MeGUI: General Questions and Troubleshooting Thread

[Zathor]

I think it would be really cool to see VDub enabled in MeGUI; having all of VDub launched within or at the very least incorporate something like the "Ctrl-P" compression window and all of its abilities to select different vfw codecs and apply settings changes to them. But really, I also think the full VDub interface would be nice to have, especially as it allows many of the same filters as AVS (even use vdub plugins in avs), but vdub is possibly a bit easier to use for the cli-impaired :P
Should I maybe address this in MeGUI feature requests instead to do things properly?
Of course you can create such an request, but at least I will never implement it. As hello_hello already said - if you want to use VirtualDub, use VirtualDub.

[rica]

Hi!

Mequi asks me to update to neroaacenc 1.5.4.0.

I downloaded NeroAACCodec-1.5.1.zip from Nero and put the extracted folder into Tools Folder under Mequi.
After restart, mequi again asked the same.
This time i put only these files under win32 sub folder into the NeroAACCodec-1.5.1 folder: NeroaacDEc.exe, NroaacEnc.exe, NeroaacTag.exe.

It again prompted MeGui needs an update.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

[LigH]

Instead of trying to put the EXE files where they are expected, why not setting up MeGUI to get to know the directory where they are? (Options - Settings - External Program Settings: NeroAacEnc location)

By the way, it is recommendable to put the Nero EXE files in the tools\eac3to folder. Recently I was told that eac3to can use the Nero encoder on its own this way.

[rica]

Thanks a lot!
Putting nero exe files into eac3to folder fixed the problem.

[Pulp Catalyst]

1st

can anyone suggest anyway of getting QTGMC working fully with MeGUI,
or failing that using Yadifmod+NNEDI3 Combo with MeGUI

2nd

can anyone help me regarding how/where would i add the following in a script in MeGUI to help Xvid multithreading as i'm only getting 70-80% CPU utilization, the same happened to me with Staxrip too, but i solved that by adding the following to Staxrip's profile, just not sure how i would go about that with MeGUI

SetMemoryMax(768)
SetMTMode(5,3)
Source "Filename"
SetMTMode(2)


EDIT 01

I thought i should share the Script that i would use in Stax,

LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\StaxRip\Applications\DGMPGDec\DGDecode.dll")
SetMemoryMax(768)
SetMTMode(5,3)
MPEG2Source("E:\VIDEOTEMP\Staxrip\1\VTS_01_1 temp files\VTS_01_1.d2v")
Crop(0,0, -Width % 8,-Height % 8)
ConvertToYV12()
SetMTMode(2)
QTGMC( Preset="Medium" )
SelectEven()
Crop(18,8,-14,-8)


EDIT 02

not sure why, I tried doing the above before, it failed... (I think it's in this topic somewhere), happy that I got the following working though

# Set DAR in encoder to 4 : 3. The following line is for automatic signalling
global MeGUI_darx = 4
global MeGUI_dary = 3
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\dgindex\DGDecode.dll")
DGDecode_mpeg2source("E:\VIDEOTEMP\MeGUI\VTS_01_1.d2v", info=3)
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\avisynth_plugin\ColorMatrix.dll")
ColorMatrix(hints=true, interlaced=true, threads=0)
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\yadifmod.dll")
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\nnedi3.dll")
YadifMod(order=-1, edeint=nnedi3(field=-1))
crop( 18, 10, -14, -6)

#resize
#denoise



is the above OK?, seems to be running fine, CPU Utilization is between 80-85% which is quite worrying, will need to add
SetMemoryMax(768)
SetMTMode(5,3)
.......
SetMTMode(2)
.......
.......
like I did with staxrip to get it over 95%

[Pulp Catalyst]

the following is my final script that works great, resolves Multi-threading inefficiencies, and produces good results, I will at some point try adapting QTGMC to MeGUI for myself as QTGMC is superior in many ways to yadifmod+nnedi3 combo, but definitely not today...... as it could prove to be difficult (time consuming), maybe when I next upgrade my system.

NOTE, MeGUI actually inserts it's own commands into the script by itself, hence why they are missing in the following.

SetMemoryMax(768)
SetMTMode(5,3)
<input>
SetMTMode(2)
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\yadifmod.dll")
LoadPlugin("D:\Program Files (x86)\MeGUI\tools\nnedi3.dll")
YadifMod(order=-1, edeint=nnedi3(field=-1))
<crop>
#resize
#denoise


The above is for Xvid Encoding, SetMemoryMax() & SetMTMode() commands may not be needed for other tasks that utilize different encoders I.E. x264 (which is very efficient at multi-threading already)

P.S. tried doing all this quite some time ago, can't believe how smooth it went this time!

[Remicade]

Question: at what bitrate is encoded credits ? It's enough to set credits in preview windows ? Works with autoencode ?

[Pulp Catalyst]

MeGUI, output AVI Audio sampling problem

Audio
ID : 1
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Joint stereo
Mode extension : MS Stereo
Codec ID : 55
Codec ID/Hint : MP3
Duration : 29mn 50s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 96.0 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 32.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 20.1 MiB (8%)
Alignment : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration : 36 ms (0.90 video frame)
Interleave, preload duration : 232 ms
Title : VTS_04_1 T80 2_0ch 256Kbps DELAY 0ms
Writing library : LAME3.99r
Encoding settings : -m j -V 4 -q 2 -lowpass 15.1 --abr 96


i have setup audio profile to keep original, yet as you can seem, the frequency has been changed!!!!

is this a bug?, should i be concerned with playback devices?

[LigH]

96 kbps is really little for MP3! LAME protects the remaining quality by reducing the sampling base frequency.

[Pulp Catalyst]

well 128 is good for music (low but acceptable), films generally have far less complexity to deal with (mainly speech, SFX, and some odd music) in fact if it was not for SFX and music, one could get away with using MP2

MP3 can easily handle speech at 96KBps (which is the majority of the track)

how do I override LAME doing this, as in my opinion I strongly believe that 96KBPs is more than enough for ASP Episode Encodes (LAME is assuming that the track in question is music..... and rightly so, but it's not, so in this case LAME is actually hindering me)

I have looked at the profile, I can't see anywhere where I can override it.
Can anyone help.

[LigH]

I won't recommend it to you because it will be a waste of 1/3 unused subbands; but you can probably enforce it with "--resample 48000".

The automatic resampling down to 32 kHz enabled a more efficient encoding by not wasting bits to subbands which will have no content anyway due to the lowpass filtering, and a finer resolution for the frequency transformation of the used subbands. So if there are no compatibility issues with the playback device, I'd recommend you to enjoy the smart behaviour of the LAME encoder.

[Pulp Catalyst]

ok, thanks, I'll probably just increase to 140kbps, saves all the messing around, thanks for the heads up.

[Carpo]

Is anyone else getting the issue of x264_64 only using one core when encoding? Normally it's up around 90% - 95% at the most its about 23%

[tonyymmao]

when u create a avisynth script what is the difference between file indexer and directshow source? isn'tthe end result the same, u end up with a muxed video

[LigH]

If you use the File Indexer, AviSynth uses native AviSynth source plugins (with an integrated decoder) to read the source.

If you use DirectShowSource, AviSynth uses the DirectShow filter system (or VfW codecs in case of AVI sources) and depends on your Windows Media setup, your choice of installed decoders, your choice of DirectShow filter merits and options.

So there is certainly a difference how AviSynth receives the decoded source video. Different source video is encoded to different target video. May it be multiplexed into a container format in the same way, but the content will probably be different. No comment if the difference is noticable, though...

There are some source file types which are well supported by AviSynth native source plugins. But a few are not so well supported and may require either a remultiplexing to a better supported format (usually MKV) to be handled well by the File Indexer, or if even that fails, then using DirectShowSource may be the last option (in case of AVIs as source files, it is unfortunately not at all obvious that AviSource will be used, which is not as much discouraged – at least by me – as using DirectShowSource).

[tonyymmao]

So there is certainly a difference how AviSynth receives the decoded source video. Different source video is encoded to different target video. May it be multiplexed into a container format in the same way, but the content will probably be different. No comment if the difference is noticable, though...

i thought the target video is always determined by what encoder u r using

[LigH]

Of course the encoder settings define the target video.

But the video source does as well. A different input video cannot result in the same output video. And different input decoders may give AviSynth different video sources (no matter how noticable that is).

[tonyymmao]

^^thx for the info

i seem to have a problem with one of my videos when i try to encode it with x264. i opened it with directshow source, it seems to compress the audio part fine but when it gets to the first pass of the video it just doesn't do anything and you just have abort it. the container is MPEG-TS and the video stream is AVC

any solutions?

[LigH]

Remultiplex it to MKV, using GDSMux (installed via Haali Media Splitter). Then FFmpegSource should be able to process it if it is free of serious stream errors.

[flebber]

Megui v 2115

I am receiving this error when trying to encode ac3 audio from Warrior. I have ripped Warrior using makemkv and have used two previous films ripped this way successfully in the last day.

This is the error I am getting.
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:23 AM] Trying to open the file with FFAudioSource()
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:39 AM] Successfully opened the file with FFAudioSource()
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:39 AM] Avisynth script
---[NoImage] LoadPlugin("C:\Rip\Megui\tools\ffms\ffms2.dll")
---[NoImage] FFAudioSource("C:\Documents and Settings\renshaw\Desktop\title03 - [1] English.ac3")
---[NoImage] Normalize()
---[NoImage] return last
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:39 AM] Commandline used: -ignorelength -br 226000 -if - -of "{0}"
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:39 AM] Avisynth script environment opened
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:47 AM] Script loaded
--[Information] Output Decoder
---[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:47 AM] Channels: 6
---[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:47 AM] Bits per sample: 16
---[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:47 AM] Sample rate: 48000
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:47 AM] Commandline: C:\Rip\Megui\tools\nero\win32\neroAacEnc.exe -ignorelength -br 226000 -if - -of "C:\Documents and Settings\renshaw\Desktop\title03 - [1] English_audio.m4a"
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:20:48 AM] Encoder process started
--[Error] [2/03/2012 9:29:59 AM] An error occurred
---[Error] [2/03/2012 9:29:59 AM] Exception message: The pipe has been ended.
---[Error] [2/03/2012 9:30:04 AM] Stacktrace
----[NoImage] at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
----[NoImage] at System.IO.FileStream.WriteCore(Byte[] buffer, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
----[NoImage] at System.IO.FileStream.Write(Byte[] array, Int32 offset, Int32 count)
----[NoImage] at MeGUI.AviSynthAudioEncoder.encode()
---[Error] [2/03/2012 9:30:04 AM] Inner exception: null
--[Information] [2/03/2012 9:30:04 AM] Output from encoder via stderr

My file info is:
General
Unique ID : 197215042078630356338609339572929254909 (0x945E3C49E0A896217AD2F7F6F69155FD)
Complete name : C:\Video\WARRIOR\title03.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 5.75 GiB
Duration : 2h 14mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 6 139 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2012-03-01 10:02:34
Writing application : MakeMKV v1.7.2 win(x86-release)
Writing library : libmakemkv v1.7.2 (1.2.0/1.1.0) win(x86-release)

Video
ID : 1
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : No
Format settings, Matrix : Custom
Codec ID : V_MPEG2
Codec ID/Info : MPEG 1 or 2 Video
Duration : 2h 14mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 5 569 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 9 800 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.537
Stream size : 5.22 GiB (91%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 14mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 430 MiB (7%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Text
ID : 3
Format : VobSub
Codec ID : S_VOBSUB
Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on DVDs
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No



Any reason I am getting this error?

[tonyymmao]

Remultiplex it to MKV, using GDSMux (installed via Haali Media Splitter). Then FFmpegSource should be able to process it if it is free of serious stream errors.

so what do i install and how do i open this GDSMux exactly

and is FFmpegSource the only decoder megui supports or can u use others

Edit: i figured how to open it but when i add source only the audio show up... and why do i have to use this specifc program, can't i use anything if the goal is to remux to mkv?

[flebber]

Actually resolved the audio error, it appears FFaudioSource does not like the file. I changed to NicAudio and the audio processing went fine.

[LigH]

Of course there are other ways to remux a Transport Stream to an MKV. Unfortunately, mkvmerge (the usually preferable MKV muxer) is unable to read TS.

GDSMux was one of the more convenient tools which allows you to do it directly (therefore I hope MeGUI may support dsmux.exe as CLI helper in such a case).

But if even they fail, then you may have to use a few more and more specialized tools (e.g. tsMuxeR or similar) to first separate the TS into raw "elementary" content streams, and multiplex those afterwards.

[Underground78]

Of course there are other ways to remux a Transport Stream to an MKV. Unfortunately, mkvmerge (the usually preferable MKV muxer) is unable to read TS.
If I am not mistaken, mkvmerge is able to read TS since version 5.0.0.

[LigH]

Oh, that's right ... so I missed some of the most important points in the latest changelogs. :o

So, enjoy, tonyymmao – try mkvmerge and tell us if it worked.

And if not, use MediaInfo for a technical analysis.

[pilgrim365]

Ok don't hate me. Encoding is quite alien to me and the solution to my problem is probably a very simple. While I have learned what all of the x264 settings and variables now do through lesson of self induction and have successfully created many of my own profiles which easily give better rips than what I have seen flooding the internet. I am, quite lost still in many aspects and this one is bugging me.

Up to now I have been using the oneclick encoder with my own profiles to great success. But I would like to start using the more advanced options. When I go down the 'file indexer' I seem to have a problem with the output resolutions when ripping from my DVD's. I want to minimise data loss and so have been encoding at width's of 720. Now when using 'one click' a 16:9 movie usually come out at 720*400. However using the other method it seems to be retaining the dimensions of vob file (720*576) give or take a few pixels on height when I've autocropped to remove the black bars. e.g. my last attempt with an AR of 16:9 came out at (720*572).

Now the AR is fine on playback, its not as if its adding black bars to make up the height. I am right in assuming that its retained the empty data found in 720*576 vob files. I'm under the impression that this hurts encoding efficiency too, is this correct. Whether or not I find it very annoying, how do I eliminate this problem? How do I get the resolution to be respective of the the displayed video?

[LigH]

If you want to neither crop nor resize, but simply encode the video as it was on DVD, and just have the player do the stretching for the correct aspect ratio, you will probably use the "Clever Anamorphic" option in the AviSynth Script Creator of MeGUI. It adds global AviSynth variables to the script which are respected while multiplexing the AVC result into its matching container.

[pilgrim365]

I have been using that. I'm using the same avisynth profile I've created for the 'oneclick' option yet I'm getting different results. I also select overcrop to mod 16. I am just confused as to what process is undertaken in 'oneclick' that outputs a 1.777778 resolution. And yet when I go down the file indexer route the original resolution (less the cropping) is maintained. I would like my output file to be the correct resolution (which I am getting in oneclick) rather than the player doing the work.

Am I to understand that I shouldn't have been using this option with my goal in mind?

[pilgrim365]

Ok, I've had a play around. I think its evident my understanding of AE was, well, wrong. After removing this option and applying the resize filter then selecting 'suggest resolution' I have my desired output.

I do find it peculiar that running AE without resize through oneclick was giving me my target resolutions. But nonetheless your help is appreciated and I continue to learn. Thanks.

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Hi all,

First of all i would like to say thanks for MeGUI. I love it. Now before i get to my problems using it, i would like to mention that i have NO knowledge of this kind of thing (string, codes etc.) so please reply as though i am an idiot.

Ok a few things that are troubling me:

1) when i try and crop my film (Blu-Ray box says widescreen 2.35:1. I live in a PAL region if that helps) and mux it all together then watch my finished mvk on my 1080p TV I still have a black bar above and below the the film. I would like to make a 1080p mkv that fills the screen if that is possible.

2) VOBSubber doesn't seem to see my SUP subtitles that the HD extractor creates. It only seems to want .IFO subs (whatever that means lol.) I would like to be able to move my subs to a better location after i have done my cropping.

3) Using MeGUI, how do i keep the .dts core audio. I tried to change it to AC3, but it only comes out in 2 channel. Some of my BR's are TrueHD and Some are DTS-MA.

I am sorry if my questions come across stupid, i just have very little idea about what to do. All i know is i need to back up my movies before my son destroys anymore discs.

I am also streaming my mkv,s to my PS3 and WDTV Live so i do understand that i need to keep bitrate down. I am using HIGH@LVL 4.1 if that relevant.

Thanks again,

[Shevek]

1) when i try and crop my film (Blu-Ray box says widescreen 2.35:1. I live in a PAL region if that helps) and mux it all together then watch my finished mvk on my 1080p TV I still have a black bar above and below the the film. I would like to make a 1080p mkv that fills the screen if that is possible.

Your TV is 16:9 or 1.778:1 - a 2.35:1 movie will always have black bars top and bottom as it is not as tall as 16:9. You can resize and stretch it but everything will be stretched vertically.

More details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)

2) VOBSubber doesn't seem to see my SUP subtitles that the HD extractor creates. It only seems to want .IFO subs (whatever that means lol.) I would like to be able to move my subs to a better location after i have done my cropping.

To convert the SUP file to IDX/SUB files use BDSup2Sub - http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=145277

3) Using MeGUI, how do i keep the .dts core audio. I tried to change it to AC3, but it only comes out in 2 channel. Some of my BR's are TrueHD and Some are DTS-MA.

you need to set the extension to DTS and add -core to the Options box for the audio. This will extract the 5.1 DTS from the 7.1 DTS-HD

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Shevek,

Thank you so very much. If i may ask, what i sthe point of cropping if, regardless of the cropping done, the black bars are still visible?

I have BDSup2Sub, so thank you, i never thought to have tried that (i have come from staxrip, and it is all built in with the option to move up and down the subs)

With the DTS, is the -core option typed in the HD extractor window when i am about to extract the audio?

again thank you again very much:thanks:

[LigH]

Well, there are in fact three possible methods to fit AR 2.35:1 content inside an AR 16:9 screen:

a) Letterbox: You will see the whole content in the correct aspect ratio, but have additional black bars.
b) Anamorphic: You will see the whole content without additional blackbars, but with a wrong aspect ratio (egg-heads).
c) Cropped sides: You will see the correct aspect ratio without black bars, but lose overhanging content.

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Thank you for the info LigH :)

I think i will do the Clever anamorphic encoding and let it chose the resolution. Seems to be what most people are doing :)

Now to work out the best settings to use. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just want to convert my BR's to 1080p mkv's (understand that the smaller the file size the less quality) and keep the core audio (either DTS core or AC3).

One thing i can't work out, i converted my copy of Aliens, it ended up being a 24.8GB mkv. The folder size, after ripping it is 46.3GB. Is that normal for a grainy movie (i have decided to even try to de-grain as it is obviously how it was intended to be viewed)

[LigH]

Standard conformant HD video has to have a pixel AR of 1:1 (except for AVCHD with a 3:4 anamorphic ratio, e.g. encoded 1440x1080 representing displayed 1920x1080), and a display AR of 16:9.

A PC may display almost anything, but consumer players may disappoint.

[Shevek]

Shevek,

Thank you so very much.

Pleasure :D

If i may ask, what i sthe point of cropping if, regardless of the cropping done, the black bars are still visible?

The reason I crop is because (and I may be completely wrong and stand to be corrected) it is wasted encoding - why waste CPU cycles encoding a black bar to a black bar!

With the DTS, is the -core option typed in the HD extractor window when i am about to extract the audio?

exactly - in the "+ options" column for the audio stream

[Zathor]

you need to set the extension to DTS and add -core to the Options box for the audio. This will extract the 5.1 DTS from the 7.1 DTS-HD

Thanks for your explanation, but -core is not required. If you select "dts" only the core is used. If you want DTS-HD/MA you have to select "dtshd".

[Shevek]

Thanks for your explanation, but -core is not required. If you select "dts" only the core is used. If you want DTS-HD/MA you have to select "dtshd".

Wow! That's great, I didn't realise - saves me a few key clicks in future :D :thanks:

[g0th1ckn1ght]

This forum is awesome. Thank you all very much for the help and talking in a language i don't need a university degree to understand lol.

I will let you know how my encode goes :)

thanks again

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Ok i am offically stuck :(

I have opened up AviSynth and loaded the MKV file that the HD extractor created. AviSynth is report an Input DAR of 1.778, yet on my BR case it says it is 2.35

Should i be changing the Input DAR to the BR case one or leaving as is?

[Shevek]

Ok i am offically stuck :(

I have opened up AviSynth and loaded the MKV file that the HD extractor created. AviSynth is report an Input DAR of 1.778, yet on my BR case it says it is 2.35

Should i be changing the Input DAR to the BR case one or leaving as is?

This is correct behaviour

The video in the MKV will be BR standards compliant and be 1920x1080 (actually 1920x1088 with an 8px bottom crop, but you don't need to worry about that)

1920x1080 is 1.778:1 so that is correct.

If you look at the preview window you will see black bars top and bottom.

If you auto crop it will crop approx 132 top and bottom and if you then set the suggest resolution it will be approx 1920x816

1920x816 is 2.35:1

HTH

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Sorry to be a pain guys just need a little advice

Ok at the moment i am trying to back up my BR's, I will be steaming them over a wired network to my PS3 (using ps3media server) and my WDTV live.

Now i understand that when i convert and compress i am not going to be able to keep the quality (similar principle to an MP3 is my understanding), but i would like to have a good looking MKV, while trying not to have to high a bitrate.

Any recommedations on settings, including bitrate (not sure what i should be setting that to)

i am currently using --level 4.1 --tune film --crf 21.0 --vbv-bufsize 31250 --vbv-maxrate 31250 --aud --output "output" "input", not that i know what any of that means.

I know i do not wish to convert to 720p, i am converting audio to either AC3 or DTS. File size is not as big an issue as quality, will settle for a happy medium.

Thank you for any advice :)

[Shevek]

Sorry to be a pain guys just need a little advice

Ok at the moment i am trying to back up my BR's, I will be steaming them over a wired network to my PS3 (using ps3media server) and my WDTV live.

Now i understand that when i convert and compress i am not going to be able to keep the quality (similar principle to an MP3 is my understanding), but i would like to have a good looking MKV, while trying not to have to high a bitrate.

Any recommedations on settings, including bitrate (not sure what i should be setting that to)

i am currently using --level 4.1 --tune film --crf 21.0 --vbv-bufsize 31250 --vbv-maxrate 31250 --aud --output "output" "input", not that i know what any of that means.

I know i do not wish to convert to 720p, i am converting audio to either AC3 or DTS. File size is not as big an issue as quality, will settle for a happy medium.

Thank you for any advice :)

Just select the PS3 Target Play Back Device and set the quality and preset as required.

I usually use crf 23 and preset Medium for BR.

this will give you a command line of:

program --level 4.2 --vbv-bufsize 31250 --vbv-maxrate 31250 --output "output" "input"

(23 is the default crf and Medium is the default preset for x264 so neither show in the command)

You can increase or decrease quality and preset as you see fit.

As for audio you can simply mux in the dts or ac3 extracted using the stream extractor, there is no need to convert it.

If you make sure there are no audio tracks on the main screen and then use the AutoEncode button, select No Target Size and check Add conditional content.

You will then be shown a muxer dialog where you can select the extracted audio (and chapters/subs if you extracted them).

HTH

[g0th1ckn1ght]

Well I have just successfully completed my first mkv encode.

I must I am rather impressed by the video quality i acheived, considering the file size i really couldn't tell that much of difference between source and mkv.

According to MediaInfo this is what settigns were used:


Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 34mn
Bit rate : 4 626 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.089
Stream size : 3.06 GiB (74%)
Writing library : x264 core 122 r2184 5c85e0a
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=21.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=31250 / vbv_bufsize=31250 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

A massive thank you to those who helped. It was greatly appreciated :)

[burro08]

Well I have just successfully completed my first mkv encode.

I must I am rather impressed by the video quality i acheived, considering the file size i really couldn't tell that much of difference between source and mkv.

According to MediaInfo this is what settigns were used:


Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 34mn
Bit rate : 4 626 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.089
Stream size : 3.06 GiB (74%)
Writing library : x264 core 122 r2184 5c85e0a
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=21.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=31250 / vbv_bufsize=31250 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

A massive thank you to those who helped. It was greatly appreciated :)

:thanks:



how long did the encode take?

has the turbo check box been removed from megui?

thanks

[rapscallion]

@g0th1ckn1ght. That bitrate is far too low for a 1080p encode. Minimum bitrate for average video is ~10000 Kb/s (Qf=0.2) for HD.

If you try it again at 720p , you'll find the pic quality much better. Min bitrate for 720p HD is ~4500Kb/s
so you're just barely over that.

The relation between 1080 and 720 bitrate is:
(1920x1080)/(1280x720) = 2.25
then 10000Kb/s for 1080 is equivalent to 4500 Kb/s for 720


@burro08...Turbo hasn't been there in a very long time, I think since the svn builds were implemented.

[Shevek]

@g0th1ckn1ght. That bitrate is far too low for a 1080p encode. Minimum is around ~8-10 Mbps for HD.
If you try it again at 720p , you'll find the pic quality much better. Min bitrate for 720p HD is ~4-5Mbps

Really? My 720p encodes using crf 23, preset medium and tune film all come out somewhere between 700Kbps and 1Mbps and they all look great on my 1080p TV

[rapscallion]

Really? My 720p encodes using crf 23, preset medium and tune film all come out somewhere between 700Kbps and 1Mbps and they all look great on my 1080p TV
Yes, really. But, of course, it depends on how critical a viewer one is.

Your bitrate is actually below that of a SD DVD (different screen resolution of course). Typically, the data rate for DVD movies ranges from 3 Mbit/s to 9.5 Mbit/s. Which is why many people find an upscaled SD DVD quite acceptable. I must say that I'm not one of them.

Megui's definition of crf :

"CRF reduces the quality of less important frames. In this case, frames in complex or high-motion scenes, where quality is more expensive (in terms of bits) and/or less visible, will have their quantizer increased. The bits saved in cuts like this are redistributed to frames where they will be more effective. CRF mode gives almost exactly equivalent quality to 2pass at the same bitrate; the difference is that you cannot choose the output bitrate."

Kind of like lossy audio compression vs lossless. It's all in the eyes/ears of the beholder.

[Betsy25]

@Zathor,

can you tell how the Priority settings are remembered for different tasks ? I have them configured to run at Below Normal, but found out that when more than 1 worker is active, tasks like Indexing , Importing Tracks & Writing of the muxer get really slow when left at Below Normal when another worker is encoding, if i set these to Normal they really speed up. I saw there is some form of "remembering" in there but i don't know if that's remember for a specific worker or for a specific sub-task.

Is it possible to put the default for Indexing & Muxing at Normal while having it at Below Normal for Encoding, please ?

[hello_hello]

Your bitrate is actually below that of a SD DVD (different screen resolution of course). Typically, the data rate for DVD movies ranges from 3 Mbit/s to 9.5 Mbit/s. Which is why many people find an upscaled SD DVD quite acceptable. I must say that I'm not one of them.

Not only a different resolution, but encoded using mpeg2 which isn't anywhere near as efficient as x264.

Megui's definition of crf :

"CRF reduces the quality of less important frames. In this case, frames in complex or high-motion scenes, where quality is more expensive (in terms of bits) and/or less visible, will have their quantizer increased. The bits saved in cuts like this are redistributed to frames where they will be more effective. CRF mode gives almost exactly equivalent quality to 2pass at the same bitrate; the difference is that you cannot choose the output bitrate."

So given they both encode in the same way, CRF encoding lets you pick the quality without knowing what the file size will be, while choosing a bitrate lets you pick the file size without knowing what the quality will be.
As my 720p CRF20 encodes seem to have bitrates ranging from around 2500Kb/s to 5000Kb/s, bitrate seems to be a fairly poor indicator of quality.
Using the same CRF value each time (all else being equal) should give you pretty much the same quality relative to the source each time, while picking a bitrate won't, so I can see "CRFx doesn't produce a high enough quality" being a valid argument, but I can't see how you can make the same generalizations regarding bitrate "x".

Kind of like lossy audio compression vs lossless. It's all in the eyes/ears of the beholder.

True, and after all the above I'd tend to agree to a certain extent. To me a 720p CRF20 encode looks better than a 1080p CRF23 encode, although it's not massive. It may also depend on your playback device and how well it upscales the 720p encode.