AVStoDVD Support Thread

[manolito]

This is how I do it in DVD2SVCD with good results (for interlaced sources)


- Source load
- Color Space conversion

##Deblock interlaced##
par=getparity()
SeparateFields().PointResize(width,height)
Deblock()
AssumeFrameBased()
SeparateFields()
Merge(SelectEven(),SelectOdd())
par ? AssumeTFF() : AssumeBFF()
Weave()

- Deinterlace (My preferred same-rate deinterlacer) (or skip this line to keep it interlaced)
- Denoise/Degrain
- Crop/AddBorders
- Sharpen
- Resize
- Framerate adjust
- Tweak colors


Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

To keep it interlaced, the deinterlace step (Bob) should be done anyway: Denoise/Crop/Sharpen/Resize should not be done on interlaced frames.

Then it can be re-interlaced again (SeparateFields().SelectEvery(4,0,3 or 4,1,2).Weave()).

;)

Bye

[manolito]

Of course you're right...:)

Since I am notoriously lazy, all my AviSynth scripts use Stickboy's tools. All I have to do is set a global variable "Interlaced" to true or false. My denoising and sharpening filter script looks like this:
Interlaced==true ? JDL_UnFoldFieldsVertical(flip=true) : NOP()
# cnr2()
# degrainmedian(mode=2)
undot()
# deen()
asharp(1,4)
# MSharpen(highq=false, strength=70)
# PSharpen()
# HighPassSharpen(1,1)
# LimitedSharpenFaster()
# LSFmod()
Interlaced==true ? JDL_FoldFieldsVertical(flip=true) : NOP()

And resizing is done with JDL_InterlacedResize...



Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

Deblock interlaced sources, here we are:

LoadPlugin("DGDecode.dll")

Function DeBlock_Int(clip IS, int "quant", int "aOffset", int "bOffset", bool "mmx", bool "isse")
{
par = GetParity(IS)
SeparateFields(IS)
PointResize(width(IS),height(IS))
Deblock(quant, aOffset, bOffset, mmx, isse)
AssumeFrameBased()
SeparateFields()
Merge(SelectEven(), SelectOdd())
par ? AssumeTFF() : AssumeBFF()
Weave()

Return Last
}

;)

Bye

[wg]

Nice to see this projects still going strong MrC, I used to use AVStoDVD a lot, but recently I haven't needed to create any discs, so I need some advice.
I have a concert MKV with 20 songs on it, the MKV contains a chapter file which AVStoDVD reads perfectly(They show in the auto-chapters set-up). I want to show each track on the menu & be able to click on it for direct access to that track. Would it be possible for AVStoDVD to read the chapter file & create links on the menu? then all the user would do was enter the song title details, would something like this be possible? Look forward to input from all on this forum. Thanks in advance & seasons greetings to all.

[MrC]

Welcome back, wg, nice to hear from you again.

Unfortunately the "DVD menu from chapters" feature is still not available. See Help/FAQ/Authoring/Q6.2 for more info.

Anyway it is in the ToDo list.

;)

Bye

[manolito]

Of course I cannot speak for MrC, but I don't think that there is much hope for this feature in the near future...

The menu is created with the help of BatchMux (by Sir Didymus) which passes its commands to MuxMan. It is not a trivial task to make this menu creation work, and I believe altering the current menu creation process is probably not very high on MrC's todo list.


But there are workarounds for your needs:

As I see it you have two different options. You can either split your MKV by chapters, so you will end up with 20 separate MKV files. If you load these files into AVStoDVD you will get menu entries for all the different files. The second option is to use AVStoDVD just for the conversion without any menus. Then use a different software (I recommend DVDStyler) to create the menu.



The first option uses MKVMergeGUI. Here is a short tutorial how to use it:
http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/311097-Easiest-way-to-split-M2TS-by-chapters?p=1985776&viewfull=1#post1985776


The second option works like this:
1. Convert your MKV with AVStoDVD, as your output format select Muxed MPEG2 File.

2. For DVDStyler you need the chapters in the DVDAuthor format. Extract the chapters from the MKV using MKVExtractGUI2. Make sure to specify the OGG chapter format. Then use ChapterGen to convert the OGG chapter file into the required DVDAuthor format.

3. Fire up DVDStyler, load your MPEG2 file, copy&paste the chapters, create your menu.


The second option requires a little more effort than the first one, but with DVDStyler you have much more freedom for the menu creation compared to AVStoDVD. It really depends on your preferences which method is best for you...



Cheers
manolito


//Edit//
Oops, MrC was faster than me answering your request...
But the workarounds are still valid.

[Sparktank]

I would personally opt for the second work around using different software.
Some hardware players have slight pauses or freeze for a few seconds when switching between titles if you want them to play seemlessly from chapter to chapter.
But that's largely hardware-dependent. Newer machines shouldn't have that issue so much.

[wg]

Thanks for the welcome back MrC, & for the tutorial & advice manolito & Sparktank, still a very friendly & helpful forum.

Cheers!

[manolito]

Thanks very much MrC for the new version...:thanks:

The new Deblock_int function works very well.

And a happy New Year to you and your family...



Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

Thanks Manolito. I wish you a great 2013 too.

Just adding the change log from previous alpha:

- Added a consistency check to user defined Paths during preferences loading ('Preferences'/'Paths')
- Added Auto Crop routine in 'Title Edit'/'AviSynth'/'Crop'
- Added AviSynth library 'DeBlock_Int.avsi' (thanks to Didée and Manolito)
- Improved AviSynth Script generation routine (revision of functions calls sequence)
- NicAudio updated to 2.0.6

;)

Bye

[Sparktank]

I have a question about the ConvertToYV12() function.

Sometimes, I'll remux a Blu-Ray movie from disc and convert it down to a 480p (with Rec.709 -> Rec.601) resolution to feed to AVStoDVD.
Frameserving with FFMS2 and using VirtualDub to save as an AVI with Lagarith compression.
The "Color Depth" options in VD are both set to "4:2:0 planar YCbCr (YV12)" and I'll even throw in ConvertToYV12() in the AVS script before converting to a LAG.avi file.
Lagarith settings are: Mode=YV12, Prevent Upsampling When Decoding=Yes

Using DirectShowSource on the LAG.avi with Info() shows that it's already YV12.

But every time I load it into AVStoDVD, the autoscript will always show ConvertToYV12().
Is this normal? Or will it affect the colorimetry?
Am I doing something wrong?

I find this also happens with UtVideoCodec (YUV420 (ULY0) VCM x86) as well.

[manolito]

If the clip is already YV12, the AviSynth command ConvertToYV12() will not do anything. Luckily AviSynth is intelligent enough to detect the colorspace of the clip and just ignore commands which would convert the clip into the colorspace it already has.



Cheers
manolito

[Mr. Monte]

Mr.C,

I have a few questions. I'm using AvstoDVD in a VM on a Mac in VM Fusion. ImgBurn is able to recognize the internal SuperDrive, however AVStoDVD keeps giving me errors throughout th euse of the program (if I open up Menu Wizard..i get 2 or 3 errors). Any idea why ImgBurn can see th edrive, but AVStoDVD cannot? Is there a way to add a run without optical drive option in preferences?

Lastly, what determines what MPEG2 encoder the app will use when you select auto determine for encoder?

Thanks again

[Sparktank]

If the clip is already YV12, the AviSynth command ConvertToYV12() will not do anything. Luckily AviSynth is intelligent enough to detect the colorspace of the clip and just ignore commands which would convert the clip into the colorspace it already has.



Cheers
manolito

:goodpost: Thank you! That's wonderful news. :)

[MrC]

I'm using AvstoDVD in a VM on a Mac in VM Fusion. ImgBurn is able to recognize the internal SuperDrive, however AVStoDVD keeps giving me errors throughout th euse of the program (if I open up Menu Wizard..i get 2 or 3 errors).

What kind of errors do you get? Some screenshots may help.

Any idea why ImgBurn can see th edrive, but AVStoDVD cannot?

AVStoDVD is written in VB6, that has some quite old routines to detect burning drives. I'm not sure it is an issue that can be solved.

Is there a way to add a run without optical drive option in preferences?

You already can run AVStoDVD even if the burning drive is not detected.

Lastly, what determines what MPEG2 encoder the app will use when you select auto determine for encoder?

See Help/How to use it/Preferences/Video/Setup Video Profile

;)

Bye

[MrC]

Release 2.6.0 is available to download (https://sourceforge.net/projects/avstodvd/files/avstodvd/AVStoDVD%202.6.0/).

Change log:

- Some bugs fixed
- Added 'FFmpeg (Safe Mode)' to AC3 Audio Encoding profiles in 'Preferences'/'Audio'
- Added 'Adjust Frame Strategy' in 'Preferences'/'AviSynth'
- Added a consistency check to user defined Paths during preferences loading ('Preferences'/'Paths')
- Added 'FFmpeg (Safe Mode)' option in 'Title Edit'/'Video'/'Video Encoding Profile'
- Added Auto Crop routine in 'Title Edit'/'AviSynth'/'Crop'
- Added AviSynth deblocking filter 'Deblock' (by Manao) in 'Title Edit'/'AviSynth'
- Added AviSynth library 'DeBlock_Int.avsi' (thanks to Didée and Manolito)
- Added a time cap (2h) to AC3 audio encoding step (Wavi+Aften profile). Overrun leads to process kill and 'FFmpeg (Safe Mode)' start as backup.
- Added a framerate consistency check vs selected Video Standard to source titles during 'Add Title' routine
- Added audio ON/OFF control to 'Preview Clip' section
- Added ffdshow 1.2.4422.0 32bit to Installer package
- Added GraphStudio 0.3.2.0 beta to NoInstall and Installer packages
- Added 'Codecs' as new element in Main AVStoDVD Menu
- Added 'ffdshow Video Configuration' option from 'Codecs' (Main Menu)
- Added 'ffdshow Audio Configuration' option from 'Codecs' (Main Menu)
- Added 'Build Graph Filter' option from 'Codecs' (Main Menu)
- Moved 'AviSynth FrameServing Check' from 'Title' to 'Codecs' (Main Menu)
- Removed ImgBurn Installer from AVStoDVD Installer Package. There is still a link to ImgBurn webpage.
- Changed 'Adjust ffdshow Mixer Output at runtime' to 'Adjust ffdshow Settings at Runtime' (now including Raw Video and Raw Audio adjustments for Preview Clip section)
- Changed maximun number of jobs for batch encoding from 10 to 30
- Improved AviSynth Script generation routine (revision of functions calls sequence)
- Improved 'Quick StartUp Tutorial' section
- Improved 'Fix SRT' routine for authored subtitles
- Improved log activity (Audio Encoding section)
- Improved GUI graphics (progress bars color change)
- Re-organized AviSynth filters options disposition in 'Title Edit'/'AviSynth'
- FFmpeg updated to build git-8b6aeb1
- FFMpegSource updated to 2.17
- NicAudio updated to 2.0.6
- Haali Media Splitter updated to 1.11.96.14
- MKVToolNix updated to 5.8.0
- MediaInfo updated to 0.7.61

;)

Bye

[manolito]

Thanks very much MrC for the new version...:thanks:

Just 2 small things:
For some reason the corrected German language file I sent you a while ago did not make it into the distribution. Here it is again:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/q4lgky

And I found another MediaInfo issue:
I tried to convert a 24min long FLV file. The main window reports the correct duration, but the Edit window thinks that the duration is more than 15 hours. As a consequence AVStoDVD picks a wrong bitrate and the wrong encoder.

http://i45.tinypic.com/rjqw0k.jpg

http://i48.tinypic.com/o7rg5h.jpg

This is the log:
<06.02.2013 20:48:43>
START PROCESS
<>

<06.02.2013 20:48:43>
PROJECT SETTINGS

DVD Video Standard: PAL
DVD Titles number: 1
DVD Size: /4450 MB (0%)
DVD Output Setup: DVD-Ordner
DVD Label: DVD
DVD Menu: No Menu
Output Folder: I:
Delete Temp Assets Files: Yes
Delete Temp Working Files: Yes
Edit Command Parameters: No
Post Process Task: Fortschrittsfenster anzeigen (Voreinstellung)

PREFERENCES

MultiThread: 1
AVS Source Filter: A2DSource
AVS UpSize/DownSize Filter: Spline36Resize/Spline36Resize
Frame Adjust Strategy: 0
PAL SpeedUp: 1
Video Resolution: 0
Video BitRate Min: 2500
Video BitRate Level 1: 6500
Video Profile Level 2: 4500
Video BitRate Max: 8500
Keep DVD Compliant Video: 1
AC3 Audio Encoder: 0
Force FFmpeg for Long Audio: 1
DVD Audio Format: 0
DVD Audio BitRate: 224
Keep DVD Compliant Audio: 1
Normalize Audio: 1
Auto Delay Audio: 1
DVD Audio Language (Primary): DE - German
DVD Audio Language (Secondary): EN - English
DVD Subs Language (Primary): DE - German
DVD Subs Language (Secondary): EN - English
DVD Subs Font: Tahoma 18pt (255,255,255)
Chapters Interval: 5
Use Source Chapters: 1
DVD Burning Drive: H: BENQ DVD DD DW1620 B7W9
DVD Burning Speed: 8x
Auto Erase DVD RW: 0
Save Log file: 1
Unload ActiveMovie library: 1
Adjust ffdshow at runtime: 1
Save General Settings: 0
<>

<06.02.2013 20:48:43>
TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: F:\Download\ballet.flv
Info: AVC - 434 kbps - 364x238 - DAR 1,529 - 24,962 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 23:56 minutes - 35866000 frames
Audio 1: F:\Download\ballet.flv
Info: AAC LC - 55 kbps - CBR - 2 ch - 44100 Hz - 16 bit - 23:57 minutes (66 ms delay) - Internal
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.61]
<>

<06.02.2013 20:48:43>
AVISYNTH SCRIPT
Import("E:\Programme\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")

Video = A2DVideoSource("F:\Download\ballet.flv", CacheFolder="I:", FrameRate=24.962, VFR=false)
Audio = A2DAudioSource("F:\Download\ballet.flv", CacheFolder="I:")

Video = Video.ConvertToYV12()
Video = Video.AddBorders(0,17,0,17)
Video = Video.Spline36Resize(720,576)
Video = Video.ConvertFPS("pal_video")

Audio = Audio.SSRC(48000)
Audio = Audio.Normalize()
Audio = Audio.DelayAudio(0.066)

AudioDub(Video, Audio)
<>

<06.02.2013 20:48:43>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Encoding Profile: HCenc VBR 2-pass
Target Video FileSize: 428206,9 MB
Encoding Parameters: -ini "I:\DVD_0_ballet.HCenc.ini"
HCenc ini file:
*INFILE I:\DVD_0_ballet_1.avs
*AVSRELOAD
*OUTFILE I:\DVD_0_ballet.m2v
*LOGFILE I:\DVD_0_ballet.HCenc.log
*MAXBITRATE 9000
*BITRATE 2500
*PROFILE BEST
*ASPECT 4:3
*PROGRESSIVE
*TFF
*BIAS 20
*DC_PREC 8
*MATRIX MPEG
*AQ 1
*LUMGAIN 1
*SMP
*PRIORITY IDLE
*WAIT 2
<>

<06.02.2013 20:49:03>
CHECK LOG FILE <I:\DVD_0.LOG> FOR MORE INFO.
<>

<06.02.2013 20:49:03>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.6.0
<>


Reverting back to MediaInfo version 0.7.58 completely fixed this issue.:D


Cheers
manolito


//Edit//
The reason the source file is located in my download folder is that it came from an adult site which explicitly allows to download their clips...

[startreksuite]

Hi Mr.C,
I have recently found your program and it is nicely laid out. I have used Convert X2DVD in the past, but wanted to give freeware a try. I was trying out the menu feature, and I often have a movie poster as a menu, with just a play button. I tried doing this with your program, but when I try and delete the Menu and Title one letter remains on each line no matter how many times I go back to this. Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?
Thanks in advance.

[MrC]

@manolito

thanks for sending me the German translation, probably I have noticed but not downloaded it...

About the MediaInfo misreading, that is the output from 0.7.61:

AVC - 434 kbps - 364x238 - DAR 1,529 - 24,962 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 23:56 minutes - 35866000 frames

the frames count is definitively 1000x. If 0.7.58 is ok, we should inform Zenitram. BTW I can add a consistency check between framerate, time and frames count.


@startreksuite

first of all, welcome there ;)

Instead of deleting all the texts, just put a space (" ") to trick AVStoDVD.


;)

Bye

[Garrog]

Hi MrC et al. Apologies if the answer to this should be staring me in the face, but does AVStoDVD allow me to edit (trim start/end length) before transcoding? I could edit the AVStoDVD output with VOBblanker but clearly if I can edit before conversion I would avoid unnecessary transcoding of junk I intend to just throw away! I've looked through the help files and on-line and keep seeing references to AviSynth - but that seems to be a stand-alone script tool and not being a programmer I would need a GUI, which brings me back to AVStoDVD... ?!? If anyone can clear up my confusion then thanks!

[manolito]

Well, the answer is not exactly staring you right in the face, but it is certainly there...:devil:

From the AVStoDVD help file (clip preview):
Set Trim Start (available only if Clip Preview Window is accessed from Edit Title Window)
Shortcut: CTRL+A
Set Trim End (available only if Clip Preview Window is accessed from Edit Title Window)
Shortcut: CTRL+Z

Load your clip, go to the "Edit Title -> AVISynth" window, uncheck "Auto AVISynth Script" and click the "Preview Title Output" button in the lower left corner. Select your start and end frames, close the preview, and voilà, the script now contains the corresponding trim command.


Cheers
manolito

[Garrog]

Ah...thanks manolito, shame it only has more basic settings (e.g. no speed setting) but useful as an initial tool!

However, I've noticed a problem - after setting the trim points, when I go back to the main window and preview the trim points seem to have shifted about 50 secs or so later in time! I tested on internal and external players just to confirm with same results.

Any idea if that's a known bug or some kind of tweak that's needed, or do people set trim points by factoring in the error?

Thanks!

[MrC]

However, I've noticed a problem - after setting the trim points, when I go back to the main window and preview the trim points seem to have shifted about 50 secs or so later in time! I tested on internal and external players just to confirm with same results.

It should not happen, of course. Could you elaborate better the steps, maybe with some screenshots? The source title properties may help too.

;)

Bye

[Garrog]

Thanks, sounds like it's not an expected issue - the program is on the other machine so can't do right now, but I will get some more info to hopefully find out what's going wrong! Chat soon.:thanks:

[Garrog]

Ok so I went back and tried it again with no problems. But then I remembered what I did the first time:

1. I set the trim points as Manolito described

2. I returned to the main page and hit the preview button

3. Now this is where it gets a bit foggy. I definitely remember not being happy with the trim points but I'll come back to that later.

4. Now this is looking like the interesting part: I re-opened "View/Edit Title Settings" and changed the trim points. Again I can't remember clearly on this occasion whether I cleared the settings by setting the "Auto AviSynth Script" check box or if I just went straight in working from with the previously modified script. (As you probably know/designed, opening the "Preview" in this case will show you the edit you previously made, i.e. the modified script, rather than the original source unmodified.) But see below for subsequent tests.

5. After changing the trim points I exited the editor and previewed as before. This is where I found the trim errors, and estimated the error by comparing with the original.

To keep things clear I will open up a second post to continue with subsequent test results...

[Garrog]

Subsequent Tests

Today as I said above, I loaded the original file into AVStoDVD, set the trim points, returned to the main screen and previewed with no error.

Looking back, I think yesterday I may have been confused and imagined that the errors had shown on both the first and second edits. I still can't be certain but the evidence today suggests there probably wasn't any errors the first time and I probably performed the re-edit solely because I just wasn't happy with my own edit points. Assuming that's the case then apologies for any confusion caused!

Ok, on to today's findings:

So today I remembered that I had re-edited, so I went back and tried that. I did this both with (A) and without (B) resetting the script, shutting down the program in between to clear any session settings.

In case A I found that the error appeared very similar to the results yesterday, i.e. approx 50 second shift.

In case B it appeared that only the first trim point had shifted.

I'm sure you will want to perform your own tests to verify, and I suspect that you will be able to generate your own data more easily and reliably (!) but please let me know if I can be any further help.

Thanks for your help, and can I say I do find it a great program! :) (AviSynth player speed setting and audio fades would be nice tho...*cough* ;) )

[MrC]

@Garrog

thanks for the kind words.... but to fully understand, I would have a better explanation of the steps required to replicate the issue. Do not put anything about what you have done yesterday or today, just put the minimal steps to replicate the issue.

I need the source title properties too. The screenshot of AVStoDVD main window with the loaded source title is ok.

;)

Bye

[Garrog]

Ok, apologies if that was a little long-winded, I just wanted to be clear about all the facts for clarity! Thanks for your help.

Minimal steps (now reduced through further testing!):

1. Load video into AVStoDVD (in this case XVid Mpeg-4: see attached)
2. Open Title Edit window (via button)
3. Go to AviSynth tab, deselect "Auto AviSynth script"
4. Select "Preview Title Output" (button)
5. Move cursor to trim start position by any means, set trim start (button)
6. "........................" end position ".............................." end (button)
7. Exit Preview window (into Title Edit window)
8. Select and deselect "Auto AviSynth Script" (resets script without trim)
9. Repeat steps 4 to 7.
10. Preview video either here or from main page, observing timing error.

[Garrog]

Ah, please note I'm still using v2.5.1 - I've just noticed you recently released 2.6.1, perhaps you could confirm whether this occurs in the new version? Thanks!

[MrC]

Hi Garrog,

thanks for the detailed sequence. Now I can replicate the issue and you are perfectly right, upon toggling off the 'Auto AviSynth Script', the Trim configuration is not completely reset, resulting in frames shifting.

I will fix that in the next release.

Good job!

;)

Bye

[Garrog]

Excellent, thanks Mr. C!

[lovelykiss]

Thanks for your help

[MrC]

You are welcome, whatever your request was....

;)

Bye

[*ale*]

Hi, I'm using AVStoDVD to convert a NTSC Blu Ray to PAL DVD.
I have a quick question : is it correct to use PAL speedup option (avisynth AssumeFPS) with that kind of source?

[MrC]

Hi, I'm using AVStoDVD to convert a NTSC Blu Ray to PAL DVD.
I have a quick question : is it correct to use PAL speedup option (avisynth AssumeFPS) with that kind of source?

If the source is NTSC-film (23.976 fps), yes, you can use that option.

;)

Bye

[*ale*]

Yes the source is progressive NTSC-film (23.976 fps); what I mean is whether it is preferable to use speedup or DGPulldown

thanks

[manolito]

Yes the source is progressive NTSC-film (23.976 fps); what I mean is whether it is preferable to use speedup or DGPulldown

This is mainly a matter of taste and personal preferences...:sly:

The DGPulldown method has the advantage that audio can be left alone. But you will get repeated frames which annoys a lot of people. In PAL land people are not used to this judder. And according to neuron2 NTSC to PAL conversion using pulldown flags is more noticeable to the viewer than NTSC pulldown, because the repeated fields are more evenly spread in NTSC pulldown.

The PAL speedup method is much more common, all professional authoring houses do it that way. The slightly faster video cannot be detected by most people, but audio can be a problem. Especially for music content many people can hear that the audio plays faster and at a higher pitch.

Lately you will often find sped up audio which has been pitch corrected so it will still play faster, but at the original pitch. But as a trade off you might get audible artifacts. Pitch correction is very complicated, there are different algorithms for vocals and polyphonic music, and you may still end up with audio glitches.

Just the other day I did such a conversion using PAL speedup. For the audio I used BeSweet and its soundtouch plugin which can speed up the audio without altering the pitch. It was a concert video, and the audio came out terribly. I tried it again, this time using Prosoniq Timefactory. It sounded much better, but there were still audible problems. So I ended up not preserving the original pitch which delivered a quality which was undistinguishable from the original.

AFAIK AVStoDVD speeds up the audio while not doing any pitch correction, so you will not have to deal with audio glitches. But it will only work for you if you can live with the slightly higher pitch. Check it out for yourself...:D


Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

@manolito

are you aware of any AviSynth filters designed to speed up the audio w/o altering the pitch? That could be a nice add-on to AVStoDVD, if the results are good enough.

;)

Bye

P.S. Many thanks for the German translation update.

[manolito]

@manolito

are you aware of any AviSynth filters designed to speed up the audio w/o altering the pitch? That could be a nice add-on to AVStoDVD, if the results are good enough.

Oh yes, the timestretch filter is able to do this.

TimeStretch(tempo = (100.0*25.0*1001.0)/24000.0)
This will change the tempo from Film speed to PAL speed without changing the pitch.


You also might want to consider to replace the ResampleAudio filter with the SSRC filter.

SSRC Shibata Sample Rate Converter is a resampler. Audio is always converted to float. This filter will result in better audio quality than ResampleAudio.
It uses SSRC by Naoki Shibata, which offers the best resample quality available.


Cheers
manolito

[Sparktank]

SoX can do the speedup/slowdown w/o altering the pitch.
I remember reading a few threads on it in the audio section.

[Sparktank]

You also might want to consider to replace the ResampleAudio filter with the SSRC filter.

I agree, SSRC (high precision) can produce very clean results without much sonic residue.

SRC Comparisons [96kHz to 44.1kHz] Last Updated: 12th March 2013 (http://src.infinitewave.ca/)

You can check between two different filters and see how they turn out.
Also view results for different tests: sweep, 1kHz tone, passband, transition, etc.

It lists freeware and commercial software too.

SoX seems to handle sample rate conversions quite nicely too, as it would seem.


IIRC, eac3to uses SSRC for its sample rate conversions, by default, --and if installed, it can use Voxengo r8brain (free version).

[manolito]

SoX can do the speedup/slowdown w/o altering the pitch.
I remember reading a few threads on it in the audio section.

Well, MrC explicitly asked for an AviSynth filter to do the pitch correction. If an external software for pitch correction can be used, there are quite a few free options. One of them is SoundStretch
http://www.surina.net/soundtouch/soundstretch.html

As I said earlier, pitch correction is a complicated task, and for music content it is prone to audible artifacts. I uploaded a small sample file which contains a very demanding audio track for pitch correction:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/oetp1k

The audio is 44.1 kHz, so for a compliant DVD the sample rate must be converted to 48 kHz, then the audio has to be sped up from 23,976 fps to 25 fps, and on top of this the pitch has to be corrected to the original pitch.

I tried a couple of pitch changing software, but I could not get a satisfactory result, I finally gave up on pitch correction for this clip...


Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

Oh yes, the timestretch filter is able to do this.

Yes, you are right, an internal filter, my laziness... Thanks!

You also might want to consider to replace the ResampleAudio filter with the SSRC filter.


That's not so straightforward: SSRC does not accept all samplerates as input, while ResampleAudio is more permissive.
For example, if the source file has 22050 Hz, after AssumeFPS("pal_film", sync_audio=true), the script will yield 22992 Hz, that is rejected by SSRC.

I know that I could add some more IF..THEN..ELSE statements to understand if SSRC can be used (http://forum.doom9.org/archive/index.php/t-68207.html), but my ToDo list is so long...

It could be interesting to explore if a double SSRC (the first before AssumeFPS, the second after) is better or worse than a single ResampleAudio (after).

;)

Bye

[MrC]

AVStoDVD 2.7.0 Alpha 130412 is available to download.

Main change is the full replacement of QuEnc with FFmpeg (input AviSynth script).

Change log:

- Some bugs fixed
- Added possibility to customize authored Subtitles position ('Preferences'/'Authoring')
- Added 'AVS Audio Source Filter' in 'Preferences'/'AviSynth'
- Renamed 'AVS Source Filter' to 'AVS Video Source Filter' in 'Preferences'/'AviSynth'
- Replaced 'QuEnc CBR 1-pass' Video Encoding Profile with 'FFmpeg CBR 1-pass'
- Replaced QuEnc with FFmpeg for AC3 and MP2 encoding (QuEnc has been actually removed from AVStoDVD package)
- Added 'Use FFmpeg HQ Options' in 'Title Edit'/'Video'
- Added possibility to resize Jobs List window
- Improved titles media properties info management
- Improved SRT subtitles parsing routine
- Improved ASS to SRT conversion routine
- Improved log activity (reference to Help/FAQs section)
- Removed 'Save Log file in Output Folder at runtime' option in 'Preferences'/'Misc' (now it always saved)

;)

Bye

[manolito]

Have you revoked 2.70 Alpha? SourceForge has two folders 130412 and 130416, but they are empty.

Also may I ask why you decided to get rid of QuEnc altogether? Do you believe that ffmpeg delivers higher quality encodes at high bitrates than QuEnc, or do you have other reasons?


Cheers
manolito

[MrC]

Yes, exactly, Alpha 130412 had a critical bug during start operations, fixed with Alpha 130416 (http://sourceforge.net/projects/avstodvd/files/avstodvd_alpha_beta/AVStoDVD%202.7.0%20Alpha%20130416/AVStoDVD_270Alpha130416_NoInstall.7z/download). I'm uploading it right now, that's why the folder is still empty.

About QuEnc drop, I was thinking about that from a while (see VideoHelp thread (http://forum.videohelp.com/threads/277852-AVStoDVD-Support-Thread?p=2228999&viewfull=1#post2228999)). There are some small but annoying bugs like:

- wrong multi channels audio mapping
- framerate distorsion from 24fps to 23.976fps when using DSS
- poor multi cores cpu support: HCenc VBR 2-pass is faster than QuEnc CBR 1-pass on a quad core.
- Pentium4 HT crashes (very vintage, I know)

I know that QuEnc is a wonderful piece of software, a milestone for mpeg2 CBR encoding, but it is no more updated since years, while FFmpeg is still under development and its current mpeg2 CBR encoding is, IMO, very close to QuEnc in quality.

BTW I would like to have your opinions on this topic. Release 2.7.0 is still in Alpha stage...

;)

Bye

[manolito]

while FFmpeg is still under development and its current mpeg2 CBR encoding is, IMO, very close to QuEnc in quality.

As long as you succeed in finding a build which is not broken in some way...:p

But seriously, you are probably right about the QuEnc flaws. What has always bugged me about ffmpeg is that it cannot use custom quant matrices. AFAIK it still uses a linear quant scale (as opposed to HC and CCE which use exponential scales), and so it is more sensitive to a suitable matrix. But at the high bitrates it is used by AVStoDVD it probably will not matter...

I just did some test conversions with the latest Alpha, and everything worked.

The German language file should be modified like this (original entry is too long):
320025 FFmpeg HQ-Modus:

And in the subtitle positioning window the note at the bottom deserves its own entry in the language file. The German translation could be:

Positions-Werte gelten für Standard (4:3) und Breitbild (16:9) Seitenverhältnis
Length should be about right...

Plus a reminder for an earlier feature request (probably at the bottom of your ToDo list):
Can you add a value selection for normalizing audio? Of course I can ediit the AviSynth script, but it would be much nicer if the value could be set in the global options.


And at last one (probably stupid) question:
PAL Speedup only works for 23.976 fps sources. Why doesn't it also work for 24 fps sources?


Thanks very much for the new version

Cheers
manolito

[yab_tater]

Regarding the Menu Editor, on my current project I find myself wishing for OpenType font support and the ability to pick the text outline color. Right now, to get the look of the menu title the way I want it (using an OpenType font with a white outline), I am having to do all this in Gimp and lay in the text as part of the title background image. Its not a huge deal, but it is a shame to have to have to use an outside image editor to do something so basic. Any chance of adding OpenType font support and the ability to pick the text outline color in a future release? I am sorry to ask, I know people are always asking for something. :)

[MrC]

@manolito

I'm doing some comparative encoding tests with high bitrates (8500 kbps) and QuEnc (CBR), FFmpeg (CBR) and HCenc (VBR) using default settings and std matrix, starting from a blu ray source. I will post the results ASAP, because they are suprising me a lot.

Thanks for the german translations! Your support is always appreciated. :)

The custom normalization is low priority, but easy to implement, I think that the next alpha will include that.

Why only 23.976 fps? Well, because I always considered the NTSC->PAL SpeedUp option as an "extra flavour", since I prefer to use pulldown. BTW many people are using that, I can probably expand the scope to 24 fps and/or adding PAL->NTSC SpeedDown (25 to 23.976 then 3:2 pulldown to 29.97).


@yab_tater

first of all welcome there and do not mind to ask: new features requests are the lifeblood for AVStoDVD.

About OpenType: the support should already be there, since VB6 supports them. For example I can see and select 'Bookman Old Style', which is OTF, according to Windows Fonts Panel.

About outline color: it is possible since it is supported by ASS spec. I will put in the ToDo list. Be aware thant it will be not visible in the Edit Mode but in the Preview Mode yes.

;)

Bye