Encode HD-DVD to WMV for 360 playback?

[Inventive Software]

Yes. But you can lay the blame squarely and fairly on over-zealous studios and their paranoia with copy protection.

If it'd be simple to amalgamate all the steps into one program, it would have been done. Unfortunately, life isn't as simple as that. ;)

[jaihenwood]

There are a lot of question in this forum over a long period of time.

Could someone that is doing this well post how they are doing it?

There are a lot of conversion tools out there that work with different formats. What tools are best for Encode HD-DVD to WMV for 360 playback? calculating final size? shrinking from 1080 to 720?

step #1 - HD Dvd to hard drive - I used DVDFab HD Decrypter
step #2 - separate video and audio of evo files - EVOdemux 0.627 B7
steps #3-83 Coverting video and audio to VC1 WMV

This should help all newbies. Thanks for your reply!

[sparknburn]

How come Im only see my source as 10 secs? If I leave it alone it appears to be encoding the whole movie....

[rudster]

How come Im only see my source as 10 secs? If I leave it alone it appears to be encoding the whole movie....

I have a similar problem. I run my batch file, i get an error that says, "encoder failed to retrieve duration attribute from source plug-in." Then it says the movie's only 10 sec long and that's all it encodes.

I tried playing my video_only.avs on wmp and i get an error that says, "DirectShowSource: GRF file does not have a compatible open video pin. Graph must have 1 output pin that will bid RGB24, RGB32, ARGB, YUY2, or YV12." My GRF file goes like this: File (async)>Sonic HD Demuxer>Sonic Cinemaster DS Video Decoder. Is NE1 else having this problem? and how would I go around this and correct it? thanks.

[acribb]

I am in the middle of encoding and it is on the second pass. I went and took a peek and tried to play the video that has been created thus far in WMP and the video looked pixelated, blocky and had funky colors in spots. Is this normal and will this go away once the encode is finished? 27 hours to go....

Thanks for any input.

[acribb]

Ok, what is going on here? 37 hours and 20 minutes of encoding and I am getting pixelated, blocky video.

I have a P4 3.0ghz with 1.25gb RAM. Is this machine too slow?

Thanks for any tips.....

My command line, avs, and results -

rem Miami Vice HD-DVD
rem 190200 calculated frames in video stream 0.
cscript.exe "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Components\Encoder\wmcmd.vbs" -input "G:\WMV-HD Encoding\encoding tools\video_only.avs" -output "H:\WMV-HD Encoding\miamivice.wmv" -v_codec WVC1 -videoonly -v_mode 4 -v_preset better -v_bitrate 8750000 -v_peakbitrate 12000000 -v_peakbuffer 10000 -v_mslevel 3 -v_mmatch 0 -log "H:\WMV-HD Encoding\log.txt"



Directshowsource("G:\WMV-HD Encoding\encoding tools\video_only.grf", fps=23.976, audio=false, seekzero=false, seek=true, framecount=190200)
spline36resize(1280,720)
ConverttoYV12()
Asharp(1,3)



Microsoft (R) Windows Media Encoder Command Line Script Utility
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.


Warning: Encoder failed to retrieve duration attribute from source plug-in.
Trying alternate method now...........
Source duration retrieved: 7932.938 seconds.

======== Begin Pass1 ========
Read: 7932.8s (100%) Elapsed: 08:52:38 Left: 00:00:00 [0.25x]

======== Begin Pass2 ========
Encoded: 7932.7s (100%) Elapsed: 28:27:10 Left: 00:00:03 [0.08x]

======== Encoding Completed ========

Video :
Codec: Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile
Expected bit rate: 8750000 bps
Average bit rate: 8612348 bps
Expected fps: 23.976
Dropped frame count: 0
Total coded frames: 190200
Average sample rate: 23.975
Dropped bytes: 0 bytes
Total bytes: 8540111699 bytes

Overall:
Encoding time: 134408 seconds
Average bit rate: 8612348 bps
File size: 8561156688 bytes
File duration: 7932.929 seconds

[ACrowley]

I have a similar problem. I run my batch file, i get an error that says, "encoder failed to retrieve duration attribute from source plug-in." Then it says the movie's only 10 sec long and that's all it encodes.

I tried playing my video_only.avs on wmp and i get an error that says, "DirectShowSource: GRF file does not have a compatible open video pin. Graph must have 1 output pin that will bid RGB24, RGB32, ARGB, YUY2, or YV12." My GRF file goes like this: File (async)>Sonic HD Demuxer>Sonic Cinemaster DS Video Decoder. Is NE1 else having this problem? and how would I go around this and correct it? thanks.


1."encoder failed to retrieve duration attribute from source plug-in."
Is no Problem...you will get it always

2. You need to add ConverttoYV12() into your AVS Script when you use SonicDecoder

wmcmd.vbs told you Video is only 10sec long because it cant read the Input...ofcourse caused by your faulty AVS Script

@acripp
MAybe Decoder related...use WMVideodecoder for Playback
When you open your AVS, ist it clean ?

[Bling20]

Ok so I have some MKV HD 720 file i want to convert to WMV to play straight on to my xbox 360. I have some WMV files that i have put to a DL data DVD and they work perfect in the media section of the 360. Could someone please like give me the steps and what I need to download in order to get my MKV files to WMV and play them like I have been doing in the media section? Thanks alot

[matrix40]

Hey when i use evodemux and i use the counted fram that it give me in my script. the full movie isnt ther i have to add alot more frames to get the full movie. Am i doing something wrong or should i keep adding frames until i get the full movie?

[Beastie Boy]

Use the calculated frame figure, not the counted one.

Cheers, Beastie.

[flipside786]

Have you guys used encode360, I havent had any problems with that tool. And personally i have tried a number of ways to encode, including TMPGEnc, WME, and Zambellis script.

I have found it the easiest with encode 360. Here are the steps I use.

1) Use the latest version of eac3to to encode the video to mkv and the audio to wav. This is done in one step.

2) Mux the Audio and Video into another mkv with mkvmerge.

3) Use the new mkv into encode360 and adjust all the settings there. I use the following bitrates video:15000 audio:768 with 5.1.

I have had flawless movies created using this method with no audio delays. The latest version of eac3to fixes all the audio delays on the fly.

You can also use tmpgenc expresss at the final step. It has a handy calculator to determine the final size of your wmv. Calculator only works when you use CBR.

Hope this helps.

[bluesk1d]

Ok, what is going on here? 37 hours and 20 minutes of encoding and I am getting pixelated, blocky video.

I have a P4 3.0ghz with 1.25gb RAM. Is this machine too slow?

Thanks for any tips.....

My command line, avs, and results -



Have you figured this out? The encode time is fairly normal depending on options and resolution but I too am getting garbage when using 2 pass vbr. 1 pass cbr works fine. I came across your post here after starting this new thread so if you have any news, you should answer here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=133587

[sparknburn]

Ok so I have some MKV HD 720 file i want to convert to WMV to play straight on to my xbox 360. I have some WMV files that i have put to a DL data DVD and they work perfect in the media section of the 360. Could someone please like give me the steps and what I need to download in order to get my MKV files to WMV and play them like I have been doing in the media section? Thanks alot

1. Demux using MKVExtract.
2. Convert AC3/DTS to 2 channel LC AAC using MeGUI or converter of your choice.
3. Use h264info to set complexity of your video stream to 4.1'
4. Remux using Yamb.
5. Change file extension to .avi.

File should play if under 4GB, which can be difficult for movies but works fine for TV shows. You also lose the DD 5.1, which is why most folks may not like this method but it only take about 15 minutes to complete as opposed to a lenghty re-encode. I saw this method here or over on another forum. I'll credit where I got this information as soon as I can locate it.

[Arminator]

1."encoder failed to retrieve duration attribute from source plug-in."
Is no Problem...you will get it always

2. You need to add ConverttoYV12() into your AVS Script when you use SonicDecoder


I have the exact same problem.
I have the following Graph:

MyMovie.EVO-->Sonic HD Demuxer-->Sonic Cinemaster Video Decoder 4.3.0

If I connect the Video Mixing Renderer 9 to the Cinemasters Videodecoder Video Out Pin, I get an Active Movie Window playing my movie.
Without the Video Mixing Renderer connected, I save the graph as "mygraph.grf".
I have a AVS Script with the following content:

DirectShowSource("M:\MyPath\myGraph.grf", fps=23.976, framecount=201466, audio=false)
ConvertToYV12()


However I still get the message "DirectShowSource: GRF file does not have a compatible open video pin. Graph must have one output pin that will bid RGB24, RGB32, ARGB, YUY2 or YV12. (M:\mypath\MyScript.AVS, line 1)"

How do I get this to render in Media Player or being usable in Windows Media Encoder?

EDIT: I just rebooted to Windows XP and curiously it renders there without problems.
Wonder what filters XP uses, that Vista hasn't.

[skrowl]

1) Use the latest version of eac3to to encode the video to mkv and the audio to wav. This is done in one step.


You just went down to 2 channel audio on your first step. WMV streaming to 360 supports 5.1 audio, so I'd like to leave the existing 5.1 in place, or convert 7.1 --> 5.1.

What's the best tool for that job?

[Arminator]

You just went down to 2 channel audio on your first step. WMV streaming to 360 supports 5.1 audio, so I'd like to leave the existing 5.1 in place, or convert 7.1 --> 5.1.

What's the best tool for that job?

I used eac3to to convert the Audio to "standard" AC3, then used Besweet to split it to several mono Wavs. These can then be used in the Windows Media Encoder.

[sbcale]

1) Use the latest version of eac3to to encode the video to mkv and the audio to wav. This is done in one step.


I can't get eac3to to output to mkv. It looks like it is audio formats only?

[Meilo]

eac3to can output mono wavs too, no need to use eac3to and besweet.

[Beastie Boy]

I can't get eac3to to output to mkv. It looks like it is audio formats only?

See the first post in the eac3to thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=125966).

Cheers, Beastie.

[sbcale]

See the first post in the eac3to thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=125966).

Cheers, Beastie.

My bad, I should have looked harder.

:stupid:

p.s. I was using the eac3toGUI which did not allow me to output to .mkv. Using the commandline worked just fine.

[skrowl]

My bad, I should have looked harder.

:stupid:

p.s. I was using the eac3toGUI which did not allow me to output to .mkv. Using the commandline worked just fine.

I'm almost to where I need to be now!

Goal: Blu-Ray (and possibly some HD DVDs that I have) to WMV that can be streamed to 360 with 5.1 audio.

It looks like eac3to can do everything I need with audio (by using the -down6 flag to get 6 separate mono tracks), but I'm going to have to go through a step by converting the mkv video file it outputs to something like avi that can be read by Windows Media Encoder.

Is there a tag I'm missing in eac3to that can output the video in something usable by WME, or perhaps some other tool that can take video in an MKV container + 6 mono wavs and create a WMV?

Is there a way to use the wmcmd.vbs + an avs script or something to accomplish this?

[bluesk1d]

Yes you can use avisynth and construct a very basic avs file (that points to your mkv as the directshow source) and load that as the video source in the windows media encoder.

[skrowl]

Yes you can use avisynth and construct a very basic avs file (that points to your mkv as the directshow source) and load that as the video source in the windows media encoder.

I created the following AVS script
DirectShowSource("C:\Test.mkv")

I can load this AVS in Windows Media Player 11, Windows Media Player 6.4, and VirtualDub (with no audio since VirtualDub doesn't support 5.1 audio), but when I try to encode it using the latest wmcmd.vbs, I get the following error
Start encoder failed with error -1072886846 The requested audio codec is not installed on this system.

Here is my command line that I was trying to use:
cscript WMCmd.vbs -input "C:\Test.avs" -output "C:\Test.wmv" -a_codec WMAPRO -a_mode 3 -a_setting Q90_48_6_24 -v_codec WVC1 -v_mode 2 -v_performance 80 -v_quality 95 -v_preset best

The video will convert fine in TMPGEnc, but my trial is about to run out so I'd like a freeware solution.

[bluesk1d]

You need to disable audio if youre doing video since it can only be one or the other.

DirectShowSource(C:\Test.mkv, audio=false)

[DMagic1]

Just a question....

Does how good your video card is affect how fast your video encodes?

If you have two systems with the same specs but one has a Geforce7900 and the other is using built in video. Should the 7900 system encode much faster?

[bluesk1d]

Just a question....

Does how good your video card is affect how fast your video encodes?

If you have two systems with the same specs but one has a Geforce7900 and the other is using built in video. Should the 7900 system encode much faster?

It won't encode any faster at all. Your GPU is not a factor when encoding video. It's all CPU and memory.

[DMagic1]

It won't encode any faster at all. Your GPU is not a factor when encoding video. It's all CPU and memory.

Thanks

I guess I need to upgrade the memory on the other machine. I didnt think there would be such a big difference in times between 2gb compared to 1gb.

[nm]

There shouldn't be a difference unless other programs or filters are hogging it all. Video encoders don't need that much memory.

[placebo3681]

Hey guys. Newbie here trying this for the first time. I've tried to read every post to make sure I know what I'm doing. I am little lost with the audio right now, though. After I demux the audio from the EVO, my plan as has been suggested is to take the audio split it into 6 different mono waves and then remux later with the video. My quetion: what program do I need to use to split it? Is it transcode? Do I need to convert it to something else to use transcode or does that program support the DD+ file I just demuxed? I think I'm missing a step here and jsut wanted some guidance to get back on track. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Update: Ok, so I think I figured out that I need eac3to to decode the audio to WAV and then transcode to 6 channels (correct?). I am hving problems with eac3to and can't seem to find a solution (searched here and google). Bascially after I input the command, eac3to starts up but then says it can't read the input stream. I have Nero 7 Essentials installed. Am I missing something else?

[Beastie Boy]

In eac3to, use .wavs as the output file extension. This will split the audio into the 6 mono waves ready for input into Windows Media Encoder.
If you haven't purchased the Nero HD-DVD/Blu-Ray plugin, use the -libav switch in eac3to.

Cheers, Beastie.

[placebo3681]

In eac3to, use .wavs as the output file extension. This will split the audio into the 6 mono waves ready for input into Windows Media Encoder.
If you haven't purchased the Nero HD-DVD/Blu-Ray plugin, use the -libav switch in eac3to.

Cheers, Beastie.

Thank you very much, Beastie. Finally something worked. I used wavavimux to combine them. Now all i need to do is figure how to encode the video and the mux them together.

[d9rook]

So did any of you newbs in this thread end up figuring out how to get this to work finally? I read some of the original posts but it was like reading how to perform surgery when my medical experience and knowledge consists of playing operation.

[setarip_old]

@d9rook

Are you aware that in your zeal to solve your dilemma (for which you've already made duplicate postings), you've now posted to a thread that's been inactive for almost three years?

[d9rook]

Yes i see that, but it's the closest thing I can find to what I am asking. The reason I've made multiple postings is because people generally look at the top of a thread list and respond to those they don't browse 8 pages deep looking to help someone out. Do you know of anyone that can help me solve this? I merged with the MkVmergeGUI prog but the audio is off cue.

[DMagic1]

Easy solution...

Microsoft's Expression Encoder 4