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

[Atreide]

still no luck after multiUPDATE.exe but take it easy with the headache. You have already made serious progress and I 'm sure it'll all work very soon.
Take care.

[SeeMoreDigital]

I don't know what may cause sample#10 to work (1280x720) and other tries with same resolution to fail.I've done some more testing with my own 1280x720p encodes and.... I'm able to get my BD35 to play 25fps and 50fps sources :) But not my Panasonic TV's SD card slot :(

EDIT: Here's a sample (http://rapidshare.de/files/46895706/1280x720_25fps.7z.html).

[deank]

Here is another small SAMPLE#12 (http://rapidshare.com/files/225570874/SD_TEST12.exe) - 1280x720 - 1.5MB.

I hope it will work.

You can do some tests yourself:

Generate SDHC output and try this:

1) Change the value at offset 0x108 in 00000.CPI file from 0x51 to 0x41. Just the first octet.
If it is 51 -> 41, 52 -> 42, etc.

2) Change the value at offset 0x82 in 00000.MPL file the same way.

[Atreide]

Sample #12 brings the proper video menu but video preview is black and nothing plays when the file is selected.
Don't know how to edit .CPI and .MPL files, will check what I can do.

[Atreide]

SMD: what do you mean not your TV ?
Your sample is working on my BD-50 player and I see the video on my TV. How did you generate it ? was it from mkv file ?

[dec-pvr]

Just tried samples 11 & 12.

Both play audio - 11 gives a piano, 12 gives tone. Both a black screen though.

Also tried my own 720p@23.976 AC3 6ch = no go, just the direct navigator.

Haven't tried editing the files like you suggested - wouldn't know how.

All on my PAL BD35 firmware v1.4

[mariner]

Yes - here is SAMPLE#11 (http://rapidshare.com/files/225557535/SD_TEST11.exe) 30MB - 1920x1080@60p.

Thanks Dean. Let's hope we can get it tested by some Panasonic owners.

Best regards.

[mariner]

Sample #11 brings the proper video menu, with icon of a little girl at a piano, but video is not playing on my system (PAL Sony TV, BD-50 player)

Greetings Atreide. Many thanks for being the first volunteer to test 1920x1080@60P playback on Panasonic player.

Best regards.

[mariner]

Just tried samples 11 & 12.

Both play audio - 11 gives a piano, 12 gives tone. Both a black screen though.

All on my PAL BD35 firmware v1.4

Greetings dec-pvr. Many thanks for testing sample 11.

Shall leave it to Dean to interpret these results.

Best regards.

[SeeMoreDigital]

SMD: what do you mean not your TV ?I have a Panasonic TH-46PZ81B TV with built-in SD card slot, that can play std-def and high-def SD camcorder captures...

[davsim]

Here's my first test. Source is NTSC 1080i 29.97. I wasn't exactly sure how to handle the conversion, so I tried to keep the same settings and keep the file interlaced.

My first attempt actually plays in my BD60. Great work, deank!

Here is my test sample, please let me know if it works.

SD_TEST_DS001 (http://drop.io/g9834obrt#)

Can someone please share the best settings for MeGUI x264? What is the best way to handle 1080i 29.97 broadcast source, should it be de-interlaced and converted to another framerate?

Here are the settings I used:

http://www.cdupload.com/files/51999_6nkgw/megui-screens1.png

[jfcarbel]

Testing now on BD30

UPDATE:
MKV 720p would not work, but maybe I am getting menu struture wrong.

Should DCIM folder remain? I had removed it.

Also I copied the AVCHD file to PRIVATE, so it was:

PRIVATE
-->AVCHD
----->AVCHDTN
----->BDMV

Direct Navigator came up on BD30 and said there were no pictures to load.

Anyone get their MKV files working an Panny BD player and if so what steps did you follow?

UPDATE:
Forgot to mention, this was a 1280x720 MKV. I will see if I have other resolutions to test but this is a very common one for 90% of my MKV files.

[davsim]

I've done some more testing with my own 1280x720p encodes and.... I'm able to get my BD35 to play 25fps and 50fps sources :) But not my Panasonic TV's SD card slot :(

EDIT: Here's a sample (http://rapidshare.de/files/46895706/1280x720_25fps.7z.html).
I had an interesting result with your 1280x720 25fps sample on my US BD60 v1.5. (I added the missing DCIM and MISC folders from another test file along with your PRIVATE folder, just in case.)

When I selected the SD Card, it loaded into the "Direct Navigator" playlist screen showing your clip as "001 multiAVC 00:15". When I pressed OK or Play, it said "Cannot Play" and it did not play.

So, I hit Return to escape back out of the "Direct Navigator" AVC playlist screen and returned to the blank Panasonic blue background with the Blu-ray logo in the background and no menu.

I pressed Play from this default player background page and then I saw flashes of Blue to Black to Green colors, then your video and audio played fine. After the video completed, the screen flashed Blue, Black and Green again then returned to the Panasonic blue background screen.

[davsim]

Yes - here is SAMPLE#11 (http://rapidshare.com/files/225557535/SD_TEST11.exe) 30MB - 1920x1080@60p.
Panasonic BD60 v1.5 US results:

SAMPLE#11: plays video and audio fine. loads properly in the Direct Navigator playlist screen

[deank]

It seems different Panasonic players handle videos differently.

But most should play fine 1920x1080 and 1440x1080... and some 1280x720.

[davsim]

Here is another small SAMPLE#12 (http://rapidshare.com/files/225570874/SD_TEST12.exe) - 1280x720 - 1.5MB
Panasonic BD60 v1.5 US results:

SAMPLE#12: an interesting result: played from the playlist, a continuous audio tone is heard, but there is no picture, just a black screen. BUT, if I scan forward, I can see a few frames of orange, red SMPTE leader countdown numbers as shown in your uncropMKV screenshot. Another odd thing is that the scan forward (fast forward) doesn't stay on as normal, it flashes forward showing you video for a few seconds, then goes back to normal play speed and shows the blank/black screen.

On a normal program, scan/fast forward will stay active until manually deactivated. It is possible that the clip is too short and stops at the end, but it is odd that it only shows a few picture frames before going back to black even at the slowest scan forward speed.

[jfcarbel]

It seems different Panasonic players handle videos differently.

But most should play fine 1920x1080 and 1440x1080... and some 1280x720.

But my BD30 played your sample clips that were made from MKV 1280x720 (24 intro). However, when I gave it my 1280x720 MKV it failed, hmmm odd. I still need to try a run with the DCIM folder there since it was removed on this try.

UPDATE:
Does not play with the DCIM or MISC files present either, bummer. I just don't get how Dean's 1280x720 MKV sourced worked on my BD30 but not this one. I am going to format my SDHC with Panasonic Formatter and give it another go to see if that makes any difference.

UPDATE2:
Tried the reformat and added DCIM and MISC from the Sample10 that had worked on my BD30, but no luck.

Here is mediainfo for my file:

Complete name : D:\XXXXXX.720p.HDTV.x264.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 1.09 GiB
Duration : 42mn 17s
Overal bit rate : 3700 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2009-04-17 02:28:48
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.3.0 ('Freak U') built on Oct 7 2008 20:39:59
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 42mn 15s
Bit rate : 3160 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 3312 Kbps
Width : 1280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16/9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.150
Writing library : x264 core 67 r1123tw
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=hex / subme=6 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=16 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=3312 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English

Audio
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 42mn 17s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Rear: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

[mariner]

Panasonic BD60 v1.5 US results:

SAMPLE#11: plays video and audio fine. loads properly in the Direct Navigator playlist screen

Greetings davsim.

You've just identified the first BD player that will handle 1920x1080@60P video. Congratulations.

It wold be interesting to see how well the BD60 will handle it in BR and DVD-R.

Thanks and best regards.

[jfcarbel]

Panasonic BD30 Latest 2.8 firmware

SAMPLE#12: Does not play, panasonic video menu does show and title shows multiAVCHD, but when go to play clip just get black screen and pops back to menu.

SAMPLE#11: Show video menu, video appears to play but its only a thumbnail in upper left corner that flashs on and off with just the first frame from the video, so no go on the BD30

[mariner]

Greetings Dean.

Looks like you've done it again, nailing down another non-complaint blu-ray format. This is simply amazing.

Many thanks and best regards.

[davsim]

Here's is my second test clip, which plays in my BD60. Please test it and report your results.

SD_TEST_DS002 (http://drop.io/8at5oga#)

Source: MPEG2/AC3 NTSC broadcast 720P 1280x720 59.94fps, re-encoded with MeGUI x264 MKV keeping original AC3.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Looks like you've done it again, nailing down another non-complaint blu-ray format. This is simply amazing.Indeed, the AVCHD specification was developed by Panasonic and Sony to store audio and video on memory cards for use with std-def and high-def camcorders... It's a totally different and separate specification to Blu-ray...

[SeeMoreDigital]

Here's is my second test clip, which plays in my BD60. Please test it and report your results.Plays fine with my BD35 too...

[Atreide]

Plays also in the BD50 with no problem

[deank]

May be it's a good idea to move Panasonic testing/sample-posting in another thread.

I'll look again at this 1280x720 sample... it may be the AVC level or its duration...

[jfcarbel]

Plays fine with my BD35 too...

And with my BD30 as well.

In reference to:
SD_TEST_DS002

Source: MPEG2/AC3 NTSC broadcast 720P 1280x720 59.94fps, re-encoded with MeGUI x264 MKV

[jfcarbel]

I'll look again at this 1280x720 sample... it may be the AVC level or its duration...

I thought the same thing. I was going to try and grab just the intro from my MKV file, can I use tsmuxer for that?

Also noticed the CABAC frames of 3 vs 5 was different on my source, although I doubt thats the issue.

Also the bitrate was higher and the MKV sourcfe file was created using a later build of x264
Then again davisim clip was encoded using later version of x264 and that worked on my BD30, hmm a mystery to be solved

[deank]

It is easy to encode AVC material that will play in your panasoncs... The idea is with those already encoded video files.

[SeeMoreDigital]

May be it's a good idea to move Panasonic testing/sample-posting in another thread.Good idea :)

[jfcarbel]

Did anyone get their longer duration MKV files 1280x720 working in their Panasonic BD player?

If so please post your mediainfo to both the MKV and the mediainfo from resulting file produced by multiAVCHD. And you player model #/firmware

That should help maybe shed some light on this.

UPDATE: Hold off on this until Dean creates another thread for SDHC testing.

[davsim]

(Sorry, I will move new testing discussion to: AVCHD support in Panasonic SDHC compatible players (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146602).)

Okay, this is my third test. It plays in my BD60. Please test and report back.

SD_TEST_DS003 (http://drop.io/lv3wizo#)

Source: deank's SAMPLE#12 - 1280x720 - 1.5MB

I re-encoded deank's original SAMPLE#12 with the settings I've been using (already posted).

Notes:

MeGUI input DAR said 1.778, I selected NTSC ITU 16:9.

AVS wrong colorspace error in MeGUI, so I said ok to correct it ConvertToYV12()

I selected High Profile L4.0 in MeGUI, although MediaInfo says Main@L4 for my file. deank's original says HIGH@L4.1.

[deank]

Please move your discussion here. (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=146602)

Thanks.

[phate89]

sorry deank..can you read my problem i wrote in the uncropmkv post? thanks a lot :)

[elijah.baley]

Hello Dean,

I am getting an error message "Failure to move file ... Line 2164" when allowing multiAVCHD to move input files directly to output folder (option: move transitional files [all]).

Stefan

[elijah.baley]

And choosing thumbnail view for menu produces error "cannot open .\temp\01405.nav -Line 2260"

XMB menu works though.

[Phil9]

And choosing thumbnail view for menu produces error "cannot open .\temp\01405.nav -Line 2260"

XMB menu works though.

Yeah I'm also getting the same error message since updating to the latest version.

[aladdino]

Hello Dean,

somedays before you fix the sound delay's in some mkv. I test today and it doesn't work. Can you fix it, please?

Anyway, Thank you for your great program.

Example: delay audio 1 vs video : 11ms
and delay audio 2 vs video:4000 ms

Info from Mediainfo 0.7.13:

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 43mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 24 bits
Video delay : 11ms
Stream size : 1.11 GiB (14%)
Title : English DTS 1509kbps
Language : English


Audio #2
ID : 4
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 43mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : 4s 0ms
Stream size : 285 MiB (3%)
Language : Spanish

[deank]

And choosing thumbnail view for menu produces error "cannot open .\temp\01405.nav -Line 2260"

XMB menu works though.

I'm sorry. It is fixed now but you'll need to do FULL download or multiAVCHD.dat update.

[phate89]

do you found the solution for my problem in uncropmkv?

[deank]

I can't do anything. If you upload a sample somewhere - I'll download it and will take a look.

[phate89]

I can't do anything. If you upload a sample somewhere - I'll download it and will take a look.

i send the link with a part (33 sec) of my video in a pvt message..let me know something ;)

[deank]

CalcIT author dhmk (Dimitris Klaras) updated the core library (calclib.dll) this morning to address the issue with Windows DEP protection.

Download the updated DLL here (http://rapidshare.com/files/225927017/calclib_DLL.exe) (600kb) and replace it in all your tools (multiAVCHD, popBD, uncropMKV).

It will be included in all full downloads.

[jfcarbel]

Has anyone had luck in saving down Apple HD movie trailers in the MOV files and then using multiAVCHD to convert these to something playable on standalones like the Panasonic BD players?

I know that some of those trailers are in odd resolutions (i.e. 1280x544) and maybe it requires use of uncropMKV before inputing into multiAVCHD. But with a 544 resolution it looks like the widescreen black borders have been cropped so do they need to get added back and what tool?

I ask now because I have always wanted to watch these trailers on a big screen TV rather than a computer and with mutliAVCHD now offering AAC to AC3 conversion, this should work, I think. But, when I try with the MOV file I have as is, it fails to create any stream file and the multiAVCHD log gives me warnings that tsmuxer probably failed due to bad input file.

Are there any special settings needed to be checked in multiAVCHD to get it to work or some pre-processing to the MOV file?

[deank]

Try to rename your .mov file to .mp4 and try again.

[jfcarbel]

Try to rename your .mov file to .mp4 and try again.

Okay, that worked in producing a stream, but the stream is still 1280x544 so it probably won't work in the BD player since its a non-compliant resolution, but I will give it a go.

Also, eac3to in logs said did not succeed in converting the audio track so it moved onto using ffmpeg. Odd because I have multiAVCHD pointed to the lastest eac3to directory and the Nero AAC command-line files are in the eac3to directory also. Maybe its my Comodo HIPs getting in the way.

[jfcarbel]

Hi all, Dean just accomplished getting Panasonic SDHC support working this weekend in multiAVCHD. The feature set is everything we would need, but there are some extras he can still add, but if these are something that you want then you should donate and give him some incentive to work on them as not everyone will want these. I have already donated in appreciation for this support of SDHC features, but I am only one of 5 donators in the 20 he really wanted so that he could purchase a BD player for easier testing. So if you want some features like this here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1278517#post1278517) that I requested, then make sure to donate.

Great work Dean on the SDHC support and many Thanks!

[deank]

Okay, that worked in producing a stream, but the stream is still 1280x544 so it probably won't work in the BD player..

Also, eac3to in logs said did not succeed in converting the audio track so it moved onto using ffmpeg.

Give it a try... NC resolutions will either work or not at all... Nothing can be done unless they're reencoded.

About eac3to... it happens to fail with mov files, that's why I triple-backed it with mplayer and ffmpeg. One of them 3 should do the work :)

[jfcarbel]

I notice when creating AVCHD for DVD its not creating the CERTIFICATE folder anymore. I believe my Panasonic BD30 requires it and it was always produced before.

UPDATE:
Without this CERTIFICATE folder AVCHD DVDs are no longer playable on the Panasonic BD30, says disk is incompatible, Dean?

[deank]

There is an option in Settings - [x] Stricter AVCHD folder mode... you need to uncheck it.

And it is good to read the guide/tutorial sometimes, too :)

Probably your settings got reset by some of the previous builds when this Panasonic message would pop-up on loading.

[jfcarbel]

Give it a try... NC resolutions will either work or not at all... Nothing can be done unless they're reencoded.

About eac3to... it happens to fail with mov files, that's why I triple-backed it with mplayer and ffmpeg. One of them 3 should do the work :)

Nope, tried it on the SDHC card and all it played was the audio and video was blank. I was able to reencode using the below and it looks great and works great on an SDHC card.

Try this to get Apple trailer clips to work an standalones:

Requires QuickTime Pro:

If the video resolution shown at the bottom of the dialog box is EXACTLY 1920x1080 or 1280x720, then all is great, and you can skip steps but most have odd resolutions like 1280x544 or 1920x804

1. Select Export... menu
- Choose "Movie to MPEG-4"
- then click "Options..." button and see steps 2 and 3 below

2. Under Video Format,
- leave File Format as "MP4"
- change Video format to "H.264"
- Image Size select either 1920x1080 or 1280x720
- check "preserve aspect ratio" and make sure "Letterbox" is selected.
- Under framerate, select "current"
- change bitrate to something more appropriate for HD video anywhere - from 8000-10000

3. Under Audio Format,
- choose pass through

4. click Ok, then Save and wait, then you will have a proper input file for multiAVCHD

NOTE: Your video won't be scaled but the video will have to be reencoded to add the black letterbox bars to create an HD resolution image. If you want to do a multipass reencode for higher quality at the cost of additional encoding time, select the "Video options" button, and change the encoding mode to "Best Quality (Multi-pass)"

If you try this let me know how it works, I have only tried this on about 4 trailers but all worked great.