multiAVCHD - author Blu-ray/AVCHD (Blu-ray players, camcoders, Viera TV) + (HD) DVD

[deank]

Tomorrow I'll add options to personalize XMB language tags:

Chapter selection (Title X/Y)
Video (fps)
Audio (ch)
Subtitles (track(s))
Duration: (h/m/s)

It will allow you to make XMB show all texts in your native/preferred language.

Dean

[herrde]

I know it is a setback but when I get the time I'll try to process tools output (x264/tsmuxer) and 'listen' for their error messages.

Also, can you do another test, but use CUT END 13380?

Sorry deank, I have already deleted the original MKV after I finally found a way to solve the problem:

After I tried some back and forth demuxing and remuxing with different interim files and streams which I then processed with multiAVCHD without avail, I (more or less accidentally) did one final remux run with mkv2vob in AVCHD-USB mode - and the program said "Completed" and not "Muxing Failed" like it always said when I tried AVCHD-Disc mode.

The output of mkv2vob played perfectly from my USB hard drive on the PS3 (I tried the same with multiAVCHD earlier, but to no avail). Then I used AVCHDManager to revert the files back to BD format (by using "Undo AVCHDme") and burned them to a BD-R - et voilà, I was finally there.

But to be honest, I still don't know what's going on here. Why was mkv2vob able to mux the MKV in AVCHD-USB mode but not in AVCHD-Disc mode? Why did multiAVCHD fail in both modes? Both programs are using tsmuxer!
Also, I watched the spawning tsmuxer window closely when I tried with multiAVCHD - no sign of any error, it always completed ok, but the output neither played from my USB hard disk, nor when burned to a BD-R. The only way I could get it to work was when I used mkv2vob in AVCHD-USB mode (as said above)!

Why did you want me to set "Cut end" to 13380 ? Does "13380" have a special meaning here?

I would be very happy if you or anyone else could investigate this strange problem further! This is the first time that I ran into this problem, but I'm quite sure that I won't be the only one - nor do I think that this was the last time I get this error!

Thanks anyway deank for your help!

Best,

Gero

[deank]

I suggested 13380 because I noticed your (mediainfo reported) audio and video duration lenght difference and I picked the shorter one.

mkv2vob is aimed for PS3, but multiAVHD is not. I try to make its output compatible to as many SAP players as possible.

I never used mkv2vob (and I'll never will - the author never credited me for the GREEN BAR REMOVAL for PS3 (as in your 1920x800 case) for non-compliant resolutions and I can make my own programs, too) so I can't comment what it is doing to make your file playable. If you ask me - it is just another badly muxed MKV.

[herrde]

Oh, don't get me wrong here - multiAVCHD is obviously a WAY better program than mkv2vob which is not very flexible at all. And it was for sure a great achievement to remove the green bar - especially for me as I use non-compliant resolutions very often!

Speaking of which - do you see any chance to be able to center the video sometime in the future? I read elsewhere (or was it even yourself who said that?) that it could be possible by using a "trick" - the picture-in-picture ability of the Blu-ray specifications...

That would be a huge step forward for your already brilliant piece of software!

All the best for your future work and again a big thank you for helping me!

Gero

[Moritzio]

Admonishment accepted. I appologize. I did read 10-15 pages of the thread and the tutorial, but failed to search the thread. I would have found this answer (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1264785#post1264785), posted by you on page 83.

-Mo

As a first-time-poster you were expected to READ some posts before posting.

No, multiAVCHD will not copy but move its own compilations. So if your input AVCHD is already multiAVCHD generated compilation, then files will be moved (if they reside on the same disc) and it will take much much less time. If you're using "unknown" AVCHD folders (from camcoders and such) multiAVCHD will COPY them. It was requested by users that care not to read/check what options multiAVCHD gives them.

There is an option "Move transitional files" and it will be used if you import previous multiAVCHD compilations. To get max speed you need to have files residing in the same virtual drive.

[jason_peters010]

I would love to contribute to your paypal account once Panasonic SDHC support is available. I have a feeling I am not alone. I have a DMP-BD35 & an HDC-SD1 camcorder. I am ready and willing to provide testing files/folders from the SD1. Thanks.

[deank]

...do you see any chance to be able to center the video sometime in the future? I read elsewhere (or was it even yourself who said that?) that it could be possible by using a "trick" - the picture-in-picture ability of the Blu-ray specifications...

That would be a huge step forward for your already brilliant piece of software!

Yes, it was me in my post 3 months ago (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1232084#post1232084) about the background descriptor in mpeg-2 ts. (I was thinking back then to use it for removing the green bar :) but I came up with a simpler solution for it.) And a bit later I started to think about PIP option.

Currently Roman from smLabs/tsMuxeR and I are testing some different approaches to make this happen without really touching the original video stream.

I do hope it will work.

@jason: You can post some samples if you wish.

[GenesisPT]

Yes, I can add it as an option as I did in popBD. :) I'm glad it worked the easy way :).

Hi deank,
Sorry to bother you about this again, but are you still going to put this option to remove the folders you indicated to improve compatilibity with the players?
Thanks.

[deank]

Yes, update to build 492. There is an option in settings tab:

[x] Stricter AVCHD folder format

If checked and multiBD is used - CERTIFICATE/AUXDATA/BDJO/META/JAVA/etc will not be created.

[GenesisPT]

Many thanks!

[deank]

Build 493:

Tomorrow I'll add options to personalize XMB language tags:

Chapter selection (Title X/Y)
Video (fps)
Audio (ch)
Subtitles (track(s))
Duration: (h/m/s)

It will allow you to make XMB show all texts in your native/preferred language.

Dean

multiLANG.ini is generated in multiAVCHD folder. It contains 11 lines:

Video:
Audio:
Subtitles:
Title
Chapter selection
Duration:
track
tracks
h
m
s


If you edit this file in notepad and change them to other strings (in your language) those labels will be used in XMB menu. After you change them you can check how it will look like with the PREVIEW button in MENU tab. In case you mess things up - delete multiLANG.ini.

[GenesisPT]

Hi deank,
I used uncropMKV for the first time (1920x1080) and burn a disk with multiAVCHD and all worked fine both in the Samsung and the PS3 except... in the samsung there is a (small) flicker on the top and bottom of the screen right in the border of the black bars and the movie image itself.
I don't know if something can be done or not, as I said it's a small thing not that annoying.
Thanks

[deank]

I don't think there is much that can be done. I guess it's the samsung way of decoding h.264 video. What was your original resolution? It may have something to do with 4x4/8x8/16x16 blocks.

[asherungar]

Yes, it was me in my post 3 months ago (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1232084#post1232084) about the background descriptor in mpeg-2 ts. (I was thinking back then to use it for removing the green bar :) but I came up with a simpler solution for it.) And a bit later I started to think about PIP option.

Currently Roman from smLabs/tsMuxeR and I are testing some different approaches to make this happen without really touching the original video stream.

I do hope it will work.

@jason: You can post some samples if you wish.


I hope it works too !
no more endless hours of re-encoding.

[deank]

ALL USERS be advised that some older builds of multiAVCHD will expire (and will generate multiAVCHD.err file with explanation) in the next few days or may have already expired. In such cases multiAVCHD will not start at all but will only generate the .err file.

If it occurs that you have such .err file - read it. You'll also need to do a full-download or update your multiAVCHD.exe with the latest build.

[GenesisPT]

I don't think there is much that can be done. I guess it's the samsung way of decoding h.264 video. What was your original resolution? It may have something to do with 4x4/8x8/16x16 blocks.

The original res was 1920x800.

[deank]

Let's move such discussions to uncropMKV thread.

Not that I have a solution yet, but I'll check some x264 settings.

[vpapanik]

On the visual settings -> background the defined setting (e.g. xmb-red.jpg) is not saved correctly in the .ini file. Or, it is read the wrong way :)

[deank]

@vpapanik:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1259201#post1259201

[vpapanik]

Oops, sorry, I have missed the forum for some days :)

[herrde]

I used uncropMKV for the first time (1920x1080) and burn a disk with multiAVCHD and all worked fine both in the Samsung and the PS3 except... in the samsung there is a (small) flicker on the top and bottom of the screen right in the border of the black bars and the movie image itself.
I experienced a similar issue with my last couple of movies, but it's not uncropMKV-related, it must have something to do with tsmuxer OR the PS3, I believe - but maybe I'm wrong...

When I process a non-compliant resolution MKV in AVCHD/BD mode, burn the output to BD-R and play it back on my LCD TV with my PS3, I get a very fine and quite short horizontal green line on the left side of the screen between the actual movie and the big black bottom bar. That line is only a couple of cm long; it doesn't stretch all over the screen. The color reminds me of the Green which all PS3 owners saw before deank found a method of turning the big green bottom bar to black whenever a non-compliant resolution file was processed and played back in BD mode.

It's not that annoying as you can only see it in a dark movie scene and only when you really pay attention, but... it's there...

Best,

Gero

[fifteen]

feature request:

I'm compiling many (60+) non-chaptered m2ts files of different lengths into a multiBD disc. Can chapters be automatically generated near/at the end of each file so that I may use the next chapter function to make the player go to the next title.

The Samsung BD player I'm using doesn't allow you to skip titles without bringing up the display menu. (there is no next title button on the remote)

There is obviously not a huge need for this, but it would be a nicety.

(EDIT):

2nd feature request:

Can multiAVCHD support more than 40 titles? I would require at least 60. No menu support needed.

[deank]

1) You can define your own chapter marks and have one at the end of your movies.

2) Only 40 titles in ver 2.5 - :)

I'm building another (completely different) version of multiAVCHD that will have support for as many titles as one may need, along with much more intuitive interface.

Menu has nothing to do with title count so it is not that easy to add more titles. The major problem comes with the Non_compliant titles that require another program fragment in movieobject. At this point multiAVCHD supports 80 titles but only 40 available (40 compliant or 40 non-compliant, or mixed but up to 40).

[fifteen]

I'm building another (completely different) version of multiAVCHD that will have support for as many titles as one may need, along with much more intuitive interface.

I'm not impatient, just curious....do you have an ETA on the new version?

[deank]

No :) deanbg.com is no corporation :)

[ExSport]

Why not?:p

[deank]

Because it incorporates a single mind in 2hrs/day on a couch :)

[Atak_Snajpera]

Is it possible to combine two menu types ? (coverflow+tableview)

[jason_peters010]

Deank,
Here is a link to a compressed file containing all of the contents of my SDHC card after creating 1 title on my Panasonic HDC-SD1. Please let me know if I can provide additional files/folders for testing. AVCHD authoring would be a very valuable thing for Panasonic Blu-ray owners.

http://www.mydocsonline.com/TU/49D43db6D4z2A6ba

[deank]

Is it possible to combine two menu types ? (coverflow+tableview)

How to combine them? And how does tableview look?
The biggest limitation is max. of 15 navigational buttons.

Deank,
Here is a link to a compressed file containing all of the contents of my SDHC card after creating 1 title on my Panasonic HDC-SD1.

I got it - thanks!

[BZeeme]

I'm trying multiAVCHD (with RipBot264) as a way to back up my "Heroes Season 1" discs to BD9's. I have two

problems with the XMB Menu.

1) One chapter title is "Don't Look Back". multiAVCHD replaces the apostrophe with a space - "Don t Look Back".

2) The background picture is way too dark. I thought the background was black until I looked closely.


1) I will see if I can find a workaround for some special characters as ' which are not allowed at the

moment. You can change it to "Do not Look Back" :)

* edit *: Execute multiUPDATE.exe *** Quote symbols will be replaced by " ` " symbol now.

2) There is a slider: "Thumbnail Opacity". Move it to the far left and you'll see the background. You can play with the settings

in Menu tab-page.


1) Thanks.
2) I thought "Thumbnail" referred to the small picture for each video. Moving the slider to the 'right' gave me what I expected.

2 other problems:

3) I added the BDMV folder for a video with 5 chapters and checked "Keep original chapters" on the Muxer tab. After creating the 'multiBD', the XMB menu shows 11 chapter thumbnails (operational), but the chapter button on PowerDVD 7.3 finds the original 5 chapters. I haven't tried a stand-alone unit yet. (I want the original chapters if possible.)

4) On Windows 7 64bit, multiAVCHD works properly until an update is available - then it keeps appearing and disappearing (and reverts back to built 476). On Windows 7 32bit it works and updates properly. I can then copy the updated multiAVCHD from the 32bit system to the 64bit system and use it until the next update.

[deank]

Original chapters work only if present in imported MKV file or when importing older multiAVCHD compilation that has multiCHAP.txt file. There is no way to extract chapters from m2ts files (bdmv/avchd folders) at this time.

About the update... it is possible that for some reason multiUPDATE.exe is not allowed (permissions?) to download the new version that it causes a constant update-loop.

[jason_peters010]

Forget to mention this but I had better state the obvious. The SD1 file/folder structure I posted plays succussfully on the SD slot of a DMP-BD35. Thanks.

[deank]

:) Yes, I know. SD output from camcoders is much MUCH different than standard bluray output and this is the main reason I delay the option to output mutliAVCHD compilations compatible with Panasoinc TV/BD-players with SD support.

[fifteen]

1) You can define your own chapter marks and have one at the end of your movies.

How do I this? I have a series of M2TS files, not MKV.

[deank]

If you add these m2ts as different titles (i.e. you have 20 m2ts files and you add them in media tab as separate files, not as part of any AVCHD/BD structure) you can add corresponding .txt file for each imported file.

For example if you have 00014.m2ts you can have 00014.txt with chapter marks:

00:00:01.000;00:43:12.000

and the last chapter will be @ 43min 12sec.

[fifteen]

If you add these m2ts as different titles (i.e. you have 20 m2ts files and you add them in media tab as separate files, not as part of any AVCHD/BD structure) you can add corresponding .txt file for each imported file.

For example if you have 00014.m2ts you can have 00014.txt with chapter marks:

00:00:01.000;00:43:12.000

and the last chapter will be @ 43min 12sec.
:thanks:

[jdeiro]

4) On Windows 7 64bit, multiAVCHD works properly until an update is available - then it keeps appearing and disappearing (and reverts back to built 476). On Windows 7 32bit it works and updates properly. I can then copy the updated multiAVCHD from the 32bit system to the 64bit system and use it until the next update.

Well, it works perfectly on my system with the Win 7 x64 provided for the beta testers (Build 7000, I guess).

Cheers

[deank]

Please, always try to update to latest builds.

Since build 476 there were a lot of changes:

[20/03/2009] build 475 - UP/DOWN buttons in XMB now scroll through titles.
[22/03/2009] build 477 - Support for h.264 elementary streams as input files.
[23/03/2009] build 480 - Bugfixes and support for next version of AVCHD Manager
[23/03/2009] build 481 - TOOLS updated to latest releases (mkvinfo/mediainfo/mkvextract/mkvmerge/x264)
[26/03/2009] build 484 - Added support for bold/italic/underline SSA/ASS tags. Unknown tags are stripped. Bugfixes.
[30/03/2009] build 490 - Limited support for MP4 container. Support for AAC audio in MKV/MP4/MOV files. ffmpeg.exe required for AAC audio conversion.
[31/03/2009] build 491 - Fixed support/subtitle settings for SD sources (720x480). Updated uncropMKV to 0.4 in the package.
[01/04/2009] build 493 - Option for stricter AVCHD folder format in Settings when using multBD button.
[03/04/2009] build 494 - Language options in multiLANG.ini for XMB-styled menu. ffmpeg in tools. uncropMKV ver 0.5. Bugfixes.
********************** - multiLANG.ini allows you to change 11 language tags for XMB styled menu.

[deank]

@fifteen: I just now noticed that you asked for it 2 months ago :)

Is it in any way possible to navigate between the multiple titles using MultiAVCHD?? I'm looking for a way to hit the next/prev chapter buttons on a remote and go to the next/prev title on the disc.

feature request:
Can chapters be automatically generated near/at the end of each file so that I may use the next chapter function to make the player go to the next title.


:)

[fifteen]

@fifteen: I just now noticed that you asked for it 2 months ago :)

oops...duh.....

I guess I asked the question just now because you said:

Original chapters work only if present in imported MKV file or when importing older multiAVCHD compilation that has multiCHAP.txt file. There is no way to extract chapters from m2ts files (bdmv/avchd folders) at this time.

and i thought maybe the functionality had changed.

[deank]

No... I meant that I've probably missed your question the first time :)

***

Another interesting find after playing a bit with uncropMKV. Playstation3 will use 576p output only with

720x480p@25fps
720x480p@30fps
720x480i@50fps
720x480i@60fps

720x576p@25fps
720x576p@30fps
720x576i@50fps
720x576i@60fps

and it has to be true 25/30/50/60 fps not fractions.

[deank]

Build 495:

You can now edit all 40 title names in EDITOR tab (if you have more than 28 you can).

[BZeeme]

About the update... it is possible that for some reason multiUPDATE.exe is not allowed (permissions?) to download the new version that it causes a constant update-loop.

I'll check the permissions but I can sometimes briefly see the multiUPDATE screen. I can stop multiAVCHD from continuing the loop (and use it as build 476) by telling my firewall to block all internet access. It's not a big problem for me and it will be a long time before Windows 7 64bit is in general use.

[deank]

You can open multiAVCHD.ini file and edit line 15.

1 - autoupdate
0 - no update

The problem is that if you're a lot of builds behind - this option will be ignored and multiAVCHD will forcefully update.

Of course you know that build 476 will expire really soon.

[BZeeme]

Well, it works perfectly on my system with the Win 7 x64 provided for the beta testers (Build 7000, I guess).

Cheers

Thanks for the info. I'm using the same so I'll look closer at my system.

Please, always try to update to latest builds.

Since build 476 there were a lot of changes:


I use the latest (say build 490, 493, 494) but once it can't get the update, something must get deleted in preparation for the update because multiAVCHD reverts to saying it is build 476.

[deank]

You can delete multiAVCHD.exe and execute multiUPDATE.exe

If it doesn't work you can always download the program yourself from this link:

http://multiAVCHD.deanBG.com/multiAVCHD.exe (http://multiAVCHD.deanBG.com/multiAVCHD.exe)

:) It is possible that win7 somehow 'restores-previous-versions' - there is such option in Vista I think..

[deank]

Did you know that the first XMB (crossmediabar) was used back in 2003 in Sony PSX Digital Recorder, which incorporates PS1+PS2+DVR? :) I didn't!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8e/Dvd_xmb_img02_pop.jpg

[psme]

Feature request! Is there a way to use XMB menu, but not use the upper right corner chapter thumbnail? Thanks in advance.

regards,

Li On

[psme]

On drive M, I have a multiAVCHD created AVCHD output with 2 titles. Then I run multiAVCHD again, select the drive M AVCHD folder as input, and a bunch of other avchd folders from other harddrive, in order to add more titles to the existing multiAVCHD compilation. The Editor page correctly display all the existing and newly added titles entry. Then I click the "create multiAVCHD", and a error popup "(RT) Cannot rename file M:\AVCHD to M:\AVCHD-20090404-015718 - Line 6108."

System is WinXP, multiAVCHD build 495, output harddrive is FAT32.

regards,

Li On