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chilledinsanity
16th June 2003, 23:18
this relates back to a previous post (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?threadid=52806&highlight=conspiracy), but I've discovered some things since that change the issue somewhat.

Basically I have some old Xvid encodes that look great when played back when I have the original codec used (Nic's Nov. 2002 build I think), but look like crap on any builds of his past sometime around spring or anyone else's build (Koepi, Umaniac). I originally tried ffdshow to workaround the problem, but after much testing it doesn't seem to be helping. Then I tried using Koepi's build (since the errors are more noticeable with it) and then looking at the videoclip frame by frame through Virtualdub and it still looks just as bad (bleeding colors/pixels, extreme degradation between keyframes, etc.). Is there any way to get this to look right? In ffdshow I've tried different postprocessing methods, having the IDTC method set as Xvid, having it autodetect workaround encoder bugs, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

If anyone has ideas, I'm interested. If not, maybe there's another question you can answer. For a while I was using a more recent build of Nic's that didn't make the old encodes look bad, but now going back, I'm finding that the stuff I endcoded with that looks fine on other builds like Koepi's, etc. Is there some sort of analysis program that can tell me what build these were encoded in? This seems like the best solution at the moment; sticking with a build I can watch my older encodes on, but whose encodes will be compatible with current builds. (sorry if that's confusing, I'll try and clarify if I have to). I would find out myself, but I've lost the file since then and have done a clean install of Windows, so really I have no clue. If there's no way to determine it, is there some website that has an archive of Nic's previous stable builds? I might be able to figure it out from experimenting.

Thanks in advance for whatever help I get, I'm sure this can go a couple ways.

chilledinsanity
19th June 2003, 18:16
Okay, I've done some more research and made this an easier proposition. After going to kilg0r3's excellent unauthorized xvid archive:
http://kilg0r3.cjb.net/

I found that Nic's 16-03-2003 build plays back the old clips correctly! Makes me wonder what happened between that one and the current 30-03-2003 one out now. Unfortunately it looks like this is only the decoder on his site. Was the encoder for this version even released? If so, where can I download it? If not, what's the next closest version of Nic's build prior to the the 30-03-2003?

Thanks again, hopefully I'll get a reply this time.

chilledinsanity
20th June 2003, 03:19
Well, it looks like I was able to solve it on my own. I finally found a link for the 16/3/03 build. To anyone who's interested, here's the page:
http://www.napisy.boo.pl/software.html

Still makes me wonder why the 30/3/03 build is so different though. Anyway, the problem's solved for me, hopefully this helps someone else too.

Koepi
20th June 2003, 08:59
I always include the codec version used to encode onto the cd if i burn something i encoded. This way, if something was buggy in that build and the decoders have no workaround built-in for it, i can easily install the older build and enjoy it anyways.

Just a hint. ;)

Regards
Koepi

chilledinsanity
22nd June 2003, 22:37
Yeah, that's not a bad idea, I'm half considering switching to your build actually, seeing as how my currently encoded movies look crazy good through your decoder, even better than the build they were encoded under.

It can be sort of annoying switching installs though; I'm not sure why, but XP has a deathgrip on the xvid.ax file unless I log out or restart. There was one time when I was able to delete it with no trouble at and all and I tested like 6 builds in a row, but I have no idea what I did.

tiki4
23rd June 2003, 14:57
That's actually a known fact. Windows locks .dll or .ax (which is also some sort of .dll) while they are used. Nic proposed the following scheme to switch between different XviD builds:

1. reboot
2. uninstall old
3. reboot
3. install new build

I stick with that. I think it's the best way to deal with M$OS.

tiki4