HD to DVD (MPEG-2)

[Blue Star]

Hi, I have edited a movie and now I'm gonna burn it to a DVD.

Exported as an .avi (huffyuv) from Premiere Pro.

The movie is 1920x1080, 25 fps.
Audio = PCM (Uncompressed)

I want it to 16:9 PAL DVD and to not get wrong proportions I have to scale it down to 720x404 (Multiples of 4) or 720x400 (Multiples of 16).

I wonder which is the easiest and best way to do this and which is the best choice of 720x404 and 720x400?


Examples:

Resize in VirtualDub, export as Huffyuv, encode with MainConcept MPEG Encoder, create VIDEO_TS files with DVD Flick and burn with ImgBurn.

Resize with AviSynth, encode with HC Encoder, Create VIDEO_TS files with DVD Flick and burn with ImgBurn.

Resize with AviSynth, encode with HC Encoder, burn with DVD ReBuilder.

Maybe any other better or faster ways?

If I want a DVD menu I will import the mpeg2 files to DVD-Lab Pro before creating VIDEO_TS files and burn!


Edit:
If I try to encode my avs script an error appear:
error loading Avisynth script AVISource couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc

In GSpot it says "Codec(s) are NOT Installed" Codec=HFYU. I can't understand how to install the codec. Installed both 32bit and 64bit versions of Huffyuv 2.1.1 but neither work. In 64bit VirtualDub I could find it but not in 32bit.

[manono]

You resize to 704x576 (padding out to 720 if you wish) and encode as 16:9:

AVISource("C:\Path\To\Video.avi")
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",Clamp=0)
LanczosResize(704,576)#or your favorite resizer
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

If it's not in YUY2, you might also want to convert the colorspace (does MainConcept expect YUY2?). HCEnc requires YV12 input.

error loading Avisynth script AVISource couldn't locate a decompressor for fourcc
What's the fourcc? Maybe someone else can help with that one. It seems to me if you installed HuffYUV, you have the decompressor. I don't use HuffYUV so I don't know.

Resize with AviSynth, encode with HC Encoder, burn with DVD ReBuilder.
DVD-RB isn't a burning program. Always use ImgBurn to burn to disc.

Maybe any other better or faster ways?
You could probably export it already resized. You can probably frameserve it directly to the encoder. But I don't use Premiere so someone else will have to help.

[hank315]

@manono
A bit off topic but the latest release of HCencoder (025) also accepts YUY2 input.
With YUY2 input, output can be YUY2 or YV12 format, default is YV12.

[manono]

Thanks, hank315. I appreciate the correction.

[Blue Star]

Thanks!

I don't export it resized because I've read that Premiere is not good at this.

I havn't solved the Huffyuv problem but I installed Lagarith instead. It seems to work great. I can choose to encode the avs script with HCEnc first or just put it straight into DVD Flick. (Havn't installed DVD-Lab or MainConcept yet)

But why choose 704x576? Then it looks like 4:3 and not widescreen. But maybe it's the best way? I think it's because I don't loose that many pixels like 720x404? :) But it seems like wrong aspect ratio?

1920/1080 = 1,777777777777778

720/405 = 1,777777777777778
720/404 = 1,782178217821782

704/576 = 1,222222222222222

What's wrong with?
Spline36Resize(720,404)
AddBorders(0,86,0,86)

In the Lagarith settings I chose YV12 but still I have to convert to YUY2 or YV12. Why? (seems like the settings don't save because everytime I look the settings are still back as standard)

AVISource("C:\Path\To\Video.avi")
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)
ConvertToYUY2

And what's this? ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",Clamp=0)
I deleted it because this error error loading Avisynth script, Script error: there is no function named"ColorMatrix"

[manono]

But why choose 704x576?
Because you'll be encoding for DVD as 16:9 and it'll look 'normal' at playback.
What's wrong with?

Spline36Resize(720,404)
AddBorders(0,86,0,86)
A lot. I don't feel like explaining it. Maybe read this:

http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm
In the Lagarith settings I chose YV12 but still I have to convert to YUY2 or YV12.
Most of the MPEG-2 encoders expect YUY2. You can let the encoder do the conversion or you can do it in the script or in the Lagarith. I make my Lagarith's in the colorspace my MPEG-2 encoder uses. The encoding should go a bit faster as well, if it's already in the right colorspace. If using HCEnc and it's already in YV12 you don't need a colorspace conversion line in the script.
And what's this?
It converts from the colorimetry of Hi-Def to the colorimetry of Std-Def. Unless you do it your colors in the DVD will be slightly off.
I deleted it because this error
The ColorMartix filter isn't built into AviSynth. You have to download it and then stick the DLL in your AviSynth Plugins folder to be able to use it. Or add a 'LoadPlugin' line to your script. You can get it here:

http://avisynth.org/warpenterprises/

[Blue Star]

Because you'll be encoding for DVD as 16:9 and it'll look 'normal' at playback.
Sorry you've right, I had wrong settings in DVD Flick. I just changed target aspect ratio to 16:9, was missing Pixel aspect ratio which was 4:3.


If using HCEnc and it's already in YV12 you don't need a colorspace conversion line in the script.
I set up YV12 in Lagarith but got an error in HCEnc. When I changed the script it worked fine. Seems like a problem with Lagarith, the settings resets.


The ColorMartix filter isn't built into AviSynth. You have to download it and then stick the DLL in your AviSynth Plugins folder to be able to use it.
I've installed the plugin. Now I got this error: the named argument "Clamp" to ColorMatrix hade the wrong type

[manono]

I've installed the plugin. Now I got this error: the named argument "Clamp" to ColorMatrix hade the wrong type
That exact line works here. Perhaps there's a version difference. I'm using ver. 2.3. What's it say at the top of the included doc for the version you downloaded? And maybe read the doc to see how it keeps from clipping the luma values.

[poisondeathray]

I've installed the plugin. Now I got this error: the named argument "Clamp" to ColorMatrix hade the wrong type

you might have a different version, try clamp=false

I'm using v2.5 and it's clamp=0 as well, but IIRC some people used clamp=false for other versions

[manono]

Oh, I'm 2 versions behind? Hehe, thanks!

[Blue Star]

I have v2.5.

When I changed to Clamp=false I got a new error: error loading ColorMatrix input to filter must be YV12 or YUY2. Then I moved ConvertToYUY2 higher than ColorMatrix in the scrpt and now it worked :) Thanks!

[poisondeathray]

What version of premiere ?

If you export RGB out of premiere CS4 or below (e.g. export huffyuv using default settings), it will have converted your input Y'CbCr video to RGB using Rec601 anyway, so in that scenario you don't need the colormatrix filter for SD DVD . ConvertToYV12() will use the default Rec.601 matrix. HD material is supposed to use Rec709 (i.e. premiere should convert to RGB internally using Rec709, but it doesn't)

If you force YUY2 or YV12 in huffyuv or lagarith or ut video codec (instead of RGB) in the encoding configuration, they will use Rec601 for the conversion matrix as well for RGB=>Y'CbCr .

[Blue Star]

I have the latest version: Premiere Pro CS5

Should I have () after ConvertToYUY2?

What happened if the video already is converted to RGB using Rec601 and I do it again?

If I export as RGB should I use a script like this?

AviSource("movie.avi")
ConvertToYUY2
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709",clamp=false)
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

[poisondeathray]

As manono says, most mpeg2 encoders expect YUY2() . The "()" isn't necessary anymore, but IIRC used to be for efficiency purposes for older avisynth versions

If you're using CS5, and exporting RGB, then use ConvertToYUY2(matrix="Rec601") ; since Rec601 is default, you can simply use ConvertToYUY2()



AviSource("movie.avi")
ConvertToYUY2
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)




What happened if the video already is converted to RGB using Rec601 and I do it again?


You're going to have to specify what you mean by "I do it again" ?

If you're converting YV12<=>RGB back and forth, there is quality loss. Those colorspace conversions are lossy and should be avoided. Premiere works in RGB, so that's unavoidable. But if you use rec601 both ways, there will be no change in color (i.e Y'CbCr video imported as Rec601 to RGB, then RGB converted back to Y'CbCr using Rec601 again) . The "matrix" specifices the math coefficients for the convrersion whenever you do RGB<=>Y'CbCr conversions

[Blue Star]

You're going to have to specify what you mean by "I do it again" ?

I just wonder if there's any quality loss if I use the colormatrix filter when I don't need it? Like now when I use ConvertToYUY2(). But I don't think so because I don't change to RGB again. Like you said it's just quality loss when converting YV12<=>RGB back and forth.

[poisondeathray]

I just wonder if there's any quality loss if I use the colormatrix filter when I don't need it? Like now when I use ConvertToYUY2().

yes there is quality loss, and you're not using it correctly in that scenario. You can't change Rec601 to Rec601, and if you convert Rec601 to Rec709 you're going backwards. There are also slight rounding errors in the colormatrix filter

you can do either
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",clamp=0)

or
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.601->Rec.709",clamp=0)


Notice this takes Y'CbCr data and changes it to as if it had been converted with the other matrix. You're trying to fix it as if it had been converted with the wrong matrix in the first place. For example if the RGB=>Y'CbCr conversion was done with Rec601 , but was supposed to be Rec709 for HD material (you would use the 601->709 mode). There are a few other modes, but there is no 601 to 601 mode, or 709 to 709 mode.



But I don't think so because I don't change to RGB again.



It doesn't affect RGB. It only affects YV12, YUY2 . You're trying to fix an improper matrix conversion. I'm probably doing a crappy job of explaining .... have a look at the documentation it might be more clear there




it's just quality loss when converting YV12<=>RGB back and forth.



These errors accumulate as well, the more conversions, the more loss. The general rule is to stay in the same colorspace. That 1 conversion into RGB is unavoidable if you use premiere (or any NLE, after effects etc....), and if you're going out to DVD or blu-ray you go back to YV12 (unavoidable as well)

This is another reason to output an RGB master instead of a compromised YUY2 or YV12 "master". You have more options to go to HD for blu-ray or SD to dvd. You can specify what exactly what matrix to use before encoding. You can re-import into other programs with less quality loss (no additional chroma subsampling), than if you exported a YUY2 or YV12 export.

[Blue Star]

Ok, thanks for your answers!

So if I export from Premiere and still have RGB I use this:
AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
ConvertToYUY2()
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

And if I convert to YUV in the export (which I can't with Lagarith) I use:
AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",clamp=false)
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

[poisondeathray]

AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
ConvertToYUY2()
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)


That's correct for SD DVD and CS5 when exporting RGB



And if I convert to YUV in the export (which I can't with Lagarith) I use:

Quote:
AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",clamp=false)
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)


This isn't correct. If you force YUV export in lagarith (or huffyuv, or utvideo etc...) , the conversion automatically uses Rec.601 which is proper for SD DVD

AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

[Blue Star]

This isn't correct. If you force YUV export in lagarith (or huffyuv, or utvideo etc...) , the conversion automatically uses Rec.601 which is proper for SD DVD

AviSource("C:\movie.avi")
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)
Of course, I understand.


It doesn't affect RGB. It only affects YV12, YUY2.

Yes I know! I'm bad at explaining.

Thanks, now I knew a lot more :) But there's much to learn about AviSynth etc. ;)

[manono]

This isn't correct. If you force YUV export in lagarith (or huffyuv, or utvideo etc...) , the conversion automatically uses Rec.601 which is proper for SD DVD

Explain it to me now. He exports a 1920x1280 AVI out of Premiere. 9 times out of 10 that Hi-Def AVI would be used for a Hi-Def encode. What's the advantage of it being converted to Rec.601 if it then has to be converted back to Rec.709 for Hi-Def encoding? That is, why aren't all Hi-Def AVIs by default Rec.709 unless explicitly converted to Rec.601 (like in preparation for a Std-Def encode)? Is this something peculiar to Premiere?

[poisondeathray]

Explain it to me now. He exports a 1920x1280 AVI out of Premiere. 9 times out of 10 that Hi-Def AVI would be used for a Hi-Def encode. What's the advantage of it being converted to Rec.601 if it then has to be converted back to Rec.709 for Hi-Def encoding?

Exactly, that's why I recommended to export RGB

It depends on the version of premiere and if he exports RGB vs. Y'CbCr AVI .


That is, why aren't all Hi-Def AVIs by default Rec.709 unless explicitly converted to Rec.601 (like in preparation for a Std-Def encode)? Is this something peculiar to Premiere?

You're referring to YV12/YUY2 AVI's exported from Premiere , corrrect ?

I ran a bunch of test charts on various input formats, and when you let lagarith (or UT, or huffyuv etc...) do the conversion for the export, it uses Rec.601 regardless of HD or SD . All RGB=>YV12 or YUY2 conversions on export seem to use Rec.601 (except v210 - uncompresssed 4:2:2 10-bit, which uses Rec.709) . I don't know why this happens. This is one of the reason why I recommend RGB export from premiere, so you can control what matrix to use

He didn't say what the import format was, only "HD". If we assume that this was a "correct" source e.g. blu-ray or straight from a HD camcorder (that Y'CbCr video will have been converted to Y'CbCr from an earlier RGB stage, for example camera sensor. That is what we assume has been done correctly using Rec709) => this is the case where ColorMatrix(mode="Rec.709->Rec.601",Clamp=0) would be proper for SD conversion. The problems only occur when you throw premiere or various RGB conversions into the mix

[manono]

You're referring to YV12/YUY2 AVI's exported from Premiere , corrrect ?
Yes. Thanks for explaining. I was trying to decide if I should pay attention to this but, since I don't use Premiere, I guess not.

[Blue Star]

He exports a 1920x1280 AVI out of Premiere.
Wrong! 1920x1080 :)


He didn't say what the import format was, only "HD".
It's Quicktime .MOV from a Digital SLR Camera and now I see that the source was 1920x1088. I just picked the Digital SLR/1080p25 preset in Premiere and this was 1920x1080. But it's just 8 pixels gone :)

[poisondeathray]

It's Quicktime .MOV from a Digital SLR Camera and now I see that the source was 1920x1088. I just picked the Digital SLR/1080p25 preset in Premiere and this was 1920x1080. But it's just 8 pixels gone :)

The coded image is actually 1920x1088 - but many decoders will crop bottom 8px to 1080 . Libavcodec (e.g. if you use ffdshow or ffmpeg) will display uncropped

If it's a canon T2i /7d/5d etc.... it actually is supposed to use Rec601 for HD material instead of Rec709... this is written in the metadata for the matrix coefficients. This is one of the rare exceptions for HD, but this doesn't affect the instructions above for what you're doing for SD DVD

[Blue Star]

Is there any software to check if a movie use RGB or YUY and Rec.601 or Rec.709?

[poisondeathray]

Is there any software to check if a movie use RGB or YUY and Rec.601 or Rec.709?

Impossible to check by software if Rec601 or Rec709 had been used to generate the recorded format. You need to shoot color charts with known values then analyze at each stage , but some streams have metadata written into it. All blu-ray, DVD are YV12 , but you don't know how it was processed from RGB (it might have used Rec601 or 709 or some other matrix).

You can easily see if it's RGB or YUV . info() will tell you what your decoder is outputting if you are loading into avisynth.

Most camcorders record YV12 as well, higher end ones may have YUY2 (4:2:2) , or really high end ones may record RGB

[Blue Star]

Now I've encoded the 1h movie with HCEnc but it's only 52 min. It's 8 min too short. I got the beginning and the end of the movie. Maybe I lost some frames?
---------------------------------------
| HCenc - MPEG2 encoder - rel. 0.24.0 |
---------------------------------------

MPEG profile@level: MP@ML
input: c:\movie.avs
output: C:\movie.m2v

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

profile: BEST
frames: 0 - 91712
framerate: 25.000
aspect ratio: 16:9
chroma format: 4:2:0
bitrate Kb/s: 7000
max. bitrate Kb/s: 8000
pulldown: no
closed gops: no
VBV check: yes
scene change det: yes
interlaced: auto, TFF
goplen,B-pic: AUTO 15
dc_precision: 9
intraVLC: auto
scan method: auto
bias: 0
chapter frames: 0
time code: 0 0 0 0
CPU: SSE3
priority: idle
SMP active: yes
matrix: MPEG
luminance gain: no
adaptive quantization: yes, strength 2
deadzone quantization: auto

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

nr. of frames in source: 91713
width*height: 720x576
fps: 25.000
nr. of frames to encode: 91713
frames to encode: 0 - 91712

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

pass 1 encoding time: 3:55:02 (14101.76 s)
fps: 6.5

--------------------------------
| encoding - intermediate pass |
--------------------------------

bitrate set to: 7000 kb/s
estimated output file length: 3134722 kB
intermediate encoding time: 0.40 s

---------------------
| encoding - pass 2 |
---------------------

*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.04 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.07 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.15 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.26 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.39 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.48 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.56 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.59 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.82 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -0.95 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -1.07 %
*** INFO, adjusting average bitrate: -1.23 %
pass 2 encoding time: 4:06:23 (14782.61 s)
fps: 6.2

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


intra matrix used
8 16 19 22 26 27 29 34
16 16 22 24 27 29 34 37
19 22 26 27 29 34 34 38
22 22 26 27 29 34 37 40
22 26 27 29 32 35 40 48
26 27 29 32 35 40 48 58
26 27 29 34 38 46 56 69
27 29 35 38 46 56 69 83

non-intra matrix used
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27
20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28
21 22 23 24 26 27 28 30
22 23 24 26 27 28 30 31
23 24 25 27 28 30 31 33

nr. of gops: 6265
nr. of frames: 91713
nr. of I-frames: 6265
nr. of P-frames: 28818
nr. of B-frames: 56630
average bitrate: 6915
minimum bitrate: 148
maximum bitrate: 7998

bytes in bitstream: 3171670538
bits in bitstream: 25373364304

average Quantizer: 5.056

total CPU time: 8:20:44 (30044.22 s)
total elapsed time: 8:01:26 (28885.75 s)

[poisondeathray]

Now I've encoded the 1h movie with HCEnc but it's only 52 min. It's 8 min too short


nr. of frames in source: 91713
width*height: 720x576
fps: 25.000
nr. of frames to encode: 91713
frames to encode: 0 - 91712


you sure about that ? how are you "playing" it ? did you multiplex it? some players cannot play .m2v elementary streams correctly

91713 frames x (1 seconds / 25 frames) x (1 minute / 60 seconds) = 61.1 minutes

[Blue Star]

The wrong time in windows, players and softwares. Tried encode it again with "normal" and 1 pass. Now only 47 min.

nr. of frames in source: 91713
width*height: 720x576
fps: 25.000
nr. of frames to encode: 91713
frames to encode: 0 - 91712

In DVD Flick it stocked on encoding video for about 9 min. Maybe not DVD compliant? Total time 16 min. But no errors I think but the sound get a little bit out of sync.

[poisondeathray]

I just noticed the time to encode.... 8 hours!!? Something is wrong. What are your system specs? What was your .avs script ?

But I think the math is correct. 61 minutes.

Are you playing a program stream (.mpg) ? Depending on your software or splitter used, it might not get the time correct if you play the elementary stream (.m2v)

What does gspot say about the file duration? This will actually parse the file

Try the latest HCEnc - 0.25 or 0.26beta

[Blue Star]

Is 8h too much for a 2 pass encode with highest quality? 4:12:02 with 1 pass and normal quality.

AMD Phenom2 X4 940 3.0Ghz, AM2+ Black Edition
GeForce GTX 260 (216 pipes) 896MB PCIe
Corsair 4GB (2x2048MB) 1066MHz XMS-2 8500C5
Windows 7 x64 on a SSD

AviSource("C:\video.avi")
ConvertToYUY2()
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)

I encode 91712 and the source is 91713. Maybe I should change it in HCEnc?

GSpot say 1:01:09 about the encoded m2v. The input file (Lagarith) is 1:01:08. Almost the right time.

But the audio is out of sync on the final DVD. I get the audio from VirtualDub (Save WAV) and then import it to DVD Flick. I don't know if the problem is HCEnc or DVD Flick...

I have HCEnc 0.25 but the log says rel. 0.24.0.

[poisondeathray]

Yes that seems slow to me for that configuration, even with the resize from HD and colorspace conversion in the script. I'm not sure what's going on there , but there seems to be a bottleneck somewhere


I encode 91712 and the source is 91713. Maybe I should change it in HCEnc?

no , that's correct. The numbering starts from zero. (first frame is frame number zero, not frame number one). If you look at the summary, 91713 were coded


nr. of gops: 6265
nr. of frames: 91713
nr. of I-frames: 6265
nr. of P-frames: 28818
nr. of B-frames: 56630


Be careful with dvd flick . I'm assuming you're using it only to author ? You have to set it up properly otherwise it will re-encode everything. I'm not sure how good the multiplexing engine is either . You can try muxman, dvdauthorgui, dvd styler or guifordvdauthor and see if they make a difference. Or even Encore should work fine

I assume the exported AVI from PP is in sync? Are you using PCM WAV audio exported from vdub for the DVD ? or encoding to AC3 ?

[Blue Star]

Yes only to author.

I don't know if the AVI from PP is in sync because it don't play well. Maybe the problem is already with the export from PP.... I have exported the movie two times before with good results. First time in mp4 and the second time mpeg which I get from "Match sequence settings". (not DVD compliant).

If it's a problem with the export to Lagarith what should I choose?

The export from PP takes many hours. Maybe 6-8h but I think that's normal. I have some effects and changed colours etc.

I'm using PCM WAV audio from vdub.

[poisondeathray]

Lagarith isn't meant for real time playback, so that doesn't indicate anything (good or bad)

From here , everything looks good from the HCEnc log. The problem might be the multiplexing - I would try different authoring tool first

What were the sequence settings and export settings in premiere ?

What type of sync issues? Is it constant offset ? (like 1sec all the way through) or is it progressively worsening ?

[Blue Star]

Sequence settings: 1920x1080 (1,0), 25,00 fps, Progressive, 01:01:08:13, 48000 Hz, Stereo

Export settings (Lagarith): 1920x1080, 25 [fps], Progressive, Quality 100, 48000 Hz, Stereo, 16 bit

Codec settings: Default

It's constant offset. The audio is maybe 0,5sec before the whole movie. Then I think it's easy to solve :) Just move it. With some players you can do this easy when watching. But I think there's a problem when it's not synced. I should try a different authoring tool.

[manono]

It's constant offset. The audio is maybe 0,5sec before the whole movie.
Then figure the exact amount it's off and completely remove the delay using DelayCut before authoring. Or use an authoring program that allows you to set a delay (Muxman, but only up to +/- 300ms).

http://www.videohelp.com/tools/delaycut

[Blue Star]

Authoring with DVDlabPRO works great :) And it shows the right time when I import the movie unlike DVD Flick.

But it's not good with slow encode with HCEnc :(

[hank315]

SMP active: yes
total CPU time: 8:20:44 (30044.22 s)
total elapsed time: 8:01:26 (28885.75 s)
Something must be wrong with your setup, the input thread seems to take almost all CPU time.
Using a quad core there should be a large difference between "total CPU time" and "total elapsed time" if the input is fast enough.

[poisondeathray]

Did you remember to checkmark "enable multithreading" in lagarith configuration ? Decoding might be the bottleneck

Another option is UT Video Codec - very well multithreaded, many times faster than lagarith

[Blue Star]

I can't do any settings in lagarith configuration. If I check "enable multithreading" or change anything else next time I look the settings is reset to default. So I don't think it take any effect.

I got this error with UT Video Codec (just like huffyuv): error loading Avisynth script AVISource - couldn't locate decompressor for fourcc.
It was because I only installed the 64bit version. Worked fine with the 32bit codec.

[Blue Star]

Is this good?

From HCEnc 0.25 Log (You find it at the bottom)
total CPU time: 1:32:31 (5551.25 s)
total elapsed time: 1:24:29 (5069.46 s)

CPU about 24-28%.

Export PP
Ut Video Codec YUV420 (ULY0) VCM x64 [1920x1080, 25, Progressive, Square Pixels (1,0)] [Frame divide count 4 (Same as # of logical processors), Optimize for decoding speed (Predict left)

CPU about 98-100%.

AviSynth Script
AviSource("E:\Ut Video - HC.avi")
Spline36Resize(704,576)
AddBorders(8,0,8,0)