(READ THIS!) What You Must Do When Posting Bugs/Problems!...

[Nic]

The most important factor when reporting bugs is to search to see if the apparent bug has already been reported. And to read the XviD Q & A thread for help.

Then if you are still going to report the bug can people please state as much info as possible:

For example:

What version & date of XviD are you using? (i.e. Mine, Koepi's, uManiac's, etc)

What DShow filter are using to decode it? (i.e. are using the one with no post-processing, mine or ffdshow)

Does the bug occur with every encode you do or just the one clip?

Your computer config. (i.e. Media Players, Hardware (specifically: graphics card, Operating System, CPU) )

Please post all your options you using in your encode (i.e. 2pass, GMC, Q-Pel, Bitrate, VHQ, etc)

If using AviSynth, post a summary of your script and check that it plays and looks fine in VirtualDub before posting.

Please try to fit a very brief summary of your problem into the subject line (rather than just having a subject of "help!" or similar)

Please specify the container format you are encoding to/playing from.



Failure to abide by these rules may result in no help and even a strike.

If you are striked immediatly and the thread closed after failing to abide by these rules, do not moan & complain! Its your own fault!


Thank you,
-Nic

[kilg0r3]

I'd like to add that posts should be well structured in argumentation _and_ layout, because this helps the reader _and_ the writer to _understand the problem.

I remember more than occasion when I was writing a post, and, during the process of writing and rearranging, became aware of additional factors being relevant, things I had forgot to try out, information that I had failed to collect. Sometimes I even found the solution just by revieing my own posting.

I know this takes time, but hey, we are in this together right? I.e., You want help and continued development? Well work for it.:) BTW, practicing this skill will help you everywhere you go, promised.:D

Of course, although I admit to be a language freak, I welcome everybody to the forum no matter how good or bad his/her English is. Just do the best you can. :) BTW structure and layout are relatively independent from your lg skills.

Cheers @ all

[crusty]

First try to make sure it's not an issue with some other software or hardware component of your computer.
This means:

-Don't use experimental or unstable drivers for your hardware. Use the latest non-beta drivers. If your OS is Windows, try to use WHLQ-drivers only.

-Don't overclock your system. Many crashes and bugs can be caused by components running out of spec.

-certain hardware combinations are known to be buggy. Especially Creative soundcards on motherboards with Via chipsets create a lot of problems.

-Make sure your operating system is stable and has the latest patches. Where not talking about security-patches but patches that affect stability.

-If you have an issue with encoding, make sure you have everything setup properly before reporting a bug. Try to eliminate any
faults in other steps in the proces, like a buggy Virtualdub version or an error in your avisynth script.

-If you have an issue decoding(playing) a file, switch decoders and see if you can isolate the problem to a single decoder.

-If you're using an untested alpha build, like one of Umaniac's instabuilds, you have to face the fact that you're pretty much on your own.
Sticking with major builds has the advantage of having other people around that can confirm bugs.

-make sure the bug is not reported before. The usual place for this is at the Xvid forum at http://forum.doom9.org.

-Report a bug only to the specific build-topic. Major builds are announced in build-topics. These are also the first place to look
for a list of known bugs.

-It is always beneficial to confirm a known bug. This might rule out certain assumptions, like bugs occuring only with an AMD Cpu if you have a Pentium IV. Keep a confirmation short and functional.

EDIT:
-With Windows, make sure your desktop colour depth is 32bit. 16bit colour depth will make the video look artificial and could produce stepped colours.

[crusty]

Just had a very interesting aha-erlebnis:

If you get choppy playback and/or stuttering:
Make sure the file you're playing isn't heavily fragmented!

If you're encoding to a harddisk that is almost full it's very likely that your file will end up fragmented, the amount of fragmentation being uniquely dependent on the condition of your harddisk's filesystem.
Also, if other programs on your computer where doing disk-access at the same time you were encoding, it's even more likely.

So in case of choppy/stuttering playback:
Check to see if the file you're playing isn't heavily fragmented.
If it is, defrag the partition and check again for choppy playback.

Choppy or stuttering playback can also be caused by crappily muxed audio. Remux or demux the audio and try again.

[Sirber]

A good guide to understand how to report a bug effectively:

http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html