integrating these two things directly into the preview window under the editing buttons.

Cheers,
Warrex

nickolasemp

28th February 2006, 15:49

Hello Stax.... I'm using your program quite a while and I'm very satisfied.

Is there any option in Staxrip's x.264 to encode in less bandwidth a movie's credits? I dont like MeGui (which apparently does that working in zones like xvid) and I haven't seen any option in your Staxrip that can do that. I would really like such a thing.

THANKS A LOT for your application.

LRN

28th February 2006, 17:26

I haven't seen any option in your Staxrip that can do that Because there's no option in his Staxrip that can do that. But Stax is working on it.

pablak

28th February 2006, 18:57

1. "Open files" not works with avi. Is this correct?
With mpegs works normal.
2. Is possible support for sound with unusual samplerate like 22050 khz.

Gargantula

28th February 2006, 21:20

Does StaxRip 0.9.3.2 have a MP3 commandline bug? When I encode my video, the audio is not synchronized. It was working before.

stax76

1st March 2006, 10:50

Does StaxRip 0.9.3.2 have a MP3 commandline bug? When I encode my video, the audio is way off. It was working before.

Maybe you can do everything manually and see were it went off?

"Open files" not works with avi. Is this correct?
With mpegs works normal.

I did some change for the next version.

Is possible support for sound with unusual samplerate like 22050 khz.

BeSweet settings can be customized.

I would already be happy if "Info" did not just display a frame counter but also a time counter.

I made a option to edit the filter used to display the infos though default is still 'Info()', somebody would have to propose better defaults. Then there will be: Go To dialog in preview splitted in two different diaogs, one for frame and one for time. Is this sufficient for you requirements?

Gawwad

1st March 2006, 17:49

thanx alot stax for adding support for vcds, wmv and rmvb :thanks:

but for some reasons, staxrip is not encoding some wmv videos correctly :scared:
like this one for example:
http://www.twistedcritique.com/videos/herc.wmv
Size: 3.03 MB
when i encoded with staxrip the audio was out of sychronised :(

and i noticed that staxrip on default always produces xvid with "nvop" (according to gspot)
how can i disable this "nvop"?
as my Philips dvp5100 stand alone divx player hav problems with "nvop" videos, it will give very poor frame rate :(

from googling i found this for nvop:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=93263&highlight=nvop
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/165637philips%20dvp642%20xvid%20re-encode%20settings

Gargantula

1st March 2006, 18:11

How can I do it manually?

swaaye

2nd March 2006, 00:20

Idea for ya Stax:

How about an option within the filter setup so a filter will be automatically enabled or disabled depending on the source framerate. Say I'm encoding a bunch of TV eps, some of which get force filmed. This causes me probs sometimes cuz I sometimes don't notice the 23.97 fps instead of 29.97 fps. So, obviously, IVTC'ing a force filmed source doesn't work. Having the option to get up a IVTC filter to only engage if the framerate is 29.97 would be nice.

bira

2nd March 2006, 10:37

Is it possible to account for the vobsub files size when calculating video bitrate?

I use the regular "avi" container, so my vobsubs are external.

Thanks!

stax76

2nd March 2006, 14:03

@bira

No, unfortunately it's not possible.

@swaaye

I can't add such features because I rather spend the time on more basic features and too many specialized features harm the ease of use. If there is demand I could add extensibility in the form of AddIns or/and scripting.

How can I do it manually?

Writing a script using a editor and the AviSynth help.

@Gawwad

I can't much help unless you find a manual way that works better.

bira

2nd March 2006, 14:39

@bira

No, unfortunately it's not possible.

Will that be possible any time soon? It is just an option to add any files you want. Like cover art etc.

In short, I have a cd and I want to put on the video, subtitles, cover art, video description, etc. Hence, I need to account for the size of those files.

Sharktooth

2nd March 2006, 15:24

something like "reserve X Kb of disk space" option

dvd_maniac

3rd March 2006, 02:07

I have been using Staxrip and x264 to encode my TV captures instead of Nero Recode and I must say that I love it... Much faster with my X2 4600+ and a little better quality too.
Now I would like to switch to it for my DVD encodes as well. I rip with DVDdecryptor in IFO mode using Movie only. I would like some help as to how to get the chapters from the DVD into Staxrip though.

Can't believe I waited this long to switch.
Thanx Stax and X264 team!!!

bira

3rd March 2006, 04:07

Stax, I believe I found a problem.

If I get a 29.970 fps video(pure video, not film), cut a small clip from it, then use the IVTC filter to correctly reduce fps to 23.976, my video gets cut as it should but my audio does not.

Probably, the audio cutting routine is using 29.970 instead of 23.976 or vice versa.

Also, I have a request.

The automatic "force film" based on the d2v file information is no good for me. I have always to cheat by editing the last line of the d2v file, so staxrip thinks its a pure video source.

An option to choose whether or not to let staxrip use that information would be nice.

Thanks!

stax76

3rd March 2006, 16:45

The automatic "force film" based on the d2v file information is no good for me. I have always to cheat by editing the last line of the d2v file, so staxrip thinks its a pure video source.

I'm not well informed in that area so every change in that area requires somebody providing detailed information.

Stax, I believe I found a problem.

If I get a 29.970 fps video(pure video, not film), cut a small clip from it, then use the IVTC filter to correctly reduce fps to 23.976, my video gets cut as it should but my audio does not.

Probably, the audio cutting routine is using 29.970 instead of 23.976 or vice versa.

That was exactly the problem, thanks for pointing it out. Hotfix can be found here (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip) (fixes also the bug reported by pablak).

Now I would like to switch to it for my DVD encodes as well. I rip with DVDdecryptor in IFO mode using Movie only. I would like some help as to how to get the chapters from the DVD into Staxrip though.

Extractiong chapters does either DVD Decrypter or ChapterXtractor. The file can then be selected in the container/muxer configuration.

Will that be possible any time soon? It is just an option to add any files you want. Like cover art etc.

At some point I might have to create a calculator dialog for more advanced calculations. Maybe it would be sufficient to add a option which shows a 'Open Files' dialog with multiselect enabled to select the files which would then simply change the target size accordingly?

bira

3rd March 2006, 18:05

I'm not well informed in that area so every change in that area requires somebody providing detailed information.

As I understand it, you would have to add an option like that: "Auto Force Film". If it is checked, staxrip would use the information from the d2v file and change the frame rate information from the d2v file.

If it is not checked, then it would do nothing.

That was exactly the problem, thanks for pointing it out. Hotfix can be found here (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip) (fixes also the bug reported by pablak).

Thank you.

Maybe it would be sufficient to add a option which shows a 'Open Files' dialog with multiselect enabled to select the files which would then simply change the target size accordingly?

Yes, simply as that. Just be sure to show somewhere how much space is taken by the other files. Also, don't change the value from the target size box, doing that would confuse people. Just perform the bitrate and video dimensions calculations accordingly.

Thanks!

stax76

3rd March 2006, 18:55

As I understand it, you would have to add an option like that: "Auto Force Film". If it is checked, staxrip would use the information from the d2v file and change the frame rate information from the d2v file.

If it is not checked, then it would do nothing.

That don't explain why it's not always desirable to use always forced film if it's film > 95 %. I need reasoning and a scenario for every request where the reason and scenario is not obvious. Wouldn't you agree adding options that I don't understand would be bad idea?

Also, don't change the value from the target size box.

That was what I meant with simply, everything else needs some GUI. There is no room in the main window so a calculator dialog would have to be created for advanced calculations. For now it's a too big task. It's not obvious what separate files are used for since the common way is having a single target file so it would be interesting to hear more about your scenario for the reason explained previously.

bira

3rd March 2006, 20:24

Let see if I can explain clearly.

If dgindex says your movie is 97% film, it means just that. :D

Now seriously, if the remaning 3% of the movie is spread through out the lenght of the movie (let's say a few frames here, a few there), force film is OK.

But if the remaning 3% is from a single scene of the movie, that scene will be jerky, since you are forcing a "video" scene to be film.

That's why I take the 29.970 movie and use IVTC to properly convert to 23.976.

Regarding the target size:

Let say I want to fit a movie on a CD. I have, let say, 700MB of space. So, movie file size + .idx and .sub files size + whatever I want to include must be equal to 700MB. If I don't have an option to add files, the movie will take 700MB alone.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Zorrander

3rd March 2006, 20:36

I'm not having any issues so far with Staxrip, just wanted to tell you that I was able to install it and get it working in a pretty short time. I tried to use MeGUI and found myself lost pretty quickly, but this program of yours makes it pretty idiot proof... which is what I need! Now I just need to figure out more about avisynth scripts.. anyway thanks again!

laserfan

4th March 2006, 04:58

Hi, although my subject setting is 5 under Project Options, my 2-pass Xvid encodings with 0.9.3.2 always do a 100% compressibility check. Is there a bug, or am I missing something?

fogbav

4th March 2006, 08:26

On 3 different PCs on different TS-Records i'm still getting a to short AC3 (Cutting- in the temp Folder) file resulting in a to short AAC File ...

Everything is ok with cutting at normal mp2 Tracks in the Movies ...

Can someone please try and verify this error ...?

stax76

4th March 2006, 10:12

That's why I take the 29.970 movie and use IVTC to properly convert to 23.976.

I made a option which let you define a threshold. If you can use a value > 100 force film will obviously never be applied.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Let say I want to fit a movie on a CD. I have, let say, 700MB of space. So, movie file size + .idx and .sub files size + whatever I want to include must be equal to 700MB. If I don't have an option to add files, the movie will take 700MB alone.

What about using mkv or divx as container?

@Zorrander

I'm glad you had a possitive experience.

@laserfan

There should be a file *_CompCheck.avs and the last line should be 'SelectRangeEvery(280,14)' so I don't see why it don't work for you, it works perfectly here.

@fogbav

I'm uspecting VirtualDubMod has problems with your AC3 files which might be bad. I assume you want to keep AC3 so a option to decode before cutting would not help. How much to short are the files? Maybe there is a tool that can fix the AC3 files, e.g.:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=92325&highlight=ac3cutter

http://www.lucike.info/index.htm?http://www.lucike.info/page_projectx.htm

bira

4th March 2006, 13:39

I made a option which let you define a threshold. If you can use a value > 100 force film will obviously never be applied.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Wonderful!

What about using mkv or divx as container?

I did not try these containers yet, but I'll try. Anyway, there is still need to add other files like cover art, etc.

Thanks Stax!

polaris

5th March 2006, 23:37

Hi Stax

Great program. I rip my dvd in divx but when I run Compressibility check I have this error message:
"Virtualdub error
Video compression error: The source image format is not acceptable. (error code -2)"
Am I able to do something?
thanks you

SeeMoreDigital

6th March 2006, 19:42

I'm a total newbie to your application.... but I have to say.... very nice work ;)

Cheers

ch@@boom

6th March 2006, 23:07

since you added various options what staxrip should do when all jobs are finished i am using shutdown when done always

i discovered that it doesn't completely shutdown windows when finished, meaning it waits for other programs to close ..

IMO it should force a shutdown and close/kill all apps which are unable to stop/quit/exit properly (i had these cases quite a few times: winamp, explorer, etc. ..)

thx

LRN

8th March 2006, 00:08

Compressing 2-hour DVD into 1300 Mb x264 CE-HighProfile with 1014 kbps - but after comp.check staxrip shows me only 53% quality! What the hell?
I wonder, how you calculate "quality"? Maybe you should use PSNR comparison?

Moat

8th March 2006, 05:26

Gargantula

9th March 2006, 07:08

Does StaxRip support variables for AviSynth? Look at what I am trying to do with StaxRip (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=796625#post796625). I think that this script is too complicated to use with StaxRip correctly. The video does not get cut.

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 01:07

I have been using Staxrip for a couple of weeks now and do about 4-5 encodes a day. I have been loving it up until recently.
I setup my default profile and I have been using it ever since.
I had Zero problems until today.
I setup about 8 encodes and the first one finished fine. When the second one was about to begin it gave me an error.
File doesn`t exist: D:\.. ... ...\Conviction_Pilot_AudioOutput.pm4"

I tried uninstalling everything and reinstalling but I get the same error.
I am using x264 CE_Highprofile with AAC HE50-70 audio, mp4 container. I am encoding video captured by myself using Hauppauge's USB2 tuners. The same tuners I have been using since before the problem. I have changed NO settings in between.

Please help???

setarip_old

10th March 2006, 07:56

Hi!Conviction_Pilot_AudioOutput.pm4Unless it's only a typo in your post here, I think the problem is a typo in your input...

stax76

10th March 2006, 11:53

@dvd_maniac

In the log file you should have the command line that failed, you have to find out why it failed by checking the input to the command line and executing it using the command prompt. Do you know how to execute a command line using the command prompt?

Does StaxRip support variables for AviSynth? Look at what I am trying to do with StaxRip. I think that this script is too complicated to use with StaxRip correctly. The video does not get cut.

The source filter has to return a valid script, maybe it works using the script below as source filter, you should however not edit the source filter after opening a source file.

Also remember StaxRip is about doing things the easy way. You are doing something complicated, maybe other tools are more suitable.

last = MPEG2Source("D:\Recording\SageTV\Temporary Encoding\Unfabulous-TheCharityCase-5802814-0.d2v")
show = MPEG2Source("D:\Recording\SageTV\Temporary Encoding\Unfabulous-TheCharityCase-5802814-0.d2v").Trim(3526,23938) + last.Trim(28476,49369)
credits = MPEG2Source("D:\Recording\SageTV\Temporary Encoding\Unfabulous-TheCharityCase-5802814-0.d2v").Trim(49370,50721)
show = last.Decimate(mode=3)
credits = last.MotionProtectedFPS(23.976)
# using the next line would not return a valid script!
# last = show ++ credits
show ++ credits # use this instead

I don't know if this is an error or not but whenever I rip a 16x9 movie and it's 100% film StaxRip will automatically select force film. Fine with me, but when I have a 4x3 movie and it's 100% film StaxRip will never set force film.

It's likely a bug, I'll check it.

I wonder, how you calculate "quality"?

Comp. check is done very simply, it takes your x264 params, applies --crf 18 (or quant 2 for DivX and XviD) and then uses the file size to calculate the quality. The filesize crf 18/q2 produces is 100%.

IMO it should force a shutdown and close/kill all apps which are unable to stop/quit/exit properly

Next version will have new modes for this.

I rip my dvd in divx but when I run Compressibility check I have this error message:
"Virtualdub error
Video compression error: The source image format is not acceptable. (error code -2)"
Am I able to do something?

Do have the DivX Pro? Comp. Check and quality mode requires DivX Pro.

I'm a total newbie to your application.... but I have to say.... very nice work

Thanks, please let me know if you find problems, e.g. related aspect ratio or MP4 ;)

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 12:38

In the log file you should have the command line that failed, you have to find out why it failed by checking the input to the command line and executing it using the command prompt. Do you know how to execute a command line using the command prompt?

I can tell what's wrong from the error. It tells me that: "File doesn't exist path\filename_Audiooutput.mp4"
The problem is that there is the same filename but with the .mpa extension instead.
Is it suppose to be an .mp4 extension?

stax76

10th March 2006, 12:44

StaxRip tells you the file does not exist, if you follow my instructions BeSweet might tell you why it could not create the file. There should not be a mpa file with the same extension meaning a mpa file containing '_Audiooutput'.

SeeMoreDigital

10th March 2006, 12:46

Thanks, please let me know if you find problems, e.g. related aspect ratio or MP4 ;)

While experimenting with placing MPEG-4 SP/ASP video within MP4, I notice I'm unable to place MP3 audio streams within the MP4 container.

The following "Conflict" notice appears, which states (along with other things), "the container only supports AVI..."

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/4562/staxripobservations015cr.png

I'm not sure it's a good idea to mention terms such as "AVI" when working with "MP4" :scared: Plus... it's perfectly permissible to place MP3 audio within the MP4 container (although not very popular).

Also, when generating MPEG-4 ASP files within MP4, is VirtualDub able to correctly encode and place the B-VOP's within the MP4 container. Or does if follow the AVI method?

Cheers

stax76

10th March 2006, 13:02

While experimenting with placing MPEG-4 SP/ASP video within MP4, I notice I'm unable to place MP3 audio streams within the MP4 container.

I did't know it's it's possible. I will enable it.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to mention terms such as "AVI" when working with "MP4"

Container stands here for MP4Box, I just can't display MP4Box or muxer since novice users would not understand it. What you see there are all supported input formats (that I've enabled), AVI is certainly supported by MP4Box so I don't see a problem here.

VirtualDub able to correctly encode and place the B-VOP's within the MP4 container.

I'm clueless about such topics, VirtualDub won't however place anything into MP4, it can only output AVI.

Sirber

10th March 2006, 13:07

MP3 in MP4 is possible but not recommended.

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 13:16

This is a file in the diagnosis zip file:
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'C:\Documents and Settings\badmin\Desktop\New Folder\Bones-TheManontheFairway T01 DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4'.
File name: 'C:\Documents and Settings\badmin\Desktop\New Folder\Bones-TheManontheFairway T01 DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4'
at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.FileInfo.get_Length()
at StaxRip.CommandLineAudioProfile.Encode()
at StaxRip.MainForm.Encode()
at StaxRip.MainForm.StartEncoding()
at StaxRip.MainForm.bSkip_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e)
at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mevent)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

SeeMoreDigital

10th March 2006, 13:19

MP3 in MP4 is possible but not recommended.There are a few stand-alone players that support MPEG-4 SP/ASP video with MP3 audio in MP4.... It's pefectly permissible in the MPEG-4 specs

stax76

10th March 2006, 14:28

I don't know if this is an error or not but whenever I rip a 16x9 movie and it's 100% film StaxRip will automatically select force film. Fine with me, but when I have a 4x3 movie and it's 100% film StaxRip will never set force film.

I did a code review, I don't think there is a bug, IIRC you you can read code so see yourself:

If Filepath.GetExt(p.SourceFile) = ".d2v" Then
Dim content As String = StringHelp.ReadFile(p.SourceFile)

cb169.Checked = content.Contains("Aspect_Ratio=16:9")

If content.Contains("Frame_Rate=29970") Then
Dim m As Match = Regex.Match(content, "FINISHED +(\d\d)\.")

If m.Success Then
Dim film As Integer = CInt(m.Groups(1).Value)

If film >= p.AutoForceFilmThreshold.Value Then
content = content.Replace("Field_Operation=0" + vbCrLf + "Frame_Rate=29970", "Field_Operation=1" + vbCrLf + "Frame_Rate=23976")
StringHelp.WriteFile(p.SourceFile, content)
End If
End If
End If
End If

@dvd_maniac

Please try using the hotfix: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

SeeMoreDigital

10th March 2006, 14:42

Container stands here for MP4Box, I just can't display MP4Box or muxer since novice users would not understand it. What you see there are all supported input formats (that I've enabled), AVI is certainly supported by MP4Box so I don't see a problem here.Okay... I see!

MP4Box muxer can be used to import MPEG-4 video streams stored within the AVI

I'm clueless about such topics, VirtualDub won't however place anything into MP4, it can only output AVI.So VirtualDub is generating and muxing the MPEG-4 ASP video stream into the .AVI container first and MP4Box is re-muxing the .AVI stream into the .MP4 container afterwards

stax76

10th March 2006, 15:07

So VirtualDub is generating and muxing the MPEG-4 ASP video stream into the .AVI container first and MP4Box is re-muxing the .AVI stream into the .MP4 container afterwards

Yes

It's also possible to use encraw but there is no GUI or profile and it's unlikely I do any more codec GUI's. Maybe if I stop using VDM but I don't see a reason to do so.

SeeMoreDigital

10th March 2006, 15:19

Yes

It's also possible to use encraw but there is no GUI or profile and it's unlikely I do any more codec GUI's. Maybe if I stop using VDM but I don't see a reason to do so.I'm not up-to speed with what the term "encraw" means. Is a command line encoding technique?

If so, are saying it may be possible to encode and place XviD in MP4 via command-line, like we can now with x264?

Cheers

polaris

10th March 2006, 15:25

thank you Stax, I will buy divx pro.

stax76

10th March 2006, 15:45

@SMD

Never tried so I hope I didn't tell something wrong, topic is here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=98469&highlight=enc_raw).

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 17:34

Please try using the hotfix: http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Tried it and it didn't work. Gave me the same error.
I am going to try it on a different machine to rule out whether it's the way I am setting it up or not.

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 18:48

Tried it with 2 other PCs and they work fine.
I can't figure out why it is all of a sudden screwing up on this one.

SeeMoreDigital

10th March 2006, 19:01

@SMD

Never tried so I hope I didn't tell something wrong, topic is here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=98469&highlight=enc_raw).I very much doubt you've done anything wrong ;)

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 20:06

Hi Again,

I am posting the preview of the audio to see if anybody here can tell me why I'm getting the error of the audio_output.mp4 file "does not exist"

PC that works:
"C:\Documents and Settings\dvd_maniac\My Documents\StaxRip_0.9.3.2\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "C:\NewFolder\TheUnit-FirstResponders T01 DELAY 0ms.mpa" -output "C:\NewFolder\TheUnit-FirstResponders T01 DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d 0 -g max ) -bsn( -2ch -vbr_streaming -codecquality_high -aacprofile_he )

PC that doesn't work:
"C:\StaxRip_Hotfix\Applications\BeSweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "C:\NewFolder\TheUnit-FirstResponders T01 DELAY 0ms.mpa" -output "C:\NewFolder\TheUnit-FirstResponders T01 DELAY 0ms_AudioOutput.mp4" ) -azid( -c normal -L -3db ) -ota( -d 0 -g max ) -bsn( -2ch -vbr_streaming -codecquality_high -aacprofile_he )

stax76

10th March 2006, 22:25

@dvd_maniac

Maybe you have a incompatible Nero version on one of your both PCs, StaxRip copies 4 Nero DLLs to the BeSweet dir so use the same BeSweet files on both PCs. So far I thought all DLLs would work. If the source for BeSweet is identical (your mp2/mpa file) and the files in the BeSweet dir (the DLLs and EXE file) are identical then output must be identical as well if there is no CPU incompatibility in case both PCs have different CPUs. Again, I don't know there are any incompatibilities. If different BeSweet files (from Nero) was the problem please make a backup of the BeSweet DLLs and EXE files (the entire directory) that don't work and send me the files that don't work per email as file attachment or tell me the last write dates of that BeSweet/Nero files so I can add a verification to prevent other users from your problem.

dvd_maniac

10th March 2006, 23:56

Hi Stax,

I have Nero 7 on two PC's and Nero 6 on another.

Nero 6 PC is fine. One of the Nero 7's is fine. The other Nero 7 is the problem.

But Nero 7 has been installed since the beginning and it used to work fine. No changes to hardware or software since. Like I stated originally, I was in the middle of a batch of files. The first one finished successfully and the second file is when it started giving me trouble.
The files are recorded from same source using identical TV tuners. I have tried the same files on the different PCs. They work on the two everytime and fail on the one PC everytime. I tried to copy the Apllications folder from the other two PCs and overwrite it on the problem PC. Same issue. Same DLL's and it still doesn't work.

This is on my Domain controller that is setup perfectly besides this. I normally wouldn't bother with so much troubleshooting and just format/reinstall but I can't in this case.

I tried deleting everything Staxrip related, maybe something got screwed up and I have to deleted it?
I am at a loss here...:(

Moat

11th March 2006, 03:22

Stax,
I think I got it. In the line:
Dim m As Match = Regex.Match(content, "FINISHED +(\d\d)\.")

It will not catch: FINISHED 100.00% FILM correctly.

This should get both:
Dim m As Match = Regex.Match(content, "FINISHED +(\d{1,3})\.")

-Moat

Gargantula

11th March 2006, 04:19

The source filter has to return a valid script, maybe it works using the script below as source filter, you should however not edit the source filter after opening a source file.

Also remember StaxRip is about doing things the easy way. You are doing something complicated, maybe other tools are more suitable.

I guess so, changing the last part didn't work. The whole video is encoded instead. I am trying to use VirtualDub Mod by itself, but I can see now why you made a program to make it easy! Complicated stuff just to get videos encoded correctly! Thanks to interlacing that is! Boo interlacing, with progressive I wouldn't be having these problems.

stax76

11th March 2006, 09:53

@dvd_maniac

What about executing the command line manually with the command prompt? Did you try that? You don't have to type everything, just copy and paste and hit enter.

@Moat

Thanks, expecting two digits was stupid of course.

Gehenna

11th March 2006, 10:16

@dvd_maniac

I started getting problems with AAC encoding using Nero 7.0 also,in the end it was down to a BSN error (Error 84: error configuring BSN!).

My install of Nero7 is fully legit, i could queue up 5 jobs,and it would fail to encode on the 3rd or something,no matter if i used StaxRip or CMD besweet= same error.

In the end,i used dimzon`s bse_Nero7WA.dll as opposed to BSN,and all has been fine to date.

Its almost like their is a counter involved,it lets you encode x number of jobs (nero dll`s) ,then quits working,i found this out after restoring my registry to a previous backup taken earlier in the day (b4 encoding) then when i tried with BSN it worked fine for x number of jobs,then failed again.

The nero website has some registry cleaning tools,which may fix the problem for a certain time,but frankly the dimzon approach works flawlessly for me (its easy to create profile in Staxrip to use dimzon`s DLL).

stax76

11th March 2006, 14:15

0.9.9.0 (2006-03-11)

new: Go To dialog in preview splitted in two different diaogs, one frame based and one time based.
new: The script used to show infos in the preview can be customized in the advanced options.
new: The actions available in the customizable menus are now called commands and are avaiable at the command line.
new: Preview has a new menu item to copy the frame number of the current position to the clipboard. It is useful to create zones in the codec configuration e.g. to encode the credits at a high quantizer. The new commands and macros used for this menu item are indroduced below.
new: Option for the threshold at which force film is used.
new: Forced shutdown modes.
new: MP3 enabled for MP4 container.
new command : 'Show Message Box' with title, message and icon parameter, available globally.
new command: 'Copy To Clipboard', available globally.
new command: 'Perform Auto Crop', available in the main window and from the command line.
new command: 'Perform Smart Crop', available in the main window and from the command line.
new macro: '%pos_frame%' returns the current position of the preview in frames, available globally.
fix: Applying IVTC filters and cutting caused audio being not synced.
fix: BeSweet AAC problem using Nero 7 because of missing MFC71.dll which is now always copied to the BeSweet dir.
fix: Changed all AAC audio profiles to use the dimzon plugin to workaround problems with Nero 7.
fix: 100% film sources wasn't detected as such.
change: Renamed 'Post Processing Mode' to back to 'Batch Mode' and tested, improved and fixed this mode.
change: x264 version updated.
change: Preparer to demux AVI supports now multiple input files.

@Gehenna

Thanks for sharing your observations, after reading all related threads I've changed all profiles using your method and hope it works better.

mod

11th March 2006, 14:21

Reaaally a nice work :)

SeeMoreDigital

11th March 2006, 14:25

Thanks Stax...

Being a newbie to StaxRip, may I ask if we can install new versions "over-the-top" of previous versions?

EDIT: Problem over.... I see how it works now :)

MP3 audio in MP4 works very well indeed...

Cheers

Nrmf

11th March 2006, 14:56

am i missing something here ...several files say password protected ...never seen this before with staxrip

Nrmf

11th March 2006, 15:00

got it ...sorry

stax76

11th March 2006, 15:43

Being a newbie to StaxRip, may I ask if we can install new versions "over-the-top" of previous versions?

Either this way or you can define in the settings the location of the settings, download and install directories. Then nothing is saved within the startup direcory and thus you can replace the entire directory. I have my download and install directory outside of my startup directory where all my software is, my settings directory is within my startup directory so every location has their own settings which is useful for me for testing purpose. The trick used to make this work is most paths in the settings can be absolute or relative to the startup directory. If relative paths are possible for a certain setting is documented.

Gargantula

11th March 2006, 23:45

What's Batch Mode for?

mulrich

12th March 2006, 01:28

Hey stax,

I'm getting the same problem as dvd_maniac, and I'm using v0.9.9.0 and I have Nero 7. It simply gives me a "File doesn't exist: L:\{path}\{filename}.aac" (replace path and filename with a real path and filename). What could be wrong?

~Cheers,
mulrich

dvd_maniac

12th March 2006, 06:29

fixed it for me...

stax76

12th March 2006, 10:09

What's Batch Mode for?

Did you read the context help?

I'm getting the same problem as dvd_maniac, and I'm using v0.9.9.0 and I have Nero 7. It simply gives me a "File doesn't exist: L:\{path}\{filename}.aac" (replace path and filename with a real path and filename). What could be wrong?

Did previous versions work better? Did you try what I had ask dvd_maniac to do?

pablak

14th March 2006, 21:45

change: Preparer to demux AVI supports now multiple input files

Hi

An error occured when I tried load multiple AVI.
"VirtualDub Error: Cannot append segment "...": The audio streams have different sampling rates."
After "OK" StaxRip is preparing video stream correctly (I think - in previev looks OK) but there is no audio source.

Only AVI with the same format (audio and sound) are supported, as in VirtualDub?

nickolasemp

15th March 2006, 17:30

Hello Stax.

When I try to input .ts streams from my satellite program everything crashes in dgindex... Staxrip then crashes as well and I have to open Task manager for it to close. When I use autogk none of these happens, the procedure goes on no matter what.

anne_so78

15th March 2006, 22:22

Hi,
I'm new to StaxRip. Seems to be a great program. However, I was wondering why Coding Technologies aacPlus v2 encoder is not supported, as it was significantly better than Nero's implementation of HE-AAC (especially at bitrates around 32) last time I checked - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=752994#post752994
Not certain if that review is still relevant after three months. Anyways do you have any plans to include the new (or old) CT encoder?

stax76

15th March 2006, 23:59

@pablak

Did you try to load the files manually?

@nickolasemp

I'll need much more details.

@anne_so78

I don't have the time to add a second AAC encoder so unless someody joins StaxRip development your only chance is trying to configure StaxRip to use another encoder. If you can't figure out how to do it you might find this (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=107847&highlight=staxrip) thread helpful.

defaulk9

16th March 2006, 19:03

Is it possible for StaxRip to get its own forum? Like maybe on Doom9 like GordianKnot has etc., or maybe its own forum site.

For one thing, it can be hard to navigate through 39 pages of support for this. And to be comprehensive, you have to check the thread you have for StaxRip on DigitalDigest as well.

I'm new to StaxRip, only recently checking it out, but it looks really good. And I'd love to see support for it break out of this little thread.

laserfan

16th March 2006, 19:03

My perfect season of 1920x1080i Boston Legal captures was marred last week when the local affiliate broke-in to the broadcast with 2 three-minute segments (out of 44min) where they switched to SD and zoomed-out to a corner of the image, while showing "Vote 2006" on the left and candidate counts on the bottom. After grinding my teeth over this for a while, it occurred to me that maybe I could crop-the-crap, but what about the original 16:9 AR? Sure enough, avisynth has an AddBorders feature so I decided to try it.

I decided I had to leave the half-sec "zoom-out" effect alone, but once the image was fixed in the corner I was able to crop it, add borders to restore the proper AR, and then encode. Upon re-joining the results were wonderful to watch compared to what it'd have been like with those election results plastered over the screen. Made two XviD versions as I usually do, an SD and a 720HD, man they are terrific--not even any audio glitches at the transitions.

If it weren't for the 1/2 second zoom effects, the result would be Great but instead it is only Wonderful! Stax I suppose there are other tools to achieve this same result, but none as easy and graceful as yours I think!

:thanks:

ppet

17th March 2006, 14:58

Hi, everyone!
I need a help - I use Stax rip, and everything is fine, but in my final mp4 file audio is about 4 sec. before video stream. How can mux audio + video with desire delay? I have .264 (and mp4) file and compresed audio (mp4)!
Please help me!

LRN

17th March 2006, 16:54

When you use "Add files" dialog, make sure you NOT add 0st file. IE:
VTS_02_0
VTS_02_1
VTS_02_2
etc.
You should add VTS_02_1, VTS_02_2, etc, but NOT VTS_02_0, because VTS_02_0 is very small vob file with video but without audio (this causes delay).

ppet

17th March 2006, 17:59

CvH

17th March 2006, 18:18

hi , i want to encode an HDTV (1080i) Stream (*.ts) to x264 (source *.ts is 11gb)

my problem is that the splitter (think its projectX) stops at 4,5gb (4.625.303.260 bytes) -> i can only encode the first 45mins :/

is there any solution? (ok i could cut the source ts in 3 parts but that wont help me much cause the cutting tools i tried always stops at 4,5gb :) )

LRN

17th March 2006, 19:39

ppet , dunno :-/
You could apply delay to audio, but you should do this in audio encoder. If you try to mux already encoded audio, applying delay in muxer, you'll fail to do this.

LRN

17th March 2006, 19:40

CvH , this is known limitation of many applications (can't handle files > 4.5 gb). Ask developers of tha application (projectx?), not stax

pablak

17th March 2006, 20:27

@pablak
Did you try to load the files manually?

Manually?

When I load one Avi file audio is demuxed but not loaded in project as source file for audio. This audio I'm loading manually.

When I open more than one Avi at once then is no demuxed audio, even from first avi.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

CvH

18th March 2006, 00:38

CvH , this is known limitation of many applications (can't handle files > 4.5 gb)

ok :)

i have now split the files with HDTVtoMPEG2 into handy pices (150mb), but i noticed that after demuxing it in staxrip that the demuxed stream is only 22mb and if i play it, it seems that only the Iframes and "several" b/p frames are in the stream , looks pretty strange (the 150mb parts play well and without errors, tested all combinations that are possible in h2m2 , same results)

after looking in the log
ok> PID 0x11 has PES-ID 0xE0 (MPEG Video) (1128 #7)
--> PID 0x0 (PAT) (12220 #66) -> ignored
--> PID 0x10 (PMT) (12408 #67) -> ignored
ok> PID 0x14 has PES-ID 0xBD (private stream 1) (12596 #68)
ok> PID 0x15 has PES-ID 0xBD (private stream 1) (14288 #77)
-> video basics: 1920*1080 @ 29.97fps @ 0.7031 (16:9) @ 38810400bps, vbvBuffer 597
-> starting export of video data @ GOP# 0
!> dropping useless B-Frames @ GOP# 0 / new Timecode 00:00:00.000
!> dropping GOP# 3 @ orig.PTS 12:14:42.975 (3967467800)
-> Pics exp/cnt 30/30, inGOP PTS diff. 50ms, new Timecode 00:00:02.969
!> dropping GOP# 4 @ orig.PTS 12:14:44.043 (3967563896)
-> Pics exp/cnt 30/30, inGOP PTS diff. 183ms, new Timecode 00:00:02.969
!> dropping GOP# 5 @ orig.PTS 12:14:45.261 (3967673506)
........ long log .....

no more ideas :/

*edit*
agk demuxed it fine , encoding also

stax76

18th March 2006, 14:10

i have now split the files with HDTVtoMPEG2 into handy pices (150mb), but i noticed that after demuxing it in staxrip that the demuxed stream is only 22mb and if i play it, it seems that only the Iframes and "several" b/p frames are in the stream , looks pretty strange (the 150mb parts play well and without errors, tested all combinations that are possible in h2m2 , same results)

That sounds like DGIndex chokes on your HDTVtoMPEG2 created files, I might not be able to help you with such problems. Advanced users might find the options found under 'Preperation' helpful, if you can't work with such things you might be out of luck.

@pablak

With manually I mean open VirtualDubMod, open the first AVI file and then append the second AVI file, does that work?

@ppet

I don't have your files and thus can't reproduce your problem so you have to try to find a way to narrow the problem down yourself until you find the reason. Simply try different things like try other DVD's to see if it happens always or only with a certain DVD. You can try doing it manually or with other AviSynth based applications like AutoGK, if that succeeds than StaxRip might have a bug and we might be able to find that bug.

ppet

18th March 2006, 15:32

@ppet

I don't have your files and thus can't reproduce your problem so you have to try to find a way to narrow the problem down yourself until you find the reason. Simply try different things like try other DVD's to see if it happens always or only with a certain DVD. You can try doing it manually or with other AviSynth based applications like AutoGK, if that succeeds than StaxRip might have a bug and we might be able to find that bug.

Hiq Stax!
The problem is with a certain DVD - "LADY_AND_THE_TRAMP". I will try to demux with another aplication - PgcDemux_1205.
:thanks:

laserfan

18th March 2006, 18:28

..i noticed that after demuxing it in staxrip that the demuxed stream is only 22mb and if i play it, it seems that only the Iframes and "several" b/p frames are in the stream , looks pretty strange (the 150mb parts play well...
I have seen this too; it seems to happen if the source file is "very small".

If you figure-out the problem by all means post back!

Nrmf

19th March 2006, 00:01

well i have reloaded win xp pro 64 and loaded staxrip for fun....now it seems to wrk..in the past it wouldnt as soon as i get a good qaulity .avi file i will post my results.

thanks stax

stax76

19th March 2006, 01:04

@Nrmf

It works because I added a compiler switch (pointed out by Richard Berg) forcing it to be executed as 32 bit application.

@ppet

Maybe a DVD Decrypter bug, please read here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106091).

Nrmf

19th March 2006, 04:22

nice....can you throttle up some fps's then hitting about 65fps using latest divx and balanced setting. and what does your next release and time frame look like looking forward to running it

stax76

19th March 2006, 09:50

nice....can you throttle up some fps's then hitting about 65fps using latest divx and balanced setting.

Please elaborate.

and what does your next release and time frame look like looking forward to running it

I wanted to add automatic deinterlacing but it turned out to be too problematic. I don't have plans for anything other than support which includes small improvements but exludes big changes so likely there won't be anything exiting anytime soon unless somebody joins the development effort which is unlikely as well because I require a high standard.

Nrmf

19th March 2006, 15:01

well didnt know if there was anything you could do so that we could gian more fps....making the conversion times faster....i know its just a dream i have. second de-interlacing shouldnt be a big deal i found that using the option in divx codec does a real nice job. while i have you here is it possible to update the applications in staxrip or should i wait for your releases.

stax76

19th March 2006, 16:18

well didnt know if there was anything you could do so that we could gian more fps....making the conversion times faster....

It's a matter of the used settings, the default settings should be reasonable.

is it possible to update the applications in staxrip or should i wait for your releases.

It's possible but you should only do it if you got a reason. You'll see a warning which you have to read very carefully. Furthemore it would be helpful if you share your experience with us.

pablak

19th March 2006, 19:53

@pablak
With manually I mean open VirtualDubMod, open the first AVI file and then append the second AVI file, does that work?

Not work - the warnings/errors are the same.

I thought that StaxRip can load AVIs with different parameters of video or audio streams.

If he can't, so I do this in hard way. (join avis and recompress them)

stax76

19th March 2006, 22:44

Not work - the warnings/errors are the same.

I thought that StaxRip can load AVIs with different parameters of video or audio streams.

If you can't join the files manually with VirtualDubMod then StaxRip can't it either because StaxRip uses VirtualDubMod to process the files.

Nrmf

20th March 2006, 04:01

added dgindex beta 5 to stax rip under avisynth plugins and have viewed file with no audio and the qaulity is nice...have to put it on a pc with speakers to see if audio syncs up.

juhu

20th March 2006, 13:30

Hi there. I think I found a funny bug (0.9.9) :

I made some tries on a vhs transfered via dvd-recorder, so I wasn't sure about de-interlacing.
I selected a short section on preview mode and I used IVTC. worked ok, but still some scanlines. So I choosed Deinterlace instead to compare... and the encoding began with the first frame of the vob, not the selected section ! :eek:
To be sure I didn't fuck up parameters, I reselected IVTC...and the encoding began at the selected frame...
fast deinterlace & no deinterlace also began with the first frame of the vob , not the selected part...

I don't think it's directly related to IVTC but something more like these preview parameters only apply to your first choice.
weird...

stax76

20th March 2006, 13:48

I made some tries on a vhs transfered via dvd-recorder, so I wasn't sure about de-interlacing.
I selected a short section on preview mode and I used IVTC. worked ok, but still some scanlines. So I choosed Deinterlace instead to compare... and the encoding began with the first frame of the vob, not the selected section !
To be sure I didn't fuck up parameters, I reselected IVTC...and the encoding began at the selected frame...
fast deinterlace & no deinterlace also began with the first frame of the vob , not the selected part...

I don't think it's directly related to IVTC but something more like these preview parameters only apply to your first choice.
weird...

Keep in mind that the cut points are frame numbers, first you add your filters that change the frame rate and frame count, then you cut and after that you can't change filters that change the frame rate and frame count. If you try to do that your cut points are wrong and that's what happened here I think.

juhu

20th March 2006, 13:56

Keep in mind that the cut points are frame numbers, first you add your filters that change the frame rate and frame count, then you cut and after that you can't change filters that change the frame rate and frame count. If you try to do that your cut points are wrong and that's what happened here I think.

ok..but may the preview mode should use some "absolute" frame numbers (as the exact same frames are still used before filtering), so it would be independant from filters. It's a bit strange to have to delete & reselect cut points each time we want to use different filters on a partial file...

stax76

20th March 2006, 14:09

ok..but may the preview mode should use some "absolute" frame numbers (as the exact same frames are still used before filtering), so it would be independant from filters. It's a bit strange to have to delete & reselect cut points each time we want to use different filters on a partial file...

It uses absolute frame numbers of course, the preview is here to preview the entire script so from a technical point of view I'm not sure if there is a solution. Well, I could try to insert the cut filter directly after the source filter which might solve this issue.

juhu

20th March 2006, 14:13

Well, I could try to insert the cut filter directly after the source filter which might solve this issue.

I'd like too :o
thanks in advance if you go for it in next versions...

stax76

20th March 2006, 15:59

@juhu

I thought about it and came to the conclusion there is no easy solution because like I said already the preview is for displaying the entire script and it's a big difference modifying framerate and frame count there. Your bitrate calculations rely also on the frame count and likely other things as well so you should add your IVTC filters before doing anything else.

Nrmf

21st March 2006, 03:17

lates dgindex does not work...evertything is 29.97 and everything has and audo sync problem...gonna pop in new mobo do freshg install and reload stax

nickolasemp

21st March 2006, 10:30

@stax

Sorry for atking so long to answer. DGIndex says "Cannot find audio or video data. Check your PIDs"... Autogk does not do that.
I record my .ts files with altdvb if it helps.

stax76

21st March 2006, 10:49

Sorry for atking so long to answer. DGIndex says "Cannot find audio or video data. Check your PIDs"... Autogk does not do that.
I record my .ts files with altdvb if it helps.

AutoGK might inspect the pids using MediaInfo, you can easiliy find it out by looking at the command line AutoGK used to invoke DGIndex, use the application 'Process Explorer' to see the command line. I don't remember your last post, why isn't your file processed by ProjectX? This is the default in StaxRip and much better than the AutoGK way.

nickolasemp

21st March 2006, 11:15

In Staxrip's log it says:
---------- Preparing ----------
Extract audio from MPEG-2 using ProjectX
---------- Preparing ----------
Extract audio and index MPEG-2 using DGIndex

and then it stops.

I just tried to change the directory of the external apllication of dgindex to be the one that autogk uses. Everything goes fine... But when I switch to the one Staxrip wants me to download and use, everything stops... Perhaps a bug?

By the way, I downloaded Process Explorer and it doesn't say whether autogk uses mediaInfo or not.

stax76

21st March 2006, 11:56

@nickolasemp

Did you try to understand how source file preparation and the underlying tools work? With the information I get from you it's tough to diagnose something. Do you know what ProjectX and DGIndex are supposed to output and did you verify the output is OK?

nickolasemp

21st March 2006, 12:08

Let's see -correct me if I'm wrong-:

Both ProjectX and DGIndex check the file you input and prepare it for further processing. ProjectX outputs the audio file seperately and DGIndex outputs the d2v file.

Now, in my computer, projectX doesn't output the audio file but DGIndex does index the input file. I don't know what's wrong. Forgive me if I'm being tiresome... This problem never occurs when my files are mpg(from Progdvb), only ts files do that.
Java is enabled for ProjectX...

I dont know why staxrip doesn't use ProjectX or maybe it does... I showed you staxrip's log.

stax76

21st March 2006, 12:54

@nickolasemp

Did you read the help under Options/Preperation? There are two help buttons, the one within the preparation tab explains the preparation tab. If you select the ProjectX preparer which is a generic command line comparer you can click 'Edit' which opens the 'Command Line Preparer' dialog to configure the selected command line preparer, you find another help button there. I've uploaded a hotfix which saves the log file after every preparer completes containing more information about the preparation.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

---------- Preparing ----------

Preparer: Extract audio from MPEG-2 using ProjectX
Command line: "C:\Programme\Java\jre1.5.0_05\bin\java.exe" -jar "D:\Software\AV\StaxRip Anwendungen\ProjectX\ProjectX.jar" "E:\Video\Samples\Teranova\Terranova.ts"
Start time: 12:47:18
End time: 12:47:22
Duration: 00:00:03

---------- Preparing ----------

Preparer: Extract audio and index MPEG-2 using DGIndex
Command line: "D:\Software\AV\StaxRip Anwendungen\DGIndex\DGIndex.exe" -IF[E:\Video\Samples\Teranova\Terranova.m2v] -IA=2 -FO=0 -YR=1 -TN=1 -OM=2 -DRC=2 -DSD=0 -DSA=0 -OF=[E:\Video\Samples\Teranova\Terranova] -exit
Start time: 12:47:22
End time: 12:47:23
Duration: 00:00:01

SeeMoreDigital

21st March 2006, 12:55

Speaking as someone who has been using release and test builds of DGIndex for many months it's quite possible for DGIndex not to be able to open certain .TS streams during import and display the following message: -

"Cannot find audio or video data. Check your PIDs"...

Meaning some user intervention will be required....

Plus, when importing .VOB, .MPG or .TS files, every now and again DGIndex might report the following message: -

"WARNING! Opening GOP is not Closed.
The First few frames may not be decoded properly"

When this happens it's quite likely the resulting de-muxed audio stream will incorporate some level of (positive or negative) "delay".

In my experience, streams captured using DVB cards seem to present DGIndex with the most problem (even if they've been run thru tools such as MPEG2 Repair or HDTV-to-MPEG2).

Cheers

nickolasemp

21st March 2006, 13:21

@seemoredigital
I'm almost positive that this is the case...

@staxrip
Still DGIndex (from staxrip's location) crashes while autogk's doesn't... Thank you both for your help... I'll use autogk's DGIndex for Staxrip to work.

---------- Preparing ----------

Preparer: Extract audio from MPEG-2 using ProjectX
Command line: "C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_01\bin\java.exe" -jar "D:\Programs\Mpeg 4 - Video\mp4\staxrip\Applications\ProjectX\ProjectX.jar" "C:\AltDvb\Records\New Folder\Welcome to my life.TS"
Start time: 2:16:06 μμ
End time: 2:16:07 μμ
Duration: 00:00:00

---------- Preparing ----------

Preparer: Extract audio and index MPEG-2 using DGIndex
Command line: "C:\Program Files\AutoGK\DGMPGDec\DGIndex.exe" -IF[C:\AltDvb\Records\New Folder\Welcome to my life.TS] -IA=2 -FO=0 -YR=1 -TN=1 -OM=2 -DRC=2 -DSD=0 -DSA=0 -OF=[C:\AltDvb\Records\New Folder\Welcome to my life] -exit
Start time: 2:16:07 μμ
End time: 2:16:18 μμ
Duration: 00:00:00

stax76

21st March 2006, 13:56

@nickolasemp

Your ProjectX completes at 0 seconds so something goes wrong here. As you might have noticed ProjectX with command line uses the command shell because a command shell window should have popped up for a moment. Whenever a application fails it's much likely to give you a error. A windows application will show you something like a message box and a command line application will output the error to the command window. That means if you want to see the error you have to open a command prompt and execute the command line (right-click to paste and press enter) because command line applications exit when they are finished if they are not started from the command prompt. You can try to use ProjectX manually (the GUI) which might also give you a error. Maybe the reason why your AltDVB records fail is it misses some pids ProjectX insists on. If you managed to use a application like AltDVB you should also be able to master this problem ;)

In my experience, streams captured using DVB cards seem to present DGIndex with the most problem

That's my experience too and the reason why in StaxRip the ProjectX preparer is configured to even handle mpg so the DGIndex preparer will never receive a mpg file. I never experienced sync issues this way.

anne_so78

22nd March 2006, 08:52

I don't have the time to add a second AAC encoder so unless someody joins StaxRip development your only chance is trying to configure StaxRip to use another encoder.
But isn't it as simple as installing the CT aacPlus encoder plugin for BeSweet and adding an audio encoding profile in staxrip with these parameters ""%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -s stereo -L -3db ) -dimzon( -dllname bse_WinampAacPlusV2.dll -cbr 32 -mode 4 -v 2 ) -ota( -d -130 -g max )" ?
Or is it much more complicated ?

stax76

22nd March 2006, 11:15

But isn't it as simple as installing the CT aacPlus encoder plugin for BeSweet and adding an audio encoding profile in staxrip with these parameters ""%application:BeSweet%" -core( -input "%input%" -output "%output%" ) -azid( -s stereo -L -3db ) -dimzon( -dllname bse_WinampAacPlusV2.dll -cbr 32 -mode 4 -v 2 ) -ota( -d -130 -g max )" ?
Or is it much more complicated ?

It's much more difficult than adding a profile and a plugin. Everything related to MP4 and AAC was difficult to add and maintain and Winamp AAC would certainly be no exception here. It was a big effort to add and maintain these things and there were a lot problems and difficulties I was contronted. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is fun and ten is difficult MP4/AAC certainly would be solid 10. Many applications and formats actually were difficult to add and maintain.

flipflink

22nd March 2006, 14:28

Hi, newbie question. Your program was recommended to me by a friend and it looks real promising. But after installing I cannot get around an error message that besweet cannot find nero, which it needs for AAC encoding. But I don't plan to do anything with AAC, just want to use AC3 of MP3. Is there a easy way around this, just to get it working without having to mess with nero? (I have full nero 6 installed, besweet itself works perfectly when converting ac3 to mp3).

stax76

22nd March 2006, 14:59

@flipflink

If you have Nero 6 installed it should find it and not ask, if you do not use AAC it should not ask because it's not needed so even after a quick code review I really don't know what's going on, please submit a bug report (in the main menu click Help/Send Bug Report) and tell me the exact message.

Moat

22nd March 2006, 16:21

agonia

22nd March 2006, 18:36

how can i split output file in to 2CDs, like AutoGK does automatically

stax76

22nd March 2006, 19:00

@agonia

It's not supported, how about using single CD or DVD?

LRN

22nd March 2006, 21:45

Mp4box can split mp4's. There should be some tools for avi and mkv too...
I prefer one-large-file way though.

ppet

23rd March 2006, 08:22

how can i split output file in to 2CDs, like AutoGK does automatically
You can do it with Yamb : http://yamb.unite-video.com/
You can choose how to split : by size or duration

It's possible to mux (video, audio, subtitles and chapters), split&join and extract!

agonia

23rd March 2006, 21:44

thanks very much ppet

DiJayy

25th March 2006, 09:14

hellfred

25th March 2006, 17:01

For some reason, when I'm muxing an AC3 file with my project using staxrip, the audio gets cut off at the end of the file, but only when I encode on my laptop, my PC doesn't have any problems. On a 10-minute video, 1minute and 30s was cut off the end. AVIMux-GUI works fine, wondering if there's anything I can do about it.
Try copying the working StaxRip with it's applications (x264.exe, mp4box, besweet etc.) from your working PC to the laptop and retry. If everything works fine than, you have a problem with one off the apps being buggy.

Hellfred

boombastic

25th March 2006, 19:05

DiJayy

26th March 2006, 06:28

Now it won't work on either computer, it cuts massive amounts of audio off of the end, a 21minute video yielded a 5minute ac3 file. This is extremely annoying and is the fault of ProjectX, for one, why is it necessary as vdubmod can demux ac3 files from mpeg2 streams, how do I set staxrip to use vdub to demux the mpeg2 stream instead of ProjectX? Or if I can fix ProjectX that will work as well, but what could be wrong with it, is my java version too old or something? Maybe too new?

J2RE SE v1.5.0_06

EDIT: I just disabled the ProjectX section of the performs, DGIndex automatically demuxes the AC3 audio anyway, what exactly is the point of ProjectX? Are there audio formats VDubMod and DGIndex won't demux?

stax76

26th March 2006, 07:53

Can you give a brief explaination on when and how to use "PostProcessing mode" (now called Batch mode)? I use to encode several video during the night with almost the same parameters.can it be useful for me?

I can't explain it much better than it is already explained in the context help.

I just disabled the ProjectX section of the performs, DGIndex automatically demuxes the AC3 audio anyway, what exactly is the point of ProjectX? Are there audio formats VDubMod and DGIndex won't demux?

ProjectX usually works better than DGIndex, it's known to be reliable, if it fails on your stream you can configure StaxRip to use any command line compatible demuxer and report the bug to the ProjectX author, I'm confident he can fix it.

DiJayy

26th March 2006, 08:32

Yeah, DGIndex results in out-of-sync audio, this is annoying.

stax76

26th March 2006, 11:06

@DiJayy

That means both, ProjectX and DGIndex fails on your stream, you can do the following things:

Use another capture application, I recommend DVBViewer, it has very similar characteristics like MediaMonkey: huge feature set, huge COM automation SDK and lot's of extensions, skinnable, cheap.
Configure StaxRip to use another demuxer if you can find a command line demuxer that works better.
Demux manually if you can find a working demuxer and open the demuxed files.
Contact the authors of the demuxers that fail, if they got bugs they might be able to fix it with your help.

Zorrander

27th March 2006, 04:22

i'm running into an odd problem with some avi files I'm trying to demux and convert to x264. The files in question will open up in virtualdub and then it comes up with an error saying failed to decompress frame 0. These are Xvid files and I have Xvid installed.. not sure what else to do at this point in time. Any suggestions?

heinz57g

27th March 2006, 09:36

stax, just a suggestion also for your own site: on the support page you nicely mention all the supported formats for the output files. wouldnt it make sense to also mention all supported formats for the source files? or is there a legal reason not to do so?

greetings - heinz -

3dsnar

27th March 2006, 09:47

Hi Stax, once we talked about possibility of including
mp3 5.1 (Aud-X) format in your software.
You requested a CLI exec.
It has been prepared (big kudos to Dimzon for it).
please follow the link:
http://www.gotdotnet.com/workspaces/workspace.aspx?id=1bb59ddf-901b-43a5-bd54-b0999e8e223e

and let me know if this is ok.
:thanks:

heinz57g

27th March 2006, 11:42

hoppla, i admit i am still trying things out (and wildly reading everything here in the forum), but this
does not look right, does it?

encoding a WMV file into AVI, using strictly default seting of STAXRIP. worked fine, but ...

- after two passes STAXRIP stops with the NEXT button telling me file already exists, wants
to overwrite it, and starts entire process anew? and again, and again? shouldnt it somehow stop
with a DONE mssg or similar?

- worse: orginal file size 200MB, resulting AVi is 0MB!

what have i done wrong, or where is my thinking wrong?

greetings - heinz -

stax76

27th March 2006, 12:40

@Zorrander

What happens if you open the files manually in VirtualDub?

stax, just a suggestion also for your own site: on the support page you nicely mention all the supported formats for the output files. wouldnt it make sense to also mention all supported formats for the source files? or is there a legal reason not to do so?

Somehow almost anything can be opened, some things might need some basic knowledge and configuration.

@3dsnar

I can add it, maybe you and dimzon can give me some tips in case there is no good documentation.

- after two passes STAXRIP stops with the NEXT button telling me file already exists, wants
to overwrite it, and starts entire process anew? and again, and again? shouldnt it somehow stop
with a DONE mssg or similar?

I think the fact the target file exist and main dialog reappeared is enough indication that the processing is finished though I agree it might be confusing for a new user, for old users a message box might be bothersome.

- worse: orginal file size 200MB, resulting AVi is 0MB!

what have i done wrong, or where is my thinking wrong?

After encoding click 'Help/Send Bug Report'.

3dsnar

27th March 2006, 13:11

I can add it, maybe you and dimzon can give me some tips in case there is no good documentation.
If you have any problems, or questions,
please follow this thread, and Dimzon or I will be able to help
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=109226
I think that if you download the project you will find information
on the arguments used.
Thank you.

heinz57g

27th March 2006, 13:21

stax, have to apologize, but this happens when one looks at 400+ forum entries all night long and the eyes are slower than the brain:

it should have read 200MB resulting into 800MB!

default for XVID seems to be the fixed file size, resulting in above. changing it to 'constant quality' brings a 280MB result, better ... but still larger than the original.

but whatever setting is applied, it is not stored, so when next time opening StaxRip, it is back to the old default settings. uncomfortable, at least.

>> wouldnt it make sense to also mention all supported formats for the source files?

** Somehow almost anything can be opened

well, a basic list might be helpful to dummies like me, but who are unfortunately the major part of people who need a prog like yours. i am totally amazed at the competence and knowledge that you and many many others here in the forum show, and the persistence you all follow up on issues and problems. if i would wear a hat, i would take it off now in honor of all of you.

but to get the prog out in numbers, you also need those 'others' like me. and some of us are rather friendly people too!

>> after two passes STAXRIP stops with the NEXT button

** ... main dialog reappeared is enough indication that the processing is finished

sorry, really not if there is a NEXT button showing up! telling you to go on. trust me, i know the effect you are talking about: when you yourself develop something, or when you are one that works with it daily, you overlook those little nooks and corners the average user falls into.

and a NEW user will only become an OLD user if he does not give up confused at the very beginning, but is given a reasonable way of learning.

>> old users a message box might be bothersome

seriously? an old user might not like a DONE mssg and a BING in the background when something finishes after an hour or two? then he would have to throw out some 90% of the progs he already has on his computer, be they freeware/shareware or purely commercial ones.

yes, you have every right to consider your prog to be for a different group of users, and maybe i am wrong wanting it to be in the foolproof AUTOGK league. but i hope i dont sound to selfish when i say you will do a lot of us a favor occasionally thinking of us too.

greetings - heinz -

stax76

27th March 2006, 14:21

@heinz57g

I understand your pain and your points are valid, there is lot's of room for improvements for all kind of users, unfortunately I don't have the time to address all the issues, so sorry and I hope you can understand. Did you read the help? This should solve some problems.

heinz57g

27th March 2006, 14:32

stax, tks, and if anybody understand a time problem, it is me.

and yes, i read the help over and over again, and 90% of the entries here. the remaining 10% were so much over my head, i gave up.

so, if some of my points are valid, and you get some time sometimes, then some might get fixed or adjusted? what tempts you? chocolate? wine or beer from a country you never had any from?

greetings - heinz -

PS: a strange one just crept up while testing: i was asked to update AVYSYNTH from within your program, but while doing so, it broke off after telling me it needed writing permission to the registry, and i should have admin rights. well, there is only one user to this computer, with no restrictions whatosever, and thats me. now StaxRip refuses to run, always requesting AVYSYNTH to be installed, and then breaking off. there we are. possibly nothing to do with StaxRip directly, but ...

laserfan

27th March 2006, 15:39

>> after two passes STAXRIP stops with the NEXT button

** ... main dialog reappeared is enough indication that the processing is finished

sorry, really not if there is a NEXT button showing upHeinz, I think as far as your discomfort with the way this works you should know that the more you use StaxRip the more you appreciate that it gives the VISUAL CLUE that something needs your attention, by highlighting it (iirc these look orange on my display).

I would not WANT Stax to change the above behavior, because often times I am making two encodings from one source; one an SD and another an HD. So I'd rather it just does what it does and let me decide if I want to change the output name and tweak the encoding parameters for another go...

IMO the UI takes some getting used-to, but now that I have used it for a couple weeks I am growing to really appreciate what stax has accomplished.

Zorrander

27th March 2006, 16:38

@Zorrander

What happens if you open the files manually in VirtualDub?

Somehow almost anything can be opened, some things might need some basic knowledge and configuration.

They load and will play without a problem... the audio file is split out, but Staxrip doesn't seem to be able to read the video. I've figured out that these are actually DIVX files I created with SimpleDivx and not Xvid files. I used AutoGK to reencode one of these into Xvid and will see if it works when I get home from work today. The reason I wanted to do this was because I used way too high of a bitrate on these and would like to combine/compress them into x264. I have a feeling it's something screwy with the way SimpleDivx encodes into Divx files and not a problem with Staxrip. Xvid avi files work without any problems at all.

Update - it works ok now after re-encoding it into Xvid. Something is screwy with Divx or these Divx files... I'll keep messing with it and see what I come up with.

Gawwad

27th March 2006, 20:17

2 small requests please http://www.asmilies.com/smiliespic/msn/010.gif

1. can u please add support for the extension ".mpeg" just like how u did it last time for the ".dat" extension
.mpeg = .mpg

2. can u please disable the "packed bitstream" option for xvid on default so we can get ultimate standalone divx player compatibility
bcz with my stand alone divx player, i 've noticed that the playback of the video files that were made by staxrip is quite jerky
so the only way to solve this plm is to uncheck the "packed bitstream" box from the xvid setting on each new encode which is quite dull!
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8486/34qi.jpg
i think the majority of people don't want "packed bitstream" as it gives jerky playback on most of standalone divx players

heinz57g

27th March 2006, 21:16

gawwad, stax, that basically emphasizes what i said only minutes ago: there should be a SAVE SETTINGS possibility, so besides default values (which never will be everybodys favorite) one can set his preferred values, and stick to them even after a reboot. i used the FIXED SIZE setting as an example, you (gawwad) used PACKED BITSTREAM OFF, but we are both saying the same, no?

greetings - heinz -

laserfan

27th March 2006, 23:02

weaver4

28th March 2006, 01:19

You were going to support auto-filtering; IVTC, Deinterlace and such. Any idea when that will be complete?

3dsnar

28th March 2006, 06:39

Stax, here are the arguments and description for the Aud-X CLI:

run <input.wav> <output.mp3> [options] to encode
options:
--q <quality> - 0 (STRQ 80 kbps), 1 (STDQ 128 kbps), 2 (HGHQ 192
kbps) or 3 (SPBQ 192 kbps), default is 1
--raw <samplerate> - signal input as raw pcm file instead of RIFF WAV
note: to use STDIN use - as input filename
:thanks:

stax76

28th March 2006, 16:02

@3dsnar

How would a example look like having a AC3 file as source?

@weaver4

It's a big task, performs slow and gives often not ideal results so I decided not to support it.

can u please disable the "packed bitstream" option for xvid on default

StaxRip uses for both DivX and XviD the Home Theater profiles which uses packed bitstream, both codecs default to packed bitstream.

@Zorrander

So demuxing done by the preparer works but the video does not open, how is it opened, AVISource? Can't AVISource open this file?

Zorrander

28th March 2006, 16:28

Yes, the demux with virtualdubmod works fine, but the AVIsource cannot open the video. The files show up as Divx 4 files created by Mencoder. I converted them all to Xvid files with AutoGK and AVIsource is reading them without a problem. It's possible that AVIsource doesn't like older versions of Divx, I'm not too familiar with it as you can tell :D

stax76

28th March 2006, 18:59

If AutoGK can open the files it should also work with StaxRip, maybe DirectShowSource works.

neo211

28th March 2006, 19:39

hopefully i can get some help from someone here. i'm having a small problem. i'm trying to convert my movie collection to be viewable on my PSP with the best possible quality. I stumbled upon this program through pspupdates.com. Apparently the best video quality comes from x264. i want to be able to play the videos through PMPMod. The PMP Muxer only allows input from AVI though. i found out that x264 cannot be placed in an avi container. it can only be placed in MP4 or MKV. so technically i cant use x264 with PMPMod. (maybe i can i dont know). so i'm simply wondering what my best choice for best possible quality is while being able to use PMPMod to view the files. x264 has excellent compression and quality which is why i chose it. i'm using a 1.5 PSP but with PMP Mod i can still use 480x272 res videos which is great. i'm thinking i'll be stuck with xvid which for video quality is fine but when it comes to compression it isnt all that great. any help in this issue would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

Zorrander

28th March 2006, 19:56

If AutoGK can open the files it should also work with StaxRip, maybe DirectShowSource works.

I'll try that when I get home.

Zorrander

28th March 2006, 20:04

neo211 - An mpeg4 AVC file can be placed into an avi file if you use a VfW encoder. It's not the best way to store avc files though. There is an option in x264 to create a psp ready file if you go to the profiles/x264/x264-pd-psp option. If it were me I would encode directly from a DVD and not converting an xvid or divx file to get the best quality. As far as what container to store it in, I would guess MP4, but am not familiar with the PSP so I am not sure what containers it can read.

stax76

28th March 2006, 21:35

@neo211

PMP support is only there because somebody contacted and guided me, I don't have time to research on this, if somebody provides a comprehensible guide I might be able to add it.

Gawwad

28th March 2006, 22:44

You guys do know that you can set-up both Templates which have your settings pre-saved to them as well as Encoder Profiles w/whatever XviD settings you want?

Oh, and the Default Project (which determines what all the settings are when you first start the program) can be set to the Target Size or Encoder settings or anything you want!

While it may not be immediately obvious, however you might want to set this thing up is easily doable in staxrip.

:thanks: for the tip man
now i made my own template :)

but i still think it is best to get rid of "packed bitstream" on default
i don't think anyone wants them

@ stax
1 more request please http://www.asmilies.com/smiliespic/msn/010.gif

- can u please as well add support for the extension ".divx" as an input (just like how u did it last time for the ".dat" extension)

:thanks: in advance

stax76

28th March 2006, 22:51

- can u please as well add support for the extension ".divx" as an input (just like how u did it last time for the ".dat" extension)

Yes + they will be editable.

laserfan

28th March 2006, 22:58

:thanks: for the tip man
now i made my own template :)

but i still think it is best to get rid of "packed bitstream" on default
i don't think anyone wants themYou're welcome. The more you use StaxRip, the better it gets!

But hey, *I* use "packed bitstream"! My Media Players prefer it!

ricardo.santos

28th March 2006, 23:20

http://www.asmilies.com/smiliespic/msn/010.gif[/IMG]

- can u please as well add support for the extension ".divx" as an input (just like how u did it last time for the ".dat" extension)

:thanks: in advance

just change the filetype from .divx to.avi and voilá

Gawwad

28th March 2006, 23:45

Yes + they will be editable.

http://www.asmilies.com/smiliespic/psmilie/020.gif

You're welcome. The more you use StaxRip, the better it gets!

But hey, *I* use "packed bitstream"! My Media Players prefer it!

i see
well i must admit that most of the xvid videos available on the net have packed bitstream
but i think most few-clicks dvd ripping programs such as fairuse wizard and autogk have them off on default
that is the reason why thier output videos r always playable smoothly on standalone divx players, unlike staxrip at the moment
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=793276#post793276

Zorrander

29th March 2006, 00:33

If AutoGK can open the files it should also work with StaxRip, maybe DirectShowSource works.

Yeah that works... feel pretty dumb now. :thanks:

dimzon

29th March 2006, 00:35

@3dsnar

How would a example look like having a AC3 file as source?

====================================
FFMPEG.EXE - it's command line encoder/decoder, AFAIK it support decoding to STDOUT.
So You can use such command from command line or bat file (i dont remember actual ffmpeg keys, read ffmpeg manual):
FFMPEG.EXE bla-bla-bla | enc_AudX_CLI.exe - c:\output.mp3 --q 1
In this case (if you provide valid ffmpeg keys) FFMPEG will decode AC3 and sent it to STDOUT. Sign "|" (pipe) in command line tells to Operating System to catch STDOUT from FFMPEG (it contains PCM WAV file now) and send it to enc_AudX_CLI input. Elegant solution, isn't it?

====================================
Foobar2000 - it's fine audio player with rich abilities. It has "Convert" function - it can run any command-line encoder and sent PCM data to encoder's STDIN. You need foo_ac3 (AC3 input plugin to be able to decode AC3 http://kode54.foobar2000.org/ ). And this http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36870&view=findpost&p=370385 is a sample how to add any CLI encoder to foobar2000

====================================
BeHappy - Avisynth-based audio transcoding tool. http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104686
BaHappy can decode AC3 file using NicAc3Source avisynth filter. It acts like a foobar2000 (runs any CLI encoder and send PCM data to encoder's STDIN)

Gawwad

29th March 2006, 01:00

just change the filetype from .divx to.avi and voilá
actualy that is what i did
and voilá
it worked perfectly
so as u see its just a matter of recognition of the ".divx" extension
thats all

but i noticed a new plm arises when i input an .avi or a .divx video with an mp3 audio, and try cut it

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/5083/clipboard011up.jpg

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4214/clipboard026yl.jpg

http://www.asmilies.com/smiliespic/psmilie/031.gif

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 05:36

Hello Stax,

You need additional AC3 decoder. Actually Dimzon developed
this CLI with STDIN support to avoid unnecesary temporaly WAV files.

Here is his description:

"So You can pipeline data from any AC3 decoder which support STDOUT. Let
me point You to some variants:

====================================
FFMPEG.EXE - it's command line encoder/decoder, AFAIK it support
decoding to STDOUT.
So You can use such command from command line or bat file (i dont
remember actual ffmpeg keys, they are available in the ffmpeg manual):
FFMPEG.EXE bla-bla-bla | enc_AudX_CLI.exe - c:\output.mp3 --q 1
In this case (if you provide valid ffmpeg keys) FFMPEG will decode AC3
and sent it to STDOUT. Sign "|" (pipe) in command line tells to
Operating System to catch STDOUT from FFMPEG (it contains PCM WAV file
now) and send it to enc_AudX_CLI input. Elegant solution, isn't it?

====================================
Foobar2000 - it's fine audio player with rich abilities. It has
"Convert" function - it can run any command-line encoder and sent PCM
data to encoder's STDIN. You need foo_ac3 (AC3 input plugin to be able
to decode AC3 http://kode54.foobar2000.org/ ). And this
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36870&view=findpost&p=370385
is a sample how to add any CLI encoder to foobar2000"

====================================
BeHappy - Avisynth-based audio transcoding tool.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104686
BaHappy can decode AC3 file using NicAc3Source avisynth filter. It acts
like a foobar2000 (runs any CLI encoder and send PCM data to encoder's
STDIN)

If you have further questions, please let me know.
Thanks.

stax76

29th March 2006, 10:01

@Gawwad

Might be tricky to support it

@dimzon & 3dsnar

What of the 3 options would be most suitable for StaxRip? I always try to avoid unnecessarry effort, complexity and maintenance and I got to take care of the traffic the download feature produces, ideal would be linking to external zip downloads.

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 10:12

Hmm, I have a question.

Our exec (distributed with the installer of Aud-X)
allows to directly convert AC3 to Aud-X, however it is not STDIN.
It just creates output Aud-X file.

So there is no need to worry about other converters, because you simply provide command line arguments, and it converts the source AC3 to our format.

Kurtnoise uses this EXEC in BeLight (will be available in the next release), so maybe the easiest way for you would be
just to use the same exec (if you need only to convert AC3 to Aud-X, than it would be enough)?

You can distribute the exec with your software, so no links would be necessary.

How about that?
Please let me know.

stax76

29th March 2006, 10:19

@3dsnar

Sounds easy, can you please provide all the download links?

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 10:51

OK, great.
Here is the link to the download.
Unfortunately you have to install the software in order to obtain
the executable file
http://www.aud-x.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=34&func=download&filecatid=1

Alternatively, I can send you the exec via email.
If you preffer email, please let me know.
Thank you.

dimzon

29th March 2006, 11:15

stax76

29th March 2006, 11:50

Unfortunately you have to install the software in order to obtain
the executable file.

Thanks, installer is no problem at all. :)

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 11:59

OK, in case of any problems, or questions,
please contact me.
When are you planning the next release, including our codec?
Thank you. :)

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 12:00

Is it possible to redistrubute this executable separatly (is there any licensing issues)?
Not at all :)
Please do distribute any files that you need.

stax76

29th March 2006, 12:09

When are you planning the next release, including our codec?

I should be able to add it soon, I don't have a schedule for a official release but meanwhile can post unofficial builds.

3dsnar

29th March 2006, 12:39

ok.
Please provide Aud-X as mp3 5.1 option
(so as some additional feature of mp3).
Kurnoise did it in BeLight, and I think this is the least
confusing (for the users) approach.
Ofcourse if possible, please place our web site address
www.aud-x.com
so users will know where to obtain the decoder, and some other tools.

Here is the link to the BeLight (with Aud-X), so maybe it will be helpful
http://kurtnoise.free.fr/BeLight/BeLight-0.22beta_20060315.7z

Thanks for considering out codec in your software :cool:

Zorrander

30th March 2006, 18:05

This isn't an error as I know staxrip isn't designed for this, but I'd like to find some way to re-encode some h264 files I made that are set at way too high of a bitrate. I'm kind of lost when it comes to figuring out AVISynth scripts, so I can't use me-gui. Is there some way I can reencode an h264 at a lower bitrate within staxrip? As it stands now if I load the file it will demux the audio then tell me that it failed to decompress the fourcc h264 file in the preview viewer. I have the CoreAVC file installed and registered as the system avc decoder. I have the items I need I believe, just missing the steps in between to get this to work if it is possible.

weaver4

30th March 2006, 20:42

@weaver4

It's a big task, performs slow and gives often not ideal results so I decided not to support it.

Well how does one know if they should use IVTC or DeInterlace for their filters?

Treasurer

1st April 2006, 13:14

Hello, I've ran into a problem using StaxRip...
It's about the VSfilter.dll, when I encode a movie with hardcoded subs, there's a shadow below the subs, which looks a little blurry, I wondered if there is some way I can remove the shadows from the subtitles during encoding?

Thanks alot!

stax76

1st April 2006, 13:46

@3dsnar

Thanks, it's now on top of my to do list :)

As it stands now if I load the file it will demux the audio then tell me that it failed to decompress the fourcc h264 file in the preview viewer.

Installing x264 manually should install a VFW decompressor, also you could use the DirectShowSource AviSynth filter in StaxRip and use a DirectShow filter like CoreAVC or ffdshow.

Well how does one know if they should use IVTC or DeInterlace for their filters?

Reading some guides, Decomb is pretty good documented, there is a guide at Doom9 and there is www.100fps.com. I'll probably try it a second time using another approach, instead of porting berrinam's C# code to VB which I did using InstantVB I'll use it directly and include it as downloadable package.

weaver4

1st April 2006, 16:48

Reading some guides, Decomb is pretty good documented, there is a guide at Doom9 and there is www.100fps.com. I'll probably try it a second time using another approach, instead of porting berrinam's C# code to VB which I did using InstantVB I'll use it directly and include it as downloadable package.

My question was not how to do it, but what data does StaxRip give me so that I know if I should do it? For example what parameters of the file do I examine after StaxRip has already analyzed the movie to know if I should turn on the ITVC filer?"

laserfan

1st April 2006, 17:32

I too am interested in how to do this (determine whether/how to deinterlace and/or IVTC).

Surely there must be a tool that automates this decision somewhat?

Most of the time AutoGK "gets it right" but it's a PIA to run AGK to the point where it's decided on a strategy in the .avs or log file...

stax76

2nd April 2006, 10:44

My question was not how to do it, but what data does StaxRip give me so that I know if I should do it? For example what parameters of the file do I examine after StaxRip has already analyzed the movie to know if I should turn on the ITVC filer?"

There is no other way atm. than looking at the pictures to see if they combed and what pattern the combing has.

@3dsnar

Installing Aud-X would be quite a bit extra work, my download and install feature currently only supports the simplest distribution forms, a zip file that includes the executable in the top level directory or a exe setup file. I can do exta code no problem and/or distribute it myself but I have a suggestion: using a exe setup file directly, this might be possible with Windows Installer, alternatives would be Inno or Nullsoft.

3dsnar

2nd April 2006, 14:02

Hi Stax
It is not what I meant :)

I meant that you can distribute our command line exec with your software, so the conversion to aud-x will be possible.

No one will be obliged to install our codec (only those who are interested in decoding our format, can get it from our web site).
So, during the staxrip installation, only this executable could be stored in staxrip folder...in order to enable
the ac3 5.1 -> mp3 5.1 conversion.

So, you will need this file for distribution.

Therefore:
what I meant, is that in order to obtain the command line exec, you need to install aud-x on your computer, and get it from the program files/aud-x folder.
Alternatively, I can send it to you via email file (if you do not want to install our software).
So these are the only two ways to get it. Which one do you preffer?

stax76

2nd April 2006, 14:23

@3dsnar

I'll have to host it then myself which was always a big problem because my 50 GB traffic limit was exceeded. I just had the idea I can additionally use the webspace my ISP gives me for free, this should solve my traffic problem for a while.

What I going to do is to rather host everything myself no longer using external links. In the past external links often were broke so hosting everything myself is better anyway.

Installing the full package is however more user friendly or aren't special dshow filters needed for playback?

chipzoller

2nd April 2006, 16:09

I'd like to start using StaxRip to encode videos for my iPod video I recently was given. I saw a profile in the x264 codec for iPod, but is staxrip going to have an ipod encoding profile that adjusts the resolution etc? And please point a guide for encoding iPod-compatible videos out to me if you know of one. Otherwise my attempts at making compatible video has failed :(

3dsnar

2nd April 2006, 19:06

@Stax
Or, alternatively we can host the official staxrip installer.
Maybe this would be helpful...
Does it sound interesting for you?
Please let me know.
-------------------------------------------
Direct show filter is for decoding.
The installer contains some other tools too.
But it is possible to provide some short info in staxrip gui area related to our codec
that you can obtain full aud-x software package from www.aud-x.com, or something like that, so only those who are willing to use it will download it and install it.
What do ya think?

bratao

2nd April 2006, 23:37

Why not you register your project in www.sourceforge.com
i have a opensource project here , and its very good, a ilimited space and traffic , with php and mysql !

stax76

3rd April 2006, 01:31

@chipzoller

Once I made a topic asking somebody to guide me creating a iPod template, unfortunately nobody replied. The PSP template is only there because somebody approached me and helped me greatly, I can only add it if somebody helps me.

Or, alternatively we can host the official staxrip installer.

Hosting StaxRip is not the problem, I tried to avoid bloat, it's only 400 KB. The problem were the third party applications, I think it's heading against 25 applications, tendency growing and some are > 10 MB. I think I got the problem under control now however.

Why not you register your project in www.sourceforge.com
i have a opensource project here , and its very good, a ilimited space and traffic , with php and mysql !

Are you are interested to contribute? What would that be? Commonly before this action other things have to precede, things like feature requests and contributing implementations details, contributing patches, contributing scripts or plugins (in that case I had to expose extensibility interfaces) or other contributions.

otherdarom

3rd April 2006, 02:03

Hi Stax,

it would be nice u integrate a poss. of choosing
winamp encoding engine for AAC. With winamp dlls there much less problems than with Nero's. And its almost the same quality.
I think it would be simple to create such profiles.
Thanks for this great tool.

bratao

3rd April 2006, 03:03

Are you are interested to contribute? What would that be? Commonly before this action other things have to precede, things like feature requests and contributing implementations details, contributing patches, contributing scripts or plugins (in that case I had to expose extensibility interfaces) or other contributions.
No stax,
Maybe you cant rebember , but i´m a programmer too, and waht i want i know how to do.
In sourceforge, anyone that had a opensource program can subscibe your project .. to freely won webspace, cvs, compile farm, file mirror...
Is easy and fast..

3dsnar

3rd April 2006, 08:32

Hosting StaxRip is not the problem, I tried to avoid bloat, it's only 400 KB. The problem were the third party applications, I think it's heading against 25 applications, tendency growing and some are > 10 MB. I think I got the problem under control now however.

OK, so I will be waiting for news from you I guess.
In case of any questions, I'd be happy to assist :)

Zorrander

3rd April 2006, 16:04

How would this aud-x compare to the 5.1 Vorbis that already exists in staxrip?

stax76

3rd April 2006, 21:28

@otherdarom

It has been discussed, you'll find it using 'Search This Thread' with 'winamp', the short answer is it won't happen unless somebody helps me.

@bratao

Right now I don't see a benefit but that don't mean that it's not possible to convince me.

OK, so I will be waiting for news from you I guess.
In case of any questions, I'd be happy to assist

Thanks, I want to finish it in 1-2 days.

stax76

3rd April 2006, 23:25

@3dsnar

Two problems I came across so far make it tricky to support Aud-X. Authors of other GUIs would probably second this. The problems are:

Installer is wrapped in sub directories and zip archieves instead of heaving a single executable installer.
The output filename for the CLI encoder can't be specified.

Other than that everything looks very good and easy so far.

3dsnar

4th April 2006, 07:15

Hmm, the installer is not a problem.
1) Please simply use the executable, and place it in your's application folder (no need to install aud-x), and distribute it with your application. So the path will be always specified correctly.
2) Indeed, the output file name is generated automatically. Is this a serious problem?

The output file name is generated with a simple algorithm, e.g.

For input:
Egypt_sound.ac3
and say STDQ encoding option, the output is
Egypt_sound - AudX-STDQ.mp3
etc.

Please let me know if this is ok.
Thanx.

stax76

4th April 2006, 10:17

1) Please simply use the executable, and place it in your's application folder (no need to install aud-x), and distribute it with your application. So the path will be always specified correctly.

There are some disadvantages for the user, the user might expect his system can playback MP3 5.1 which it can't, he has to find out that he has to install Aud-X manually and he has to install it manually and he will have Aud-X binaries in different locations which is confusing and bloat.

For input:
Egypt_sound.ac3
and say STDQ encoding option, the output is
Egypt_sound - AudX-STDQ.mp3
etc.

Please let me know if this is ok.

Did you try to configure StaxRip for Aud-X? You would have to use script to rename the file. Take a look at other GUIs which allow to choose what cmdl application to use like Robo4Rip, they work all the same using a macro for the input filename and a macro for the output filename, you would have to use script.

thuongshoo

4th April 2006, 10:24

3dsnar

4th April 2006, 13:42

Well, the exec would be duplicated in the system,
after installing Aud-X (one will be used by StaxRip, and other one
for Aud-X frontend). What do ya think?
-----------------------------------------
I did not configure StaxRip, so I have to investigate the
script issue. Would it be necessary to use this command line
exec?

stax76

4th April 2006, 13:59

HI ! I want to use direct option ,real-life so how can i do ? staxrip don't allow me to adjust this option of x264.exe
thanks ! I searched it but this thing is only disscussed in megui ,realanime thread .

You can enter custom switches.

Well, the exec would be duplicated in the system,
after installing Aud-X (one will be used by StaxRip, and other one
for Aud-X frontend). What do ya think?

I would prefer using the original installer as StaxRip always does, it's much more transparent for the user and for me to develop and generally has only advantages.

3dsnar

4th April 2006, 14:03

OK, I understand.
So can u utilize somehow our installer,
as a part of StaxRip installer?

stax76

4th April 2006, 15:04

OK, I understand.
So can u utilize somehow our installer,
as a part of StaxRip installer?

I can but it would be much easier for me and all other GUI authors without the two problems I've pointed out. There will be quite a bit extra code and extra time for us GUI authors to work around this problems.

3dsnar

4th April 2006, 16:30

OK, so do you need our installer project?
I can send it to you, just please let me know.
----------------
Regarding the other problem, please specify
what exactly would be necessary for you
and I will pass this info to my colleague responsible
for C++ development.

chipzoller

4th April 2006, 23:22

Stax,

Then can we encode just using MP4 instead of x264 to create iPod-compatible video? I just don't know enough about the workings of the x264 codec to suggest a profile at this time. I'm desperate to get some program to encode my AVIs of DVDs I own that are at 23.976 fps, but because Videora is a frontend of FFMpeg, and FFMpeg doesn't handle framerates into the thousandths, it has to round up. Even if you compensate through an AVS script by assuming the fps at 23.98, there is still a small un-sync towards the end.

thuongshoo

5th April 2006, 11:20

You can enter custom switches.
I still can't know . Which menu must I choose ?
Please say clearly ,more detail
thanks !

Deinorius

5th April 2006, 13:05

I found a bug with x264 AE-Standard. When selecting B-Frames 3, with 1.pass StaxRip uses only --b-frames without 3. If I select for example B-Frames 2, there's no problem. I didn't noticed it with other Profiles.

There are some other things here (http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=26177&page=5), I want you to know.

thuongshoo

6th April 2006, 01:51

oh ! I know the way to use "direct option" .thanks :D

harycover

7th April 2006, 15:33

Hi stax

Thanks for this great software it's powerful and handy to use :)

stax76

7th April 2006, 22:14

OK, so do you need our installer project?
I can send it to you, just please let me know.

It takes too much time to work around the setup exceptions so users will have to download and install Aud-X manually.

please specify
what exactly would be necessary for you
and I will pass this info to my colleague responsible
for C++ development.

A option to define the target path e.g.:

-t "c:\aaa.mp3"

Then can we encode just using MP4 instead of x264

What does that mean (I understand MP4 as container)? I really can't do I iPod related work without guidance (explaining exactly how it's done manually).

I found a bug with x264 AE-Standard. When selecting B-Frames 3, with 1.pass StaxRip uses only --b-frames without 3. If I select for example B-Frames 2, there's no problem. I didn't noticed it with other Profiles.

I can't reproduce this, the preview looks OK. Maybe you can describe the steps needed to reproduce this.

Deinorius

7th April 2006, 23:10

I can't reproduce this, the preview looks OK. Maybe you can describe the steps needed to reproduce this. Nor am I. Now I copied your Hotfix and I don't have this problem anymore. I don't know, what it was. Maybe it was only an individual case.
I am more interested in selecting .ssa Subs for .mkv. It's not supported now I think. Will you support it in future?

Without Resizing (with your Hotfix) StaxRip selects --sar 40:33, but that's for NTSC. I don't find any option for selecting another SAR. And options for x264 Compression Tests are missing. I don't use it anyway, but it's still a feature.

chipzoller

8th April 2006, 01:33

Stax,

Can you "port" Sharktooth's iPod profile to StaxRip? Or if not, maybe he'll give you permission to use it. I was mistaken about his profile not working...it turns out my AVS script was to blame.

Deinorius

8th April 2006, 01:53

There's another point, I forgot. What about the "fast" option for 1.pass? But I have no idea about the commandline order, don't find anything in MeGUI or somewhere else.
Will you include it? It brings still a performance gain.

stax76

8th April 2006, 06:54

I am more interested in selecting .ssa Subs for .mkv. It's not supported now I think. Will you support it in future?

Depends on how much demand there is, might require quite a bit work, other than that I agree it would be a good feature though I don't know where and how that kind of subtiltles are used.

Can you "port" Sharktooth's iPod profile to StaxRip? Or if not, maybe he'll give you permission to use it. I was mistaken about his profile not working...it turns out my AVS script was to blame.

I was thinking all sharktooth's profiles are available in StaxRip, no?

What about the "fast" option for 1.pass?

Is that a new switch?

chipzoller

8th April 2006, 14:46

I was thinking all sharktooth's profiles are available in StaxRip, no?

Maybe so...I haven't checked.

davidlt

9th April 2006, 08:34

I like this tool, but I hate just one thing. MKV container supports AC3 sound, but it can`t be made at the same time... It would be ice yo use it on HDTV, maybe you are going to add some profiles for HDTV?.. http://nwgat.net/ Here you can find, how to encode 1080i and 720p to x264... For now It don`t work so nice with HDTV, I and other people tryed, and nothing good... MKV + AC3 sound + x264 video...

stax76

9th April 2006, 09:02

@davidlt

I can't do much unless somebody tells me what's wrong. If it can be done manually and somebody explains me how I should be able to fix it, if it can't be done manually it can't be done by StaxRip either because StaxRip is just a GUI.

LRN

9th April 2006, 09:07

I encountered a DVD with very nice DTS track and very bad AC3 track.
I need a way to use DTS in StaxRip.
There's a few links for you, if you're interested:
http://www.schudy.de/dts/azidts26wavs-e.htm - dts->wav->ac3 (for us it's possible to dts->wav->ac3->aac)
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=109488 - dts->aac

Deinorius

9th April 2006, 12:04

Depends on how much demand there is, might require quite a bit work, other than that I agree it would be a good feature though I don't know where and how that kind of subtiltles are used. Well, I use it with every movie, which has subs. Don't ask me why, I'm just using it. :D
Of course I'm using .ssa Subs for Animes every time. DVD subs are good, but .ssa Subs are looking much better. You know, they can be styled. Just a cool feature. ^^
Is that a new switch? I dont't know it either. You have to ask a MeGUI developer about it like doom9. But it fastens 1.pass very good. For owners of a slowly CPU like my Athlon XP-M 2000+ a needed feature. :D

How about adding the Anime AVS Script from the german doom9 Board? I could send you my build, so you can see, how I did it.
I like this tool, but I hate just one thing. MKV container supports AC3 sound, but it can`t be made at the same time... It would be ice yo use it on HDTV, maybe you are going to add some profiles for HDTV?.. http://nwgat.net/ Here you can find, how to encode 1080i and 720p to x264... For now It don`t work so nice with HDTV, I and other people tryed, and nothing good... MKV + AC3 sound + x264 video... If you mean encoding for .ts Files, you may be right, but otherwise it should work already. x264 support it, you only have to use a HD-resolution.

davidlt

9th April 2006, 15:11

Yes, I was talking about TS encoding to x264 and MKV + AC3 muxing, as I can see, I need manually make AC3 sound from video(source), before encoding?..

Kriz

9th April 2006, 18:00

Can StaxRip convert Xvid/Mp3 in an AVI to mpeg2 for making DVDs?

I keep getting an error:

http://67.18.37.14/54/185/upload/p873236.jpg

3dsnar

10th April 2006, 07:55

I can but it would be much easier for me and all other GUI authors without the two problems I've pointed out. There will be quite a bit extra code and extra time for us GUI authors to work around this problems.
OK, we will prepare a special release of the executable,
dedicated to StaxRip, so you will be able to distribute it with your application.
The necessity for installing our codec in order to reproduce Aud-X encoded sound will remain, as you suggest.
I will get back to you when ready.
Thank you.

LRN

10th April 2006, 21:03

I found fine app (BeHappy) for dts transcoding, but i can't configure it to output 5.1 aac :(

stax76

10th April 2006, 21:34

I need a way to use DTS in StaxRip.

You could try to configure StaxRip for this.

I dont't know it either. You have to ask a MeGUI developer about it like doom9. But it fastens 1.pass very good. For owners of a slowly CPU like my Athlon XP-M 2000+ a needed feature.

I would guess MeGUI accelerates the x264 first pass by using faster settings for this pass, it is or was called 'Turbo'. StaxRip does exactly the same.

How about adding the Anime AVS Script from the german doom9 Board? I could send you my build, so you can see, how I did it.

IIRC it was way to complex.

Can StaxRip convert Xvid/Mp3 in an AVI to mpeg2 for making DVDs?

By default only MPEG-4 output is supported. It would be possible to configure StaxRip to use any command line encoder if mpg would be a supported output format. I'll give this a try if I have time.

OK, we will prepare a special release of the executable,
dedicated to StaxRip, so you will be able to distribute it with your application.

Packing the executable myself is hardly a problem but it's pointless because the user has to install your package anyway, StaxRip would locate the install path automatically for manual installs. Even if it had to be installed manually it would be no big deal, the external applications dialog and generally the integration of external applications is well suited for that scenario.

The best solution would really be to simplify the installer, using Nullsoft or Inno to have a single executable and consider installing the filters in the install directory and not in system directory. Most dshow filters are installed in the install directory, for very good reasons.

Deinorius

11th April 2006, 00:46

I would guess MeGUI accelerates the x264 first pass by using faster settings for this pass, it is or was called 'Turbo'. StaxRip does exactly the same. I will do some 1.pass Tests with MeGUI and StaxRip. I will see, if there's any difference.
IIRC it was way to complex. You may be right, but adding it as a Template could be way of versatile. It's your choice.

3dsnar

11th April 2006, 07:57

You could try to configure StaxRip for this.
Packing the executable myself is hardly a problem but it's pointless because the user has to install your package anyway, StaxRip would locate the install path automatically for manual installs. Even if it had to be installed manually it would be no big deal, the external applications dialog and generally the integration of external applications is well suited for that scenario.

The best solution would really be to simplify the installer, using Nullsoft or Inno to have a single executable and consider installing the filters in the install directory and not in system directory. Most dshow filters are installed in the install directory, for very good reasons.
OK. I do not know how long time it will take my colleague to prepare a new installer. I will talk to him and let you know as soon as it is ready. Thanx & cheers.

siddharthagandhi

11th April 2006, 13:36

dude, every single program that they want you to download they say version is wrong because I HAVE the newer version

they seriously need to update the versioning of their programs and codecs

chongy5

11th April 2006, 15:00

I assume the reason for this is because of best compatibility, and probably because the program works best/tested using whatever version number of those tools.

stax76

11th April 2006, 17:00

dude, every single program that they want you to download they say version is wrong because I HAVE the newer version

You can use a newer build (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip), please read the warning carefully as well as the support page in the help, that page was updated for this not yet but soon released build. This build is more up to date than your signature as it supports DivX 6.2.0, it what released today, right? ;)

siddharthagandhi

11th April 2006, 18:50

even x264 and vdub are outdated...did u fix those as well?

LRN

11th April 2006, 20:05

siddharthagandhi, you could use ANY version of any application, included in StaxRip. Just ignore StazRip's warnings. That's what Stax trying to tell you. Place newer versions in Applications directory instead old ones and enjoy.

Warrex

11th April 2006, 20:54

Hi Stax,

there is also a new Version of DivXMux. It is part of the DivX Media Creation Tools r2. Would be cool if you could include into the hotfix.

See here: http://labs.divx.com/archives/000066.html

stax76

11th April 2006, 21:07

even x264 and vdub are outdated...did u fix those as well?

Yes, those are updated in the build posted previously, check the changelog for all changes.

there is also a new Version of DivXMux. It is part of the DivX Media Creation Tools r2. Would be cool if you could include into the hotfix.

Thanks, I had it downloaded but kind of had forgotten it since I didn't had a DVD to test it, time to get a new one. :)

Warrex

11th April 2006, 21:34

Thanks for the quick reply! Its support is one of the MANY great things about StaxRip! Do I sound like a fanboy? Well, I am! :sly:

siddharthagandhi

11th April 2006, 22:19

It's a really nice program and has a great UI for noobs in particular. You don't even have to know anything about video encoding and external programs, most of the stuff is automatically done for you.

snowcrash

13th April 2006, 09:21

I tried doing a search within this thread and didn't see anything on this. I'd like to request support for type 1 DV as input, the default type of video that comes out of a MiniDV camcorder. I have home videos that I like to convert to XVID. Right now AutoGK is the only encoding app that takes type 1 DV and it doesn't have the advanced features I need (Gordian Knot does not accept type 1 DV). Thank you.

stax76

13th April 2006, 11:20

I'd like to request support for type 1 DV as input

You might try to customize StaxRip for this. Normally I try to help people wherever I can but I don't have any experience with DV.

Warrex

13th April 2006, 21:26

@Stax

Batch Mode

"Batch Mode" might be useful to me but I do not understand what it does. I read some posts where you said one should read the context help. Well, pressed the help button and thats what I got:

"Options Dialog
All options in the Options Dialog are stored in projects. In order to use changes as defaults available on startup overwrite the default project. In the main dialog's main menu select File/Default Project/Save."

Not exactly useful... Then I searched all .htm files for the term "batch" which returned three files with no real info...

Interface

I really do not like the assistant. With the new Hotfix you introduced a warning ("Please follow the assistant") that forces me through the assistant although I just want to queue a job. This is really annoying as I accidentally started Batch Processing some times without having queued all jobs (clicked one time too much on "next" in the assistant). Btw. adding more jobs should be possible after others were started (like in Gordian Knot).

The assistant is really a "Wizard" to me which many programs have to guide novice users through important steps of a program. This is perfectly fine but really slows pro users down. It's the same with StaxRip. I would prefer if StaxRip had a wizard and a pro mode to choose from.

Btw. another annoying thing which was introduced a while back is having to load the default profile again when starting a new project (i.e. loading a new file).

StaxRip is great because you can do almost everything directly in the programm itself (which is great for TV Recordings) and it is configurable to the max but imho I lacks a streamlined and clean interface.

For a Pro Mode I would suggest an interface slightly similar to Gordian Knots with Tabs:

[Text] = Button
{Text} = Slider
|Text| = Dropdown Menu with possible manual input

1. Main Tab (Left=Video / Right=Audio)

Left side top:
[Select Video Source], Source Infos

Left side middle (Video Settings):
|Codec|, Codec [1st Pass]/[2 Pass], [Check Compressiblity] N/A or Value, {Resize}, Favorite Filters Checkboxes

Right side top: [Select Audio Source 1] / [Select Audio Source 2]
Right side middle (Audio Source 1 Settings / Audio Source 2 Settings): (|Codec|, {Bitrate},...)

Bottom (Target): |Select Container| |Filesize|, |Video bitrate|, [Target Path], [Start Encoding], [Enqeue]

2. "Advanced Video Settings" Tab
[Preview/Crop/Cut] opens ONE window, More Avisynth filters - checkbox with descriptions (over time a filter database could be added here)

3. "Advanced Audio Settings" Tab
BeSweet Option Mania (see Belight)

4. "Subtitles" Tab
[Add Subtiltle File(s) to container], Checkox to select subtitles if applicable

(Vsfilter)

[B]5. "Jobs" Tab
Infos, Change Order, Delete, etc.

6. "Avisynth Script Editor" Tab
(blanked out via checkbox in the left corner by default, warning that this is for experts)

A cleaner Options menu (also using Tabs) would be good also as important options are currently scattered over various menus.

Options Menu
- Directories
- Video Defaults (Codec, etc.)
- Audio Defaults (Codec, etc.)
- Muxer Defaults
- Subtitle Defaults
- Avisynth Filter Manager (define default settings, add filter to Favorites > Main tab)
- Automation
- Preparation
- External Programs Manager
- Profile Manager

[OK], [Save as Profile only], [Cancel]

I know that this would be a lot of work and some things might not work this way (due to window sizes, etc.). These are just my ideas about another interface.

I guess you won't like most of them as I assume you would have done things this way already but hey proposing changes is worth a try... :rolleyes:

stax76

14th April 2006, 00:34

"Batch Mode" might be useful to me but I do not understand what it does. I read some posts where you said one should read the context help. Well, pressed the help button and that's what I got:

"Options Dialog
All options in the Options Dialog are stored in projects. In order to use changes as defaults available on start-up overwrite the default project. In the main dialog's main menu select File/Default Project/Save."

Not exactly useful... Then I searched all .htm files for the term "batch" which returned three files with no real info...

What the user should be expecting pressing the help button there is the help for the active tab, I need to fix this. Most options have a context help you can show by either dropping the 'What's this help' (?) on it or by right-clicking on the option, the right-click works even for menu's (main and context menu's) but of course not if the control got a context menu like text controls.

Not exactly useful... Then I searched all .htm files for the term "batch" which returned three files with no real info...

Most of the help is runtime generated because it's much easier for me doing the help in place using visual designers and wiki markup.

I really do not like the assistant. With the new Hot-fix you introduced a warning ("Please follow the assistant") that forces me through the assistant although I just want to queue a job.

Starting the encoding directly instead of using the job list is not possible either, if that was possible before than it was a bug and not a feature. I had to force this because before I did so I was getting lot's of bug reports from people ignoring critical warnings. If reminders bother people I could make them optional.

Btw. adding more jobs should be possible after others were started (like in Gordian Knot).

It should but it's a too big task, I've explained it here (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=780748&postcount=543).

The assistant is really a "Wizard" to me which many programs have to guide novice users through important steps of a program. This is perfectly fine but really slows pro users down. It's the same with StaxRip. I would prefer if StaxRip had a wizard and a pro mode to choose from.

I could make some stuff optional, which of the instructions bother you? IIRC there are really only crop and filters, everything else would lead to people mess up their encodes (and send bug reports...).

Btw. another annoying thing which was introduced a while back is having to load the default profile again when starting a new project (i.e. loading a new file).

There isn't really a way around, a new source needs a clean project for a couple of very good reasons. So far I recall about three complaints and was confronted with the warning myself too. What might be a improvement is showing a small dialog allowing to pick a template or the default project.

For a Pro Mode I would suggest an interface slightly similar to Gordian Knots with Tabs:

IMHO traditional tabs look a bit old fashioned. I would prefer a sidebar much like 'Windows Movie Maker' which of course are tabs too. I prefer my ultimate simplicity compact single screen approach but understand many people would prefer a tab and multi screen approach. There are lot's of factors like people have different experience, requirements, understanding, habits, priorities, the list is endless, the more types of users you want to cover the harder it get's, it's really not easy.

If you have lot's of simple stuff to encode without extras like subtitles and want things to be done quick and painless then a single sceen is handy, if you got extras and like to tweak you'll likely prefer a tab/multi sceen approach.

My architecture wouldn't allow such a change (like the job issue) btw. Such huge things are critically if not done from the beginning.

sterlina

14th April 2006, 00:38

Hi Stax, I wander if there is an option to separate first pass and second pass, as it takes a long to do them together.

swinokur

14th April 2006, 00:48

Stax: I'm using a CLI based encoder, and I've got it launching okay, but it launches in a separate 'command' window. Is there a different method I could use to launch it so that the output of the encoder (process bar, etc) shows up in the processform?

thanks!

stax76

14th April 2006, 01:37

I wander if there is an option to separate first pass and second pass, as it takes a long to do them together.

No, if it takes long then you must be using x264 :devil:, you could show the command line preview in that case and execute the command lines manually and use the null encoder, the profile is called 'Misc - No Encoding', you have to configure the output format of the null encoder and need to know that changing the encoder changes the muxer because the muxer is part of the encoder. Maybe quality mode or the pause feature could help you.

Stax: I'm using a CLI based encoder, and I've got it launching okay, but it launches in a separate 'command' window. Is there a different method I could use to launch it so that the output of the encoder (process bar, etc) shows up in the processform?

Such things are too much work to add and maintain, a progress bar requires the output to be parsed which is different for every application. Parsing the output is a poor solution just like confronting a windows user with a scary console window but there is no other way when the operating system or codec don't provide a better way.

sterlina

14th April 2006, 09:11

No, if it takes long then you must be using x264 :devil:, you could show the command line preview in that case and execute the command lines manually and use the null encoder, the profile is called 'Misc - No Encoding', you have to configure the output format of the null encoder and need to know that changing the encoder changes the muxer because the muxer is part of the encoder. Maybe quality mode or the pause feature could help you.

ehu... not really, I'm encoding with XviD. For a 2h video it takes about 6 hours to do both pass, that's not really *too much* but if it could be splitted it would be better.

I've tried the profile "XviD - Exact File Size", choose number of passes 1 in [options], but then [codec configuration] accepts only single pass in encoding type. I mean, I can change but it just won't take care and reset it.
Wouldn't be more powerful if that was only the default option, and if I change it just leave as I changed?

stax76

14th April 2006, 09:28

@sterlina

In StaxRip a encoding is a batch of many tasks. You want to disable one of this tasks, fine but how are you gonna do the disabled task?

Warrex

14th April 2006, 10:36

I really do not like the assistant. With the new Hot-fix you introduced a warning ("Please follow the assistant") that forces me through the assistant although I just want to queue a job.

Starting the encoding directly instead of using the job list is not possible either, if that was possible before than it was a bug and not a feature. I had to force this because before I did so I was getting lot's of bug reports from people ignoring critical warnings. If reminders bother people I could make them optional.

Well I solution might be that StaxRip dynamically checks which info is still missing for a successful encode. "Start" could then be greyed out out as long as StaxRip does not have all the info it or it could display an info box for the user with things he has to do before running the job.

I am no programer and I have no idea which things are hard to do. I just see shiny things in other programs and think to myself "well, that would be a cool things to have in StaxRip". :sly:

As you will have noticed my major concern is just that using StaxRip for batch encoding got slower with some of the last versions which contrasts with so many people asking about extended functionality. So if there are little things you can do in this area it would be very welcome. :)

stax76

14th April 2006, 11:21

Well I solution might be that StaxRip dynamically checks which info is still missing for a successful encode. "Start" could then be greyed out out as long as StaxRip does not have all the info it or it could display an info box for the user with things he has to do before running the job.

I don't understand exactly the workflow you want so please explain more detailed. I changed things in that area for almost any version, either because of feedback or for me, just the most recent build has changes, the whole thing is very difficult and I don't know if it was the last change.

When clicking new in the job dialog the following things happen using the most recent unofficial build:

*requirements are verified
*assistant check (new behavior)
*project is saved to source dir + target name so no longer any dialog unless the above checks fail (new behavior)

It's now very easy to make different encodes from the same source, you just change the target name and add it to the job list.

I've heard DXN is preparing another release so I'm waiting for that and I still have to add the updated DivX muxer, meanwhile here is another hotfix (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip).

Warrex

14th April 2006, 14:11

Well, what I meant was the following:

I do not want to click myself through the assistant when adding jobs.

StaxRip should not check whether I have clicked through it but whether I can safely add (or start) a job now directly. Having to confirm by pressing "next" that cropping/filter setup/cutting/compressibility check were done or should not be done is a waste of time and most of all you can accidently click "next" one time too much and encoding starts prematurely. If I need one of these functions I can press F4, F5 or whatever.

Currently I want to encode many smaller clips of circa the same duration. The encoding settings stay the same (Saved as default profile: Filter setup, target size, target video dimensions, no cropping/cutting needed) - the only change is loading another source file. This might sound like a very special workflow but it isn't. The basic problem described below stays the same even if a have to change more settings...

Current workflow:

- Reload Default Profile
- Load File
- Click through four steps in the assistant and stop when it is at the "Ready" step
- Click text next to the "Next" button or hit F6
- Press Add & Close in Job Window

Workflow in (much) earlier StaxRip versions:

- Load file
- Press F6
- Press Add & Close in Job Window

A workflow I would like:

- Load file
- hit a Button like "Add to joblist" without opening the job window (thats what View/Jobs... or F6 is for)

Bottom line: I do not need an assistant as I access e.g. Crop via F4 only when I need it.

stax76

14th April 2006, 15:01

@Warrex

I might not change the default behavior but I will add some features allowing you to customize StaxRip for your prefered workflow.

sterlina

14th April 2006, 19:00

@sterlina
In StaxRip a encoding is a batch of many tasks. You want to disable one of this tasks, fine but how are you gonna do the disabled task?

ehu... if I have to encode first pass and second pass, I can disable the second and run the encoding, then (later, other day, whenever) disable the first pass and do the encoding, if I haven't changed anything (crop, audio, bitrate...) it should work

but that would be quite strange to do, so it wouldn't be a good solution :D I'll try to explain better my though (BTW... I don't know much about coding, so I don't know how much is difficult or it takes long for you to do it :p )

Let say you wants to do [XviD - Exact File Size] with an encode on two passes. The only way to do it is to set 2 passes in the encoder options (the one on the right), and that way you can only queue a job with the whole (1st and 2nd pass) encoding.

My idea was to add the possibility to set 1 pass in the "encoder options", then into "codec configuration" change it to first pass and add the job, then do the same thing but change onto second pass in "codec configuration" tab and add the job. So there would be two jobs, one for first pass and one for second pass

stax76

14th April 2006, 20:13

stax76

14th April 2006, 21:53

0.9.9.1 (2006-04-14)

new: Crop dialog has a customizable menu like the main dialog and the preview.
new: Crop dialog remembers the last video position.
new: Crop dialog allows to crop opposite sides simultaneously.
new: Main and context menus show tooltips.
new: Default target directory option.
new: The file types used for the 'Open' and 'Save As' dialogs can be customized in the settings.
update: x264 490
update: x264 profiles 2006-03-23
update: DivX 6.2.1
update: DivXMux 6.1 build 36
update: VirtualDub 1.6.14
change: No more Save dialogs for the job filename, it'll be based on the target filename.
change: A couple of small AR related improvements.
change: Little change in audio profiles that is only relevant for PMP, PMP muxer updated to 2.0 to support 2 audio tracks and MP3 VBR.

sterlina

14th April 2006, 22:40

@sterlina

It's not so easy since e.g. audio encoding or muxing, all this things run for every job, like I said, encoding is a batch of tasks. It would end up then tasks like audio encoding run twice and other tasks like muxing fail because encoding wasn't completed.

yap! didn't think about audio encoding, I just mux original audio stream ;) and I can easly solve everything using virtualdub

thanks for your answers, I'm now testing your new version

siddharthagandhi

15th April 2006, 01:24

It says the application failed to initalize properly. I'm going to do a redownload...if it works I'll delete this post.

siddharthagandhi

15th April 2006, 01:29

still get it

LRN

15th April 2006, 05:19

Khm...Stax...i meant a way to TRANSCODE DTS to something useful (5.1 AAC), not MUXING it in mp4 "as is". Sorry. Thanks for your efforts though :)

Warrex

15th April 2006, 10:41

@Warrex

I might not change the default behavior but I will add some features allowing you to customize StaxRip for your prefered workflow.

:goodpost: Well thank you SO much! Will wait patiently und just skip 0.9.9.1 maybe.

sterlina

15th April 2006, 12:33

It says the application failed to initalize properly. I'm going to do a redownload...if it works I'll delete this post.

I can use 0.9.9.1 without problems

stax76

15th April 2006, 13:04

@siddharthagandhi

Do other .NET 2.0 aplications run (using a local drive)? The more information you provide the higher the chance to find the reason.

Khm...Stax...i meant a way to TRANSCODE DTS to something useful (5.1 AAC), not MUXING it in mp4 "as is". Sorry. Thanks for your efforts though

Muxing would not require configuration. The command line audio profile supports multiple command lines separated by a new line so it should be possible to configure StaxRip for this.

siddharthagandhi

15th April 2006, 13:59

I'm a noob..what's .NET 2.0?

I had no programs open except AOL dialer, Windows Update running in background, Avast Antivirus, and thats pretty much it except for the trivial stuff like Adobe Fast Launch.

stax76

15th April 2006, 14:18

@siddharthagandhi

You have missed something (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/download.htm) then.

siddharthagandhi

15th April 2006, 15:50

Oh wait now I realized. The previous versions worked because that was before I formatted my computer. Its doing a Windows Update, that might be downloading .Net 2.0...

LRN

15th April 2006, 17:00

Muxing would not require configuration. The command line audio profile supports multiple command lines separated by a new line so it should be possible to configure StaxRip for this.
You trying to tell me, that i shoud set up DTS->AAC transcoding myself? The problem is that i can't! I tried BeSweet (with all GUIs available + all Nero libs i have), azidts, Behappy - nothing worked. Eventually i converted DTS->(azidts)->AIFF->(Nero "Encode files" addon)->AAC, but it's only LC, and Nero isn't commandline (i can't add it to StaxRip's audio profile). I hoped you can help :-/

davidlt

16th April 2006, 06:14

Just reinstalled my windows, and downloaded newest version of StaxRip and got this one:
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/3643/kliada1zw.jpg

Maybe, some solutions?..

EDIT: tested with older versions, I got the same error... :( so sad... I am stupid, really stupid... Forgot to install .NET 2 Platform. I think this one will help me.

Mitchjs

16th April 2006, 07:38

1st, i want to say

WOW!!!

this is the 1st app i tried, and got real results

Im so happy...

i only find 1 minor issue, when i bring in my 1080i ts mpgs, i end up with staxrip, saying its 1908 x 1088... prob happening in the dgindex phase, the source panel, says its 1980 x 1088... but before i touch the ts file, i checked, its not 1088...anyway, i want to chop 8 lines off bottom , but cant easily, could you add that?

what i do now, is just after you create the xxxx.avs file i open it add the crop(0,0,-0,-8) in there... and it works great
but if there was a check box to do it for me :)

thanks again... can i send u a donation? where...

mitch

laserfan

16th April 2006, 17:18

...i want to chop 8 lines off bottom , but cant easily, could you add that?mitch, how have you missed the Crop feature? I do this all the time, no problems here.

stax76

16th April 2006, 21:51

New unofficial release available (not available at the download page).

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

new: Language is detected from audio filenames.
new: Opening a source file while another is already open a dialog to select a template is shown instead of giving a warning.
new: Options to disable assistant reminders for crop, filters and cut.
new: Setting to prevent the help is shown when a dialog starts the first time.
action: New action 'Perform/Clear Jobs' added.
action: New action 'Perform/Add Job' added.
action: New action 'Perform/Run Jobs' added.
change: Removed default project features and added a setting to specify which template to load at startup.

Mitchjs

16th April 2006, 23:45

laserfan,

try taking 8 lines off bottom... you cant!!!
since he checks for divide by 16 on lines!

u cant make 1920 x 1080 when u start with 1920 x 1088
not with the UI as it stands now

if u crop 8 lines off the bottom, u get a size error, and i dont want to crop 8 lines off the top, then i cant resize back to 1920 x 1080, and if i make a 1920 x 1072 technically the aspect is off

also i think i found another issue... i got a 33 second .ts that after i run it though, looses 10 secs in various places, the dgindex is losing scenes...

i did it manually with dgindex, and got correct .d2v file

mitch

Mitchjs

16th April 2006, 23:49

not to mention, that when u take 8 lines off the bottom...
and leave the crop view screen, it also takes 8 lines off the top automaticly, to make is /16 i gues
so i end up with 1920 x 1072

which ofcourse is not what i want

mitch

laserfan

17th April 2006, 00:39

laserfan,

try taking 8 lines off bottom... you cant!!!
since he checks for divide by 16 on lines! Oops, you're right. But the "divide by 16" is I believe a requirement of the underlying software. But even a few % of aspect skew is normally of no consequence to a movie or tv show? Maybe the program fix1088 will do what you want.

also i think i found another issue... i got a 33 second .ts that after i run it though, looses 10 secs in various places, the dgindex is losing scenes...If you look at the ProjectX demux log, does it show errors? I have seen ProjectX mess-up badly on some of my .ts files, to the point where I use VideoReDo Plus a lot now to demux my HD captures...

stax76

17th April 2006, 00:57

@Mitchjs

Please send me this file and tell me your desired crop and resize parameters.

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 01:08

sure thing stax...

where do u want it? i can put it on my web site for u

its 50meg

play it in a player (i use zoom)

and u will see that its 1920 x 1080

then bring it into a project...

it turns into 1920 x 1088

also the time problem... which is definitly projectx issue
when i use dgindex outside of stax, to make the demux and d2v its correct

mitch

stax76

17th April 2006, 01:16

50 MB is too much for my mail account (yahoo) so I hope you can upload it somewhere.

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 01:40

stax, check your PM

mitch

swaaye

17th April 2006, 06:04

Stax I just started a big project and loaded up the latest StaxRip and found to my horror that I'm being forced to go thru a bunch of new steps now. I saw Warrex's post:

A workflow I would like:

- Load file
- hit a Button like "Add to joblist" without opening the job window (thats what View/Jobs... or F6 is for)

Bottom line: I do not need an assistant as I access e.g. Crop via F4 only when I need it.

This is EXACTLY what I need. I downloaded your hotfix and it's not really solving the annoyances.

What I used to do is set up a default project and use that for about 150+ jobs. I would do a search in Windows for my .d2v files, drag and drop them onto StaxRip, hitting F6 and adding them to the job queue. I don't use the built-in crop because I set up an autocrop filter. It's all about reducing extra clicks. Extra clicks cost time and bring in a lot more possiblity that I could click something wrong and not notice it.

So PLEASE make it so that:

1) No need to touch the assistant at all, like in earlier versions, and just add the job in the F6 queue.
2) No need to go through the file menu (or even the popup window the hotfix added) to load the template again. Just have the template to load in Project Options, say.

My workflow:

-I drag and drop a .d2v onto StaxRip, it loads it into my chosen template.
-I hit F6 to get into the job queue and add the job (or ideally a F-key is set to add it to the queue immediately instead of messing with the queue window)
-Drag another .d2v over
-Add it to job queue
....

I can see why you have the assistant in the prog, and all of these checkpoint steps. But for an advanced user like myself, reducing the clicks is so critical....

LRN

17th April 2006, 07:57

What is the point of cropping 8-pixel row? You won't save much bitrate on this, i assure you.

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 08:01

ah, the 8 pixles are a ugly grey bar... added somewhere
dgindex prob

mitch

stax76

17th April 2006, 10:10

@Mitchjs

It might be better to contact the authors of the underlying tools and post to the forum of the underlying tools to get us a idea where the real problems are.

@swaaye

StaxRip was always about to simplify, automate and customize as much as possible. I think those features are important for many users and good reasons to use StaxRip since most other tools don't provide that much convenience.

Forcing to load a template before loading a new source was really needed, there ain't really a way around. I think it's only pressing enter once but could provide a way to even get around this so I'm proposing another option:

Option name: Template Loaded After Adding A Job:
Options: None, Startup Template, Last Template

I could make this globally for the normal jobs dialog in the settings as well as parameter for the action, it would even then be possible to utilize the same action more than once using different parameters.

Default value would be 'None' as I think the majority would prefer it.

You would be able then to drop a file, trigger the 'Perform/Add Job' action with a menu item or keyboard shortcut and after that you could start over.

Warrex would prolly have asked for that too. :D

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 10:48

stax,

could you add a option that adds this

Crop(0,0,-0,-8)

to the .avs

what i do, is sneek it in, after u created the .avs file

it works!

also on the crop dialog box, can u make a resize window on right click, say 50%, 25 %
hard to fit a 1920x1088 window on my monitor (1280x1024)

mitch

stax76

17th April 2006, 11:18

@Mitchjs

This should be done using the regular crop facility otherwise it would bypass the AR calculation. So you would open the crop dialog and crop 8 pixel at the bottom. If there is no resize filter enabled StaxRip will fix cropping to be mod 16, I could make another option but I hesitate because possibly this might be only a workaround for another problem and before working around a problem it's better trying to solve the problem. There are different tricks you might use if nobody finds the real problems e.g. enable a resize filter temporarily before you crop so StaxRip won't force mod 16 or enter 'Crop(0,0,-0,-8)' in your source filter (before opening the source (use profiles/templates))!

also on the crop dialog box, can u make a resize window on right click, say 50%, 25 %
hard to fit a 1920x1088 window on my monitor (1280x1024)

It seems windows can't be bigger than the screen so I think it's better to maximize at startup. I can add this if nobody else has a better idea.

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 13:30

stax, if i use the built in crop, and remove 8 lines from bottom
then hit ok, it forces 8 of the top too..

and i end up with 1920 x 1072

try it

im not using resize at all

mitch

stax76

17th April 2006, 13:56

stax, if i use the built in crop, and remove 8 lines from bottom
then hit ok, it forces 8 of the top too..

and i end up with 1920 x 1072

try it

I've explained this in my previous post.

Warrex

17th April 2006, 14:02

New unofficial release available (not available at the download page).

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Great changes! :D Please also add an option to skip the compressibility check in the assistant (I never use it anyway): "Remind to check compressibility"

Warrex would prolly have asked for that too.

Damn, you are right! I hope using voodoo magic does not violate the forum rules. ;)

Bug report: Try to open the tree in the "Settings..." dialog completely and see what happens or rather what does not happen.

Mitchjs

17th April 2006, 14:02

DOH

i miss read it

trying now

seems to work

it works

:)

mitch

stax76

17th April 2006, 15:32

Bug report: Try to open the tree in the "Settings..." dialog completely and see what happens or rather what does not happen.

Scrollbar does not appear, never noticed it since I'm always using auto collapse, TreeView programming can be tricky, I'll try to fix it.

swaaye

17th April 2006, 17:42

Option name: Template Loaded After Adding A Job:
Options: None, Startup Template, Last Template

Sounds great to me.

Also, you must have missed a part of the "assistant check" cuz it's still telling me to run thru the assistant when I try to add a job. I don't use the assistant at all cuz I have everything set to go thru the template and don't use compress check or the cropping.

stax76

17th April 2006, 18:37

Also, you must have missed a part of the "assistant check" cuz it's still telling me to run thru the assistant when I try to add a job. I don't use the assistant at all cuz I have everything set to go thru the template and don't use compress check or the cropping.

Sure, as explained previously I can't permit skipping critical warnings so I made options to skip instructions that are not critical so if you think there are still instructions that should rather be disabled please tell me what instructions that are.

Warrex

17th April 2006, 20:25

Sounds great to me.

Also, you must have missed a part of the "assistant check" cuz it's still telling me to run thru the assistant when I try to add a job. I don't use the assistant at all cuz I have everything set to go thru the template and don't use compress check or the cropping.

Maybe it is helpful to describe in detail what to do:

- Hit F7 to open the project options dialog
- Click on the "Advanced" Tab
- Open the tree "Assistant"

You can tell the assistent there not to ask about cropping, setting filters or cutting. However it will still remind you to do a compressibilty check. I have already asked Stax earlier in this thread to make that optional as well.

stax76

18th April 2006, 22:31

Warrex

18th April 2006, 23:15

*Option to disable the comp. check reminder.
*Parameter added to the 'Perform/Add Job' action allowing to define a name of a template to be loaded.
*Crop dialog will maximize in case image is bigger than screen.
*Setting tree is scrollable.

http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip

Ahhhh! Totally great. Will put this to good use tomorrow. A BIG :thanks: for including these features I have asked for! Especially as you don't need them yourself afaik. :D

Maybe you should make an official release of it after having included this

I'm proposing another option:

Option name: Template Loaded After Adding A Job:
Options: None, Startup Template, Last Template

and after that already promised version 6.2.2 of DivX is released:
http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=813288&postcount=33

I guess there will be far more people who welcome these changes than just swaaye and me! ;)

swaaye

19th April 2006, 00:32

Thanks Stax! I'll try this out ASAP.

stax76

19th April 2006, 05:56

Maybe you should make an official release of it after having included this

I don't make that much releases as I used to for a couple of reasons like most bugs have been fixed, most important features have been added, people don't like to update too often and I usually need a month to add a couple of things to the change list.

Option name: Template Loaded After Adding A Job:
Options: None, Startup Template, Last Template

That's the second point of the last changelog, though I simplyfied it.

and after that already promised version 6.2.2 of DivX is released:

Last time I tried it was still 6.2.1.

heathen17

19th April 2006, 08:10

Hi Stax,

Thanks so much for this great tool!

Is there any chance you will be adding in a component to take advantage of the menu and chapter building capabilities that are now available for DivX?

Warrex

19th April 2006, 09:43

Option name: Template Loaded After Adding A Job:
Options: None, Startup Template, Last Template

That's the second point of the last changelog, though I simplyfied it.

Ah, now I see... So if there are other ones out there like me who are a bit slow - here is what I did for a faster workflow in Staxrip:

- Opened Tools/Edit Menu...
- In the menu editor I added a new item under "Tools"
- Text: Directly Add To Joblist
- Shortcut Key : pressed + on the numpad
- Command: Perform/Add Job
- Show confirmation: No
- Template Name: DVB (most other people will want to add DVD here)
- Clicked OK

- Opened View/Project Options.../Advanced/Assistant
- Unchecked all four options there (Remind to...)
- Clicked OK

Now it is possible to open a project and add it directly to the joblist with the + on the numpad. Afterwards the prefered template is automatically loaded. F6 still openes the job list and starts encoding.

@Stax

The command for adding forced subtitles is misspelled: "Perform/Add Foreced Subtitle"

sterlina

19th April 2006, 11:17

bug report:
open [Edit Menu] from [Tools]
add a new menu item (it is shown as "???") and select it
choose "command", a menu drop down

... then hit ALT+TAB to switch to another application, ALT+TAB again to come back to StaxRip, an error appairs

I've tryed with a "clean install" of latest hotfix

do you need I send you the file StaxRip created?

Gehenna

19th April 2006, 12:59

Hi,

Okay im kinda being lazy here,but is their any way of cueing up ProjectX&DGIndex jobs..?

My normal scenerio is converting my DVB stuff,if i have 3-5 mpegs to convert ,i have to wait for ProjectX&DGindex to complete before i can load the next mpeg into staxrip. (I kinda like how MEgui queue system works on this front)

It would be nice to cue the mepgs ,and get staxrip to index/demux the files (Projectx&DGindex) ,give me the .d2v file,then jump on the next in the cue,meaning i can leave the 1st half of the process unattentended, leaving me to just open the indexed/demuxed files with the .d2v file,and create the jobs (2nd half) ,and im done.

Thanks.

vladlp

19th April 2006, 15:58

Hello Stax!
'Perform/Add Job' is supper!!!
probably you can also add:
Perform / Comp. check
and Project/Save without save dialogs, just like you made it for add jobs...

a lot of thanks

stax76

19th April 2006, 17:35

The command for adding forced subtitles is misspelled: "Perform/Add Foreced Subtitle"

Thanks

bug report:
open [Edit Menu] from [Tools]
add a new menu item (it is shown as "???") and select it
choose "command", a menu drop down

... then hit ALT+TAB to switch to another application, ALT+TAB again to come back to StaxRip, an error appairs

I've tryed with a "clean install" of latest hotfix

do you need I send you the file StaxRip created?

I can't reproduce it, please send the diagnostic files or just post the content of the files exception.txt. Which command did you choose?

I'm just noticing I'm using two different terms for the same thing, Command and Action which is confusing of cource, got to change this.

@Gehenna & vladlp

I'll work on it shortly.

stax76

19th April 2006, 21:53

My normal scenerio is converting my DVB stuff,if i have 3-5 mpegs to convert ,i have to wait for ProjectX&DGindex to complete before i can load the next mpeg into staxrip. (I kinda like how MEgui queue system works on this front)

It would be nice to cue the mepgs ,and get staxrip to index/demux the files (Projectx&DGindex) ,give me the .d2v file,then jump on the next in the cue,meaning i can leave the 1st half of the process unattentended, leaving me to just open the indexed/demuxed files with the .d2v file,and create the jobs (2nd half) ,and im done.

StaxRip don't has supports for this, it would be possible to write a script for these apps, the command lines can be found in the options under preparation. It's however easier to do this with StaxRip as it has a CLI as well.

When you open a file in StaxRip a couple of tasks start automatically which includes demuxing and indexing. When you open a file via CLI it's exactly the same so your command line would look like:

StaxRip <source file>

Since you want to batch process more than just one file this command line has to be executed for every file. This should be done with script as a batch file can't cope with a percent sign used for macros and not everybody likes console windows (for reasons like people fear what they don't know or simply can't remember all the switches (both applies to me :D).

The script would wait for StaxRip to terminate until it starts StaxRip again so we need to exit StaxRip:

StaxRip <source file> -exit

Exit would however show a dialog asking if the modified project should be saved so we need to save the project before we exit:

StaxRip <source file> -Project/SavePath:%source_dir%%source_name%.rip -exit

The command line is now complete. The script looks like this:

Set s = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

For Each i In WScript.Arguments
cmdl = """D:\Projekte\StaxRip\bin\StaxRip.exe"" """ & i & """ -Project/SavePath:%source_dir%%source_name%.rip -exit"
s.Run cmdl, 1, true
Next

You just need to edit the path of StaxRip and save it with .vbs extension. You can pass your source files as arguments for example you drag files on the script or you save the script or a link to the script in your 'Sent To' directory, select your source files in the explorer and send them to the script.

The '-Project/SavePath' switch used in the command line is new and only available in this hotfix (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip).

'Perform/Add Job' is supper!!!
probably you can also add:
Perform / Comp. check
and Project/Save without save dialogs, just like you made it for add jobs...

No problem, adding a command is as simple as putting some attributes around a method and it's parameters. The commands are:

Project/Save Path
Perform/Start Compressibility Check

Since switches are processed sequentially the command 'Perform/Copy To Clipboard' with macros as arguments should be useful for you.

Download it here here (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/StaxRip_Hotfix.zip).

Warrex

20th April 2006, 02:27

Set s = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

For Each i In WScript.Arguments
cmdl = """D:\Projekte\StaxRip\bin\StaxRip.exe"" """ & i & """ -Project/SavePath:%source_dir%%source_name%.rip -exit"
s.Run cmdl, 1, true
Next

@Stax

This script rocks! To bad the sources do not get added to StaxRips joblist using the settings of the default template. ;) Is this variation possible? Can you help? I am not really familiar with the windows script language. :o

All this is SO valuable batch functionality! Not just for hardcore users but also for the average guy (believe me). My fear is however that if the average guy does not read this thread he will probably never make use of the added features as they are (in comparison to other programms) hard to find and (rather) hard to use.

E.g. a user who is looking for a new encoding app (maybe because Gordian Knot is outdated) will probably give serveral programms a try (I did a while back). If advanced batch functionality is important to him he will probably discard StaxRip quite soon as its now mighty possibilities are just not that apparent. Warning! Here are some thoughts about this topic: :devil:

If I was new to StaxRip and if I would not have read this thread...

...I would not assume at first that the new "Remind to..." options have sth. to do with batch processing or are at least most useful in this respect. The changelog also does not give a clue why some functions were originally included.

...I would be overwhelmed by StaxRips "Edit Menu" functions and would not know that "Perform/Add job" is such a powerful command. There seems to be no context help for the commands and even if there is/were I would expect adding jobs as a button already included in to GUI.

...I would not know about StaxRips cool CLI interface (actually I did not until now) as it is not mentioned on the "Introduction" page of the help and as there does not seem to be a link to the "Command Line Help" page which I now accessed through "Staxrip.exe -?".

Personally I am happy with StaxRip now as I just know how stuff can be done - other people might not be that happy with it. I know that a I already asked about a more streamlined interface but I really think that many cool things about StaxRip will be lost to the public if it does not get one. Basically it is now possible to override the assistant and to add jobs directly. This could already be some sort of "Advanced Batch Mode" vs. "Assistant Mode" which should be quite easy to integrate as one can also change all the options manually if he knows what to do. In the long run also things like the functionality of the script above could be included in some form.

Btw: I think it would be good to leave the changelog as it is but adding some text which describes what the main goals for the release were might be useful to many users (e.g. These changes were mainly made to allow advanced batch functionality... You can now...). The DivX guys also do it this way for example.

Gehenna

20th April 2006, 09:08

Hi Stax,

Your script works great.

I have added the VBS script to my `send to`,and now its all so simple to demux/index a number of files without any user intervention.

Thanks.

stax76

20th April 2006, 18:01

This script rocks! To bad the sources do not get added to StaxRips joblist using the settings of the default template. Is this variation possible? Can you help? I am not really familiar with the windows script language.

You have to remove the command for saving the project since adding a jobs saves anyway, then you have to add the command that adds a job.

IIRC it should look like:

Set s = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

For Each i In WScript.Arguments
cmdl = """D:\Projekte\StaxRip\bin\StaxRip.exe"" """ & i & """ -Perform/AddJob -exit"
s.Run cmdl, 1, true
Next

All this is SO valuable batch functionality! Not just for hardcore users but also for the average guy (believe me). My fear is however that if the average guy does not read this thread he will probably never make use of the added features as they are (in comparison to other programms) hard to find and (rather) hard to use.

I've just improved the help, a batch dialog seem to be a good idea.

E.g. a user who is looking for a new encoding app (maybe because Gordian Knot is outdated) will probably give serveral programms a try (I did a while back). If advanced batch functionality is important to him he will probably discard StaxRip quite soon as its now mighty possibilities are just not that apparent. Warning! Here are some thoughts about this topic:

So far there is no batch dialog but are there applications that do much better?

...I would not assume at first that the new "Remind to..." options have sth. to do with batch processing or are at least most useful in this respect. The changelog also does not give a clue why some functions were originally included.

These options are however clear, the changelog is indeed not very helpful, well, wait for future changelogs, they'll be much better!

...I would be overwhelmed by StaxRips "Edit Menu" functions and would not know that "Perform/Add job" is such a powerful command. There seems to be no context help for the commands and even if there is/were I would expect adding jobs as a button already included in to GUI.

There will be a command topic in the help. The menu editor has no context help because a dropdown is used. Since there are now many commands the dropdown is not ideal, the command names are already grouped as that required no difficult changes. Ideal would be a context menu and that allows tooltips. The commands are however in the help of the menu editor.

...I would not know about StaxRips cool CLI interface (actually I did not until now) as it is not mentioned on the "Introduction" page of the help and as there does not seem to be a link to the "Command Line Help" page which I now accessed through "Staxrip.exe -?".

I've just improved the feature list added the command line feature and it's now also in the new 'Commands' topic.

Although I don't like big posts as they are not easy to chew this post helped much, thanks!