ProjectX->Avisynth->Mencoder & Xvid problem

[mimwdv]

I hope someone here can help me - or point me in the right direction. I've searched both here and elsewhere online, but can't find the answer - possibly because I don't know what step of my workflow is causing the problem!

I've had a script for some time now which processes my DVB recordings. After recording the .ts, I run it through ProjectX to demux and cut out ads etc.

Then a batch file searches the folder for mpv and mpa (or ac3) files, muxes them with mplex1.exe, and then xvids them with mencoder without any further interference from me. That works fine, but recently I thought I'd try using avisynth (creating a .d2v with ProjectX and using the batch file to create the .avs script) to serve the data straight to mencoder and save the muxing step - which will halve my processing time.

I vaguely remember doing something similar before and it worked fine, but this time, I got really weird colour conversion (Homer Simpson was cyan!), and my files have lost their audio altogether. :confused:

If I play the .avs files in media player classic, the colour and sound are ok, but have lost their anamorphic coding (not a big deal in itself). The fact that they're ok as .avs seems to point to mencoder as needing a changed setting - but I'm struggling to work out what.

Is what I'm trying to do possible? And if so, how can I get the colours right and the sound back? :thanks:

[Pookie]

I think it might work better if you run DGindex on the demuxed .MPV file (check the docs for the command line syntax).

Create appropriate AVS file. For me, I've made sure my resize dimensions are always multiples of 16 (seems to avoid strange colors)

Mencode

Mux Xvid file with original AC3, or convert AC3 to MP3 via Besweet and Mux

*BTW - Does Mplex1 mux HD Mpeg2 material ? What's the syntax ? TIA

[Zep]

recently I thought I'd try using avisynth (creating a .d2v with ProjectX and using the batch file to create the .avs script) to serve the data straight to mencoder and save the muxing step - which will halve my processing time.


Ahhh there is your problem. projectX makes .d2v that are not compatible
with DGindex. projectX makes the really old 1.0 version as well as a few flags
are not set right (well not what DGIndex expects anyway)

What you need to do is demux in ProjectX then run DGIndex on the m2v/mpv
i.e. do what Pookie said

then you can serve video and audio to mencoder since that is one way
I do it and it works just fine.

[mimwdv]

Thank you both for pointing me in the right direction. I'll play with it and see what I can produce - but I think there'll be lots of reading first to see what does what - I think I'm heading for yet another whole new level of complexity!

Pookie, I haven't really gotten into HD yet, but in my couple of small attempts, mplex1.exe muxes HD stuff just the same as anything else. The syntax is
mplex1.exe "mymovie.m2v" "mymovie.ac3"

As to size - I'm not changing it at all in my AVS - I'm doing it in mencoder. Are there advantages to doing it in the AVS?

EDIT: It works - after some juggling with the right DGIndex version and associated DLLs, I'm now compressing without muxing inbetween! Thankyou!

[mimwdv]

Well - I thought I had it fixed. My colours etc are fine, but I now have a problem with Avisynth and mencoder - when I feed the AVS to mencoder, it isn't picking up the audio. My AVS script seems ok - when I play it in mplayer I get audio, but when I play the avi produced by mencoder I get no audio. I've done a pretty thorough search here and elsewhere - any suggestions as to what I need to do or where I need to look for an answer? Thanks.

[Pookie]

I'd have mencoder only do the video, then do your audio conversion in Besweet/Lame and mux the avi in the end. I can post the Besweet and Lame Syntax if you'd like, or even better, why not keep the .ac3 intact and mux that to your AVI ?


BeSweet.exe -core( -input "D:\filename.ac3" -output "D:\filename.wav" -2ch -logfile "D:\filename.log" ) -azid( -s stereo -c normal ) -ota( -hybridgain ) -ssrc( --rate 48000 )

lame -b 224 --cbr --clipdetect -h --replaygain-accurate --scale -1.9 -m s D:\filename.wav D:\filename.mp3