HCenc 024

[mikenadia]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=133470 (posts 7 to 10)

[~Revolution~]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=133470 (posts 7 to 10)

Thanks! :)

[cweb]

I tested the issue reported in the HCEnc 023 thread and it still crashes. The issue I'm referring to is referenced here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1228612#post1228612), here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1228941#post1228941) and here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1229102#post1229102).

I have this issue too when I use dgmultisource From the latest dgindexnv with hc encoder beta 24. Version 23 works for me so I'm switching back to that.

[Sharc]

Source is interlaced cptured *.avi, 25 fps = 50 fields per second at half hight.
Encoding with HCenc 0.24 set to 'interlaced' produces 2 identical (possibly blended) fields@50 fields per second when analyzing the encoded .m2v with SeparateFields(). I would have expected to get 2 different fields like in the original. Do I get something wrong?

[dansrfe]

When I encode progressive content, should I set it to top field (If I choose auto as the mode and Top Field First) or bottom field? Also, should I set DGPulldown to the same setting as used for HCEnc or it doesn't matter? As a matter of fact I'm not even sure if the "field" setting in HCEnc or DGPulldown matter for progressive material.

[dansrfe]

Anyone? :o

[AVIL]

Hi,

I`ve never used DGPulldown but IMHO in progressive footage, the field indicator is irrelevant. In HCENC's interlacing options (Settings 1 tab) you check the progressive hole and field indicators are automatically greyed and (very probably) ignored.

[dansrfe]

How can I run pass 1 and pass 2 separately? I want to be able to do pass 1 then start pass 2 after a restart of my computer.

[hank315]

It's not possible, there's a lot of intermediate data which only resides in memory so pass 1 and 2 have to be done in one run.

[dansrfe]

I'm just curious but is the avs file needed for the second pass in HCenc or does it just load that from memory? For that matter what about x264 and XviD second passes? Thanks.

[hank315]

I'm just curious but is the avs file needed for the second pass in HCenc or does it just load that from memory? For that matter what about x264 and XviD second passes? Thanks.
Avisynth will invoke the script again at the start of the HCenc second pass. I don't know how x264 and Xvid handle the second pass.



New HC024 beta, 31-07-2010.

- bug fixed using lossless mode
- minimum autogop size set to 8
- some small GUI changes

download here (http://hank315.nl/files/HC024_beta_31-07-2010.zip)

[mikenadia]

Thanks a lot hank315 for the new beta.
.
HC seems to have scene change on by default and to have scene change off, we just put NOSCD in the Ini file. Is it possible to have the ability to put scene change on in the Ini file. I am using Rb-opt that during some sampling phase is sending the NOSCD instruction to HC and I would like to have the possibility to overwrite it.

I was wondering if the scene change detection system could have different settings (strong...) or if it was not efficient enough because if in the avs file, I have SelectRangeEvery (250,13) with Autogop 13 in the ini file, I was expecting to have always GOP 13 * Closed and some are open . Same thing if I put autogop 15, most of them are GOP 13 * closed but I have some GOP 15 * and GOP 11 * Open.
I know I will just put GOP 13 2 but it was just a thought.
The likelihood that there is no SCD every 13 frames is low.

Thanks a lot.

[manolito]

HC seems to have scene change on by default and to have scene change off, we just put NOSCD in the Ini file. Is it possible to have the ability to put scene change on in the Ini file. I am using Rb-opt that during some sampling phase is sending the NOSCD instruction to HC and I would like to have the possibility to overwrite it.
I believe that this would be a bad idea. The concept behind HC's interface is that a setting passed via command line will ALWAYS override a setting in the INI file. I would hate to see this consistency disappear...

Cheers
manolito

[mikenadia]

From Hank315:
Avisynth will invoke the script again at the start of the HCenc second pass. I don't know how x264 and Xvid handle the second pass.

Even in lossless mode?

@manolito : no problem!

[Boulder]

- minimum autogop size set to 8Thanks :)

[manolito]

@mikenadia
I am using Rb-opt that during some sampling phase is sending the NOSCD instruction to HC and I would like to have the possibility to overwrite it
If you want to take control over the command line parameters passed to HC by some other software (like RBOpt) you can use a small wrapper script (a simple batch file will do) to filter the command line parameters.

The following batch file will discard any -scene and -noscene parameters passed to HC. Save it to a file like HC_mod.bat to your HC folder and instruct RBOpt to use this batch file instead of HCenc.exe

@ECHO Off
SET HC_DRIVE=%~d0
SET HC_PATH=%~p0
SET CMDLINE=

%HC_DRIVE%
CD "%HC_PATH%"
IF NOT EXIST HCenc.exe COPY /b HCenc*.exe HCenc.exe >NUL

:assemble
IF !%1==! GOTO doit
IF NOT %1==-scene IF NOT %1==-noscene SET CMDLINE=%CMDLINE% %1
SHIFT
GOTO assemble

:doit
HCenc.exe%CMDLINE%
Note: This batch file assumes that your HC executable is HCenc.exe. If it does not find a file with this name it will rename any file with the filespec HCenc_xxx.exe to HCenc.exe.

Cheers
manolito

[mikenadia]

Thanks a lot, Manolito. I was already using the wrapper HCwrap from Darksoul ( hence my initial request : NOSCD in HCwrap.txt is working but SCD is not) and will use yours on top of that.

[Taurus]

Avisynth will invoke the script again at the start of the HCenc second pass. I don't know how x264 and Xvid handle the second pass.



New HC024 beta, 31-07-2010.

- bug fixed using lossless mode
- minimum autogop size set to 8
- some small GUI changes

download here (http://hank315.nl/files/HC024_beta_31-07-2010.zip)
Just to mention: :confused:
7 out of 42 Virusscanners at virustotal.com are detecting the new beta as a virus.
Filesize of the older version 2MB, new version only 438KB.
Same for the SSE4 version.
Is this packer related?
Dont have the time to analyze and investigate.

[manolito]

@mikenadia
HCWrap is very nice, but in your case this approach cannot work. HCWrap modifies the INI file for HC, but if the calling application issues a command line parameter to HC, this will always override any setting in the INI file.

You need a wrapper which sits between the calling application and HCenc.exe and modifies the command line parameters (not the INI file).

My batch script approach is a littly clumsy, but it works well, and it cannot only kill parameters from the command line, it can also replace parameters.

Example:
IF %1==-hq SET CMDLINE=%CMDLINE% -profile best
I need this when I use HC inside DVD2SVCD which only supports QuEnc.

The only cosmetic flaw using this method is that there is no way to hide the console window which pops up when a batch file is executed. Solution: Compile the batch file using Quck Batch File Compiler by Abyssmedia in "Ghost Application" mode.
(There is an older version of this app where they forgot to activate the shareware nag screen in ghost mode... PM me if you are interested)

Cheers
Manolito

[manolito]

@Taurus,
Yes, this is packer related. The current beta is packed with MPress, and the AV companies are still too ignorant. You probably remember when they would tag any file packed with UPX or even any AutoIt executable. Bottom line here:
FALSE ALARM

The only thing which bugs me is that MPress does not have an unpack option (contrary to UPX). Hank probably got annoyed with people like me who have the habit to explore EXE files with a hex editor to find undocumented commands...:devil:


Cheers
manolito

[Taurus]

@manolito
Thanks for clarification.
I noticed Mpress, but wasn't sure about its features :p

[hank315]

From Hank315:
Avisynth will invoke the script again at the start of the HCenc second pass. I don't know how x264 and Xvid handle the second pass.

Even in lossless mode?
Yes it still does that when lossless is active although there's no real need for it, will dump it.


About the new exe files, they are packed with Mpress 2.15 and I checked it with Avast Anti Virus which I use, no problem.

The only thing which bugs me is that MPress does not have an unpack option (contrary to UPX). Hank probably got annoyed with people like me who have the habit to explore EXE files with a hex editor to find undocumented commands...:devil:
LOL...:rolleyes: the files are just smaller but if it's a problem I will upload it again unpacked.
I kind of like the fact it can't be unpacked, it's also a (weak) protection against reverse engineering :)

[manolito]

:):):):):)

Did a few encodes with the new beta in 1-pass VBR mode, all is good...
But this small issue is still there: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1408705#post1408705


Cheers
manolito

[tin3tin]

Avira has no problems with the gui version, but the non gui version is causing a false positive and the file is locked up making it unuseable. :(

I wonder why - are they packed differently?

[hank315]

First of all a small bug report for HC 0.24 beta 04-04-2010:
In 1-pass VBR mode the HC log file always reports an average quantizer which is too small by a factor of 10 (0.400 instead of 4.00). Haven't tested it in 2-pass VBR.
I can't repeat this, somebody who can?

@tin3tin
All files were compressed using the same settings.
Seems this doesn't work for everyone, the AV companies should do a better job :devil:
Will update it soon, unpacked.

[manolito]

Just double-checked this again, but only in 1-pass VBR. Here's the log:

---------------------------------------
| HCenc - MPEG2 encoder - rel. 0.24.0 |
---------------------------------------

MPEG profile@level: MP@ML
input: I:\Movies\AviSynth_Script_file.avs
output: I:\Movies\Encoded_Video_QuEnc_PAL.mpv

--------------------
| encoder settings |
--------------------

profile: FAST
frames: 0 - 174924
framerate: 25.000
aspect ratio: 16:9
chroma format: 4:2:0
bitrate Kb/s: 4784
max. bitrate Kb/s: 8500
pass: 1 (VBR)
pulldown: no
closed gops: no
VBV check: yes
scene change det: yes
interlaced: auto, TFF
goplen,B-pic: AUTO
dc_precision: 10
intraVLC: auto
scan method: auto
bias: 30
chapter frames: 0
time code: 0 0 0 0
CPU: MMX
priority: idle
SMP active: no
matrix: CUSTOM, adaptive
luminance gain: yes, level 2
adaptive quantization: yes, strength 2
deadzone quantization: auto

------------------
| source stats |
------------------

nr. of frames in source: 174925
width*height: 720x576
fps: 25.000
nr. of frames to encode: 174925
frames to encode: 0 - 174924

-------------------------
| encoding - 1 pass VBR |
-------------------------

pass 1 encoding time: 4:05:33 (14733.12 s)
fps: 11.9

------------------
| encoding stats |
------------------


adapted intra matrix used
adapted non-intra matrix used

nr. of gops: 12332
nr. of frames: 174925
nr. of I-frames: 12332
nr. of P-frames: 48942
nr. of B-frames: 113651
average bitrate: 4787
minimum bitrate: 148
maximum bitrate: 8499

bytes in bitstream: 4188556128
bits in bitstream: 33508449024

average Quantizer: 0.608

total CPU time: 4:15:29 (15329.12 s)
total elapsed time: 4:19:13 (15552.74 s)

Base Q determined in stage 1 of the sampling phase was 5.47, so an average quantizer of 6.08 makes sense.

Cheers
manolito

[mikenadia]

Cosmetics.
It seems that Hc crashes (failed to successfully initialize avisynth )
when the last line of the avs is a LoadPlungin( ).
If I put a command (Trim, convert,filter...) after that, everything is fine (those avs generated automatically :)).
I did not try with another encoder ; it may not be HC issue.

Thanks.

Explanation in post 2 of http://doom10.org/index.php?topic=452.0

Edit:
@um3k;
That is why I said " cosmetics". Those avs files are generated automatically by Rb-opt when sample size= 100% and I cannot intercept them to edit them ( I can do it after the crash, but not patient enough to do it 20 times in a row!). In this particular case, I'd rather have sample size less than 100% so that the last line of the avs file is "SelectRangeEvery".
Rb-opt , in its prediction phase, is taking an avs script generated by DVD-RB ( which begins by Loadplugin and mpeg2source) and is adding after that, its own LoadPlugin and SelectRangeEvery (only if sample size is less than 100%). Hence, the issue and its solution. It was just a curiosity.:)


@hank315
May be put in the log autogop 12 instead of auto.
Thanks.

[um3k]

Why not just put the source filter after the LoadPlugin calls? That's the usual way to do it.

[hank315]

New HC024 beta.

It's pretty much the same as the 31-07-2010 release, files are not packed.

The bug reported by manolito about the logged 1pass VBR Quant value is fixed.

download here (http://hank315.nl/files/HC024_beta_05-08-2010.zip)

[Guest]

Any chance to answer the question I asked you in PM? Thank you.

[tin3tin]

No complains from Avira anymore. :)

However the non-gui version still crashes for me in the end of the first pass(at 50%) like all the previous 0.24 betas.

Same thing if I use the default hc.ini.

In the error details it says that it is somehow connected to 'ntdll.dll'.

I think I've already send you the avisynth script, which is the script from DVD slideshow GUI. If not here's a script which makes HCenc crash for me:
http://download.videohelp.com/tin2tin/crash.avs (http://download.videohelp.com/tin2tin/crash.avs)

Can anyone else confirm this bug?

[Guest]

Can anyone else confirm this bug? I don't know if it is the same bug but I too get crashes. I've notified Hank and provided details of a possible cause and patiently await his response.

[Boulder]

I think I had similar crashes a long time ago with HC023. I never found out the cause though.

[video_magic]

If it's crashing at the end of the 1st pass, have you guys tried using the *AVSRELOAD command?

If that doesn't work then sometimes *LOSSLESS


....
However the non-gui version still crashes for me in the end of the first pass(at 50%) like all the previous 0.24 betas.

Same thing if I use the default hc.ini.

In the error details it says that it is somehow connected to 'ntdll.dll'.
..... ...

[tin3tin]

If it's crashing at the end of the 1st pass, have you guys tried using the *AVSRELOAD command?

If that doesn't work then sometimes *LOSSLESS
*AVSRELOAD = crash.
*LOSSLESS = no crash.
... however it would be nice to render without hogging up the harddisk with a huge temp file(potentially running out of hhd space during render etc. DVD slideshow GUI uses HCenc to render).

[video_magic]

It seems that you problem is that the 2nd-pass decode of your source is not bit-identical with the 1st-pass decode.

That is why *LOSSLESS worked for you, because it used the same file already decoded from the first pass (so guaranteed to be the same).

So you need to look at what decoders and decoder settings are being used on your source which you are feeding to HCEnc; something to definitely try is:

Not using multi-threading decoding. Either turn off that setting, and/or also try a different decoder if possible.

Avoid Directshow decoding - is there another way of feeding in your sourcefile? There are usually alternatives available.

[Mr. Monte]

Would also like an unpacked version.

Over here in Kuwait..the filtering is blocking

Had my wife in the states try to download it..got the file..but Google will not allow it to be attached to an email to send it to me. Even if I rename it

Thanks

[hank315]

Here's another build (http://hank315.nl/files/HC024_beta_09-08-2010.zip), the way Avisynth is used has been updated.
Many thanks to neuron2 for his help on this.

It might solve some of the mentioned crash issues but still beta...

Note: files are NOT packed.

[Guest]

For use with DGDecNV please use build 2024. Hank and I have coordinated our efforts to make a crash-free result. Please report if you still see any crashes with these two versions of the software. Of course, also report if you see crashes with HCEnc using other source filters.

(There are some rare instances of HCEnc hanging before starting the encoding, but it is reproducible with different source filters, so it is not attributable to DGNV. Hank has duplicated it and is investigating.)

Thanks for your efforts to resolve these issues, Hank!

[tin3tin]

It seems that the 50% bug(1.pass) bug has been fixed. :)

[Guest]

Good news. Thank you for your testing.

[Mr. Monte]

For use with DGDecNV please use build 2024.

Neuron,

I do not see build 2024. I have the Beta build dated 09-08-2010...and when I clcik on the about HC it says 0.24.0

Is this the one? (BTW I am using the SSE3.exe)

TIA

[Revgen]

2024 is DGDecNV, NOT HCEnc.

[Mr. Monte]

Roger..thanks

[AGKnotUser]

I have tried to upgrade the version of HCenc from 0.23 to the more recent betas of 0.24. Any version past 12-29-2008 fails to run unexpectedly. It may run for one segment, it may run for 30 segments, but they all fail at some point. The error message is: ERROR, input not complete, required input: input file, output file, bitrate, maxbitrate. I'm running Win 7 Home Prem. 64 bit.

[soneca]

The same thing happens here with any beta version 0.24.
Use DVD Rebuilder + HCenc since version 0.17/18 and never had problems until now.

[hank315]

There are some rare instances of HCEnc hanging before starting the encoding, but it is reproducible with different source filters, so it is not attributable to DGNV. Hank has duplicated it and is investigating.
This should be solved now, I did about 30000 short encodes, no hangs anymore.

Download here (http://hank315.nl)

[Guest]

Thanks, Hank. I can no longer duplicate the hang with that build.

[soneca]

Now seems to be alright!
Could encode without crashes!:)

:thanks: Hank

[hank315]

Thanks for testing...
Nice to see a friday 13h build works OK :)