MeGUI Feature Request Thread

[berrinam]

This thread is a place for people to request features for MeGUI, and this post will keep track of what has been requested. Together with the MeGUI Bug-Report Thread, this can serve as a TODO list for the developers.

Before posting
Please keep in mind that the developers contribute to MeGUI in their free time, and get no money out of doing so. There must be no expectation that what you request here will ever be implemented in MeGUI -- it is completely up to the discretion of the developers.

If you want to see something in MeGUI, then the easier you make it for the devs, the more likely it is to be implemented. Be descriptive about what you want, and explain why it would be useful.

Remember to check a build from the latest series (currently 0.2.3.2040 or later) to see if it is already implemented. Also check the list here to see whether it has already been suggested.

Requested features / todo list from builds 0.2.3.2040 or later
Features implemented in the last version have been removed from this list to save space. Always check a build from the newest series (currently 0.2.3.2040 or later) before asking for a feature, to see if it has already been implemented.
Orange means it is pending Doom9's approval
Red means it has been rejected
Blue means it has been accepted and no-one is working on it
Green means it has been completed
Allow the sure to set what priority the Source Detector runs in
Description: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=795178#post795178
Status: Completed in 0.2.3.1115

Rearrange the long dialogs -- AviSynth creator, Settings
Description: Make them tabbed (preferably with Basic/Advanced, or some other structure) to make them less overwhelming, and also so that they can fit on a lower-resolution screen.
Status: Completed in 0.2.3.1115.

Add more input filetypes
Description: Almost all files can be loaded into AviSynth via DirectShowSource. For completeness, it would be useful to allow this in the AviSynth Script Creator
Status: Completed in 0.2.3.2122

Add a 'clear log' functionality
Description: Be able to clear the log.
Status: Completed in 0.2.3.2122

Have a more comprehensive deletion of temporary files
Description: Only some temporary files are deleted (namely, the ones which are listed as output files of linked jobs). Richard Berg posted a list of what's missing here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=770292#post770292)
Status: Completed in 0.2.2125.

Be able to choose the sampling rate for audio
Description: See quake74's post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=764825#post764825)
Status : Nobody is working on it.

Make control over 2pass/1pass with crf x264 more versatile
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=795210#post795210
Status: Nobody is working on it

Commandline support for MeGUI
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=799747#post799747
Status: Nobody is working on it

Video cutting in the AviSynth creator for removal of ads, etc
Description: Since video and audio can be done through AviSynth cutting can be completely precise. Use should be done using the trim statement.
Status: No-one is working on this yet.

change audio codec choice back to two and put the encoder choice in the settings instead
Description: N/A
Status : No-one is working on it, on hold until audio has been redone

Mapping of audio streams for *.ts files
Description: In a transport stream, a PID identifies a stream (audio or video), just like you have substream IDs in a VOB. So, if you have your TS, you need to know which PIDs are used for your audio and video in order to select them. It gets even more interesting if you've been recording the data from an entire transponder.. then you have multiple TV channels that you need to differentiate in between.
Status : No-one is working on it.

Resolve clashes between hotkeys
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=770292#post770292
Status: No-one is working on it.

MeGUI shows BeSweet commandlines when processing an AviSynth audio encode
Description: N/A
Status: Nobody is working on it.

Add support for the -sbr or -sbrx tags in mp4box commandline
Description: Add a checkbox in MeGUI MP4 Muxer which says something like "AAC is SBR", so that the audio information is correctly stored in MP4.
Status : Nobody is working on it (what happened to godhead?)

Fix up cropping in AviSynth Script Creator, and enable ColorMatrix() by default on d2v sources, since it causes no harm
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=806400#post806400
Status: Nobody is working on it.

Automatic running of atomchanger
Description: See quake74's post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=764825#post764825)
Status : Coming...

Autoonlineupdate for all external Programs like in StaxRip
Description: The above description is pretty obvious. However, this feature requires a webspace containing information about the required versions and links to the download files. I'm not sure if the SourceForge Terms of Service allow this for Project Web (ie I'm not sure if the required webspace can be hosted by SourceForge). A (perhaps) useful link on doing this is here (http://www.devx.com/dotnet/Article/10045/0/page/3)
Status : Mutant_Fruit is working on it

Make more use of "Don't show me this again" in dialogs.
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=772750#post772750
Status: Easy to do now. Use the DialogManager class, and look at the other examples there.

Replace English language names with native language names
Description: N/A
Status : godhead is working on it

Add support for xvid_encraw
Description: almost complete (the missing parts concern bitrate calculation and container issues)
Status : Doom9 is working on it

Add support for xvid avc
Description: N/A
Status : Doom9 is working on it

Add support for Ogg Vorbis encoding
Description: It's the only good free low bitrate codec at the moment (FAAC isn't tuned and afaik generally worse than Vorbis and the Nero AAC codec isn't free. Itunes AAC codec is for free and quite good imho but not very well supported via cli.). The obvious drawback: You can only sanely use it in mkv.
Status : The audio part is currently frozen pending a redesign/move to AviSynth.

More than two audio/subtitle tracks
Description: See quake74's post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=764825#post764825)
Status : I have to take the 80/20 rule here.. 2 audio and 5 subtitle track should cover most needs. We could eventually talk about the muxer itself, but not the encoding part of the GUI.

Make the Status window a child of the main MeGUI window so there's only one item in the taskbar
Description: N/A
Status : Refused - request doesn't make sense from a design point. If it bothers many people the "show in taskbar" flag can be removed from the window.. there's no reason to introduce a window dependency. And there's always the possibility to hide the progress window, as well as to never have it show up when encoding starts in the first place.

Add integration of DVDDecrypter into MeGUI
Description: See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=772759#post772759
Status: This would not nearly come close to a comprehensive solution (megui supports tons of inputs) and it's better if users learn how to do this on their own. AutoGK is popular without this as well..

Some form of AviSynth script creation for audio, to allow the user control over advanced processing (and trimming)
Description: First we need to find out whether having audio processing in a video script slows down video encoding and vice versa. Then, we could either add audio input to the AviSynth Script Creator, or we could creat a separate script creator for audio. Although the current audio encoding system is able to add some audio processing, such as channel mixing, DRC and delay correction, it doesn't advanced processing, or trimming (which the video Avs creator also doesn't at the moment)
Status: Rejected by Doom9 -- it's less hassle to keep the scripts separated.

[kotrtim]

Track Type Info
201 video MPEG-4 Adv Simple@L5, 5625.620 secs, 538 kbps, 720x480 @ 23.9758
46 fps
101 audio MPEG-4 AAC LC, 5625.642 secs, 49 kbps, 24000 Hz
2 od Object Descriptors
1 scene BIFS

This is what mp4info.exe (mpeg4ip) show..... the audio is actually HE-AAC 49 kbps 48000 Hz with Parametric Stereo

My only request is to add a checkbox in MeGUI MP4 Muxer
something like "AAC is SBR" so that the audio information is correctly stored in MP4

[berrinam]

Added to the list.

[Doom9]

naturally, that flag should be automatically set in auto mode and one click mode ;)

[berrinam]

Of course.

[charleski]

Redo tri-state section
Description: redo the whole x264 tri-state section to have one big method that handles activation/deactivation for each GUI element. That method will be called by showCommandline. In addition, make it so that showCommandline is only triggered once the GUI is fully created and the entire settings have been loaded.
Status : No-one is working on it

This has been done a while ago


move shutdown checkbox from settings to queue tab
Description: Could perhaps the "shutdown when finished" tick box be moved out of the settings onto the queue tab. I keep forgetting to disable it again and will just be doing a simple mux, only for the computer to then shutdown!
Status : Sharktooth is working on it

Done. As an alternative, I added an 'Add Shutdown' button to the Queue tab which will add a Shutdown job. I also implemented a new class of job: SystemJob, which could possibly be used for other system-related tasks in future.

[Doom9]

what if you never get to that job? It's been a while for me so I'm not sure there's a scenario where we could end up with that, but I'm no fan of shutdown jobs.

And as far as hide/close goes.. it's basically a dialog window and dialog windows are not meant to close the main program. And MeGUI's example for the whole queue and progress report thing, VDub, doesn't do it either. Unless you're a programmer (we know we're only hiding it), X means close the window. Only if you press the X in the main window does it signify close the program.. and we do have a confirmation dialog there already.

[charleski]

what if you never get to that job? It's been a while for me so I'm not sure there's a scenario where we could end up with that, but I'm no fan of shutdown jobs.
The main reason I implemented it as a job was that the person who suggested the change noted that his real problem was that sometimes he wanted the program to shutdown after encoding, and sometimes he didn't. Doing it this way means there's a prominent SHUTDOWN label sitting at the end of the job queue, which makes it clear what's happening, rather than a checkbox setting which can be missed. I thought this was a better way of doing things for such an important system event.

[Doom9]

well.. I just found the problem case: You're setting up multiple movies for encoding in one click mode. So you end up having a bunch of one click jobs, then you add the shutdown job, and then you start. After indexing, MeGUI will write the jobs at the end of the queue.. then all other movies will be indexed, and then the system will shut down.. without encoding ever having been done. Previously, all movies would be encoded and only then would the system shut down. I agree that the way the one click mode adds jobs isn't ideal, but changing that touches the very core of MeGUI.. it's not something you can just whip up in a few hours and then never have to worry about it anymore.. if that's ever to be changed, whoever does it needs to know all the internal working of MeGUI quite well.. so I guess I would be the most obvious choice but I have other priorities. With that in mind, I strongly suggest just moving the checkbox to the queue, and having an option in the one click window that will set that checkbox (since it could be that you'll start encoding right away without having to go to the queue and manually start the queue). Doing it that way also means you never have to actually go to th e queue tab (we could add another one to the auto encoder form to set the flag as well).. all the more practical and it does what you want in all cases. The request came because it's admittedly cumbersome to go to the settings.. but if you have it where you start the jobs, that's even more convenient than having it in the queue tab.

[charleski]

well.. I just found the problem case: You're setting up multiple movies for encoding in one click mode. So you end up having a bunch of one click jobs, then you add the shutdown job, and then you start. After indexing, MeGUI will write the jobs at the end of the queue.. then all other movies will be indexed, and then the system will shut down.. without encoding ever having been done. Previously, all movies would be encoded and only then would the system shut down.
Hmm, yeah, looking at the DGIndexPostProcessing code I see what you mean, it would require a fair amount of special case control.
We can change it back to a checkbox causing it to shutdown on idle, but my main problem is a usability one.
Checkboxes and other generic settings GUI elements are 'fire-and-forget' - you set the program up the way you want it, then you use it from day to day with having to bother to check them. It's not the best GUI element to use for something you might use on one occasion but not another, especially when it controls a system-critical event like a shutdown (if that's something you always want it's fine, however). Poor GUI design like this has tripped me up on other programs and I was trying to avoid it. It's possible to add an element that will make the current behaviour highly visible though.

[berrinam]

Maybe it would be better to continue this discussion on the dev thread, so that each of the threads are kept to the purpose they are intended for.

[Romario]

Feature request: new and better Adaptive quantization patch

Also, SSE2 and SSE3 heavy optimization will be very nice.

[jmk]

as far as i understand it, optimizations should be done in the x264 code. its probably most effective there. i don't know if any optimizations in megui would really result in faster encoding. but, i might be wrong of course :)

jmk

[Richard Berg]

Proposal: add a checkbox next to Video's Queue to render out slow/complex AVS scripts before encoding. This would require:
- a new job type that wraps avs2avi
- writing out another AVS file [ AviSource("avs2avi-output.avi") ]
- passing that AVS file to the regular videoencoder logic
- linking the avs2avi job to the job(s) generated by the videoencoder


Proposal: ability to retry an aborted job. This is particularly needed with Mux jobs, because when you click Load, your only choice is to Update the aborted job; no way to Queue another one.

[Sharktooth]

as far as i understand it, optimizations should be done in the x264 code. its probably most effective there. i don't know if any optimizations in megui would really result in faster encoding. but, i might be wrong of course :)

jmk
right. and even adaptive quant belongs to x264.

[berrinam]

Proposal: add a checkbox next to Video's Queue to render out slow/complex AVS scripts before encoding. This would require:
- a new job type that wraps avs2avi
- writing out another AVS file [ AviSource("avs2avi-output.avi") ]
- passing that AVS file to the regular videoencoder logic
- linking the avs2avi job to the job(s) generated by the videoencoder
This sort of thing has been requested before, using mencoder's ffvhuff (lossless) encoding. I'm not familiar with avs2avi. Does this simply output uncompressed avis, or what does it do?

Proposal: ability to retry an aborted job. This is particularly needed with Mux jobs, because when you click Load, your only choice is to Update the aborted job; no way to Queue another one.
From what you are saying, I think what you want can be accomplished by double-clicking on the job. This will cycle through the various possible statuses, going from aborted, to postponed or waiting (when it's on waiting, you can run it again)

[Richard Berg]

This sort of thing has been requested before, using mencoder's ffvhuff (lossless) encoding. I'm not familiar with avs2avi. Does this simply output uncompressed avis, or what does it do?
That's about right. http://www.avs2avi.org

I use ffdshow's vfw encoder to output huffyuy2 or huffyv12 as appropriate. Maybe mencoder would be easier.

From what you are saying, I think what you want can be accomplished by double-clicking on the job. This will cycle through the various possible statuses, going from aborted, to postponed or waiting (when it's on waiting, you can run it again)
Aha! Thanks. This feature should be more discoverable -- a context menu, perhaps?

[berrinam]

@Richard Berg: I've added this pre-rendering to the todo list. Could you look at what I've said and see if it's correct?

[Richard Berg]

Looks great, thanks. I'll try to tackle some of the easier to-dos this weekend in order to familiarize myself with the new MeGUI code (seems pretty different from last I looked, ~4 months ago).

[willie1]

Request: Add a "just mux" feature for the audio similar to what Gordian Knot does. This would be useful for making multiple test clips for changing codec settings but using the same audio for all, or if the audio was created previously in another app. This is minor, but could save some hassle.

[Doom9]

Add a "just mux" feature for the audio similar to what Gordian Knot does.That already exists.. auto mode is your friend.

[willie1]

Thanx. I wasn't aware.

[The Link]

1. I would suggest a send to tray button so you can visually hide MeGUI while it's doing its job.
2. Furthermore I would suggest to make the Status window a child of the main MeGUI window so there's only one item in the taskbar (but that's probably a matter of preference).
3. Something I'd like to see is Ogg Vorbis support as it's the only good free low bitrate codec at the moment (FAAC isn't tuned and afaik generally worse than Vorbis and the Nero AAC codec isn't free. Itunes AAC codec is for free and quite good imho but not very well supported via cli.). The obvious drawback: You can only sanely use it in mkv.

Just some suggestions from my side. I hope I didn't miss some already existing features which would already cover my feature requests. :)

edit: grammar

[bob0r]

Load Defaults button (not only the button but the function too :p)

Just a simple load defaults button with a pop-up asking you yes/no, because sometimes people click the wrong button and all previous set options will be gone.

[Teegedeck]

errr... Exporting it to a Mono project? :)

[Sharktooth]

it requires some adjustments for the *nix platform.

[Teegedeck]

Yes, and I have no idea how it would be possible for a Mono-application to open AviSynth-scripts via Wine. Just regard it as a desperate cry for a decent encoding GUI on Linux. And I mean 'decent'.

Perhaps it will happen just in time for AviSynth 3...

[berrinam]

@bob0r: Defaults across the entire GUI? What you want has the same effect as removing the settings.xml file?

[The Link]

I'd like "reload defaults" buttons in every codec settings preferences or alternatively for every codec/encoder a default preset which is not deletable.

edit: making more sense

[Doom9]

AviSynth isn't the only problem for making this run on Linux.. there's also a dgdecode dependency in the avisynth script creator. And Linux has no proper multimedia API that's available on a kernel level (so it would be in every distro), has it?
Basically if you need both the AviFile API and DGDecode, and there are other things. For instance environment variables (number of CPUs, path), a Linux BeSweet, etc.

I'd like "reload defaults" buttons in every codec settings preferences.That sounds reasonable and is easy to implement in just a few lines of code.

[jmk]

move the profile selection drop down list in the config dialog window to the bottom of that window, so that it will be visible and accessible in all tabs.

[Sharktooth]

@bob0r: Defaults across the entire GUI? What you want has the same effect as removing the settings.xml file?
codec defaults. same thing The Link proposed.

[Richard Berg]

I've implemented one of the simple requests:
- progress window now has a Hide button
- View -> Progress menu item is now a toggle

Modified files are attached. You'll need to diff against the CVS copies as of about 2 days ago (sorry, I didn't save a copy, and I only have anonymous CVS access).

[Doom9]

- View -> Progress menu item is now a toggleCan you elaborate on that? We already have an option in the settings that allows you to configure if the progress window automatically comes up when a job is being started (except for an index job, there it makes little sense to have a progress window since dgindex doesn't return any progress reports), and the view - progress menu is context sensitive, so the actual menu option is only active when there's no progress window on screen.

[Richard Berg]

The View -> Progress menu item now has 3 states:
- disabled
- enabled but not checked (progress window hidden).
- enabled and checked (progress window shown)

Clicking it toggles back & forth between the latter states. Test the code, it's very simple.

[quake74]

Multiple (more than 2) audio/sub tracks is my first complain with pretty much every gui out there (excluding the old dvd2ogm and dvd::rip). I would often like to rip the original soundtrack, the comments, the track in english or my native language, and maybe french since I'm trying to study it. From what I understand, it's mainly a gui problem since I can include as many tracks I want in mp4 or mkv, right?

For the psp it would be useful to be able to choose the sampling rate for the audio (psp only supports 48000Hz). Automatic running of atomchanger would be very useful as well ;)

[Doom9]

From what I understand, it's mainly a gui problem since I can include as many tracks I want in mp4 or mkv, right?Yes but I dare presume 2 tracks is sufficient for most people. After all, you are likely to only watch the movie with the commentary track once, so that can be done off the DVD, and that leaves two tracks for you ;) Even though I speak 4 languages fluently, I'd never consider keeping more than two tracks in a backup (which after all is just that.. the original DVD is stored away safely and still in my posession). Generally when taking something on the road, a single track will even suffice.

[berrinam]

I've updated the list of all feature requests on the first post. If I have missed anything, or you feel I haven't done your request justice, please tell me.

[Raithmir]

Time stamping in the logs for the start and end of each job please :)

[Doom9]

Time stamping in the logs for the start and end of each job pleaseYou already have that in the queue, a precise time down to the second. Why would you need anything else?

[Raithmir]

You already have that in the queue, a precise time down to the second. Why would you need anything else?

Because I've sometimes cleared the queue and then gone back to the logs at a later date. It's logged in the queue tab, but would be useful in the logs too (besweet logs start/end times, so why not MeGUI?)

[Raithmir]

oh and while I've been testing the AVISynth creator functions... is there any real reason why we couldn't have a tick box for resize (like there is for crop).

Most of the time I just want to crop away black borders but keep original resolution.

[berrinam]

@Raithmir: Sometimes I've wanted the same thing. However, you can get around this by creating a new avs profile and in the script template, remove the <resize> line. This way, the resizing will never get added to the script.

[Raithmir]

@Raithmir: Sometimes I've wanted the same thing. However, you can get around this by creating a new avs profile and in the script template, remove the <resize> line. This way, the resizing will never get added to the script.

Thats a good idea. To be honest I've not played around with the profile settings yet. It's no real hardship to just add a "#" before the resize line also ;)

[Caroliano]

Drag'n Drop suport at least for input avisynth script in the main window. Would be very handy, and save a bit of time.

:thanks:

[Doom9]

Drag'n Drop suport at least for input avisynth script in the main window. If it supports video, wouldn't audio be the next in line? How would you propose we handle audio (in terms of which selection to be made in the codec dropdown)?

BTW, just so that we are on the same page, I think it's a good idea, it just needs to be thought all the way through before being put up in the todo list..

[berrinam]

If it supports video, wouldn't audio be the next in line? How would you propose we handle audio (in terms of which selection to be made in the codec dropdown)?Why would MeGUI need to vary the codec selection according to what input is dropped on MeGUI? Wouldn't a Drag'n Drop receiver simply check if the input is valid, then set it as the audio or video input and then do whatever cleaning up is needed?

[Doom9]

hmm.. I guess I was still thinking of the old audio functionality where you could either plug in audio to be encoded or just to be muxed in the main window.

[lexor]

I don't know if this is a big "feature request" but can we add 1/2 dvd to the Storage Medium present in bitrate calc? Useful for 1080p (deinterlaced from 1080i) encodes of significant running length.

[Morte66]

A feature request: Add support for single pass quality based encoding to the AutoEncode feature. At the moment the user has to separately kick off video encode, audio encode and mux to encode this way.

Justification:
(a) I get roughly twice the overall encoding speed this way
(b) workflow is smoother with AutoEncode, and a fallible user is less likely to make an error setting up a batch (e.g. try to mux episode 11 sound with episode 12 video)

[Doom9]

Add support for single pass quality based encoding to the AutoEncode feature.Isn't that already possible? I thought one of the changes done in recent weeks allows for crf or CQ encoding in the automated modes.

[Doom9]

The View -> Progress menu item now has 3 states:
- disabled
- enabled but not checked (progress window hidden).
- enabled and checked (progress window shown)That sounds reasonable.. but I don't like the hide button in the progress window.. I strongly believe it must not have such a button as it's highly redundant with the availability of both the X button and now the view menu as well (if your patch on the main form is applied without the change to the progress window form)

[Doom9]

For the psp it would be useful to be able to choose the sampling rate for the audio (psp only supports 48000Hz). And why is that necessary again? DVDs use 48KHz, so does digital TV if I'm not mistaken.

[Morte66]

Isn't that already possible? I thought one of the changes done in recent weeks allows for crf or CQ encoding in the automated modes.

I can't get it to happen in v0.2.3.1027, downloaded 31 December, which I thought was latest build. I configure the encoder for Quality 26 using the Codec "Config" button on the "Input" tab, and hit "AutoEncode", then up comes the usual "File Size"/"Bitrate" dialogue and it creates a 2 or 3 pass job according to the "Automated Encoding | Number of Passes" option in "Settings" (which can't be set to 1).

The download server http://files.x264.nl/Sharktooth/?dir=./megui/Binaries is down ATM, but I'll check again once it's working.

[Sharktooth]

the download server is not down but it is now on SourceForge.
http://www.sf.net/projects/megui

[quake74]

And why is that necessary again? DVDs use 48KHz, so does digital TV if I'm not mistaken.

That is probably correct (I don't know about digital tv) but I did some tests with trailers and transcode some avis, and the audio over there is not 48Khz. (Until somebody manages to unlock full psp res, even the transcoded avis look good to me.)

[berrinam]

I can't get it to happen in v0.2.3.1027, downloaded 31 December, which I thought was latest build. I configure the encoder for Quality 26 using the Codec "Config" button on the "Input" tab, and hit "AutoEncode", then up comes the usual "File Size"/"Bitrate" dialogue and it creates a 2 or 3 pass job according to the "Automated Encoding | Number of Passes" option in "Settings" (which can't be set to 1).

The download server http://files.x264.nl/Sharktooth/?dir=./megui/Binaries is down ATM, but I'll check again once it's working.
Support for this was added in 0.2.3.1030. Select Quality 26 in the codec config, and then press autoencode, and press No Target Size (use profile setting). Voila!

[Richard Berg]

That sounds reasonable.. but I don't like the hide button in the progress window.. I strongly believe it must not have such a button as it's highly redundant with the availability of both the X button and now the view menu as well (if your patch on the main form is applied without the change to the progress window form)
That's fine. I originally only modified the main form, but added the button when I came back to this thread because I saw that's what the request asked for. You can just merge in the changes from Form1.cs and delete the other 2 files.

Note: with the toggle in the View menu but no Hide button, we are now exactly consistent with VDub.

Note 2: it's even more consistent if we make the X button on the main window minimize to tray instead of exiting. Although I feel this should be an option.

[Doom9]

Note 2: it's even more consistent if we make the X button on the main window minimize to tray instead of exiting. Although I feel this should be an option.As I said.. I don't like that one at all. I have it implemented at work for an app, but it's one that has no menu and is meant to always run in the tray 24/7. For a regular app, X should mean close. And we already catch the close event and ask people if they really want to do that in case we're still encoding.

[Richard Berg]

Agreed. I don't like it personally and never enable it in other apps that give me the option.

[Morte66]

the download server is not down but it is now on SourceForge.
http://www.sf.net/projects/megui

OK, thanks. FYI the "Download Latest Build" link at the top of this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=96032) points to the old location.

[Morte66]

Support for this was added in 0.2.3.1030. Select Quality 26 in the codec config, and then press autoencode, and press No Target Size (use profile setting). Voila!

Cool. Thanks, and sorry for raising the false alarm.

[FFWD]

MeGUI doesn not seem to remember the custom size I enter. Every time I have to make a new DVD backup, the custom size defaults to 700MB.

[bob0r]

MeGUI doesn not seem to remember the custom size I enter. Every time I have to make a new DVD backup, the custom size defaults to 700MB.

MeGUI Bug-Report Thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=105160)

[FFWD]

MeGUI Bug-Report Thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=105160)I don't know if MeGUI is supposed to remember a custom size (say 480 MB) after closing the program.

If it's supposed to remember the custom size after closing, then it's a bug.

If it's not supposed to remember the custom size after closing, then it's a feature request.

[Doom9]

I don't know if MeGUI is supposed to remember a custom size (say 480 MB) after closing the program. It is not. And considering there are 3 places you can enter custom sizes (bitrate calculator, auto-mode window, one click encoder - all completely independent of each other) I cannot even place your feature request.

[bob0r]

Oh i thought it could be saved in a profile.... my bad

[Doom9]

Make a new compile.bat file for .NET 2.0Uh, what's wrong with the current one?

[berrinam]

The current one being the one from version 0.2.3.2008? Well, I posted that request before then, and then I (partially) solved it myself. However, that one requires a specific build to be installed, which works, but doesn't seem the right way to do it.

[Doom9]

well, I kinda liked the approach of making people set the proper path.. that way it works for any kind of version (obviously using the 1.1 framework it will no longer compile, but that's another issue). And I've always wondered about the setenv.bat.. I've never had any use for it. And it's not like there's going to be a new framework every two weeks.. the 1.1 service release didn't change anything in the path either.

[The Link]

Thank you for including "Minimize to tray"! :) It works fine but the way it's implemented is a bit "unorthodox" imho. What about just making "View-->Minimize to Tray" tickable: If it's ticked and you minimize the window it will be sent to tray and otherwise it will just minimize to the taskbar. I think it's a bit inconvenient to select an item in the menu and then the whole window disappears (though it of course does what it's supposed to).

[berrinam]

Do you think it is worth making the main form video input be able to open any supported file (eg vob, d2v, avs, etc), and then redirect this to the correct window/way of processing?

Secondly: Is it worth changing each of the filetype filters so that they also have an 'All supported files' filter (some of them do, some of them don't, and it's not consistent)? Perhaps also make this one selected by default, so when opening the file dialog, the user can see exactly what files he/she can open?

[Richard Berg]

Do you think it is worth making the main form video input be able to open any supported file (eg vob, d2v, avs, etc), and then redirect this to the correct window/way of processing?
Might be tricky, but if you can do it in a robust way it would be a nice feature. Note: if one of the cases you write handles AVI files (e.g. by creating a 1-line AVS script), then that solves the 2nd half of my feature request about rendering slow AVS scripts before encoding.

Secondly: Is it worth changing each of the filetype filters so that they also have an 'All supported files' filter (some of them do, some of them don't, and it's not consistent)? Perhaps also make this one selected by default, so when opening the file dialog, the user can see exactly what files he/she can open?
Definitely. I've been meaning to suggest this.

----
I'm working on a friendly context menu for changing the status of Queue entries, so please mark that request appropriately.

[berrinam]

Might be tricky, but if you can do it in a robust way it would be a nice feature. Note: if one of the cases you write handles AVI files (e.g. by creating a 1-line AVS script), then that solves the 2nd half of my feature request about rendering slow AVS scripts before encoding.Actually, that is done somewhat through the AviSynth Script Creator, but once again we see the problem with the GUI that I am trying to address through this: it has many features, and can do many things, but all of the different functions are in different places, and the names aren't always obvious, so unless you are very familiar with the program, you could perhaps never realise that it has what you want.


I'm working on a friendly context menu for changing the status of Queue entries, so please mark that request appropriately.Will that context menu also have delete job, load job, and up/down?
I've updated the list.

[Richard Berg]

Posted the patch in the main Dev thread. v1.0 of my menu looks like:

> Abort this job
> Load into MeGUI
> Change Status >>> Postponed
> Waiting


The menu items turn disabled and/or checked as appropriate. Multiselect is supported.

I don't think up/down is useful here...if you wanted to move something 3 slots down, for instance, it would take 6 clicks (each click in a different location) instead of 4 with the regular button. I considered adding Move To Top / Bottom but that seems like a very rare case, not worth clogging the menu.

[Doom9]

I completely agree with Richard on up/down.. it would be counterproductive to have this in the popup.. it would be extremely cumbersome to move a job up/down multiple positions without the up/down buttons.

[berrinam]

Yep, my bad.

[ToS_Maverick]

during my experiments with VFR I discovered that it would be useful, if one could just add a job in MeGUI, that just "plays" the avs files. DeDup for example needs an extra pass before you can render your video.

heres the link to the thread i started, which deals with this topic:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=105451

i read that you don't plan to support more than 2 audio-streams.
is there a possibility to support more than 2 streams at least for the bitrate calculator? currently i need to add 5 audio-streams for this project ;)
i don't use MeGUI for audio-processing, i only need the calc for the bitrate to be set.

if you don't plan to implement this request, could you give me the link of a bitratecalc that has this feature, if you know one?

[Richard Berg]

during my experiments with VFR I discovered that it would be useful, if one could just add a job in MeGUI, that just "plays" the avs files.
This is equivalent to the first part of my request. That is, when I make a job type that renders out AVS scripts, it'll solve your request trivially: just set the output to null (avs2avi -o n).

[AgentX]

First of all, MeGUI is really a great encoder GUI.
I was using GordianKnot for years, but right now MeGUI is light years ahead.

Nevertheless, there is some stuff that I'm missing and would make it even better.

General:

In video preview it should be possible to jump to a given frame-number.
Possibility to change Video Input/Output filename directly. Instead of having to open the browser. Useful when you just make tests with several bitrates and you want to add that number into the output filename.
Not sure if this was discussed before: Changing the video profile does change the previous bitrate. Well, when I was doing profile comparision tests, this was very annoying. In my opinion, the bitrate value should not be stored in the profiles.
Or another solution would be, to put an extra bitrate selection box in the main window with a checkbox for fixing it. So a change of the video profile wouldn't alter it.
Compressibility indication. Compressibility test, like in GordianKnot.


Bitrate calculator:

Should retain values entered. At the moment, everything is set to default values when you leave the dialog, so during tests I would have to enter my custom CD size, select previously coded audio files.
Should permit entering other files in calculation (like booklet pictures, media player, installers, well everything else I want to put on the disc).
This would also permit to include more that two audio streams in the calculations, just prepare them and add the files here (not completly correct as the frame overhead isn't included, but should work fine).


AviSynth script generator:

Aspect Ratio error indication in Resolution Crop. So you can see if it would be better to cut of another row or column or if even another resolution would fit better. Have a look at GordianKnots Resolution-Crop settings to see what I mean.
Width- and Height-Zoom indication. So you can actually see if you oversize the output video compared to the input. Like in GK.

[berrinam]

In video preview it should be possible to jump to a given frame-number.

I like it. Added to the list (all of these are pending Doom9's approval, of course).
Possibility to change Video Input/Output filename directly. Instead of having to open the browser. Useful when you just make tests with several bitrates and you want to add that number into the output filename.Perhaps with the output, but it isn't such a good idea with input. The idea with making it readonly is so that users can't go around stuffing things up. I imagine doing what you said wouldn't be so bad with output, but I think it is certainly better to keep input readonly. Another alternative that just came to me is to put the choice in the settings
Not sure if this was discussed before: Changing the video profile does change the previous bitrate. Well, when I was doing profile comparision tests, this was very annoying. In my opinion, the bitrate value should not be stored in the profiles.Yes, this was discussed before, I'm not sure what the conclusion was.
Compressibility indication. Compressibility test, like in GordianKnot.Quite a few experts say that this is not in fact a good indication of the compressibility of the entire film.
Should retain values entered. At the moment, everything is set to default values when you leave the dialog, so during tests I would have to enter my custom CD size, select previously coded audio files.Mmmm.... I don't use the bitrate calculator much, so I don't have strong opinions either way. I'll add it to the list.
Should permit entering other files in calculation (like booklet pictures, media player, installers, well everything else I want to put on the disc).Just like GK. Once again, I'm not sure, but I'll put it on the list.

Aspect Ratio error indication in Resolution Crop. [COLOR="DimGray"]So you can see if it would be better to cut of another row or column or if even another resolution would fit better. Have a look at GordianKnots Resolution-Crop settings to see what I mean.It's really quite pointless as the aspect error is very hard to notice, so it's best just to crop all the lines off and be done with it.
Width- and Height-Zoom indication. [COLOR="DimGray"]So you can actually see if you oversize the output video compared to the input. Like in GK.Perhaps. It could be useful. I'll add it to the list.

[Doom9]

In video preview it should be possible to jump to a given frame-number.Why? I see no particular use of that, except for a codec comparison.
Possibility to change Video Input/Output filename directlyThat was possible earlier on, but it has a huge drawback.. you can put nonsense in there and I (or another programmer) explicitly has to check for this each time.. not really what we like to do. Your scenario doesn't fit the 80/20 scenario. I rather liked the ability as well, but it allowed for too many screwups so in the end I changed it to what it is.. and the standard in setting a filename is using a dialogue, not allowing somebody to type in something.. that's something for the users in the 20 percentile I'm not specifically aiming for.
Changing the video profile does change the previous bitrate. Well, when I was doing profile comparision tests, this was very annoying. In my opinion, the bitrate value should not be stored in the profiles.So you basically have everything available from the main menu, but still have to go to the codec configuration to set the bitrate.. next thing you'll be asking for a bitrate field in the main menu.. that that is impractical. Oh wait.. you already suggested that as well. No way to the second, and I just put the bitrate in the profile name so I knew what I was getting. There are a few rather glaring problems with having the bitrate away from the codec.. it starts with the fact that many modes in many codecs don't need a bitrate but something else.. so you have interdependence between codec settings all of a sudden.. not a good thing really. And so if you set the encoding mode to crf for instance, people will open "bugreports" claiming they can't enter their 587 kbit/s bitrate.. instead they just set the encoding mode wrong.

Compressibility indication. Compressability tests are considered by many to be completely useless, and they get even more so with x264...

Should retain values entered.Easy, expect when you're the one coding it.. you do not want to touch the bitrate calculator.. every step you make you risk breaking one thing that tears down another 10 with it.

Should permit entering other files in calculation That's why you can change the target size manually ;)

Width- and Height-Zoom indication.Uh, since when it that possible? I know setting the maximum size as being the source size.. you shouldn't be able to set a resolution higher than that.

[berrinam]

Uh, since when it that possible? I know setting the maximum size as being the source size.. you shouldn't be able to set a resolution higher than that.Except that it doesn't take into account cropping, which can be quite signifiicant.

[berrinam]

Ok, since Doom9 doesn't seem keen on these things I was going to add to the list, there's no point in doing it now.

[Doom9]

the only possibility for custom values in the bitrate dropdowns I see would be allow adding them in the settings, store them in an array, and append them to the respective dropdowns and make sure the class that gets the sizes from the selectedindex is aware of them.. it requires changes in quite a few places, but I guess that would be a sensible solution.

[Richard Berg]

I want to be able to type the output filename directly in the main form. Using the dialog doesn't gain you any safety -- you're already typing a filename that doesn't exist.

The input filename should stay as-is (modulo the changes we discussed earlier about making the default be "all supported filetypes").

So you basically have everything available from the main menu, but still have to go to the codec configuration to set the bitrate.. next thing you'll be asking for a bitrate field in the main menu.. that that is impractical. Oh wait.. you already suggested that as well. No way to the second, and I just put the bitrate in the profile name so I knew what I was getting. There are a few rather glaring problems with having the bitrate away from the codec.. it starts with the fact that many modes in many codecs don't need a bitrate but something else.. so you have interdependence between codec settings all of a sudden.. not a good thing really. And so if you set the encoding mode to crf for instance, people will open "bugreports" claiming they can't enter their 587 kbit/s bitrate.. instead they just set the encoding mode wrong.

I understood the request to be much simpler. No UI changes, no new controls. Just don't clobber what I've typed in the bitrate field when I switch profiles! (I find this annoying.) If we keep the current behavior, the workaround is to create several copies of each profile, each storing a commonly used bitrate along with all the other parameters. The problem is that you'd end up with a zillion profiles.

[Doom9]

you're already typing a filename that doesn't exist. No, I'm putting one I know I'm going to create.. it's under my control.. I trust my coding abilities a lot more than the user's ability not to screw up (keep in mind.. it used to be editable.. I know firsthand what it caused).

Just don't clobber what I've typed in the bitrate field when I switch profiles!Then what do you do with these scenarios (keep in mind, I will always be the one looking for the scenarios that break things and cause horrible crashes.. you can expect me to be rather unfavorable to anything that I can break): you start up the program and load a crf profile. What is going to be the value of the bitratequantizer value? the codec default is 700 in that field.. but that doesn't work for ya because you're in CRF mode. And perhaps for CRF or CQ you'd actually want to keep the quality/quantizer in the profile as opposed to the bitrate based ones.

[stax76]

Quite a few experts say that this is not in fact a good indication of the compressibility of the entire film.

I thought analizying 5 percent is accurate enough. There can be huge differences in compressibility so if you aiming for a certain file size I think it's a very good idea to do a comp check. For me aiming for a certain file size, multipass used to hit that and comp check as help altogether makes no sense at all but for some to me mysterious reasons the majority really want to hit a exact file size, I rather think more in terms of quality.

[Richard Berg]

No, I'm putting one I know I'm going to create.. it's under my control.. I trust my coding abilities a lot more than the user's ability not to screw up (keep in mind.. it used to be editable.. I know firsthand what it caused).

So run your validation whenever the user changes the field. Like you do in the bitrate calculator.

Then what do you do with these scenarios...
Fair enough. Now that I think about it, I tend to use the same 3-4 bitrates over & over, and I almost always use HQ-Slowest, so making separate profiles isn't a big deal.

[Doom9]

well.. if the prevalent scenario is 1 or 2 CDs, it's basically a either or decision and a decision that shouldn't be too hard if you've actually seen the movie. The problem with quality mode imho is that you never know what you're going to get.. and if you have to waste a gig on a DVD-R, that's going to hurt. And affordable higher capacity recordable disks are still a while off (and then of course you'll want to put HD content on them..)

[Doom9]

Like you do in the bitrate calculator.Can I turn any change ever to be made in that department in the future over to you? I found it the most hateful thing I've ever written.. there's validation and interdependence from here to Pluto.

There's another aspect about bitrates: you select a profile, then you enter the bitrate calculator.. you press apply, and the bitrate is set. Or, you use auto mode or one click, where the bitrate is automatically set. In the end, aren't most people that enter bitrates manually either a) missing the better modes so we need to do a better job teaching people (or I should get off my lazy bum and write a guide), or b) advanced users for whom it shouldn't be a problem going to that dialog?

[Richard Berg]

Can I turn any change ever to be made in that department in the future over to you? I found it the most hateful thing I've ever written.. there's validation and interdependence from here to Pluto.
I'll look at it sometime see if I can clean it up. Right now as a user it feels pretty robust, but the checks can be annoying (e.g. if bitrate is 1000 and you delete the '1' in the middle of your edit, it complains).

Meanwhile: if I write code that lets users type an output filename, and you can't break it, it'll be accepted -- deal? :)

[Doom9]

Right now as a user it feels pretty robust,Yeah, but it was a long road to get there. And there must be a calculation error in the AVI department somewhere when using AVI (at least with CBR audio).. the end result gets too large if you trust MeGUI. So one of the consts for AVI overhead needs a change.
Meanwhile: if I write code that lets users type an output filename, and you can't break it,How do you do that? The only way to really make sure is to force the control not to let the user depart unless the path is correct.. and that's kinda annoying for the user.. it will drive many crazy.

[Richard Berg]

How do you do that?
How about when they push Queue / AutoEncode?


Would it be ok to show the start/end dates in the queue? Now that the status correctly handles times >24hr, it would be nice to see this info in the queue as well. (Most of my encodes take several days...) It will add a lot of width to a form that already scrolls horizontally, so it should probably be an option.


File loading is inconsistent. If you load a video input, it overwrites the video output name. If you load an audio input, it doesn't. Which should it be? Let's pick one.

[charleski]

Just don't clobber what I've typed in the bitrate field when I switch profiles! (I find this annoying.) There's a way to do this without altering the behaviour of profiles that have bitrates included (which are desirable, I know I encode for a target bitrate rather than going for a specific size). Just alter the bitrate field in the profile to be nullable (one of the great new features in .NET 2.0 C#, heh) - that way you can create profiles with an inbuilt bitrate, or create one which in which the bitrate (or quality factor) is indeterminate and thus won't overwrite anything that's already present.

The problem is that work is keeping me quite busy right now, and I need to head out tomorrow for the next 2 weeks, during which my internet access will be spotty. This is an easy fix to make using nullables and a minor augmentation of the profile serialiser, but I can handle it in a week or two if no-one else wants to.

[Richard Berg]

Working on the VS team, I'm very familiar with nullables :) Great idea, I'll include it in my next patch if Doom9 approves.

[AgentX]

Just one more thing for the AviSynth script generator.


Possibility to select Deinterlace filter without Source Type Analysis.
If I already know that I have a progressive source, why should I spend time on the analysis?

[berrinam]

If I already know that I have a progressive source, why should I spend time on the analysis?If you already know you have a progressive source, then you don't need deinterlacing anyway, which is easy because deinterlacing isn't checked by default.

I can think of two reasons that you would want to override MeGUI's decision in source detection:
1. You have prior knowledge as to the content type. This would seem to me to be the case if you are encoding lots of things which are from the same source, eg Star Trek, etc. In this case, what you should really do is generate an AviSynth profile which looks something like this:

<input>
your_custom_ivtc/deint_filters()
<crop>
<resize>
<denoise
This would then use your exact filter setup for all of the sources, and you have no need to analyse the source.

2. The other reason might be that you think MeGUI is getting the analysis wrong. In this case, you would be an expert in this field, and you wouldn't want to be using the deinterlacing presets. Instead, you would be editing the avs script yourself.

I was expecting someone to ask for this sort of thing when I set it up, and the issue comes down to this: source detection is designed to make various forms of decombing accessible to n00bs. Adding the possibility of overriding this decision partly defeats the purpose, makes it overly complex, and is bound to cause more problems. If you can come up with a good system for allowing for both advanced and not-so-advanced users, please tell me.

[Doom9]

Great idea, I'll include it in my next patch if Doom9 approves.When is it indeterminate then? When the textbox is empty? And what happens if the user exits with a profile that has an indeterminate bitrate? Then he starts again, we're loading the profile, and then? There's no bitrate set. If this is to be done, there must be a mechanism that ensures that if we have no clue about the bitrate / q factor, the default value must be written into that field so that encoding won't crash due to missing input.

How about when they push Queue / AutoEncode?That sounds reasonable.

BTW, my refactoring made some changes to yours.. we did basically the same thing, but I moved JobStatus out of the Job class. And I finally figured out how to use the enum <-> int mapping only when required (the priority is also an enum now that maps to the dropdownlists in the settings and progress window).

[AgentX]

If you already know you have a progressive source, then you don't need deinterlacing anyway, which is easy because deinterlacing isn't checked by default.

Of course, I wanted to say: "If you already know you have a deinterlaced source, ..." :o

In 0.2.3.2024 the Deinterlace is always checked, but there's just a blank deinterlace line in the script, so no problem.

In this case, what you should really do is generate an AviSynth profile which looks something like this:

Hm, this isn't such a bad idea, I think I'll use special profiles.
Normally, I use standalone DgIndex to create the .d2v file, so I already know from there if the source is progressive or interlaced.

[berrinam]

Of course, I wanted to say: "If you already know you have a deinterlaced source, ..." :o I think you mean interlaced, not deinterlaced. Deinterlaced = progressive.:p

Hm, this isn't such a bad idea, I think I'll use special profiles.That's exactly the sort of reason I added AviSynth profiles. It's a pity people need such coaxing to use them.
Normally, I use standalone DgIndex to create the .d2v file, so I already know from there if the source is progressive or interlaced.Yeah, if only it were so simple. Why should I even have implemented source detection? Unfortunately, DGIndex can only report what the MPEG source says, which is not always correct. Especially when dealing with DVB input.

[PlazzTT]

Will Sharktooth's x264 Full package be available soon? With the full version of MeGUI?

[AgentX]

I think you mean interlaced, not deinterlaced. Deinterlaced = progressive.:p
Sip, I shouldn't post here when I'm sleepy. I realized that I wrote nonsense too late, I had already went out. :stupid:

Yeah, if only it were so simple. Why should I even have implemented source detection? Unfortunately, DGIndex can only report what the MPEG source says, which is not always correct. Especially when dealing with DVB input.
Okay, I didn't know that DGIndex uses just the MPEG-2 packet information for detection. I thought it made some more inteligent stuff. Nevertheless, an interlaced source is normally visible. But just in case I will use your source detection then.

[Richard Berg]

Before messing with profiles, let me submit my current patch since it's already a big change.


Feature changes:
- queueContextMenu
- added Delete button
- fixed logic so buttons are disabled when no items selected
- changed order so most common items are toward the top
- added hotkeys
- audioOutput & videoOutput textboxes are now editable
- drag-n-drop is now disabled unless the Input tab is selected
- error messages related to audio & video job setup are now more helpful/detailed

Refactoring changes:
- new enum CodecType (works just like FileType)
- rewrote verifyVideoSettings & assorted helper methods, called it whenever queueing a video job
- ditto verifyAudioSettings


edit: arg, kills my spacing w/o {code}

[berrinam]

- drag-n-drop is now disabled unless the Input tab is selected

I don't see why

- rewrote verifyVideoSettings & assorted helper methods, made sure it's called whenever queueing a video job

This sounds like it might cause problems with my last change. Could you update it against the newest CVS (0.2.3.2028) when it comes out, to see, please?

EDIT: Changed files are here: http://rapidshare.de/files/11138201/MeGUI-src.CVS.zip.html

[Richard Berg]

I don't see why
Because it's confusing for the user. If you're on the other tabs and you drag a file, nothing appears to happen. The other alternative is to switch to the Input tab (the way I changed Load to do).

Could you update it against the newest CVS (0.2.3.2028) when it comes out, to see, please?
I'll try. The anonymous CVS server is down like 80% of the time...I have to get lucky...

[berrinam]

I've attached the changed files in my last post.

[Richard Berg]

I've updated the patch.

[Doom9]

@Richard: no objections to the feature description.. in fact when working on megui yesterday and looking at the context menu I started asking myself why there was no delete.
- new enum CodecType (works just like FileType)Just make sure you propagate this throughout the entire program.

[berrinam]

The other alternative is to switch to the Input tab (the way I changed Load to do).I think this approach is better, because otherwise we might get the problem of people saying that drag & drop doesn't work.

[Doom9]

Shouldn't the progress window disappear as well when you minimize the app to the tray?

[Richard Berg]

Just make sure you propagate this throughout the entire program.
Already done -- which is why the patch is so big.

I think this approach is better, because otherwise we might get the problem of people saying that drag & drop doesn't work.
I don't like this as much...to me when you drag an AVI onto the queue, MeGUI is correct to show the "can't drop here" cursor...but it's very easy to change. Add this.tabControl1.SelectedIndex = 0; to the end of MeGUI_DragDrop and remove && this.tabControl1.SelectedIndex == 0 from MeGUI_DragEnter.

Shouldn't the progress window disappear as well when you minimize the app to the tray?
I agree; haven't tested.

[FooFighter007]

Does a Control of the "Bits/(Pixel*Frame)" like in Gnot make sense with x264?
If so it might help to select the best fitting resolution for the current job.

Regards,

Foo

[foxyshadis]

Since we're in the process of automating multi-pass avisynth scripts now, can I drag up an old request of mine (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=102072)? I don't think modifying avisynth itself would be a good idea anymore, but maybe a plugin?

I don't know enough about the plugin architecture, having mostly coded a few simple ones as a learning experience, but would it be possible to create a plugin (call it pass, or secondpass, or something) that could be signalled by MeGUI that it's doing an encoder or plugin first pass, in which case everything could be kept in one script?

That could get messy with tivtc+dedup+2 avc passes, let alone my pathological 6-pass (mostly render steps), but it would help trying to sync several different scripts or constantly editing one between passes.

[Richard Berg]

There's no good way to get custom info from Avisynth into MeGUI. We could have MeGUI read the script (as text) directly, perhaps putting directives into comments the way you used to put scripts in HTML comments. Example:

Avisource("foo.avi")
Dust() ###MeGUI-swap-1st-pass ###Blur()
Resize(640,480)

Then MeGUI would rewrite the file to swap Blur()<->Dust() during the first pass.

I don't like that method very much. It's ugly, and more important, not very flexible. What if the part you want to change is >1 line? What if you're using clip variables instead of linear processing w/ implicit last?

Better, in my opinion, would be to put the logic into the script.

Avisource("foo.avi")
1pass = Call(BlankClip, "detect1pass.cmd", "-2")
1pass == 1 ? Dust() : Blur()
Resize(640,480)


Where 1pass.cmd looks something like

if not exist 1pass-semaphore (
echo foo>1pass-semaphore
exit /b 1
) else (
del /f 1pass-semaphore
exit /b 0
)

You could even echo out your own batch file using Call + NicEcho and keep everything in the AVS script. This all looks kinda hackish, granted...if it's too inflexible, I think you could make a legit argument that we should improve the ability to run shell commands in the AVS core.

[foxyshadis]

Sprinkling something like 1stpass == true ? ... around the script is what I was trying to get across. I'll try experimenting with the batch file idea, at least for now.

[Richard Berg]

Note: I have no idea if Nic's Call() plugin actually returns exit codes to the script environment. (If not, it should, but that's another thread...)

[berrinam]

Since we're in the process of automating multi-pass avisynth scripts now, can I drag up an old request of mine (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=102072)? I don't think modifying avisynth itself would be a good idea anymore, but maybe a plugin?

I don't know enough about the plugin architecture, having mostly coded a few simple ones as a learning experience, but would it be possible to create a plugin (call it pass, or secondpass, or something) that could be signalled by MeGUI that it's doing an encoder or plugin first pass, in which case everything could be kept in one script?

That could get messy with tivtc+dedup+2 avc passes, let alone my pathological 6-pass (mostly render steps), but it would help trying to sync several different scripts or constantly editing one between passes.
What is the point of all this?

If you are concerned about processing time, then (as someone said on the thread you linked to) the best option is to losslessly encode it first, then use that as a source. MeGUI now even automates this for you. (pre-render script, the option is called).

OTOH, if you want multiple passes like in tivtc or dedup, then you can't synchronise this with the encoder's two passes, because the first pass of tivtc and dedup needs to be done before it is input into the encoder, otherwise there is a framecount discrepancy between the passes. A better option is just to play the file through once, before encoding it. MeGUI also adds support for this in version 0.2.3.2030. This could even be set up for your 6-pass scripts, but it would be a bit cumbersome: select the first pass file, press queue analysis button, select the second pass file, press queue analysis button, etc.

I don't see why it is so important to keep the script in one file. What's wrong with multiple files?

[Doom9]

BTW, what's going to happen with the nullable bitrate field in the profiles?

[berrinam]

What about this for AviSynth script creation: rounding up autocropping to the nearest multiple of 16 when the 'retain anamorphic resolution...' checkbox is set, and remove all resizing in this situation. This would fulfill the intent of keeping the original resolution while not sacrificing compressibility.

[The Link]

Is it intended behaviour that MP3 isn't supposed to be muxed into mp4 in MeGUI though it is standards compliant afaik? Or do I miss something here?

[Doom9]

What about this for AviSynth script creation: rounding up autocropping to the nearest multiple of 16 when the 'retain anamorphic resolution...' checkbox is set, and remove all resizing in this situation. This would fulfill the intent of keeping the original resolution while not sacrificing compressibility.But in the worst case it means cropping 28 pixels on both the horizontal and vertical axis. Is a little resizing not preferable over that?

Is it intended behaviour Yes

[dimzon]

Yes

Why???

[berrinam]

But in the worst case it means cropping 28 pixels on both the horizontal and vertical axis. Is a little resizing not preferable over that?That's only with a naive rounding algorithm. It's only ever going to over-crop by 14 pixels in x and 14 in y. I agree, it's still a fair bit, but perhaps just the option of it.

I agree with you that a little resizing is probably preferable, but maybe not everyone has the same preferences.

[handtruck]

I've always wanted this feature in my encoder, but never bothered to ask...

I've been able to make a minor VB program on my own to do this, but it's very buggy. I want to make the second pass kbps a percentage of the kbps from the first pass (whether xvid, x264, etc).
I basically am looking for the best bang for my buck. Many people I see in these forums are in two camps: people who have to achieve a certain file size, and those who don't care about size. I want the best quality at the best file size. What I typically do is take the kbps generated by the first pass and make the second pass 50-70% of that. I am looking for a way to have that automatically generated for me.
In terms of programming (I am a low level intermediate in terms of ability), my main issue is running one pass, stopping to read the stats file (I wrote my own code for reading it, but I don't know how accurate it is) and calculating the kbps, and then starting a second pass. I try to make a .bat file with the mencoder commandline options, but can't figure out where in there to calculate from the stats file.
If this is something that can be done, that would be super.

Thanks!

[fogbav]

1.Autoonlineupdate for all external Programs like in StaxRip ... very handy ...

2. Autoencode every TS-File in a special Directory when recording is finished ... after that delete TS and get a lot of free space back ...8)

[berrinam]

I've always wanted this feature in my encoder, but never bothered to ask...

I've been able to make a minor VB program on my own to do this, but it's very buggy. I want to make the second pass kbps a percentage of the kbps from the first pass (whether xvid, x264, etc).
I basically am looking for the best bang for my buck. Many people I see in these forums are in two camps: people who have to achieve a certain file size, and those who don't care about size. I want the best quality at the best file size. What I typically do is take the kbps generated by the first pass and make the second pass 50-70% of that. I am looking for a way to have that automatically generated for me.
I really don't see the point of what you are asking for. For x264, anyway, what you seem to want is a way of making all your encodes with the same quality, yet have the increased efficiency that 2pass offers. In case you missed out on the hype, this is exactly what the --crf option offers: a constant rate factor, so it uses (almost) the same rate control algorithm as 2pass, but instead of a target bitrate, it uses a target quality, AND it does it in one pass. This seems really a better solution than what you are suggesting.

As to XviD, I don't know if there is such an option, but the question is simple enough: why use XviD when x264 exists?

In terms of programming (I am a low level intermediate in terms of ability), my main issue is running one pass, stopping to read the stats file (I wrote my own code for reading it, but I don't know how accurate it is) and calculating the kbps, and then starting a second pass. I try to make a .bat file with the mencoder commandline options, but can't figure out where in there to calculate from the stats file.
Why read the stats file? Why not just take the size of the output and divide it by the number of frames, and then adjust the units? Anyway, as I said, this exercise seems fruitless.

[berrinam]

1.Autoonlineupdate for all external Programs like in StaxRip ... very handy ...Hopefully that will come sometime. No promises, though.

2. Autoencode every TS-File in a special Directory when recording is finished ... after that delete TS and get a lot of free space back ...8)And how is MeGUI supposed to know when recording has finished?

[handtruck]

In case you missed out on the hype, this is exactly what the --crf option offers: a constant rate factor, so it uses (almost) the same rate control algorithm as 2pass, but instead of a target bitrate, it uses a target quality, AND it does it in one pass. This seems really a better solution than what you are suggesting.
I'll check that out.. Thanks. I did read many of the posts regarding crf and am going to try it out today.

As to XviD, I don't know if there is such an option, but the question is simple enough: why use XviD when x264 exists?
Hey, I'm slowly transitioning here! Also, I play a lot of my videos on standalone DVD player.

Why read the stats file? Why not just take the size of the output and divide it by the number of frames, and then adjust the units? Anyway, as I said, this exercise seems fruitless.
Well, when I do a first pass, there is no output (I could have used Full Quality First Pass in XVID-but didn't want to waste the time), so I had to read the stats file to get what it would have been, unless of course I'm missing something, which is very possible.

[berrinam]

Hey, I'm slowly transitioning here! Also, I play a lot of my videos on standalone DVD player.Well if you are putting your videos onto DVD, you don't have as much freedom in your filesize then, do you?:sly:

Well, when I do a first pass, there is no output (I could have used Full Quality First Pass in XVID-but didn't want to waste the time), so I had to read the stats file to get what it would have been, unless of course I'm missing something, which is very possible.Oh yeah, I forgot that no file is output. Anyway, for x264 (I'm ignoring XviD here, because I don't use it, and I don't know enough about it), it prints the final bitrate to the screen, so you could just halve that.

[foxyshadis]

handtruck, are you sure you don't want --crf (constant quality, not constant quant) encoding? Without a stats file the video won't quite be "optimal" but once you figure out what your preferred size/quality ratio is, the same crf value will always give you approximately the same ratio at nearly the same quality as a two-pass to the same size would.

Edit: blargh, too late.

Edit2: If you leave xvid's little vfw info window open while encoding (barely registers on cpu time), it'll show the bitrate as it goes, and the final bitrate at the end. (Along with the quant distribution if that interests you.)

[handtruck]

I just did a crf and it looks great.. Thanks to all.
I usually use the vfw window to determine the second pass for xvid, but I was looking for a way to do that without having to look at the screen (in a program)

[foxyshadis]

Sure, try one of the ways to get bitrate in this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=105791). I use the commandline mediainfo whenever I need to get it into a script.

[Richard Berg]

Small request I've been meaning to put forth: an option to delete all unrelated files when no longer needed. Partial list:
*.stats
*.besweet.log
*.d2v
hfyu_*.avi
hfyu_*.avs


The default hotkeys need work. For instance, you can't copy parts of the logfile to the clipboard with ctrl+c because it'll bring up the Chapter Creator! Whatever alternatives we choose, they need to be documented on the Tools menu.


@berrinam: when pre-rendering, why -forceidx -noodml? As far as I can tell the -forceidx option only exists because old versions of mencoder didn't support OpenDML (AVI 2.0) and thus needed their own index hack to break the 2GB barrier. OpenDML has always been Avisynth's default mode for large AVI files.

[berrinam]

@berrinam: when pre-rendering, why -forceidx -noodml? As far as I can tell the -forceidx option only exists because old versions of mencoder didn't support OpenDML (AVI 2.0) and thus needed their own index hack to break the 2GB barrier. OpenDML has always been Avisynth's default mode for large AVI files.
I have no idea, but from my tests with the most recent mencoder build by Celtic Druid, that is the only way that it worked for files > 2GB. If I didn't use that, the files would open in neither VDubMod nor AviSynth.

[Richard Berg]

ok :)

[ChronoCross]

Ability to have custom icons for the tray. I know this is a stupid thing but it gives it even more visual appeal.

[berrinam]

Ability to have custom icons for the tray. I know this is a stupid thing but it gives it even more visual appeal.
Perhaps.... wouldn't it be better if you design an icon and give it to us, and then we release that as the icon, so everyone has access to it? I said when I implemented the tray icon, that I'm only keeping that icon because I don't have a better one

[fogbav]

Quote:
2. Autoencode every TS-File in a special Directory when recording is finished ... after that delete TS and get a lot of free space back ...8)

>>And how is MeGUI supposed to know when recording has finished?

Recording is finished when filesize is not increasing anymore .... schould be simple to code ....

[Doom9]

they need to be documented on the Tools menu.They are if you look at the designer.. why on earth they don't show up is beyond me. Aren't all temporary files deleted when setting the appropriate option in the settings? But that's one part where MeGUI needs to be available of all jobtypes again (just thinking ahead to more refactoring).

Recording is finished when filesize is not increasing anymore .... schould be simple to code ....You must be lucky to only record what has no ads.. most people first have to cut out ads from material they record.. so automatic encoding once recording has completed makes little sense.. you end up with ads that you can't just cut out anymore.. the cutting would need to be done before further processing.

And there's more.. there's a part in the todo list about TS files.. if you look at it you'll suddenly realize why automatic TS processing won't work.. we don't know which PIDs to extract and process to begin with. It could be that your TS has multiple audio or in the worst case, contains multiple TV channels.

[Morte66]

I'd like to posit an extension of the "choose your input files and MeGUI does whatever is appropriate" idea. It might be a bit too ambitious, but it would make my dreams come true. :) It would be great if MeGUI could encompass the whole backup chain and do so with all the configuration at the start.

Say I back up four TV episodes from a DVD box set. In DVDShrink or Nero I'd use DVD43/DeCSS to decrypt on the fly and do all the stream selection and encoder configuration at the start -- usually doing it once to apply to all 4 titles -- then walk away after about 3 minutes. For x264/Xvid I kick off Robot4Rip four times to rip/DGIndex/VobSub/etc, then about 40-50 minutes later I set up four video/audio/mux jobs in MeGUI. I have to be around the PC for almost an hour.

I'm considering whether I could do the whole job in Robot4Rip, by creating a batch file in the "Finalize" stage to run the encoders and muxer. I'll need to learn a bit about command lines for that, and it'll be clunky. But it would be a hell of a lot slicker if MeGUI handled it -- it would put MeGUI into the same category as DVDShrink and Nero, rather than the "enthusiast" class. I figure would mean building the functionality of Robot4Rip into MeGUI, and extending the job control to handle DGindex/VobSub/SubRip etc, and making it queue jobs dependent on files that don't exist yet when they're set up. Plus you probably need some sort of grid-based user interface for the main screen, to set up all the jobs in parallel.

[Doom9]

t might be a bit too ambitious,I'd like all that too.. but I just see a mountain of problems in the way. It starts with that you need IFO parsing, then you need VOB decoding (with IFO parsing so you can select a title and the preview goes there), then ideally you need direct VOB -> whatnot encoding without any splitting.. and all that comes in between. It is a pleasant dream, and perhaps one day we'll get there, but it'll be in the far future. And then there's the thing that it only works for DVDs.. for digital TV captures the process changes quite a bit due to different input.

If you start describing what Robot4rip does, then try to do that with existing tools.. try to write it all down.. that's the first step.. and it'll show you how much work is actually involved.

[spinstate]

The "long" dialogs such as 'Settings' , 'Avisynth Script Creator' etc.. are cut off for screen resolutions below 1024x768 unfortunately. Would it be possible to make them scrollable if screen size is too low to show the whole dialog onscreen ?? :sly:

[bkman]

Here is a request: How about a splash/loading screen since MeGui takes so long to startup? No doubt .net is to blame for this, but a splash/loading screen would make it less "harsh".

[Doom9]

How about a splash/loading screen since MeGui takes so long to startup?The thing is.. every .NET app takes rather long to load when launched for the first time.. that's because it's being compiled at this point. The only way to achieve what you want would be having two applications.. the one with the splash screen, presumably launching a tad bit faster, and it would launch the program you're actually interested in. While it's possible to generate native assemblies, I have no idea if this applies to distributable executables as well.

[Richard Berg]

Whoever puts together releases can NGEN them before uploading. Shouldn't add much work.

[Doom9]

how exactly do you run it with regards to an app? ngen megui.exe seems to do... nothing.

[Richard Berg]

Probably worked then -- ngen /show to find out for sure.

(edit) note that in order to be useful, it has to be done at install time, not compile time.

[stax76]

The thing is.. every .NET app takes rather long to load when launched for the first time.. that's because it's being compiled at this point.

Compiling and assembly loading happens on the fly, I don't think it take long until the splash screen pops up.

Whoever puts together releases can NGEN them before uploading. Shouldn't add much work.

Didn't work miracles here and also has disadvantages though I'm really not well informed.

how exactly do you run it with regards to an app? ngen megui.exe seems to do... nothing.

It installs native images in the GAC, some assemblies like SWF are installed this way.

[Doom9]

It installs native images in the GAC, some assemblies like SWF are installed this way.But why would that do any good in this case? It even shouldn't work because there's no signing and you can only installed signed assemblies to the GAC.

[stax76]

But why would that do any good in this case? It even shouldn't work because there's no signing and you can only installed signed assemblies to the GAC.

Seems to work though I don't notice a speed difference, here is a Process Explorer screenshot: http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/1199/000000012vj.png

[godhead]

And how is MeGUI supposed to know when recording has finished?

Just a guess, but we could probably try to open the TS file with exclusive access and if it fails, that means the .TS is still being written by another application. Once you can open the file with exclusive lock, you know that particular .TS has been completed.

You could use a File System Watcher for this functionality.

*EDIT*: Didn't see your response regarding the PIDs, so nevermind :D

[ChronoCross]

Perhaps.... wouldn't it be better if you design an icon and give it to us, and then we release that as the icon, so everyone has access to it? I said when I implemented the tray icon, that I'm only keeping that icon because I don't have a better one

I'll see what I can do. I've never made a tray icon before but it shouldn't be hard. do you know what the recommended format is for icon implementation in C#?

[John Smith]

Probably I am mistaken to ask for this… Let’s say I want to reuse the stats file in a 2pass-2nd pass scenario, wouldn’t the dialog box say open a stats file instead of save? I know the VFW versions of Xvid and x264 do it like that (open instead of save)

Is there any reason why the stats file is presented as a log file in the configuration-general tab, when there’s already a wonderful page with the log?

Thank you for your hard work :)

[Doom9]

do you know what the recommended format is for icon implementation in C#?ICO will do just fine.

Let’s say I want to reuse the stats file in a 2pass-2nd pass scenario, wouldn’t the dialog box say open a stats file instead of save?It may be a save dialog, but in the end, the filename is just being read from it. And in the first pass or 2 out of 3 pass scenario, the file will be updated.. so it can be both.. so either having only a save or only an open dialog would be wrong.. you'd need to have both to be absolutely true to the meaning of a dialog... but since it doesn't matter.. using either works and neither approach is either right or wrong.

[Morte66]

{self-censored, there's another way to do it}

[asdfsauce]

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) calculation for the general tab in encoder configuration.

Thanks

[berrinam]

I'd like to posit an extension of the "choose your input files and MeGUI does whatever is appropriate" idea. It might be a bit too ambitious, but it would make my dreams come true. :) It would be great if MeGUI could encompass the whole backup chain and do so with all the configuration at the start.

Say I back up four TV episodes from a DVD box set. In DVDShrink or Nero I'd use DVD43/DeCSS to decrypt on the fly and do all the stream selection and encoder configuration at the start -- usually doing it once to apply to all 4 titles -- then walk away after about 3 minutes. For x264/Xvid I kick off Robot4Rip four times to rip/DGIndex/VobSub/etc, then about 40-50 minutes later I set up four video/audio/mux jobs in MeGUI. I have to be around the PC for almost an hour.
What you are talking about sounds most like the One Click Encoder. At the moment, MeGUI can't handle actual DVD sources, and there are difficulties like Doom9 mentioned, that make this sort of thing not a goal of the immediate future. However, your mode of operation seems sub-optimal. What you should really do is this:

1. Rip the DVD with DVDDecrypter, generating a chapter (OGG format) and stream information files.
2. Open the first VOB file with the One Click Encoder. Configure, and press go. (Alternatively, you could take the time beforehand to set up presets for the OneClick Window, so that you could keep your settings for all your encodes).

This means you only need to be at your computer for the duration of the ripping itself.

[berrinam]

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) calculation for the general tab in encoder configuration.

Not likely to happen. The general consensus round here is that the calculation you are talking about is pointless. Compressibility varies so much with your sources that you shouldn't base it on this. Furthermore, if you want some form of constant quality and don't care about filesize, you should look into the constant quality mode of x264, which uses the --crf option.

[berrinam]

MeGUI shouldn't just halt with an unnamed error if there is something wrong with the encoding setup. Its job is to find (and possibly fix) as many errors the user made as possible. That's why it's a frontend. I think there should be checks in MeGUI for a few common problems:
1. Something wrong with the AVS script, causing an error. This can be done using dimzon's AvisynthWrapper, to get the exact error message.
2. Colorspace is wrong. This is normally an error, but sometimes not. Anyway, MeGUI should check whether the colorspace is YV12 before encoding.
3. Check for mod16 and a warning if not (some codecs can handle down to mod2, but it still is not generally a good idea to use it, for compressibility's sake).

[berrinam]

Make more use of "Don't show me this again" in dialogs. The reset all dialogs button was added in the Settings window to make this easier, and there is also a dialogsettings class which should be used to keep track of the user's decisions.

[berrinam]

Sorry about the 5 consecutive posts. I just keep on missing things which I want to post.

However, your mode of operation seems sub-optimal. What you should really do is this:

1. Rip the DVD with DVDDecrypter, generating a chapter (OGG format) and stream information files.
2. Open the first VOB file with the One Click Encoder. Configure, and press go. (Alternatively, you could take the time beforehand to set up presets for the OneClick Window, so that you could keep your settings for all your encodes).

This means you only need to be at your computer for the duration of the ripping itself.
Actually, another idea occurs to me -- perhaps MeGUI could run DVDDecrypter? This could really make One Click mode live up to its name. It would also mean that the rips could be controlled to give the correct sort of output for all the modes. I know that DVDDecrypter can be run by commandline, so perhaps it is worth looking at the Robot4Rip sourcecode for some examples. Of course, this would be a lot of work to add, as all new dependancies are.

EDIT:
1. Robot4Rip is not open source, so looking at its source code is not an option.
2. To properly integrate DVD sources into MeGUI, some way of MeGUI knowing what's what would be required (ie, IFO parsing). Perhaps the vStrip or mediainfo dlls would be appropriate? I know this is adding more and more dependancies, but dlls could be distributed with MeGUI, so it isn't really much more for the user to set up, and they then get the benefit of automation straight from the DVD, and also being able to use sources which don't have Stream Information.txt

[Morte66]

What you are talking about sounds most like the One Click Encoder. [..] your mode of operation seems sub-optimal.

Methinks you may be right. I'll give that a whirl once the queue clears (ETA 35 hours).

Cool, thanks.

{edit P.S. I spent ten minutes googling for this "One Click Encoder" tool that I'd never heard of as an alternative to MeGUI, StaxRip, GordianKnot et al. It wasn't until I did a Doom9 forum search that I realised it's an option on the MeGUI menu. Jeez, I need to get my head in gear.}

[Morte66]

This is not a standard option in video encoding tools I've seen, but I think it would be a useful feature:

I'd like to add an overall job option for "PAL 25 to FILM 24". This would take a PAL source (probably DVD or TV rip), redefine the video as 24fps, slow down the audio (slowing tempo and dropping pitch) with a "-rate -4" option to BeSweet, and retime chapters/subtitles. I could do this as multiple tasks in multiple tools, so hopefully the code/expertise is out there. But it would be very nice to have it built into MeGUI as a single checkbox on the "Automatic Encode" and "One Click Encode" screens.

My rationale is that the results look and sound better than the original. The video matches creative intent, the orchestra isn't playing out of key, and hi-fi nuts everywhere in PALworld can stop itching because "the bass is a bit wrong" and voices are sibilant.

Quite a lot of people play back their MPEG4 on computers using displays with variable refresh rates. I see no reason other than habit for these people to encode film for TV sets slaved to a 50Hz electrical supply.

[Richard Berg]

{edit P.S. I spent ten minutes googling for this "One Click Encoder" tool that I'd never heard of as an alternative to MeGUI, StaxRip, GordianKnot et al. It wasn't until I did a Doom9 forum search that I realised it's an option on the MeGUI menu. Jeez, I need to get my head in gear.}
A lot of users say similar things. At some point, we should add a toolbar with buttons for the actual common tools, then split the various "settings" dialogs onto their own part of the menu (or maybe their own menu).

[Richard Berg]

I can provide webhosting for auto-update. I can also register megui.org if nobody has yet...

[Doom9]

Would this need CC?What's CC? Credit Card? ClearCase?
I'm not even sure how it should work considering that sometimes erratic x264 builds, problematic mp4box builds and encraw where there's nothing in terms of distribution at all.

[Richard Berg]

How about create a webfolder http://megui.org/meguirequirements that ~5 people have write access to, and occasionally upload new working builds there? It's not the "coolest" solution, but it's better than what we have now.

Since it's us doing the updating, that also means we can create our own naming convention. Something like
x264-2006-xx-xx.rar
mp4box-2006-xx-xx.rar
etc.
Then it's very easy for the MeGUI client to see what the latest version of everything is.

[Mutant_Fruit]

About the autoupgrade of the components. What exactly are ye looking for in this feature?

Are you looking for a way to get the latest and greatest from the developers website, or do you want it only to get the latest version from what we upload to our webspace?

I think easiest (and safest compatibility-wise) would be to have webspace where we manually upload the latest versions of each DLL/exe that MeGUI uses that are safe for use. That way if there is a dodgy build we can not release it to the webspace.

Then, MeGUI could be set to poll that webspace to see what the latest versions are as compared to the versions on the computer (can be done by checking filenames or using an XML file).

EDIT: By CC i meant conditional compiling :p I deleted that post as i was writing this new longer one, with a lot more details in it :p

[Dayvon]

Hey guys!!

Wondering if the Bitrate Calculator can go up higher. Like say, to 24hrs of recording?

I've got a 11hr18min encode that I'd like to have on a DVDDL, and the bitrate calculator only goes up to about 6 hrs. :( I'm able to get around it by using 1/2 the time and DVD5, which is about spot on. But it'd be cool for you to add more time, and DVD-DL, DVDR9.

Thanks!

[Doom9]

I've got a 11hr18min encode that I'd like to have on a DVDDLWhat in god's name is that?

[dimzon]

What in god's name is that?
I propose - some season of futurama or something like it ;)
It's definitly better to encode it as one file to allow better bitrate distributuion ;)

[Doom9]

I propose - some season of futurama or something like itI have all seasons of Futurama.. and they come on several DVDs with a number of hours per disc that the calculator has no problem with.

[dimzon]

I have all seasons of Futurama.. and they come on several DVDs with a number of hours per disc that the calculator has no problem with.
as i said - something like it, isn't it?
Anycase even if you have multiple original dvd's you can concatenate video via AviSynth:

return season1 + season2 + season3 ... seasonN

And encode it to one file with chapters. Using such metod will allow you to achive better bitrate distribution along full movies and achive same quality @ all seasons, isn't it

[Doom9]

And encode it to one file with chapters. Using such metod will allow you to achive better bitrate distribution along full movies and achive same quality @ all seasons, isn't itI dare venture that the difference in between encoding DVD by DVD and encoding the entire season is not visible.
Plus then there's we have the nice details of audio delays.. you can't just concatenate the audio streams if you have delays.

[ChronoCross]

I dare venture that the difference in between encoding DVD by DVD and encoding the entire season is not visible.
Plus then there's we have the nice details of audio delays.. you can't just concatenate the audio streams if you have delays.

I may be wrong but if it's off DVD then you could do it through DGINDEX. I've never done anything this large before but I think that the audio would be adjusted properly.

YOu could do the additonal painful step of encoding each audio seperately and using avisynth to combine the audio through the concatenation same as the videos.

But even so this is not a practical way to encode something. 1 episode. If he were to encode it he would most certainly would take 3-4 days to properly encode it (filtering, high backup settings(xvid or x264)). There is no guarantee it wouldn't fail halfway through.

[dimzon]

you can't just concatenate the audio streams if you have delays.
I can do it via AviSynth too ;)

[The Link]

Add support for Ogg Vorbis encoding
Description: It's the only good free low bitrate codec at the moment (FAAC isn't tuned and afaik generally worse than Vorbis and the Nero AAC codec isn't free. Itunes AAC codec is for free and quite good imho but not very well supported via cli.). The obvious drawback: You can only sanely use it in mkv.
Status : The audio part is currently frozen pending a redesign/move to AviSynth.
Just wanted to bring this up again since the move to avisynth is done. Either a final rejection or a general acceptance would be fine.

[Doom9]

I may be wrong but if it's off DVD then you could do it through DGINDEX. I've never done anything this large before but I think that the audio would be adjusted properly.Unless you've tried, I'd be very sceptical of such statements.. it's not like VOB2 has another delay and VOB3 another, etc.. it's VOB1 has a certain delay and in between VOBs things are seamless.. so if you add another VOB which once again has a delay.. what is DGIndex supposed to do? Say it's a positive delay.. DGIndex can't append empty AC3 frames to fill the blank (afaik), so it would append the next AC3 frame, thus causing a sudden mismatch when the video goes from movie 1 to movie 2 or disc1 to disc 2.

I can do it via AviSynth too I know you'd say that.. but most people can't. Unless something comes my way that I would have to manually split up because megui's calculator doesn't go that high, I have no intention of removing that limitation (and risk breaking the calculator again).

[Doom9]

Status : The audio part is currently frozen pending a redesign/move to AviSynth.Now it's "pending refactoring".. it depends on how the whole audio part turns out.. if it gets easy enough to accept / reject configured streams based on the container selected, it may be an option, but it's not an option to bring it up now because the audio code is all over the place and all but pretty.

[The Link]

... accept / reject configured streams based on the container selected ...
That would be great and all I want in the end.
... but it's not an option to bring it up now because the audio code is all over the place and all but pretty.
I'll wait.

[berrinam]

I can provide webhosting for auto-update. I can also register megui.org if nobody has yet...
Sounds good, but it takes me no effort to say that. It's up to you, as far as I'm concerned.
How about create a webfolder http://megui.org/meguirequirements that ~5 people have write access to, and occasionally upload new working builds there? It's not the "coolest" solution, but it's better than what we have now.

Since it's us doing the updating, that also means we can create our own naming convention. Something like
x264-2006-xx-xx.rar
mp4box-2006-xx-xx.rar
etc.
Then it's very easy for the MeGUI client to see what the latest version of everything is.
Yes, that is the most reliable/easiest method.

[Mutant_Fruit]

I'm just planning my way through the AutoUpdate section of the program, and here's what i have in mind.


The program starts up as per normal, and does a background check for newer versions of the files.
If new versions are found, a dialog pops up telling the user newer versions of the files have been found and asks if they want to upgrade.
If they click "Yes" a new window pops up showing what files have new versions, and allowing the user to select one/all of them to upgrade.
They click "Upgrade" and the new files are downloaded and installed. Update progress is displayed on the window.
The AutoUpgrade will be set to check at 3-7 day intervals (user selectable) with a Check Now button in order to reduce bandwidth usage on server side by the program checking every time it starts up.


Also, do you want the AutoUpgrade to check for newer versions of MeGUI stored on the server? Or will we just check for new versions of the utility programs that it uses?

I was thinking on the serverside, we store the files like this:
AppName-incrementing_integer.zip. C# has a Gzip library built in, so we could zip the files up to save a bit of bandwidth. Basically, every time we put a new version on the server, just increase that integer by 1. This makes it easy for me to tell a new version is there, rather than trying to parse out a version number from something like this: Besweet3.2_Beta263.

How does that sound? If anyone else has any ideas, gimme a shout.

[Doom9]

he program starts up as per normal, and does a background check for newer versions of the files.Make that optional please.. I don't want to hear the phone home litany and I personally never want to use that feature.

[stax76]

C# has a Gzip library built in

IIRC zip != gzip so unless somebody implements zip we are forced to use #ziplib.

[Mutant_Fruit]

IIRC zip != gzip so unless somebody implements zip we are forced to use #ziplib.
Thats a very good point. I'll look into that.

[foxyshadis]

It'd probably be best to set it to only update with more stable versions, when known bugs are few and not much code reworking is going on. Maybe an option for bleeding edge builds. I know it's going to be a while before the codebase is stable, and if people autoupdate and the new one breaks things people are going to be unhappy.

[Richard Berg]

It's up to you, as far as I'm concerned.
It would be kinda rude for me to go register megui.org without asking Doom9 -- it's his name, and his program. He seemed ok with it in the other thread, though, so I'll start the process. We can figure out exactly what to do with it as time goes on. Hopefully you guys trust me not to turn it into a pr0n site or anything ;)

[JarrettH]

Do you think you could have MeGUI rename the output file if it is about to overwrite it? So often I'll forget to rename the output file when I'm experimenting with settings and I end up losing my previous files. Just stick a sequential number after the name or something.:D

[Mutant_Fruit]

Yup, i'll definately be backing up the previous versions before i replace em. There'll be a "rollback" button to restore a previous version if something does go wrong.

[Doom9]

Yup, i'll definately be backing up the previous versions before i replace em. There'll be a "rollback" button to restore a previous version if something does go wrong.I think he was refering to video/audio output.. and I don't like the idea.. it definitely doesn't make the 80/20 cut.

[Mutant_Fruit]

I think he was refering to video/audio output
Oh right, never mind then :o

[Doom9]

And I think it's necessary to point out that megui isn't overwriting.. it's the user that's overwriting by creating a job with the same output name.. and in the end it's up to the encoder/muxer to decide what happens if the output already exists. Most overwrite, some append (mp4creator for instance adds input streams to the target file if it already exists).

[Mutant_Fruit]

Also, could someone take a look at the patch tracker in SF? Theres a few patches there that havn't been commited to CVS.

My "AviSynth script creator patch" has been commited, but hasn't been closed, but theres still 6 others there.

[Mutant_Fruit]

I've been thinking about this auto-update and i've run into a problem.

What happens when someone manually updates one of the files (such as x264.exe)? Once that happens, i can't tell what version an exe file is, so i don't know whether the one on the server is a newer version or not.

How should i handle this case? Will i just flag the file as being an "unrecognised version" and ignore it unless the user wants to force an update?

[foxyshadis]

Consider using the created/modified date on the file? Perhaps run it and grab the tag ("x264 core:44 svn-408M (built by Sharktooth)")? Hashes might be useful if people could be counted on to never use an unregistered version, but... ;)

[ChronoCross]

1) Any chance of of Being able to specify a folder called AUDIO PLUGINS to put files like bsn.dll the bse files, aac.dll and whatnot in rather than having it in the root folder? It would make the program more organized and easy to use.

2) Also is there anyway for the avisynth script creator to be able to load filters individualy. Like it does for the DGdecode.dll? Even by specifying aavisynth filters folder it doesn't seem to load them. So when you make your scripts your forced to have them in the avisynth root filter directory.

Thanks

[berrinam]

1) Any chance of of Being able to specify a folder called AUDIO PLUGINS to put files like bsn.dll the bse files, aac.dll and whatnot in rather than having it in the root folder? It would make the program more organized and easy to use.Actually, those dlls just need to be put in the same directory as neroraw.exe.

2) Also is there anyway for the avisynth script creator to be able to load filters individualy. Like it does for the DGdecode.dll? Even by specifying aavisynth filters folder it doesn't seem to load them. So when you make your scripts your forced to have them in the avisynth root filter directory.
1.Why not use your avisynth plugins directory anyway? The MeGUI avisynth plugins is now unused, as I said in my guide. If you want all your plugins in one folder, use the AviSynth one (which ISN'T the AviSynth root directory, it's aviroot/plugins)
2. There's the 'Load DLL' button in the edit tab of the AviSynth creator.
3. If, for some reason, you want to load all your plugins in every script, try creating a new AviSynth profile with a template like this:
LoadPlugin("Yourplugin0.dll")
LoadPlugin("Yourplugin1.dll")
...
LoadPlugin("Yourplugin100.dll")

<input>
<deinterlace>
<crop>
<resize>
<denoise>

Some experimenting or reading my guide will make clear how that works.

[Mutant_Fruit]

Consider using the created/modified date on the file? Perhaps run it and grab the tag ("x264 core:44 svn-408M (built by Sharktooth)")? Hashes might be useful if people could be counted on to never use an unregistered version, but... ;)
Thing is, created/modified date is useless unless i want to download ALL the files on the server each time i run a check so that i can tell what date they were originally created.

I could do it using hashes i suppose. But then i'd need an XML file to contain the hashes of the EXE's from each version we put up there. Only problem with that is that i'd need to get a hash of /every/ version ever released into the XML file otherwise there'd be a lot of "unrecognised versions".

As for running the exe and parsing out the version from the output... that might be doable. But it means each of the files (from besweet to encraw) would have to supply me that info. I wasn't sure if all the files would do that. I'll check it later. But this approach won't work for dll files...

[dimzon]

1) Any chance of of Being able to specify a folder called AUDIO PLUGINS to put files like bsn.dll the bse files, aac.dll and whatnot in rather than having it in the root folder? It would make the program more organized and easy to use.

This is not plugins. This files MUST be in same directory with NERORAW.EXE
If You don't like multiple files in MeGUI folder You can create NeroRaw (OR NeroAAC OR as you wish) folder and put neroraw.exe + bsn.dll + ... in it :D

[Richard Berg]

@Mutant_Fruit: you raise good points. I think in the end auto-update needs to be an all-or-nothing feature. If you want to use it, don't screw around with your own builds. Once you accept that POV, the only hard task is making it so good that nobody wants to use anything else :)

[dimzon]

How about to add OggTheora support?

[ChronoCross]

@berrinam
I'll check out the script templating tonight. Thanks
@dimzon
Thanks for the info on the neroraw folder. So basically all audio dll's go in there and that's where meGUI looks? I'll test it out later(at work right now).

[dimzon]

So basically all audio dll's go in there and that's where meGUI looks?
I'm afraid you take me wrong. Not all audio dll's but nero aac related

[acidsex]

I havent had a chance to read through the other requests so Im not sure what has been requested/discussed with regards to auto updates.

I particularily like the way Stax has the auto updates. Simply goes and gets the files needed and doesnt force most users to have to fiddle with different downloads and making sure they are in the right place.

Using the latest build of MeGUI has been bad for me. For some reason I cant get AC3 encoded to AAC 5.1 using Avisynth method so I opted to use BeSweet for encoding instead. Now Im pretty sure I borked something somewhere along the way when using this new build and following the MeGUI guide but having everything auto downloaded/updated would save a lot of headaches for those that just want to get right to the encoding and spend less time configuring and putting programs in the right places etc... By using the download/update similar to Stax, then users wouldnt need to declare where programs reside in order for MeGUI to work which honestly should make bugs much easier to track down since those that use th dl/update would pretty much have the same setup across the board.

Is this actually going to happen and if so, any time soon?

[dimzon]

For some reason I cant get AC3 encoded to AAC 5.1 using Avisynth method
Please, post bug report @ MeGUI bug thread!

[acidsex]

Im not reporting a bug until I have time to figure out if I did something incorrectly. I dont want to report false bugs :)

The only reason I mentioned this was to show that an auto d/update would help prevent problems like I have (my own errors.)

[ChronoCross]

I'm afraid you take me wrong. Not all audio dll's but nero aac related

ah so is there a possibility to rather than just have a folder for nero aac to make just a general audio folder where it looks for all audio apps and dll's?

[dimzon]

ah so is there a possibility to rather than just have a folder for nero aac to make just a general audio folder where it looks for all audio apps and dll's?
yes, it's possible

[Morte66]

On the "Queue" tab, there's a checkbox labelled "Shutdown at end of encoding". I suggest renaming that to "Shutdown MeGUI at end of encoding" or "Shutdown PC at end of encoding", to match whichever it does.

If it just closes down MeGUI, it would be nice to have the option to shut down the PC too.

[Doom9]

You can't shutdown an application.. that term is only valid for an operation system. An application can be closed though.

[dimzon]

You can't shutdown an application.. that term is only valid for an operation system. An application can be closed though.
For non-english-spoken users it can be same (like must && shoud)

[iceborne]

i don't know if this has been mentioned but here's hoping for
Winamp aacPlus Multichannel support

[Raithmir]

Another request for a tick box to enable/disable the resizing (like you can with cropping). If you're resizing it's great and you can rely on MeGUI getting the SAR right... if you don't want to resize (most of my encodes are done to 1/3 or 1/4 DVD so I've no need to resize) then you have to work out the SAR yourself... and there's still confusion in that respect.

Case in point - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106656

[berrinam]

Another request for a tick box to enable/disable the resizing (like you can with cropping). If you're resizing it's great and you can rely on MeGUI getting the SAR right... if you don't want to resize (most of my encodes are done to 1/3 or 1/4 DVD so I've no need to resize) then you have to work out the SAR yourself... and there's still confusion in that respect.

Case in point - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106656
While it may be a good idea to be able to turn resizing off, SAR calculation is no longer an issue in MeGUI; everything is now Display Aspect Ratio, which makes it MUCH simpler for the user -- you just have to enter 4:3, 16:9, etc, and MeGUI will do whatever conversions are required for this (don't be fooled by the fact that it still says SAR all over the place... that's just because the code has been updated, but not the GUI).

And this is another example of where AviSynth templates come in useful -- until the resizing checkbox is implemented (if it is), and you want to do a lot of encoding, then what you should do is create a custom avisynth profile in the script creator, and make it the same as the Default Profile, except without the <resize> line. This will mean that MeGUI doesn't put any resizing in, so if you always use that profile, then you will have a solution for what (I think) you are asking for.

i don't know if this has been mentioned but here's hoping for
Winamp aacPlus Multichannel support
I second that request, because it supplies a wider variety of codecs, and Winamp AAC is better than Nero's for low-bitrate speech. However, along with Ogg Vorbis, I believe this will have to wait for the audio refactoring (code clean-up).

[Raithmir]

While it may be a good idea to be able to turn resizing off, SAR calculation is no longer an issue in MeGUI; everything is now Display Aspect Ratio, which makes it MUCH simpler for the user -- you just have to enter 4:3, 16:9, etc, and MeGUI will do whatever conversions are required for this (don't be fooled by the fact that it still says SAR all over the place... that's just because the code has been updated, but not the GUI).


But MeGUI calculates the SAR on the assumption that you will be cropping AND resizing does it not? If you use MeGUI to create your AVISynth script and then just remove the resize line (or presumably remove it from the profile as you suggest) then the SAR is not going to be correct?

[berrinam]

But MeGUI calculates the SAR on the assumption that you will be cropping AND resizing does it not? If you use MeGUI to create your AVISynth script and then just remove the resize line (or presumably remove it from the profile as you suggest) then the SAR is not going to be correct?
MeGUI now uses DAR, not SAR. So calculation of SAR is a moot point.... and calculation of DAR is independant of the resolution, which makes it more intuitive.

Just rest assured that everywhere that you can edit the Aspect Ratio in MeGUI, it is DAR, which doesn't depend on the resolution. So you should have no problems (assuming you are using 0.2.3.2059 or later). You should see in the script creator that it now recommends Aspect Ratios of things like 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 47:20, 37:20. These are Display Aspect Ratios, and they are used throughout MeGUI. Don't worry about the effects of resizing -- only cropping is relevant.

[bkman]

This is a very basic request, but can you add "time elapsed" for completed jobs. Time start and end gives you this info anyway, but it takes seconds longer to work out :o

[Richard Berg]

The queue window already requires horizontal scrolling, which is really ugly / hard to use. I'm not against adding more columns (I wanted to show the date, for instance, since most of my encodes take >1 day) but before we take suggestions like these we need to either (a) make the window a lot wider (b) make it resizable.

[ChronoCross]

Ability to edit the commandline for the lossless pre-render job. Thanks

[Doom9]

Ability to edit the commandline for the lossless pre-render job.Why? Keep in mind that you can edit anything.. you just need to exit megui in between.

[berrinam]

Ability to edit the commandline for the lossless pre-render job. Thanks
I can see you probably want to do this because the current commandlines (which I set up) are really suboptimal (ie, they are really a workaround for the mingw/mencoder problem discussed somewhere else, but you know about that, don't you?). How about this: if you've come up with a good set of commandlines, why don't you tell us, and we'll just use them instead?

[dimzon]

Maybe we can add simplest MP4 WYSWYG authoring features? No complex animation, just menus?

[ChronoCross]

I can see you probably want to do this because the current commandlines (which I set up) are really suboptimal (ie, they are really a workaround for the mingw/mencoder problem discussed somewhere else, but you know about that, don't you?). How about this: if you've come up with a good set of commandlines, why don't you tell us, and we'll just use them instead?

I think it's going to have to be a completely different build of mencoder. I'm currently working on a MeGUI Barebones release for mencoder on cygwin. But thanks.

[Negi]

Could you add the ability to encode from an AVI, MKV, or MP4 source? MOV would be nice too, but most windows users don't use it.

[berrinam]

Could you add the ability to encode from an AVIAlready done. Load it through the AviSynth Script Creator for video, and the main window for audio.

...MKV, or MP4 source? MOV would be nice too, but most windows users don't use it.
Yep, I agree. Not that I expect to be encoding these sources at all, but all of them should be encodable via DirectShowSource (especially now that we have AviSynth audio), so the architectural changes required should be very little. In fact, it should only really be a matter of changing the filter names in the AviSynth script creator, and then making people aware that this tool should be used. I've added this to the list in the first post.

Add more input filetypes
Description: Almost all files can be loaded into AviSynth via DirectShowSource. For completeness, it would be useful to allow this in the AviSynth Script Creator
Status: Pending Doom9's approval
Doom9, do you accept or reject this?

[Negi]

Also, it would be nice to have a subtitle converter (ASS,SSA to Timed Text for MP4) because a lot of devices only support timed text. The only other way I could think to do it would be to add VSFilter in the AVISynth Script Creator and do the subs that way.

[berrinam]

Also, it would be nice to have a subtitle converter (ASS,SSA to Timed Text for MP4) because a lot of devices only support timed text.I've never heard of ASS or SSA, but if you insert text-based Subrip subtitles into the MP4 muxer, the muxer will convert them to ttxt itself.
The only other way I could think to do it would be to add VSFilter in the AVISynth Script Creator and do the subs that way.
Yuk! No way.

[Negi]

ASS (Advanced SubStation Alpha) and SSA (SubStation Alpha) are advanced subtitles that have crazy effects on them. They shouldn't be too hard to parse, but I'm not a programmer. You'd pretty much just have to remove the effects (karaoke, shaking stuff) and convert the timing to ttext.

[dimzon]

just have to remove the effects (karaoke, shaking stuff) and convert the timing to ttext.
AFAIK ttext suports some of these effects too so we can transform them to ttext notation too

[Negi]

A really cool feature would be to allow the specification of a DVD decrypter folder to allow a one-step rip and encode.

[berrinam]

Please explain....
Do you mean being able to select input from DVD Decrypter's ripped files and encode in one step? That's what the One Click Encoder (part of MeGUI) is for.

Do you mean that MeGUI should run DVD Decrypter? Doom9 said no.

[Schnoodledorfer]

I would like to propose an idea I would call "Safe Profile Switching" for the lack of a better name. The idea is that some of the information that might normally be read from a profile would be retained (not overwritten) when a new profile is loaded.

This could be implemented one of two ways. One would involve an option (checkbox) on the "Settings" windows which cause certain (predefined) elements in any profile to be ignored and the current values retained. Another way would also be enabled by an option (checkbox) in the Settings windows, but rather than having a predefined set of values to be retained, whatever isn't defined in the new profile would be retained.

If the predefined list idea is implemented, I would suggest that these items be retained in a video profile if the option is selected:
bitrate and zones (these are the same things that won't trigger the Safe Profile Alteration (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=742679#post742679) feature) plus perhaps the in-loop deblocking settings. I would also suggest the SAR settings, except that they aren't used, apparently.

The other idea was to retain the last value of any setting when switching profiles if that setting isn't defined in the new profile (or if it exists, but contains a value of null). As it is now, if an element is missing from a profile, the element is added back into the profile using a default value that must be hard-coded somewhere (as far as I can tell). If the element exists, but contains an empty or null value where some information is required, MeGUI refuses to load the profile at all. For this idea to work well, it would probably be necessary to distinguish between an empty and a null element in some cases (such as CustomEncoderOptions, where the user might really want to blank out something already in that field). It would also be necessary to stop writing out completely specified profiles when MeGUI shuts down (or to write null values where the value isn't determined). (MeGUI currently overwrites every profile file when it shuts down.) On the other hand, this would provide the most flexibility to the user who doesn't mind writing his / her own profiles outside MeGUI, so this is the idea I would prefer.

I am concentrating on video profiles. I don't know why this couldn't be extended to the other profiles; I just havn't given it much thought.

[Schnoodledorfer]

First let me thank the people who have worked on MeGUI. I've certainly received far more than my money's worth! :D I want to make it clear, because as I argue for a change below, it may come across as if I don't appreciate what has already been done. I do!!! Also, I am writing this so that people who aren't that familiar with MeGUI can figure out what I'm saying. I don't want to come across as if I'm talking down to anyone if I'm explaining something that is inherently obvious to them.

I'm only worrying about the video profiles here, but would think that this would apply to any profile.

As I mentioned in the previous item (I think) MeGUI reads every profile file when it starts, and writes every profile file when it is closed. If you create or change a profile, nothing is written until meGUI closes. That leads to at least one undesirable (IMO) "feature", and possibly more. I would prefer MeGUI would write out the new/changed profile as soon as it is created or whenever the user makes changes and clicks OK. (It probably wouldn't hurt if the profile is written anytime the user clicks OK, even if there are no changes). This seems (IMO) to be the "better" way to do this. It is my personal prejudice that you should write out data as quickly as possible after the user has indicated that he has finished creating something worth writing out. Clicking "OK" in the CODEC configuration window counts, IMO. I am less concerned about MeGUI trying to read all the profiles in when it starts, even though most won't be used, but even that can cause problems. In general, as I have used MeGUI, I have assumed that there was only one video profile it was concerned with at a time (so only one profile was in its memory at a time.) I assume most users have the same mindset.

One theoretical problem the current system has is that if MeGUI crashes (which I haven't experienced), any changes to the profiles (and any new profiles) would be lost. The same would happen if the operating system is shut down without giving MeGUI time to save the profiles.

Another semi-theoretical problem that I may or may not have encountered unintentionally, but which I can certainly duplicate intentionally, involves two instances of MeGUI running simultaneously. If two instances of MeGUI are started and used to change profiles, neither of them can know about the changes the other is making. Which ever instance shuts down last overwrites the profiles written by the other one.

I definitely have accidentally had two instances of MeGUI running simultaneously several times just because I forgot about the first instance and it was hidden behind something and I'm scatterbrained. :rolleyes: I'm not sure if I've lost profile changes because of this, but it would be natural to close the forgotten instance once I found it, thus loosing any changes made with it once the other instance is closed.

A real issue I have had (but that could fall under "Don't mess with MeGUI's files outside MeGUI, especially if you don't know what you're doing") is that I've made changes to the XML files outside MeGUI, then had the changes overwritten when MeGUI closes, even if that profile wasn't selected inside MeGUI. Personally, I think it can be easier to deal with the XML files directly sometimes, especially if you are trying to troubleshoot something.

What I have have been particularly frustrated with, however, and which strikes me as a bug (but that M$soft would call a "feature", I suppose), is that it is impossible (within MeGUI) to determine the encoder settings for a queued job. One would think (and I would bet most users don't know better) that if you selected the "Queue" tab and clicked on the "Load" button, you would load all of the settings for the queued job. Then, if you clicked on the "Input" tab and clicked on the CODEC "Config" button, you would see the original encoder settings there. Not so! The encoder settings aren't loaded. What you get is the current settings of whatever profile happened to be selected. Even if the correct profile was already selected, the current settings for that profile are displayed, rather than the settings that existed when the job was queued. This could be particularly confusing, because the user probably could recognize the wrong profile, but not necessarily the wrong settings in that profile. (AFAIK, the only way to see the original settings are to look in the XML file for the queued job.)

As it is, there seems to be very little benefit in clicking on the "Load" button -- yes, it loads the file names (including the full paths), but that's only two rather trivial items. At first glance, it seems that it could do much more, so I assumed it did do much more.

EDIT: OK, I see I wasn't quite correct about what the load button does. First of all, MeGUI doesn't "load" anything in the conventional sense, because it loads everything in the XML files for all jobs when it starts, and rewrites them all when it closes, just as it does with the profile files. But clicking on the "Load" button does seem to set some pointers to point to the the data for the selected job. But the data remains mostly inaccessable to the user. And this leads to a problem that definately qualifies as a bug! If you create a 2-pass job in the queue, then switch to a 1-pass profile, then load the second (for example) part of the original 2-pass job, then click on the "Queue" button, you wind up creating a corrupt job that is only the second part of a 2-pass job! I filed a bug report here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=784455).

Of course, it's not trivial for MeGUI to show the original settings for a queued job, because loading the settings from the queued job would overwrite the settings for the whatever profile is selected. Even ensuring the correct profile was already selected wouldn't help, because the profile might have been changed in the meantime. Then if MeGUI were closed, the settings from the old queue job would be written out in the XML file for the profile.

One way around this would be to create a new, special, (temporary?) video profile, load the queued job's settings into that, and select that profile when the "Load" button is clicked. That way loading everything from a queued job wouldn't overwrite anything, and the user could see his settings. Even if MeGUI had only one profile in memory at a time and changes to profiles are immediately written when "OK" is clicked (my preference), it probably would be a good idea to change to the the profile that was originally used (if necessary) or to change the profile name to something new. The old settings wouldn't be written out unless the user clicked OK.

Actually, while I'm at it, I would prefer making it be more obvious that clicking "OK" will cause profile change to be saved, or even creating three ways to leave the configuration window: 1) Save and exit, 2) OK (don't save changes to the profile file, but remember the current settings until a different profile is selected) and 3) cancel (forget all about it). That to me would allow the least amount of confusion.

There really are several ideas here, but they are all interrelated. Again, I hope I don't come across as being unappreciative or as if I'm talking down to someone. That's not my intent.

[berrinam]

One theoretical problem the current system has is that if MeGUI crashes (which I haven't experienced), any changes to the profiles (and any new profiles) would be lost.I find this kind of funny. For one reason, because you are suggesting a workaround for something which should never happen anyway, and for the other, because I still remember the early days of MeGUI, when you could hardly do anything without crashing it. Anyway, MeGUI is now completely wrapped in Exception handlers, so there should be no bug that proves fatal. (should being the key word:D )

The same would happen if the operating system is shut down without giving MeGUI time to save the profiles.I think this is a more valid reason. I remember having problems like this myself. It doesn't bother me any more, because I've always been aware of it, but writing the profiles to file when pressing OK doesn't seem like it would take much coding time or much run time, so I think it sounds fine.

As to re-reading profiles.... the two reasons you say you want that are manual editing of the xml files, and running two copies of MeGUI. I can see no sane reason to edit the xml files, as MeGUI gives complete control over the codec settings. Also, in my opinion, multiple copies of MeGUI should not be run, and MeGUI should check if there is another instance of it running before opening. This would be annoying for some people, though, so I'm not sure about that. I still think that it's not too hard to see whether MeGUI is running, and if you are willing to run multiple copies, you should be responsible. EDIT: Perhaps a warning saying that another copy is running, and asking if you still want to have two copies open?

What I have have been particularly frustrated with, however, and which strikes me as a bug (but that M$soft would call a "feature", I suppose), is that it is impossible (within MeGUI) to determine the encoder settings for a queued job.It's supposed to work. I'm not sure if it does. However, IIRC, you can't change the input or output files anyway, so it would be better just to load the configuration dialog directly when you press load (assuming that I do actually remember). EDIT: I checked it out, and I'm wrong... ah well. Maybe what I suggested is a good idea anyway. I don't like the way that it works now anyway -- with D2V loading you have dialog that opens, and when you close it, the job is updated. However, video and audio loading is unintuitive. You can even update a job without first loading it. I think that we should just show the config dialog, and not fiddle with input/output -- if the user wants to change everything, then why not just make a new job?

1) Save and exit, 2) OK (don't save changes to the profile file, but remember the current settings until a different profile is selected) and 3) cancel (forget all about it).So how do you go back to your original settings, then? If you can't then the only difference between 1) and 2) is when you write the file

That to me would allow the least amount of confusion.But not to me. Everyone accepts as standard that OK means apply changes and close, and Cancel means forget changes and close.

The user shouldn't care when the file is written (as in, it should be hidden). As far as distribution of profiles goes, I think that a 'export profile' option might even be the right way to go, so that the user doesn't have to search through MeGUI's program files, and risk stuffing something up.

[Schnoodledorfer]

I find this kind of funny. For one reason, because you are suggesting a workaround for something which should never happen anyway, and for the other, because I still remember the early days of MeGUI, when you could hardly do anything without crashing it. Anyway, MeGUI is now completely wrapped in Exception handlers, so there should be no bug that proves fatal. (should being the key word:D )
I've managed to crash it a couple of times since I wrote my last post. :D I tried to update the post but the change didn't take.
As far as the two instances of MeGUI running, a warning would be nice. As I said, when I've done it, it's been accidental. I can't argue with your comment about there not being a sane reason to edit the XML files, but are you sure you want to make any assumptions about MeGUI users' sanity?
It's supposed to work. I'm not sure if it does. However, IIRC, you can't change the input or output files anyway, so it would be better just to load the configuration dialog directly when you press load (assuming that I do actually remember). EDIT: I checked it out, and I'm wrong... ah well. Maybe what I suggested is a good idea anyway. I don't like the way that it works now anyway -- with D2V loading you have dialog that opens, and when you close it, the job is updated. However, video and audio loading is unintuitive. You can even update a job without first loading it. I think that we should just show the config dialog, and not fiddle with input/output -- if the user wants to change everything, then why not just make a new job?
If you did allow the user to edit the setting for a job in the queue, what would the "OK" button mean? Save the changes to the job and to the profile both? I suppose so - that would be consistent, but I don't really like it. I agree that just allowing the user to see the settings would be very useful, though. :D

1) Save and exit, 2) OK (don't save changes to the profile file, but remember the current settings until a different profile is selected) and 3) cancel (forget all about it).So how do you go back to your original settings, then? If you can't then the only difference between 1) and 2) is when you write the fileYou would reselect the same profile. (I guess I shouldn't have used the word "different".) MeGUI is actually very good at this until you click on "OK".
Everyone accepts as standard that OK means apply changes and close, and Cancel means forget changes and close. Yes, but "OK" does not usually mean saving changes to files (unless it is explicitly obvious). There is almost always an option to continue working without making any changes permanently (and to start over by reloading the files, if necessary) until the user is finally forced to decide when he / she closes the program. Normally one can click on "OK" many times before reaching that point. But at the same time, the user usually has the option of saving the changes at any time and knowing that they are safely committed (short of a drive failure or something like that).
The user shouldn't care when the file is written (as in, it should be hidden). As far as distribution of profiles goes, I think that a 'export profile' option might even be the right way to go, so that the user doesn't have to search through MeGUI's program files, and risk stuffing something up.
I guess I've not worked on stable operating systems enough to feel that sanquine about when something is written to the harddrive. That's especially true since an encoding job can last a long time. Also, I'm thinking that the type of user who would be attracted to MeGUI is going to include many who would go through MeGUI's files whether they needed to or not.

I think the real advantage of a GUI like MeGUI is that it can take care of everything at first (when the user doesn't know much yet), but the user can still see what's going on, and learn a lot while using it. So it would attract people who would be intimidated by having to learn too much up front, yet who would still want to know what's going on under the hood. That describes me, and maybe I'm assuming too much to assume that there are many like me, but it seems to me that there would be.

[Doom9]

about profile creation/deletion: I don't know which build you're using, but as it is now, when you add a profile, it's saved to your HD, and when you delete one, it's immediately deleted. This behavior has been in megui since I refactored profiles so that would be for a week now. So I guess the "saving everything at exit" can safely be removed, it's no longer needed.
The same would happen if the operating system is shut down without giving MeGUI time to save the profiles.This cannot happen. Well.. it can if the user shuts down without warning.. but that's normal behavior.. it's not the job of any application to listen for OS shutdown events and back up everything.. if the OS goes down and you don't save your work.. it's your loss. However, the situation where megui initiates a shutdown and cannot save profiles, that cannot happen because profile saving comes before shutdown.
but which I can certainly duplicate intentionally, involves two instances of MeGUI running simultaneously.Well.. that's like running two instances of any encoder and trying to write to the same file.. the results will be non deterministic. I guess we could restrict megui to run just once, but then again, we should be able to expect a certain amount of intelligence from the user.. and launching apps concurrently and working on the same things concurrently, is generally not such a good idea unless an app has been created for concurrency (and that generally means a client/server architecture). And no matter what you do, even if the "save everything at exit" is removed, you still have a problem. Say you create a profile named X in one instance.. if the second instance of megui is already running, the new profile will never be picked up. Now say you create a profile with the same name in the second instance.. it will overwrite the first one. But in the first megui instance, if you select X, it will have the settings you first configured, and in the second megui instance, it will have other settings, thus you have created a mismatch that will never be resolved (any further megui instance will use the later profile.. your first X profile is effectively lost). You could have profiles reloaded from the HD all the time, which is slow and ineffective and still doesn't get rid of the concurrency problem.. you can't read from and write to the same file at the same time.. it's just not possible and never will be. So you have to start using locks, and quite frankly, that's overkill for a user error.

is that I've made changes to the XML files outside MeGUI, then had the changes overwritten when MeGUI closes,That's a "user don't mess with me thing".. if you go editing settings files or registry entries of any program, the results are not deterministic (unless you wrote the software and know how it acts). As profiles are loaded upon startup, and not reloaded at any point, if you absolutely need to edit any xml file (and I strongly discourage anybody from doing so.. the only one I'd really trust to do this is myself - and I just happen to have written it all.) make sure you do so while megui is not running as changes made to files are only picked up upon startup of the program.

Not so! The encoder settings aren't loaded.Check the other thread..

[ChronoCross]

Addition of a 5th digit to all the bitrate settings. That way we can do in the 10's of MBps of video. Some people I have noticed need ore bitrate and in order to use MeGUI to do that they need one more digit.

[damjang]

I'm new with MeGui, but in some encoding that I do, I found that it is not possible to have different type of audio encoding for two audio (e.g. I want to encode the first audio in 6ch mode, but the second only in stereo). I can do manually a new job for every audio-encoding, but...
The second question is the job window: is it possible to have it resizeable?

Thanks
damjang

[Morte66]

{ignore. False Alarm.}

[Sh4nn0w]

Request: add a way to switch MPEG2 deblocking on/off in the avisynth profile system.

At the moment, as best I can tell, turning on MPEG2 deblocking in the avisynth script generator adds a "cpu=4" parameter to the call to mpeg2source. There doesn't seem to be any way to turn this on via avisynth profiles, and you can't just add another line of code. It's just a click to add it if you create your AVS file in that screen, but if you use the one click encoder (which relies on avisynth profiles) you never get to see that screen.

Its in the Extra Setup tab under AviSynth Profile Configuration if I undertstand you correctly.

[Morte66]

Its in the Extra Setup tab under AviSynth Profile Configuration if I undertstand you correctly.

*yanks foot out of mouth with big hook*

[damjang]

I'm new with MeGui, but in some encoding that I do, I found that it is not possible to have different type of audio encoding for two audio (e.g. I want to encode the first audio in 6ch mode, but the second only in stereo). I can do manually a new job for every audio-encoding, but...

...sorry! I discover now that in "Bug report" thread there is a "The audio section only allows one profile" bug listed... and I think that this is what I intend...

damjang

[Morte66]

Request:

Implement multiprocessing at the job queue level when there are multiple jobs in the queue. E.g. launch one single-threaded job per core, instead of launching one job and hoping it will use multiple cores. This way you could get 100% utilization on both cores with a pair of x264 jobs, instead of the ~75% I seem to get by running a single x264 job multi-threaded.

At this instant, I have 31 jobs in the MeGUI queue. I can't be the only person who does this.

[dimzon]

E.g. launch one single-threaded job per core, instead of launching one job and hoping it will use multiple cores
Hmmm. This is really good idea!

[Sharktooth]

a sort of "multi processing behaviour" could be implemented in settings to add this possibility.
1st choice: actual behaviour
2nd choice: new behaviour

[dimzon]

a sort of "multi processing behaviour" could be implemented in settings to add this possibility.
1st choice: actual behaviour
2nd choice: new behaviour
Maybe just numeric up/down - maximal jobs at once (like in download managers)

[Sharktooth]

yes, when set to 1 use multithreading (if applicable) on a single encode. however since number of threads can be automatically set i dont think a numeric up/down would fit...

[dimzon]

yes, when set to 1 use multithreading (if applicable) on a single encode. however since number of threads can be automatically set i dont think a numeric up/down would fit...
As you said before 2-slice AVC encoding is recomended for 1-core cpu too

[Sharktooth]

uhm... an alternative would be:
1 - always use the "new" behaviour
2 - add a "optimize for multithreaded decoding" checkbox that will disable "1" and use the 2 (or more - autoset) slices for encoding

[dimzon]

uhm... an alternative would be:
1 - always use the "new" behaviour
2 - add a "optimize for multithreaded decoding" checkbox that will disable "1" and use the 2 (or more - autoset) slices for encoding
And don't forget - there are multiple depended jobs sometime... :rolleyes:

[Sharktooth]

yes, sure. child jobs should be detected and non parallelized with parent jobs.
also stat files should be named with job names to avoid conflicts.

[dimzon]

yes, sure. linked jobs should be detected and avoided by "1".
Prerendering Job reques extensive HDD space - we can't run any Prerendering Job until previous Job output will not be removed from HDD

[Sharktooth]

edited previous post
Prerendering Job reques extensive HDD space - we can't run any Prerendering Job until previous Job output will not be removed from HDD
or ensure there is enaugh free space.

[dimzon]

@Sharktooth
By the way - i'm trying to connect directly with MeGUI developers and you via ICQ (sometimes it's better than forum or PM) but can't.
My ICQ UIN is 107321832

[Sharktooth]

i lost my icq password some time ago and im not able to retrieve it coz the mail address i had specified is no longer existing.
however i'm always on MSN (tbcebola at hotmail dot com) and irc (#x264 on freenode).

[shon3i]

Request:
Add support for Audio encoding via Coding Tehnologies beacouse nero has problems with multichanel audio.

[Doom9]

@dimzon: I don't use ICQ.. never liked that bloatware.

E.g. launch one single-threaded job per core, instead of launching one job and hoping it will use multiple coresMy haircut instantly turned to spike-style when I read that. The interdependencies nightmare is just too frightening. We can have intersecting logfiles, temporary output files and job interdependencies that you don't know about. E.g. it must not be possible to launch an audio dependent video job prior to completion of the audio job. Any interdependent job needs to run in the proper order (but you can break that by moving jobs around). Furthermore, what about progress during simultaneous encoding? What about picking the next ready job to be processed? Now suddenly you add another layer of dependency that is called "don't touch that series because it's being encoded by another "me"".
And then suddenly a job starter wouldn't just have to check for the usual, but check each input and output file for the proper read/write permission to ensure that encoding can proceed.. and then of course it can always happen that the check succeeds, and due to the multithreaded nature, the other job processor starts just in that instance, is a bit faster, goes through the checks as well, everything passes, and then once encoding starts, you have a big explosion because two processes try to write to the same file or one tries to write to a file the other is trying to read from.

[Sharktooth]

lol... well... it's a bit tricky... :D

[Richard Berg]

On my multi-cpu machines, I just run 2 copies of MeGUI (from separate folders, of course, so the xml files don't conflict). It's not that hard, and won't be very common right now.

If we want to support the scenario within MeGUI, the best way would be to have multiple completely independent queues. Each would have its own tab in the UI and its own progress window.

[Sharktooth]

uhm... that way it's ugly.
well, i think this idea should be dropped at this point. we can already default megui to use always 2 threads for x264 even on single core non hyperthreaded cpus (for the reasons explained above).
and we can detect if there are more than 2 execution units and rise the number of threads to 4 for quad core or dual core hyperthreaded cpus...

[Morte66]

On my multi-cpu machines, I just run 2 copies of MeGUI (from separate folders, of course, so the xml files don't conflict). It's not that hard, and won't be very common right now.

Me too, it gets me from about 4.5 to 6fps on the stuff I've been doing lately. That's what made me put the request in. Oh well never mind, and thanks for looking at it guys.

[dimzon]

uhm... that way it's ugly.
well, i think this idea should be dropped at this point. we can already default megui to use always 2 threads for x264 even on single core non hyperthreaded cpus (for the reasons explained above).
And suspicions can be checked up:
We (rissain comminity ) take 2 clips coded with identical adjustments, in 1 and in 2 slices and we measure speed of their decoding on 2 processors nero the decoder (which supports SMP).

1 slice- 169 fps (both of the processor are loaded)
2 slice - 167 fps (both of the processor are loaded)

[Sharktooth]

interesting. maybe nero found a way to multithread the decoder using something different than slices. never looked into it...
however qt uses slices for that purpouse (but as we all know QT = coded like crap...).

[dimzon]

interesting. maybe nero found a way to multithread the decoder using something different than slices. never looked into it...
however qt uses slices for that purpouse (but as we all know QT = coded like crap...).
Elecard h264 encoders perform multithread encoding without slices too
Slices is easyest but not best way for multithreading

[Sharktooth]

indeed... but since i never used the nero decoder i thought it was using slices (like quicktime).
well, if all the mess is for accelerating quicktime playback we can drop even the 2 slices idea for single/non-multithreaded cpus.

[foxyshadis]

Well, Doom9, what about integrating Elder as a possibility? It isn't finished, but it already deals with the multiple encodings, segments, stats files, merging, and all that rubbish for you. And it works for xvid and x264. Obviously it wouldn't be bundled by default, since it's perl, but it'd be really nice to see it officially supported. Could just flip a switch and use its brand of massively multithreaded encoding rather than threads. (And since xvid and x264 support mt encoding anyway, once xvid makes it configurable you could move #threads to a global #cores option.)

[dimzon]

i believe it's easy to port Elder from rerl to C#
i'm interested in it

[Richard Berg]

Integrating Elder looks even more difficult than trying to sort out the dependency difficulties discussed earlier.

The more I think about it, the more I like having independent queues. The existing OO design should make it reasonably easy.

[Sharktooth]

IMHO idipendent queues is an ugly solution.

[dimzon]

IMHO idipendent queues is an ugly solution.
Lets wait for Doom9 refactoring first

[Mutant_Fruit]

IMHO idipendent queues is an ugly solution.
I agree aswell. I wouldn't like the idea of an app i was running having 4 independant queues because i have a dual-core dual-cpu machine.

How about this to help solve the dependancy issue... If a "job" is created, instead put all the jobs and dependant jobs inside an arraylist (just for an example, there's probably better ways of doing it. So we can go something like...


Arraylist Job1 = new Arraylist();
Job1.Add(job1_pass1);
Job1.Add(job2_pass2);
Job1.Add(job3_pass3);
....

Then...
foreach(Job job in Job1)
{
display information in the queue
}

Then, if someone wants to multithread by running two jobs at once, you just have to check that you aren't running two jobs from the one arraylist at the same time. Also, if someone has 10 "Jobs" in the queue, re-ordering them could be made safer because instead of having 20-30 unlinked jobs, we'd now have 10 Arraylists. When they'd try to move "job7_pass3" upwards, instead we'd move the Job7 arraylist above the Job6 Arraylist, then we'd print out the queue again, thus keeping Job7's jobs intact.

I don't know how it works at the moment, but how does that sound? Stupid or not?

[dimzon]

Actually one job series can contain:
multiple independed audio jobs
2-3 depended video jobs (multipass)
mux job

in this case you can run multiple audio jobs at same time


talking about such architecture we are close to "Processor controlled via Data-Flow" ideology (used in all modern CPU)

what does we need to organize such functionality:
jobs must contain references to related jobs (i.e. 2-nd pass must refer on 1-st pass, mux must refer to 2-nd pass and all audio etc)
in this case we can run any job wich related jobs is already done

[berrinam]

IMHO idipendent queues is an ugly solution.
My main gripe with independant queues is that the user would have to be actively thinking about which queue is likely to take the longest and would have to do his/her best to ensure that the encoding time balances up. This is IMHO too much work for the user who is only interested in getting a good end-result video.


How about this to help solve the dependancy issue... If a "job" is created, instead put all the jobs and dependant jobs inside an arraylist (just for an example, there's probably better ways of doing it. So we can go something like...
....
I don't know how it works at the moment, but how does that sound? Stupid or not?
I like this suggestion because it is simple. The issue about audio jobs not relying on each other, which dimzon raised, is not a huge concern, IMO, because the time taken for encoding audio is so small relative to video encoding.

what does we need to organize such functionality:
jobs must contain references to related jobs (i.e. 2-nd pass must refer on 1-st pass, mux must refer to 2-nd pass and all audio etc)
in this case we can run any job wich related jobs is already done
Didn't you suggest this sort of thing before? I agree that this is the optimum solution in customisability and reliability, but probably the most complex code-wise.

[dimzon]

but probably the most complex code-wise.
I don't think so - proper OO design can make it easy

[Doom9]

in this case you can run multiple audio jobs at same timeNo, you cannot, because at the time you pass from audio to video encoding, that's when a bunch of postprocessing routines kick in that make sure you end up with the proper video bitrate.. instead you create an undeterministic waiting period from the time the first audio job has been processed, to the time the second has and the queue can continue.
Actually, it's probably not even as hard to run two queues.. as the statusupdate contains a reference to the job that triggered the update, and related jobs are already linked (they need be for out-of-order processing and proper between job updates).
what does we need to organize such functionality:A job is a part of a linked list.. always has been for about a year now.. you can always get to the start of a series of jobs and to the end of it.. it takes no special treatment. It wouldn't even take too long to change existing functions to start/end jobs and the whole markJobxyz shebang to permit two jobs being processed in parallel (admittedly you have to place locks everywhere or it'll end up in disaster, but if you're a creative locksmith, you'll manage). What I find very perxplexing is that not a single person here but me is even thinking about the most basic question of how the heck you keep a user appraised of what's going on with two jobs in parallel, and how you need to explain a user that suddenly there's only one job being processed when there are 3 left in the queue. And on top of that, what's wrong with opening explorer, select your megui folder, press control-c, go to another folder, press control-v and you now can run megui two times completely independent without no worries whatsoever and not a single line of code needs to be written? What's wrong with the KISS approach for the 0.00001% of the users who cannot live with stock functionality?

[cc979]

just tried the 0.2.3.2097 devbuild works pretty good since the last time i tried, been busy with other things just wondering if there's any plans to show a rendering rate like the same as the video part ?

would be useful for benchmarking and comparing results with others

[Doom9]

just wondering if there's any plans to show a rendering rate like the same as the video part ?And what would a rendering rate be? I understand rendering in terms of POVRay.. essentially an fps rate.

[dimzon]

And what would a rendering rate be? I understand rendering in terms of POVRay.. essentially an fps rate.
encoding_time/audio_duration

[cc979]

And what would a rendering rate be? I understand rendering in terms of POVRay.. essentially an fps rate.

something like kBps per second, processed/rendered sorry about that

[Doom9]

encoding_time/audio_durationBut what does that ratio signify? The only thing I can imagine that would make some sense is indicating a X times realtime indicator. Also, wouldn't it be possible to have a progress indicator even in the first pass? I mean, you should be able to get the track length from avisynth, should you not?

[berrinam]

From the AviSynth documentation for the 'Normalize' filter:
The calculation of the peak value is done the first time the audio is requested, so there will be some seconds until AviSynth continues.So the first pass is done all at one point, so MeGUI can't really get any indication of the progress at any point.

[dimzon]

The only thing I can imagine that would make some sense is indicating a X times realtime indicator.
Yes, i think it's good to have such information

I mean, you should be able to get the track length from avisynth, should you not?
Yes, I can get he track length from avisynth, no problem here (actually I can get samplerate and samplecount -> i can transform it to duration )

[ChronoCross]

MAke it so the source analyser uses "idle" system resources. I have it set to analyse the whole clip. when doing so I noticed that it sucks up all my CPU. Can you make it idle like virtualdub or x264 does while encoding? Thanks

[foxyshadis]

I'd like to have crf mode save stats files. It's possible by custom commandline but it wouldn't hurt encoding at all to just save it by default.

The larger issue, 2-pass based on crf, is quite complex because you can't write the second job until you have the bitrate of the first, so no need for that. I go by "if the crf is good enough keep it, otherwise run a second pass to squeeze more quality out". It's slower but I don't always run the second, plus it's a less arbitrary bitrate target.

[foxyshadis]

2nd req: Can Exhaustive mode be removed from megui? (Whether or not it's removed from normal x264.) I doubt there's any purpose in leaving it in there in megui, when people will see it and think a slower encoding mode will improve quality. (When it's only infintesimally better than umh.) For backups and normal encoding it has no place at all.

[ChronoCross]

2nd req: Can Exhaustive mode be removed from megui? (Whether or not it's removed from normal x264.) I doubt there's any purpose in leaving it in there in megui, when people will see it and think a slower encoding mode will improve quality. (When it's only infintesimally better than umh.) For backups and normal encoding it has no place at all.

The option should still be left available to those who wish to use it. Even if it is a small difference some people are interested in the absolute best quality.

[Richard Berg]

We just need to make sure the default profiles based on it. I have a feeling 90% of users stick to Sharktooth's settings, and the ones who don't are on their own :)

[foxyshadis]

People can copy it into the command line if they need it that badly. I'm not sure why they'd use megui if they need something like esa.

[ChronoCross]

People can copy it into the command line if they need it that badly. I'm not sure why they'd use megui if they need something like esa.

ease of use. I use megui for that reason. I could do everything by hand but I prefer being able to quickly change my settings.

[foxyshadis]

In the other thread I suggested renaming it debug, which could dissuade people who think it provides a noticeable jump in quality, like moving up from dia or hex to umh. How about doing that instead?

[ChronoCross]

In the other thread I suggested renaming it debug, which could dissuade people who think it provides a noticeable jump in quality, like moving up from dia or hex to umh. How about doing that instead?

Yeah but like I said earlier. what is the point. it technically can provide better quality. pengvado said that the others sometimes beat it but not always. it's technically the best one you can use. we should just leave it as is. It's still useable and not really a debug mode.

It was also pointed out that most people just use the profiles as is. Which is the truth. the only people using it are people who know what it does.

[berrinam]

I agree that it is just a debug mode and it would discourage people from using it if it was removed from MeGUI. I agree that there a quite a few people who think they should enable everything, and then complain about how slow it is.

However, MeGUI is the only GUI at the moment which supports all of x264's features, and I don't think that we should give up on that, just for the sake of better user choices.

I think the only bridge between these two problems is some form of warning the user that it is pointless. However, I think the beginning user will just ignore any such warning, so it comes down to the choice between limiting the program and trusting the users, and I prefer to trust the users, as long as they are given a warning.

[berrinam]

MAke it so the source analyser uses "idle" system resources. I have it set to analyse the whole clip. when doing so I noticed that it sucks up all my CPU. Can you make it idle like virtualdub or x264 does while encoding? Thanks
What do other people think about the best way to manage this? I personally don't want mine to run on 'idle', because I want it to have priority over background tasks. I could put a choice somewhere, but where? Settings?

[berrinam]

<Two requests about crf mode>
Added to the list.

[ChronoCross]

What do other people think about the best way to manage this? I personally don't want mine to run on 'idle', because I want it to have priority over background tasks. I could put a choice somewhere, but where? Settings?

The source analyser settings. That would make sense to have it there. I like having it on idle just so my computer doesn't have a cow checking email while analysing a long source.

[berrinam]

Yeah, I think that's probably the best place, but still.... is it really necessary?

Just out of interest, how long does it take to analyse a long source?

[ChronoCross]

Yeah, I think that's probably the best place, but still.... is it really necessary?

Just out of interest, how long does it take to analyse a long source?

29 mins === approx 1 hour per pass.

[berrinam]

So much? I just timed on a whole DVD, and it took me 2 minutes and 11 seconds.

1. Do you have a slow/hi-res input?
2. Have you changed the settings for source detection, so it analyses more than 1% of the film?

[ChronoCross]

I have it analysing 100% of the film. that's why it takes so long. but I'm just being thurough.

[Doom9]

geez.. doing the whole movie is in the same league as using esa me ;) But I agree that everything should be runnable at idle priority.

[ChronoCross]

geez.. doing the whole movie is in the same league as using esa me ;) But I agree that everything should be runnable at idle priority.

That's why I made the some people are anal retentive about quality testing statement in the x264 and megui discusion threads about esa lol

[berrinam]

@ChronoCross: If you're willing to subject yourself to such long analysis, would you perhaps be willing to share your results with me? My last commit added diagnostics to Source Detection, so it shares much more information about what it's doing now. I wonder how much more accuracy you get by doing 100% as opposed to 1%.

If you're interested, I simply ask that when you analyse something, analyse it both at 100% and then at 1%, and show me the results. The idea is that they should be the same, but who knows?

[ChronoCross]

yeah sure. I'll run it now.

[fogbav]

Automatic Encoding All .TS Files and MPG Files from A Directory ans Subdirs ... Encode Video with fixed PRofile XXX AC3 with fixed Audio Profile YYY and all MP2 Tracks with Audio Profile ZZZ ...

Would be very usefull for all Dbox2 Owners recording streams to a special Folder an get them compressed when they are at work ..8)

Tagging working Folders make it possible to encode from different PCs so 2 or more "Encodings" can happen trough a Network share to the "recording folder"

[berrinam]

I'm not Doom9, but I'm pretty sure that I know what his response is going to be: no way. It requires a huge amount of organisation and has so many ways that the user could stuff it up, and what are the benefits? It saves a tiny amount of time in user setup (of course, the user could set it up with the one click encoder in MeGUI anyway, which is already very easy) for some few people who havze Dbox2s.

[fogbav]

Hmm ... sad to here this ... i programmed some lines with kixtart and everything work very well with all command lines put up in some "spagetti code" programming ... 8)

ts -> ProjectX -> Xvid/mp4 (over ini file - configure Codec +passes)-> Audio --> AAC 5.1 and AAC v2 with winamp codec -> Mp4box -> delete org files ...

but my programming know how is not the best ... so I thought it was a good idea to request this to the profis here in this way ...

Maybe a can spend some time with AUTOIT to transfer all files to the "one Click" encoder in megui and get my autoenconding ...

I have a time eating job and 2 kidz so the only way to get space free on my HD is to programm something that is doing the job for me ... and .. everything exists in Megui / StaxRip etc ...

anyway ... thanks

FoGBaV

[dimzon]

time eating job and 2 kidz so the only way to get space free on my HD is to programm something that is doing the job for me ...
Or teach Your wife how to use MeGUI ;)

[ChronoCross]

Request: A Button that allows for megui to always be shown in the tray.

[berrinam]

Request: A Button that allows for megui to always be shown in the tray.
Why?

Also, do you have any news on the Source Detector? Just to jog your memory:

@ChronoCross: If you're willing to subject yourself to such long analysis, would you perhaps be willing to share your results with me? My last commit added diagnostics to Source Detection, so it shares much more information about what it's doing now. I wonder how much more accuracy you get by doing 100% as opposed to 1%.

If you're interested, I simply ask that when you analyse something, analyse it both at 100% and then at 1%, and show me the results. The idea is that they should be the same, but who knows?
yeah sure. I'll run it now.
If you haven't got any results, then never mind for the moment, because I'm planning on slightly modifying the Source Detector again, so that it uses tritical's IsCombedTIVTC, which is more accurate than DeComb's IsCombed.

[berrinam]

A feature request of my own:

Add extensive commandline implementation for MeGUI. Although it is meant to be a front-end and nothing else should need to run it, commandline support could lead to integration into the shell, meaning you could right-click on a media file and select 'Open With MeGUI' or 'OneClickEncode with MeGUI', etc.

[stax76]

Add extensive commandline implementation for MeGUI. Although it is meant to be a front-end and nothing else should need to run it, commandline support could lead to integration into the shell, meaning you could right-click on a media file and select 'Open With MeGUI' or 'OneClickEncode with MeGUI', etc.

Maybe you like my CLI architecture, it has a nifty parser as well as a command engine like Visual Studio, the command engine is powered by attributes and reflection and drive both, the menus and the CLI. Adding a new CLI switch is as simple as adding a new method:


<Command("Show Message Box", Nothing)> _
Public Sub ShowMsgBox( _
<Name("Message"), Description("The message may contain macros."), Editor(GetType(MacroStringTypeEditor), GetType(UITypeEditor))> _
ByVal message As String, _
<Name("Title"), Description("The title may contain macros."), DefaultValue("StaxRip"), Editor(GetType(MacroStringTypeEditor), GetType(UITypeEditor))> _
ByVal title As String, _
<Name("Icon"), DefaultValue(GetType(MsgIcon), "Info")> _
ByVal icon As MsgIcon)

Msg.Show(Macro.Solve(message), Macro.Solve(title), icon)
End Sub


After adding the method the command is now available at the menus (http://www.planetdvb.net/staxrip/screenshots/038.png) as well as at the command line:

StaxRip.exe -ShowMessageBox:a_string,"a string in quotes",Info

That means no manual commandline parsing and all types with a TypeConverter will work which include primitive types (IConvertible) and enums and lots of other framework types like Point, Size etc.

As you can see it uses the syntax of the .NET framework tools, the syntax rocks from both, user and development (parsing) perspective. The parser is not case sensitive and supports '/' as prefix like: /showmessagebox:arg,arg2...

[berrinam]

What do other people think about this: ability to customise scripts used for Source Detection.

Basically, this would mean that instead of having two scripts hard-coded into MeGUI, these two scripts would be accessible via the Source Detector settings. The scripts could be edited by the user and MeGUI would accept them as long as they returned the correct variables within AviSynth.

Pros:
-Customisability -- it could make it easier for the user to change the Comb detection (or something else) to a more accurate method. For instance, my next update will include a change from IsCombed to IsCombedTIVTC, which is much more accurate.

Cons:
-More work for me.
-Many more ways to stuff up.
-Mainstream users probably won't have a clue/won't wont to experiment with these scripts anyway, so for most people it is just a useless feature.

I'm leaning towards not doing it, because it's more work for me and I can't see much in the way of tangible benefits. If someone can give me a good reason to allow it, though, I'll consider going the whole way and giving the user complete control over these scripts.

[Sharktooth]

uhm... naah.

[ChronoCross]

same....by being able to customize it, it means you have enough knowledge of IVTC just to do it manaully anyway.

[Bathrone]

Im just learning MeGUI and AVC encoding so apologies for any user errors :) Also, love the work so far on MeGUI and x264 :)

How about extending the mux capabilities to be able to demux as well? And be able to mux in more streams like an additional audio one after the file has been done.

And with the D2V creation, being able to put start and end points rather than having to go into DGIndex to set it if the user doesnt want to transcode the whole thing.

I wonder too if there is a way to prevent user's changing Sharktooth's profiles by mistake?

[ChronoCross]

I wonder too if there is a way to prevent user's changing Sharktooth's profiles by mistake?

You can't currently change the profiles. If you make a change tp the profile it's simply made to the settings. if you reselect the same profile whatever you changed will change back to what the profile is.

[berrinam]

How about extending the mux capabilities to be able to demux as well? And be able to mux in more streams like an additional audio one after the file has been done.You should use a dedicated muxing tool to do this -- YAMB for MP4, or mkvToolnix for Matroska.

And with the D2V creation, being able to put start and end points rather than having to go into DGIndex to set it if the user doesnt want to transcode the whole thing.That's really just video cutting. It's not so important to do it in DGIndex, as long as it is done somewhere before the encoding is done. This cutting will eventually be implemented in Avisynth, but it will probably be a while from now, so you'll just have to be patient until then.

I wonder too if there is a way to prevent user's changing Sharktooth's profiles by mistake?
You can't currently change the profiles.That's obviously not right. How would anyone manage if they couldn't changing them. I think I know what you mean, though. If you select a profile in the main window, then press config, modify it and press ok, then you won't have changed Sharktooth's profile. However, you shouldn't rely on this, because this is in fact a documented bug.

In fact, there was a feature called Safe Profile Alteration, but I believe it has been removed from MeGUI because it was a hassle and not particularly useful to us. It would be a good idea to check the settings to see if it is actually there, but if it isn't, then it's just up to the user not to fiddle with what they don't understand.

[dimzon]

You should use a dedicated muxing tool to do this -- YAMB for MP4, or mkvToolnix for Matroska.
Maybe we can add support for this into MeGUI? Why not?

[berrinam]

Maybe we can add support for this into MeGUI?What, specifically, do you mean by this?
Why not?What does it add to MeGUI's purpose, which is to be a frontend for encoding?

In particular, what advantage is there in integrating it into MeGUI as opposed to running it as a separate, already-working tool? It's good having primitive muxing in MeGUI, because it means that entire encodes can be managed automatically. But unless demuxing can be somehow integrated into an automated workflow in MeGUI, then it saves the user basically no work by our putting it in MeGUI, but it takes a lot of work for us to replicate YAMB's code (or mkvmergegui's, which is even more powerful).

[dimzon]

In particular, what advantage is there in integrating it into MeGUI as opposed to running it as a separate, already-working tool? It's good having primitive muxing in MeGUI, because it means that entire encodes can be managed automatically. But unless demuxing can be somehow integrated into an automated workflow in MeGUI, then it saves the user basically no work by our putting it in MeGUI, but it takes a lot of work for us to replicate YAMB's code (or mkvmergegui's, which is even more powerful).

MkvMerge has it's own GUI so I doesn't propose to implement yet another Matrosska muxer

But YAMB is "third-party" tool. I really think it's better to invite Kurtnoise to join in MeGUI development and move all YAMB functionality into MeGUI... YAMB is not stable until MP4BOX is beta. So Kurtnoise must perform adaptation sometimes for ne MP4BOX version. In other case we must support muxing part of code too... So joining MeGUI and YAMB we will get all code in one place, it's much easy to support

[berrinam]

In other case we must support muxing part of code too... So joining MeGUI and YAMB we will get all code in one place, it's much easy to support
It's not really going to be such a big hassle to change MP4Box code in MeGUI -- all of the relevant code should be contained in the one generateMP4BoxCommandline function. However, integrating YAMB into MeGUI could be a fair bit more work, and there is still no benefit for the user. Also, it just makes MeGUI even more bloated.

[dimzon]

However, integrating YAMB into MeGUI could be a fair bit more work, and there is still no benefit for the user. Also, it just makes MeGUI even more bloated.
I doesn't think is too hard to implement it. And I really dislike to use too much applications at once - so I prefer to add additional functionality to MeGUI. And other users doe't like it too. Really you need different applications to encode / mux / split / extract MP4. In opposit way VirtualDub perform everything in one application. This (usability/comfort) is one of reason why users prefer x264 VfW and AVI container. Anycase this work can be done/planned with lowest priority...

[berrinam]

I can partly understand your reasons for wanting it.... just two final questions:
What exactly do you have in mind for it?
If we are going to put the level of flexibility with editing that VDub allows into MeGUI (which I think is a good idea for SOME application; not necessarily MeGUI), then wouldn't it be better to go the whole way and support matroska cutting as well. Once the GUI is done, the generation of the commandlines are trivial by comparison, as long as the code is well-designed.

[Doom9]

In fact, there was a feature called Safe Profile Alteration, but I believe it has been removed from MeGUI because it was a hassle and not particularly useful to us.No, it's still there, but I noticed that it hasn't been updated when a codec's option get updated. And profiles are updated just fine.. just switch between two of them in a codec configuration dialog.

but it takes a lot of work for us to replicate YAMB's codeDid you say lot? You probably mean LOOOOOOOOOOOOTS.. it would add another dimension to the "ideal mux path" finding (and the ideal encoder output finding.. that's already two dimensions too many).. and that code is making me insane as it is.

[dimzon]

it would add another dimension to the "ideal mux path" finding
Why? Maybe Your code have suboptimal architecture? Anycase we must wait until Your commit...

[berrinam]

A few things to consider:

If MeGUI is meant to target an audience that knows nothing about video encoding (that's what I imagine the One Click Encoder is for), then it might be worthwhile adding some kind of 'quality' scheme, as a %, like other commercial programs do (wmeconder, for example). This would basically be implemented as a codec-specific mapping from a quality % to quantizer or crf-type mode.

Add extra support for Drag'n'Drop in the other windows. So, in a mux window, you could drag all the inputs in.

Also, I wonder how useful the 'and close' feature in the D2V creator and One Click Encoder is. Perhaps it would be better if it were checked by default, because the default behavior ATM is that pressing Queue/Go gives no indication that anything has happened. In fact, MeGUI has several quirks like this that make it confusing for the new user.

[kurt]

Feature Request for xvid_encraw: cqm support with squid_80's build should work (maybe in cvs too?) - could this also be included in MeGUI?

and what about adding a custom commandline option in the xvid encoder dialog? (this feature exists for x264 under zones)

thx in advcance
(sorry, if this has been asked before)

[Doom9]

Feature Request for xvid_encraw:all of the options of squid's build are already supported in the code on my harddisk.. but it's other parts that are extremely broken so it will take weeks if not month before the whole thing is usable again. Add to that that I'm under constant deadline pressure at work so at home I really don't feel like writing more code.

[kurt]

ok, Doom - thx for the clarification and there's no need to rush :)

[cc979]

is it possible, on the log screen to have a clear log function because would quicker than reloading it, easier to kept track of things on multible encodes and it would save you from re-opening files too

[berrinam]

is it possible, on the log screen to have a clear log functionYep, it's possible.
because would quicker than reloading it, easier to kept track of things on multible encodes and it would save you from re-opening files tooI don't understand what you are saying.

[cc979]

i must have been really tired, i meant it would be easier to clear the log screen - than reloading megui with opened avs files - so you could make profile changes quickly on test encodes and at a quick clear log encode and see problems quicker

cheers

[cc979]

after reading thru the dev section and seeing all talk macros, magic numbers and things with saved settings and that

could it be possible to save the script from the main screen in some sort of xml file with all the settings, SAR, DAR included so you can encode stuff later and not worry and possibly with option to re-save it as as .avs script

[cc979]

just curious do the anime presets in Convolution3DYV12.dll work ok, i have added them to the ScriptServer.cs file seems ok

[Ogig]

(Didn't know whether to post in bug thread or here, hope it's the right place.)

When using the Avisynth Script Generator I noticed that 720 is the maximum width. Is there a reason for this limitation ?

[GmorG McRoth]

I'm not sure if somone else mentioned it already (If so, I'm with him), but could it be possible to change color of font in status window? currently is unreadable in most of windows themes I like to use. Screen shot (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/window.jpg)

[berrinam]

When using the Avisynth Script Generator I noticed that 720 is the maximum width. Is there a reason for this limitation ?Yep -- your source is only 720 pixels wide, and there's no point in upsizing unless you use a very advanced upsizer like iiP, in which case MeGUI can give you no help.

I'm not sure if somone else mentioned it already (If so, I'm with him), but could it be possible to change color of font in status window? currently is unreadable in most of windows themes I like to use. Screen shot (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/window.jpg)
No. The font works well in the standard Windows themes, and there have been many other people posting skinned screenshots with no troubles like that. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that MeGUI skins properly, so if there's something up, I would say there is something wrong with your font. And it simply requires way too much work to make every font skinnable. Perhaps dimzon can contribute his experience with HTMLayout (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=806360#post806360) to helping your problem, but other than that, I would say it is way too much work.

[berrinam]

i must have been really tired, i meant it would be easier to clear the log screen - than reloading megui with opened avs files - so you could make profile changes quickly on test encodes and at a quick clear log encode and see problems quickerI can't really see the benefits, but I don't imagine it would be too much work, either, so I've added it to the list. I'm also considering a different approach to the log (see my next post no, don't. I changed my mind) which may mean this isn't necessary.
could it be possible to save the script from the main screen in some sort of xml file with all the settings, SAR, DAR included so you can encode stuff later and not worry and possibly with option to re-save it as as .avs scriptWhat is there to store other than SAR/DAR?

[dimzon]

Perhaps dimzon can contribute his experience with HTMLayout (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=806360#post806360) to helping your problem

Actually I want test IUI paradigm and HTMLayout in BeHappy and (if success) propose it to MeGUI ;) Actually current MeGUI look and feel is too complex for novice.

[berrinam]

Two AviSynth-related ideas:

Cropping can be done by the resizer. This is undoubtedly faster, and I think it also allows for mod1 cropping, which is much better than at the moment. To integrate this into the script creator (which I think we should), the templates would need to be reorganised, because there is no guarantee that they are going to be consecutive. I propose the addition of another tag, <resize-crop>, which will insert the resizer with cropping if relevant.

According to foxyshadis, ColorMatrix() is a good idea on most sources, as DVDs tend to use Rec.701 and MPEG-4 uses Rec.601 (I have no idea about the numbers or what they mean, I'm just taking it on trust). More importantly, DGDecode hints the stream, so that ColorMatrix() will autodetect the right thing to do. So it won't be bad in any cases. I think, then, that ColorMatrix should be checked by default, not unchecked.

I said I was going to propose another idea about the log. I've changed my mind -- I don't like it.

Actually I want test IUI paradigm and HTMLayout in BeHappy and (if success) propose it to MeGUI ;)Yes, sure. I was just saying that this might be a solution sometime in the future.

Actually current MeGUI look and feel is too complex for novice.I totally agree. MeGUI still needs a lot of work, but it is very promising.

@dimzon: Would you be willing to implement this:
Be able to choose the sampling rate for audio
Description: See quake74's post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=764825#post764825)
Status : Nobody is working on it.

[dimzon]

@dimzon: Would you be willing to implement this:
No problem - but I'm waiting Doom9 refactoring first (to drop out BeSweet support). Actually current Doom9 refactoring is a huge bottleneck for development...

[GmorG McRoth]

No. The font works well in the standard Windows themes, and there have been many other people posting skinned screenshots with no troubles like that. I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that MeGUI skins properly, so if there's something up, I would say there is something wrong with your font. And it simply requires way too much work to make every font skinnable. Perhaps dimzon can contribute his experience with HTMLayout (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=806360#post806360) to helping your problem, but other than that, I would say it is way too much work.

I know I have no right to complain, It is free software. I was just asking for improvement. I have little to no programming knowlage, I was thinking that changing font color is not a big deal, but if you say, its much to rewrite, to change one font, it's indeed bigger chore than it's worth. I attach, for your consideration screenshots of other skins.

windows default:
XP Blue (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/XPblue.jpg)
XP Olive (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/XPolive.jpg)
XP Silver (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/XPsilver.jpg)
Windows Classic (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/ClassicWindows.jpg)
Windows Classic High Contrast (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/Classicwindowshighcontrast1.jpg) (works best XD)

Custom Thames:
Lamina RC (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/LaminaRC.jpg)
ReLuna - Bluetiful (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/RElunaBluetiful.jpg)
ReLuna - Em3lent (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/window.jpg)
Sustenance - Slate (http://gmorg.mcroth.googlepages.com/Sustenance-Slate.jpg)

I hope I did not taken too much of your time.

[foxyshadis]

The problem is more that it uses the disabled text color than that it uses grey, making it harder to read than it needs to be. Do they have to be disabled textboxes instead of captions?

[Ogig]

Yep -- your source is only 720 pixels wide, and there's no point in upsizing unless you use a very advanced upsizer like iiP, in which case MeGUI can give you no help.

What about anamorph encoded content. See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106987 for details.

[berrinam]

What about anamorph encoded content. See http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=106987 for details.What about it? Just check 'Retain full resolution and set SAR in encoder' and then you're done. Still no need to upsize.

[thuongshoo]

I have just tried to use Megui . Speed of it isn't quick .Only 2 frm/s . Can you add "stream data pipeline " ?
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/9162/pipeline7xs.th.png (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pipeline7xs.png)
thanks !

[Doom9]

megui has very limited influence on speed.. it does nothing complex with the stdout from the encoder. And those settings would affect an encoder.. megui is just a control software, it has no influence on buffers within an encoder software.

Actually current Doom9 refactoring is a huge bottleneck for development...I posted the sources on Thursday so that you can help speed up the process ;)

@GmorG McRoth: If you can show me that MeGUI violates Microsoft suggested design guidelines by using read-only textboxes, this is a problem of whomever designed those skins and any other software using read-only textboxes will run into the exact same problem.. so the skin's bad, not the software. I have never liked skinnable software and anything that doesn't adhere to the platforms normal look and design.. breaking style makes it a lot harder for users to get to know a certain software.

[GmorG McRoth]

@Doom9 I don't know microsoft design guidelines, also I had no idea that they were "disabled textboxes" untill foxyshadis said so. For me grey text on grey background is design flaw so I tried to bring it to developers atention. As I see it's mostly microsoft foult for making "disabled textboxes" font color setting hiden somewhere in system (or in skin file). Ill try to fix this on my side then.

Thanks for MeGUI by the way it's great software despite this one thing.

[thuongshoo]

I'm not a programmer . If using x264.exe , can we make function "stream data pipeline" ?
Virtualdub can't use aac encoder and make .mp4 . What's a pity .

[berrinam]

I'm not a programmer . If using x264.exe , can we make function "stream data pipeline" ?
Virtualdub can't use aac encoder and make .mp4 . What's a pity .
I don't understand you. What do you mean by "stream data pipeline"?

EDIT: I read your earlier post and Googled it. I found this result:

(From http://www.virtualdub.org/docs_faster )
What do the Performance settings do?

Short answer: leave them alone.
...
Stream data pipelining controls the number of audio and video buffers in flight in VirtualDub's pipeline; this is the companion to the AVI output buffering setting. One buffer is used for one video frame, or one video frame's worth of audio data. Again, this value rarely speeds anything up if you're doing a slow operation like recompression, and raising it can have extremely bad consequences -- setting 256 buffers on a 640x480, 24-bit uncompressed RGB file could conceivably cause VirtualDub to allocate 235MB of memory. Increasing it on a direct stream copy operation with a highly compressed input could help, but that tends to already be speedy with the defaults.

So, that issue is not to do with MeGUI, it's x264's problem, and I would also say it isn't a problem -- x264 is just slow, because it is very powerful

[jmk]

i like that megui now calculates the --sar value for x264 according to what you put in into the "sample aspect ratio" in the config dialogue.

but would it somehow be possible to have a checkbox that disables the automatic calculation and passes the values that i input into those fields to x264 as the --sar values instead? (like it used to be...).


thx,
jmk

btw: i am using v0.2.3.2118

[Doom9]

according to what you put in into the "sample aspect ratio" in the config dialogue.it hardly does that.. rather it fills those values, but only if you tell it to. Unless you configure megui to signal dar in the avisynth script creator or one click encoder, whatever you configured in the two sar fields in the x264 configuration will be applied (and by default that's 1:1 so nothing will be set).

[berrinam]

it hardly does that.. rather it fills those values, but only if you tell it to. Unless you configure megui to signal dar in the avisynth script creator or one click encoder, whatever you configured in the two sar fields in the x264 configuration will be applied (and by default that's 1:1 so nothing will be set).
Actually, those fields are treated as DAR, Display Aspect Ratio (the labels might be wrong, though). This means that MeGUI does in fact convert them to sar just before encoding. I made it that way because I made a general decision that DAR is more useful than SAR. I think it is worth allowing either.

[thuongshoo]

I don't understand you. What do you mean by "stream data pipeline"?

EDIT: I read your earlier post and Googled it. I found this result:


So, that issue is not to do with MeGUI, it's x264's problem, and I would also say it isn't a problem -- x264 is just slow, because it is very powerful
"stream data pipeline" , is a fucntion , .Perhaps you don't understand "function" .:D
yes ,
Stream data pipelining controls the number of audio and video buffers in flight in VirtualDub's pipeline
So can you do the same in Megui ?
I want to have a function which named "Stream data pipeline" , controls the number of audio and video buffers in flight in Megui's pipeline :D
Virtualdub have 3 function concerns with "pipeline" , you can view the picture which I posted .
Virtualdub uses x264vfw while Megui uses x264.exe ,so I don't know whether Megui can boost speed as Virtualdub :D
Again, this value rarely speeds anything up if you're doing a slow operation like recompression, and raising it can have extremely bad consequences
yes , I agree with Averly Lee but it is not bad function completely . If I use 256 buffers (maximum) , output file can be bad but I use less 256 buffers , Virtualdub is ok .Adding , Virtualdub using .Avi as output container , it is said that .Avi is not a good container for x264
The speed actually increase if I increase "AVI buffer" .I use Virtualdub and the speed is often 16 frame/s while is only 2 frame/s for Megui

[berrinam]

I still don't completely understand what it does, however, I feel confident enough to say, "It has nothing to do with MeGUI". Make a feature request either to the Avisynth devs or the x264 devs for that.

As far as the actual processing goes, MeGUI does nothing. It just sits and watches x264 and Avisynth do all the work, and reports back with how much they've done.

[Doom9]

You don't seem to understand how megui works. Megui has no pipelines.. it doesn't read video data.. x264.exe reads video data, encodes and writes video data.. it's all in one tool. All megui does is give parameters to x264.exe and display the status as reported by x264.exe.

[thuongshoo]

You don't seem to understand how megui works. Megui has no pipelines.. it doesn't read video data.. x264.exe reads video data, encodes and writes video data.. it's all in one tool. All megui does is give parameters to x264.exe and display the status as reported by x264.exe.
yes .Thank for explaining . Before I also guess that Megui is only actually a Gui ,dont do anything , transcoding is job of encoder . Perhaps this is a advantage of x264.exe

[thuongshoo]

wrote by thuongshoo
Perhaps this is a advantage of x264.exe
I'm sorry !
Perhaps this is a disadvantage of x264.exe :D

[Richard Berg]

I'm not sure you understand how x264 (or VDub for that matter) work either. x264's backend will always be slower than disk I/O, so adding buffers would just be a waste of memory. It loads Avisynth, which does have PVideoFrames (equivalent to one of VDub's pipelines), but since it's a nonlinear editor the allocation is much much more complex than VDub. There's no way to fit the concept of a static # of pipelines into Avisynth: the number of frames and clips in the system is dynamic, and it also has an aggressive cache. The closest equivalent would be the SetMemoryMax function, but as the name implies, that's a maximum rather than a static #.

All of these programs are open source. If you come up with any workable ideas, submit a patch.

[thuongshoo]

Megui convert file by x264.exe and Avisynth . It is good .I have a mpeg-2 which can't be transcoded by Virtualdub but Megui can do well . I'm very surprise .
Averly Lee says that Using a large buffer make VD encode while it waits for disk I/O .
Oh ! all thing is theory . If increasing AVI buffer and pipeline , processing speed will increase . Have you try to do this with VD ?
VD uses x264vfw.dll while Megui uses x264.exe
Maybe we can't do this in MEgui because it use Avisynth . I guess that . I don't dare say because I'm a pro programmer :D

[denise]

difference setting between x264 MeGUI and x264vfw VD ---> difference speed.

Use MP4 box -aviraw video to extract raw h264 from .avi that made by VD . Mux new .264 and .aac in to .mp4 as you desire.

[foxyshadis]

Heavy pipelining is only useful for huge disk operations, on the order of tens of megabytes read and written a second. Capture and direct stream processing fall into this, heavy final encoding does not. x264 already uses asynch i/o afaik, which provides a big boost, and pipelining doesn't gain much over that.

He discusses it in this entry (http://www.virtualdub.org/blog/pivot/entry.php?id=31):

If your render operation is projected to take 14 hours and its speed is better measured in SPF than FPS, just leave the buffering settings alone. Tweaking them isn't likely to speed anything up.

[thuongshoo]

wrote by thuongshoo
because I'm a pro programmer
oh ! shock ! shock ! I'm sorry
because I'm not pro programmer :D

To denise : thank you ! I will try
To foxyshadis : I will read it .My english is n ot good so I need time to understand it .

[Kayaker]

I'd love to have vorbis sound suppont in MeGUI.

Until you resolve the avisynth sound support for Vorbis would it possible to add at least muxing of Vorbis sound with mkvmege ?

Cos mkverge is perfectly capable of doing so.

Thanks a lot for the BEST encoding GUI.

[Bathrone]

Just a useability suggestion on the UI - buttons could be made inactive until they can be actually used. e.g. Not having the job tab start button enabled until a job exists in the que.

Thanks to all involved in MeGUI, a great app that Im sure is setting the stage for our AVC future.

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

Hi guys, I have one reasonable suggestion for future MeGUI builds?

Instead supporting ONLY AVS input, devs should introduce direct work with AVI. MPG and other video files, without need for AVS script.

That's because most people doesn't need filters in AviSynth, so direct work with MPG and AVI files would be nice.

http://img438.imageshack.us/img438/6660/suggest9wo.jpg

Any good thoughs, devs. I don't need AviSynth scripts very often, I just want to encode in MP4 or MKV container directly, without AVS scripts.

[chipzoller]

I don't need AviSynth scripts very often, I just want to encode in MP4 or MKV container directly, without AVS scripts.

I agree this would be nice. Most of the time I don't NEED scripts but have to make them anyway.

[ChronoCross]

It does have a meinimize to tray already.

View --> minmize to tray

[foxyshadis]

There's nothing nice about his request, all that needs to change is the drag-drop (and file open) handlers need to be extended to accept and handle directshow types (mkv, mp4, mov, wmv, etc). And, possibly, avisynth input renamed to video input, except then we'd get the exact opposite requests from people asking for an avisynth input.

[ChronoCross]

Not to mention demultiplexing issues, Remuxing control, container capabilites(in temrs of handling audio and video streams).

There is a whole lot to consider if Megui were to start accepting all types of files.

[chipzoller]

It does have a meinimize to tray already.

View --> minmize to tray

My bad...never seen it under 'view'

[foxyshadis]

Well, the video just gets sent to a directshowsource call, so if that fails you just pop up a dialog saying "No system splitter or decoder available for this format! Please install [haali's and ffdshow|realplayer|WMP codecs]."

If you get beyond that into multiple streams, subtitles, chapters, etc, you're in for a world of pain for not much gain. ;_;

[berrinam]

Ok, done! You can now open any video source that works with DirectShowSource in a number of ways:
Go to the AviSynth script creator and open it there
Drag it onto MeGUI, which will open it in the AviSynth script creator
Use File->Open, which will also open it in the AviSynth script creator

At the moment, the only supported filetypes for DirectShow are *.avi, *.mp4, *.mkv, and *.rmvb. Everything else is accessible through the 'All files' filter. If someone wants to givve a me a better list of file extensions for DSS-loadable files, please go ahead.

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

Yuo don't inderstand my point berrinam. We, common users, want to open video files directly, without AVS interfering. I hate to make AVS script every time.

[ChronoCross]

Yuo don't inderstand my point berrinam. We, common users, want to open video files directly, without AVS interfering. I hate to make AVS script every time.

your an idiot. do you have any idea how much would be required to build a directshow decoder directly into megui??? Seriously man....it's best to do your decoding through avisynth. it allows us to deal with things better as the framework is already finished.

[dimzon]

your an idiot. do you have any idea how much would be required to build a directshow decoder directly into megui??? Seriously man....it's best to do your decoding through avisynth. it allows us to deal with things better as the framework is already finished.
maybe we can create AVS script impicitly without showing any avs-creation GUI

[ChronoCross]

true. but I think what KRP is asking for is basically virtualdub. Where the video file is handled implicitly where the end of encoding all the stuff is done already.

That would mean that megui would have to be able to differentiate between all tracks(video, audio, subs) Their given track names and other info be able to wrap that in avisynth with no user input, and then figure out how to keep them into the next container with the same attribs.

Considering all the things that can go wrong in this process(audio compatibility, video changes and whatnot) there would have to be a substantial amount of time put in to get every possible situation and prereq for each container both input and output.

[cc979]

@berrinam cheers for clear log button,
just noticed the resize disable nice touch - but maybe a idea to turn on resize automaticly if crop is used and its not a mod of 8/16(not remember which)

[shon3i]

maybe we can create AVS script impicitly without showing any avs-creation GUI
For example something like AutoGK

[berrinam]

@cc979: I dunno.... if I turned resizing off, I wouldn't want it to turn back on when I selected my cropping. You have a point, though.

@all: Yep, I am considering doing that implicit avs creation. There needs to be some way to smoothly integrate the two, so if people can come up with some ideas, that would be great.

The way that I thin the implicit avs creation would work would not be like AutoGK, as shon3i said, but simply a single input line. So, if you load a video file, then MeGUI creates an avs that has a DirectShowSource call (or AviSource, etc), with no resizing or cropping. If you want to configure it yourself, then you (somehow) tell MeGUI to open this with the AviSynth script creator, and if you want AutoGK-style automated script generation, you use the One Click Encoder (this could do with some extension, to support directshowsource files for input -- perhaps using the MediaInfo lib for track information).

[cc979]

@berrinam ... if autocrop is used and resizer is disabled maybe increase the crop so it is a mod of 16 or re-enable the resize or give a choice

depends on the encode maybe

[Romario]

your an idiot. do you have any idea how much would be required to build a directshow decoder directly into megui??? Seriously man....it's best to do your decoding through avisynth. it allows us to deal with things better as the framework is already finished.

Beside your bad maners:( , I support KRP request for direct opening of video files in future MeGUI builds. Common users needs that.

[ChronoCross]

your basically the same person so whatever. Besides ignoring the technical reasons for this MeGUI is NOT Virtualdub. Re-read a few of my posts and you'll understand why implementing it will be not worth the effort.

[foxyshadis]

If you need a virtualdub for newer formats, please, use avidemux! It was made to be a virtualdub-style editor for them. MeGUI is just an encoder that levarages smart algorithms and the power of avisynth to make your encoding easier, but it will never be an NLE.

[Doom9]

Here's the only thing that makes sense from a programmer's perspective: relax the filter to other types. If the file selected has the extension .avs, everything works as normal. If the extension is .avi, megui writes a new avs named yourmovie.avi.avs containing:
avisource("yourmovie.avi")
and loads that avs. The avs is written in the same directory as the avi.
If the extension is anything else, the avs written has the same naming system, but instead contains
directshowsource("yourmovie.extension")

But for megui, there's only avs and anything that goes beyond that would be a major effort - that time is better invested into something else.
Also keep in mind a directshowsource call without fps is dangerous.. but it's the only thing that can be done because we can't just get fps info from an arbitrary file unless either writing parsers for X different containers, or start messing with directshow (render the file and hopefully the fps can be gotten from that).
But in the input window, you still only have avs shown, and you cannot use the typing facility to manually put a non avs filename there.. that would already turn things too complicated again.

[berrinam]

Here's the only thing that makes sense from a programmer's perspective: relax the filter to other types. If the file selected has the extension .avs, everything works as normal. If the extension is .avi, megui writes a new avs named yourmovie.avi.avs containing:
avisource("yourmovie.avi")
and loads that avs. The avs is written in the same directory as the avi.
If the extension is anything else, the avs written has the same naming system, but instead contains
directshowsource("yourmovie.extension")This system is what I plan to implement (however, not with AviSource. avisource has problems with non-VfW decoders). It shouldn't be hard (the infrastructure is already there in the AviSynth script creator, which I extended in my last commit to support arbitrary filetypes using DSSource), and MeGUI's error checking for video should avoid some problems (well, it will detect AviSynth errors, which includes problems with not signalling fps, as well as mod16 and colorspace problems), so it can't really stuff MeGUI up.

EDIT: Done. It is a very stupid script generator, and it won't deal with any problems like flipped video. If you run into them that's your problem -- use the Avisynth script creator which is designed to deal with all of that.

[faxmactor]

"Shutdown when finished" is going onto my mind :mad:

I don't think there's any user who wants to go on with the shutdown when he aborts a job manually. :(

Besides that, a timed interception possibility would be useful, just in case. (Encodes packed with filters take so long that one might forget that the option has been set.)

:thanks:

[shon3i]

I can't belive MeGUI finally looks like a big app for multiformat encoding, all greetings to MeGUI devs, but you miss only one big thing. That's thing is 5.1 audio encoding. I know MeGUI supports 5.1 encoding for both BeSweet and AviSynth, but encoders is very bad. Nero and FAAC need bitrate like AC3 to sounds normaly. So only one encoder is good for 5.1 HE encoding and we know is that Coding Tehnologies (Winamp). Thanks to Dimzon and his encAACPlus.exe comandline encoder, encoding is very sipmply. New Nero encoder shall to be out in few months which all bugs in 5.1 encoding is cleared but until now you can add support for CT becouse is aslo good in stereo encoding. CT now support both LC and HE profiles, aslo LC encoder support 8-320kbs, HE 8-320kbs, 6ch HE 96-213kbs which all bitrates good for 1cd rips especialy 96-128, and 128-213 is good for 2 or more cd's, aslo LC supports 6ch. Thanks

EDIT: Encoding via BeSweet have no sense, so clear your agony and remove it form MeGUI

[dimzon]

I can't belive MeGUI finally looks like a big app for multiformat encoding, all greetings to MeGUI devs, but you miss only one big thing. That's thing is 5.1 audio encoding. I know MeGUI supports 5.1 encoding for both BeSweet and AviSynth, but encoders is very bad. Nero and FAAC need bitrate like AC3 to sounds normaly. So only one encoder is good for 5.1 HE encoding and we know is that Coding Tehnologies (Winamp). Thanks to Dimzon and his encAACPlus.exe comandline encoder, encoding is very sipmply. New Nero encoder shall to be out in few months which all bugs in 5.1 encoding is cleared but until now you can add support for CT becouse is aslo good in stereo encoding. CT now support both LC and HE profiles, aslo LC encoder support 8-320kbs, HE 8-320kbs, 6ch HE 96-213kbs which all bitrates good for 1cd rips especialy 96-128, and 128-213 is good for 2 or more cd's, aslo LC supports 6ch. Thanks
AFIAK this feature (CT AAC encoder support) is in TODO list. Unfortunally there are huge work (refactiring) to do before it and we (Doom9 and I) are too busy IRL now

[shon3i]

@dimzon thanks anyway. When you back to url can you start working on this. I am not sure but i don't now how nero distribute their new aac codec, Ivan told that will be new distribution and maybe limitation over encoding.

[cc979]

@berrinam
just had time to do some testing (0.2.3.2129 20 April 2006)

good job on the mod16 stuff :) :thanks:

just a little feature when encoding an .avs maybe have script preview window, incase some forget which what they are encoding

[chipzoller]

I would like to request the addition of MP3 audio support in MP4 muxing operation. I realize AAC is the favored choice and perhaps the better one, but nonetheless if MP3 is supported in the container format, I think megui should be able to do it, and this shouldn't be a big deal to add.

[berrinam]

I agree, but this will probably have to wait until the refactor is committed.

[Doom9]

@berrinam: if not already done, all that needs to be done to support that is adding the mp3 audio type as supported audio type.. I may have even already done it. Then of course there's the matter of making the mux windows muxer aware to they allow you to select input types that the muxer supports..

[chipzoller]

Also, another request....
I think perhaps it's time megui had its own icon. It seems to be in a worthy enough state :)

Or is this feature in the works?

As always, many thanks for the outstanding program.

[Morte66]

Small ease of use request: when using file dialogues to open souce audio files for encoding, please treat Avisynth files (.avs) as an audio format along with .ac3, .dts etc. I create quite a few combined audio/video scripts to retime PAL movies to 24fps, so I often have avisynth as an audio source.

[ChronoCross]

That however would be undetectable as to you having audio in the avs script. so it would be pointless.

you can't encode audio and video together and change the audio format. just won't work. Audio must be encoded separately.

if you had a completely separate avs for audio it would be another matter.

[Morte66]

* confused *

I do mean to encode the audio separately. Perhaps I should give an example. Say I have externally created an avisynth script called deadwood3.avs which has 24fps audio and video streams:

LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DGMPGDec\dgdecode.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files\avisynth 2.5\plugins\NicAudio.dll")
video=mpeg2source("C:\MyDox\My Videos\Staging\Deadwood 3\VTS_01_1.d2v",cpu=4)
audio=nicac3source("VTS_01_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3",2)
audiodub(video,audio)
AssumeFPS(24,1,true)
SSRC(48000,false)

I open it once as a video source and again as a sound source, maybe using "AutoEncode" to do the mux as well, to get 2 or 3 related jobs. I open it as video as normal on th emain input tab, no problem. Then I in the main input tab I click on the "..." button to the right of the audio input filename. That launches the "Select your audio input" dialogue. In the bottom drop-list on that dialogue, labelled "Files of type", I can choose "Supported audio formats" {default}, "AC3 audio", "DTS audio", "MPEG audio", "WAV audio", and "All Files (*.*). At them moment, I have to choose "All Files" to open an avisynth file like deadwood3.avs as my source sound file. I would like to see "Avisynth Audio" added to the list of audio file types, and for it to fall within "Supported audio formats" so that avisynth files appear when I first launch the "Select your audio input" dialogue. {edit} It would also be quite useful if the audio input box on the main Input tab accepted avs files via drag and drop, like it accepts ac3 etc.

[I'm referring to versions 0.2.3.2065 and 0.2.3.2127, if that matters. I've encoded over 100 files this way, generally to x264/FAAC.]

[ChronoCross]

why don't you just encode the AC3 Seperately? you can do the same SSRC transform in the audio config dialog. Your method seems strangely wrong to me.

[dimzon]

why don't you just encode the AC3 Seperately? you can do the same SSRC transform in the audio config dialog. Your method seems strangely wrong to me.

LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DGMPGDec\dgdecode.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files\avisynth 2.5\plugins\NicAudio.dll")
video=mpeg2source("C:\MyDox\My Videos\Staging\Deadwood 3\VTS_01_1.d2v",cpu=4)
audio=nicac3source("VTS_01_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3",2)
audiodub(video,audio)
AssumeFPS(24,1,true)
SSRC(48000,false)
trim(123,456)


In this case this method is good, isn't it? :)

[Morte66]

why don't you just encode the AC3 Seperately? you can do the same SSRC transform in the audio config dialog. Your method seems strangely wrong to me.

I can? Where, and how? I see no option for the slowdown/resample, just delay/gain and channel mix options. What am I missing? Can you walk me through how you would do it, if you don't mind?

I actually do it this way becuase I've got Robot4Rip set up to write the avisynth script for me in its "Finalize" stage. In R4R I can spend a minute setting up 4-6 jobs for a TV DVD then wander off for 40 minutes while it does all the rip-index-vobsub-avs cycles. Then I spend another minute queueing up the avs files for encoding in MeGUI. Every other workflow I've tried requires repeated attention during the preparation process. OCE is close, but (AFAIK) it won't do PAL->24 or subtitles. So I just use it when I don't need either, which generally means US NTSC IVTCd to 23.976fps or some UK TV DVDs made from 25fps video.

But if you know a better way (i.e. requires less of my time per DVD encode), I'm all ears.

[ChronoCross]

LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DGMPGDec\dgdecode.dll")
loadplugin("C:\Program Files\avisynth 2.5\plugins\NicAudio.dll")
video=mpeg2source("C:\MyDox\My Videos\Staging\Deadwood 3\VTS_01_1.d2v",cpu=4)
audio=nicac3source("VTS_01_1 T01 3_2ch 448Kbps DELAY 0ms.ac3",2)
audiodub(video,audio)
AssumeFPS(24,1,true)
SSRC(48000,false)
trim(123,456)


In this case this method is good, isn't it? :)

true but your also assuming this hasn't already been done in the ripping or d2v creation stage. I suppose this could be a good thing for people who do avisynth editing for AMV's. I'll throw my support in for this feature.

[CobraX]

Can you guys implement the new free Nero AAC Encoder? You can find it here (http://www.nero.com/nerodigital/eng/Nero_Digital_Audio.html).

You can also read more about it here (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=44275).

[fatboyfin]

Can you guys implement the new free Nero AAC Encoder? You can find it here (http://www.nero.com/nerodigital/eng/Nero_Digital_Audio.html).

You can also read more about it here (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=44275).

I would also like to make this feature request.

[ChronoCross]

it doesn't work right now as a valid option. it only accepts wav files. and apparently only ones created using a microsoft encoder cause a .wav I have from one of my import DVD's doesn't work in the encoder.

I've also been pouring over their forums and it seems it doesn't work on 98% of the machines people are using. so until any of these bugs are resolved and they add support for other input formats I wouldn't recommend using it.

[jpl]

Can MeGUI be expanded to include support for the CT AAC encoder? This would provide a nice alternative to Nero for HE encoding.

Thanks
JPL

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

And newest Nero AAC encoder, also.

[Doom9]

@jpl: can and will.. I don't know why it's not in the list but it has long since been an approved future feature.
@KPR: striked for rule 1.. two posts above Chronocross already explained why the encoder in question cannot be supported.

[Latexxx]

it doesn't work right now as a valid option. it only accepts wav files. and apparently only ones created using a microsoft encoder cause a .wav I have from one of my import DVD's doesn't work in the encoder.

Use -ignorelength -q 0.4 -if - -of file.mp4 for stdin source.

I've also been pouring over their forums and it seems it doesn't work on 98% of the machines people are using. so until any of these bugs are resolved and they add support for other input formats I wouldn't recommend using it.

It currently requires sse2 which isn't available in athlon xp and pentium 3 machines. Newer machines work and they've already said that they are working on a version which works on all machines.

[dimzon]

I've also been pouring over their forums and it seems it doesn't work on 98% of the machines people are using. so until any of these bugs are resolved and they add support for other input formats I wouldn't recommend using it.
AFAIK problem is in SSE2 (it reques SSE2 capable CPU)
And MeGUI doesn't need nothing except WAV via STDIN support
So it will be extreme easy to replace and use this encoder instead of NeroRaw.Exe + dll's
But we need to wait for support of non SSE2-capable CPU's first

[shon3i]

Guy's why just now clear some things, why just completly remove support for BeSweet and FAAC, there is not need anymore for audio encodings. Instead FAAC add support for CT. And we get MeGUI with tree most uses audio codecs, NERO,CT,MP3 and what you think about implementing four codec like OGG. This lastest beta of ogg is very good in everything.

[Doom9]

why just completly remove support for BeSweetIt's already gone.. ask berrinam.. some code is still there but the encoder shouldn't be registered anymore.. so.. when it's done, besweet support will be gone.
Ogg will come, too. And BeLight already supports various other encoders that could easily be integrated. FAAC will remain though because only faac allows to have a 100% open source solution.

[shon3i]

FAAC will remain though because only faac allows to have a 100% open source solution.Yes but i think nobody uses him becouse can disturb quality

New NERO encoder just realised. non SSE2 machine works

[Latexxx]

FAAC will remain though because only faac allows to have a 100% open source solution.
I've nothing against keeping FAAC besides Nero but Nero has one great advantage: They pay the appropriate license fees and thus downloading their coder is more legal than downloading faac binaries at least in some countries.

[Doom9]

and thus downloading their coder is more legal than downloading faac binaries at least in some countries.well.. who pays the licensing fees for x264, xvid and lmp4? As private user you're not eligible to pay licensing fees unless you start mass distributing.

[dimzon]

Anycase I'm voiting for
-Keep FAAC (everything including configuration dialog is already done, we does't need any significant resources to support it into the future so why not)
-Replace NAAC by new free CLI encoder (lets call it ND AAC)
-Add CTAAC (from WinAmp) (lets call it CT AAC)

[shon3i]

Anycase I'm voiting for
-Keep FAAC (everything including configuration dialog is already done, we does't need any significant resources to support it into the future so why not)
-Replace NAAC by new free CLI encoder (lets call it ND AAC)
-Add CTAAC (from WinAmp) (lets call it CT AAC)
Agree

[Latexxx]

By the way, the encoder has been updated and the zip file (http://www.nero.com/nerodigital/eng/Nero_Digital_Audio.html) now includes two versions, one with sse2 and one without.

[Doom9]

@dimzon: That's exactly how I see it. Once berrinam commits, you'll be good to go :)

[Latexxx]

And one other feature request. Make it possible to adjust the delay of an audio track in the mp4 muxer.

[Doom9]

Make it possible to adjust the delay of an audio track in the mp4 muxer.The reason that hasn't already been done is the following: except for using the mp4 muxer manually from the tools menu, your audio is assumed to have been normalized wrt delays (since megui does that automatically if there's a delay in the filename).. and the manual muxer is the only way you could ever get to enter a delay.. everything else works automatically and you don't get a chance to interfere manually.
So is the separate muxer useful enough to warrant the time?

[ChronoCross]

Also according to discussion that went on in #x264 apparently delay of any type must be supported by the splitter. They weren't sure if haali's splitter supported it yet so that is norther issue. You should pretty much always fix the delay when transcoding.

[shon3i]

Becouse Teegedeck write beautiful presents for XviD, he and we XviD users have little barring to use this presents in MeGUI. The problem is using Custom Quantization Matrices, becouse they locked into MeGUI. All of this presents use different custom matrices.

Teegedeck original question (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=824526&postcount=183)

Presets (http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=796900&postcount=54)

Thanks for advice XviD users

[berrinam]

I'll look into it.

[Mtz]

Many standalones have problems with XViD and Custom Matrices.

enjoy,
Mtz

[shon3i]

Many standalones have problems with XViD and Custom Matrices.

enjoy,
Mtz
This is a quality presets, but i used this presets with my standalone and i don't have problems, btw sharktooth, soulhuners and didee matrices are supported on most standalones, some presets use qpel and gmc but this is not usefull for most standalones


@berrinam thanks

[Mtz]

With this, many of them have problems:

Quant type: MPEG Custom

Custom intra matrix:
8 9 10 11 12 14 16 18
9 11 12 13 15 16 18 20
10 12 14 16 17 19 21 22
11 13 16 18 20 22 24 26
12 15 17 20 23 25 28 30
14 16 19 22 25 29 34 38
16 18 21 24 28 34 46 52
18 20 22 26 30 38 52 72

Custom inter matrix:
16 16 17 17 18 19 21 23
16 17 17 18 19 20 22 24
17 17 19 20 21 23 24 27
17 18 20 22 24 25 28 32
18 19 21 24 26 29 36 40
19 20 23 25 29 40 48 52
21 22 24 28 36 48 60 64
23 24 27 32 40 52 64 106


What is the name of your standalone?

enjoy,
Mtz

[shon3i]

With this, many of them have problems:

Quant type: MPEG Custom

Custom intra matrix:
8 9 10 11 12 14 16 18
9 11 12 13 15 16 18 20
10 12 14 16 17 19 21 22
11 13 16 18 20 22 24 26
12 15 17 20 23 25 28 30
14 16 19 22 25 29 34 38
16 18 21 24 28 34 46 52
18 20 22 26 30 38 52 72

Custom inter matrix:
16 16 17 17 18 19 21 23
16 17 17 18 19 20 22 24
17 17 19 20 21 23 24 27
17 18 20 22 24 25 28 32
18 19 21 24 26 29 36 40
19 20 23 25 29 40 48 52
21 22 24 28 36 48 60 64
23 24 27 32 40 52 64 106


What is the name of your standalone?

enjoy,
Mtz
xoro 3100 but which is that matix becouse not of all matrices supported of course.

[Doom9]

becouse they locked into MeGUI.come again?

[Teegedeck]

I think he means I could not load any CQMs (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=824526#post824526). I'm still not sure whether this is only me because I haven't been following MeGUI nor xvid_encraw development closely. I just updated to new versions of both last weekend and wasn't very successful with what I wanted to do.

[berrinam]

CQMs should be fixed in 0.2.3.2135 (it's on the dev thread).

[b9AcE]

Ok, I'll start by admitting that I did not read all the 430+ posts before mine, so if my suggestions have already been rejected or accepted... ...sorry.

I very much miss two features from GordianKnot.
Firstly, the very nice resolution-tab with the dynamic previewing window.
I want to be able to make a manual case by case decision on which pixels I can lose or which ones are to vital to be cropped.
If I get an unacceptable aspect ratio deviation from my desired cropping I resize one step down and try again until I achieve an acceptable compromise.
This is harder with the more automatic approach of MeGUI.

Secondly I would like to have the "bits per pixel"-calculation somewhere.
I know this is not a proper measurement of quality, but if I combine that number with previous experiences and my guesstimation of the complexity of the video I do get quite a bit of help from the bpp-number.

As it is now, I load the movie into GK first to get the desired resolution/cropping and approximate bitrate and save the generated AVISynth-script.
Then I load the movie into MeGUI and use the AVISynth-creator to get input on what (if any) deinterlacing I need to apply and save that script.
Finally I merge the appropriate parts of the different scripts, load it back into MeGUI, select a Sharktooth-profile and set the inloop filter/bitrate according to video complexity.

See, this is just me be a perfectionist, but what use is there doing a backup "almost as good as you can? :cool:
Now, let me end by saying that I just love both of these programs.
So much easier than doing each step manually the way I did before GK was released...

[ChronoCross]

bits per mixel is useless. I'm highly against it. As for cropping...it is already dynamic, in the avisynth script creation window. The only thing that isn't dynamic is resize.

[ariga]

A delay for the shutdown with an option to abort the shutdown as in Virtualdub would be nice.

If the encoding finishes sooner than expected and you still happen to be working on something...

[kurt]

@ariga: in console shutdown -a doens't work?

[cc979]

quick suggestion about cropping, i've had some files that have multiple borders - could it be possible to crop from a certain frame using the video preview ?

[Doom9]

could it be possible to crop from a certain frame using the video preview ?You mean crop 20 pixels from the top from frame 0 - frame 100 and then crop 22 pixels from frame 101 till the end? I'm not aware that avisynth supports that kind of thing and I'm opposed to splitting a source into different scripts.. that would give a huge mess and complicate matters beyond good reason.

[asdfsauce]

Is there any way you guys could give the "AVISynth script generator" window its own taskbar entry? It's really annoying to have to move all the other windows around to find it when you want to do cropping and what not, especially when working with HD material.

[Doom9]

Is there any way you guys could could yes.. but then we'd have other people complaining and wanting us to go back.. initially every dialog was in the taskbar and it wasn't well received.

[ChronoCross]

You mean crop 20 pixels from the top from frame 0 - frame 100 and then crop 22 pixels from frame 101 till the end? I'm not aware that avisynth supports that kind of thing and I'm opposed to splitting a source into different scripts.. that would give a huge mess and complicate matters beyond good reason.

the method for doing this is complex. I do believe it is possible as long as the resolution is the same. For example:

orig = MPEG2SOURCE("file.d2v")

#first cropping
firstcrop = orig.trim(0,100).crop(0,4,4,4).resize(finalheight,Finalwidth)

secondcrop = orig.trim(101,end).crop(0,6,8,6).resize(finalheight,Finalwidth)

Final = firstcrop + secondcrop

return final


This however leads for possible distortion of the videoes and is not really something I think anyone uses. I would be very weary of using it at all. I would be interested in the explaination of in what instances he uses it.

[asdfsauce]

could yes.. but then we'd have other people complaining and wanting us to go back.. initially every dialog was in the taskbar and it wasn't well received.

Could someone enlighten me as to why they disliked this? The window is open for only a small while.

How hard would it be to make an option Doom9?

[Doom9]

How hard would it be to make an option Doom9?It's one click. But.. one click I'm not willing to make because of the assured backlash it will create. There's a divide over what an app should look like and that is not going to go away. You said you have problems with HD sources.. I guess it depends on the source size.. if you have a DVD source, then it's nice to have all the windows side by side.. and if you have a big enough screen (I have the Dell 30 incher ;) ) even 1080p sources are not an issue at all and multiple entries in the task bar just fill up my taskbar that I don't want filled up. But it's really not about my likes or dislikes. Specifically, you can search this forum to see that people objected to what you're suggesting, especially when it comes to configuring codecs.

[sp@rrow]

It is possible to make in MeGui test for compressibility - like GordianKnot? :helpful:
Not everyone can estimate bitrate "in eye".
It very much does not suffice me (each time it is necessary to make it manually) :(

[asdfsauce]

@Doom9

I meant an option in settings to have all windows have their own entries. I kinda feel like that was unclear from reading your reply.

Thanks for the explanation.

[ChronoCross]

It is possible to make in MeGui test for compressibility - like GordianKnot? :helpful:
Not everyone can estimate bitrate "in eye".
It very much does not suffice me (each time it is necessary to make it manually) :(

compressibility tests are rather useless and generally do not show the true compressibility of a source. It's not even a close estimate. Generally a good majority of the action in a movie takes place near the end with complex scenes that will not be caught unless you do a 100% first pass analysis pass. which is not really feasible with newer codecs.

[sp@rrow]

I think - sample in 10-15 % can give objective enough information on film.

As I do:
I create a script with such line:
SelectRangeEvery (1760, 294) - 12 seconds through ~ 1 minute - and not important at the end of film there will be dynamic stages or in the beginning ;)
Further - pass 1 - qp 18 (turbo) - and after of the received data I calculate final bitrade.
If you know faster (wait for the end of the first pass does not approach) and an effective way - it is very interesting to me.

[ariga]

@ariga: in console shutdown -a doens't work?
You mean open a cmd window and type it out just as soon as I see windows shutting down ? :confused: The shutdown completes even before I can open a command window. I would need to learn the five point palm-abort shutdown technique from sensei Pai Mei to move any faster :p

[cc979]

You mean crop 20 pixels from the top from frame 0 - frame 100 and then crop 22 pixels from frame 101 till the end? I'm not aware that avisynth supports that kind of thing and I'm opposed to splitting a source into different scripts.. that would give a huge mess and complicate matters beyond good reason.

i agree that would compilcate things, i just meant if one was to find a frame with a different crop from the others - have an option to set the crop using that frame - maybe a button on video preview 'set crop from this frame' or something

cheers

[cc979]

I would be interested in the explaination of in what instances he uses it.

i've seen in some early dvd 'bad' editing between different scenes border differences

[Kayaker]

I totally agree with a former post of b9AcE that I miss a lot some metrics display ( bpp or a better one if you like ) while resizing.
So I have something to play with to know how much to resize down.
It doesn't matter if I later aim at a specific filesize or with a constant quality.

If there any chance that you could add something like that ? Some metric while resizing ?

Also I don't quiet understand why vorbis support is rejected. ( In red in the first page )
Maybe I'm kinda lost here, but for two channel enconding is the best I've found so far.

Thanks a lot guys, MEGui rulez ;-)

[ChronoCross]

I do believe that vorbis support will be added to the current revisions. once some of the other post-refacro bugs are fixed. It's on the list.

[foxyshadis]

One way to do a comp check in a reasonable time might be to run it while making adjustments to the video, as a background thread. It could continuously update the compressibility and confidence as the results of each 200 frame segment show up, chosen in a totally random order. The longer you let it run the more confidence you have!

But whether to do it in xvid or x264. Hmm, I guess whichever is selected, even if they select another afterward it'll still give a reasonable approximation for all but the lower bitrates.

Perhaps too much effort, however.

[Sharktooth]

compressibilty with modern codecs depends too much on settings, so a compressibility test would require the knowledge on how to use it...
ironically that knowledge is exactly the same that you require to choose how much to resize and what bitrate/quantizer to use to get a good quality backup.
so, im sorry but it will be useless for half of the video codecs supported by MeGUI and that's enough to not consider it at all.

[ChronoCross]

are there any plans to allow more than two audio streams?

[quake74]

are there any plans to allow more than two audio streams?

I tried already http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=764833#post764833

[foxyshadis]

Also, now that the ultimate refactor is in and ready for prime time, will it be easy to swap out a codec with another executable without big upheavals or hacks? I'm referring to integrating ELDER. Not directly, as the commandlines are different, but through a small wrapper, so only the exe name would change and the extra parameter of # of segments (could be zero as a default, when you enable elder it gets set to the real default, and back to 0 if disabled, so the codec commandline isnt tweaked out). Right now it's mp4 joining only, but it could be extended to support mkvmerge internally easily, so no need for hacks around that.

If this is the case I may give it a crack myself, then perhaps try for a minimalist x-platform gui.

[berrinam]

It is now quite easy to add extra video and audio encoders (which elder would be classed as). However, there is ATM no management for multiple encoders for the one codec (there is SOME infrastructure, but the GUI itself is not aware of it.... it was way too annoying when we had mencoder AND x264.exe for x264 encoding, so we removed it).

It shouldn't be too hard to integrate ELDER into MeGUI, but the main problem would be working out the pausing/restarting and all of the advanced job management ELDER does. I haven't used it, so I don't actually know what it is capable of, but I'm assuming one of the main reasons for including it in MeGUI would be for its safe stopping function (ie you can stop and restart later without losing anything).

ATM MeGUI assumes that jobs can be Started, Abortted, or Paused -- there is no support for the safe stopping that ELDER is designed for.

To add support for safe stopping is not infeasible, but it requires:
A stop button (or perhaps you could override the Abort function for ELDER with safe stopping)
Another job status indicating stopped, but can be restarted.
Adding a restart function, and adding something in the job settings to indicate how much has been completed, etc

Not directly, as the commandlines are different, but through a small wrapper, so only the exe name would change and the extra parameter of # of segments (could be zero as a default, when you enable elder it gets set to the real default, and back to 0 if disabled, so the codec commandline isnt tweaked out). Right now it's mp4 joining only, but it could be extended to support mkvmerge internally easily, so no need for hacks around that.I don't understand this bit. What do segments refer to in ELDER? Does ELDER also manage appending the completed files?

[foxyshadis]

It does all the hard work of splitting it into n pieces and parceling them out to cpus (on the machine or network), and remerging them all, so that the input and output looks identical to x264's.

Starting and stopping would be quite cool, definitely. Do you have a general design you'd like it to follow, code-wise?

[kurt]

You mean open a cmd window and type it out just as soon as I see windows shutting down ? :confused: The shutdown completes even before I can open a command window. I would need to learn the five point palm-abort shutdown technique from sensei Pai Mei to move any faster :p
hehe, didn't try this out with megui - but I believe you :)
so a delay of maybe 10seconds before shutting down windows would be nice. Then there is no need for the five point palm-abort shutdown technique :p

[berrinam]

It does all the hard work of splitting it into n pieces and parceling them out to cpus (on the machine or network), and remerging them all, so that the input and output looks identical to x264's.Do you mean to include this in MeGUI? I imagine that this could be done transparently, so I suppose this is what you were talking about earlier?

Starting and stopping would be quite cool, definitely. Do you have a general design you'd like it to follow, code-wise?I would say that the IVideoEncoder should have a new function added:
ISafeStopData safe_stop(out string);
and also
bool CanDoSafeStop(); // this is used to en/disable the button mentioned below
both of whose implementations are obvious enough. Then, VideoJob also gets a SafeStopData property, and there is a button added to the queue tab, whose event handler calls safe_stop, and saves the results in SafeStopData. The status is then changed to the new status called, eg, safe_stopped, and the queue is stopped.

That's the design that's most obvious to me, but also mention this on the dev thread and see if Doom9 or dimzon suggest any other ideas. I am very interested in easily being able to start/stop x264 encodes.

EDIT: I looked through the ELDER thread and it seems that the parallel part of ELDER could be added very easily to MeGUI (even without modifying MeGUI! just by making a new x264.exe which wraps ELDER). The start/stop functionality is a different issue and could be dealt with later (like when we have decided on a way of dealing with multiple encoder apps for a single codec).

[cc979]

excuse for posting here, but what is this ELDER ?

[dimzon]

I looked through the ELDER thread and it seems that the parallel part of ELDER could be added very easily to MeGUI (even without modifying MeGUI! just by making a new x264.exe which wraps ELDER).
Fine idea!

[cc979]

just tested the auto-update works well, if on the first use could there be a choice where to install the external apps, eg in a subfolder 'tools' instead of the root of megui

[berrinam]

just tested the auto-update works well, if on the first use could there be a choice where to install the external apps, eg in a subfolder 'tools' instead of the root of megui
I'm looking for ideas as to how this should be managed. You see, what it currently does is checks if the file exists in the location where the settings currently says it should. If not, then it installs it to meguiroot/appname/appname.exe. It would be easy to change that to meguiroot/tools/appname/appname.exe (and I will do that), but there might be a better way of managing it.

[cc979]

I'm looking for ideas as to how this should be managed. You see, what it currently does is checks if the file exists in the location where the settings currently says it should. If not, then it installs it to meguiroot/appname/appname.exe. It would be easy to change that to meguiroot/tools/appname/appname.exe (and I will do that), but there might be a better way of managing it.

maybe set it up like

tools/audio-tools
tools/video-tools
tools/muxer-tools

or something

[berrinam]

Anyone interested in MeGUI supporting VC-1? Nic's WMNicEnc (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=111385) could perhaps be integrated into MeGUI if someone is interested in adding a CLI.

[Doom9]

hmm... VC-1 means WMV and WMA so it's another video and audio codec, and having to worry about yet another muxer.

[berrinam]

hmm... VC-1 means WMV and WMA so it's another video and audio codec, and having to worry about yet another muxer.
But all of the new muxpathfinding means that this can be done in stages, without breaking anything. It is actually really easy to add. Even though I don't plan to use it, it is probably the easiest way to test the new codecs.

[chipzoller]

How about 'unlocking' the deinterlace feature of the avisynth script generator for those that are aware of the source type and wish to choose the deinterlace method? I agree that this could potentially be a problem for inexperienced users, so perhaps it would be possible to enable a popup message box when selecting a deinterlace method without doing an analysis pass warning the user this is generally not recommended.

I find it annoying having to do an analysis of the source (which is 2 passes) when 90% of the time the fields need to be blended. Megui is powerful enough now to cater to both the inexperienced and experienced users, and I think this is a needed feature.

[berrinam]

How about 'unlocking' the deinterlace feature of the avisynth script generator for those that are aware of the source type and wish to choose the deinterlace method? I agree that this could potentially be a problem for inexperienced users, so perhaps it would be possible to enable a popup message box when selecting a deinterlace method without doing an analysis pass warning the user this is generally not recommended.

I find it annoying having to do an analysis of the source (which is 2 passes) when 90% of the time the fields need to be blended. Megui is powerful enough now to cater to both the inexperienced and experienced users, and I think this is a needed feature.
There are many different source types:

(Each of these can also be anime/non-anime, and TFF/BFF/variable)
Progressive
Pure Interlaced
Pure Film
Hybrid Film/other, mostly film
Hybrid other/film, mostly other

This means it would need a checkbox for anime, a dropdown for TFF/BFF/variable, a dropdown for source type, and a dropdown for the filter itself. That takes up a lot of space.

Granted, it is worth thinking about, but it still needs that: to be thought about (and worked out).

[check]

Hi, I've checked the last three pages of this thread and I couldnt see the question..etc etc
On managing the files installed with the autoupdater, an option to download optional components such as alternate / standalone GUIs or related components would be extremely useful. An "optional downloads" section where you can download additional files such as mplayer, the mmg.exe help file (mkvmerge-gui.hlp) and so on to go in with the programs they are paired with that are part of meGUI. I suggest this because it will be a useful addition. You could even let people add in their own tools hosted on external servers, a la Steam.
This would be for files that are not directly related to meGUI, but somewhat related. Sorry this got so wordy, I can't seem to make it more compact without cutting detail.

Also, I've no doubt this was mentioned before, so please just add my vote to the pile: using ctrl-a to open the AVS window has caused far more harm than good :P

EDIT: rewritten for clarity

[berrinam]

On managing the files installed with the autoupdater, an option to download optional components so you can use the standalone files would be extremely useful.I don't understand you.

[check]

updated previous post, sorry about the confusion.

[asdfsauce]

Couple requests here-

Instead of only being able to load AV scripts, wouldn’t it be better if you could load any file and have MeGUI go to d2v generation, AVS generation, “video preview” or whatever depending on the file type? I think audio should be just the same. Load audio, generate AV script and then load the script for job config.

Second request,

Add an option to the job queue’s right-click context menu to open a job’s output directory.

Thanks guys.

[Doom9]

Instead of only being able to load AV scripts, wouldn’t it be better if you could load any file and have MeGUI go to d2v generation,That has been possible for ages.. try the power of drag&drop. It's just that nobody has ever bothered to adopt the video input field to offer the same kind of functionality.
Add an option to the job queue’s right-click context menu to open a job’s output directory.And why would that be so useful as to consider it?

[dimzon]

Add an option to the job queue’s right-click context menu to open a job’s output directory.
Really usefull trick, let's add it (for fast navigation, when I want to view encoding output after finished)
I really like such function in fb2k!

[asdfsauce]

It's just that nobody has ever bothered to adopt the video input field to offer the same kind of functionality.

Well then, that's my feature request. :-)

And, will audio ever be able to accept avis scripts?

And why would that be so useful as to consider it?

So you can get to your encodes more easily when they're finished.

[dimzon]

And, will audio ever be able to accept avis scripts?
Yes. Actually there just absent *.avs in fileOpenDialog only but if you open AVS it will be encoded properly ;)

[asdfsauce]

Yes. Actually there just absent *.avs in fileOpenDialog only but if you open AVS it will be encoded properly ;)

Oh, Okay, I thought I tried that. :P

Thanks.

[berrinam]

Many more input files were supported before the refactor (and MeGUI would in fact send the files to the correct places), but the refactor introduced a different way of managing input files, so I left it that way.

[cc979]

i got a couple feature requests if possible

when auto updating have tick box on the settings tab to delete the backup files, and a shut down count down

cheers

[Doom9]

For the autoupdater: a "Check/uncheck all" right click menu. I don't mind it updating filters but I want to remain in charge of all video encoders without having to uncheck each one manually..

[fields_g]

1) I mentioned something in another conversation that might be useful for this discussion. It has to do with allowing access to changelogs.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=831822#post831822

2) By going too fast, I noticed that there is no way to reinstall/redownload something that has been already updated.
When I got to the ST video profiles, I accidently selected only one. In order to get the others, I had to open the XML file and erase the current version and it then did a reinstall. How about something in the right-click menu, or just allowing someone to manually check something that has already been updated?

[berrinam]

For the autoupdater: a "Check/uncheck all" right click menu. I don't mind it updating filters but I want to remain in charge of all video encoders without having to uncheck each one manually..
Shift-select them all, right-click, uncheck.

[cc979]

i got suggestion for avs script preview have video preview have the same preview as the on the main preview with 'show PAR' - it might be handy for some folks

[check]

Process status window:
The 'projected filesize' is a useful display, but for larger files it would be nice to see it measured in mb or gb. Failing some sort of intelligent mechanism to swap between them, is it possible to make the fields in the window selectable?

[berrinam]

Failing some sort of intelligent mechanism to swap between them, is it possible to make the fields in the window selectable?It is no more work to add a GUI component than to add an intelligent display mechanism.

[check]

is that a yes? ;)

[berrinam]

No, it's an annoying comment so I can avoid committing to anything.;)

[fields_g]

I have a issue issue that can be fixed it two ways.

1) Get a better system (This will be done by the end of the summer) with a more stable OS (once it works on Linux).

OR

2) Have an additional megui feature that saves me A LOT of work.

My computer seems to want to lock up occasionally. This is really noticed when I'm pushing my computer hard for hours at a time (eg. Encoding). If I have a sizeable queue built up, it's lost after a restart. Is there any way that you can make queue status update between processes so that if the program crashes, the queue list could be reloaded and the process that the system crashed on could be immediatly restarted and the rest of the list preserved?

Thanks

[Carpo]

is your pc overclocked ? or poss you should check the mem - these are 2 things which can cause lockups when encoding

[fields_g]

I'm pretty sure it is sub-standard memory.

Even if there wasn't issues with my box, these problems happen and that fix would save lots of time.

[Morte66]

If I have a sizeable queue built up, it's lost after a restart. Is there any way that you can make queue status update between processes so that if the program crashes, the queue list could be reloaded and the process that the system crashed on could be immediatly restarted and the rest of the list preserved?

This would be gosh-darned useful.

[check]

No new feature requests for over a day! What's happening to the world?
Request: bitrate calculator! :>

[Morte66]

No new feature requests for over a day! What's happening to the world?

They rejected or ignored all mine so I quit. ;)

[Carpo]

Request: bitrate calculator! :>

i asked for that and think i got ignored :p

[Kostarum Rex Persia]

I wont tell anything about ignoring people requests, but that not good for MeGUI.

[foxyshadis]

They're probably working on stabilizing core features and fixing major bugs atm (harping on the bitrate calc isn't going to get it done faster). Once that happens it'll be open season on new requests again, but not much point until the core is solid.

[jellysandwich]

Would it be possible to add an option to automatically minimize MeGUI to the system tray? I'm pretty lazy. :)

js

[check]

You mean like what's in the tools menu?

[rollow]

OK. I know it may not be a very good idea to start again about Quicktime. But...it would be really great to be able to use QT source in megui. I received a big box of digibeta tapes today, and I need to encode to H264. Not painfully slow, like in QT player, or flaky, like in Squeeze, or ... well let's not even mention Procoder or Compression Master.

Why QT? Because my Decklink Extreme card produces brilliant source files using SDI. Because my clients provide me with .890 Cavena and EBU .stl subs which I convert with Belle Nuit to QTText, so I have total control over subs in my encodings.

Avisynth and the qtreader thingy don't work. Converting to avi is an option, but it doesn't make sense at all. Maybe I'll have to ask my client to send DVD's instead of digibeta's.

[berrinam]

Is there a feature request somewhere there? It seems like you want us to pull some form of QTSource out of thin air, since you don't want us to use AviSynth's

[rollow]

Is there a feature request somewhere there? It seems like you want us to pull some form of QTSource out of thin air, since you don't want us to use AviSynth's

Yes, a feature request indeed. Am not saying you need to pull it out of thin air, just hoping to restart the QT src discussion and being open to help developing it in any way.

[Kurth]

Can you add an option to the MKV Muxer to insert Timecodes.txt I always use VFR for my animes but I cant mux MKV using the MeGUI MKV muxer because it dont have a place to insert the timecodes.

[berrinam]

@Kurth: Will consider it, but MeGUI shouldn't become a full-blown muxing GUI -- that's what the other tools are for.

@rollow: Bring it up in the AviSynth forum. That's where it really belongs.

[foxyshadis]

@rollow: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=104293 this is the thread you should follow.

[rollow]

THX a lot!

[jellysandwich]

Is there already an option for automatic minimization to system tray? I can't find it... Where is it exactly?

js

[Audionut]

The option to have megui only notify of NEW updates.

ie: I load megui and tell it what I want to update.
Every time I load megui it tells me that there are updates.

Either the ability to decide what the user has not updated and only notify when those components have been updated.
Or an option to disable checking for updates on components.

[berrinam]

@Audionut: Have you tried selecting the things you don't want to update, right-clicking, and pressing 'ignore updates'? I think that should work.

[Audionut]

Thanks!!

[berrinam]

Hmm..... tricked Doom9 as well.... I would have thought right-clicking was an obvious thing to try.

[Audionut]

I did try and right-click the options on the left.

ie: external programs, avisynth plugins etc.

IMHO it would be alot more handy to be able to disable say avisynth plugins completely, rather than each and every filter.

Thanks.

[shon3i]

@berrinam can you make that updater remove all .backup files, when update finished and everything is fine.

[killerhex]

anyway to make mkv as input

[check]

killerhex, file->open

[cc979]

been doing some hd tests encodes and sometimes the video player is bigger then my screen, could it be possible to have and option to have maxmise to desktop size or have the show show/use par tick box at the top of the window

cheers

[shon3i]

It's possible to make when for example when we choose x264, only x264 profiles shown in profiles, xvid xvid's profiles, etc, aslo for audio profiles

[Sharktooth]

it would be possible if we save the encoder name in the profile.
that would require parsing of profiles on startup too.

[berrinam]

Actually, the codec is already stored. It's completely by choice that we list all of the profiles together on the main form. You should really prefix your profiles with Xvid- or x264- etc.

[Sharktooth]

oh... i missed that.
uhm... i could prefix my profiles but if i rename them the users will get duplicated profiles (due to autoupdate).

[berrinam]

Well, prefixing is only needed if it's important to know the codec. It never bothers me, though, because all of my profiles are prefixed, and yours are all x264, so there's no confusion. When I said, 'you', I meant shon3i

[shon3i]

Well, prefixing is only needed if it's important to know the codec. It never bothers me, though, because all of my profiles are prefixed, and yours are all x264, so there's no confusion. When I said, 'you', I meant shon3i
OK you mean x264_HQ_Slow, XviD_HQ_1CD...

[check]

Can you make tool windows (such as the avisynth creator, muxer, etc etc) not be always on top? Possibly if this was a deliberate design choice, an option for the user in settings? Drivin' me crazy :p

[berrinam]

OK you mean x264_HQ_Slow, XviD_HQ_1CD...Call it whatever you want. I'm just saying that I think it is a good idea to list alll video profiles on the main form, so if you want to know which is which then you will have to keep notes yourself. If not, then prefixes aren't important. I was just making a suggestion.

[shon3i]

Call it whatever you want. I'm just saying that I think it is a good idea to list alll video profiles on the main form, so if you want to know which is which then you will have to keep notes yourself. If not, then prefixes aren't important. I was just making a suggestion.
OK!!!

[cc979]

i've just tested creating a xvid.raw then muxed into a .mp4 - plays fine, is it possible get megui to do it automatic

[berrinam]

Ummm.... what are you saying? MeGUI already can encode automatically to mp4, so why do you need to go via raw other than for testing?

[Morte66]

Request: In the AviSynth creation window, on the Filters tab, could we have a single textual indication that deinterlacer analysis is complete? Waiting for "Source is declared " gets you close, but that's not always the end of analysis.

This is for use by GUI automation scripts (e.g. AutoIt (http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3/)) that load jobs into MeGUI automatically. Unfortunately, AutoIt doesn't want to read the checkbox that enables when analysis is done.

[I've written a script that can be called by Robot4Rip to load it's output d2v/audio into MeGUI and set up the encode/mux. This means the user only needs to be there for the first couple of minutes to choose file names in R4R, and then everything runs unattended. The last hurdle is knowing for sure that the deinterlacer analysis is finished, so the script can move on.]

[Doom9]

@Morte66: why do you even use r4r anymore? All it does that megui doesn't is rip.

[cc979]

Ummm.... what are you saying? MeGUI already can encode automatically to mp4, so why do you need to go via raw other than for testing?

my mistake i only noticed on xvid encoding it has avi/mkv/raw only but autoencode has mp4 output (sorry it was really late)

[Morte66]

@Morte66: why do you even use r4r anymore?

It gets the job done 20 times faster.

All it does that megui doesn't is rip.

And the main thing MeGUI does that R4R doesn't is choose a deinterlacer...



R4R has a "Finalize" stage that will call another program (e.g. my AutoIt batch) and pass it a D2V filename and audio file list as parameters. You can automate the whole backup chain from R4R. MeGUI has no corresponding "Pre-Process" facility to prepare the rips, so you can't can't automate the whole backup chain from MeGUI.

Consider a TV DVD with four titles...

With R4R you insert DVD, click on a PGC, type a filename, and click "Start". Repeat 4 times. Your involvement is over in 2 minutes. Walk away. 30-40 minutes later it finishes the Decrypter/DGIndex/VobSub cycles and calls AutoIt, which calls MeGUI to choose a deinterlacer and queue the encode/mux, but you don't have to be there for that.

Compare that to MeGUI: Open Decrypter, start a PGC rip, wait about 7 minutes. Repeat four times. Set up four MeGUI jobs once the respective rips are done. If you're OK with OCE (no subtitles or PAL->24fps retiming) set up four OCE jobs. Otherwise you go through the AviSynth script creator four times, including the wait for deinterlace analysis, then click "AutoEncode". Overall, you spend 30-50 minutes waiting for things to happen before you can leave the PC.

The total CPU time is essentially the same by either route, but Robot4Rip + AutoIt + MeGUI ties up the user for around one-twentieth as long.

[If you only do progressive encodes with unvarying settings, R4R can just call a simple DOS batch file that uses "echo" statements to write an Avisynth script then shells iTunesEncode (http://www.rarewares.org/files/aac/iTunesEncode46.zip)/x264/mkvmerge. But you have to leave the disc in until it's started the last encode.]

[unskinnyboy]

Is there a way to make the autoupdater to force update? If lets say I accidentally deleted a plugin, autoupdater thinks I still have it because it parses the AutoUpdate.xml and finds the entry there. I could delete/modify AutoUpdate.xml (which I did), but is it possible to add a right-click item called 'Update Anyway' or something such which would ignore <CurrentVersion> and force update the plugin?

[berrinam]

Yes, something in that vein is definitely required, but there are going to be no improvements in this until we have a stable release, and THEN we will implement new features.

[jellysandwich]

It seems like we might need a server mirror for the autoupdate feature...

js

[berrinam]

Request: In the AviSynth creation window, on the Filters tab, could we have a single textual indication that deinterlacer analysis is complete? Waiting for "Source is declared " gets you close, but that's not always the end of analysis.
Version 0.2.3.2170 should have what you want.

[Morte66]

Version 0.2.3.2170 should have what you want.

Thanks.

I, um, can't find where to download MeGUI. This has just made me realise that the "download and install" half of your MeGUI guide is missing since the accident.

[berrinam]

I removed it deliberately, because autoupdate covers everything it did. That's what caused the accident in the first place -- I thought I could just delete the first post and it would be just dandy, but instead it deleted the whole thread.

You can get MeGUI from http://x264.nl but why do you need to? What's wrong with AutoUpdate?

[Morte66]

You can get MeGUI from http://x264.nl but why do you need to? What's wrong with AutoUpdate?

Nothing that I know of, but I haven't got it yet. :)

I generally stick/stuck to the "stable" builds from a page I've lost (I think bob0r's builds), so I'm on 2130. I haven't used x264.nl because it doesn't distinguish between stable and daily builds (or maybe it does, but not in a way that's obvious to me). Anyhow, I'll get the latest x264.nl build to use that feature.

[Doom9]

On top of that Chronocross still has a basic distro here: http://chronocrossdev.com/apps/
That way you get to chose if you really want an installer or not. Removing the manual bits is a good thing imho.. I think those that needed the guide are candiates for the autoupdate, and those that never needed it are free to continue doing things manually so you get the best of both worlds.

[Morte66]

On top of that Chronocross still has a basic distro here: http://chronocrossdev.com/apps/
That way you get to chose if you really want an installer or not. Removing the manual bits is a good thing imho.. I think those that needed the guide are candiates for the autoupdate, and those that never needed it are free to continue doing things manually so you get the best of both worlds.

Sure.

The auto-updater looks pretty nifty, if I can get accustomed to it.

I get the impression that it's putting its updates in the tools tree under the MeGUI install, regardless of the paths configured in the MeGUI options. So if I have DGIndex.exe installed in "c:\Program Files\DGMPDEC", and set MeGUI to use that, MeGUI will put the update in "C:\Program Files\MeGUI\tools\dgindex" and then ignore it. But I guess I could switch my other programs to using DGIndex installed under MeGUI, and use MeGUI as an update service for everything.

[I was keen to have only one copy of DGIndex.exe and DGDecode.dll on my PC, with various video apps pointed to it. I've had plenty of trouble with multiple versions before.]

Anyhow, I'll check it all out properly and decide what to do. As you say, I can choose what I want.

edit p.s. build 2170 is really nice! :)

[Morte66]

Request for the "AviSynth script generator" window:

In the "Clever (TM) anamorphic encoding:", could have an option for "Undercrop to achieve mod16" to go with the existing "Overcrop" option?

This is especially meant for users who (a) encode mod16, (b) don't like to lose any artistic content to cropping, and (c) encode cinemascope material where there might be ~70 black lines above/below the picture. It would also be useful for DVD extras, which often have 16:9 material encoded in 4:3 with borders, or vice versa.

It's especially relevant for unattended encodes, e.g. using OCE, since it will trim the huge borders but ignore normal material.

[Tima]

I'd like to ask about a very important feature for me:

- ability to manually specify proxy settings in MeGUI options

It's important, because i'd like to update MeGUI through fast internet channel, but for some reasons default proxy in my computer is slow..

[foxyshadis]

If you change the path to the tool in megui's settings, autoupdate will save it there. This goes for individual programs as well as avisynth filters (which all go in the specified avisynth folder).

It does make all these .backup files though, which is kind of lame; at least they could be set hidden. (And we could have a <revert> button in the updator!)

[berrinam]

Does anyone think the backup files are necessary, or should I just remove that feature?

[berrinam]

Request for the "AviSynth script generator" window:

In the "Clever (TM) anamorphic encoding:", could have an option for "Undercrop to achieve mod16" to go with the existing "Overcrop" option?

This is especially meant for users who (a) encode mod16, (b) don't like to lose any artistic content to cropping, and (c) encode cinemascope material where there might be ~70 black lines above/below the picture. It would also be useful for DVD extras, which often have 16:9 material encoded in 4:3 with borders, or vice versa.Since you're undercropping, you're going to be losing compressibility because of the borders, so you might as well just encode non-mod16, which will give you the exact cropping as well as slightly better compressibility.

[buzzqw]

@berrinam

remove the backup... if anyone accidentatly remove something can launch again autoupdater

BHH

[Morte66]

Since you're undercropping, you're going to be losing compressibility because of the borders, so you might as well just encode non-mod16, which will give you the exact cropping as well as slightly better compressibility.

There's a long and involved answer to that involving resizing PAL DVD in one dimension only for superior quality on 1024x576 DLP projectors, and non-mod16 crops screwing it up. But I guess it's a bit rarified for MeGUI to support. OK, request withdrawn.

[Morte66]

From the MeGUI changelog:0.2.3.2162
Commit by berrinam:
- Fix AR calculation to be ITU-correct
Any chance of an option to turn this off in the settings?

It's "correct", but it's bad news in some home theatre applications. When you've got an anamorphic PAL DVD and a a plasma/projector/etc display with 1024x576 pixels specifically designed to play it (that's 16/9 * 720/576) , you don't want the player to send 1050x576 or 1024x562. There'd be an extra dimension of resizing somewhere along the line, and that can look pretty bad in setups that weren't built for it.

[Sharktooth]

ITU is good only for old CRT televisions...

[unskinnyboy]

Does anyone think the backup files are necessary, or should I just remove that feature?
Please remove it. I deleted all those *.backups because I felt it was cluttering up the root dir.

But the problem is if someone deletes a needed component by accident - the entry would be still there in Autoupdate.xml, so the autoupdater doesn't know the component is missing. This gives even more relevance to my earlier "force update" request. But that's OK, force update can wait, remove the *.backups anyway.

[berrinam]

From the MeGUI changelog:
Any chance of an option to turn this off in the settings?

It's "correct", but it's bad news in some home theatre applications. When you've got an anamorphic PAL DVD and a a plasma/projector/etc display with 1024x576 pixels specifically designed to play it (that's 16/9 * 720/576) , you don't want the player to send 1050x576 or 1024x562. There'd be an extra dimension of resizing somewhere along the line, and that can look pretty bad in setups that weren't built for it.I'll tell you what's better -- just raise the Acceptable Aspect Error in the settings, and then you will find that will round to 16/9 for you.

[fields_g]

I'll tell you what's better -- just raise the Acceptable Aspect Error in the settings, and then you will find that will round to 16/9 for you.


Default is 5%. Wanna give an example of a value that would do this rounding?

[berrinam]

Well, 5% should be sufficient with the numbers Morte66 gave. Better would be an explanation of what it means. Basically, it tries to round to a set of standard ARs (including 4:3, 16:9, 2.35), and if the aspect error is under that value, then it is rounded, otherwise it follows ITU to the letter.

The changelog which said ITU resizing was just fixing it up so that it does actually measure the 'correct' aspect ratio correctly. There is NO situation in which you would want to turn that off, and you can't in MeGUI.

[Morte66]

Well, 5% should be sufficient with the numbers Morte66 gave. Better would be an explanation of what it means. Basically, it tries to round to a set of standard ARs (including 4:3, 16:9, 2.35), and if the aspect error is under that value, then it is rounded, otherwise it follows ITU to the letter.

So far I always seem to get 37:20 instead of 16:9, but I'm still working at it.

[berrinam]

Well, 37:20 isn't because of ITU resizing, it's because your video is actually 1.85:1, not 16:9.

[Morte66]

Well, 37:20 isn't because of ITU resizing, it's because your video is actually 1.85:1, not 16:9.

Ah, I see where you're coming from.

OK, I guess I'll parse the aspect ratio out of the D2V file and use that to get an incorrect but hardware-friendly DAR (1024x576 for PAL anamorhphic and 768x576 for PAL standard).

Sorry for the false alarm.

[devaster]

Microsoft research has released a Accelerator - .NET component that use for aritmetic a GPU (if is in megui some heavy math, it may be some speed-up ):
http://research.microsoft.com/research/downloads/download.aspx?FUID=50ee362a-c4d7-4fe6-9018-1b7f9c1dd5dc

[berrinam]

Thanks, but MeGUI doesn't do any real processing, it's just a frontend. This could be very useful for some other tools, though: basically everything except MeGUI.

[devaster]

and by analyzing for deinterlace algorithm ?

[berrinam]

The analysis is done in AviSynth -- MeGUI just interprets the results, which takes only a few seconds.

[devaster]

aha... then it would be nice reimplement avisynth filters for GPUs :D

[markrb]

I would like to request a feature please.

Could you make the Muxer page not close after hitting que, like the D2V and AVS sections work?
I often have several videos to mux at once and now I have to reopen the muxer each time. Not so hard on my end, but the way the d2v creator works is nice for my situation.

Thanks,
Mark

[Morte66]

In the settings, there's an "Autostart Queue" option. If I enable this, then do an Auto Encode which adds three linked jobs (audio, video, mux), only the first of them runs automatically and the "Start" button on the job queue stays the same.

I would like to request that enabling this option should effectively press the "Start button", so that all waiting jobs run to completion (assuming they're valid etc) once they're added to the queue.

I'm on v0.2.3.2177.

[berrinam]

@Morte66: It should behave almost exactly as you said (ie as if you pressed the 'start' button), which means the current behaviour is a bug.

[rufus007]

Please could you add aspect ration error indicator in Avisynth script creator (between AR after cropping and AR of resolution for resizing)?
It is usefull for manual "fine tune" of automatic cropping, automatic resolution and of course for informational purpose.
For example:
Choosen resolution for resizing: 512x304
AR after croping: 1,6825
AR of resize resolution: 1,6842
AR error: 0,1%

Thanx

[wiak]

a option to make the program longer like
so we dont need to use the scroll to find the fps info

[berrinam]

Supporting window resizing is difficult....

[wiak]

MeGUI - AviSynth script creator is not using mod16 as when i try to encode then i get a warning that the script made from MeGUI - AviSynth script creator is not mod16!

this message i get when i dont select resize

[wiak]

i have another future request
what about automatic remember settings last used? :)

[berrinam]

MeGUI - AviSynth script creator is not using mod16 as when i try to encode then i get a warning that the script made from MeGUI - AviSynth script creator is not mod16!

this message i get when i dont select resize
Not much we can do about that.... if you crop and don't resize, then you're bound to get non-mod16 resolution. Try just using Clever(TM) encoding with Overcrop to mod16. It should give you the same result, but with AR signalling (which is never a bad thing).

[wiak]

Not much we can do about that.... if you crop and don't resize, then you're bound to get non-mod16 resolution. Try just using Clever(TM) encoding with Overcrop to mod16. It should give you the same result, but with AR signalling (which is never a bad thing).
oh well :)
btw i made this for you guys to add future request to
http://www.project357.com/MeGUIwiki/index.php?title=Future_Requests
people should allways check there so they dont need to go thru all the pages here :)

[wiak]

In the settings, there's an "Autostart Queue" option. If I enable this, then do an Auto Encode which adds three linked jobs (audio, video, mux), only the first of them runs automatically and the "Start" button on the job queue stays the same.

I would like to request that enabling this option should effectively press the "Start button", so that all waiting jobs run to completion (assuming they're valid etc) once they're added to the queue.

I'm on v0.2.3.2177.
yes this is a bug if am not right
all the queued jobs should run :helpful:

[berrinam]

While putting things on the wiki is a good way to keep a log, I still like the discussion ability here. Basically:
* What about automatic remember settings last used? wiakWhich settings, specifically? Most settings are already remembered.
Option to use DeGrainMedian and fft3dgpu for denoising in MeGUI - AviSynth Script Creator wiakThat's a good suggestions.
Option to remember user about BitRate Calculator before encoding! wiakYou're going to have a hard time arguing that case -- it would be a clumsy mechanism which simply irritates most people, and it really isn't our responsibility (as devs) to force the user to calculate bitrate. Many users use crf in x264, anyway.
Option to save the log with the finished encode file? wiakYeah..... perhaps.

[wiak]

You're going to have a hard time arguing that case -- it would be a clumsy mechanism which simply irritates most people, and it really isn't our responsibility (as devs) to force the user to calculate bitrate. Many users use crf in x264, anyway.
Yeah..... perhaps.
i mean a enable/disable option in settings :)

Which settings, specifically? Most settings are already remembered.
Container is not remembered, resize filter in avisynth script creator is not remembered, and so on :)

[Morte66]

Container is not remembered, resize filter in avisynth script creator is not remembered, and so on :)

It would sure be nice if MeGUI remembered that I prefer MKV to MP4 in the AutoEncode popoup. Not exactly vital, or even a great time-saver, but... nice. :)

[berrinam]

Resize filter is remembered using profiles. Can you put details of all the rest on the wiki, please?

As to reminding you to do Bitrate Calculation, my first impression is still *ugh*: it's a kludgy reminder to do, that I don't think will be especially useful..... especially considering that the AutoEncode mode should always supersede the Bitrate Calculator (tell me when it doesn't).

[wiak]

Resize filter is remembered using profiles. Can you put details of all the rest on the wiki, please?

As to reminding you to do Bitrate Calculation, my first impression is still *ugh*: it's a kludgy reminder to do, that I don't think will be especially useful..... especially considering that the AutoEncode mode should always supersede the Bitrate Calculator (tell me when it doesn't).
i mean a on/off option in settings so people can enable it if they want to

[berrinam]

Ok, people can go through the settings if they want, but if we are going to assume that they can't remember to adjust their bitrate, then how can we assume they will realize they should look in the settings? Experience shows that we can't expect users to look in the settings. I know I'm being pedantic there, but here's the real point:
No-one else has brought this up before, which (to me) means it's not a very serious problem. I don't see the point in implementing a feature which is only slightly useful to one person, especially if it will be annoying to other people. You've argued that it won't, but even though there are many similar options around MeGUI, experience shows very clearly that many people don't find them.
I have never used the Bitrate Calculator except for testing (as in, testing MeGUI). I have always found that the AutoEncoder integrates the Bitrate Calculator much more nicely.
The only time which I think is appropriate to show this message is when you press the queue button. But I don't like that -- when I press queue, I expect it to queue the job, and I don't want anything getting in the way of that. There are bound to be some other problems as well, but I can't think of any direct situations off-hand
I've given a few reasons why I don't want to do this feature. I may yet change my mind, but your job is to persuade me (saying that it could perhaps be turned on/off in the settings is not enough incentive for me to spend my time writing what I see as a pointless non-feature).

Tell me, specifically, in what situation you can't use the AutoEncode tool instead of the bitrate calculator, and explain how having your reminder will help. Then, I will consider it.

[check]

Hi, I ended up deleting the wiki page for bug reports and feature requests as we have the forum threads here. Here were the suggestions on the feature request page:
*What about automatic remember settings last used? - everything I would want remembered is remembered for me, I'm happier with the avs script creator resetting to default.
*Option to use DeGrainMedian and fft3dgpu for denoising in MeGUI - AviSynth Script Creator - A complete rewrite of denoising would be interesting, but there's probably no hurry at the moment.
*Option to remember user about BitRate Calculator before encoding! - no, too much extra clicking for my liking.
*Option to save the log with the finished encode file? - interesting idea, it would be useful for debugging. Alternately, you could output to a single log file in the MeGUI folder.

[berrinam]

Alternately, you could output to a single log file in the MeGUI folder.We do that already -- have a look at the logs folder.

[rufus007]

Please could you add aspect ration error indicator in Avisynth script creator (between AR after cropping and AR of resolution for resizing)?
It is usefull for manual "fine tune" of automatic cropping, automatic resolution and of course for informational purpose.
For example:
Choosen resolution for resizing: 512x304
AR after croping: 1,6825
AR of resize resolution: 1,6842
AR error: 0,1%

Thanx

Nobody interested with this feature?

[check]

Nobody interested with this feature?
I'll vote for it. It's a useful tidbit to know how far off your favourite resize dimensions are :)

[berrinam]

Yep, people say it often. I have no objections to it, so I will do it someday. Until then, just keep in mind that I'm happy to do it, but it's not so important, so you'll just have to wait. :)

[HymnToLife]

If possible, a feature to minimize MeGUI to system tray so it doesn't take extra space in the taskbar while encoding would be nice :)

[foxyshadis]

But it already has one, it's in the view menu.

[HymnToLife]

Oh damn, I'm an idiot ! Thanks for the tip :)

[Sudds]

Would there be any hope for the PMP container format, coinciding with Jonnys PMPMODAVC app?

[Doom9]

Would there be any hope for the PMP container format, coinciding with Jonnys PMPMODAVC app?Is there any point especially now that the 2.80 firmware can handle real MP4 files?

[Sudds]

But it cant handle 480x272 res AVC movies.

[Turneliusz]

Is it possible to make a checkbox in script creator where I would choose type of input: DirectShowSource or AVISource?

Or just add new tag to templates like <inputfile> to make template like this:
AVISource("<inputfile>")

[check]

Hi, furthermore to the cosmetic fixes currently happening, the "..." and "X" buttons in the main window appear to be one or two pixels out of alignment with the dropdown boxes just below them.
Also, would it be possible to add an option in the prefs to save any stats file created? I know you can save *all* temporary files, but the ability to save just stats files would be a boon.

[Sharktooth]

Hi, furthermore to the cosmetic fixes currently happening, the "..." and "X" buttons in the main window appear to be one or two pixels out of alignment with the dropdown boxes just below them.
can you show me where with a pic?
i cant see the wrong alignment (maybe it's due to my current visual style)

[Doom9]

can you show me where with a pic?
i cant see the wrong alignment (maybe it's due to my current visual style)One or two buttons were off.. but it has already been taken care off...

[Selur]

@Doom9: little request :)
Would be nice if one could select more then one vob/mpg in the .d2v creator, I know that I could do it manually through DGIndex, but it would be nice to do it directly in megui without having to switch tools.

thx for considering it. :)

Cu Selur

[Doom9]

Please explain why you need this.
VOBs are only used in a DVD context. And, in DVDs, VOBs have continues names throughout a titleset.. selecting the first one will result in all being opened.
So the only sense I see in selecting multiple files is
a) limiting the number of continuously named VOB files (well.. I don't see the sense in that.. )
b) join multiple titlesets.. and I can only begin to imagine what kind of catastrophe that will result in.. audio delays anyone?

[Selur]

I mostly encode a bunch of mpeg2 files captured through dvb, they all have the same resolution&co but different names. I also got no problem with audiodelays (since there are none). ;)
-> DOH, you are right I could just rename them before feeding to .d2v creator, thx ;)

[cmw]

Hey all, I've got a few rather silly questions, hope they haven't been anwsered yet, as search proofed useless since I couldn't think of meaningful search terms^^

1: A while ago (a long while) the Preview Window would Auto-Update when you choose a different Resolution in AVISynth Script Generator. However, now you have to press Preview to make it update. It's not a bit deal but I find it a bit nagging.

2: Asking if it should REALLY delete the job list (even when all jobs are already finished) is also very nagging, could you make that an option to turn off plz?

3: A few versions ago, d2v Creator would select "demux all audio tracks" by itself if no stream-information file was found. It doesn't do that anymore, could you please bring it back?

4: Will there ever be the possibility for different first pass settings (or even First-Pass Profiles?)

5: Is there any chance you could make the Preview window switch to fullscreen on demand? (I know it's size can be changed, but fullscreen preview would be very helpful).

Best regards
cmw

[check]

1. sure you aren't thinking of GK? I don't think it's ever done this, but it's oft asked.
3. you can queue individual passes "2pass -1st pass" and so on in codec config

[Doom9]

2) There's a setting to delete all successfully completed jobs after processing.. so you never get into a situation where you have to confirm deletion. The confirmation has a point: if you delete a job of a series, you are likely to screw up the whole series.. that why you are being warned.

5) I disagree about the full screen preview.. full screen = 2560x1600 on my PC.. I only blow things up that much to watch.. not to preview.

and I think check meant to write 4 instead of 3.

[cc979]

i've been test converting hd clips into x264 - most are way to big view full size, i can resize the preview windows manually but it not accurate enough adjusting clipping when auto-crop fails, so it be to big a problem implement slide bars for the preview windows

cheers

[Doom9]

and there I thought the preview window used the source resolution.. You can't get more accurate than that.

[cmw]

Concerning different 1st Pass settings: Sorry, I'm stupid and simply forgot about that (1st pass - 2nd pass). However, first-pass profiles would still be cool :)

Fullscreen Preview: The Point is that one could see how it looks fullscreen like, so how it's to watch. That makes eg. sense when using Scanlines (intentionally interlacing for psychovisual improvement).

On the original resolution, they look just fine, but in fullscreen things may get screwed up dependent on the Scanlines-Strength. The only way to see the definite outcome of how it looks like when you watch it would therefore be fullscreen. Now I agree that Scanlines are not widely used in Encodes, but Fullscreen would also help to check for extent of blocking, or the general detail of the picture (because the preview window is sometimes just too small to recognize any detail at all^^).

Best regards cmw

[check]

fullscreen display would be different for every output renderer chosen and per computer. For example, the overlay renderer uses one resizer, VMR7 uses another and VMR9 is completely video card dependant. What's more - I would definately not like meGUI to start using my video card's overlay, it would cause all sorts of compatibility headaches if a large amount of work wasn't put into it.
Why not just open the AVS in your favourite media player and preview it there?

[cc979]

and there I thought the preview window used the source resolution.. You can't get more accurate than that.

what i mean is a 1904x1072 source window is to big on my monitor, so i resize the preview-window manually but thats not accurate enough for clipping - with slider bars i could view the source full-size with out losing any detail

cheers

[Sharktooth]

why do you encode at such resolution if you havent a monitor/tv able to display it?

[cc979]

why do you encode at such resolution if you havent a monitor/tv able to display it?

i don't encode to hd resolutions - i try view the hd-source on preview window at full resolution, so i can clip it better

[junglemike]

I sorry if this was asked before, couldn't find it.
How about automated multiple file encoding in one go?
Like it is done in VirtualDubMod via "Process directory" in job control.
Say I have 1000000 scripts, I set settings for a one single script (just like in Vdub), than using similair facility as "process directory" in vdub - I point to the directory, and megui does the same with all scripts.
Thanks.

[Kriz]

This has probably been requested before, but is it possible to implement mpeg2 (mpg container) encoding in megui, either with ffmpeg or hc encoder or something similar?

[jvrobert]

OK - this is zany and maybe for the distant future, but some day it would be sweet if you could set up render farms for encodes.

So say I'm captain uber nerd and I've got 4 computers in my house. It would be cool if MeGui would allow me to add those 4 machines to a "farm", and then it would split the encode into chunks and distribute the chunks to those 4 machines for simultaneous encoding.

I believe DVDRip (Linux tool) can do this.

Am I smoking crack?

[Sharktooth]

This has probably been requested before, but is it possible to implement mpeg2 (mpg container) encoding in megui, either with ffmpeg or hc encoder or something similar?
Yes, it's possible, but MPEG-2 is not so "modern"...
OK - this is zany and maybe for the distant future, but some day it would be sweet if you could set up render farms for encodes.

So say I'm captain uber nerd and I've got 4 computers in my house. It would be cool if MeGui would allow me to add those 4 machines to a "farm", and then it would split the encode into chunks and distribute the chunks to those 4 machines for simultaneous encoding.

I believe DVDRip (Linux tool) can do this.

Am I smoking crack?
It has already been requested and i think it would be a nice addition. But at this point in development it will require a huge work though... ill check with the other devs.

[jvrobert]

Yes, it's possible, but MPEG-2 is not so "modern"...

It has already been requested and i think it would be a nice addition. But at this point in development it will require a huge work though... ill check with the other devs.

I would be willing to actually put some work in in the RPC code, I've got a fair degree of experience developing .NET/C# and various forms of RPC (native .NET remoting to a custom service, we could use SSH, or whatever). The video stuff not so much experience, but I will volunteer to help with the systems level stuff.

[sangwich]

Hi,

I was trying to make use of signalling AR (Aspect Ration) in H264 videos encoded with MEGUI and it is not easy task at all. This is what I discovered so far:

- Megui allows to signal DAR in avithinth script by setting Megui_darX and Megui_darY variables;
- MP4 container with h.264 video signals SAR (Sample Aspect Ratio) as oposite to DAR in mpeg-2 and possibly non-H.264 mpeg-4;
- x264 codec can take SAR as command line paremeter;
- it also looks like MEGUI uses Megui_darx and Megui _dary variables and input AR signaling in some internal formulat to calculate SAR;
- On the other hand I know exactly what SAR i want and do not really care about DAR.

So, here is feature that would be nice to have in MEGUI:

- introduce two more variables, let's say Mmegui_sarX and Megui_sarY or even better to add corresponding input fields to the gui itself;

- if these values are provided they should take precedence over DAR parameters and should be passed straight to the x264.

It guess is that it should be relativelly easy to do but I'm not that fluent with C# to do it myself. So, could you please include this feature in one of your next releases?

Thank you.

[Doom9]

you can always use the custom commandline options to add a sar. I doubt berrinam removed the sar options from the GUI without good reason, and thinking back about all the sar question threads, it has really gotten better now that those options are no longer available from the GUI.

[berrinam]

First up, some simple theory: DAR and SAR are essentially equivalent --- if the resolution is known, a conversion from one to the other is simple to do. Of the video operations that can be done, cropping preserves SAR and changes DAR, while resizing preserves DAR and changes the required SAR (of course, there are special cases of each of these in which nothing changes)

The other important fact is indeed what Doom9 mentioned: having both causes no end of confusion, because the terminology and definitions are bad and people don't understand what is going on.

So, I decided to standardise what MeGUI displays so that it uses DAR everywhere, and does the necessary conversions required (it's tricky, because XviD requires DAR, whereas x264 requires SAR). I chose DAR instead of SAR because I think that DAR is more intuitive, and I think it is also easier to determine: most camcorders shoot in 4:3, DVDs have the DAR printed on the cover, and there is also a quite limited set of commonly-used DARs: 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1. Contrast this to SAR:
You can't tell what the SAR is just by looking at it, which you can often do with DAR
Resizing of video is done more often than cropping, and SAR isn't preserved with resizing
I'm not aware of a small common set of SARs, since so many people use so many different resolutions.
The DVD case generally doesn't tell you the SAR

The video preview window in MeGUI shows the DAR which will be signalled by MeGUI, if any. You can change it there.

I think putting SAR back in should only be done if someone can provide a good reason for it, and a consistent way to manage it across the GUI, so that people don't get confused (which is bound to happen, IMHO).

[jigc]

hi,

thanx for the hard work.

could "hibernate after encoding" be added?? :)

jigc

[check]

to expand upton jigc's request, a 'run' or 'run .bat' after encoding option would be better.
As for hibernate, the command required is 'rundll32.exe powrprof.dll SetSuspendState'.

[Doom9]

Would that be EWX_POWEROFF in ExitWindowEx (which is the W32 API command we're using)? But why is this necessary again and how does this fall into the 80/20 rule?

[check]

That call is to shutdown - from a quick google "SetSuspendState (in Powrprof.dll) handles those operations [hibernation]. See http://www.mentalis.org/soft/class.qpx?id=7"
As to the 80/20, hibernate definately falls outside, but a case could be made for a generic "run this command/file on completion" hidden in the settings. You'd be able to set the file in the settings, and there would be a simpe checkbox on the job page to enable/disable it.
Especially as some functions of megui go through phases where they aren't in working order (mkvmerge splitting, etc etc), and that the goal of megui is anyway to provide the ability to automate to the highest possible degree, being able to run custom commands on completion (say to move the file to a different directory or something) would be a big advantage here.
Actually, thinking about it now, why not scrap this whole system and add support to add in a reference to a .bat file as an actual job in the queue? You'd kill two birds with one stone here - a huge new level of extensibility would be possible, with a minimum of additional clutter (browse to file, enqueue); and anyone who would ever request more 'majority useless' automation could be instantly silenced.
Now that my brain's running you could even add variable parsing, %lastjob-outputfilename% style. But of course it's all work ;)

[cbarroso]

Could the SSIM display in the log be like SSIM Mean Y:0.9801301 / 85.1 ( (SSIM ^ 8) * 100 )?

:thanks:

[Sharktooth]

It depends on x264 output.
MeGUI just reads it and displays it in the log window.

[check]

So long since a request...
When encoding video & audio manually for any quick 'n dirty project I'm doing I'll often elect to use the inbuilt muxer as well. The only problem with this is that I can't queue this job until the files are completed as they don't exist.
A nice way around this would be for MeGUI to create 'dummy' 0byte files so that I can specify them as inputs in the muxer window and not have to come back later.

This would get tricky if mediainfo is used to determine stream type, perhaps writing into the file something like megui:video:x264 or something?

[Borbus]

Thanks for MeGUI it's great, but there's 2 features I would find very useful.

1. The DGIndex maker should be able to accept multiple files like StaxRip can. At the moment I have to make my d2v manually with DGIndex. I have to split the files up because I use FAT32.

2. In the AVISynth maker, you should be able to turn deinterlacing on even if you don't do the auto detection. The auto detect takes ages and those who know how can detect it themselves in a few seconds.

[check]

1. http://mewiki.project357.com/MeGUI_FAQ#How_do_I_import_multiple_vobs
2. I somewhat agree, but those who can do this (you and I), can simply put it in by hand without too much bother.

[Borbus]

Thanks, the wiki is helpful. I have another feature request that I meant to write instead of no. 2 but I forgot about it when I wrote the first post.

MeGUI should have a setting so it can run more than one job at a time. This is useful for a multi CPU computer because running the encoder with 2 threads isn't 100% efficient (probably because AVISynth has some overhead).

[Sharktooth]

It's being developed (by me).
It's at the base of network (or parallel if you prefer) encoding where you have a pool of CPU cores and MeGUI will assign different jobs (or job parts) to the available cores.

[wiak]

i have a little future request
save log about that encode into a .txt file in the same folder and as the same name as encoded file but with log.txt as filetype or something?
so it gets a log file along all the other files so it will be esier to read log the log on exactly that encode

[ChronoCross]

Addition of VFR muxing capability for mp4 and mkv using a timecode file.

That would be great. Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

Addition of VFR muxing capability for mp4 and mkv using a timecode file.

That would be great. Thanks.
Ask it to berrinam, doom9 or dimzon... im actually quite busy with the MeGUIx port and parallel and network encoding.
Also i would like to see the refactor completed so i can commit a couple of fixes.

[berrinam]

Also i would like to see the refactor completed so i can commit a couple of fixes.

Sorry, I've done no work on the refactor for quite a while because of a lack of time. As far as I know, though, the basics are almost complete. Left to do is:
Dynamic class loading from DLLs
A dynamic profile system (this is the bit I'm still sketchy on)
A system for negotiating keyboard shortcuts
Lots of nice GUIs to manage this
Bug testing.

However, the things I have set up already should be not susceptible to much change, so you should be able to go ahead and fix the bugs you've found...

[agressiv]

Hey, here are some requests :)

1) Be able set default container to MKV.
2) Be able to set default input/output directories for everything, rather than re-using the last saved directory. For example:


Location of original source material (VOBs etc)
AVS Scripts
D2V Files
Audio/Video files that aren't muxed
Final, Muxed files


3) Auto filename creation (or "suggestion") based on the input file name or directory.

I spend half of my time navigating through explorer windows and typing out filenames because I keep my files separated in different directories. Sometimes the built-in Explorer autocomplete gets some of it, but hey, anything to make my life easier is greatly appreciated :)

4) Being able to run two jobs at once. I'll frequently start a job queue and simply want to run another D2VCreator and not want to wait for the current job to finish, nor do I want to open a second instance of MeGUI.

-or-

4) Have a checkbox to show the command line for the d2v creator so that I can run it myself. Yes, I could dig in and figure it out, but then again, I guess I could just do everything from the command line eh? :D

Thank you very much for any consideration!

agressiv

[Sharktooth]

Well, actually i have no time to work on MeGUI coz i spend most of my free-time on the linux port and im having big issues with some parts of the code (i had to reinvent the wheel for an automated deinterlacing method that still doesnt work as it should...).
So, i hope Berrinam, Doom9 or Dimzon can help completing the refactor so i can integrate the parallel processing (that will fit your request #4) to MeGUI.

[berrinam]

(i had to reinvent the wheel for an automated deinterlacing method that still doesnt work as it should...).Could you tell me what's up with this? Are you having problems because of no AviSynth, or what? Maybe I can make recommendations, but I can't write much code at the moment.

[Sagittaire]

Why megui say "no p4*4 with level 4.1" .... ???

[Sharktooth]

Could you tell me what's up with this? Are you having problems because of no AviSynth, or what? Maybe I can make recommendations, but I can't write much code at the moment.
Exactly, i have no avisynth...

[Doom9]

Why megui say "no p4*4 with level 4.1" .... ???Search this or the AVC forum.. a post by akupenguin will answer your question.

[Jorka57]

Search this or the AVC forum.. a post by akupenguin will answer your question.

Where is this post ? I search but can't see anything about this limitation in megui ? Why x264 don't limit this and megui limit P4x4 with level > 3 ? There is in the mp4's standard ?

Thx :)

[Sagittaire]

Search this or the AVC forum.. a post by akupenguin will answer your question.

well it's perhaps for very old x264 version. Recently akupenguin say that the only limitation is ref 3 for level 4.1 and not speak about P4*4 ... ???
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=879842#post879842
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=879666#post879666

[Sagittaire]

Search this or the AVC forum.. a post by akupenguin will answer your question.

well your profil limitation are too old now
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=882001#post882001

Perhaps the time to change that ... ???

[Jorka57]

Search this or the AVC forum.. a post by akupenguin will answer your question.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=882001#post882001

Here, akupenguin says that --analyse "all" (with p4x4) is compliant in level 4.1. So could you make an update to correct in megui please ?

thx doom9 :)

Jorka57

[handtruck]

I want to do something like this with the avisynth templates

v=AviSource(<input>, audio=false)
a=DirectShowSource(<input>, video=false)
AudioDub(a,v)

It looks as though megui automatically chooses the script based on the input (for avi's it is always DirectShowSource). There should be a way for the user to choose which one (or in this case, multiple.

What you could do is simply make an alternative to <input>, call it something like <file>, which only will contain the location of the file being input, so if the user wants to have megui choose, they can use <input> (and this should still be the default), but if the user wants to choose his/her own method, they can use <file>.

So my template would look like this:
v=AviSource(<file>, audio=false)
a=DirectShowSource(<file>, video=false)
AudioDub(a,v)

If there is a way to do this already, I sincerely apologize.

[check]

Just so you know, it's possible to simplify those lines by removing the variables:
AudioDub(AviSource(<file>, audio=false),DirectShowSource(<file>, video=false))
Personally I wouldn't care for this, as MeGUI encodes the audio & video separately and I tend to create two avs scripts for the encoding so it runs as fast as possible.

[Sgt. Rock]

Guys... i don´t know if this is a "weird" request or no... but, why do not have an option to make the meGUI go (if you want and when its working) only to the system tray when minimized? Something like FlashGet, RapGet, MSN and many other progs do when minimized...

http://i2.turboimagehost.com/t/156503_1.JPG (http://i.turboimagehost.com/p/156503/1.JPG.html)

[check]

look in the view menu :)

[Sgt. Rock]

Holy ****
Ok ok... forget it...
Ive nerver came here... ive never talked about anything...
8)

[jigc]

to expand upton jigc's request, a 'run' or 'run .bat' after encoding option would be better.
As for hibernate, the command required is 'rundll32.exe powrprof.dll SetSuspendState'.

thanx check for the idea. i copy the command from megui and add above command to hibernate the pc after encoding.

btw, as --no-ssim speeds up encoding a bit, could it be added too?

i found that latest x264 (SVN-592) supports interlaced source encoding, could this option be added as well? :)

[handtruck]

Just so you know, it's possible to simplify those lines by removing the variables:
AudioDub(AviSource(<file>, audio=false),DirectShowSource(<file>, video=false))
Personally I wouldn't care for this, as MeGUI encodes the audio & video separately and I tend to create two avs scripts for the encoding so it runs as fast as possible.

Thanks for the tip. Even if I encoded them separately, which I have been known to do, it doesn't solve the issue of having AviSource in the template. <input> puts in everything automatically, including the "audio=false" I just want more control of the templates, that's all. I've written my own command line creating program to do all my processes, but I've been enjoying the gui of megui. Maybe I'll just create my own avs file(s), and use megui after that.

Thanks.

[FooFighter007]

As we currently have trouble with the Update-Server it might we a good idea to put the (list of) Update URL(s) into a XML file.

Regards,

Foo

[Thunderbolt8]

dont know if this has already been asked, I didnt read all 17 pages, or if this is possible at all, but i could be really useful to have a real time pause function when encoding, like the pause and resume when using winrar. atm, megui can only pause after 1 pass/job is done and even with low priority your cpu might still be too busy when you have to do something important requiring heavy cpu use as soon as possible and simply cant wait for hours for the pass to finish.

[unskinnyboy]

dont know if this has already been asked, I didnt read all 17 pages, or if this is possible at all, but i could be really useful to have a real time pause function when encoding, like the pause and resume when using winrar. atm, megui can only pause after 1 pass/job is done and even with low priority your cpu might still be too busy when you have to do something important requiring heavy cpu use as soon as possible and simply cant wait for hours for the pass to finish.MeGUI is just a front-end. The underlying codecs (XviD, x264 etc) themselves don't offer the pause functionality for various reasons (search to know more). You can't have it all - either live with this or choose a profile/preset which is faster, when encoding.

[Doom9]

megui can only pause after 1 pass/job is done says who? I wrote the pause functionality and it works just fine here. x264 doesn't stop instantly but if it just stops working after a while despite no output being read anymore, that's not really my problem and there's not really anything I can do about it.. I cannot suspend a process in .NET.

[Dayvon]

Just thought of this, not that you have to impliment it...

Right now, I still have to use DGIndex (dpmgdec) outside of MeGUI even though you have the d2v creator integrated into MeGUI. The reason for this is simple. Only 1 VOB file can be selected in the D2V creator page. Why is this? I use either DVDFab Decrypter (which outputs the whole DVD) and/or DVD Shrink and both programs output to multiple VOBs and not to one single VOB. I know that alot of people still use DVDDecrypter, which you can set to output to a single VOB, but couldn't multi-VOB input support be added to the D2V creator? Or is there a way to do all this that I don't know?

Adding this, for me at least, would be awesome because that would eliminate one more step from the movie encoding process. Step 1, decrypt to hard drive; Step 2, MeGUI. That would be pretty slick.

[Sharktooth]

Selecting the first VOB will make it process all the "chained" VOBs.
You only have to select the first (as described in the MeGUI guide).

[Dayvon]

I tried that, but it gets some sort of error. It says something like "could not find DVD Decrypter generated info file." Is there something in MeGUI that requires users to run DVD Decrypter?

[Henrikx]

@Dayvon
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=886813#post886813

[Dayvon]

Nice. So the d2v creator is working, it just doesn't look like it since it errors at you immediately after opening the VOB. Would it be more prudent to have a different error message come up? The one that is there makes you think that it is not working at all because of the lack of info file. But it seems that the error is only in the file name output, NOT the d2v-ac3 file creation. That's pretty cool.

[asdfsauce]

Been using MeGUI for a while now and have stumbled upon some things that I, at least, would find useful:

1. Have the audio encode wizard generate an editable AVS script just like the video input wizard does.

2. Make it so the folder MeGUI remembers and goes to for loading a file is different for each input.

-That way after I load a matrix or set the location of say mp4box.exe, I don't have to navigate all the way back from my mp4box folder to my encoding folder through MeGUI to load an AVIS script. I seem to find myself navigating through folders a lot with MeGUI, this would cut down on that.

3. Option to have the AVIS loading dialog perform the same operation of the AVIS script generator on MPEG2/D2V files.

-Always nice to have things streamlined.

4. Put the update function in the help menu instead of tools.

-That's generally where I find it in other programs, and the tools menu is a little crowded.

Sorry if anything like this has been asked before - I looked through the first page.

Thanks for any consideration given to this.

Edit: A section for comments in profiles would be nice too.

[Dayvon]

Hey guys!

Wanted to throw this idea out there and see what you guys think. There is an amaziing thread about sampling your source using a CRF pass (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=884659#post884659) with the script "SelectRangeEvery(600,12)." Basically what this allows is a preliminary run (3-4min) that can output the bitrate needed to achieve a set quality. This has my head spinning.

A simple tool, a "Quality Calculator" with file input (d2v), auto-crop, resolution output size (with DAR,SAR options), x264 settings (profiles?), a quality setting (either in CRF numbers or in high-low options), and a test button. The high-low scheme would translate to different CRF values. Eg: highest (CRF 15), higher (CRF 16.5), high (CRF 18), Medium (CRF 19.5), Low (CRF 21), Lower (CRF 22.5), Lowest (CRF 24). What this would achieve is essentially what some people have been clamoring for, a compressability test with quality being the user variable. And essentially, the tool would state back, "If you want a _____ quality file at ___x___, using _____ x264 settings, then you will need about ____ average kbps and the resulting output filesize will be approximately ____ MBs" where the user would choose the quality (high-low or CRF values), resolution, and x264 settings.

EDIT/
Another possibility would be to add a "test x264" button to the bottom of the AVScript Creator tool. Pressing the test button would then pop up a window with choice for Quality as either CRF number or high-low. Below this would be a selector for x264 profiles, and/or a config button. Below that would be a Start button. Upon pressing start the tool then creates the AVScript, loads it, encodes, and then displays a log stating the average bitrate, and the resulting video filesize. By putting this "quality calculator" into the AVScript Creator, the calculator actually becomes more versatile, because then you can adjust your AVScript to the quality that you need (eg: resolutions in particular). This would probably be a better option as opposed to creating a whole new tool that would, in effect, need to be a AVScript creator as well.
/EDIT

This would be amazing at giving users the choice of quality, and showing them the repercussions of that choice. Until now, most everything is based on hitting specific filesizes to backup to removable media. This tool/method allows users to choose quality, resolution, and x264 settings, based on filesize instead of choosing filesize based on size constraints and hoping quality is good.

Anyway, it's just an idea that came from DDogg's amazing work. Also, as a side note, integration of CRF decimal value is MeGUI would be nice.

Reactions?

[Dayvon]

Below are the examples of what I'm talking about. Adding a test button on the bottom of the AVScript Creator window. That button pops up the Quality Test window. Upon selecting your options and then pressing test, MeGUI enqueue's the encode and runs it. After which, the log file is displayed in a second window.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6912/avscriptcreatornewcp3.th.jpg (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=avscriptcreatornewcp3.jpg)

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/4118/qualitytestqu1.th.png (http://img224.imageshack.us/my.php?image=qualitytestqu1.png)

[quake74]

Would it be possible to have an "aspect ratio error" indicator on the avisynth creator? I think the old GK had it, and it showed the error as a percentage. Thx.

[spunch]

I'm sorry but when can we expect to see distributed/network encoding in MeGUI, and also how exactly is it supposed to work?

Could you please provide some more information, I couldn't find anything using the :search:.

[check]

it will only be on linux for starters, and it will arrive if sharktooth gets megui working on linux. Since there is no avisynth on linux he's using mencoder instead, which means implementing distributed encoding is a bit easier (or something to the effect it is windows only for the time being).

For x264 dist. encoding, try ELDER.

[Sharktooth]

oh, distributed encoding will be integrated in megui for windows too.
i will resume the work on that in few days.

[check]

have you considered just implementing ELDER, or portions of it? It could save you a fair amount of time.

[Sharktooth]

i started from the ELDER idea, however the code is made from scratch.
To answer your question, no... it wouldnt save me any time.

[spunch]

Will network encoding actually encode over network (i.e. on remote servers) or have I misunderstood the whole concept? And if it will, how would it handle that? How fast of a network do I need for it to work efficiently? What would I need to install on the remote servers?

[Sharktooth]

yes, they must be in a LAN though (100 or 1000mbps are recommended). it's usefull for accelerating the encoding speed.

[kharan5876]

What about the ability to resize and maximize the megui window? I always have a ton of stuff in my queue and it would be easier to work with if I could maximize the window.

[Sharktooth]

:search:

[quake74]

I have playing around with ELDER and I like the approach of the simple parallelism by just encoding different chunks of the movie. I know that there is a plan to implement it in some way in megui, but for me it would suffice a very simple version which produces the different bat files, and then I would have to click on each bat file by myself. Here are my reasons: it is also a stupid way to pause the encoding and to protect agains crashes, since you don't lose your whole file, just a part; I often use crf for backups so it should not matter much if I encode in chunks or not; I do not need to install perl on the other (windows) machines which want to cooperate, I just install avisynth with plugins and share the folder. Comments and/or suggestions?

[Thunderbolt8]

for the bitrate calculator, I request the values for additional storage mediums 1/2 DVD and 2/3 DVD for dvd5 and 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 for dvd9

[mixanobios]

first of all a big t-up for your work on this great tool!
here are my feature requests:
for the avisynth script dialog i would like to be able to select a deinterlacing algorithm without having to analyse (sometimes analyse takes forever)

[Pendalf]

Hi. I think it would be useful to add mode like "2pass - 1st pass" but with "--qp" option instead of "--bitrate" if one wants to estimate the bitrate of a second pass for required quality. :)

[mixanobios]

i would also like to request support for a compressibility test, or proper documentation about it if it exists and i cannot find it!

[Kurth]

Can you people update the mkvmerge version on the MeGUI update server?

There is already a version 1.8.1
http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/

MeGUI Updater still download version 1.7.0

[Sharktooth]

is the 1.7.0 commandline options compatible with the ones in 1.8.1?

[deets]

i dont like asking as it feels cheeky, but would it be possible to add an option to automatically name output files depending on audio or video. for example, if my avs is deets.avs, the video output is called deetsvideo.mp4 and the audio would be deetsaudio.mp4.

i currently manually rename the output, but on the odd occasion i forget and overwrite my long encoded video mp4 with the audio mp4 as they use the same file name from the avs.

[berrinam]

@deets: Settings->Extra config->Optional output extensions

[experttech]

Pressing Ctrl+A on the Log window runs Auto Encode, it should actually select all text in the Log window (to be followed by Ctrl+C)

[berrinam]

Solved in 1015

[pinkie_1]

Can you people update the mkvmerge version on the MeGUI update server?

There is already a version 1.8.1
http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/

MeGUI Updater still download version 1.7.0

is the 1.7.0 commandline options compatible with the ones in 1.8.1?

AFAIK, the CL switches in 1.8.1 are backwards-compatible with the ones in 1.7.0.

[Vytenis]

I can find a lot of exotic languages in the list, but there are no lithuanian.
Can you please add it in the next release.
Tnx.

[shon3i]

Please back old "Shut Down after encode" check.

[berrinam]

It's there: look in Settings->Extra Config->After encoding

[Carpo]

from the one or two test encodes i did i was using RC10 without issues - seems RC7 onwards had some code left in/removed it shouldnt have :)

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=912673#post912673
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=913557#post913557

and if your feeling like giving it a go RC11 is out

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=920088#post920088

[dbunder]

Vista support. It won't get past the D2V creator stage. Not sure if this is the fault of MeGUI (unlikely) or a helper app.

I think this is brought up in another thread, just wanted to add to this one. :)

[Adub]

now that TIVTC 1.0 Final has been released, how about updating the deinterlacing analysis pass to support it?

[Carpo]

2 features if i may

1) have subs taken into account in bitrate calculator - souldnt have an impact i know but i did a back up where the subs were 20mb

2) an option when muxing mkv to select aspect ratio, i have done 3 backups all 16:9 and when they are muxed i have to put them through mkvtools to change the ratio (mostly happens on anime) i have checked the ifos with ifo edit and it does indeed show 16:9

[check]

carpo, merlin: edit: https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=156112&atid=798476

[Adub]

Click your own link.
No, seriously, see how far it gets you. I think you may be reffering to the new feature request center via Sourceforge?

[blc]

Hello, and thanks for the great GUI! However, as an old Arcalculator user, I can not feel very comfortable at the "resolution/crop selection window" :( Would it be out of the question to add 'Aspect ratio error' and 'Bits/pixel' info boxes? Screenshot of ARC added for reference :) I believe GK has somewhat same kind of approach. Thanks for reading.

[Sharktooth]

bits per pixel is useless coz it's (obviously) a wrong way to measure the quality. it doesnt take into consideration the source compressibility with the selected codec.
the aspect ratio error is in the settings. you can force it to a certan percentage value. i personally constrain it to 1%.

[Carpo]

carpo, merlin: edit: https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=156112&atid=798476

ok i thought that was for bugs only - do you have to register there to post ?

[check]

no. There are two trackers there, one for bugs, one for requests. Look in the dropdown menu.

[Ð.Sp!dér]

Nice GUI you got here... Keep it up.

1. I can see the program icon is separated from the program wich makes it look plain when you minimize to the system tray.

2. Can you please do something like this ? :

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8593/untitleduq5.png

It shouldn't be too hard... Mabey a little to the right ? As in the centor of the window ?
Mabey even to the right just under "Clear" and "Delete" ?

3. Could you make the window specify the encoding time it took for the whole encoding, in the list, "Start-End" and "FPS" ? Eg. 1:30 or "1h30m"... I really hate dividing the starting time and the finish time to know how much time it took to encode everything.

4. A timer perhaps ? A counter when you hower your mouse over the program when it's minimized to the system tray. This could be useful. But not a priority... I cound use uneccessary CPU power. Better leave it an option then. :)

5. The encoding priority should be set to Normal by default.

6. Please add an option in the Bitrate Calculator , "Storage Medium" so it could be set to "1/8 CD ". I need this soo much... :) Meaning 85.5 MB. This is so very usefull when encoding cartoon/anime episodes at lower bitrates. Meaning 12 episodes will fit 1.00 GB, 24 epsidoes will fit 2.00 GB and so on !!

The last one is an Absolutely-MUST-IMPLEMENT-CRITICAL feature. Please-Please do try to get this properly working. PLEASE ! It gave me such a hearache...

[unskinnyboy]

If I start the encode on a series of enqueued jobs and disable the process window, that only remains in effect for the first job. When the second job starts, the process window pops back again. Can it be set so that once the process window is disabled, it remains disabled for the duration of all of the encodings in the queue, until manually enabled again?

[Doom9]

@Ð.Sp!dér: Megui can already shut down your PC after encoding.. (and as far as "it shouldn't be too hard".. if it were missing and you know how hard it is.. why wouldn't you do it yourself? <grin>)
I see no problem whatsoever to figure out how long encoding took if you know start and end time.. a little math in your head keeps your head fit. There's a reason FPS is shown - you need to know the source length to calculate it.. since that info may not be available it's important to store the FPS, but there's really no practical argument for encoding length.
I will turn in my grave if the default priority is ever changed (time to start coding again and commit a patch that restores the proper order).. unless you run a lot of cpu eating crap on your machine there's no difference between idle and normal mode. If however you use your machine while encoding, normal priority will drive you crazy as it will starve your browser, email program, etc for resources.
If every size that people use would be added to the size dropdowns, the dropdown would fill even my 1600 vertical pixels. My point here is everybody wants to have his own prefered size in there and you can't make everybody happy.

@unskinnyboy: are you sure you are describing this right? If you go into the settings and uncheck "Open progress window", then press Save, that applies to every job started after the option has been unchecked. Closing a progress window while encoding isn't the same.. whether or not a progress window pops up when a job is started is controlled by the checkbox in the settings.

[unskinnyboy]

@unskinnyboy: are you sure you are describing this right? If you go into the settings and uncheck "Open progress window", then press Save, that applies to every job started after the option has been unchecked. Closing a progress window while encoding isn't the same.. whether or not a progress window pops up when a job is started is controlled by the checkbox in the settings.My bad. You are right. I didn't know that this could be controlled in the settings. It's fine now. Thanks.

[fight2win]

maybe megui can integrate limitedsharpenfaster feature?

[cc979]

not sure if this has mentioned before,

but is possible in the avs creator when i hd-video is loaded that it auto fits the desktop size and possibly have scrollbars in it for a more detailed view

eg. sometimes i get videos to big for my monitor and want to resize and crop them manually (sometimes needed)
having scrollbars in 100% zoom would help to see then cropping in 2/4 pixels (most of the time - on a smaller monitor - you can't see a 2/4 pixel increase/decrease accurately)

cheers

[bkman]

Would CRF prediction via the DABR method be too much to ask as far as feature requests go? It seems very promising, but right now difficult to make use of.

[fields_g]

Nero AAC encoder has been updated (changlog below). I noticed that 16 and 22.05 khz is supported in HE also. Is there a way to incorporate downsampling of an input file to these sample rates before being fed into neroAacEnc through MeGUI?

2007-02-13 - Version 1.0.7.0

- neroAacEnc:
- Quality tuning for some bitrates
- Added support for 16 and 22.05 kHz samplerates for HE AAC
- Fixed HE AAC configuration problems for 5.1 files (at q=0.0)
- Temporary file handling fixed on Windows Vista
- Various speed optimisations

- neroAacDec:
- Small speedups
- Reduced memory usage

- neroAacTag:
- No changes

[Sharktooth]

why? 22.05 Khz quality sux...

[fields_g]

why? 22.05 Khz quality sux...

I do A LOT of work with speech recording etc. Since many phones now days do have HE-AAC and not any speech codecs, using MeGUI to convert recordings would be very nice.

Now that you mention it though, I haven't actually had time to pull 22.05 khz into nero manually to see what it sounds like encoded in the HE sweetspot bitrate range.

I use MeGUI for much more demanding projects, and I wouldn't mind sticking with this for some of my other and less aggressive needs as well.

[ashes_rulz]

Plz enable megui with proxy support:thanks:

[Devastator]

I'd really appreciate having a default container setting. It's gets tiresome having to change the container manually every time.

[Sharktooth]

Post feature requests here: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=798479&group_id=156112&func=browse

Registration is not needed

[Keepitsimple]

Not sure if its been mentioned before. But in avisynth script in the resolution crop box. You can choose crop and resize. I cant resize over original size.

I would like to be able to chose any size for height or widht and then have megui calculate the correct corresponding width or height depening on AR.

This would be the ultimate solution:

Have megui choose the biggest available resolution while keeping AR for a given screen resolution.

[check]

upsizing is disabled for a reason: it's a bad idea in almost all cases :). If you want to do it, you will have to manually edit the avs file.

[Tacio]

and what about implementation bits per pixel calculation?

[ShadowVlican]

phew finally i can post!

i would just like to say THANKS :thanks:

thanks for this great program and thanks for the incredibly useful "Queue analysis pass" button! because of that i no longer have to use vdub's "run video analysis pass"

great stuff guys!

[Keepitsimple]

upsizing is disabled for a reason: it's a bad idea in almost all cases :). If you want to do it, you will have to manually edit the avs file.
So if I understand you correctly. Its disabled so people who dont know what scaling is wont make a mistake?

It seems very strange that people who know about megui dont know that. Im VERY new to this and I have no trouble understanding that option. There are a lot of other variables thats clickable that I have no clue what they do.

[berrinam]

So if I understand you correctly. Its disabled so people who dont know what scaling is wont make a mistake?Correct. Upsizing (with the MeGUI resizers, that is) is such a stupid move that there's no point putting it in. We have that restriction there so that you don't go and think, 'well, bigger is better' and upsize. There are some situations where upsizing is helpful, but generally they either involve using a bet upsizer, which MeGUI doesn't support, or encoding for a specific hardware device, in which case you should go with pre-made profiles (in which the template will contain the size). Throughout MeGUI's life, no-one has actually come up with a use case in which it is good to let MeGUI upsize.

[SealTooGreat]

Also need bits per pixel calculation in MeGUI.
Cold you add PAR signalization?! ...Well, I know I can put it via commandline box (i.e. --sar 64:45)

[aajkaarjun]

One thing, IMHO, that would be very useful would be to add options to "Display only forced subtitles" and the ability to "hardcode" subtitles into the video stream ala AutoGK. I for one found it a very convenient feature. I will try to justify why I think this is a useful feature:

1) Support for subtitles with MP4 and MKV containers (both external and embedded) is either non-existent or quite difficult to get right when trying to use a front end like MCE 2k5. I have seen one project which has a solution for Vista MCE, but nothing for MCE 2k5. I imagine other front ends could have similar problems.

2) Support for subtitles (both external and embedded) remains spotty in so called "media streamer" set top boxes.

3) Even if solutions existed for #1 and #2, one would still need to do some manual tweaking of things to get the encode right. It seems a helpful UI here could make this task easier. Something MeGUI has done admirably for other aspects it supports :)

[Soshen]

you think that can be add in megui the option for allow writing stats when is used the CBR pass?
imho this is the bigger problem of megui at now ^^;

[Selur]

is it enough to post feature request and bug reports in the tracker, or should one always additionally post here?

[check]

this thread is more or less depracated, if you want a feature request noticed, post it on the tracker :)

[foxyshadis]

I'd suggest closing the thread, but people would probably just make more little single-feature threads instead of using the tracker. Meh.

Can't people just search this thread and the forum (http://www.google.com/search?q=site:forum.doom9.org+megui+bpf) for all the discussion we've had on bpf?

[thuongshoo]

Hi ! I'm using a newest version
1- When I click Enqueue button, Megui should use value of output filename textbox
2- I can't choose "shutdown after finished encoding" or "do nothing" when Megui is encoding.

I'm get source code by svn protocol. Is version which at sourgeforce a newest ?

If I do above thing, Which files should I modify ? Because there are terrible files. Please tell me! :D
Thanks!

[big-guy]

I would like to make a proposal.

Could you add the Lagarith codec as an option or as a replacement of huffyuv, for the pre-processing process.
The Lagarith codec is much more efficient, especially with anime (haven't tested on movie material). And it fully supports multicore systems. And it encodes faster.

Website (http://lags.leetcode.net/codec.html)
Source code available at homepage if needed.

At the moment I first encode to Lagarith with another program, and then to x264 with MeGUI. It would be nice to do that in program :).

:thanks: in advance.

[Doom9]

@big_guy: I believe the Lagarith homepage already gives a few answers:
The trade-off for this improved compression is speed. On a single processor system, Lagarith can be significantly slower than Huffyuv on typical video. Additionally, the decode speed tends to be slower than the encode speed; this is due to the nature of Arithmetic compression and the prediction algorithm.
In addition, you will notice that we're using mencoder for huffyuv encoding - and it doesn't contain Lagarith.
Codecs that support multiple cores are always sympathetic to me (especially those that support all my 4 cores :) but as you can see there are good reasons for using huffyuv.

[salehin]

(Sorry if I've posted in the wrong section, or this has already been discussied- i've searched doom9's various threads)

Ability to encode, especially x264 encodes, into multiple session. I'm requesting the following features, if possible:

- stop encoding in the middle (at random or after a pre-defined time or length)
- exit MeGUI
- restart/turning off the machine
- resume encoding from where it stopped

Having such option will be a great feature as x264 encodes take lot of time.

cheers :)

[handtruck]

I think this is pretty important.

Right now, I have to switch my xvid_encraw to the squid_80 build, which looks at the input fps rather than defaulting to 25fps like the Celtic Druid 2007.03.10 (svn) version megui uses.

I think either way MeGui should be able to determine the fps on its own and put it out to the -framerate switch to override the default. I'm pretty sure it's capable of this from my experience with using it for x264 and its inclusion of the fps in the generated mp4box commandline.

In its current state, megui CANNOT do xvid encodes properly (except 25fps material) without adding custom commandlines.

[dragonle87]

Hello, I just want to make an important suggestion:

Can you guys add subtitle support for the avs cutter?

Currently, it could only trim video + audio, but not subtitles.

Basically, there should be a separate window that takes a subtitle input of any format (srt, ass, ssa, etc) as well as megui .cut file input, and outputs the newly cut subtitle file.

Please note that I'm interested in non-linear cutting (meaning cutting out certain portions here and there), not splitting files into x number of pieces (which there are already programs that can do this, although it wouldn't hurt to also incorporate it into megui).

It's just that I do alot of anime recoding, and nowadays many fansubbers' encodes are becoming more softsubs mp4/mkv, instead of the traditional hardsubbed avi files.

Thanks ahead, and I hope to see this feature implemented in the next megui release.

[Bigmango]

Hello,

Can you add a select box for nero acc 2 pass encoding ? (I always use it for low bitrate encodes).

To encode in 2 pass nero acc absolutely needs a wave file as input. So a temporary wave file must be created with bepipe.exe for example.

Then, the command line for 2 pass looks like this, for example:
"neroAacEnc.exe -br 64000 -2pass -if <input> -of <output>"

If looking at the source code of a small nero aac gui that already does all of this (including the temporary wave file) would help you, you can find the Simple NeroAacEnc GUI sources here:

http://www.imcold.evilhosting.org/progs/sng/

This would help me a lot, if megui could do everything without me needing to demux the audio manually, encode it in another app, and then remuxing it manually.

Thanks.

[berrinam]

Please post all feature requests on the MeGUI Sourceforge tracker for feature requests. There is a link in my signature.

[BlackSharkfr]

EDIT :
have just seen the request feature tracker at sourceforge, will post there too

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, i've been using megui for a year now and i just love it's advanced features and i would like to see even more great stuff, so here are my feature requests :

small technical stuff
Allow use of files in the queue but not created yet, so that you can queue your video and audio and then be able to queue the muxing without having even started the encoding process.

Avisynth script creator default parameters, they are set by default to resize the video, please change the default parameters so they do not modify the video. (maybe a bug)

Queue Avisynth to lossless
Some Avisynth scripts are very heavy and slower than the encoding. I think it would be a good thing to have a feature that renders the Avisynth script to a lossless format (huffyuv ou lagarith or whatever) before doing the encoding itself.
I think it would save a lot of time for some projects.


Big and ambitious requests


Rearrange the long dialogs -- AviSynth creator, Settings
Description: Make them tabbed (preferably with Basic/Advanced, or some other structure) to make them less overwhelming, and also so that they can fit on a lower-resolution screen.
Status: Completed in 0.2.3.1115.

The interface could be much better and have a much more logic design, right now i just can't recommand Megui to any of my friends asking me with what software they should encode h264, because i know that i would have to explain : "right, first you need an avisynth script, go to the tools menu - then avisynth script creator... etc etc..."

So here is a (long) description of my request :
A complete change of the tabs layout to something that matches the actual workflow of the encoding process.

Tab #1 : input, where you basically drag and drop your files, and then select for each file which tracks you want to use, exactly like in Mkvmerge-GUI, and that's it, nothing more.

Each selected track will make appear a new tab dedicated to the treatment of this track

Tab #2 : Video
this tab contains all parameters affecting the video track,
there should be one very important tickbox :
-Direct Stream copy (ticked by default) sends the video track straight to the muxer

there should be two sub-tabs
Tab #2 - Subtab #1 Preprocessing
here should be the avisynth script creator
Tab #2 - Subtab #2 Compression
here should be the codec configuration page, roughly like the one we already know but without the output file format choice (sent to the final tab, see tab4)

Tab #3 : Audio
this tab contains all parameters affecting the audio track, roughly like the one we already know but without the extension choice (see tab4) and it should have the "direct stream copy" tickbox too.

Tab #4 : Chapters
The capter editor (i've never even used it, i don't even know what it looks like)

Tab #5 : Subtitles
A chapter editor (i've never even used the vobsub tool)

Tab #6 : Menu Creation, something else, whatever feature you want to add, just add a tab instead of a tool hidden in the tools menu.

Tab #? = last tab : Output
This is the muxer. Since this is the place where you set the output filename and type (mkv or mp4), you don't need to set any for intermediary files, megui will choose the name automatically and put them in the same directory where you choose to put the output file.
This tab should be the only one containing the magic "enqueue" button.

And then of course Queue and log tabs

-----------------------------------------
This ends my interface suggestion.
The goal is that somebody totally new to megui knows instantly where to start and where to end and reckognize the different steps this guy would have to follow.
-----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
2nd big and ambitious request

I have kept the biggest one for the end, i know that this is a hard one because i haven't seen this feature in any software ever, but if anyone can do this, it's you guys.

So... the most important missing feature of them all is :

Video encode Preview
Avisynth preview is great i can tell my filters are correctly set up but the most important part is still missing : the actual encoding itself : i want to see what my video will look like after the compression.
So i would like Megui to let me choose a very short clip of my video, to encode it, and to show it to me frame by frame so that i can preview it and than compare it to my source and an other preview.

Alright so i know you are already thinking "it's irrelevant, the full film encode would be too different from the preview" or "but you can already do it, just do this and than and...."
Well, the goal of a preview shot is to help me guess what the encode would look like with the settings i am using : is this bitrate sufficient ? what would quantiser 21 look like ? or would crf 20 look better ? what is the best deblocking parameters ? How much of the grain am i going to loose if i use treillis ?

These questions can only be answered by previews, and right now, a preview must be made by hand.
This means switching to Virtualdub, cut a clip in direct stream copy or lossless mode, render to temporary file, back to Megui, re-import the file, getting all the settings back like i wanted, and render.
This represents a tremendoulsy high nimber of operations that have to be done by hand with a very small amount of time dedicated to the encoding itself.
Once the fiste preview is done, changing just one parameter is quicker, but what if you want to test an other clip, you would have to retart all over again, which means more manual opérations and loss of time.

Having a preview feature inside Megui would help getting a very precise idea of what the video would look like and would save me a tremendous amount of time.
I believe this would work quite well for quantiser, quality, and 1pass abr modes.
Getting it to work with 2pass abr would be harder, but you could just use 1pass abr and display a warning message. Or add a button to queue a superfast analyse pass in the background with all maximum speed options activated, and the statsfile would be used by the preview system to simulate the bitrate distribution (and which could also be used for a 3-pass final encode instead of 2pass).

I know it would take some time to compute the stats file for the 2-pass preview even with maximum speed options but for all single pass modes, it would be far easier and much much quicker than doing it by hand.
Even better, i do not know if this is possible but imagine if you just could display the images as soon as the groups of pictures are done, you could get the preview within seconds ! (or maybe you'd have to modify x264 to do that) but that would be the ultimate feature.

Thanks for having read my very lengthy and maybe a bit silly requests.

[nurbs]

Avisynth script creator default parameters, they are set by default to resize the video, please change the default parameters so they do not modify the video. (maybe a bug)
You can make your own presets with the config button next to the avs-profile selector in the avs creator.

Queue Avisynth to lossless
Some Avisynth scripts are very heavy and slower than the encoding. I think it would be a good thing to have a feature that renders the Avisynth script to a lossless format (huffyuv ou lagarith or whatever) before doing the encoding itself.
I think it would save a lot of time for some projects.
I've never used it, but I think that is what the "add pre-rendering job" checkbox does.

These questions can only be answered by previews, and right now, a preview must be made by hand.
This means switching to Virtualdub, cut a clip in direct stream copy or lossless mode, render to temporary file, back to Megui, re-import the file, getting all the settings back like i wanted, and render.
This represents a tremendoulsy high nimber of operations that have to be done by hand with a very small amount of time dedicated to the encoding itself.
Still manual but easier: Make an avs for the file. Open it in the avs-cutter. Set cuts. Encode.

Also about the preview, wouldn't that only work with crf encoding. If you encode a segment of a movie at a given bitrate that bitrate could be very different from what the encoder will use for the same part when you encode the whole movie.

edit: You mentioned that. Must pay more attention when I'm reading.

[Nil Einne]

Request: Add a cut to chapter file converter. Cut files can be used to create chapters by working out how many frames for each section and using the FPS to add a chapter at each new section. You can do this manually with a spreadsheet for example like I did but it takes time... If further explaination is needed drop me a line

Posted to sourceforge as requested

[emanresu]

First I would like to say thanks to those who work on MeGUI and the video profiles. I hope this post doesn't come across as ungrateful or as unfriendly criticism since it isn't intended that way. I just want to offer some feedback and a possible enhancement based on my experience with MeGUI.

Whenever I use MeGUI I am frustrated by the fact that unless I have a very comprehensive knowledge of all the x264 settings and all the compatibility restrictions of my target player I am unable to confidently change many of the options while maintaining compatibility. For example if I want a HD-DVD compatible video with absolutely maxed out settings one day then I want the same compatibility the next but at maximum speed.

While these options do exist in part via the profile selection (e.g. HD-DVD standard/fast) I think the replication of information is a little inefficient and the selection rigid in comparison to the solution I will outline below.

Would it be possible to implement a "Player Compatibility" (?) drop-down in the x264 video configuration dialog that would act to enforce player compatibility restrictions, similar to the "AVC Profiles" and "AVC Level" drop downs? As a result this would remove the need for compatibility profiles to be implemented via the "Profiles" drop down and the "Profiles" drop down would then act simply as a means of choosing a quality/speed setting.

So, the compatibility drop down would contain options such as iPod, iPhone, PS3, Xbox, XBox360, HD-DVD, DXVA, QuickTime, Unrestricted etc, that would act to restrict certain settings from being enabled/disabled and also enforce minimum/maximum allowed values for certain settings. Other settings would remain unchanged and be freely modifiable (the same way the "AVC Profile" and "AVC Level" drop downs behave).

As a result the "Profiles" drop down would need only contain profiles such as 1P-Goodquality, 1P-Intermediate, 1P-Maxspeed, HQ-Fast, HQ-Slow, HQ-Slower, HQ-Slowest, HQ-Insane, CQ-Lossless, and CQ-ASP_Q2_eq etc. If a "Player Compatibility" profile (e.g. HD-DVD) is already selected when a quality profile (e.g. HQ-Insane) is selected then the HD-DVD restricted settings will remain unchanged, or will be contained within its specified boundaries when the HQ-Insane profile is selected.

The compatibility drop down could store its information in a compatibility restrictions matrix in an xml file, similar to the current profiles, allowing the matrix to be easily edited and imported/exported.

MeGUI would also still be able to fully support the current profile method however with this addition the number of essentially duplicated profiles (HD-DVD fast/slow, PS3 Fast/Slow, future profile fast/slow etc) would be reduced.

I also feel that this is a better, clearer way of maintaining player compatibility information and speed/quality information since the two seem to be separate axes that have been merged together. For example there is no way of knowing the player restrictions using the current profiles, but with the method I have proposed those restrictions would be transparent.

Thanks for reading.

[Theliel]

--me tesa support

[check]

Please see the first post of this thread.

emanresu: why not post this in the MeGUI profile thread?

Theliel, in theory, this should be easy to add. Easy enough for you perhaps?

[Sharktooth]

sorry, guys. my actual job contract doesnt allow me to participate in any open source development.
dont worry, ill get it sorted out soon enough...
however after a deep reading i cant find any point where it says i cant "talk" or "discuss" about open source development. well, it's logical since a contract cant stop my freedom to speak.
So, lets "discuss" about it...
in x264ConfigurationPanel.cs, locate the x264METype dropdown (under "RC and ME" tab) and add "SATD Exhaustive" to the Items property. you may also want to enlarge the x264METype dropdown a bit (using the form designer)...
Now, you have to add the commandline option related to the new mode.
You'll find what you need in x264encoder.cs. The code to be modified is easy, however you'll find a series of specific conditions where the xs.METype is checked (just search for it... or search for --me)
The last one is the "ESA" mode... just add TESA the same way as ESA (keep note of the listbox index number... if ESA is 4, TESA should be 5) and the job is done :)

EDIT: oh, it seems a patch was just committed...

[dimzon]

Can anyone provide complete latest MeGUI package (MeGUI + AviSynth filters)
I can't use autoupdate feature for some reason (firewall)

[Sharktooth]

get the installer from sourceforge project page and latest packages from here: http://megui.org/auto/

[mattdamon]

I would like to be able to start waiting items in the queue from a scheduled task.

I saw the "Autostart Queue" checkbox in the settings and thought that would be it, but I see now that it refers to tasks beginning as soon as they are added to the queue.

I would rather queue up a load of tasks, close MeGUI, and then start the queue from a scheduled task - presumably a command line argument, e.g.:

megui.exe /processqueue

I am not aware of any existing command line switches - it is very possible that this functionality is already available somehow. Apologies if this has been asked before. Edit: I see from the first post in this thread that there is currently no command line support.

Superb application by the way. It does its job so damn well, and even idiots like myself can now use the best conversion tools in a simple manner.

Edit: Of course, I guess a command line switch is not required. Perhaps just another setting option like "Process queue on application startup"... or just make "Autostart Queue" do this also.

[Sharktooth]

post a feature request on the Feature requests tracker (megui project page on sourceforge).

[mattdamon]

OK, thanks, have done so.

I'm tempted to ask why this thread, "MeGUI Feature Request Thread", exists though! :)

[Sharktooth]

coz it is old and it was never closed :D

[Ranguvar]

Hey, if you could add a way to modify the CLI that will be sent to the encoder (mostly for aften, lame, x264, xvid_encraw, snow, and mencoder) that would be awesome :D

Perhaps after the job is queued, one could right-click and modify it?

EDIT: Just realized where this should be posted. Epic Fail. :p

[Theliel]

Thank Sharktooth ;)

[thetoof]

Multipass encoding:
-2pass : Enables two-pass encoding mode. Note that two-pass more requires a physical file as input, rather than stdin.
-2passperiod : Overrides two-pass encoding bitrate averaging period,
<number> : in milliseconds. Specify zero to use least restrictive value possible (default).

I saw that in the Nero AAC plugin's readme... seems like a nice feature, so I was wondering if there is any reason why it's not in the "config" window for ND-AAC.

[Sharktooth]

multipass is useless. it's just a waste of time.

[Kurtnoise]

I saw that in the Nero AAC plugin's readme... seems like a nice feature, so I was wondering if there is any reason why it's not in the "config" window for ND-AAC.
2pass mode doesn't support pipeline. That's why we can't have this in the config.

[Sharktooth]

we could with a trick, but i dont see any reason to use 2 passes since last time i heard it produces the same or worse quality than 1 pass

[rookandpawn]

it is common to use dgindex to rip parts of DVD and getting m2v's.. I noticed FFMpeg is in the toolbox..

how about a

mux ac3 + m2v -> AVI option? (using ffmpeg)

That would save a trip to vdubmod and a subsequent avi mux.

Also, how about including neroAacEnc.exe for ac3 -> mp4 conversion? as part of the megui package

[Sharktooth]

we already have plans for ffmpeg muxing.
about neroaacenc we cant include it due to license restrictions.

[rica]

Hi guys,
I've been making some trials with megui and re-encoding h264 HDTV records into HA capable xvid mkvs or ts files.
I got the best results with DXVA HD HQ profile and automated 2pass selection.
Both progressive and interlaced source h264 files returns to HA decoding capable x264 mkvs.

But every time i have to change Cyberlink h264 decoder settings; video mode from auto to bob since decoder's auto selection doesn't recogize the video as interlaced or progressive.
If i leave video mode at auto, interlaced video doesn't make HA deinterlacing.(with "bob", it works)

Is it possible to select (or make) video interlaced or proggressive in megui?
Thanks.

[Sharktooth]

megui makes progressive video by default.
if you want to make an interlaced encoding, look at the codecs config window for the interlaced encoding option.
however not all codecs supports the interlaced encoding very well.

[rica]

Thanks,
i've found it under "Misc" at RC and ME,
i'll give it a go.

[rica]

Hi,
i've tried to re-encode an interlaced HD source to interlaced x264 with "encode interlaced" selection in megui.
The result:
nothing has changed; it is still 25 fps at "auto select" mode of Cyberlink decoder and 50 fps at "force bob" mode...

[rica]

Hi,
i've tried to re-encode an interlaced HD source to interlaced x264 with "encode interlaced" selection in megui.
The result:
nothing has changed; it is still 25 fps at "auto select" mode of Cyberlink decoder and 50 fps at "force bob" mode...

I have to edit.
I've found out the source of the issue; problem comes from Gabest's matroska splitter.
When i switched to Haali's splitter, my problematic(!) re-encoded file started to give 50fps even "auto mode" selected.
(there might be a codec conflict on my PC, who knows?)

Thanks for interlaced encoding.
Thanks to Sharktooth!

EDIT: pls check out this:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1113351#post1113351

[donnyj]

I apologize in advance if this is a repeat request

I somehow managed to have three jobs running in parallel and discovered it would be handy to have the "status" window show a job number so you can tell what's what. When multiple jobs are running simultaneously, would it make sense for the "status" column to say what the percentage is?

i.e. "processing: 30%"

[berrinam]

coz it is old and it was never closed :D

I wonder if we should ask for it to be closed? I certainly much prefer using the SF tracker.

[Sharktooth]

absolutely.

[jonathonsunshine]

OK I don't know if this is a "feature request" but i couldn't find a better place to put this.

Also, i tried to search the forum, but it told me that "always" and "on" were too common a terms to search for and "always on top" only bought up posts with all those words in it, but not necessarily as that phrase.

Anyhoo, The Preview being "always on top" is peeving me off royaly, whenever you open a file dialog, it is invariably behind the preview and you cannot move the preview while a file open dialog is open.

I'm sure there was a reason for doing this so i'm asking that there at least be an option to disable it.

Thanking you in advance.

[~bT~]

^ i second that. luckily i can switch it off with this: http://www.hyperionics.com/files/index.asp

[stax76]

Also, i tried to search the forum, but it told me that "always" and "on" were too common a terms to search for and "always on top" only bought up posts with all those words in it, but not necessarily as that phrase.

You are missing something really fundamental here, you have to use exlamation marks, vBulletin supports exclamation marks, it even supports wildcards.

Using vBulletin you would use:

"always on top"

To find post containing 'preview' and 'always on top', enable 'Show Posts' and restrict the search to the MPEG-4 GUI forum, enter:

preview "always on top"

Using google you would use:

megui preview "always on top" site:doom9.org

For the best possible search results you have to enter the best possible search commands, it's worth to learn what these are.

[Sharktooth]

those are quotation marks... ;)

[jonathonsunshine]

those are quotation marks... ;)

thankyou

[bond]

closed by request

please use the SF tracker instead