MeGUI: General Questions and Troubleshooting Thread

[LOGiC]

@Sharktooth

with my Firewall (Panda Internet Security) activated, I don't manage to open meGUI, whatever I do. Recently, when I encoded 24hours or more, I pulled the network cable to make sure that nothing is happening, but I don't like this solution. I receive this when trying to open meGUI :

---------------------------
Fatal error
---------------------------
MeGUI encountered a fatal error and may not be able to proceed. Reason: Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. Source of exception: mscorlib stacktrace: at System.RuntimeMethodHandle._InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, SignatureStruct& sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner)

at System.RuntimeMethodHandle.InvokeMethodFast(Object target, Object[] arguments, Signature sig, MethodAttributes methodAttributes, RuntimeTypeHandle typeOwner)

at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture, Boolean skipVisibilityChecks)

at System.Reflection.RuntimeMethodInfo.Invoke(Object obj, BindingFlags invokeAttr, Binder binder, Object[] parameters, CultureInfo culture)

at MeGUI.core.util.Util.XmlDeserialize(String path, Type t)

at MeGUI.ProfileManager.<>c__DisplayClassc.<readAllProfiles>b__b(FileInfo fi)

at System.Collections.Generic.List`1.ConvertAll[TOutput](Converter`2 converter)

at MeGUI.ProfileManager.readAllProfiles(ProfileType type)

at MeGUI.ProfileManager.LoadProfiles()

at MeGUI.MainForm.constructMeGUIInfo()

at MeGUI.MainForm..ctor()

at MeGUI.MainForm.Main(String[] args)
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

Do you have any idea for this ?

[LeXXuz]

It uses DirectShow decoders installed on your system to decode the source audio file.
If you have an ac3 decoder (ac3filter, ffdshow, etc) it will use it.

Just visited the thread because of a similar question. I'd like to use a stronger DRC when decoding ac3 audio to encode it to mp3 with megui. Lets say like the "heavy" setting when decoding ac3 with azid.

Can I configure DRC in ac3filter an megui uses these? Or will my settings be ignored?

[JarrettH]

I don't have ss comparison, but when I switched between my encode (Unrestricted Level, Constant Quality HQ) and the DVD source I noticed the x264 encode looks less saturated.

DGDecode_mpeg2source("C:\THERE_WILL_BE_BLOOD\VTS_02_1.d2v",info=3)
ColorMatrix(hints=true)
#deinterlace
#crop
#resize
#denoise

Also megui isn't using the latest Colormatrix when you run auto-update. I wonder if maybe the commands changed or something. The effect is just a slight washout.
I can't think of anything that would effect it unless that's just the way it is. ffdshow is decoding the x264 and nvidia purevideo software (7600 GT) for DVD.

:thanks:

[Kurtnoise]

I know, I actually filed that bug report! - But since no follow-up came up for long, I wasn't sure, if it is only my problem (still don't know) or just no one cared or whatever. So I thought, I just ask here again..
I asked you a question in the tracker...Could you reply please ?

with my Firewall (Panda Internet Security) activated, I don't manage to open meGUI, whatever I do.
be sure to have all folders in the right place (allprofiles, etc...) containing some files at least...

I'd like to use a stronger DRC when decoding ac3 audio to encode it to mp3 with megui. Lets say like the "heavy" setting when decoding ac3 with azid.

Can I configure DRC in ac3filter an megui uses these? Or will my settings be ignored?
yes, you can do that but ensure you to uncheck "Increase Volume Automatically".

[Sharktooth]

@Logic: use a decent firewall, like ZoneAlarm (the free edition is way better than Panda) and authorize megui to access the internet and download updates.

@JarettH: that's pretty normal, transcoiding is a lossy process. If you want more sharpness try lowering the deblocking settings to something like -2,-1 or -3,-1...
the latest colormatrix wont change the results. Just ensure the renderer is using PC Levels (0-255) and not TV Levels (16-235) since nvidia drivers are buggy.]
a fix for that is in the latest beta drivers 177.7x (set PC Levels in the driver options) but beware since there seems to be some problems with HDMI output with them.

[Avenger007]

If you want more sharpness try lowering the deblocking settings to something like -2,-1 or -3,-1...

Is that really valid? :rolleyes:
From my experience there is no sharpness to be gained by lowering deblocking strength, only visible edge blocks and reduced quality. However, lowering deblocking threshold seems to give improvement in details sometimes.

[check]

From my experience there is no sharpness to be gained by lowering deblocking strength, only visible edge blocks and reduced quality.A lot of people imagine that this is one and the same, so it's always worth suggesting ;).

I'm curious as to what exactly "less saturated" means though. Changing deblocking is obviously very incorrect if the reference here is to a change in colour saturation.

[Sharktooth]

he said "washed out"... and however deblocking over 0,0 is usually recommended only for toons/anime and some kind of CG.
i found my personal preference for regular movies to be -1,-1 or -2,1.

[rack04]

Trying to encode 1920x1080 and I get a warning about non mod16. Is is ok to proceed? I'm trying to convert this file using the Standalone Blue-ray profile. Thanks.

[MachThree]

Lately, I have been having a problem with MeGUI-encoded videos where the audio and video progressively become out of sync. I do not know what is causing this, because it had worked up until about a week ago. I have not installed any new programs that would conflict with the program, which is fully updated.

Basically, I use AnyDVD and DVD Shrink or DVD Decrypter to decrypt a DVD and rip it to my hard drive as a .VOB file, which is perfectly fine all the way through. I then use MeGUI's built-in D2V and AviSynth script creators, before encoding the video with x264 using the Xbox 360 profile and the audio at 128 kbps with Nero 2-CH AAC-LC. I then mux the .264 and .M4A streams together at the correct 23.976 FPS setting.

I'm clueless as to why it has recently began to occur. I'm using Windows Vista Home Premium x64, but I was able to rip and convert another movie without a problem on the same exact setup and profiles before this started...

Anyway, if anyone has any idea why this is happening, please let me know. Thanks!

[check]

@rack04: yes, but compatibility with your SAP is dependant upon the SAP in question. Use trial & error here.

@mach: if you seek to a random point in the movie does the av sync appear normal and slowly go out? Or is it out by a slowly increasing amount from the start to the end?

[Sharktooth]

@MachThree, rip your dvd with a decent software (DVD Fab HD Decrypter) which supports the latest protections.
AnyDVD used to be good but lately they focused on BLu-Rays...

[LOGiC]

@all,

as I was experimenting with 2-pass encoding heavily last days and found the for my personal use best settings, I would like to go for CRF-encoding as I think the quality could be better there.

I don't care about the filesize in the end, but I have one question which I don't know is solveable. In the end, the reencoded x264 will go into a AVCHD-structure and this one has a max bitrate of 18mbps for everything. Due to the fact that I use just 448-640kb 5.1 audio files AC3 or 768 DTS, I could go to 16 or a bit more for the pure videobitrate. I once tested a higher bitrate in my standalone player, but it stuttered heavily. If I go for constant rate factor, is there any chance to tell him to stay below a certain bitrate ? I think this is contrary to CRF, but in other case CRF will be useless for me I think. Or do you guys think it could be worth doing some testing with highbitrated scenes ?

I will test with some presets if you think it is worth it.

Thanks,

Andy.

[Sharktooth]

if you're going for AVC-HD encodes set the VBV params and use 2passes to fill the DVD. That way you get the maximum quality since therewill be no wasted space and VBV vompliancy.
have a look at the new MeGUI presets. If you dont use MeGUI, dont worry, you can still open the .xml files in a text editor and extrapolatethe CLI settings.

[LOGiC]

@Shark,

I love to use meGUI and I will keep using it. I've filled in everything, but when you wrote that normally CRF is better than multipass, I thought I could give it a try. I don't care if the resulting file is 10gigs or 20gigs, but just as said, there could be problems with the high bitrate. I don't know how CRF exactly works or what it does, if a scene has i.e. 35mbps. It would have that bitrate in the re-encode as well, or can you explain the functionality of CRF in general ? I think I will stick with 2pass in this case. I am trying to get some information about max. ref.frames and bframes at AVCHD, this will be hard to answer or hard to find out.

[Sharktooth]

Im not sure CRF will obey the VBV, ask the x264 devs. However AVC-HD has 24mbps limits in geneal and 18mbps limit on DVD.
for other settings look at the megui presets. AVC-hd is already included.

[toytown]

x264 does not use 560MB of memory. Most of that is Avisynth. Add SetMemoryMax() to your script to limit it. x264 itself does not use much memory in normal situations.

Yep my mistake, in my hurry i wrote it down wrong as i was still looking at the process monitor screen with x264.exe in, what i meant to write was the whole encoding process, x264/avisynth/filters etc for the video.

i hate fanboys... let him believe in his stupidity.if he knows it all why he comes here asking for help?i wonder why i still check this thread. i shuould not give support for free for an OS app. expecially for ppl like him.
if it doent work the sources are availabe... get them and fix it, if you're able. when you will see the problem is not the app but vista, then you might open your eyes.

No offence, but not once have i been a fanboy, i use Vista, i like it, but i dont go on forums saying everybody should upgrade or anything, i also didnt do anything except defend the absurd amount of memory you claimed was needed just to run the OS without pushing it hard. However when i see posts which are full of misinformation regarding it, i do like to correct them people, so that others are not misguided. Its not stupidity at all.

In one of your earlier posts you said that "4GB was needed but dont work the machine to hard" (or something like that), what i posted was showing that the whole encoding process on a vista build was using approx 1.2GB of ram (without setting the memory cap on avisynth). I did this so other users on the forum, wouldnt think that they needed an upgrade or 4GB before they could do an encode, which is what you seemed to be implying.

However you decide to attack me and call me a fanboy even though there is enough evidence in other posts on this and many other forums to prove you wrong on the 4GB claim. In making posts like that you look like a hypocrite and actually look like the fanboy yourself.

[Sharktooth]

even microsoft does recommend the business customers to skip Vista in favour of the next Windows 7.
Vista is plagued by app compatibility and memory/CPU hogging coz it's bloated.
why microsoft dosnt make the same reccomendations to private users? it has to sell vista and privates usullally do not sue M$.
my posts are not full of misinformation, i work with computers and i've seen several installations of Vista. It's utter crap, fat, slow (readyboost? dont make me laugh), memory and CPU hungry (expecially the ultimate edition, expecially on 64bits), the UI is more complex than XP's UI (more clicks to do the same operations), filled with restrictions (starting from the UAC that's for the user, not for the apps, WMP11 with nasty DRM, etc.) and impossible to use on older than 1 or 2 years PCs.
now you're turning back, you cant hide what you said. 2GB is not enough for serious video encoding on vista but they are enough on XP. what makes you think? Vista is seriously flawed and bloated. more ram wont fix it. the problems lie in the code.
i look at the facts not at bells and wishtles.
that said, i DO NOT recommend using Vista for anything (except using the disc like a freesby, for training), expecially for encoding. Stick with XP and everything will work faster and with less problems.

[MachThree]

@MachThree, rip your dvd with a decent software (DVD Fab HD Decrypter) which supports the latest protections.
AnyDVD used to be good but lately they focused on BLu-Rays...

I used AnyDVD and DVD Shrink before this problem began to occur, though. They couldn't be the problem.

[Sharktooth]

then you did something wrong in your encoding steps
however, to be sure, always rip your dvds with dvd fab (decrypter is free) and keep it always up to date.
be sure to remove any space or special char it may write into files/folders names

[LOGiC]

@Shark

I am just doing some tests. I taken a sample with a high bitrate and filled the buffer. The CRF encoding will be done within the next hour. After that I can see if buffer has been obeyed or not. I guess it was the easiest way to find out. Let's see :-)

[Sharktooth]

ok, let's see. theoretically it should respect it. but im not so sure.

[Dark Shikari]

2-pass is recommended with VBV whenever possible; x264 does a much better job of obeying VBV in the second pass than the first, due to Gabriel's 2pass VBV code.

[Sharktooth]

ok, now you know. use 2 passes.

[LOGiC]

Thank you guys, I will stay at 2pass :-)

[MachThree]

then you did something wrong in your encoding steps
however, to be sure, always rip your dvds with dvd fab (decrypter is free) and keep it always up to date.
be sure to remove any space or special char it may write into files/folders names

You wouldn't know of a setting in MeGUI that could throw the sync off, would you?

[Sharktooth]

yes, there's an audio delay option but that will fix constant delay only.
as a general rule, if you get weird delays than that's cause the DVD was ripped badly.

[Carraway]

BUG REPORT: This is in the "Automatic Encoding" screen, and is typically only reproducable with short clips and large bitrates.

If you select "Average Bitrate" and type in your bitrate, the filesize it selects will round down to the nearest integer.

Example: a 48 second clip at 1000 kb/s should be 5.8 MB. This is what it displays in the "Video Size" box, but in fact when it encodes it's pulling the desired file size from the box above that ("File Size"), which is where the rounding occurs.

FIX: Please make sure that when encoding by bitrate it pulls the target filesize from the "Video Size" box and NOT the "File Size" box.

ALSO: MeGUI is fantastic.

[JarrettH]

I like to run DGIndex separately so I know it's done right. Pay careful attention to what VOBs you choose. I've had instances where sync can be off because of this (Unforgiven and There Will Be Blood). Make sure what's loaded in DGIndex doesn't start with the title menu or any other weirdness...just the main movie beginning to end.

[check]

@carraway: there is a bug tracker for bug reports

@jarrettH: to avoid this, rip the movies in IFO mode, that way you will only get the main movie sequence in the VOBs and no chance of a screwup

[Sharktooth]

@carraway: http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=798476&group_id=156112&func=browse

[qpsl]

Avs file did not support unicode file name encode.

[Kurtnoise]

Is that what you mean ? (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=131876&highlight=avisynth+unicode)

[Sharktooth]

this is not a bug report thread.
report bugs in the bugtracker, also this is not related to megui, but to tools used by megui.
dont use unicode or speces or special chars in filename and you wont have any problems.

[fleon]

I'm pretty sure this is a bug and if it is not then is a problem with the psp profile, I have an mkv file 720*576(4/3) wich have according to mediainfo 1705 Kbps (1801 Kbps) of the video stream now I have tried to convert it to psp but everytime I do it the video ends in 1063 Kbps or something with 1000 then (the bitrate I choice).

For example if I choose to convert it to 1500 Kbps because I am downscaling it to 480*272, the video ends in 1045 Kbps (1500 Kbps) wich makes the video to look bad and very pixelated in some scenes.

I have looked into mediainfo and the problem is to be more exactly that megui encodes everything in 1000 Kbps bitrate and the nominal bitrate is the only one that changes, I have never had this problem with other file types

So can someone please help me out with this

[check]

fleon: you have to set the desired bitrate yourself. If you don't set it, MeGUI will use the default of 1000kbits.

[Sharktooth]

this is not a megui bug neither a problem with the preset.
you just need to :readguid:

[Carpo]

in megui how would i know which comp check to run? Other question is what are the main differences between the new profiles for xvid? i have just updated to V3 and notice there are a few new options

[fleon]

I'm pretty sure this is a bug and if it is not then is a problem with the psp profile, I have an mkv file 720*576(4/3) wich have according to mediainfo 1705 Kbps (1801 Kbps) of the video stream now I have tried to convert it to psp but everytime I do it the video ends in 1063 Kbps or something with 1000 then (the bitrate I choice).

For example if I choose to convert it to 1500 Kbps because I am downscaling it to 480*272, the video ends in 1045 Kbps (1500 Kbps) wich makes the video to look bad and very pixelated in some scenes.

I have looked into mediainfo and the problem is to be more exactly that megui encodes everything in 1000 Kbps bitrate and the nominal bitrate is the only one that changes, I have never had this problem with other file types

So can someone please help me out with this


fleon: you have to set the desired bitrate yourself. If you don't set it, MeGUI will use the default of 1000kbits.
I know that, I used the bitrate calculator to set the bitrate and what I said happened, also I checked the profile to see if the bitrate changed and it did, so there is a problem with megui

[poisondeathray]

Hi fleon, I just tested the psp profile with different bitrates - worked fine for me when I manually entered the bitrate

I'm using 0.3.0.1020, with the beta profiles from Sharktooth (I think it's v0.58)

[Carpo]

[Information] Final statistics
-[NoImage] Video Bitrate Desired: 1951 kbit/s
-[NoImage] Video Bitrate Obtained (approximate): 3551 kbit/s

can anyone explain why that happened ? i mean i know it can be + or - a few kbits but i think thats a bit much

[fleon]

I'm pretty sure this is a bug and if it is not then is a problem with the psp profile, I have an mkv file 720*576(4/3) wich have according to mediainfo 1705 Kbps (1801 Kbps) of the video stream now I have tried to convert it to psp but everytime I do it the video ends in 1063 Kbps or something with 1000 then (the bitrate I choice).

For example if I choose to convert it to 1500 Kbps because I am downscaling it to 480*272, the video ends in 1045 Kbps (1500 Kbps) wich makes the video to look bad and very pixelated in some scenes.

I have looked into mediainfo and the problem is to be more exactly that megui encodes everything in 1000 Kbps bitrate and the nominal bitrate is the only one that changes, I have never had this problem with other file types

So can someone please help me out with this


fleon: you have to set the desired bitrate yourself. If you don't set it, MeGUI will use the default of 1000kbits.
I know that, I used the bitrate calculator to set the bitrate and what I said happened, also I checked the profile to see if the bitrate changed and it did, so there is a problem with megui
Hi fleon, I just tested the psp profile with different bitrates - worked fine for me when I manually entered the bitrate

I'm using 0.3.0.1020, with the beta profiles from Sharktooth (I think it's v0.58)
did you tested it with an mkv file? because with the other file types it works, the problem is with an mkv file that doesnt tell the encoder the right bitrate it just changes the nominal bitrate wich doesnt seems to matter too much because the image is blurry and pixalated in some scenes

[poisondeathray]

did you tested it with an mkv file? because with the other file types it works, the problem is with an mkv file that doesnt tell the encoder the right bitrate it just changes the nominal bitrate wich doesnt seems to matter too much because the image is blurry and pixalated in some scenes

I just tried on a small .mkv sample clip. It works fine. I entered 1500kbps, it worked out to be 1495kbps... close enough

I didn't use bitrate calculator or auto encode. I manually entered 1500kbps

Maybe try deleting your profiles, and re-installing them?

I'm using all the newest updates for the beta branch, and x264 r928

[tebasuna51]

@fleon
The bitrate equivalent to the 1705 (720*576) for 480*272 is:

(1705 / (720 x 576)) x 480 x 272 = 537 kb/s

Maybe the encoder don't need the full 1500 kb/s.

For a 480*272 a bitrate of 1045 is more than enough.
I can't believe: "the video to look bad and very pixelated in some scenes"

[Sharktooth]

fleon that is not a bug. the bitrate calc no longer sets the bitrate (maybe you shoulr read the changelog!) it only calcs it.
use autoencode or SET THE BITRATE in the profile.

[rack04]

What does DAP stand for in the Lame preset? Also, is there somewhere that explains these new audio presets?

[Sharktooth]

Digital Audio Player: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Digital+Audio+Player

[fib0by]

I'm using Sharktooth's AVC-HD preset (2 pass Turbo) and there's something confusing about Megui: I'm looking at the Log window and the x264 parameters displayed there for the 2nd pass do not seem to match the XML profile.
I hover the mouse over the Job commandline in that window and a yellow rectangle pops up showing a different list of parameters - this one seems closer to the AVC-HD preset.

OK, I just verified - it's the same for the 1st pass parameters.

This is confusing. Why does Megui display something in the Log window, and something else in the yellow pop-up? The stuff displayed in the Log window seems shorter. There are more parameters for x264 in the yellow pop-up than in the Log window.

It would be nice if Megui would be consistent with the things that are displayed. Also, it would be nice if it created a text file log with all that stuff.

[ditche]

Hi, regarding the audio profiles, in the future, is it possible to choose the increase volume ? Currently it's automatic, but sometimes it's not enough for me. :D

http://users.skynet.be/bk314761/smileys/158.png

[Sharktooth]

yes, post a feature request in the megui feature request tracker on sourceforge.

@flb0by: MeGUI normally copies the 2nd pass settings for the first pass. if you select Turbo, it tunes down the settings to have a fast first pass.
however the log is a bit messy. what really matters is what is saved in the log file.