A new tool for CCE 2.66.1.7 trial

[dvddev9]

This is AutoCCE, a new tool for CCE 2.66.1.7 trial:

This tool simulate user input to automate some tasks in CCE.
When you run CCE with it, a little vertical button appears in the topleft
of the CCE window (under "file"). It give you new options:

-Load/Save ECl project (including multiple clips, encode ranges, chapters,...).

-Adjust the average bit rate of a multipass VBR project to match a specified file size.

Tested on Windows: Me, 2000.
Tested with CCE: 2.66.1.6, 2.66.1.7


It's here:

http://dvdcreation.free.fr/AutoCCE/autocce090.rar

[Arky]

Great stuff- finally a solution (I hope) to using .ecl files again with CCE! I'll try this out in a few hours time, when I get home. :)


Arky ;o)

[Arky]

N.B., just tried to run the executable on Win95 (not with CCE, just on it's own, to check if the archive works), and I got the following error:

"A required .DLL file, BORLNDMM.DLL, was not found"


I've never seen a dependency on this .DLL before, so I don't know if it is simply a .DLL which is absent on Win95 but present on all later builds of Windows OS's.

I'll report back when I get back to my Win2k system. Probably, there will be no issues at all..


Arky ;o)

[wmansir]

I got the same DLL error in WinXP. Borlndmm.dll is the Borland Memory Manager. Here's what a quick search found at a Borland C++ builder FAQ.


Why does my program call for borlndmm.dll and/or cp3245mt.dll?
faq101-188

borlndmm.dll and cp3245mt.dll are dynamic RTL DLLs. To statically link these files to your program so your program does not depend upon these, go to your project or compiler options page. Click on the linker tab and unclick the "Use dynamic RTL" option.


I was looking for the DLL itself, which I found here.
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~beckr/Download/Runtimefiles/Runtimefiles.htm

It also needs CC3250MT.DLL which I found here.
http://www.magiqueproductions.com/omegacore/downloads.htm

Now that that's out of the way, let me say my quick testing shows it works as advertised on XP. I already have a job running so I can't test extensively (or even start the job once loaded). But it looks very good so far.

EDIT: Forgot to say, just put the above files in with the .exe.

[dvddev9]

Sorry for my mistake. I had relinked the program and updated the archive.
So I hope it's good now...

[wmansir]

Thanks for what looks like a very useful tool.

Regarding the VBR bitrate function: Does it take into account the audio? Also, since may people use an external programs to encode the audio, would it be possible to add an input for the audio bitrate so it can include in the calculations? I don't want to seem demanding, but this one addition would make my other bitrate calc unneccesary.

I tried to search google (and google groups) on "AutoCCE", but google told me I was really searching for AutoCad.

[odwoh]

I've tried this in conjunction with DVD2SVCD but couldn't get it to work properly. Whats the procedure?

thx

[Matthew]

Cool, just quickly tried it with 2.66.1.2 under XP (didn't encode though) and chapter support seems to work fine =)

A suggestion...perhaps you could assign a key e.g. ALT + A to bring up the AutoCCE window?

Great stuff =)

[quantum]

The "adjust bitrate" feature is interesting and saves a bit of time from manually tweaking the bitrate, but what would make it better:

Figure out a way to enter the desired filesize *before* the VAF file is created. Then run the first pass using the multipass VBR setting with "create new file" checked and passes=1.

After the VAF(s) are created, automatically run the second pass with the bitrate tweaked to achieve the desired filesize.

As it stands now, I have to do this procedure in two steps. If I could do it in one, I could let these jobs run automatically overnight.

[paulusz]

Thanks dvddev9, it works very well with CCE SP 2.66.01.07 (Windows 2000 Professional).
Cheers,
paulusz

[Toti]

I run the program and I didn't get any errors at all (winXP). When I used this tool all that was coming out of my mouth for the next ten minutes was "WOW".

It helps me tremendously. A BIG thanks to dvddev9

Amazing tool strongly recommended.

[Arky]

Excellent stuff - this is really great! I tried it last night with 2.66.1.2, and, like Matthew, I had no problems. I actually took it through a single !multipass! encode (to get the .vaf), saved the .ecl and deliberately exited CCE. I then restarted CCE (again using AutoCCE), reloaded the .ecl file which I had created minutes earlier, and tweaked my bitrate in Advanced Settings, and then completed a nother two passes. AutoCCE worked flawlessly. All you have to do is ignore the usual CCE pop-up asking if you want to save an .ecl - in other words, ignore this message and only save/load /.ecl files manually using the AutoCCE button. This is a real time saver and I personally wish to thank dvddev9 and anyone who may have helped him :)

I don't suppose there is any possibility of addressing the "top-field" first bug in CCE as well, is there? I do appreciate that CCE is coded in assembler (or so I have been led to believe), and is very difficult to recode.

Thanks again (Custom Technology must be fuming! :D lol)


Arky ;o)

[Tsui]

A really good tool !

In which way do you save the ecl ?
Can you offer the source of this tool ?

Greetings

[DVD__GR]

Does it work with other versions of cinemacraft??? (not the older ones like 2.50)

[dvddev9]

Thanks to all.

All yours suggestions are welcome.

The planned features for the next release are:

1) command line support for this options:
-cce=<cce exe name> // CCE executable to run
-ecl=<ecl file name> // ECL file to load
-vbrsize=<file size> // desired file size
-encode // start encode
-exit // exit after encode

So any program will can launch CCE via AutoCCE.

2) automatically create vaf file, adjust the bitrate, then encode the other pass (i'm working on this).

3) compatibility with 2.64.x version for the VBR filesize fonction.

@Arky:
I don't suppose there is any possibility of addressing the "top-field" first bug in CCE as well, is there? I do appreciate that CCE is coded in assembler (or so I have been led to believe), and is very difficult to recode.
I can't recode CCE. AutoCCE is just a simple user input simulator. It do nothing inside the CCE process space.

@Tsui:
As I say, I just do automatically what a user can do with his keyboard, his mouse and his eyes. I read all settings in each dialog (sending BM_CLICK and WM_GETTEXT) and write them into a text file. It's very simple. The source isn't available for the moment.

dvddev9

[quantum]

2) automatically create vaf file, adjust the bitrate, then encode the other pass (i'm working on this). I'm looking forward to this feature, and thanks for the good work.

[wmansir]

There are a few problems with this tool and 2.66.06. I had this version installed and setup 5 multipass jobs. I then saved the settings to run later. When I later loaded the .ecl it didn't set a few settings correctly. The max bitrate was 6000kbps instead of the correct 2576kbps, and the second pass .mpv output file remained at the default, instead of the new output location. The first pass .mpv and .vaf destination was loaded correctly.

I checked the .ecl and it was recorded correctly. So I updated to 2.66.07, loaded the .ecl and it worked fine. There may have been other errors, but I was really just looking to get it working and those were the only problems I noticed before upgrading to 2.66.07. Also, both versions had been thru a tsunami, so they were not clean trial version installs.

[Matthew]

Originally posted by dvddev9
The planned features for the next release are:

1) command line support for this options:
-cce=<cce exe name> // CCE executable to run
-ecl=<ecl file name> // ECL file to load
-vbrsize=<file size> // desired file size
-encode // start encode
-exit // exit after encode

So any program will can launch CCE via AutoCCE.

That would be REALLY cool =)

[dvddev9]

Thanks wmansir, for reporting the bugs you found. You're right. I had fixed this bugs in this 0.90 version (no more beta). I's just a bug fix version and NOT the release above-mentioned.


http://dvdcreation.free.fr/AutoCCE/autocce090.rar

[rui]

Hi, i just want to congratulate dvddev9 for is excellent work.
The AutoCCE really solves the “not be able to save ecl file” problem :)
Just one question: I tried the AutoCCE in a Windows 98SE installation and in a windows XP installation (I have a dual boot system).
In windows 98 it worked like a charm, but in Windows XP, when trying to save the ecl file, it appears an error message saying “List item not selected”.
I tried to “select” the file (by clicking above the opened avs file that appears in CCE(?)) but when trying to save the ecl file I always get that error.
Most probably is my Windows XP installation that needs a “refresh”, because I already read around here people reporting having windows xp and having success with the AutoCCE. But in the next days I will have some free time, and will install a fresh windows xp, and try again.
But for now I am using my good old and reliable ;) windows 98SE to get it working, and am very pleased with the results.
Thanks again to dvddev9 for taking the time to create this wonderful tool. Just for info, I am using CCE 2.66.1.6

EDIT: Just wanted to ask how one upgrades version 266.1.6 to 2.66.1.7. The file i got from costum-tecnhology only allows to update version 2.66.1.1 to 2.66.1.7
When i tried with my 2.66.1.6, i got an error message saying that it couldn't find the installation folder (?)

[Arky]

Originally posted by rui
Just wanted to ask how one upgrades version 266.1.6 to 2.66.1.7. The file i got from costum-tecnhology only allows to update version 2.66.1.1 to 2.66.1.7
When i tried with my 2.66.1.6, i got an error message saying that it couldn't find the installation folder (?)



http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38663


Arky ;o)

[rui]

First i want to apologise the Mod and other usres for not using the search button. I have been around time enough to know that i should look first and ask later :o

But the full trial version that is available in Visible Light to download is 2.66.01.06
To get the 2.66.01.07, one has to update. But i will try the "other tip :D you gave, and see if all goes ok. If not, like you said, the update isn't that important anyway.

[rui]

Many thanks, Bach! :)
Spot on!
Thanks again.

EDIT: By the way, i noticed that in the Jap site they have a new version for download: 2.67.01.00, but is only available for registered users :(

[wmansir]

The Pro version is part of a hardware package and is often a version ahead of the SP and Lite products. Even if you could download the program it probably wouldn't be stable (if it ran at all) on your computer.

[primo]

Rui I am also getting the same "can't find installation folder" error as you when attempting to upgrade CCE 2.66.1.1 to 2.66.1.7 (or 2.66.1.6 for that matter). Anyone here know what were doing wrong?

[primo]

oops sorry please disregard my previous post. Sheesh you guys are quick hehe

[mmatac]

Is there a way to use AUTOCCE in conjuction with DVD2SVCD?
Is it needed a DVD2SVCD upgrade?
Should we have to wait that DVD2SVCD launch the ECL file save command through AUTOCCE instead of CCE?
Tell me if the question is stupid.
regards

[Orthosis]

Hello everyone,
when I try to unrar this file always winzip is poping up or it is giving error as unknown format.
Thanks for any solution

Orthosis

[rui]

Probably because the orignal rar file was made with the latest Winrar.
I read that the latest Winrar 3.XX is incompatible with prior releases.
I know that you are using Winzip, but this could be your problem.
Just go to the winrar site and download the latest version.
http://www.rarlab.com/

[Orthosis]

Thanks Rui,
it is working
Orthosis

[rocker60]

Are you tired of XviD for encoding? :confused: :D

[rui]

Originally posted by rocker60
Are you tired of XviD for encoding? :confused: :D

Good question :D

No, i continue to be a big fan of xvid. But my problem is that i have my comp at my room, where i have a small tv set to watch the movies i encoded.
Then, one day a friend of mine, that had bought a Pionner A04, made a proposal that i couldn't refuse (the device had 2 months of use, was yet like new and he was giving it for half the retail price) ;)
So i bought it, and tried to make some dvd's that played very well in my living room, where i have a big tv set.
I know that there are devices that use radio waves to send the signal of the tv output for the living room, but they are rather expensive here in Portugal.
And since the dvd discs are getting very cheap, i am making some dvd backups to see in the living room.
But i always go to the xvid forum to check on the progress, and some day we will have a standalone that can play mpeg4 just fine (i am not talking about that Kiss project, i don't trust them), and then..xvid all the way. Just imagine to encode all the movies at quant 3 or even 2... ;)
Sorry to the MOD for the off topic post :(

[mmatac]

@ Moderator
@ DVD2SVCD

Isn't my question (of the 4th Dec) interesting? Do I'm wrong in something?
Can you post also in the DVDSVCD discussion the question?

I realized that the Doom9 Forum is a great and interesting place, but is like an exclusive club: if you are in the right little circle, the mod and the little circle answer.
Differently, the answer is only from some newbie, probably not experienced, like me.

bye

[rui]

Mmatac, please don’t get this the wrong way (i am NOT trying to start anything), but i think you are being a little unfair.
Like you can see in a post above, I didn’t had any problems in giving my take to a question posted by Orthosis, who is also new to this forum. I did it because i thought that i knew the answer to his problem. I can honestly say that i don't know how to help you. I too am rather newbie when concerns CCE and DVD creation matters.
If you didn’t got any replies, maybe only the creator of the software can answer your question, and maybe he is away or busy with is life, etc.
I was a fresh guy here not so long ago, and I can tell you that I never felt discriminated in those times in any way.

[Arky]

I have never discriminated against a newbie, mmatac - I always try to be as helpful as I can to everyone, If you don't believe me, just do a search with my name, and see how detailed some of my posts are!

If somebody doesn't answer you, it may be due to the reasons rui mentioned, or it may simply be that the topic you asked about is not one which many people have any idea about, or not one people would expect to find in this thread. Please remember that this thread began with a discussion which did not involve AutoCCE. Therefore, many people who have read the thread in the past may not bother reading the thread anymore, and may be unaware that the thread has since included AutoCCE.

I suggest that you repost in the DVD-2S-VCD forum (I appreciate that you don't wish to cross-post, but in this particular instance I feel you would be justified in doing so. If anyone objects, just tell them I said it was ok). Perhaps if you post there with a CLEAR title about exactly what you are asking, people may read the post and give you an answer if they can. However, I do suspect you will find that only DVDDEV9 will know that answer. If this is the case, perhaps you could PM him once. If he does not reply, then perhaps he is busy coding the next version of AutoCCE! :)

Relax, for answers do not always come quickly in life!


Arky ;o)

[Pauly]

Hi I am trying to use this tool but get the error message "List item not selected" when the "settings" window (just before you enter chapter points) pops up. This happens when trying to save or load.

Any ideas where I am going wrong?
Thanks

[rui]

Pauly, i also always get that error when using AutoCCE in Windows Xp (but works 100% in Windows 98SE), but since there are already people that could use it in xp i feel it's my system that has some problems.
If you could try it in another comp, you could find if it is a problem in your system (like my case) or not.

[wmansir]

I have also encountered that error on XP, but it's often not reproducable as I have simply tried again and had it work. Perhaps this is due to the delay in opening the video in the preview window?

[dvddev9]

It's clear that something is wrong in my verification code for the list view. So I had removed this verification, but due to some personnal problems, I can't make any test for the moment! :(
I had put the modified AutoCCE here:
http://dvdcreation.free.fr/AutoCCE/autocce091b.rar
I'm sorry but I don't know if this version work. :confused:
If someone could test it with several job in the list, please let me know if it solve the problem.

About the compatibility with dvd2svcd:
Maybe AutoCCE will be a solution for dvd2svcd to use CCE 2.66. But at first, I think AutoCCE should be more stable and support comandline.

Regards, dvddev9.

[wmansir]

I ran a quick test with a couple of problem .ecls I encountered this error with earlier. The error message is gone, but the error still remains. The results were the same, accept this time the proccess just left the edit->settings window open. I closed it and the file was open and the settings were partially set.

Actually, on a second check, it looks like the settings were set correctly loaded, but the main program window was not updated for the first video loaded (it had the template settings, one pass vbr). When I went to edit the settings on that file it did have the correct settings loaded, multi-pass vbr with the correct bitrate, output folder, filter settings, ect. So for me, it worked despite the error.

As I stated before this error is not consistant for me. It occurs more often when I'm running another proccess (like encoding audio or video), but it is not always reproducable on my system. So someone who always gets this error should test it also.

[dvddev9]

Thanks again wmansir.
I try another method in this other beta version:
http://dvdcreation.free.fr/AutoCCE/autocce091b2.rar

[wmansir]

I'm getting more errors with the new 091b2 version.

Loading a previously saved .ecl adds the first video and then I get the error: "Encode Settings dialog error". That's all it does, the remaining video files were not added and the settings were not changed from the template on the one that was added.

I also got the same error when trying to save a .ecl right after droping in a couple of vidoes. NO windows would open, it would just sit there for around 5 seconds and then pop up the error.

However, when I went into the edit page of one of the videos (even if I didn't change anything and just clicked cancel) I would not get that error. Instead the windows would pop up as normal and it would stop on the main edit page of the first video, wait 5 seconds, and then give the error: "Video button error".

After a few tries it would sometimes work, but I don't know why.

[MomokoXP]

I get "Encode Settings dialog error" everytime I try to save ECL via AutoCCE, even after editing parameters in "Encode settings" or any other dialog.

Is it because I use the Japanese version of CCE and all the dialogs are ones included in "1041" resources?

[BBWoof]

Just curious. Where does AutoCCE get the vbr_bias from for the ECL. I noticed that when I save an ECL file, the bias defaults to 30. If I change the bias in the ECL, reload, and save, the bias goes back to 30.

[rui]

Hummm. Strange.
I have configured a encode with a bias of 5, then saved the ecl file, exited cce.
Then, used Notepad to open the ecl file, and it was at 5. Then i opened cce again, opened the saved ecl file, and the bias was still at 5. I changed it to 10, saved the ecl file again, exited cce.
Then opened in notepad the ecl file, and the bias was at 10.
Opened cce again, opened the ecl file, edit the advanced settings, and bias was at 10.

Beware, i am not saying that you didn't got that error. AutoCCE, in spite of being an excelent piece of software, still has some bugs (i can only work with it in Win98SE, not in XP, for example, and even in win98se sometimes it refuses to save the ecl file at first try, only by pushing it i can do it).

[RB]

@dvddev9

I'm going to do some guesswork as to what could be the problem (most likely in your code):

From looking at your executable and what it is linked to, I guess you are using Windows Hooks (SetWindowsHookEx etc.) to hook into the CCE dialogs and simulate user input, which is the right thing to do.

Am I right?

If so, then your problem is that your hook code is not in a DLL. The docs on SetWindowsHookEx explicitly say:


lpfn
[in] Pointer to the hook procedure. If the dwThreadId parameter is
zero or specifies the identifier of a thread created by a different
process, the lpfn parameter must point to a hook procedure in a
dynamic-link library (DLL). Otherwise, lpfn can point to a hook
procedure in the code associated with the current process.

...

An error may occur if the hMod parameter is NULL and the dwThreadId
parameter is zero or specifies the identifier of a thread created by
another process.


Try placing the code that hooks and simulates user input into a DLL. Load it in your process space, call CreateProcess() to run CCE, WaitForInputIdle() on the hProcess handle in the PROCESS_INFORMATION structure, then set a global hook, specifying your DLL module handle, the hook function in your DLL and the thread ID you got in the PROCESS_INFORMATION struct.

I've done things like this before and it always worked fine... Hell, I feel like I want to start writing something like this my own :D (no offense please!).

Where did you find a documentation of the CCE Encoder Control List (.ecl) format?

[rui]

Originally posted by RB
I've done things like this before and it always worked fine... Hell, I feel like I want to start writing something like this my own :D (no offense please!).

The more the merrier. ;)
Also, no offence to dvddev9. Your work is greatly appreciated. :)
I have encoded 5 movies using your wonderfull software, all with great results (only have to do it in win98se).

[crazee_canuck]

Hello forum members!
Long time reader, first time poster.


Originally posted by MomokoXP
I get "Encode Settings dialog error" everytime I try to save ECL via AutoCCE, even after editing parameters in "Encode settings" or any other dialog.


I received this error trying to load an ecl file when using the v.091b2 version. With the v.90 posted earlier in this thread, ecl saving/loading is working flawlessly, from what I can tell so far...



System specs that may be useful:
English Windows XP, Service Pack 1, with all of the latest Windows Update patches applied.
CCE v2.66.01.07
0.4.5 enhancement applied
1024GB Crucial PC2100 DDR RAM, non-registered, not overclocked
Athlon XP 1800+ CPU, not overclocked
KR7A-RAID133 motherboard
2 Maxtor 80GB 7200RPM hard drives, not using the RAID capabilities of my motherboard(yet)


@dvddev9
Thank you for this tool, it is proving very useful indeed. :)

[new_age]

Hello!

About "Item not selected" or similar errors.
If I select "Standard" template everything works fine. If other template is selected I get these kind of errors.

So the simple workaround is to always select "Standard" template before loadind ECL files.

[new_age]

I've to tell some corrections: The workaround I've mentioned above works only with 0.9. It doesn't work with 0.91b2. So I switched back to 0.9

NA