BD-Rebuilder FFDShow questions

[manolito]

So far I have avoided HD stuff completely, but I've got the feeling that I will have to bite the bullet pretty soon...:)

BD-Rebuilder, MultiAVCHD and maybe RipBot264 seem to be essential applications (among some others), and I want to do my homework before I jump in the water.

All three apps require that Haali splitter and FFDShow are installed, and all three authors insist on specific versions. In the case of Haali the required versions are identical, but not when it comes to FFDShow.

BD-Rebuilder insists on rev3326, MultiAVCHH wants an even older version, and RipBot264 does not even start when it detects a version prior to rev3500.

Since there is no easy way to have different versions of FFDShow installed in parallel, what is the advice to poor users like me? Use virtual machines?


Next question:
Honestly I am very reluctant to install FFDShow at all. To me its evil factor is only slightly lower than for codec packs. I did install it several times in the past, but every time it completely ruined my filter merits which I had set up very carefully. It also caused FILMerit to complain about errors in my filter setup, and letting FILMerit correct these errors mostly resulted in a computer that would not boot any more. My philosophy is to resist Swiss Army Knife tools and only install the filters I really need.

Which leads me to the question if it is possible to use BD-Rebuilder without installing FFDShow.
After the install, run "Video Decoder Configuration" for FFDSHOW from the "START/Programs" menu, and make sure MPEG2 decoding is enabled. Do the same using "Audio Decoder Configuration" to ensure "Uncompressed" is set to "All Supported".
If these are the only filters which are essential for BD-Rebuilder then why won't other filters for these formats work?


In the case that there is really no way to use BD-Rebuilder without FFDShow, how can I install FFDShow with minimal impact on my system? Something like unticking all formats first and then only tick the ones which are essential for BD-Rebuilder? And which formats would that be?


Cheers
manolito

[jdobbs]

I can probably put a hidden switch in that allows it to run without FFDSHOW -- but I'm not sure it will work. If the CODEC works via "DirectshowSource() it should be okay, though.

As for the versions of the helper apps in use. I've been trying other versions steadily. Unfortunately, while many versions will appear to work -- you will randomly get errors with X264 crashing. You can use other versions, but it is a crap shoot every time you run a job.

[KiwiKid]

I'm running rev3785 after it someone on the RipBot thread said it was fine for BD-RB also. So far no problems for many BD to MKV recodes.

[jdobbs]

I'm running rev3785 after it someone on the RipBot thread said it was fine for BD-RB also. So far no problems for many BD to MKV recodes. Just one caveat. Please don't post any bug reports if other versions are in use.

[KiwiKid]

No problem JD...I would re-encode with the recommended version first to eliminate any doubt. I need RipBot for hardcoding subtitles in MKVs and swapping back and forth between recommended versions was becoming annoying. So far, so good :)

[clsid]

Honestly I am very reluctant to install FFDShow at all. To me its evil factor is only slightly lower than for codec packs. I did install it several times in the past, but every time it completely ruined my filter merits which I had set up very carefully. It also caused FILMerit to complain about errors in my filter setup, and letting FILMerit correct these errors mostly resulted in a computer that would not boot any more. My philosophy is to resist Swiss Army Knife tools and only install the filters I really need.ffdshow does NOT mess with merits of other filters.

[Groucho2004]

So far I have avoided HD stuff completely, but I've got the feeling that I will have to bite the bullet pretty soon...:)

If you're planning to just convert the main movie from your BDs there is no reason to use any Gui or ffdshow.

All I need and use are DGDecNV for decoding, x264 for encoding, TSMuxer for (de)multiplexing and eac3to for audio conversion.

If I want to put more than one movie on a disk I use MultiAVCHD.

[jdobbs]

If you're planning to just convert the main movie from your BDs there is no reason to use any Gui or ffdshow.

All I need and use are DGDecNV for decoding, x264 for encoding, TSMuxer for (de)multiplexing and eac3to for audio conversion.

If I want to put more than one movie on a disk I use MultiAVCHD. So what it appears to me that you're saying is "no need to do it the easy way, make it more complicated and prone to error instead" :rolleyes:

I do think it may be a good idea to make BD-RB compatible with DGDecNV, though.

[Groucho2004]

So what it appears to me that you're saying is "no need to do it the easy way, make it more complicated and prone to error instead"

I simply like to have control over the various stages of the process and pick the tool of my choice for each one.

More complicated? Possibly.

Prone to error? You'll have to elaborate, I can't see why. Unless you're referring to people with very little knowledge/experience for whom a GUI like yours is certainly the better option.

[soneca]

I'm running rev3785 after it someone on the RipBot thread said it was fine for BD-RB also. So far no problems for many BD to MKV recodes.
Glad it has worked without problems.
Why here has worked very well, too.:cool:

[jdobbs]

I'm running rev3785 after it someone on the RipBot thread said it was fine for BD-RB also. So far no problems for many BD to MKV recodes. I went back through my records and it appears I've never tested that revision. I've installed it and will run it for a week or two. If there are no issues I'll consider making it the recommended version. I'm not very hopeful, though. I do a lot of encodes (at least two-three BDs a day for testing) and so far none of these more recent versions have managed to make it through the testing without issues of one kind or another.

[clsid]

Please also test 3882.

[jdobbs]

Please also test 3882. I'll do that one first since it is newer.

[manolito]

Just noticed that you now endorse newer versions of ffdshow and Haali :)

Do you know if it is safe to use these new versions with MultiAVCHD also? Deank recommends much older versions on his website, but then again he seems to have abandoned this project entirely.


Cheers
manolito