help with ffdshow h264 settings

[nicco]

I'd like to encode my first movie with ffdshow h264 but I'm a bit confused how to set the codec parameters becouse they are new for me. I've searched the forum but I found only information about what is and how h264 works.
Thx!

[lemon]

ffmpeg only has an h264 decoder available.

[hellfred]

Originally posted by lemon
ffmpeg only has an h264 decoder available.
nicco is right, in ffdshow there is a dll included that allows ffdshow to encode to h264 using x264 codec. In this very same forum there is a thread on x264 development. Look around it's seventh page for getting started. In there you will find a way how to do a 2-pass encoding using x264, too.
Mencoder from MPlayer project is able to encode using x264, too. In its manpage (http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/man/en/mplayer.1.html#CODEC%20SPECIFIC%20ENCODING%20OPTIONS%20(MENCODER%20ONLY)), the parameters are discribed, and default values are given. See section entitled "x264enc (-x264encopts)" which is several pages below the anchor used for linking, just above the section "Files".
Finally Akupenguin explained the x254encopts to me and some other users in the mencoder + x264 thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83039).

Hellfred

EDIT: Spelling.

[lemon]

OK, sorry, I use mencoder on a GNU system, and x264 must be installed appart from mplayer/mencoder or ffmpeg, and I thought ffdshow did include only the ffmpeg libraries, which are able to decode but not encode h.264

[Mug Funky]

hmm... ffdshow's x264 seems a little buggy at the moment - quantizer compression can only be set from 0 to 1%, but appears to work internally between 0 and 100%. this means it's useless for 1-pass VBR with a specified bitrate (all frames come out almost exactly the same size, forcing you to cap quants severely, and then you might as well have constant quant set).

i think it's best to stick with a better established codec while x264 matures. it's not yet using all the available features of h.264. of course, you can test it all you want and give feedback :) (it's still a bloody good codec).

[WorBry]

Thought I'd give x264 a try out. Installed ffdshow-alpha (latest build 20041012) but couldnt see it in VirtualDub Compression settings (as I had done with a much earlier build). Read somewhere that 20041012 was a bit "buggy" so I installed 20040828 instead and low and behold, it appeared in Vdub. Tried converting a few PAL Type II DV clips using the default H264 settings (single pass quantizer at 2) loaded into Vdub with my standard AVISynth script (avi source, Convert to YUY2(interlaced=true), KernelDeint (order=0, sharp=true), LanczosResize(720,544), Undot()). The (fast recompress) encoding appeared to run like normal, but when I tried to open up the encodes in VDub, I learned that VDub doesnt like DirectShow. Couldnt playback in any other media player (WMP10, CoreMediaPlayer, MPClassic etc) either (no suitable decompressor). So I installed the standalone x264 vfv.dll instead (yes, I right clicked the info file to install). Encoded using the default codec settings (single pass, quant 26), but with the same result - audio, but no video playback and the same error messages. Yet GSpot confirmed that the H264 codec was installed. Could someone please tell me what on earth am I doing wrong (apart from playing around with codecs that I dont really understand). Thanks. BTW - I'm running XP Pro.

[Tommy Carrot]

Open the ffdshow VFW codec configuration, click to the 'decoder' tab on the upper left corner, now go to the 'codecs' section, and there you can enable the h.264 support for virtualdub too.

BTW, i would recommend Celtic_druid's latest build (sorry, i cannot remember the link to that, but you can find it easily with a search), a lot of things have been improved since that old build.

[WorBry]

Thanks for replying Tommy Carrot

I did as you suggested. Sure enough, in the Decoder field of FFDShow VFW conguration, H264 was disabled. Changed it to "Libvcodec" (the only option), which I assume is what you meant. However, I still cant playback any H264 files encoded with FFDShow or the standalone x264 vfw dll on any of the players I use - WMP10, MPClassic, TCMP. Any other suggestions?

The only search results for Celtic_Druid (other than New Age websites) I could find was an XviD build. Sure you dont have a link ?

Cheers,

[Tommy Carrot]

Shit, i misread your post. :D For enabling h.264 support under media players, you have to repeat the above mentioned procedure in the ffdshow directshow configuration (start menu/programs/ffdshow/configuration).

And here is celtic_druid's latest build (http://celticdruid.no-ip.com/xvid/ffdshow/ffdshow-20041110.exe).

[WorBry]

Thanks T.C.

Ok, got the ffdshow H264 encodes to playback. Tried both Quantizer (2) and CBR (at 2000kbps) modes. Cant say I'm overly impressed right now, at least not enough for me to change from DivX or XviD.

BTW - the installer for the Celtic_Druid build that you gave me the link for appears to be broken.

Thanks for the advice though.

[celtic_druid]

You probably don't have all of the file. Check the directory that it came from to see the filesize, there is also a MD5 file, however it should be obvious without that if it is simply incomplete.

I would recommend mass downloader or similer to resume from what you already have.

[WorBry]

Celtic_Druid. Yes, the file was incomplete. Got it all now, thanks. Does this build have the AMD optimized dll ?

[celtic_druid]

No, as it is designed to work on all CPU's.