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

[jfcarbel]

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 :)

Sorry, I read the tutorial and made all the settings awhile ago. So it works and I forget what I had set everything too. What happens is when there is a full update, settings get lost. Memory is not as good as what it used to be :)

I tried once saving my ini file and always putting it back after a full install but it would sometimes reject it.

I will create a notes.txt file and keep it in the root so I don't forget next time. :stupid:

[deank]

Full updates (any updates) should not affect the settings (unless you're 20 builds behind). But a problem with a build betwen 540 and 543 made them reset unintentionally...

Build 547:

Mixed 4:3 / 16:9 MKV files are properly processed based on mkvinfo Display width/height info.
Panasonic SDHC option will not be unchecked on loading.
Warning pop-up for Panasonic is also gone.
Editor tab is now always visible. (Menu Tab will only show when you select an option to create a menu, thou)

And I'll call it a day... More to come :D

[jfcarbel]

About eac3to... it happens to fail with mov files, that's why I triple-backed it with mplayer and ffmpeg.

Dean, on my machine I get like 6 annoying popups about disk write errors when it tries to use eac3to. Not sure if its just related to MOV files only since I don't have much else to test it against. But wondering, if you can add a checkbox - "Always use other audio encode options, not eac3to" or something like that and with that checked it will use the other tools instead.

Unfortunately if I leave eac3to unchecked, for MOV file processing it will not default to the backup mplayer and ffmpeg and no stream gets created. Maybe a better solution is if MOV file is being processed and eac3to is not checked then just go ahead and use the others for AAC to AC3 conversion.

[Emulgator]

Unbelievable. Hats off to deank !
547 builds and 1540 posts in 116days.
I am so impressed, here comes my 50 € donation.

[deank]

:) Thanks!

[deank]

Build 548:

A serious bug with subtitles/video height/width when processing MKV files is fixed (introduced in build 545-546 - sorry).

[AVCHD for USB/SDHC/MS] and [AVCHD for DVD-R] buttons will now produce AVCHD compliant INDEX/CLPI/MPLS files - all will include the required Extended Data (IDEX/CLEX/PLEX).

Please someone with Panasonic/Samsung test if your players will play:

[AVCHD for DVD-R] output with [x] Stricter AVCHD folder mode checked (i.e. without CERTIFICATE/AUXDATA and all other non-AVCHD folders).

Dean

*****

NB!: Be advised that using BDedit with multiAVCHD index/playlist files will BREAK them and may render output unusable!

*****

A lot of build updates this afternoon... sorry. Latest is 549.

[deank]

Build 550:

For Panasonic SDHC mode:

You can now import previous AVCHD folders:

* normal multiAVCHD compilations
* Panasonic SDHC output type compilations
* Blu-ray BDMV folders, or
* Camcoder AVCHD structures.

:D

[deank]

Build 552:

* When importing AVCHD folders they will be identified by MAKER:
-- Sony
-- Panasonic
-- Canon
-- JVC
-- Nero
-- multiAVCHD
-- multiAVCHD for Panasonic TV
-- Blu-ray disc
-- or unknown (software product).
... and message is shown in the log tab.

* Fixed CPI/CLPI processing when importing AVCHD from camcoder (wrongly set resolution value).

* Reports show that [AVCHD for DVD-R] output from multiAVCHD
can be written to a DVD disc and played in BD players without the need
to put unneeded extra folders CERTIFICATE/AUXDATA/etc. which were used
to trick the player. Always use [x] Stricter AVCHD folder mode in Settings tab!

* I receive a lot of emails confirming that Panasonic SDHC output plays fine
in various models of SDHC-equipped Blu-ray players.
Panasonic TVs seem to refuse to play via SDHC at the moment.

Dean

[jsffm]

Hi,

first of all, an excelent program!

Following problem I had in the beginning of working with this program:

If I add a video with mp2-audio for automatic transcoding to ac3 and there are more than 1 audio-tracks inside, only the first audio-track is ok, all others are missing. Workaround for me: transcoding to ac3 before adding.
I didn´t see any changes for this issue in the changelog, so I guess the problem still exist.

One wish for the future:

Feeding the program with elementary streams. This is already impelemented for ac3-files, what I miss are m2v-files (video-only) and mp2-files.

Congratulations for this program.

[deank]

Does mediainfo provide correct information when processing m2v? multiAVCHD already supports .264 elementary stream and I can easily add .m2v. MP2 audio probably will not be added.

***

I added m2v support. Just run multiUPDATE.exe and try with *.m2v and *.ac3 to see what will happen.

[jsffm]

Does mediainfo provide correct information when processing m2v? multiAVCHD already supports .264 elementary stream and I can easily add .m2v. MP2 audio probably will not be added.

Your program doesn´t accept m2v directly. I tried folowing: Renaming from m2v to mpg and adding an ac3-audio track. Result was a m2ts-file with the audio-track, no video.

[deank]

Read my previous post. Also enable [x] Verbose logging and post your LOG. Also post a log from mediainfo.exe with a .m2v file.

[jsffm]

Read my previous post. Also enable [x] Verbose logging and post your LOG. Also post a log from mediainfo.exe with a .m2v file.

I will do this, when I´m at home this evening.

[jsffm]

I added m2v support. Just run multiUPDATE.exe and try with *.m2v and *.ac3 to see what will happen.

Works like a charm :-)

You are the Greatest!

You will find attached the logs.

Jsffm

[deank]

Build 552+/553+

* Added mpeg elementary stream support (m2v) (req)
* Added option for Panasonic Viera TV in Author (test)
* Fixed SSA to SRT conversion (unneeded comma at each line) (10x to drpaulng for noticing it)
* Fixed AAC to AC3 conversion (with eac3to option unchecked) (10x to mariner)
* Added MAKER ID for JVC camcoders when importing AVCHD folders (thanks to keysi_2 for the samples)
* Output AVCHD compilations will be marked with original maker id if imported from camcoder
* Warning in log if user creates [AVCHD for DVD/BD-R] without [x] Stricter AVCHD folder format option enabled
* Added support for index/playlist/clipinfo files larger than 64KB
* Version update prompt will show build number in pop-up question or "build+" if current build has a minor update.

User (Giuseppe Gagliardi) reported that build 552 allows multiAVCHD compilation to be played back in his Panasonic camcoder.

Dean

[jason_peters010]

Watched an 111 minute SDHC title on my BD35. No problems at all. Thanks for the great application!

Everyone, please contribute.

[deank]

It will be good if someone can test the new option with their Panasonic TVs and report in AVCHD for Panasonic SDHC thread.

[kenguru2005]

Since today I get the following error after proceeding:

http://home.arcor.de/spamlos/gif/290409.png

Problem solved ... thank you Dean

[deank]

:) Nice

So Build 556:

* Makes Panasonic TVs to play SDHC output (at least PAL TVs)
* Fixes with Title processing for AVCHD titles (thanks to kenguru2005)
* Panasonic BD players (using SDHC) should not get the 5-10 skip at playback start

Dean

[golemik]

Hi
How can I put files *.wmv in HD 1920x1080 to multiAVCHD
Thanks

[deank]

There is no support for WMV at this time.

***

Build 557:

* New panel in Author for Panasonic
* Option to force output resolution ID (for Panasonic SDHC compatibility) (1080i seems to work for most)

http://multiAVCHD.deanbg.com/multiavchd_author.jpg

[deank]

multiAVCHD version 2.6 Build 558 - April 30th, 2009 (full):

5 available output formats, all with strict compliance to standards - 3 for solid media, 2 for optical (1 for DVD-R discs).

Be advised that:

* All 5 modes produce specific and different output.
* Output is formatted explicitly for the devices listed in "Playback compatibility" and media in use (solid/optical).
* AVCHD output is different than the one produced by tsMuxeR alone.
* If you input Blu-ray folders/playlists they can be converted to AVCHD.
* If you input AVCHD folders they can be converted to Blu-ray.

[AVCHD for USB/SDHC/MS (Playstation 3)]
* 8.3 filenames
* FAT32 4GiB file size limit
* Supports menu
* Content restrictions: NTSC consoles do not support PAL (25fps) content
* Complies with AVCHD version 1
* Media: USB flash, USB HDD, SD card, SDHC card, MemoryStick card
* Playback compatibility: Playstation 3, software players

[AVHCD for Panasonic SDHC]
* 8.3 filenames
* FAT32 4GiB file size limit
* No menu (Direct navigator only)
* Complies with AVCHD version 1
* Media: SD card, SDHC card
* Playback compatibility: Playstation 3, Panasonic Blu-ray players and camcoders via SDHC card, software players

[AVHCD for Panasonic TV]
* 8.3 filenames
* FAT32 4GiB file size limit
* No menu (Direct navigator only)
* Content restrictions (PAL/NTSC and 1080i/1080p forced resolution)
* Complies with AVCHD version 1
* Media: SD card, SDHC card
* Playback compatibility: Playstation 3, Panasonic BD players, Viera TV sets and camcoders via SDHC card, software players

[AVCHD for DVD/BD-R]
* Long filenames
* UDF 2.50/2.60 file system required
* Supports menu
* Complies with AVCHD version 1
* Stricter AVCHD folder format option is recommended (only standard folders)
* Media: DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/BD-R/BD-RE. Book-type for DVD media should be DVD-R/RW, but never DVD-ROM.
* Playback compatibility: Playstation 3 and most Blu-ray players via optical media, software players

[Blu-ray for BD-R]
* Long filenames
* UDF 2.50/2.60 file system required
* Supports menu
* Complies with BDMV version 1 / Profile 1
* Media: BD-R/BD-RE
* Playback compatibility: Playstation 3 and most Blu-ray players via BD-R disc, software players

Depending on the player you're using, you may have to use only H.264 (AVC) video files with AC3 or LPCM audio for all 4 AVCHD modes.

To improve compatibility with audio formats, enable all conversions in Audio/Subtitles tab:

* PCM->AC3
* DTS->AC3
* TrueHD/DTS-MA/HRA->AC3
* AAC->AC3
* Select proper bitrate for Non-HD and HD audio conversions (max 640).

Dean


****

Few fixes in 558: Wrong title count (set to 1) in some SDHC modes, all mpls/clpi/bdmv files are processed to ensure compliance to output mode.
In 558+: Warning pop-up if creating output for FAT32 USB/SD/SDHC/MS media with 4GiB file-size limitation, but split point in Muxer tab is greater than 4000MiB.

[jagzjagz]

AVCHD for USB works beautifully for my PS3. However, I play the .mts files directly from any folder on my USB.

The posts here say that I'm supposed to place it all in the ROOT\AVCHD folder.

What is the difference? When I try placing in the ROOT\AVCHD folder, and pushing X, nothing works. If it is supposed to display a menu this way, it doesn't display.

Clarifications?

[deank]

If you don't use the AVCHD mode you can't have a menu.

1) Start multiAVCHD
2) It will create AVCHD folder
3) Move it to the root of your USB drive. Root means top-most-level in your drive, i.e. no subfolders. Root for drive C: is C:\ for example.

By "root" I don't mean "F:\ROOT\AVCHD" but simply "F:\AVCHD".

And the "posts say" and the LOG TAB says: in the ROOT of your drive not folder ROOT\AVCHD of your drive.

[jagzjagz]

OK. I tried that and I still don't see a menu. But the file plays correctly when I go into the sub directory to play the stream. I copied \AVCHD directly to the F:\ drive, "F:\AVCHD". Anyone ever encountered this? Am I supposed to press 'X' on the folder itself? Or what do I play?

[deank]

You're supposed to press "X" when your USB drive is selected, not to use "triangle"+"Display all" or anything else. You will then see "AVCHD" title - press "X" agian. It will only work if you used "AVCHD for USB" button in multiAVCHD. And you will see a menu if you CREATED one in the options.

[jagzjagz]

Got you:) Thank you. That worked perfectly. Only issue I guess was that my 1920 x 800 (probably non standard) size video did not center vertically on screen. Displayed a big black box on the bottom as it played on top. I assume that is due to the video resolution though.

[deank]

Yes. If you don't need subtitles and DTS/HD audio you can use file-play-mode as before and no menu.

[johnm60]

hi

I have been trying to get a movie to play on my Panasonic BD-35 on an 8GB SDHC card. I have previously generated an mkv file that is 7.6G according to Windows explorer and 7,856,521,216 bytes on the file properties. When I build the structure for Panasonic SDHC, the resulting directory structure is 8,295,972,864 bytes. Now this will not fit on the 8G SDHC card which reports 8,160,542,720.

The issue seems to be that the final MTS is always almost the same size as the previous ones, and I would not expect that if the source file is smaller.

Directory of D:\multiAVCHD\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM

30/04/2009 19:55 <DIR> .
30/04/2009 19:55 <DIR> ..
30/04/2009 19:50 2,095,159,296 00000.MTS
30/04/2009 19:52 2,093,008,896 00001.MTS
30/04/2009 19:54 2,094,292,992 00002.MTS
30/04/2009 19:55 2,013,401,088 00003.MTS
4 File(s) 8,295,862,272 bytes
2 Dir(s) 128,296,513,536 bytes free

Even if I leave the default split to 3999M, I get:

Directory of D:\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM

30/04/2009 18:12 <DIR> .
30/04/2009 18:12 <DIR> ..
30/04/2009 18:09 4,191,793,152 00000.MTS
30/04/2009 18:12 4,104,069,120 00001.MTS
2 File(s) 8,295,862,272 bytes
2 Dir(s) 128,296,513,536 bytes free

Is there something I am doing that is wrong? This is build 558.

Thanks
John

[deank]

You're doing nothing wrong. Buy a 16GB card if you want to use such large files. Another option is to cut last few minutes from your video (like with credits).

M2TS/MTS has about 7 to 11% overhead, depending on your audio/subtitle tracks. You can't have 7.5GiB MKV to be 7.5GiB m2ts - it will always get bigger.

[benchmarkjoe]

Hi Deank,
Would you look at the log file that I just convert from MKC to AVCHD to burn DVD-R that will be burned and play to Panasonic BD60? Should I use Nero9 or ImgBurn to DVD-R?

[18:54:16] Log started for multiAVCHD v2.6 (build 558)
[18:54:16] Processing 1 input file/folder.
[18:54:16] Temp folder does not exist. Set to C:\_TEMP.
[18:54:16] Strict AVCHD folder mode is enabled...
[18:54:16] Converting to BDMV structure (C:\Temp\E13.mkv).
[18:54:16] Detected video: ID#1:V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC:1280x720 29.970fps (AR:1.78)
[18:54:16] Detected audio: ID#2:A_AC3:audio (48000Hz/2ch) Language: und
[18:54:16] Adding subtitles (E13.srt) (und)
[18:54:16] Creating Blu-ray folders (tsMuxer)...
[18:54:55] Done!
[18:54:55] Processing playlist (00000.mpls)...
[18:55:00] Preparing authoring information...
[18:55:00] Top menu skipped. Playback will start from Title#1.
[18:55:01] Setting menu for 1 titles...
[18:55:01] Forced sequential playback from Title#1 forward.
[18:55:01] Completed.
[18:55:01] Done!
[18:55:02] C:\AVCHD\AVCHD folder created!
[18:55:02] Burn its CONTENTS to DVD-R/RW UDF 2.50/2.60 disc!

[Bakafish]

Dean, I haven't tested this yet, but is it correct to think that the Panasonic TV support is only for 1080i files?

[davsim]

Hi Deank,
Would you look at the log file that I just convert from MKC to AVCHD to burn DVD-R that will be burned and play to Panasonic BD60? Should I use Nero9 or ImgBurn to DVD-R?
Use ImgBurn and burn UDF 2.5.
Open ImgBurn
Click "Write files/folders to disc" (Mode: Build from main menu)
Make sure Output: Device is selected in the main menu
Add your folder
Click the Options tab
File System: UDF
UDF Revision: 2.50
Click the Labels tab
UDF: enter a name for your disc
Click build

Your disc should have the BDMV folder at the top/root level and the following sub-folders and files.

BDMV
BDMV\BACKUP
BDMV\CLIPINF
BDMV\PLAYLIST
BDMV\STREAM
BDMV\index.bmv
BDMV\MovieObject.bdmv

[18:54:16] Detected video: ID#1:V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC:1280x720 29.970fps (AR:1.78)
I'm not sure if that file is a compatible frame rate. It might play and it might not. 720P files should be 60p, 50p or 24p to ensure compatibility.

See the AVCHD specs to determine if your file should be compatible:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD#Specifications

If the video doesn't play, make sure 24P Output is disabled in the Setup menu. (TV/Device Connection: HDMI Connection: 24P Output)

[deank]

Hi Deank,
Would you look at the log file that I just convert from MKC to AVCHD to burn DVD-R that will be burned and play to Panasonic BD60? Should I use Nero9 or ImgBurn to DVD-R?

1) If you have SD card you can create a compilation for copying to SD/SDHC instead of burning.
2) Use the built-in option "Use ImgBurn" - it will make things easier.

It is better to use ImgBurn. Check it's settings, because the new version adds CERTIFICATE folder, which should not be added and is not present in the output.

Dean, I haven't tested this yet, but is it correct to think that the Panasonic TV support is only for 1080i files?

I put the 'force resolution' drop-down just in case. Use "Original" and test if your file is not 1080i/1080p. If it doesn't work - try with 1080i.

1920x1080 is AVCHD. 1280x720 is AVCHD lite, so may be Panasonic TV is not compatible (directly) with AVCHD lite.

Dean

[deank]

A small update for 559:

* Added information for detected video/resolution/etc when processing m2ts/ts/mpeg/mpg...files
* Added information about frame reference count (ref count) and warning if input video is not compliant (again for m2ts/mts)
* Fixed aspect ratio problem with some anamorphic 720x480/720x576 mkv files.

Dean

[strad]

Hello,
I would like to ask two questions:
1.) the menu screen shows 12 chapters to each title, scrolling to further chapters I couldn´t manage. Is that normal or do I miss something in the programs setup?
2.) what is the recommended format to burn, UDF 2.50 or 2.60, and what actually makes the difference?
Thank you!

[deank]

1) Maximum of 12 chapter thumbnails is available at this time
2) It doesn't matter if you use 2.50 or 2.60.

More about changes in UDF 2.60 you will find in section 6.17 - pages 155+ in this document (http://www.osta.org/specs/pdf/udf260.pdf) from osta.org (Optical Storage Technology Association).

[turbojet]

Is there any chance of a 'play all' button?

[deank]

Play all is implemented.

[x] Sequential title playback

if combined with:

[x] Skip welcome screen
[x] Skip top menu playback
[x] Quit on last title finished

or simply [x] No menu and [x] Quit on last title...

you will get "Auto play" on insert + "Play all" + Stop at the end.

[strad]

thank you Dean for the immidiate response and the link!

That´s quite a huge document, which I will try to look through later, but the last pages already give a certain overview.
Right now I found also this on Wikipedia:
2.50 (April 2003) für BD-RE
2.60 (March 2005) für BD-R
so one should prefer the specific version according to the type of disc?

[turbojet]

I realize that but 'play all' is much more descriptive and very common with retail menus.
I'm not saying as a replacement but mostly for commonality.

[deank]

thank you Dean for the immidiate response and the link!

That´s quite a huge document, which I will try to look through later, but the last pages already give a certain overview.
Right now I found also this on Wikipedia:
2.50 (April 2003) für BD-RE
2.60 (March 2005) für BD-R
so one should prefer the specific version according to the type of disc?

It's not quite like that...

6.16.3 Requirements for Blu-ray Disc Recordable Format (BD-R)
A Blu-ray Recordable disc (BD-R) is a Write-Once medium that can use Sequential
Recording Mode (SRM) either with or without Logical OverWrite (LOW). Drive based
defect management using the linear replacement algorithm is supported.
The Pseudo OverWrite (POW) Method as described in 6.15 can be applied on BD-R
media formatted using SRM with LOW.
The BD-R File System Format shall comply with UDF revision 2.60 for SRM with LOW
(POW) and shall comply with UDF 2.50 for SRM without LOW (non-POW).

I guess ImgBurn's author can say more about it. Defect-management is one thing that may be different.

I realize that but 'play all' is much more descriptive and very common with retail menus.
I'm not saying as a replacement but mostly for commonality.

I may rename [x] Sequential.. with [x] Play all... or use a HINT on mouse hover.

I can't put "Play all" button in the menu atm.

[strad]

Thank you for pointing out - I understand much better!

and

I may rename [x] Sequential.. with [x] Play all...

Good idea!

[deank]

If you use multiUPDATE.exe you will get it.

http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/multiavchd_author.jpg

[strad]

You are really the fastest and incredible one!

[turbojet]

I may rename [x] Sequential.. with [x] Play all... or use a HINT on mouse hover.

I can't put "Play all" button in the menu atm.

OK is it a limitation or just takes a lot of work to add a menu button?

Speaking of menu buttons is 'hiding' them so they are no longer accessible something you have knowledge about?

[strad]

besides "menu buttons" one little thing:
in the BDMV folder are two files - index.bdmv and MovieObject.bdmv -
is it essential to include those in the burning?

[deank]

Hiding and/or making a button inaccessible is easy. Adding a button is not hard, but it takes programming inside movieobject or/and the .m2ts file itself.

@strad: These two are one of the most important files that control BDMV/AVCHD playback. Without them nothing will work.

[turbojet]

Would you be up to writing a program that hides menu buttons and blanks titles (already figured out with a long hack) at some point?

I was going to try to learn to code to do this, but it's way above my head.

strad: yes the bdmv files are critical

[strad]

Thanks!
So I´m glad I didn´t delete those (as first intended), before burning yesterday my movies (46GB) on BD-R ....