BENCOS - Windows and Linux batch encoder GUI

[Sirber]

More like C++ :D
Isn't that older than VB6? ;)

[Eretria-chan]

You speak of the past. It has received revisions, with the newest one just around the corner.
Besides, it works just fine and great on Windows 7 ;)

[Atak_Snajpera]

Delphi 7 and later versions are a pain to use on W7 (or vista) because they are too old.
not true! I have been using delphi 7 on Windows 7 without any problems! Good advice. Do not install delphi in protected folders (Program Files) instead use Roaming folder.

[Eretria-chan]

Is that related to UAC? If so, then turn it off? I always do.

[DarkZell666]

More like C++ :D


And I applaud you for that. Another devil language me thinks :D

lol, being a Java/J2EE coder myself after having done some .NET for a while, I wouldn't say that. It's just as flexible and readable as .NET or Delphi or any object-orientated language for that matter. Java uses a VM, .NET uses assemblies, but it's the same result : you install xxx Mb of runtime stuff and use N APIs that saves you ZZ days of coding. Unmaintainable code and poor performance is most likely a PEBCAK issue, and isn't related to the platform itself.

One exception to this is the garbage collector, which I don't like. It saves ZZZ hours coding all the "free(<insert_object_here>)" lines in the right places (which doesn't exist at all in java), but tends to hide the memory allocation problems to novice developers.

[Eretria-chan]

Ah, but I am not discussing the library and wealth of functionality available for you. The only thing about it that I do not like is that it is too slow. Other than that, it is great.
However, I am discussing the language itself. This is where the dislike for any dotNet and Java comes in. What do they all have in common? They are slow as heck. Plus they are sort of languages that tries to baby-sit you, which I do not like.

[DarkZell666]

Ah, but I am not discussing the library and wealth of functionality available for you. The only thing about it that I do not like is that it is too slow. Other than that, it is great.
However, I am discussing the language itself. This is where the dislike for any dotNet and Java comes in. What do they all have in common? They are slow as heck. Plus they are sort of languages that tries to baby-sit you, which I do not like.

You don't need millisecond reactivity for a UI or simple business apps, which makes Java or .NET perfectly useable candidates for those tasks. However, if by slow as heck you mean "unusable for writing a h.264 encoder that actually takes less than a day to encode 10 frames" then yeah, you're probably right ;)

[Eretria-chan]

Keep in mind that this is subjective, but almost all dotNet apps I see are slow.
Slow to start.
Even slow when you push a button.
I do most certainly not approve.
So well... yes, it is subjective, as I have said, but I have no love for such languages. They are always slow in my opinion, whatever they do.

[Sirber]

Keep in mind that this is subjective, but almost all dotNet apps I see are slow.
Slow to start.
Even slow when you push a button.
I do most certainly not approve.
So well... yes, it is subjective, as I have said, but I have no love for such languages. They are always slow in my opinion, whatever they do.

So far RealAnime 7 (.NET 3.5, x64) starts in less than 2 sec and runs realtime, but yet is does nothing except some small UI functions :).

[PatlaborForce]

More like C++ :D

Oh, you mean the language that something bloated and slow like OOo is written in? Secondly, it's funny that people now going on and on about how C++ is so awesome and fast and sleek and yet in the early 90s the same criticisms lodged against Java and now .NET were also lodged against C++. It was so slow, so bloated, etc etc.

Keep in mind that this is subjective, but almost all dotNet apps I see are slow.
Slow to start.
Even slow when you push a button.
I do most certainly not approve.

Then someone did something majorly wrong when writing it. Any of the .NET apps we have written where I work or the ones I've written myself have never had this issue.

So well... yes, it is subjective, as I have said, but I have no love for such languages. They are always slow in my opinion, whatever they do.

It's called observer bias (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_bias). Your mind has already decided that the .NET app is slow so no matter what the actual speed is, you always see it as slow.

[Eretria-chan]

So far RealAnime 7 (.NET 3.5, x64) starts in less than 2 sec and runs realtime, but yet is does nothing except some small UI functions :).
Ah, good news, so far. Let us hope it stays that way when it is functional.

Oh, you mean the language that something bloated and slow like OOo is written in?
Slow? Hardly. You need really good proof to back that point up.
Bloated? I do not think so. Most of the language features exist for a reason. Is there a lot of stuff? Yes. Do they have a use? Yes. So you tell me. Is it bloated? I like to see it as it has a lot of features for different purposes. Hardly bloated.

It's called observer bias (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_bias). Your mind has already decided that the .NET app is slow so no matter what the actual speed is, you always see it as slow.
I have both programmed in dotNet and used a-many dotNet apps, so you can hardly say I am not fit to judge due to no experience.

[PatlaborForce]

Slow? Hardly. You need really good proof to back that point up.

Yep, it's both slower on cold start and warm start then almost every version of office. If you want benchmarks see here (http://www.oooninja.com/2008/07/benchmarking-microsoft-word-95-2007.html) for Office startup times and here (http://www.oooninja.com/2009/03/multiplatform-benchmark-30.html) for OOo startup times. It is also notorious for being slower to open files then Office. In fact for either 3.0 or 3.1 one of the major bugs related to opening files was fixed.

Bloated? I do not think so.

So that's why it's bigger than my Office 2003 install? Because it's not bloated?

Most of the language features exist for a reason. Is there a lot of stuff? Yes. Do they have a use? Yes. So you tell me. Is it bloated? I like to see it as it has a lot of features for different purposes. Hardly bloated.

Considering that Office has more features and has a smaller install size then my current OOo 3.1 install I'd say yes it is bloated.

[PatlaborForce]

I have both programmed in dotNet and used a-many dotNet apps, so you can hardly say I am not fit to judge due to no experience.

No, but your opinion is tainted by a clear bias. If your .NET apps are lagging just by hitting a button then you are doing something clearly wrong.

[Eretria-chan]

Seriously, you are comparing Office to dotNet? What kind of comparison is that?!
Office is bloated. Pretty much all of Microsoft's applications are.
Seriously. You need to compare the languages directly, not via some applications.

And if dotNet is truly faster than C++, then I dare you to write x264 in it.
But perhaps we should stop for a moment. I would love to argue with your further, but as not to pollute the thread, I would stop until it gets split or simply start a new topic.

[PatlaborForce]

Seriously, you are comparing Office to dotNet? What kind of comparison is that?!

No, I was comparing Office to that bloated, slow pig OOo.

Office is bloated. Pretty much all of Microsoft's applications are.

And OOo is even more bloated!

Seriously. You need to compare the languages directly, not via some applications.

I wasn't doing any sort of language comparison. You claimed OOo wasn't slow and yet I provided benchmarks that show on startup times and load document times it is slower than any version of Office dating back to at least Word 95.

And if dotNet is truly faster than C++, then I dare you to write x264 in it.

Never made that claim. So I don't need or want to do such a thing. On the other hand, the speed difference between a .NET GUI and something written say in MFC is going to be marginally different to the point that it's imperceptable. If you're seeing huge lags in a .NET GUI then someone is doing it wrong.

[Eretria-chan]

I will not argue with you further until such time that this is split from this topic, or if this does not happen, then never.

[Sirber]

yeah back on topic guys :)

[Sirber]

Great news everybody! I successfully compiled a version that runs on Vista and Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit). Expect a release in 48h. Still have some cleaning to do and external binaries to update. :D

[edit]

I cannot test this since I'm at work, but here's a test build: [broken, removed]

[Sirber]

erm... I get some kind of errors..

C:\Program Files (x86)\Bencos\mencoder.exe "**********************.avi"
-mc 0 -of rawvideo -ovc x264 -oac pcm -o C:\Users\sirber\AppData\Local\Temp/bencos/video.264 -x264encopts
deblock=1,1:bframes=5:frameref=5:threads=auto:b_pyramid:nofast_pskip:nopsnr:bitrate=268:pass=1:turbo=2 -vf harddup

MEncoder Sherpya-SVN-r30075-4.2.5 (C) 2000-2009 MPlayer Team
Option x264encopts: Bad argument b_pyramid=(null)
success: format: 0 data: 0x0 - 0xaa00000
AVI file format detected.
AVI: ODML: Building ODML index (2 superindexchunks).
VIDEO: [H264] 848x480 24bpp 29.970 fps 820.0 kbps (100.1 kbyte/s)
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [mp3lib] MPEG layer-2, layer-3
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 128.0 kbit/8.33% (ratio: 16000->192000)
Selected audio codec: [mp3] afm: mp3lib (mp3lib MPEG layer-2, layer-3)
==========================================================================
Opening video filter: [expand osd=1]
Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1, osd: 1, aspect: 0.000000, round: 1
Opening video filter: [harddup]
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family
Unsupported PixelFormat -1
Selected video codec: [ffh264] vfm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg H.264)
==========================================================================
Movie-Aspect is 1.77:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
FATAL: Cannot initialize video driver.

Exiting...

[edit]

b_pyramid
b_pyramid has changed in recent x264 versions and it now accepts
options so you can choose between b_pyramid=none, b_pyramid=strict and
b_pyramid=normal

gonan fix that...

Cannot initialize video driver

anyone has an idea?

[Sirber]

fixed the "b_pyramid=normal", works now. gonnna post a new build later tonight!

[edit]

Option x264encopts: Unknown suboption bime
Option x264encopts: Unknown suboption brdo

:(

[Eretria-chan]

Sweet and not so sweet :)
But I know you'll fix it at some point in time :p I have faith in you.

[Sirber]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1357514#post1357514

settings are fixed. I'm gonna make a successful encode before posting anything new :P
so far so good... 60 FPS at first pass, 9fps at second pass on my old AMD64 3800+ X2. :)

[Sirber]

looks good! :D
gonna make a NSIS tomorrow :)

[Sirber]

the whole process works fine. download link on first post! :)

[edit]

added x86 build and sources

[Eretria-chan]

So... considered adding options for compressing HD anime videos? They are getting pretty common, after all.
And another thought - why are you putting the installer inside a 7z archive when the compression gained is negligible?

[Sirber]

So... considered adding options for compressing HD anime videos? They are getting pretty common, after all.

I considered it for RealAnime 7, but I can update the UI of Bencos for it too. I read too that there are "settings presets" builtin in x264, I might switch for them too. For HD stuff I might just add 100kbps. I'm open to settings suggestions too :)

And another thought - why are you putting the installer inside a 7z archive when the compression gained is negligible?

Google Sites don't allow .exe uploads :(

[Sirber]

Todo:

* Test DVD input (or remove it, if it doesn't work) (Sharktooth old code)
* Add HD settings
* Revalidate x264 settings (use x264 builtin presets and source type?)
* Simplify settings selection (UI)
* Smoother SysTray events, if possible
* Tooltip on settings and options
* Use NeroEnc instead of old enhAacPlusEnc (2007)
* Bitrate Calculator

Done:
* Remove from the UI unworking elements (aka subtitles)
* Make Linux build

any ideas / comments?

[Eretria-chan]

Maybe some more tooltips on settings or a guide? What does PP and Fix Levels do?
I assume Frame is deinterlacing?

Also, though I don't have anything to encode right now, I will definitely have in the future, and when I do, having the ability to change fps would be handy.
I honestly don't know much about the settings. I would go with whatever MeGUI / Sharktooth uses, since that's usually optimal settings.
Is preview possible too?

Otherwise, the program starts quickly, looks okay. Good job I think.

[Sirber]

Maybe some more tooltips on settings or a guide? What does PP and Fix Levels do?
I assume Frame is deinterlacing?

Great idea! I'll relook at the documentation and add tooltips.

having the ability to change fps would be handy.

convert or force?

I honestly don't know much about the settings. I would go with whatever MeGUI / Sharktooth uses, since that's usually optimal settings.

ok

Is preview possible too?

like settings on a small cut of the source?

Otherwise, the program starts quickly, looks okay. Good job I think.

:)

[Eretria-chan]

convert or force?
Convert, I think. I have some captured movies which looks totally smooth at around 10 fps, so by changing the fps to 10 without destroying the actual capture contents or animation, I can lower the bitrate substantially. So that's what I'm after... yeah.
I don't know which of those it is exactly, but I know there's an option in the megui's avisynth creator that I always use to get perfect results :p

like settings on a small cut of the source?
Perhaps there are two previews? One live preview with all the filters and stuff, and one preview where it encodes a small portion of the file and then plays it?
I think both could be useful.

[nakTT]

sure. It doesn't have the delay problem RA4 and bellow had.
Be sure to set the right FPS in the Settings tab.
Forgive me for asking this. I have yet to use this software but i really like to know whether or not I can use nero aac with this software? And how do I install it on linux e.g: Ubuntu or Mint.

:thanks:

[Sirber]

but i really like to know whether or not I can use nero aac with this software?

It currently uses :
Enhanced aacPlus 3GPP Floating Point Reference Encoder

Source timestamp Wed Jan 3 10:01:12 2007
Build Jan 3 2007, 10:01:18

wici is old indeed. Next build will have nero acc (latest).

And how do I install it on linux e.g: Ubuntu or Mint.

Currently there is no Linux build. It is possible to compile it using Lazarus (linux version) then set the correct path to the different encoders. I don't have linux currently installed, but I'll add this to the todo list.

[nakTT]

wici is old indeed. Next build will have nero acc (latest).
Very glad to hear that. And thanks for your fast reply.

Currently there is no Linux build. It is possible to compile it using Lazarus (linux version) then set the correct path to the different encoders. I don't have linux currently installed, but I'll add this to the todo list.
Looking forward to try the linux version to see if the speed increase for x264 (plus nero for audio) encoding for my video worth the migration to linux (from Vista Business 64bit).

:thanks:

[Sirber]

Looking forward to try the linux version to see if the speed increase for x264 (plus nero for audio) encoding for my video worth the migration to linux (from Vista Business 64bit).

Does nero encoder works under linux?
All you need is mencoder, mplayer, neroenc, mp4box and faac.

[nakTT]

Does nero encoder works under linux?
All you need is mencoder, mplayer, neroenc, mp4box and faac.
Forgive me for my english. What I meant is "neroAacEnc.exe". Can it be somehow made working on linux too? Or "neroenc" is the same thing as "neroAacEnc.exe"? Thanks.

:thanks:

[Sirber]

Forgive me for my english. What I meant is "neroAacEnc.exe". Can it be somehow made working on linux too? Or "neroenc" is the same thing as "neroAacEnc.exe"? Thanks.

Sorry I didn't have the right filename (I'm at work), yeah it's the same "neroAacEnc.exe".

[nurbs]

Does nero encoder works under linux?
Yes, they distribute linux and windows versions of their encoder and other tools in the same zip file.

[Sirber]

Yes, they distribute linux and windows versions of their encoder and other tools in the same zip file.

Excellent! I'll modify the code to be able to use encoders outside the path of bencos.exe so it can work better on linux... or poeple can "ln -s" the required software inside bencos's folder.

bencos also need mkvmerge :)

[Sirber]

anyone would be interrested in Theora/Vorbis support?

[nakTT]

That would be good to have.

:thanks:

[ckmox]

hi i got audio problems
this is the source file im trying to encode with the new bencos (2009-12-29)
http://ifile.it/vj8kfw1

if i set the audio codec to AAC LC it will finish the encode until muxing but no sound at all when i play it the audio bitrate i choose is 64 kbps
here is the log for it


C:\Program Files\Bencos\mkv\mkvmerge.exe "C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/tempout.mp4" -o "c:\[Mendoi-Conclave]_Mobile_Suit_Gundam_00_S2_-_Trailer_2_[F0AA976D].mkv"

mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:43
'C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/tempout.mp4': Using the Quicktime/MP4 demultiplexer.
Track 1 of 'C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/tempout.mp4': Extracted the aspect ratio information from the MPEG-4 layer 10 (AVC) video data and set the display dimensions to 597/336.
'C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/tempout.mp4' track 1: Using the MPEG-4 part 10 (AVC) video output module.
'C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/tempout.mp4' track 2: Using the AAC output module.
The file 'c:\[Mendoi-Conclave]_Mobile_Suit_Gundam_00_S2_-_Trailer_2_[F0AA976D].mkv' has been opened for writing.
progress: 0%
progress: 100%

The cue entries (the index) are being written...
Muxing took 0 seconds.


but if i set it to AAC HE or AAC HE+PS it will say "Writing of 3GPP file failed." the audio bitrate i choose is 32 kbps
and here is the log

C:\Program Files\Bencos\enhAacPlusEnc.exe "C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/audio.wav" "C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/audio.mp4" --cbr 48000 --disable-ps


*************************************************************
* Enhanced aacPlus 3GPP Floating Point Reference Encoder
*
* Source timestamp Wed Jan 3 10:01:12 2007
* Build Jan 3 2007, 10:01:18
*************************************************************

input file C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/audio.wav:
sr = 48000, nc = 2

output file C:\DOCUME~1\ios\LOCALS~1\Temp/bencos/audio.mp4:
br = 48000 sr-OUT = 48000 nc-OUT = 2


Writing of 3GPP file failed.


and can you set the Psy RDO to 0.4 but not 0 because value 1.0 outputs a little grainy video quality imo the value 0.4 i think is enough for removing blocks and gives a little sharp picture

and yeah i hope to see vorbis support for audio too that will be great with lowest value setting of 40 kbps if possible

and thanks for reviving BENCOS its a great tool more power to you

[Eretria-chan]

So, what are your plans for BENCOS? What are you aiming for it to be?
An all-in-one purpose tool for batch encoding?
A simple batch encoding tool?

I was wondering if you are aiming to replace MeGUI, and whether I should use BENCOS for all my encoding needs, or just for the simpler ones.

[nakTT]

So, what are your plans for BENCOS? What are you aiming for it to be?
An all-in-one purpose tool for batch encoding?
A simple batch encoding tool?

I was wondering if you are aiming to replace MeGUI, and whether I should use BENCOS for all my encoding needs, or just for the simpler ones.
IMHO it would be great if BENCOS provide extensive x264 option on GUI (like MeGUI) because as of now AFAIK there are no MeGUI for Linux. So it would be great if BENCOS can become some kind of MeGUI for Linux.

:thanks:

[Sirber]

hi i got audio problems
this is the source file im trying to encode with the new bencos (2009-12-29)

"c:\[Mendoi-Conclave]_Mobile_Suit_Gundam_00_S2_-_Trailer_2_[F0AA976D].mkv"

I got similar problems with MKV and AAC. mplayer doesn't extract the audio, so the audio encoder fails (error #-1 with HE-AAC).

most probably a mplayer error :(

So, what are your plans for BENCOS? What are you aiming for it to be?
An all-in-one purpose tool for batch encoding?
A simple batch encoding tool?

I was wondering if you are aiming to replace MeGUI, and whether I should use BENCOS for all my encoding needs, or just for the simpler ones.

I'm aiming for a simple recoding tool, not a DVD solution. There's already many excellent tool for DVD recoding.

[Eretria-chan]

Hmm. Then how about lossless encoding? Always a useful tool when editing video.
An option whether or not to encode video/audio might also be useful.

[Sirber]

Hmm. Then how about lossless encoding? Always a useful tool when editing video.
An option whether or not to encode video/audio might also be useful.

why not edit the source prior encoding?

[ckmox]

I got similar problems with MKV and AAC. mplayer doesn't extract the audio, so the audio encoder fails (error #-1 with HE-AAC).

most probably a mplayer error :(


aw so can you add vorbis audio support i think mencoder vorbis will be a good replacement for AAC in times of audio encoding error occurs

:thanks:

[Eretria-chan]

why not edit the source prior encoding?

Editing is difficult with sources with B-frames, hence the need for lossless encodes before editing.
Especially if you use a front-end such as Avidemux to cut and paste video.

[Sirber]

aw so can you add vorbis audio support i think mencoder vorbis will be a good replacement for AAC in times of audio encoding error occurs

:thanks:

errors happen when audio is decoded from the source, and since there's nothing to encode, encoding fails too ;)

[Sirber]

:D :D :D :D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4254942750_7cfdf2d636_o.jpg

running in Ubuntu 9.10 (amd64) with absolutly no code change from the win32 version!