MeGUI: General Questions and Troubleshooting Thread

[GurkGager]

I updated and tried again. It worked to abour 45% abd then rhe same error. Im using XP SP2.

[Sharktooth]

then the problem must be somewhere on your side since i finished encoding a whole movie right now and it works perfectly.
i suggest you to run some memory tests (memtest86 for example) and some "burn-in" system tests to ensure your system is stable when heavily stressed.

[nhope]

I have found that x264 mp4 files encoded in MeGUI (DXVA-SD-HQ profile without b-pyramid merged with PS3-XBOX profile) will crash Sony Vegas Pro 8.0b if they have no audio, or will only show the audio in Vegas Pro 8.0b if they are muxed with audio in MeGUI (in which case Vegas gives the message "video stream attributes could not be determined").

On the other hand if I encode with x264vfw in VirtualDub and mux in Yamb then the file opens perfectly in Vegas Pro.

They both play fine in Quicktime and VLC.

If I open the MeGUI-encoded mp4 in Vegas 7 it is reportedly decoded by the Quicktime decoder qt7plug.dll. If I open the x264vfw-encoded mp4 in Vegas 7 it is reportedly decoded by the MainConcept decoder mcmp4plug.dll but shows a blank green screen (but at least doesn't crash like it does in Vegas Pro 8).

What is going on here? What is different in these files or how can I find out what is different? Is there a way to change the settings in MeGUI to make the files compatible with Vegas, or is there some post-processing I can do to fix them?

Thanks!

[jmartinr]

is there some post-processing I can do to fix them?

How does this one do (one of your files remuxed by me): http://members.home.nl/jmartinr/new%20with%20dimensions%20no%20par.mp4

[EDIT] Something went wrong with my upload. Fixed it. You can retry now. :)

[nhope]

How does this one do (one of your files remuxed by me): http://members.home.nl/jmartinr/new%20with%20dimensions%20no%20par.mp4

[EDIT] Something went wrong with my upload. Fixed it. You can retry now. :)
That one still only shows the audio in Vegas i'm afraid, with the same message "video stream attributes could not be determined".

I think the problem must be before the muxing stage as the crashes are happening with files that contain no audio. There's something different about the x264 file that x264vfw is endoding/wrapping from the x264 that x264/MeGUI is encoding/wrapping but I don't know what it is.

Gspot container for the x264vfw version is showing:

isom MP4 Base Media v1 [ISO 14496-12-2003]
-avc1: MP4 Base w/ AVC ext [ISO 14496-12:2005]
...

but for the MeGUI version those lines are the other way around:

-avc1: MP4 Base w/ AVC ext [ISO 14496-12:2005]
isom MP4 Base Media v1 [ISO 14496-12-2003]
...

Could this be relevant and how would I change it if it is?

[poisondeathray]

@nhope:

run avinaptic on both files (working & non-working in vegas); it will give you lots of information, and perhaps show a difference in settings that you used between the vfw, and cli version

[nhope]

Thanks for the avinaptic tip. Useful utility.

OK so I've narrowed this down now.

x264 in MeGUI with default x264 settings will not crash Vegas, but with the PD-PS3-Xbox360 profile does crash Vegas.

There's a lot of differences in the profiles to work through to find the culprit. Which settings in the PS3-Xbox profile should I try resetting to default first?

[nhope]

CE-QuickTime profile does not crash Vegas so the problem is in the difference between that profile and PS3-Xbox.

Edit: CE-Mainprofile is OK too.

[poisondeathray]

@nhope

CE-QuickTime has 1 B-frame, no I 8x8 vs. PS3-Xbox profile has 3 B-frame, yes I 8x8; this might be the difference causing Vegas to act that way.

Edit: I just check vfw x.264 default settings and I 8x8 is enabled by default, and earlier you said it imported into Vegas fine - so this suggests the problem might be >1 B-frame

[Sharktooth]

Try mixed-refs

[kumi]

The aspect ratio is recognized and I get a 16:9 image like I should.
As soon as I take my video-only mkv file, and mux in the audio, the aspect ratio gets lost.
Using the --engage keep_bitstream_ar_info (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1126498#post1126498) mkvmerge option should fix your problem.

I think this MKVMerge option should be made default in MeGUI. Or at the very limit, make it default for anamorphic jobs?

[Napa]

In trying to track down why some of my MeGUI sessions were failing, I noticed the following:

If I use the 'D2V Creator' function in MeGUI, the d2v file starts with:
Stream_Type=1
MPEG_Type=2
iDCT_Algorithm=6
YUVRGB_Scale=1
Luminance_Filter=0,0
Clipping=0,0,0,0
Aspect_Ratio=4:3
Picture_Size=720x480
Field_Operation=1
Frame_Rate=23976 (24000/1001)
Location=0,0,0,21203e

If I use DGIndex standalone on exactly the same file, the d2v file starts with:
Stream_Type=1
MPEG_Type=2
iDCT_Algorithm=6
YUVRGB_Scale=1
Luminance_Filter=0,0
Clipping=0,0,0,0
Aspect_Ratio=4:3
Picture_Size=720x480
Field_Operation=0
Frame_Rate=29970 (30000/1001)
Location=0,0,0,21203e

If I interpret this correctly, something that MeGUI does is causing a difference in Frame Rate. Since MediaInfo also says the frame rate is 29.97, I'm inclined to believe DBIndex.

But if anyone can shed some light on this, I'd appreciate it.

[Sharktooth]

MeGUI uses dgindex ... an old version though. We should update the code to support the latest one.

[nhope]

@nhope

CE-QuickTime has 1 B-frame, no I 8x8 vs. PS3-Xbox profile has 3 B-frame, yes I 8x8; this might be the difference causing Vegas to act that way.

Edit: I just check vfw x.264 default settings and I 8x8 is enabled by default, and earlier you said it imported into Vegas fine - so this suggests the problem might be >1 B-frame
Thanks. I tracked down the Vegas problem to Adaptive DCT / I8x8. It crashes if you try to open a file encoded with that option.

I'm now using my own "compatibility" profile, intended for good quality but general compatibility with media players and non-linear editors, which gives these x264 options:

--pass 2 --bitrate 1000 --stats ".stats" --ref 5 --mixed-refs
--bframes 3 --b-rdo --bime --weightb --direct auto --subme 6
--trellis 1 --partitions p8x8,b8x8,i4x4 --me umh --threads auto --thread-input
--progress --no-psnr --no-ssim --output "output" "input"

Despite fixing the crashing, I still have only audio showing in Vegas if the file is muxed in MeGUI. Will examine the AVInaptic comparison as advised.

[jmartinr]

@nhope

In GSpot the original file gives a size of 720 x 540. The remuxed version gives 720 x 544, and so does VLC. :confused:
This needs some looking into. Also because I did the remux trick (with different dimensions, DV/DVD) already about 50 times without problems. Some encoders can generate a mod 16 video and later have some pixels cropped. I don't think x264 does that.

Do MP4Box or MP4Creator-QTF require/generate mod 16 video dimensions?

[nhope]

Will get back to the AR issue later today, jmartinr.

I've done a lot more testing and now come to these surprising conclusions re compatibility of x264 in Sony Vegas Pro:

If there is audio muxed with the video then I8x8 is compatible but b-frames cause only the audio stream to be displayed in Vegas and no video. This is true whether the file is encoded in MeGUI or with x264vfw in VirtualDub.

However the situation is different if there is no audio muxed with the video, and it differs depending on where the file is encoded:

Case 1: No audio, mp4 encoded in MeGUI:

b-frames are OK but I8x8 crashes Vegas.

Case 2: No audio, mp4 encoded in x264vfw in VirtualDub:

I8x88 is OK but b-frames cause the file not to open in Vegas. In other words effectively the opposite of case 1.

In all cases I'm using x264 core 59 r819bm. The mp4box muxing command line is the same in all cases. I've attempted to make the x264 settings as identical as possible and studied the AVInaptic reports to check but still the encoded files behave differently in Vegas depending on whether they were encoded with x264 or x264vfw.

All the encodes that work in Vegas are reportedly decoded by qt7plug.dll (Quicktime codec) whereas H264 encoded by the Sony AVC or MainConcept AAC/AVC codecs in Vegas, are decded by mcmp4plug.dll (MainConcept codec). I wonder if there is something I could write into an x264 mp4 file to make it get decoded by the MainConcept codec in Vegas instead of the Quicktime codec. Any ideas?

Another question... If I sacrifice b-frames completely ( for Vegas compatibility (with audio) would I be losing a lot of quality/compressibility?

[jmartinr]

@nhope
Remuxed file works in VLC when using OpenGL as output module. Using the default DirectX module it shows a dark screen.

Lots of different issues now. :mad:

[vega22]

Every time I try to use the Adaptive Muxer for mux h264 .mp4 video (of course created by Megui), I get this error message:

Determining type failed
Unable to determine type of input video. Mux path finding cannot continue. Your video could well be corrupt

For this reason I always use the mp4 muxer, 0 problems...but I would like to know the reason for that error. Thanks

[Sharktooth]

this report is useless without the megui version...

[vega22]

this report is useless without the megui version...

Sorry...I have now the 0.3.0.0. But I use Megui from very longtime, and always I get the same error.

PS: Just i try with 0.2.6.1046. The same error.

[Sharktooth]

Dont use 0.3.0.0...
however post a bugreport on SF about the mux path.

[jmartinr]

@nhope

MP4Creator-QTF somehow introduces an error with non mod 16 values. Leading GSpot and VLC to to believe it's mod 16. Media Info still shows the right values. This might well cause the black screen in VLC with Directx output. Just reproduced with an normally non-problematic video where I cropped 4 pixels off before encoding.

Since I use SD dimensions I didn't encounter it before. You on the other hand have a problem. Until now I didn't find another workaround to get the flash player full screen aspect ratio right. It amazes me that I haven't found more, cause there should be more people with this problem, now MP4 is available in flash player.

You could crop something off, or add 4 pixels to work around the MP4Creator-QTF quirk.

[vega22]

Dont use 0.3.0.0...
however post a bugreport on SF about the mux path.

PS: Just i try with 0.2.6.1046. The same error.

Ok, i go to SF

[nhope]

@nhope

MP4Creator-QTF somehow introduces an error with non mod 16 values. Leading GSpot and VLC to to believe it's mod 16. Media Info still shows the right values. This might well cause the black screen in VLC with Directx output. Just reproduced with an normally non-problematic video where I cropped 4 pixels off before encoding.

Since I use SD dimensions I didn't encounter it before. You on the other hand have a problem. Until now I didn't find another workaround to get the flash player full screen aspect ratio right. It amazes me that I haven't found more, cause there should be more people with this problem, now MP4 is available in flash player.

You could crop something off, or add 4 pixels to work around the MP4Creator-QTF quirk.

Ah I just read this since I pm'd you effectively saying I was giving up. Well yes, mod 16 should help x264 compressibility too. I could crop or add as you say, or just use 1024x576 (getting BIG) or 768x432 (see here for optimal frame sizes (http://www.flashsupport.com/books/fvst/files/tools/video_sizes.html)). But then I lose the "niceness" of deinterlacing to exactly half height (1080 > 540).

Err.. before I put any more time into getting anamorphic encoding displaying correctly on Flash/WMP/Quicktime/VLC ... does anyone know if WMP will display anamorphic mp4 at the correct AR at all?

[jmartinr]

does anyone know if WMP will display anamorphic mp4 at the correct AR at all?

If you use ffdshow with the correct settings or coreavc it will.

[nhope]

OK but not on default WMP no matter what is set in the file, right?

[jmartinr]

OK but not on default WMP no matter what is set in the file, right? It won't play at all, that's correct.

[Napa]

I have two systems on which I run MeGUI. Both are version 0.2.6.1046 updated with the latest updates. As far as I can tell, both MeGUIs are configured identically.

One system is consistently successful. The other used to work well but for the last month or two has begun to fail every time I try to encode something. It fails during x264 Pass 2. The location on the error report does not seem to be consistent from one failure to the next.

Both systems are Windows XP SP2. It seems counter-intuitive to me, but the system that's failing has a faster processor, more memory and faster disks than the system that is consistently successful.

Can anyone with more experience give any suggestions on where to look for the problem?

[alfixdvd]

raezr read message #2113, the question is answered by sharktooh

[Sharktooth]

I have two systems on which I run MeGUI. Both are version 0.2.6.1046 updated with the latest updates. As far as I can tell, both MeGUIs are configured identically.

One system is consistently successful. The other used to work well but for the last month or two has begun to fail every time I try to encode something. It fails during x264 Pass 2. The location on the error report does not seem to be consistent from one failure to the next.

Both systems are Windows XP SP2. It seems counter-intuitive to me, but the system that's failing has a faster processor, more memory and faster disks than the system that is consistently successful.

Can anyone with more experience give any suggestions on where to look for the problem?
there is a big chance the problems you're expecting are due to system instabilities.
run a memory test tool (memtest86) and a burn-in test tool to stress test your system.

[unskinnyboy]

Here's something which is quite annoying -

You know how you could open the Avisynth script creator and crop/resize the video while having the internal video player open and remaining on top so that you can see the effects of the crop/resize as you do them? Well, this doesn't work if the main MeGUI window is maximized. If the main window is maximized, the moment you touch crop/resize, the video player stops being on top and gets minimized to the task bar. This shouldn't happen, ideally.

Can this be fixed?

[loom91]

Hi,

I'm trying to encode a .VOB file (no accompanying .IFO files, not ripped by me) into x264. I used the guide at MeWiki and followed each step carefully. However, there are two problems:

1)When I try to encode the audio to AAC, the job listing in the que shows error in status and does not start. Encoding to mp3 however works fine.

2)After encoding (with autocrop selected to remove black bars, and no resize), the aspect ratio is distorted. I've attached a comparison of snapshots from the original .vob and the encoded x264-mp4 files, taken with VLC.

3)When I try to mux the video and the audio to Matroska with the adaptive muxer, I get the error message "Unable to determine input type. The video may well be corrupted." However, the video plays fine in VLC (except the aspect ratio issue mentioned above).

What's going wrong, and how can I fix it? I'm an absolute newbie at this business, so explanations will be very helpful. Thanks a lot for your help.

Molu

[nurbs]

1) What is the exact error message? If you are trying to encode with nero you need to download the aac encoder from their homepage.

2) Lots of DVDs are anamorphic. Either you resize after croping to the correct aspect ratio, or you select "clever anamorphic encoding" in the avs generator. If you just want to get rid of the black bars do the latter.

3) No idea.

[saint-francis]

I have some questions:

1) What exactly does the "source is anime" function do and why isn't the need for it detected by MeGUI? I am about to try encoding my second animated movie and I don't know if I should check this function as the source is HD and looks like it has a lot of CGI (Appleseed Ex - Machina). The only cartoon I have encoded before was Akira and I left this option alone because I know that it is a full 24 fps. Was that correct of me?

2) I have some confusion about the vobsubber. If I install vobsub I can obviously use the vobsubber but if I use VSFilter I can't. Word on the street is that VSFilter is an up to date version of vobsub, so I would obviously want to use this for my playback. Do you see my dilemma? What to do? :confused:

[poisondeathray]

1)When I try to encode the audio to AAC, the job listing in the que shows error in status and does not start. Encoding to mp3 however works fine.

2)After encoding (with autocrop selected to remove black bars, and no resize), the aspect ratio is distorted. I've attached a comparison of snapshots from the original .vob and the encoded x264-mp4 files, taken with VLC.

3)When I try to mux the video and the audio to Matroska with the adaptive muxer, I get the error message "Unable to determine input type. The video may well be corrupted." However, the video plays fine in VLC (except the aspect ratio issue mentioned above).


1) Did you set up the program paths for neroaacenc.exe? options => settings => program paths => audio tab

2) You have to signal DAR in the .avs script. For example, for a 4:3 DAR

global MeGUI_darx = 4
global MeGUI_dary = 3

3) Try the MKV muxer or MP4 muxer in the tools

[sp99]

Hello,

I'm trying to convert my HD DVDs' (VC1) to AVC so I can stream them to my PS3. I've tried various profiles such as the PS3 one and the blue ray version and both give a flickering / blocking effect in the out of focus background. I've ramped up the bit rate ~ 22M average and VBV 38M and it still is apparent.
(projecting them on a 80" diagonal so I want to keep as much quality as possible)

I read about crf and managed to encode one film (insideman) at crf 18 which looks really good and has none of the background 'mush' by using the CQ-ASP_Q2_eq(crf) profile.

A few weeks later I've tried to use crf again and everytime the encodes just starts to 'breakaway' and after about 15mins the predicted/end file size starts to increase massively - normally crashes or I quit it once it reaches 50+GB, has gone over 200GB. The original file is ~ 18GB.

Trying to play the aborted file shows it has a bit rate of over 200MB/s in some scenes. I tried again and restricted VBV but it didn't seem to make much difference.

I tested a small file ~ 30MB this worked OK.

I'm using the stable version which I re-downloaded and installed again yesterday with no difference.

Am I doing something wrong ?

[vazel]

Can someone please help me out. I ripped the DVD with DVDDecrypter, then used d2v tool, then used avisynth script creator, then clicked enqueue then start to encode the video but it just says error and doesn't do anything.

this is in the log "Job not started. Reason: Calling setup of processor failed with error 'Required file 'C:\Program Files\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe' is missing.'" Why isn't it finding the .exe? I did all the updates. I reinstalled several times.

[rack04]

Can someone please help me out. I ripped the DVD with DVDDecrypter, then used d2v tool, then used avisynth script creator, then clicked enqueue then start to encode the video but it just says error and doesn't do anything.

this is in the log "Job not started. Reason: Calling setup of processor failed with error 'Required file 'C:\Program Files\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe' is missing.'" Why isn't it finding the .exe? I did all the updates. I reinstalled several times.

Is the path to x264 set correctly in the MeGUI settings?

[vazel]

That directory does exist but all I found in the folder is a exe titled "x264.826.modified.exe". I also did a search for x264.exe on my computer in case it was installed to a wrong folder and there was none.

I renamed that file to x264.exe and it works now.

[psychohobbit]

2) You have to signal DAR in the .avs script. For example, for a 4:3 DAR

global MeGUI_darx = 4
global MeGUI_dary = 3


I believe I am having this same issue -- I convert from DVD video to mp4/x264 and select "clever anamorphic" with the "overcrop" option, and my resulting video is vertically stretched like the ones this poster showed.

Manually changing the DAR sounds like it may be the way to fix it -- but how do I know what the DAR should be?

In other words, should my DAR be the AR of the original DVD video (1.82:1), the actual image portion of that video (2.35:1), my PC monitor (4:3), or my TV (16:9)? Or some other value derived from some combination of these?

My goal is to convert DVD video to x264 .mp4 files that can be viewed on a PC or streamed to my PS3. How can I do that using "clever anamorphic" mode and still keep my aspect ratio correct?

Thanks. Pleaes forgive my n00b-ness... :-)

[Seraphic-]

Hi,

I have a few questions about MeGUI.

1st. How important is the MOD16 rule? I received an error that my source video was not MOD16 and that it would reduce quality. However, forcing MOD16 removes a lot of extra video space.

2nd. Why does it force me to use YV12 (4:2:0) when encoding with MeGUI? My source is YUY2 (4:2:2). Isn't that removing a lot of picture information?

[Sharktooth]

MOD16 is not necessary for x264 however compression will be slightly lower with non MOD16 resolutions. the message is just a warning. some avisynth filters may require MOD16 res though.
also x264 accepts only YV12 colorspace.

[Seraphic-]

also x264 accepts only YV12 colorspace.

I see. How much picture information is being lost when going from 4:2:2 to 4:2:0?

[Sharktooth]

moving from 4:2:2 to 4:2:0 means loosing 1/6th of the color information.
however modern video cards have a good interpolation so it's difficult to spot the difference.

[Audionut]

108 pages is a little to much to search through so i'll just ask. Is there any way to enable a verbose mode for the log.

I much prefer megui when it displayed quant stats etc.

[Octo-puss]

I would like to know whether it is a bug or not that video profiles are being updated even though I neither save them nor click update button, usually after throwing in some custom commands and pressing ok. Tried to set the files to read only, but that crashed MeGUI or maybe just generated some annoying chain of error messages upon quitting :)

[stanjr]

Has anyone had the error of "stats file not able to be renamed" when encoding 2-pass x264 in MeGUI?

On first pass a .stats.temp file is created and when it is done, it tries to rename that to just .stats and that is where the error above occurs. The second pass, therefore, doesn't start automatically. I can delete the first pass job out of the queue and rename the .stats.temp file myself, then start the second pass job manually, but that's kinda annoying. Is it some kind of permissions thing that I'm not allowing MeGUI to have in renaming temp files in Windows or something?

I am using the latest version of MeGUI (as of 4/28/08) and techouse's r839 build of x264.

[toytown]

I have a weird issue with megui and staxrip on my main computer (Vista 64bit), in that whilst playing about in the UI, it will lock up and i have to terminate it via taskmanager or click to bring up the application hang dialog.

On megui the problem is harder to replicate as it seems random, for instance i can click "AVS script generator" play around with 1 video save the settings and then click another, and it will freeze up, its random to a degree but it always freezes at the point where im clicking something in the UI, mostly an option like save/open that will popup the file open dialog. It happens with all the versions i have so far including 0.2.6.1046

On staxrip its a little easier for it to happen as i setup my first encode and thats perfect, then when i click "add" button on the "source files" dialog for the second, it will almost definetely 99% freeze.

Its definetely not staxrip/megui as i have the exact same versions on my MediaCenter encoding and there absolutely fine.
I work around the problem, by setting up a job, then closing the app, reopening the app and adding the next job and so on and so on.
Its definetely not the machine's stability (its not OC'd either) as i use the method above and then can set of encoding for days at a time and it never freezes or gives a bad encode. Like i said its a problem on my computer, that gets triggered whilst playing with the UI.

Anyways, just wondered if anybody else had the issue and knew the solution as its driving me nuts.

[tomos]

I have a weird issue with megui and staxrip on my main computer (Vista 64bit), in that whilst playing about in the UI, it will lock up and i have to terminate it via taskmanager or click to bring up the application hang dialog.

On megui the problem is harder to replicate as it seems random, for instance i can click "AVS script generator" play around with 1 video save the settings and then click another, and it will freeze up, its random to a degree but it always freezes at the point where im clicking something in the UI, mostly an option like save/open that will popup the file open dialog. It happens with all the versions i have so far including 0.2.6.1046

On staxrip its a little easier for it to happen as i setup my first encode and thats perfect, then when i click "add" button on the "source files" dialog for the second, it will almost definetely 99% freeze.

Its definetely not staxrip/megui as i have the exact same versions on my MediaCenter encoding and there absolutely fine.
I work around the problem, by setting up a job, then closing the app, reopening the app and adding the next job and so on and so on.
Its definetely not the machine's stability (its not OC'd either) as i use the method above and then can set of encoding for days at a time and it never freezes or gives a bad encode. Like i said its a problem on my computer, that gets triggered whilst playing with the UI.

Anyways, just wondered if anybody else had the issue and knew the solution as its driving me nuts.

megui freezes for me too during that point, and also when loading avs scripts, queuing it, and loading another. i pinned it down to me closing the preview window, so if i kept on doing that, then 3-4 scripts down the line, it would lock entirely.

i mean just opening AVS scripts to queue up, or saving newly created ones. closing that window *always* leads to a lock in megui for me. this is on 2 PC's running vistax64

[unskinnyboy]

Here's something which is quite annoying -

You know how you could open the Avisynth script creator and crop/resize the video while having the internal video player open and remaining on top so that you can see the effects of the crop/resize as you do them? Well, this doesn't work if the main MeGUI window is maximized. If the main window is maximized, the moment you touch crop/resize, the video player stops being on top and gets minimized to the task bar. This shouldn't happen, ideally.

Can this be fixed?
*bump*

Was this the wrong thread to post a bug? No one seems to have noticed this.

Also, found another thing - some tooltips under the Advanced tab of the x264 Video configuration dialog shows Error: No data available.

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2683/meguitooltiperrorxo1.png