DVD -> WMV9 Guide

[Bulma]

Maybe this can help someone...
Here`s how to convert DVD to WMV9 with 5.1 audio

Software needed:
DVD Decrypter 3.1.2.0
DVD2AVI 1.76
AVISYNTH 2.05 (don`t forget to execute INSTALL.REG, and COPY AVISYNTH.DLL TO WINDOWS\SYSTEM DIRECTORY!!!)
MPEG2DEC2.DLL (needed for AviSynth, copy it to AviSynth directory)
BeSweet 1.3
BeSweetGUI 0.6
WME9 Beta

1. Ripping
Open DVD Decrypter, change destination directory and press DVD->Hard button. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Close it.

2. Converting to AVS and AC3
Start DVD2AVI, go FILE/OPEN and select first ripped VOB file. Go AUDIO/DOLBY_DIGITAL and select DEMUX. Select VIDEO/CROP, and find out how much you have to crop from top and bottom (usualy 72 or 80 pixels). Deselect CROP because we will use WME9 for croping, not DVD2AVI. This step is required because it`s hard to find out how much croping is needed in WME9(no real time preview in WME9). Go FILE/SAVE_PROJECT to save d2v file to disk. It will take some 20 minutes. You can also press F5 for preview to see if source is interlaced or not (it`s usually not). Close it.
Next, we create AviSynth script file (.avs). Open notepad, and write following lines (without minuses, and don`t forget to set path to YOUR files):
----------------------------------------------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\ADD_YOUR_PATH_TO_FILE\MPEG2DEC2.dll")
mpeg2source("C:\ADD_YOUR_PATH_TO_FILE\movie.d2v").Crop(0,80,0,-80)
----------------------------------------------------------
80 and -80 in CROP are TOP and BOTTOM values we found in DVD2AVI (usually 72 or 80).
Save file as "SOMETHING.avs"

3. Converting AC3 to multiple WAVs.
Open BeSweetGUI. On upper left corner, under LOCATIONS group, BESWEET.EXE option, press SELECT SOURCE and set location of BeSweet.exe file. This step is required only when you use this GUI for the first time. Press OK. Next, under same group, INPUT option, press SELECT SOURCE and select .AC3 file created with DVD2AVI in previous section. Maybe you`ll need to set file type to .ac3 in SELECT INPUT dialog box (drop down menu on right top) before selecting AC3 file. Press OK. Under same group, OUTPUT option, select output filname (this is name of WAVs we are creating, so any name would be fine), and press OK. Now, under OUTPUT group, select SIX WAVES from drop down menu. SSRC and BOOST should be deselected, and AZID group should be selected. In OTA group, select DVD2AVI option. This will set delay to WAVs according to DVD2AVI (in reality from filename). Other options under this group should be deselected. Press "AC3 TO WAV" button (green button on right side). Command prompt will be opened, and transcoding will began. After about 20 minutes it will be completed, and you`ll have six WAV`s for use in WME9. Close BeSweetGUI.

4. Converting
Open WME9 beta. Close wizard (we wont use it). Go to Properties (from main toolbar).
Tabs:
a) Sources
Set NAME (optional, doesn`t really have any function)
Source from -> set to BOTH DEVICE AND FILE
Select VIDEO, from drop down menu -> BROWSE_FOR_FILE, and select AVS file (you`ll need to set type to ALL FILES, *.*)
Select AUDIO, from drop down menu -> MULICHANNEL WAV SOURCE. Press CONFIGURE, and set WAV files: FL-front left, FR-front right, C-front center, SL-back left, SR-back right, LFE-low frequency.Press APPLY and OK.
b) Output
Deselect PULL FROM ENCODER and set ENCODE TO FILE, press BROWSE and set final output filename.
c) Compression
Press EDIT.
Select AUDIO, and set AUDIO CODEC to WMA9 Professional, set VBR MODE to BIT RATE VBR
Select VIDEO, and set VIDEO CODEC to WMV9, set VBR MODE to BIT RATE VBR
Deselect CHECK FOR COMPATIBILITY WITH WMP7, and set ALLOW NON-SQUARE PIXEL OUTPUT
Select next tab (282Kbps or similar)
Select AUDIO FORMAT -> 384Kbps, 48KHz, 5.1 Channel, 24 bit VBR
Set VIDEO SIZE to 720x416 (for PAL with 2x80 crop (576-top/bottom crop), or other ORIGINAL resolution with crop). This is required as WME9 can`t recognize resolution from .AVS file.
Set FRAME RATE to 25.00 (for PAL)
Set KEY FRAME INTERVAL to 4 sec or similar
Set VIDEO BIT RATE to required bitrate (around 1150Kpbs for 2hour movie on 2x70 minutes CDs)
Set DECODER COMPLEXITY to COMPLEX (not sure about this)
Press OK
Press OK
d) Video Size
Set PIXEL ASPECT RATIO to CUSTOM, and put some values like 19:14 to get OUTPUT ASPECT RATIO of original movie like 2.35:1 or similar (see DVD box).
e) Attributes
Set NAME and other stuff here (optional)
f) Processing
Set VIDEO to DEINTERLACE if needed.
NOTE: DON`T DO THIS IF MOVIE IS NOT INTERLACED.
Press APPLY and close Properties.
Press START ENCODING.
OPTIONAL:
Close AUDIO and VIDEO panel (you may get some encoding speed increase... maybe).
Go to sleep.
After around 10-20 hours, close WME9.

4. OPTIONAL: SPLIT FILE for 2CDs
Open WINDOWS MEDIA FILE EDITOR
Press FILE/OPEN, and open final WMV file. Set some middle of file and press MARK OUT. Go FILE/SAVE_AS_AND_INDEX and save WMV for first CD. Close WINDOWS MEDIA FILE EDITOR. Open it again, and open final WMV again. This time select same middle and press MARK IN. Go FILE/SAVE_AS_AND_INDEX and save WMV for second CD.

[huch]

good article. just a couple of comments:

1. I don't know why but I can simply load .AVS (with crop) into the WME9, although WME9 does not show the properties correctly (unlike .AVI) but the encoding (frame by frame) worked just fine, and it seems faster than using VFAPI (fake .AVI). Anyone tried this yet? (I encoded 2 DVDs in this way)

2. For 6-channel WMA9Pro, since most movies are dialog-intensive, I personally use 192Kbps/48KHz/24Bit VBR, and the result sounds just fine. Also, if you would choose to use 384Kbps, the original 5.1 channel AC3 is also 384Kbps (6.1 channel in 448Kbps) so you might as well choose not to re-encode the audio to WMA9Pro.

hope it's helpful...

[Bulma]

I haven`t use AviSynth before, but I`ll give it a try. I`ll do some testing as soon as i get another DVD... I like VFAPI because I can read AVIs in WMP, Vegas Video, etc... and yes... it`s sloooow.

About the audio, I don`t use original AC3 audio because:
1. You have to have Audio decoder installed to play it
2. I haven`t find a way to mux AC3 with WMV9 :o

I still have to check issue about center channel... as soon as I get 5.1. system :D

[Kyo]

Hi Bulma.

Thanks for the guide, and yes avisynth is the present & future ;)

[atracus]

Originally posted by Bulma

...
Select AUDIO, from drop down menu -> BROWSE_FOR_FILE, and select AC3 file
...


First of all, thanks for the guide, it matches most of my experimented "ways" to use WMEnc9, since its latest beta availability.

Only one question, which may possibly sound naive and have an easy-answer: what IF the .ac3 has a non-zero DELAY, i.e. DELAY(-80) or so? Won't it cause desynch to have it merged as a straight Source, as you suggest?

In case of non-zero delays, atm I prefer to have the damn 6 waves-out, and merge them as Multichannel - but I'm ready to change my mind!

Any clue?

[atx]

[Bulma]

atracus, yes that would cause desync. But I am not sure that 80ms is something that can really be heard as desync...
Anyway, I have updated my guide, this time with 6 WAVs, so problem solved :cool:

[chris25fr]

thinks too . ;)


But i think it's important to speak about bug with wme9 .


i see 2 bugs at least.


With windows 2000 , impossible to use mark in file option (else wme crashes)
Therefore , when i select a vob at the begining ,wme gives me a wrong input resolution : something like 544*576 instead of 720*576 . impossible to correct that. So the aspect ratio is not respected .

[Bulma]

There are many bugs... ;) Crashing, corrupted or no sound, and lists goes on and on...

Have you tried setting output resolution to 720x576? When it starts encoding, does it say 720x576 or 544*576?
Anyway, you can always use DVD2AVI method...

I made some test with 2 minutes clip:
AviSynth vs VFAPI round 1 ;)
----------------------------
AVS VFAPI
1. pass 6:27 7:20
2. pass 7:06 7:33
total 13:33 14:53
ratio 1 1.1

This round belongs to..... AVISYNTH!!!!
:devil:

[Bulma]

I had it in my previous Guide (v1.0) ;) But, after some reported that it gives you 4.1 instead of 5.1, I decided to use BeSweet. Now, I am having problems using MultipleWAVS method, instead of encoding WAVs, it encodes from sound card input, and of course get no sound at all. Can someone help me with this???

For AC3 sound, you have to install Audio codec (not needed if you installed WinDVD), add key in registry: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\InterVideo\Common\Aud
ioDec]
"Audio"=dword:00000005

and then use AC3 as audio source, instead of MultChannelWavsource.
Ok?

PS: You can find previous version of Guide, at www.divx-digest.com forum, other, Authoring/Conversion/Encoding.

[Tom Servo]

It tells me a "Class not registered" error on the video source, which is an AVS.

[Bulma]

Did you execute INSTALL.REG in AviSynth dir? Try to open AVS in Virtual dub or other program that can open AVS...

[atracus]

Originally posted by Bulma
atracus, yes that would cause desync. But I am not sure that 80ms is something that can really be heard as desync...
Anyway, I have updated my guide, this time with 6 WAVs, so problem solved :cool:

Bulma,
I found a different possible approach: using AC3Machine, you can just re-encode an .ac3 with identical characteristics but with null delay.

Then feed the ac3 to WMEnc as you first suggested.

Advantage: speed (creating 6x wavs on my HD is a pain) and, maybe, quality.

Your opinion?

[atx]

[Tom Servo]

I did run install.reg.

[lat3ralis]

@Bulma:

Your guide is good, but there must be a better way of using avs with wm9enc.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could use avs scripts for the video. You wouldn't have to mess around using wm9enc's buggy crop and resize features.

The only tools i could find to do this (in a round about way) are an addon for VFAPI which allows avs input and link2 (which isn't free). The problem with VFAPI is that it creates huge avi wrapper files.

I appreciate that getting direct input for avs in wm9enc is probably difficult (or even impossible), but does anyone have any ideas??

lat3ralis

[Bulma]

You can use it! I use Crop from AVS in my Guide, see:
----------------------------------------------------------
LoadPlugin("C:\ADD_YOUR_PATH_TO_FILE\MPEG2DEC2.dll")
mpeg2source("C:\ADD_YOUR_PATH_TO_FILE\movie.d2v").Crop(0,80,0,-80)
----------------------------------------------------------
ok?

WME9 actually can open AVS files, it only displays information wrong, but as soon as it starts encoding, everything goes well...

[Nic]

Use my encoder listed in this forum & at http://nic.dnsalias.com for avs encoding, unless you want to do 5.1 sound (the only thing my encoder cant do :( )

I have a feeling that the avs reading by the MS Windows Media Encoder, is being done by DirectShow rather than the AVI API & hence it works for some & not for others. This could be bad because peculiar color conversions can occur.
(this doesn't happen with my encoder of course ;) )

-Nic

[tanksimpson]

I just wanted to mention that WME9 could not open .avs when I had Avisynth 1.06 installed, but when I upgraded to Avisynth 2.05, it worked. Dunno what it means, if anything. BTW, this is on Windows 2000.

[lat3ralis]

@Bulma:

I suppose i should have explained myself better....

My real aim for wm9 encoding is to be able to use an avs script which both crop's and resizes the video without having to stuff around with setting the video size in wm9 encoder. I am especially interested in using the Lanczos Resize filter and Nic's MPEGDecoder in avs to decode,crop and resize the video.

Here is an example script i want to use:

LoadPlugin ("C:\program files\gordianknot\MPEGDECODER.dll")
MPEGSource ("D:\LOTR_THE_FELLOWSHIP_OF_THE_RING\vts_01_4.vob", -2)
NicCrop(0,0,76,76)
LanczosResize(640,256)

@Nic:

I would usually use your encoder to encode it, only i want 5.1 audio in my encode. I have tried doing video and audio separately, but when i mux the streams i get weird results.

Thankyou for your help,

lat3ralis

[Nic]

Hi, I understand that, I wish I could get AC3 -> WM9 5.1 working, but its very tricky.

@tank: Have you tried installing the huffyuv codec? Install that & you might find you can use avs files straight into WME9.
(its just a guess, but huffyuv supports YUY2 & is commonly used when DirectShow is used to decode AVS files)

-Nic

[kastro68]

Is there a way to demux a wmv9 video and audio?

Thanks

[SeeMoreDigital]

kastro68

If you are talking about the WinMediaEncoder9 (that produces .wmv/.wma files) you can demux the video and audio streams by using the 'windows media stream editor'

Bulma
Your article is very useful. Thanks.

Currently, when I want to create a WME9 file. I rip the DVD using DVDdecrypter and then I separately encode the video and audio streams (video = .vob or m2v etc / audio = .ac3 or .wav etc) by using M$ own 'WinMedia Encoder' which in turn creates .wmv and .wma streams.

I then mux the .wmv and .wma streams together using the 'windows media stream editor'. It has not failed me yet although it takes me a very long time to encode!

But, I must admit I am very interested in creating 5.1 .wma audio from an .ac3 stream. So I will give BeSweat a go.

Thanks again

[kastro68]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital

If you are talking about the WinMediaEncoder9 (that produces .wmv/.wma files) you can demux the video and audio streams by using the 'windows media stream editor'


Is 'windows media stream editor' an M$ software? Does it come with Wind0es Media 3ncode|2? or is it a third party software?

I'm not familiar with M$ tools, so I'm totally clueless.

Thanks for your reply, I always thought it was impossible to demux wmv files

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi kastro68

Yes, the 'windows media stream editor' is an M$ software.

It's included within the 'WinMedia Encoder9' download, which also includes, File Editor & Profile Editor!

[feliz]

I have been able to use virtualdub to mux ac3 with wmv9 to get a playable avi. I like for my ceceiver to decode the surround sound.

[snowcrash]

Hey folks. In this other thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32913&highlight=wmenc+avs) people were saying that they could open VoB files directly with WM Encoder 9, as long as they had WinDVD or PowerDVD installed. I'm having no luck with this. I have the latest version of the encoder app and I have WinDVD installed, but when I try to load a VOB file the encoder hangs and I have to "end task" it. Has anyone had luck with VOB files?

[McoreD]

Hi there guys,

Read this impressive guide of DVD to WMV9 with WMA9 Pro 5.1 Channel by Bulma. This is the most complete guide so far which I have read for such purpose.

However some of the contents now needs to be updated.

This is my question:

Q1. In his post Bulma says to obtain:
AVISYNTH 2.05 (don`t forget to execute INSTALL.REG, and COPY AVISYNTH.DLL TO WINDOWS\SYSTEM DIRECTORY!!!)
MPEG2DEC2.DLL (needed for AviSynth, copy it to AviSynth directory)

But now the current version of AVISYNTH is v2.5.2. I downloaded it from here:
.http://flow.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/avisynth2/AviSynth_252.exe
It doesn't appear to have INSTALL.REG he was mentioning. Probably because the versions are now different. I hope we no longer need to excute a Install.reg, am I correct?

Q2. I downloaded the Avisynth.dll and MPEG2DEC2.dll anyways, from here:
.http://www.puremotion.com/downloads/thirdparty/avisynth-0.3.zip
.http://mywebpages.comcast.net/trbarry/MPEG2DEC2.zip
Are they the latest versions of those dlls? I checked the main site doom9.org but I couldn't find a seperate download for those two dlls.

Thank you very much. :)

[bleo]

A1. The current version of AviSynth is 2.5.3. Don't worry about install.reg or avisynth.dll; they're old :)

A2. You should now use DVD2AVIdg and MPEG2DEC3dg: http://neuron2.net/fixd2v/decodefix.html. They fix a truncated frames bug.

Good luck! :)

[edit] Fullstop buggered the link :rolleyes:

[McoreD]

Hi,

I updated Bulma's Guide to match with current software versions. I can't wait till I actually put this into practise. Waiting till my new computer arrives. :D

To make sure everyone who are willing to rip DVDs into WMV9 with WMA95.1), if Bulma or other knowledgable person can recheck the http://microsoftusernetwork.com/mcored Guide, that would be great! :)

Thanks again,
Yours McoreD.

[zambelli]

I have a few comments.

For a start, the AC3 -> WMA9Pro conversion can be automated by using a batch file and wmcmd.vbs. The way to do 5.1 encoding with wmcmd.vbs is through the use of WME profiles. Essentially, you create a dummy project in GUI-based WME9 in which you set to encode 6 mono WAVs into a 5.1 WMA9Pro file. You save the project as an .wme file and then you open it in Notepad and do the following: find the input and output file paths and make them relative paths (i.e. instead of c:\mydvd\inputFR.wav make it just inputFR.wav); change the input and output filenames so they follow an easy pattern (i.e. input*.wav and output.wma). Now save the .wme. Now you need to code up a batch file that does the following:

besweet.exe -core( -input input.ac3 -output input -6ch ) -azid (...)
cscript wmcmd.vbs -wme myprofile.wme

Essentially, Besweet will decode the AC3 file into 6 mono WAV files, all following an input*.wav naming pattern. When you start up the WME9 encoder, it will automatically look for those files in the current directory and encode them to output.wma. If you're doing a lot of AC3->WMA conversions, this is a much faster way to do it then having to deal with a GUI encoder.

Sorry for the sloppy explanation... I can elaborate if necessary.

I don't think 128kbps is good enough for encoding 5.1 sound. Think about it. 128 / 6 is 21.3. That's 21.3 kbps for each channel. That's the equivalent of encoding stereo sound at 42 kbps. I really don't think that's enough. I would recommend 384kbps for 5.1 sound. That's more like 128kbps for stereo and will sound much better.

From my experience, WME can recognize the resolution of the .avs file. I always set it size to "same as input" and never have any trouble. But then again, I tend to resize and crop in .avs to make things go faster in WME.

Finally, let me just stress that setting pixel aspect ratios is a very useful method of saving bitrate. Encoding a widescreen video as 640x480 with a 4:3 PAR is much more bitrate efficient than encoding the movie as a 856x480 with a 1:1 PAR.

[McoreD]

Thank you zambelli. I didn't really know that the bitrate has to divided to determine the quality in one channel. I thought the same (128kbps) will be heard in all the channels. I was wrong.
If that's the case, I think 384kbps becomes our only choice because we want *at least* 384kbps to output 384/6 = 64kbps for each channel.

I also prefer with the setting Video Size as Same as Video Input. I thought Bulma had some special reason to put a value in there. If nothing wrong putting Same as Video Input, I am definitely putting that setting. Thanks for that advice.

I still couldn't understand how the Pixel Aspect Ratio works. In your example you have set the PAR to 4:3 for a video with 640 * 480 resolution. I can understand how you got 4:3, 640/480 = 1.333:3 = 4:3.
That 640 * 480, is it the input video resolution or the resolution of the output after cropped?
I will bring it this way: Say the video in the DVD has a resolution of 720 * 576. From DVD2AVI, we determine that 80 can be cropped from Top and Bottom to get rid of the Black space. Then the output video resolution is 720 * 416, ok?
Now when determining the PAR ratio, do we use the original 720 * 576 = 5:4 or cropped 720:416 = 7:4 ? I hope you understand my doubt. :)

[zambelli]

Sorry, I think my previous PAR example might've confused you. Let me start again.

PAR is Pixel Aspect Ratio, not Picture Aspect Ratio. It determines the shape of the pixels during playback. If it's set to 1:1 (default), pixels are square. If it's set to any other ratio (i.e. 11:10) that means the pixels with be rectangular.

For example, let's say we have a NTSC DVD, ehanced for widescreen playback. The native resolution of the DVD is 720x480. However, the pixels aren't square. A pixel aspect ratio of approx 33:40 was used to squeeze the 16:9 frame into a 3:2 frame. So let's say you want to encode that video to WMV. Why resize anything at all? Encode it as 720x480 and set a 40:33 PAR on it. The image will expand right back to 872x480 at playback.

[zambelli]

Oh, in case of a PAL DVD, like in your example, you'd set PAR to 12:11 for a full screen DVD or to 16:11 for an enhanced widescreen DVD. Assuming you set your output size to 720x416, of course.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by zambelli
Oh, in case of a PAL DVD, like in your example, you'd set PAR to 12:11 for a full screen DVD or to 16:11 for an enhanced widescreen DVD. Assuming you set your output size to 720x416, of course. There is another option you guys!

All my tests have shown that the WMV container supports AR flagging. So if you generate your encodes at 1:1 (ie 720x480 or 720x576). Provided you view them using the WM9 player, they will play back at the correct aspect ratio!

Cheers

[Beastie Boy]

With regards to the bitrate for 5.1 WMA files, I use VBR at quality 75. This gives excellent quality at around 260-300kbps depending on the source.

In theory, VBR would always beat a CBR file at a given file size. More bits are used where required.
Of course, the ideal solution would be the ability to mux ac3 tracks into a WMV file. :) zambelli?

Cheers, Beastie.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Beastie Boy
In theory, VBR would always beat a CBR file at a given file size. More bits are used where required.
Of course, the ideal solution would be the ability to mux ac3 tracks into a WMV file. :) zambelli?

Cheers, Beastie. Yea! Such a tool would be very handy, given it's so easy to mux WMV and WMA streams together!

Someone please oblige!

Cheers

[Rash]

I have a problem. The Average FPS is way below the Expected FPS. Is there a way to lock fps, like we do on XviD and DivX?

[zambelli]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital
All my tests have shown that the WMV container supports AR flagging. So if you generate your encodes at 1:1 (ie 720x480 or 720x576). Provided you view them using the WM9 player, they will play back at the correct aspect ratio!


It is my understanding that any player using VMR-9 will also correctly play back AR flagged files.

[zambelli]

Originally posted by Rash
I have a problem. The Average FPS is way below the Expected FPS. Is there a way to lock fps, like we do on XviD and DivX?

I believe this is because WME drops duplicate frames. With ASF, unlike AVI, the perceived framerate can be different than the average framerate.

[zambelli]

Originally posted by Beastie Boy

Of course, the ideal solution would be the ability to mux ac3 tracks into a WMV file. :) zambelli?


I think this is theoretically possible. Years ago MS released two tools for converting AVIs and WAVs to ASF formats. Although the tools are no longer supported by MS (they were released with Netshow 2.0), you still might be able to find them online. Google for vidtoasf and wavtoasf, or vid2asf and wav2asf. The tools, as their names suggest, can take an AVI or WAV source and convert it to ASF - without recompressing the video or audio streams. Unbelievable as it might sound, a DivX/MP3 AVI will convert to an ASF without problems. WMP will play back the resulting ASF just fine (providing DivX decoder is installed, of course) and will even display both audio and video codec in the stream properties dialog.

So... theoretically... if you can store an AC3 stream inside an AVI or WAV, you should also be able to store it in an ASF too.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by zambelli
It is my understanding that any player using VMR-9 will also correctly play back AR flagged files. Yep. I guess that's right now. I've just played pack a 720x576 anamorphic .WMV encode using MediaPlayer Classic 6.4.7.0 with no problems!
So I guess most people would be happy!

At least the WMV codec/container supports AR flagging. Putting it way ahead of other codec/container combinations!

Cheers

PS: If there's simple way to generate an 6Ch WMA stream from an 6Ch AC3 stream, I'm all for it!

[zambelli]

Originally posted by SeeMoreDigital

PS: If there's simple way to generate an 6Ch WMA stream from an 6Ch AC3 stream, I'm all for it!

Well, that all depends on your definition of "simple". The easiest way is to decode .ac3 to 6 mono WAV files using BeSweet, and then encode the 6 WAV files to a 5.1 WMA using WME9.

[TruckChase!]

Why would you want to re-encode AC3 to WMA? Re-compressing already compressed audio is a no-no first of all, and there is nothing to gain. Any pc can decode ac3, as well as nearly any reciever made in the last 5 years. I don't know of one that can decode WMA.

Personally I encode the video to WMV9 and leave the audio untouched. I then wrap it all in a mkv container.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by TruckChase!
Why would you want to re-encode AC3 to WMA? Re-compressing already compressed audio is a no-no first of all, and there is nothing to gain. Any pc can decode ac3, as well as nearly any reciever made in the last 5 years. I don't know of one that can decode WMA.

Personally I encode the video to WMV9 and leave the audio untouched. I then wrap it all in a mkv container. For me, it's just a 'megabyte' space saving exercise. A 6Ch WMA9 stream sounds pretty good at 128kbps.

And as long as everything stays within an WMV container I'm also able to playback the encodes using my Xcard, with JovePlayer front end and pump the 6Ch analog audio to my DSS amp.

Cheers

[Rash]

Originally posted by zambelli
I believe this is because WME drops duplicate frames. With ASF, unlike AVI, the perceived framerate can be different than the average framerate.
Well, maybe. But the problem is that when I played the movie it was chopped, just like a game that it too heavy to run on your machine. I'm using WME default settings. And thank you for your reply. :)

[bleo]

Er excuse my ignorance but how do you set the AR flag??

Just to show how quirky I am, I've been setting my pixel aspect ratio at 64:45 for anamorphic PAL sources...

[McoreD]

Originally posted by TruckChase!
Why would you want to re-encode AC3 to WMA? Re-compressing already compressed audio is a no-no first of all, and there is nothing to gain. Any pc can decode ac3, as well as nearly any reciever made in the last 5 years. I don't know of one that can decode WMA.

Personally I encode the video to WMV9 and leave the audio untouched. I then wrap it all in a mkv container.

For me it is: I want to have it all Windows Media, thus I won't need to install an AC3 decoder. Everything will be played nicely in Windows Media Player 9. Secondly, like SeeMoreDigital, I am trying to save more space for video, so then I can encode the video at a higher bitrate.

zambelli mate, how about setting the Pixel Aspect Ratio: same as input? It didn't look bad for me. But not sure.

[zambelli]

Originally posted by bleo
Er excuse my ignorance but how do you set the AR flag??

Just to show how quirky I am, I've been setting my pixel aspect ratio at 64:45 for anamorphic PAL sources...

The correct PAR for anamorphic PAL sources is actually 16:11. Even though CCIR-601 defines 720 pixels as the horizontal resolution, only 704 are used for the image. Thus most DVDs have 8 black pixels on each side of the image. I learned this myself very recently too.

You set PAR in WME9 by setting a custom Compression profile, checking "Allow non-square pixel output" and then going over to Video Size and selecting a PAR from the dropdown menu.

[Beastie Boy]

Originally posted by Rash
Well, maybe. But the problem is that when I played the movie it was chopped, just like a game that it too heavy to run on your machine. I'm using WME default settings. And thank you for your reply. :)
Are you using '2 Pass VBR Peak' or plain '2 Pass VBR'?
There is a problem with '2 Pass VBR Peak' in that if the Peak setting is reached, frames are duplicated. This then gives the appearance that the video is stuttering on playback. Stick to '2 Pass VBR' and all should be well.

Cheers, Beastie.

[nFury8]

originally posted by zambelli
Sorry, I think my previous PAR example might've confused you. Let me start again.

PAR is Pixel Aspect Ratio, not Picture Aspect Ratio. It determines the shape of the pixels during playback. If it's set to 1:1 (default), pixels are square. If it's set to any other ratio (i.e. 11:10) that means the pixels with be rectangular.

For example, let's say we have a NTSC DVD, ehanced for widescreen playback. The native resolution of the DVD is 720x480. However, the pixels aren't square. A pixel aspect ratio of approx 33:40 was used to squeeze the 16:9 frame into a 3:2 frame. So let's say you want to encode that video to WMV. Why resize anything at all? Encode it as 720x480 and set a 40:33 PAR on it. The image will expand right back to 872x480 at playback.

Please let me barge in on this PAR thing here, I am currently doing my wmv9 encodes via avisynth thru wme9 by cropping away the black bars without resizing. I just let zoomplayer resize to the correct aspect ratio of my input. So what you're saying is encode the source with the black bars without cropping them? The reason why people here crop the black bars is to save bitrate which I believe you know anyway. But your method sounds intriguing to me, I might want to try it one of these days.

regards

[Beastie Boy]

nFury8, no sorry, that's not right.
Crop in Avisynth as you normally would, but don't apply any resizing.
Then when applying your bitrate settings, check the box that says 'Allow non-square pixels'.
Back on the main settings area, there is a tab headed 'Video size' (or something similar, sorry I'm at work at the moment and can't check). In here you can select Custom AR and enter a ratio eg 40:33.
Beware that this is relative to the input AR so check the info panel to the right in order to see what the output AR will be.
Then encode as normal.

When the file is played back in WMP9 or other player using VMR-9, the AR that you set will be read and the file will play back 'stretched' to the correct shape.

Cheers, Beastie.