MeGUI - x264/XviD/lavc/Snow encoder with MP4/MKV/AVI output & audio

[Sharktooth]

It's possible to implement it with an intermediate wav file but it will become HUGE and at that point a routine for checking disk space will be necessary.
However you can encode the audio in 2 passes with SNG and then feed it to megui muxer.

[futurex]

thanks sharktooth, but i thought SNG doesn't work with nero aac 1.0.0.2? that's the only reason i asked about audio encoding with meGUI :-)

[cc979]

@Sharktooth could you do 2pass with a dummy first output maybe ?

[buzzqw]

@cc979

now is not possible, neroaacenc doesn't write a "1 pass stats" file... with a dummy output as xivd/x264...

BHH

[Sharktooth]

thanks sharktooth, but i thought SNG doesn't work with nero aac 1.0.0.2? that's the only reason i asked about audio encoding with meGUI :-)
it works

[futurex]

thanks for confirming that sharktooth :thanks:

[Dixxhead]

Hello guys...

Well, I've been playing around with x264 for a while now, mainly because of use for the PMP AVC MOD by jonny and magik (great job guys!!!)...
Although I can just encode it fine with the commandline I liked to get a more "confortable" tool to work with. And here I found this very neat tool right here....

Anyways, let's get to the point: I've pretty much tried everything by now, I played around with all of the options and whatnot but just can't seem to get a PMP Mod compatible stream... (I am using the pmp-compat-modified x264.exe)
First I couldn't mux the stream at all with the PMPMuxer, which is clear, since I missed some commands in the commandline. So I inserted them in Megui and I could mux.
However, with the finished pmp I get a decoding error (avc_get: ...*don't remember* error)...

So, now to the curious part: I copied the whole commandline I had in MeGui (F:\Videoencoding\megui\tools\x264\x264.exe --bitrate 768 --level 3 --analyse p8x8,b8x8,i4x4,p4x4 --progress --no-psnr --output "F:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\Dixxhead\Eigene Dateien\PSP\Videos\Temp\doatest.264" "F:\Dokumente und Einstellungen\Dixxhead\Eigene Dateien\PSP\Videos\Temp\doatest.avs" -A all --level 3 --pictiming --aud --no-psnr --thread-input --progress ) [I know, it's pretty messed up :p ] and ran it with the command prompt; and look at this, I get a fully compatible PMP stream which runs like a charm, but I'm back to point zero, no automated 2pass encoding and jobs queue...

So... I read that Megui ignores custom commands, but I think I can eliminate that errorsource since if it would, I wouldn't be able to mux the stream in the first place.
That's where I need you'r help guys, please help a poor nOOb getting this done :o

If it helps:
My system:
p4 3.00ghz
1,5gb ram
win xp sp 2
x264 modified for PMP compatibility
newest megui.

Thanks for the help in advance... ;)


Edit: OKKKKK.... Lol, guys, IGNORE this post, just 10 minutes after posting I found the solution... I simply deactiveted the "Automatically set number of threads" option under settings and it works like a charm... Sorry again for inconvenience, I'll try and encode Final Fantasy- Advent Children over night (this is the maybe "hardest to encode"-movie I or rather said, my god ol' pc ever encoded) and let you know of how everything worked out/ how the quality is. Btw I will use the PSP profile of Sharktooth (thanks for that, that's quite some quality work there :D) and just add those few lines you need for PMP compatibility :D

[wincent]

Sorry, where can I download AvisynthWrapper.dll ?
Either MEGui or Avisynth needs it.

[wincent]

Ok, I find it here : http://megui.org/auto/

[chadamir]

Wrong thread sorry.

[Flexy]

i have a very silly question encoding with megui.

Everytime when i load/want to encode a Video (XVid etc.) and then want to encode it asks me for the AUDIO input....but i dont HAVE one since the Audio (duh!) is included in the avi already.

Or do i have to demux manually and then import the audio ?
Why ? (Doesnt megui do that automatically somehow ?)

staxrip does that with vdubmod....but then staxrip seems to have a problem with encoding into AAC.

It just wont into my brain why megui wants some external audio file for default.


Edit: Also.."one click encoder":

i figured this would make things easier....but when i click on "input file" it comes up with "all supported dgindex files"
and i can NOT load any .avi there just vob and mpgs. (Not to mention i dont even know what dgindex is/does).

[Sharktooth]

create an .avs for audio too and feed it to megui audio input.

[timekills]

If you used the auto avs builder, it probably added an "Audio=False" comment into one of the first few lines. If you remove that, youc an use the same .avs for video and audio encoding.

Remember to test-play the .avs file prior to encoding to ensure you can hear the audio!

[WorBry]

I've just started experimenting with MEGUI and note that Convolution3D-YV12 is included as one of the 'core filters'.

For many moons Convolution3D (the original YUY2 supported version) was my 'staple' denoiser for DV sources and I was very satisfied with the results (old, old old...I can hear some of you cry). When I changed to YV12 processing, I naturally adopted the YV12 supported version of Convolution3D, until it was pointed out to me by Boulder that the temporal influence parameter was never fully implemented, and is effectively disabled in this version (last revision v1.0.0.5)

http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=795195&postcount=22

This revelation prompted an exhaustive quest for a suitable alternative and after much testing, I finally settled on HQDN3D, although I've never quite been able to achieve the precision of Convolution3D.

I'm wondering if those developing and using MEGUI are aware of this deficiency in the Convolution3D-YV12 filter, unless, of course, someone has since fixed it?

[AjnabiZ]

anything new ?

[Sharktooth]

not yet. the refactor is still not complete.

[agressiv]

Any way of getting the D2V Creator screen to accept multiple input files? I have tons of DVD's I've ripped to my hard drive already that have 1GB vob files, so most of my rips have 4-6 files.

Because of this, the D2V creator in MeGUI won't work for me, and I have to launch DGIndex manually do create the d2v index. (Its menu allows selecting multiple VOBs)

Yes, I know the Wiki says to use DVD Decrypter and have a single VOB file, but, well, I didn't do that. :)

Any change of allowing that one screen allow multiple VOBs, or be able to extrapolate what VOBs are needed by clicking on the IFO (similar to AutoGK) ?

If so ...
<Lumburgh> that would be greeeeaaat...</Lumburgh> :)

agressiv

[Doom9]

oh my.. have you considered just giving it at shot? the commandline interface of dgindex, and thus megui, works in a fashion that requires you to only indicate the first vob file in a series. You didn't seriously think we'd left the d2v creator that broken for more than a year (I added it back in mid 2005), did you?
Select your VTS_xy_1.VOB and VTS_xy_2.VOB, VTS_xy_3.VOB, etc will be picked up automatically. If the wiki suggests to rip to a single VOB file, that's just not necessary.. while I have nothing but contempt for FAT32 (where you can't joing everything due to the 4GB limit), having separate VOB files has not been a problem ever since I first started learning about ripping DVDs (summer '99).

[frodeste]

Any way of getting the D2V Creator screen to accept multiple input files? I have tons of DVD's I've ripped to my hard drive already that have 1GB vob files, so most of my rips have 4-6 files.

Because of this, the D2V creator in MeGUI won't work for me, and I have to launch DGIndex manually do create the d2v index. (Its menu allows selecting multiple VOBs)

Yes, I know the Wiki says to use DVD Decrypter and have a single VOB file, but, well, I didn't do that. :)

Any change of allowing that one screen allow multiple VOBs, or be able to extrapolate what VOBs are needed by clicking on the IFO (similar to AutoGK) ?

If so ...
<Lumburgh> that would be greeeeaaat...</Lumburgh> :)

agressiv
:search:

This is done by opening the first vob file when running the d2v, and has been disscussed many times before.

Edit: Look here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=114330

[loretta80]

Hi,
i made a d2v file of a 1088i Transport Stream mpeg2 with dgindex 1.4.8 without the cli because i wanted to crop the 8 lines directly with dgindex. Now megui tells me when i wanted to open the file the dgdecode.dll is not the same version as dgindex. but it is in the same directory and is of course the same version (update feature says the same). Tried to use the cli version, with the same effort. Avisynth is 2.56a. Is here something incampatible or can i fix it by hand?
thanx for this very useful tool

[Sharktooth]

if it says it's a different version then it's a different version.
try removing megui and reinstalling it from scratch (redo all the updates) and ensure you didnt use a beta version of dgindex 1.4.8.

[check]

I'm adding all the common questions I can think of here: http://mewiki.project357.com/MeGUI_FAQ
Feel free to rattle off lists of common questions that have somehow eluded my memory :)

[loretta80]

hi,
now i reinstalled everything. i took avisynth2.55 instead of 2.56a and now i got this fatal error when i want to open the d2v file made with dgindex 1.4.8 (non beta):
Unable to cast object of type 'AvsVideoReader to type 'MeGui.d2vfile'.Source of exception: megui stacktrace at megui.avisynthwindow.openvideo etc.
What did i wrong???

[Sharktooth]

Re-create the d2v using the MeGUI d2v creator and see if it works.

[cc979]

was just curious if MeGUI was going to support the Fraunhofer IIS mp3surround CLI http://www.all4mp3.com/tools/sw_fhg_cl.html looks like to same type of license as nero aac encoder

sorry if this is the wrong thread

[check]

we already have one barely used 5.1 audio codec - audX. is another really needed? :P

[cc979]

we already have one barely used 5.1 audio codec - audX. is another really needed? :P

some might want it, if it works with divx standalone player

[loretta80]

@sharktooth
that was the first thing i have done after reinstalling everything. :scared: I get the same error message with d2v files created by dgindex gui and cli version.

[Doom9]

you get that error because the dgindex version in your avisynth plugin folder (usually c:\program files\avisynth 2.5\plugins) doesn't match the dgindex version you're using.. that's all there is to be said about that... megui's "installer" really is just a smart file copier.
Or, your avisynth script references another dgdecode.dll file that doesn't match the dgdecode.dll that comes with your dgindex version.

[loretta80]

oh, now i realized that i'm able to open the d2v file but if i try to use the preview the error message says :
Unable to cast object of type 'AvsVideoReader to type 'MeGui.d2vfile'.Source of exception: megui stacktrace at megui.avisynthwindow.openvideo etc.
so i can do most things blindly

[foxyshadis]

Please post at least the first ten lines of stack when you copy them. Even if they aren't necessary, it's impossible to tell with only one stack level, and it doesn't take that much space. (On the other hand, a full trace is usually overkill, ten levels is a nice medium.)

Anyway, somehow your avisynth configuration is still jacked, but if you feel it's usable as is, fine. At least check the options to make sure the paths are correct.

[Omnius]

I'm getting that same "Unable to cast object of type 'AvsVideoReader" error. I have used MeGUI in the past sucessfully, but it has been a long while and I had re-installed Windows since my last use, so I was essentially starting over. My answer to almost every problem I don't immediately figure out is to format and start over, so that is what I did. However, it didn't help. I still get the same error.

I did a clean format and install of XP x64 and then installed all of my drivers. I then ran Windows Update and grabbed everything it suggested as well as using it to get .NET 2.0. I installed YUVCodecs 1.2 and AVISynth 2.5.6a. Finally I installed MeGUI and let it run the update, and everything except for the neroaacenc was successful.

I used the MeGUI D2V creator tool to create a D2V of a 1080i TS file and then attempted to load that D2V file into the MeGUI AVISynth script creator. It is immediately at that point that it throws the error. It appears to only be the preview window that isn't working. I could still let it detect the proper deinterlacing method, etc. I saved the AVS file and then loaded the AVS file in my media player and it plays fine.

So, I believe my AVSynth install is fine and I believe the proper dgdecode version is in the plugin directory because the only version on the entire system is what MeGUI provided automatically. Any other ideas as to what could be going wrong? Thanks.

Here is the first bit of the stack trace:
MeGUI.AviSynthWindow.openVideo
MeGUI.AviSynthWindow.openVideoSource
MeGUI.AviSynthWindow.openVideoButton_Click
System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick
System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnClick
System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp
System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp
System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc
System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc
System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc

[check]

have you tried in XP32? I'd guess this is XP64 problems.

[aggressor]

I'm getting the same error as Omnius and loretta80 and it's very frustrating for a first time user who is trying to switch from GKnot :( Here's a picture of the error: http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2821/untitledyj5.png

I'm using WinXP32, along with MeGUI 0.2.3.2193 grabbed from x264.nl. I have Avisnyth 2.56a and the proper DGDecode.dll in avisnyth plugin directory, as well as decomb.dll. I've tried creating the d2v file with both a standalone DGIndex and the one that comes with MeGUI, and nothing changes.

[Doom9]

why oh why do people upload unstable releases without big fat warning signs?

[aggressor]

So where are we supposed to get 2.3.2192? I didn't know 2193 was unstable, as there isn't really much information the x264 page.

Edit: Nevermind, I found it on the Sourceforge page. Partially my fault for going to x264.nl to grab the latest MeGUI. I originally just went there for updated x264 builds, but I liked the installer for MeGUI on that page :\

Let's see if this one does any better.
Edit2: Yep, works fine now. There goes a couple of hours wasted :(

[Doom9]

I asked bob0r to pull the test version immediately.. he should know better, it's been an issue for two weeks now. I'll have to rename the test version to use different version numbers.. I am working on 2193 and that's based on a stable and trusted version, not a refactor that needs a lot of testing and fixing before it should be spread widely.

[aggressor]

Well, 2192 is working fine for me. I see some familiar things from GKnot, but at first glance there is 1 things that I miss:

The Bits/(Pixel*Frame) window in the Bitrate calculator. It helped me decide how many CDs I wanted to do to avoid dropping into the yellow, even though I know it didn't really say much about actual compressibility :P

Are there settings for that anywhere? I looked a bit, but its 7am and I'm about to pass out, so I might have missed it :(

I found the preview thing I was looking for. At first it would error so I didn't know what it did, but now it works :p

[Omnius]

Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't realize it was an unstable build either. But, you can't exactly blame us for that either since the very first line of the MeGUI guide that is a sticky at the top of this forum says "You can get the most recent version of MeGUI from http://x264.nl". So that is naturally what I did. :)

I grabbed 2177 from sourceforge and let it update itself to 2192 and it appears to be working. Thanks for the quick reply.

[Sharktooth]

The Bits/(Pixel*Frame) window in the Bitrate calculator. It helped me decide how many CDs I wanted to do to avoid dropping into the yellow, even though I know it didn't really say much about actual compressibility :P

Are there settings for that anywhere? I looked a bit, but its 7am and I'm about to pass out, so I might have missed it :(
Bits/(pixel*frame) is an empiric way to measure desired quality that doesnt take into account many factors and it higly depends on the used codec and the source compressibility.
It becomes useless when using h.264 codecs coz there are too much codec options that affect the compressibility (inloop filter settings, motion extimation method, subpixel refinement, RD algorithms, bitstream compression method, etc).

[loretta80]

thanks omnius and aggressor. That was the same problem i had. now everything is fine again. i didn't realized this unstable version too.
thanks to doom9 and sharktooth. next time i post the version i use emediatly.

[naugas]

A small problem... I can't get the update function to work. The program doesn't try to make a connection request, starting up or when trying to update manually (I would see that because of my firewall). I tried the 0.2.3.2177 version on sourceforge also, but the same. Is there maybe some component missing that I'm not aware of?

[check]

Connects and loads ok here - are you sure your firewall isn't passively blocking it?

[glynor]

I've been having trouble with the Update function all day today as well. It says it's failing to download the Update XML.

I am using it on a new system, and had just installed 2.3.2192 with the installer downloaded from http://x264.nl. I then uninstalled that, installed the sourceforge version (2177) and tried the update, which also failed. I then re-installed the 2192 version over top of the 2177 version, and the update finally worked fine!

No idea if that was dumb luck or if my version updating method was needed to get it going....

[naugas]

Found out that I had some left-over proxy settings that I think confused megui. They were to a localhost proxy that I don't use. Hmm, more strange that all my other programs connect properly now that I think about it? Anyway, I get connected now, and half of the stuff on the update list gets downloaded, so it's working. For the rest of the files the "server could not be contacted" but that's the way it is I guess.

But it wants to downgrade the x264 encoder, from 560 to 557, have someone forgot to update a database somewhere?

edit 1: It doesn't look like it was my proxy settings after all... :\ edit 3: yes it was. But ordinary connection problems after that. Some hours later, and everything works perfectly. Many thanks for this wonderful tool!

edit 2: Maybe some dns problems? Checking it up, prevenge.aetherihosting.com and megui.org points to the same ip, but sometimes I got redirected to what I guess is the hosting company, leafyhost.com, and sometimes to a cpanel installation. The megui.org/www.megui.org always times out.

[Doom9]

@naugas: it must be you because these urls work like a charm here. And proxy wise, .NET software uses the proxy configured in IE.. I don't know why that is, but that's the behavior I experience at work.
And keep in mind that megui never detects version numbers of tools you install manually.. if you want to load tools on your own, turn off updates for that tool.

[Sharktooth]

557 is the same as 560. Look at the changelog...

[glynor]

@naugas: it must be you because these urls work like a charm here. And proxy wise, .NET software uses the proxy configured in IE.. I don't know why that is, but that's the behavior I experience at work.


Thought I'd mention that the machine where I had the connection issue has never had any proxy settings (and still doesn't) activated. It was a fairly brand new PC, on a very reliable institutional network. The network was behaving well otherwise today.

I had trouble a number of times at work today (though it was intermittently successful). I tested my install from home tonight, and it is working fine.

[foxyshadis]

Probably DNS issues, and not necessarily your fault. If provantage's network engineers are working on it, or your ISP, or 1&1... hiccups happen.

[wiak]

MeGUI is broken on Windows Vista RC1 x86
the update program just crashes
-
Windows NT Version 6.0 Build: 5600
Product: Workstation
Suite: (0x100) Single User TS Professional
BuildString: 6.0.5600.16384 (vista_rc1.060829-2230)
Flavor: Free
Architecture: X86
-