AVStoDVD Support Thread

[MrC]

My only suggestion would be to contact Tylo and have a chat about D2SRoBa, I'm sure he will only be to glab to help you out.


Thanks for the suggestions. Will do ASAP.

One suggestion though, you use Re-jig to downsize an encode, thats great. But if it to small (occasionally happens with D2SRoBa also), then D2SRoBa initiates a VBR pass using the vaf file generated in the opv pass (using cce as the encoder, not sure if there is a HCEnc equivalent).

Unfortunaltely, not. CCE and HCenc uses different approaches in VBR encoding.

One problem I didnt mention in my above post, the first 4 avi's I encoded, I loadeded them into TMPGEnc DVD Author to edit out some footage and to add a simple menu. First 3 loaded in fine, TDA refused to load in the 4th giving no clue as to the problem. The next 3 I did, all 3 refused to load into TDA. All were encoded with identical settings, all default except max bitrate set to 8000 and min bitrate to 2500 (lowest I could go :( ), and DVD size varied from first 4 avis and last 3 of course. All my mpeg-2 "fixing" programs (Re-stream, mpeg-vcr & DVDLab Pro tools) could not "fix" the mpv streams to load into TDA. I ended up having to use DVD2SVCD (has real problems under Vista) to re-encode them so they would load into TDA. I think its time to upgrade to XP :D

Very, very strange. Could you try to load the m2v+ac3 files into MuxMan? If MuxMan says that something is wrong, I have to worry. If not, leave MuxMan create DVD structure and then feed TDA with VIDEO_TS folder.

Let me know

;)

Bye

[ChickenMan]

I am able to load the M2V files into Muxman and DVDLab no problems, no objection and they author fine. But then trying to load those into TDA, I still get the same error :(

I tried encoding a 90min avi, all went well and I ended up with a VIDEO_TS folder authored fine, but audio was out of sync by 400ms. TDA has a great feature to allow you to offset audio both + or -'ve and preview the results but since I cant load them into TDA, I resorted to DVDLab, where it has a more clumsy audio off set feature, but it worked.

I've upgraded my system from Vista to XP yesterday so will do some more testing over next few days.

Another suggestion re HCEnc OPV optimazation is to contact jdodds in the ReBuilder forum as I know he and Tylo had lots of discussions on the subject. jdodds has continued to improve his OPV optimization over the years as well. Again, I'm sure he would be only to happy to help out.

[MrC]

I am able to load the M2V files into Muxman and DVDLab no problems, no objection and they author fine. But then trying to load those into TDA, I still get the same error :(

What TDA release are you using? With 3.x I have never had problems like that.

I tried encoding a 90min avi, all went well and I ended up with a VIDEO_TS folder authored fine, but audio was out of sync by 400ms. TDA has a great feature to allow you to offset audio both + or -'ve and preview the results but since I cant load them into TDA, I resorted to DVDLab, where it has a more clumsy audio off set feature, but it worked.

You can "preview" out of sync by previewing output directly in AVStoDVD main window. Then you can adjust audio delay (+/-) in 'Title Edit'/'AviSynth'/'Audio Delay'. Preview again to see if audio delay adjustment is effective.

Another suggestion re HCEnc OPV optimazation is to contact jdodds in the ReBuilder forum as I know he and Tylo had lots of discussions on the subject. jdodds has continued to improve his OPV optimization over the years as well. Again, I'm sure he would be only to happy to help out.

Will do, thanks for the clue!

:)

Bye

[ChickenMan]

Well I ran 3 more avi's through and all went without a hitch (though they were between 5-15% to small in size) and all were able to author fine in TDA. I have the latest TDA ver 3.1.1.175 with a purchased serial number :). So I then did another 3, this time one was slightly too large, rejig kicked in and reduced size no probs & without a BSOD :) Again, all loaded into TDA fine. So all in all, looks like Vista was the main cause of most of my probs. A bit more OPV optimization would make this a kick-ass program :) Keep up the great work MrC.

I have noticed that the default encoding folder is not saved in the Project file, is that the case?

Thanks for the tip on the audio sync, but am I able to go back after the encoding and authoring has finished (after finding audio sync is out) and adjust and re-author? or does it have to be done before you start the encoding?

[MrC]

.. cut ... So all in all, looks like Vista was the main cause of most of my probs.

:eek: :mad:

I have noticed that the default encoding folder is not saved in the Project file, is that the case?

Yes, because default output folder can be setup in 'Settings'/'Path' and AVStoDVD does not store general Settings in the project file. Only project data. Now the question "Is output folder a general setting or a project setting" may come out... ;)

Thanks for the tip on the audio sync, but am I able to go back after the encoding and authoring has finished (after finding audio sync is out) and adjust and re-author? or does it have to be done before you start the encoding?

Of course you can fix audio out of sync *after* encoding, but with TDA or similar other sw. Btw, imo, a preventive fixing is better.

May I ask you if you have had any problems with:
- internal AVStoDVD preview
- DVD burning directly by AVStoDVD

some users in SourceForge forum are having.

Thanks for opinions sharing

:)

MrC

[wg]

I have had 2 separate failures at the authoring stage in Muxman, the AVStoDVD log file makes no mention of any failure. The Video TS IFO file is 0kb, the other files in the Video TS folder seem to be of the correct size. Both encodes were NTSC, 1 using HCEnc OPV, the other Quenc CBR. The video was Xvid 23.976fps 940kbps, with mp3 cbr 32kb audio. I am using the No Install version of the latest version. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[ChickenMan]

May I ask you if you have had any problems with:
- internal AVStoDVD preview
- DVD burning directly by AVStoDVD

some users in SourceForge forum are having.

Internal AVStoDVD preview doesnt work for me. Tried with DivX and Xvid avi's, all I get is audio and no picture. I tried 6 or so avi's, all different, all no picture.

As for direct burning, sorry, I have never tried nor would I ever from any program. To many problems with avi to dvd conversion to assume it works perfect every time. Its also rare that I dont add a menu to my encodes, so I use TDA for its authoring. Again, I still manually burn the dvd after final check of the files.

[MrC]

I have had 2 separate failures at the authoring stage in Muxman, the AVStoDVD log file makes no mention of any failure. The Video TS IFO file is 0kb, the other files in the Video TS folder seem to be of the correct size. Both encodes were NTSC, 1 using HCEnc OPV, the other Quenc CBR. The video was Xvid 23.976fps 940kbps, with mp3 cbr 32kb audio. I am using the No Install version of the latest version. Thanks in advance for any advice.

May you send me (avstodvd@gmail.com) the 2 log files, if you have kept them?

:)

Bye

[MrC]

Internal AVStoDVD preview doesnt work for me. Tried with DivX and Xvid avi's, all I get is audio and no picture. I tried 6 or so avi's, all different, all no picture.

Which kind and release of codec are you using for DivX/XviD? If you are using ffdshow, I have faced a lot of problems with latest "nightly" builds and quartz.dll library (DX DirectShow library I use for AVStoDVD preview). Everything is ok with "official beta4 (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=173941&package_id=199421)"

As for direct burning, sorry, I have never tried nor would I ever from any program. To many problems with avi to dvd conversion to assume it works perfect every time. Its also rare that I dont add a menu to my encodes, so I use TDA for its authoring. Again, I still manually burn the dvd after final check of the files.

Very safe procedure! Btw, if you will ever feel confident to burn directly using AVStoDVD, please let me know the result.

Thanks!

;)

Bye

[wg]

May you send me (avstodvd@gmail.com) the 2 log files, if you have kept them?

:)

Bye

Sorry, I did not. But will if it occurs again.

[ChickenMan]

Which kind and release of codec are you using for DivX/XviD? If you are using ffdshow, I have faced a lot of problems with latest "nightly" builds and quartz.dll library (DX DirectShow library I use for AVStoDVD preview). Everything is ok with "official beta4 (http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=173941&package_id=199421)"
I dont run with ffdshow, in the past it was always a nightmare and screwed every system I and others had, so I simply do not ever install. I use only 3 codec,

1. Official DivX codec 6.8.2.8
2. For Xvid I use XviD.cvs.head.MTKVAQ.exe from http://celticdruid.no-ip.com/xvid/
3. For ac3 playback I use ac3filter_1_10b.exe as later ones are also problematic I had found.

[MrC]

Got it.

A question: does XviD.cvs.head.MTKVAQ decode both DivX and XviD or not?

Bye

[ChickenMan]

For de-coding, DivX does divx 3, 4, 5 & 6 and Xvid does xvid of all known forms. But for playback of an avi in WMP, DivX plays them all, Xvids included.

[MrC]

I have had 2 separate failures at the authoring stage in Muxman, the AVStoDVD log file makes no mention of any failure. The Video TS IFO file is 0kb, the other files in the Video TS folder seem to be of the correct size. Both encodes were NTSC, 1 using HCEnc OPV, the other Quenc CBR. The video was Xvid 23.976fps 940kbps, with mp3 cbr 32kb audio. I am using the No Install version of the latest version. Thanks in advance for any advice.


@wg

may I ask you some help in understading that problem? If you still have that xvid file, could you replace latest MuxMan version (0.16.6 (http://download.videohelp.com/download/muxman_0_16_6.zip)) with MuxMan shipped with AVStoDVD (0.15R) and try again to convert it?

Thanks in advance

:)

Bye

[wg]

@wg

may I ask you some help in understading that problem? If you still have that xvid file, could you replace latest MuxMan version (0.16.6 (http://download.videohelp.com/download/muxman_0_16_6.zip)) with MuxMan shipped with AVStoDVD (0.15R) and try again to convert it?

Thanks in advance

:)

Bye

Sorry MrC, but I have since deleted the log , & no longer know which file it was.

[MrC]

Ok. Let me know if it happens again.

Next AVStoDVD release will contain MuxMan's newest release (0.16.6), and I would like to know if it can help to fix problems like your (authoring process not finalized).

:)

Bye

[Sir Didymus]

Hi wg and MrC!

I am doubtful that the new release on MuxMan could be helpful for solving this type of troubles. The previous version of the authoring engine was already very stable.

The reported issue is similar to the ones already discussed elsewere in this forum, and it is most probably related to the assets given in input to MuxMan. These assets should be as much "clean" as possible.

Single pass OPV encodes may easily suffer from troubles in keeping the instantaneous video bitrate under control; also the audio (and the subpictures, if present) should be not affected by glitches...

Cheers,
SD

[MrC]

Hi wg and MrC!

I am doubtful that the new release on MuxMan could be helpful for solving this type of troubles. The previous version of the authoring engine was already very stable.

The reported issue is similar to the ones already discussed elsewere in this forum, and it is most probably related to the assets given in input to MuxMan. These assets should be as much "clean" as possible.

Single pass OPV encodes may easily suffer from troubles in keeping the instantaneous video bitrate under control; also the audio (and the subpictures, if present) should be not affected by glitches...

Cheers,
SD

Thanks for the input, Sir Didymus

One question: could the chapter file format AVStoDVD uses ("celltc timecode_file" vs "cellfr celltimes_file") be the problem source? In other words, what format type would you suggest?

:confused:

Bye

[Sir Didymus]

Hem...
the printout of the log file generated by MuxMan (it is usually C:\MuxMan.log) could be very helpful for going a little bit deeper in the analysis.

A timestamp file containing references to non existing scenes may produce very bad results. That's for sure.

The cell_timecodes or cell_framecount files should be considered as important additional assets for the authoring; again, in case some errors are present in the timestamps of the chapter point file, the MuxMan log would report the problem in very clear terms...

The two formats for the timestamps, e.g. the NDTC format hh:mm:ss:ff and in the framecount format (classical ifoedit or PgcDemux format) are both supported by BatchMux - which is the application preparing the mxp script for MuxMan.

I would say that the first format is more general and easier to produce in case you are dealing with fixed time chapters; in addition it is independent from the TV system (PAL, NTSC) and from the pulldown presence in the video, since the time is measured in absolute, non drop time code terms.

The framecount format is measuring the time in terms of number of pictures in the video stream, but this makes the format depending on the TV system and on the presence of pulldown in the video. The single advantage is that it is very popular (IfoEdit and PgcDemux adopt this format).

The GUI of MuxMan 0.16.6 accepts the framecount format, but the internal representation is in the NDTC format. You can easily see this by saving a MuxMan project which includes some chapters; in the generated mxp script the scene times are reported always in the NDTC format.

Sorry, I did not. But will if it occurs again.
And please, if it will occur again, do not forget to find also the MuxMan.log file and to post it!

Cheers,
SD

[ChickenMan]

I see this same problem using Muxman with DVD2SVCD. I've found high bitrate spikes to be the cause (as also suggested by SirD). I originally had Max Bitrates set to 9300 and would get about 2 out of 3 with no VIDEO_TS folder re-built properly. Changed to 9000, and error rate dropped to 1 in 2, dropped to 8500 and now get only 1 in 10 with the problem. That I can handle and with the problem ones, I just manually author in TDA and it will re-encode the high bitrate spike down to dvd standards automatically while authoring.

[MrC]

I see this same problem using Muxman with DVD2SVCD. I've found high bitrate spikes to be the cause (as also suggested by SirD). I originally had Max Bitrates set to 9300 and would get about 2 out of 3 with no VIDEO_TS folder re-built properly. Changed to 9000, and error rate dropped to 1 in 2, dropped to 8500 and now get only 1 in 10 with the problem. That I can handle and with the problem ones, I just manually author in TDA and it will re-encode the high bitrate spike down to dvd standards automatically while authoring.

Which encoder are you using when getting bitrate spikes? Have you seen the problem both with CBR and VBR encoding or only with VBR?

Using HCenc (OPV and VBR 2p) and QuEnc (CBR), and setting 9000 as max bitrate, never had any issue... :confused:

Btw, MuxMan should catch spikes and report them into MuxMan.log, doesn't it? Ok, I will try to simulate the error going to 10000 max bitrate, and then handle it.

;)

Bye

:)

Bye

[manolito]

From my experience the 1-pass VBR modes are most prone to these problems. For CCE SP 2.67 and 2.70 and for QuEnc I have to set max bitrate to 8000. HC CQ_MAXBITRATE overshoots a lot less than the other encoders, so I never had problems with max bitrate set to 8500 (probably even 9000 will be ok for HC).

And I am absolutely sure that this is not a problem with MuxMan. For me MuxMan has become the ultimate tool to check if a conversion is DVD compliant or not. Other muxing / authoring tools (like mplex / dvdauthor) are a lot less picky than MuxMan, but you might end up with a DVD which stutters in some standalone players (software players mostly don't stutter even with problematic encodes).

Cheers
manolito

[ChickenMan]

Same as manolito, mostly with 1-pass VBR (using D2SRoba) and CCE 2.50/2.70. I have not used enough of HCenc to see if its any better or worse, to be honest.

[MrC]

Thanks manolito and ChickenMan for your experience.

From my error simulation (max bitrate set to 15000 to HCenc OPV), MuxMan does not allow to finalize the authouring process and write in MuxMan.log about excessive bitrate.

Give me a pair of weeks and I will kick out a new AVStoDVD release with an improved MuxMan error management (along with DVD menu creation and editing.... ssshh, don't say anything!)

:)

Bye

[Sir Didymus]

...
(along with DVD menu creation and editing.... ssshh, don't say anything!)

...


Mhhh! That sounds VERY INTERESTING...

Thank you for working and continuously improving AVStoDVD!

Cheers,
SD

[rendez2k]

Yup menu editing if true sounds very interesting! Some of the better apps which offered menus haven't been updated much recently so hopefully we'll have a decent converter with killer features and active updates!

[rendez2k]

I have HCEnc OPV 1-pass setup in the options (I assume the higlighted one is the default?), but when I start encoding QUEnc is being used. Clicking on Edit Title shows that QuEnc is being used in the Auto Video Setup options. Can you force HCEnc to be used as default?

Also, I notice if I change the DVD Size and Output setup that these values aren't being remembered when I quit the program? Is there away to do this?

[rendez2k]

Sorry, another issue/question. I've added subtitles to my movie - and selected to hard-code them. However, when I test playback in PowerDVD, I end up with two subtitles - 1 hard-coded and 1 which is user selectable (which I can turn off) over the top (slightly out of time to the other). Any ideas?

[MrC]

Yup menu editing if true sounds very interesting! Some of the better apps which offered menus haven't been updated much recently so hopefully we'll have a decent converter with killer features and active updates!

It's true, it's true. Optimizations are ongoing, but if you "cannot wait", I can publish a alpha release.

:)

Bye

[MrC]

I have HCEnc OPV 1-pass setup in the options (I assume the higlighted one is the default?), but when I start encoding QUEnc is being used. Clicking on Edit Title shows that QuEnc is being used in the Auto Video Setup options. Can you force HCEnc to be used as default?


Yes you can. By toggling off "Auto Video Setup" in Edit Title and selecting video profile you prefer.
AVStoDVD selects the best profile looking at the bitrate. In 'Settings'/'Video' you can customize the (3) bitrate levels for the (3) video profile.

For more explanations, see the Help section (press F1) or read this post in AVStoDVD forum @Sourceforge (http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=2049220&forum_id=700796)

Also, I notice if I change the DVD Size and Output setup that these values aren't being remembered when I quit the program? Is there away to do this?

Good suggestion for next release improvements! Thanks!

:)

Bye

[MrC]

Sorry, another issue/question. I've added subtitles to my movie - and selected to hard-code them. However, when I test playback in PowerDVD, I end up with two subtitles - 1 hard-coded and 1 which is user selectable (which I can turn off) over the top (slightly out of time to the other). Any ideas?

Well, it is not really an issue... It is a bug. If hard-encoded is selected, no standard subs should appear. Will fix it.

What do you mean by "slightly out of time to the other"?

:)

Bye

[rendez2k]

Hi MrC - for some reason it appeared that the hard coded subtitles appeared at a slightly different time to the normal subtitles. Not sure which was correct through.

Also, if you have any alpha versions, there always good to play with and provide feedback for!

[rendez2k]

Yes you can. By toggling off "Auto Video Setup" in Edit Title and selecting video profile you prefer.
AVStoDVD selects the best profile looking at the bitrate. In 'Settings'/'Video' you can customize the (3) bitrate levels for the (3) video profile.

For more explanations, see the Help section (press F1) or read this post in AVStoDVD forum @Sourceforge (http://sourceforge.net/forum/forum.php?thread_id=2049220&forum_id=700796)

While I understand this a little better now, a few things spring to mind. Firstly, I'm not a fan of QuEnc due to some odd issues and encodes in the past. I now only use HCEnc for all my encodes (it also works quickly on my quad core) so can QuEnc be disabled? Also, maybe the predicted bitrate and encoder/method could be displayed on the main screen without me having to jump into the edit tile menu?

[fedeeee]

Hi, I think I've found a little bug, at least on my pc...
After selecting source video file, and press the button "Preview file output", if I select "Goto frame..." and then press "Cancel", the program crashes with a "Run-time error 13: type mismatch".
Can anyone reproduce it?
Bye

[rendez2k]

Hi, I think I've found a little bug, at least on my pc...
After selecting source video file, and press the button "Preview file output", if I select "Goto frame..." and then press "Cancel", the program crashes with a "Run-time error 13: type mismatch".
Can anyone reproduce it?
Bye

Yup, same here. Its a bug!

[wg]

Tried to run AVStoDVD on Ubuntu Hardy using wine, with little success, it won't open. I have installed all the requirements, still no luck. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[MrC]

Hi, I think I've found a little bug, at least on my pc...
After selecting source video file, and press the button "Preview file output", if I select "Goto frame..." and then press "Cancel", the program crashes with a "Run-time error 13: type mismatch".
Can anyone reproduce it?
Bye

It is a bug. Thanks for the feedback. Will be fixed in next release.

;)

Bye

[MrC]

While I understand this a little better now, a few things spring to mind. Firstly, I'm not a fan of QuEnc due to some odd issues and encodes in the past. I now only use HCEnc for all my encodes (it also works quickly on my quad core) so can QuEnc be disabled? Also, maybe the predicted bitrate and encoder/method could be displayed on the main screen without me having to jump into the edit tile menu?

It can be disabled. Follow these steps:
- Go to 'Settings'/'Encoding'
- Select 'QuEnc CBR 1-pass'
- Put 'Lower bitrate level' to 9000

Done! Simple, isn't it?

You can also customize bitrate levels for 'HCenc OPV 1-pass' and 'HCenc VBR 2-pass'.

Ah, do not forget to check 'Save current settings as default' before exiting from Settings window.

;)

Bye

[MrC]

Tried to run AVStoDVD on Ubuntu Hardy using wine, with little success, it won't open. I have installed all the requirements, still no luck. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for feedback about Ubuntu compliance. But I cannot reproduce it, since I do not have Linux installed, and I do not mention Linux as OS supported by AVStoDVD, which is a Win32 program developped with good old VB6 (launched in 1996...).

Mabye does Wine lack VB6 runtime libraries (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=it&FamilyID=7b9ba261-7a9c-43e7-9117-f673077ffb3c)?

Bye

[MrC]

Hi MrC - for some reason it appeared that the hard coded subtitles appeared at a slightly different time to the normal subtitles. Not sure which was correct through.

I have simulated what you pointed out, and yes, the out of phase is present, but really unnoticeable (much less than 1 second). Btw, with bug fixing, that issue will disappear as well.

Also, if you have any alpha versions, there always good to play with and provide feedback for!

Will publish it within one week. Now I am on vacation and I am waiting for some feedbacks from Sir Dydimus which is testing BatchMux (really a great wrapper) implementation/usage to create DVD Menus with AVStoDVD.

;)

Bye

[rendez2k]

Brilliant news! Many thanks Mr C! One other question, is it possible to put HCEnc into 'good' profile rather than 'best'?

[MrC]

One other question, is it possible to put HCEnc into 'good' profile rather than 'best'?

What do you exactly mean?

:confused:

Bye

[rendez2k]

What do you exactly mean?

:confused:

Bye

HCEnc has 3 encoding profiles. It currently appears to be set to 'best' (which takes the longest time to encode). Is it just a simple job of changing hc.ini?

[MrC]

HCEnc has 3 encoding profiles. It currently appears to be set to 'best' (which takes the longest time to encode). Is it just a simple job of changing hc.ini?

Ok, got it. HCenc accepts "FAST", "NORMAL" and "BEST" profile. In AVStoDVD, since QuEnc is adopted for *easy* encoding, I have hard-coded "BEST" profile for HCenc, which is adopted for *difficult* encoding.

I'm not plannig to put an option to customize HCenc profile, at least it is not on top of my ToDo list.

And I fear that grabbing HCenc ini file (created by AVStoDVD and stored in Temp folder) is not very easy because there is no time span between ini creation and usage...

Let me know if I have answered to your question.

:)

Bye

[rendez2k]

I'd normally only use best, but if I want to do a fast test or something I'm not really bothered about, I'd have liked the option to change the profile.

It appears I need to edit hc.ini for another reason (as discussed in the HC forum here for a problem I've been having)

For the first time, I noticed an error with HCEnc yesterday, ERROR, source mismatch in pass 2 starting at frame: 0

It's probably your Direct Show decoder that does not support frame accurate seeking as the error message means that the first frame in the first pass is different form the first frame in the second pass.

You could try to fix it by enabling the reload Avisynth switch in HCEnc. It was made for these kinds of errors.

Which means I need to add *AVSRELOAD to hc.ini

[Sir Didymus]

For people interested in adding custom initialisations to the encodes based on HCenc, Darksoul71 has just released a very interesting wrapper for HCenc. See here the details:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139277

However I did not perform any test on my own (at least up to this moment...) of AVStoDVD + HCWrap...

Cheers,
SD

[rendez2k]

For people interested in adding custom initialisations to the encodes based on HCenc, Darksoul71 has just released a very interesting wrapper for HCenc. See here the details:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=139277

However I did not perform any test on my own (at least up to this moment...) of AVStoDVD + HCWrap...

Cheers,
SD

Thanks - might do the trick. I'll give it a test when I get home.

[MrC]

It appears I need to edit hc.ini for another reason (as discussed in the HC forum here for a problem I've been having)

Which means I need to add *AVSRELOAD to hc.ini

*AVSRELOAD is already present by default in HC ini files generated by AVStoDVD.

;)

Bye

[MrC]

Go to AVStoDVD homepage (http://avstodvd.googlepages.com/home).

You will find a shy (risky?) try to grow up.

:)

Bye

[rendez2k]

2.10! May I ask whats new :-)