MeGUI: General Questions and Troubleshooting Thread

[Selur]

last updated seems to have screwed up the muxer, when creating mp4 (avc/aac) with auto encode creates a broken file. Manual muxing works fine.

---> Soooory, my fault, seems like an Nero Update was the cause. ;)

[Ð.Sp!dér]

I seem to be having difficulties reaching a certain filesize. I'm using the Bitrate Calculator and I'm trying to reach 85.5 MB (1GB = 1024MB)...

The .mkv muxing was about 7.5 KB larger then the actual 'unmuxed' files. Is the MP4 container larger then the MKV ?

It's true that I'm using ~400 kbps for the video and 48 for the audio, but still... I am using Auto 2nd pass.
Are there any particular settings in order to achieve this filesize ?

[Sharktooth]

every container has an overhead...

[Ð.Sp!dér]

I know... But isn't it the same in every case ? Or does it vary from source to source ?
Does it depend on the a/v length ?

I just need to reach 85.5 MB :)

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/9484/untitledxf1.png

Could you please tell me how much do I need to divide from the total filesize in order to reach 87604 KB ?
Meaning 85.55 MB...

[Sharktooth]

overhead depends on the container. each megui container supported by megui has a different overhead depending on which streams were put in.
however why you need exactly 85.5MB?

[Ð.Sp!dér]

why you need exactly 85.5MB?

You're not the first to ask me that. It just looks cool on other p2p networks. :P

Do I need to encode in 3rd passes ? I hear it does wonders for low bitrate content...

[check]

3 passes are usually uneccessary.
Back on the original topic, within 7kbit is about as close as you will get. You could marginally reduce the bitrate, but chances are you will end up undersized.

Also, please take care of the rules, in particuler #6

[Ð.Sp!dér]

It's not illegal. Why do people always assume everything on DC++ is illegal ? :| The source is a free fansub (unlicensed at the moment), partially 'trimmed' in VirtualDub of credits, and I'm just looking to reduce the filesize to 85.5 MB because of limited HDD resouces.

Am I doing something wrong ?

It seems I encoded the audio in MP4 format. So the header for .mp4 is... I donno. Mabey that's why I keep getting smaller filesizes when I mux them to MKV ! The Bitrate Calculator says it's fine. But it really isn't. I keep getting 85.4 MB, 85.6 MB even 85.8 !

But it does seem to be closer to 85.4 MB. So mabey I should stick to this filesize. 3/5 encodes resulted in 85.4 so that's pretty good... I guess...

[check]

sorry, fansubs are illegal. Here's my post from a while ago: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=887640&highlight=anime#post887640

[Ð.Sp!dér]

Haven't you ever heard of "promotional purposes" ? You advertise. Why do you think so many fansubbers ...sub ? To help the industry and get more and more fans. They do it for free, and for the fans ("fansubs" ;)), then if it gets licensed, they stop. Sure, not all of them, but that's not the point. Those that don't stop, urge you to go buy the DVDs and such.

Personaly, I don't encode entire series. I don't have the CPU power for such encodes. I just encode like 5 to 10 episodes so I won't be pressed by HDD space. I'm not that much anime fan. I'm more 'old fashioned' ... drawn to cartoon-style. :)

You're not helping me at all... One offtopic after another. I just need to reach 85.5 MB per file for 7 files.
(A total of 600 MB).

[Xodarap]

I'm having a problem with MeGUI crashing when I'm encoding movies.

I encoded Lilo and Stitch and Finding Nemo with no problems using the One Click Encoder, but any other movie I try causes MeGUI to crash, giving me an option to report the error to Microsoft. I can see the error report, but there's no way for me to copy it and post it here.

It seems to crash after the D2V file is created, but there's nothing in the Log tab either.

I've been searching and searching and I've found several of these reports similar to my own problem, but I haven't found any answers to them.

Here's a copy-and-paste from my out-of-thread (sorry) post made earlier today:

"I've tried using megui's one-click encoding feature a hundred times in a hundred ways; uninstalling/reinstalling; etc. Unfortunately, every time, the program crashes after the indexing phase (after DGIndex closes). I'm using very simple profiles and I'm not changing any settings on anything, going straight from a fresh VOB from DVD Decrypter (I've tried several different DVDs).
I'm using Windows XP Pro SP2, newest .NET framework, autoupdated MeGUI tools.
MeGUI works just fine from an avs file; it's just the one-click that's giving me hell. I've tried changing all kinds of audio encoding options (under the assumption that that's the phase it's crashing on initiating), from NDAAC to LAME, including not even touching that drop-down menu."

I'm sorry that I know nothing about debugging. I get no error message from MeGUI, and when I restart it, there are no logs and the job queue is back to where it was before I ever started (jobs are there as though unprocessed). But there IS an outputted .d2v and an .ac3 that both appear functional, so I really doubt it's DGIndex that's crashing it. In fact, DGIndex is closed when it crashes. Right after DGIndex closes, the program freezes (unresponsive, and the window won't draw), hangs for about 30 seconds, and then windows forces it closed due to a crash. I never see it cue any other program.
This happens with any VOBs I feed it and I've tried about a dozen. The same VOBs work fine with AGK (from the IFO).

[check]

Yes, a lot of people are reporting problems with the 1CE. If you can post exactly what steps you take in the sourceforge tracker, and as much extra info about the problem as you can (you've pretty much done it here, just move the list of stuff you do into a numbered list for better readability).

[uciekamy]

Just a question i haven't found the answer here:

There are "pause" and "stop" buttons in jobs window and i'm curious if it's possible to stop or pause encoding passes and turn it on later? I would realy need this, cause i use x264 HQ-Insane profile, and it takes much time to finish job while i'm not always able to finish it be4 i have to turn my PC off.. At the moment it seems not working, but will it work in the future? Thx in advance..

[check]

no, you cannot interrupt an encoding job sorry. If you are pressed for time, use a faster profile, the quality loss won't be so bad :)

[Doom9]

At the moment it seems not working, but will it work in the future?No it won't.. such a feature (which by the way only works for encoders that support resuming.. most of the encoders megui support can't do it, afaik x264 is the only one) is so far beyond the line of reasonable features that the line cannot be seen. If you have the PC in your bedroom, sleep in another room if the PC needs to run through the night, or drink one or two beers before going to bed and you'll sleep through the noise (I've personally tested it and can vouch that it works just fine).

[uciekamy]

Hehe.. OK then.. I thought so, but wanted to make myself sure about that.. Thanks guys.. Idea with drinking should work for me :D

[Sharktooth]

I use wishky in place of beer... it works even better :)

[Xodarap]

Yes, a lot of people are reporting problems with the 1CE. If you can post exactly what steps you take in the sourceforge tracker, and as much extra info about the problem as you can (you've pretty much done it here, just move the list of stuff you do into a numbered list for better readability).

Sorry about the readability; I was quite sleep-deprived at the time. ;)

As far as the exact steps I take, I'm not sure a particular list would work, since I've tried it so many different ways. I've read the guides and I'm decently computer-savvy. Every VOB (or set thereof) and every combination, method, whatever, all leads to exactly the same problem: a hang and crash right after (successful) indexing when using 1CE. I've never gotten past that phase.

To give a general idea, though, I can try.

First, I regularly uninstall and reinstall MeGUI. Then I allow it to autoupdate. I've also tried uninstalling and reinstalling .NET framework at this time.

Then, I use DVD decrypter to rip a DVD into VOBs. (I've tested these and they work fine with AGK or anything else.)

Then I start MeGUI from a shortcut I have on my desktop.

I've tried messing with settings, but at this time, I'll just start 1CE from a fresh install.

In the input/output box, I'll put the first VOB in the series of VOBs, and allow the output to be selected automatically. I select the first audio track.

For this, I'll just set the IPOD 5.5G in the one-click profile, only modifying it to output to mp4, if possible, which does indeed take and changes the output file to .mp4. Filesize, in both the one-click profile and the 1CE Target box are set to 1CD. Audio codec I'll set for ND AAC and audio profile to NDAAC-HE-64kbps, though I've tried also setting up LAME for an ABR mp3 encode.

I've tried a dozen different profiles, including making my own. I've also tried different filesizes, audio codecs, etc. I don't touch the AVS profile. Also, though I've been assuming that it's the audio coding phase where the exe is crashing, I've tried "Don't encode audio" and going with a .mkv, and it still crashes at the same point.

I'll save this profile as "Try again" and hit "Go!"

Then, I go to my queue tab, with one job in it. I press "Start" and let it do its thing. I starts DGIndex and successfully completes that phase.

Then the MeGUI window freezes (I can move it, but it won't redraw, and I can't click anything) and hangs for about 30 seconds, after which windows pops up its own error message stating that the program is not responding and must be closed. As far as I can tell, Windows' debug info shows nothing that helps (and is, of course, too long to do anyone any good...).

This time, though this has only happened twice (out of dozens of run-throughs), MeGUI won't even start anymore. It just pops up "MeGUI has encountered a problem and needs to close..." whenever I try. I know from the last time it happened that I will have to uninstall and reinstall MeGUI to get it to startup again.


If you can think of any information that would help, I would be happy to add it.

BTW, I'm using Windows XP Pro SP2, an AMD X2 4200+, and I'm running Webroot's Spy Sweeper and AVG Anti-Virus, both in paid and updated condition. If the devs can't recreate this dilemma (which seems to me likely, since it *always* happens to me), maybe this is an XP Pro (Windows NT base, right?) problem. I only suggest that because I've seen this problem reported by others, and the only one who mentioned an OS had XP Pro.

As for the sourceforge tracker, could you give me a link, and is this write-up good for that purpose?

[berrinam]

Try with automatic deinterlacing turned off. That's what causes the hang, but not the crash (unless Windows is just butting in).

[Xodarap]

Try with automatic deinterlacing turned off. That's what causes the hang, but not the crash (unless Windows is just butting in).

ARG and YAY (at the same time)! :thanks: ... I can't believe THAT was the culprit. It must have been the ONLY option I never tried...

Anyways, now I get this:


Error:
MeGUI.AviSynthException: DirectShowSource: Could not open as video or audio.

Video returned: "DirectShowSource: the filter graph manager won't talk to me"

Audio returned: "DirectShowSource: unable to determine the duration of the audio."

at MeGUI.AviSynthClip..ctor(String func, String arg, AviSynthColorspace forceColorspace, AviSynthScriptEnvironment env)
at MeGUI.AviSynthAudioEncoder.encode()


That was on trying to encode mp3 audio through LAME, I think. I tried the AAC and didn't have the nero executable. So now it's a new problem. But yes, windows was "butting in" to the hangup for the automatic deinterlacing. Should I be posting that on a bug report thread?

Oh, and speaking of audio, I read somewhere that iPod 5.5s require special muxing -- could anyone point me to that thread?

[check]

re: pods. There's a long thread with 'ipod' and '5.5g' somewhere in these forums with the info you need around page 5 (+/- 2)

[Xodarap]

re: pods. There's a long thread with 'ipod' and '5.5g' somewhere in these forums with the info you need around page 5 (+/- 2)

Cool, thanks! :)

Anyone have a clue about the error? Do I need to download some sort of Directshow AC3 decoder? I tried ffdshow and ac3filter, and I'm about to try Aud-X, but maybe I'm wrong about what the problem is...

EDIT: Aud-X did it! yay! :)

[nickolasemp]

Greetings everyone.

I have a problem with meGUI. As I know how to do some things and I want to do them my way, I always make my own d2v and I always encode the audio on my own into aac. So no problem there using Belight and DGIndex.

Useful hint: I have formatted my HDD so I recently installed meGUI (from x264.nl) and let the update do its work. Quite bizarre as there were no profiles afterwards and I had to install them manually.

I make my own avs, e.g:
MPEG2Source("C:\temp\....d2v")
Crop(0,126,-0,-126)
BicubicResize(720,288,0,0.5)

I put it in meGUI and then I choose Sharktooth's HQInsane (yes, I am insane with quality) and adjust the bitrate to 886. Once I have done that, I use some zones and then I exit; saving the profile.
My CLI commandline (as shown in meGUI) is this:

--pass 2 --bitrate 886 --stats ".stats" --ref 16 --mixed-refs --no-fast-pskip --bframes 3 --b-pyramid --b-rdo --bime --weightb --direct auto --filter -2,-1 --subme 7 --trellis 2 --analyse all --8x8dct --vbv-maxrate 25000 --me umh --threads auto --thread-input --zones 139914,147402,b=0.1 --progress --no-dct-decimate --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "C:\temp\....mp4"

When I start the encoding part, the first pass has 3 or 4 fps... Before the format of my HDD I usually had 35fps in the first encoding (As I know it's being done by xvid, no?) So basically this is my problem. That slow first pass encoding. Any thoughts?

[check]

(As I know it's being done by xvid, no?)

here's your problem. You're encoding with x264, which is NOT xvid :). If you want to use xvid, select 'xvid' from the codecs dropdown.

[nickolasemp]

I probably didn't make myself understandable. I know that I am encoding with x264... I thought that first pass's results are done with xvid and then the second encode is being done with x264.

This little detail doesn't resolve my problem. I want to encode with x264. What has changed since last time?

[check]

Unfortunately, you cannot mix and match codecs & passes. If you try, it won't work :)

[nickolasemp]

ok let's just forget about my comment on the first pass. All I do is put the avs in my meGui, config some zones and the bit rate, then press the enqueue button. Finally I start the encoding. What is the problem there?

Why does the first pass take so long (3-4 fps) when it used to go a lot faster (~25fps and more)..? Is there something I'm doing wrong? Nothing has changed from last time. I just installed the program and had all the updates run (bizarrely there were no profiles after the update so I had to do that manually). So basically everything should go smoothly like before, right?

[Xodarap]

ok let's just forget about my comment on the first pass. All I do is put the avs in my meGui, config some zones and the bit rate, then press the enqueue button. Finally I start the encoding. What is the problem there?

Why does the first pass take so long (3-4 fps) when it used to go a lot faster (~25fps and more)..? Is there something I'm doing wrong? Nothing has changed from last time. I just installed the program and had all the updates run (bizarrely there were no profiles after the update so I had to do that manually). So basically everything should go smoothly like before, right?

HQ Insane removes the check on the "turbo" box next to the passes dropdown. Recheck it and your speed will return. Of course, expect that 3-4 fps to return for your second pass :)

[nickolasemp]

SO HQ-Insane profile has changed? I do recall I used the same profile before. I'll take and try your advice this night when I'll be back to my home.

Does this turbo option mean degradation of quality?

Thank you a lot for your help.:)

[Xodarap]

SO HQ-Insane profile has changed? I do recall I used the same profile before. I'll take and try your advice this night when I'll be back to my home.

Does this turbo option mean degradation of quality?

Thank you a lot for your help.:)

I'm new to H.264, but in XVID it represented a negligible drop in quality. Nothing I could ever tell, and I'm also one of those people that is insane for quality.

[Xodarap]

Anyways, now I get this:


Error:
MeGUI.AviSynthException: DirectShowSource: Could not open as video or audio.

Video returned: "DirectShowSource: the filter graph manager won't talk to me"

Audio returned: "DirectShowSource: unable to determine the duration of the audio."

at MeGUI.AviSynthClip..ctor(String func, String arg, AviSynthColorspace forceColorspace, AviSynthScriptEnvironment env)
at MeGUI.AviSynthAudioEncoder.encode()



Okay, so I somehow fixed this by downloading and installing Aud-X, but then it started popping back up again. I believe that Aud-X only allowed me to start encoding with FAAC, which is giving me some ugly-sounding results! I switched to LAME (outdated or not, I trust mp3s), but the error popped up again.
I've tried Ac3filter and ffdshow's ac3 filter with no success. Is there a standard decoder that I should be using? Or am I misinterpreting this error?

In fact, now that I think of it, Aud-X may not have solved anything; I may have switched to FAAC at the same time...

EDIT: Other than as a half-assed bug report, I don't really care so much about this anymore; I downloaded Nero Digital and it works just fine. Still, it would be nice to have LAME available.

[Xodarap]

Is there any way to check the avs being used during 1CE? I input several plugins into the avs profile, but the avs I found in the folder being used shows nothing of them (though it sure seems it's busy using them because the encoding time has jumped).
I also really want to see exactly what the standard avs used by 1CE looks like. I assume it's very simple.

EDIT:

Okay, so I tried it out the hard way: I just waited out the three hours of encoding to see if my avs filters took. They didn't... I believe I inputted them exactly as described in the guide. Here's what I have:

LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\mpeg2dec3.dll")
<input>
<deinterlace>
<crop>
levels(0,1.2,255,0,255)
Temporalsoften(4,3,2,mode=2,scenechange=6)
<resize>

Neither the levels nor the temporal soften took place.

The only avs I found in the folder says this:

global MeGUI_darx = 0
global MeGUI_dary = 0
DGDecode_mpeg2source("G:\STNEMESIS\VIDEO_TS\Stnemesis.d2v",info=3)
ColorMatrix(hints=true)
#deinterlace
crop( 0, 56, -2, -62)

LanczosResize(640,272) # Lanczos (Sharp)
#denoise

[Xodarap]

I'm really sorry if I'm filling up this thread, but I keep running into things...

I've noticed that I can't seem to set a custom setting for filesize in 1CE. It has the "custom" option in the dropdown, and I can type it in, but whenever I leave a window and come back, my 1000000 (1 gig) filesize has changed to the 716200 (or whatever it is) for 1 CD, even though it still says "custom" in the dropdown. I have splitting turned off and the same custom 1000000 set in both the 1CE profile and the 1CE "Basic IO" tab ("Target" section). Either one automatically resets to the 1CD size.

[Ð.Sp!dér]

Does this turbo option mean degradation of quality?

I would also like to know more about this. :rolleyes:

[check]

Okay, so I somehow fixed this by downloading and installing Aud-X,
The reason was because you didn't have a decoder for whatever audio format the input source was installed on your system.

I would also like to know more about this. :rolleyes:
There is a quality loss, but it's usually negligible.

[Xodarap]

The reason was because you didn't have a decoder for whatever audio format the input source was installed on your system.

If that's the case, then why did it only get FAAC working?


There is a quality loss, but it's usually negligible.

Sounds familiar ;)


So anyone have a clue what's up with my attempted AVS profile and why my filters aren't working? Do I have the format wrong?

[check]

I'm not sure. Can you play the audio file in WiMP?

[Nikse555]

I have some audio delay problems.

I'm trying to make an x264 encode with org ac3 audio.

The audio is 440ms delayed (value found via Media Player Classic), so I've entered 440 in the delay textbox in the adaptive muxer. It just seems like the value is ignored - what can I be doing wrong?

[Xodarap]

I'm not sure. Can you play the audio file in WiMP?

I can play the audio file in MPC, which is what I use. Probably anything else. I have ac3 decoding capability through several (only one is enabled) DSS decoders. Even ffdshow has the capability...

I'm now, though, going up the wall with frustration over this stupid avs profile nonsense...

[Carpo]

ok i have posted about this before but am wondering of anyone else is having the same issue, when doing an encode of a film i know to be 16:9 megui seems to encode it 4:3 (i dont resize) now when i play back the vid (just video no audio at this point) ffdshow tells me that the sar is 1:1 and dar is 5:4 and the video is square :(

if i run it through adaptive or mkv muxer adding the audio the result is still the same 4:3, yet if i run it through mkvtools i can change it to the right 16:9

is this a case of something isnt right in the encoder or is it a setting somewhere else i have over looked, i dont use one click encoding or auto encode

any idears ?

[pimpMyHD]

x264 [error]: could not open input file '... .avs'

i have this error with all my scripts
i am on vista, administrator account, no uac

I have install megui from zero, and that's the same.

I tested an xvid and that's the same ... ( except that is not an x264 error )

Could someone know what's happen ?

[check]

can you open the avs files in a media player?

[Rash]

Guys, I need some help to encode videos for my phone.

What happened to the MP4V fourcc? I believe my cell phone needs this fourcc to play videos. Nero Digital, for instance, makes .mp4 files with this fourcc alright.

I'm using CE-Mainprofile on x264.

Thank you for your help.

[Doom9]

MP4 files have no FourCC.. that's an AVI thing.

[Ð.Sp!dér]

Since MeGUI cannot resume encoding in case of a system crash (:() i was wondering if the first pass would still be active.

2 pass 1st pass - Postponed
2 pass 2nd pass - Waiting

If myfile.stats is still present, will it still be used ? I already passed once through the video at a rate of 24 fps so another pass would just take too frikin' long !

C:\Program Files\megui\jobs\job1-2.xml says it's ok. Or is it ?

<FilesToDelete>
<string>D:\MyFolder\myfile.stats</string>

And:

<Logfile>D:\MyFolder\myfile.stats</Logfile>

So wich is it ?

[Doom9]

Since MeGUI cannot resume encoding in case of a system crashyou have more serious problems than a resume functionality.
If you have the stats file, you can just restart the incomplete job, at least in a two-pass scenario. In three pass it depends which job was aborted.. the second pass will update the stats file so I'm not quite certain you could just resume that (the 3rd pass won't update the stats file so that'll be fine).

[Rash]

MP4 files have no FourCC.. that's an AVI thing.

Yes, I thought so. I always took mp4 for a modern mpg container. Though why does ffdshow show two different fourccs from two different .mp4 files? Not just that, but the lib used to decode the stream is affected by it.

http://rash.apanela.com/images/fourcc-avc1.png
http://rash.apanela.com/images/fourcc-mp4v.png

[Xodarap]

To be obsessive, impatient, and probably obnoxious, does anyone know the problem with my avs profile modifications for the 1CE avs profiles (above a few posts, worried about it getting buried)?
Now I do see an avs in my folder that looks like a proper avs with the things I added, but in the end, the filters haven't taken. (I checked by skewing the levels to (0,1.9,255,0,255) which is easy to see).
As soon as I get home, I'll post the exact text of the new avs file that I can see, but like I said, it looks perfectly legitimate, so I have to assume that it's not the one actually being used by MeGUI.

[check]

it sounds like it could be a bug. try posting a report on the sourceforge bug tracker, along with exact steps you follow, scope of the problem, etc etc etc

[Xodarap]

it sounds like it could be a bug. try posting a report on the sourceforge bug tracker, along with exact steps you follow, scope of the problem, etc etc etc

Thank you. Will do. :)