Disappearing audio in transcode

[paquette]

I have been trying for some time to transcode an m2ts file (originally ripped with AnyDVD from a Blu-Ray disc of mine) to mpeg2. The main English track is DTS and that is all I want. After reading quite a few related threads in various discussions and doing some experimenting I have come to the following strategy:
1. Demux with tsMuxer;
2. Index with DGAVCIndex;
3. Use the following AviSynth (v. 2.58) script in HCenc (v. 0.23) to convert to m2v:

LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\DGAVCIndex\DGAVCDecode.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\NicAudio.dll")
v=AVCSource("D:\Video Hold\00050.dga")
a=NicDTSSource("D:\Video Hold\00050 PID 1100 C+L+R+SL+SR 48 1536 DELAY 0ms.dts",1)
AudioDub(v,a)

4. Use TMPGEng to do the final transcode to MPEG.
The AviSynth script plays the indexed (e.g. DGA) file and the DTS file fine in VirtualDub (a little jerky but I think that’s just due to hard disk activity—sync seems fine) the problem is that the m2v encode from HCenc has no audio when I play it in media player.
Can anyone tell me what is going wrong here and how to fix it?

[Guest]

4. Use TMPGEng to do the final transcode to MPEG.
The AviSynth script plays the indexed (e.g. DGA) file and the DTS file fine in VirtualDub (a little jerky but I think that’s just due to hard disk activity—sync seems fine) the problem is that the m2v encode from HCenc has no audio when I play it in media player.
Can anyone tell me what is going wrong here and how to fix it? You say you are using TMPGEnc and then you tell us about the result from using HCEnc!

HCEnc produces only a video stream. You have to mux that with the audio stream. One possibility for that is Imago Muxer.

[paquette]

Perfect—many thanks!

For some reason I thought HCenc could also multiplex the video and audio from an avisynth script that included both. ImagoMux works like a charm.

Many thanks again!

PS--Any reason I should be having trouble joining vobs from the ImagoMux segmented vobs in VobEdit????

[paquette]

Once again I am finding my frustration level rising quite high with this seemingly simple project. I have tried two different approaches to converting the VOBs from ImagoMuxer into DVD files (the VOBs play with no problem as standalone files!). One is CyberLink PowerProducer. It loads the files just fine but there is no audio—either in preview or in a DVD folder or as burned to a DVD. Incidentally, it doesn't matter whether I have read saved the VOBs from VobEdit or not. Once I import the VOBs into PowerProducer, there's no sound.

My second approach has been to try to create a basic DVD structure from scratch using IfoEdit as per

http://forum.videohelp.com/topic120021.html

or

http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/create_ifo_files_from_vobs_page4.html

When I try to play the resulting DVD files with Ifoedit (v. 0.97), I get an error message complaining about one of three video files not rendering.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Perfect—many thanks!

For some reason I thought HCenc could also multiplex the video and audio from an avisynth script that included both. ImagoMux works like a charm.

Many thanks again!

PS--Any reason I should be having trouble joining vobs from the ImagoMux segmented vobs in VobEdit????

[Guest]

If you are trying to make a DVD, then don't bother muxing with Imago Muxer. Use HCEnc to make a DVD compliant video stream. Then imput the audio and video streams directly into your DVD authoring program, such as Muxman or DVD Author.

[paquette]

Okay I'm rerunning HcEnc on the whole video-stream file and will try Muxman on it and the audio file. Just as an experiment while I'm waiting, however, I tried changing the extension on one of the vobs produced by Imago to mpg and using TmpgEnc to reencode a small part of it. Once more--no sound!

[paquette]

I just tried importing into PowerProducer a vob from a known-to-be working dvd folder. Same thing--no sound!

I would immediately jump to Codec problem but PowerProducer capture works just fine from my off-line satellite connection--no problem with audio!!!

Also this is a multiboot machine and I get the same thing in XP as in Vista!

Very puzzling!

[paquette]

While I'm working on other things and waiting for HCEnc to finish, I just used GSpot to check one of the files outputted by TMPGEng--it's two-channel stereo whereas all the original vobs are ac3 six channel. So could this all be about failure to deal with six-channel????

Does anyone know if VOBEdit automatically converts to two-channel???

[paquette]

I downloaded GUIfordvdauthor--worked perfectly!

Thanks!

[paquette]

I am having a problem with the resulting DVD. Basically it plays fine on Blu-Ray players but will not play on conventional DVD machines even if I use the “make DVD compliant” option in HCgui (0.23). When I click on “make DVD compliant” the info box gives me a warning that the resolution is not DVD-compliant.

Everything goes wonderfully with the HCenc encode and with GUIfordvdauthor but the resulting DVD does not play on conventional DVD players. The DVD folder, however, plays perfectly on WinDVD on my machine and the resulting DVD plays on Blu-Ray players, but only on Blu-Ray players. Is it possible that the whole process is not changing the resolution to 720 X 480? The VOB file sizes certainly suggest that the resolution has been changed and the GUIfordvdauthor log reports that it is saving as 720 X 480.

Other than resolution, what else might be wrong here? I am using all default settings in HCenc except I have changed profile to “best.”

Thanks for this!

[Guest]

You should ensure that your script delivers 720x480 @ 29.97 fps to HCEnc.

[setarip_old]

@paquette

Hi!

1) Silly question perhaps, but did you inadvertently burn the disc using UDF 2.50 format?

2) I believe that the DVD standard REQUIRES (in addition to the DTS audiostream you want to retain) either a PCM, an .AC3 or .MP2 audiostream...

[paquette]

Okay—I did some homework on AviSynth resizing filters and used Spline36Resize to resize to 720 X 480. That part seemed to work very well—HCenc now shows 720 X 480 input.

Now I have another problem, however. When I try to burn with ImgBurn I keep getting a series of "Miscompare at LBA ###" errors on verify and the DVD will not play.

I am actually not trying to put the original DTS track onto the DVD but rather an ac3 conversion of that track from eac3to.

Once again the DVD folder from GUIdvdauthor plays just fine using WinDVD.

I tried using FixVTS to fix LBA pointers but that didn't help at all.

[paquette]

Got to the bottom of this last night—AnyDVD was running. This problem went away as soon as I shut it off.

The ac3 audio still does not work, however. The (now definitely 720 X 480!) video plays just fine on a standard DVD player but the audio consists only of a few occasional loud snaps and pops even though the player display panel shows that it thinks it has standard Dolby sound.

Does anyone have any ideas?

WinDVD continues to play perfectly from the folder on the hard disk created by GUIforDVDauthor.

DVD (disc) also plays on both WinDVD and PowerDVD--with sound!

Tried Muxman--same thing!!

[paquette]

I have finally gotten to the bottom of my disappearing audio problem. The older model DVD player I was testing on was connected to stereo speakers and I was including only a 5.1 ac3 transcode of the original DTS track. When I included a two-channel transcode and used it, the older DVD player was happy and played the dvdauthor remux perfectly.

I clearly lost sight of the forest for the trees on this one!

Special thanks for the help along the way!

[setarip_old]

Glad to hear you've resolved your dilemma - however, since virtually all standalone DVD players automatically downconvert 5.1 .AC3 audio to stereo (When .AC3 ouytput is not possible on a system), I'd sooner believe that your DTS audiostream is still a DTS audiostream...

[paquette]

Perhaps so but both GSpot and IFoedit say that it's an ac3-6-channel track and the DVD machine I was testing on is a very early and rather unforgiving Pioneer. Anyway, it's good to have this little history behind me!