View Single Post
Old 14th March 2004, 21:24   #1  |  Link
len0x
I'm afraid we've to stop
 
len0x's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Amongst mad people
Posts: 5,398
Official AutoGK FAQ (last modified on 18 May 2007)

DEVELOPMENT HAS OFFICIALLY CEASED.

BUG REPORTS MAY BE SUBMITTED VIA THE MAIN THREAD, THOUGH THEY MAY NOT BE ACTED UPON.

REQUESTS FOR NEW FEATURES OR FUNCTIONS WILL BE IGNORED.


============================
OFFICIAL AUTOGK FAQ
============================
0. Downloads

Main AutoGK download mirrors are protected from direct linking via "referrers" feature, so if you're getting an error saying something like "You don't have permission to access XXX..." make sure you enable referrers propagation in you browser/firewall/download manager.
============================

1. Input to AutoGK

AutoGK accepts input files with the following extensions: MPG, MPEG, VOB, VRO, M2V, DAT, IFO, TS, TP, TRP, M2T, AVI. In terms of formats it suppors mpeg1, mpeg2, transport streams, vobs from DVDs and practically any codec in AVI file. For restriction on AVI input see question 5.12. One special mode that AutoGK has starting from version 2.15 is IFO file input that replaced "DVD mode" from older version. Now all you have to do is to point AutoGK to IFO file and it will pick up vobs that has the same VTS number (i.e. VTS_??_?.vob files, so you can't point it to global video_ts.ifo file).

============================
2. Audio

2.1 [obsolete]

2.2 [obsolete]

2.3 How is first audio encoded in Auto mode?
- it's VBR 128Kbps if target size is 700Mb or less, in all others cases it's original AC3/DTS/MPA track. LPCM tracks are always converted to VBR MP3: 128kbps for 1CD or less, 192kbps for more that 1CD.

2.4 How is second audio encoded?
- in Auto mode it's VBR 128Kbps, in all others it's the same as first one.

2.5 which VBR mode is used for encoding?
- it's ABR via "--alt-preset" option of LAME

2.6 [obsolete]

2.7 AutoGK says it cannot find audio
- first check if audio was demuxed in agk_tmp dir, if yes then most likely audio encoding is failed: check azid/normalize/lame steps on input audio individually to find the problem.

2.8 Can AutoGK perform mono MP3 encoding?
- Yes. If it finds that only 1 channel is used from stream info file then audio source is treated as mono automatically, however you can force mono encoding for any track by using ".mono" hidden option (CTRL-F9). AutoGK automatically divides given bitrate by two for mono encoding, so you don't have to do that explicitly.

2.9 Can AutoGK perform DTS transcoding/muxing?
- Starting with version 1.78, yes. If you'd like to keep DTS sound in AVI (its pretty large even compared to AC3) you'll need AC3Filter 1.01RC5 or latest ffdshow playback filters to be able to decode audio.

2.10 Can AutoGK just mux mp2(mpa) tracks from MPEG video files?
- Yes, starting with version 2.12

2.11 [Obsolete]

2.12 I can't hear audio when playing final AVI. Why?
- if its AC3/DTS sound track then you need latest AC3Filter or ffdshow to decode it. AutoGK installer doesn't have those filters.

2.13 Audio level of resulting AVI is too low. What can I do?
- if its MP3 sound track then there is nothing more you can do as considerable level of boosting is already applied during encoding process. If its AC3/DTS then make sure you maximized boosting inside AC3Filter during playback (as AC3/DTS tracks are original DVD tracks and cannot be boosted).

===========================
3. Subtitles

3.1 Why is WinRAR needed for external subtitles?
- To make them smaller they have to be compressed. The only supported by VobSub archive is RAR. No other archive programs apart from WinRAR can compress into RAR format.

3.2 I can't see second subtitle whle second audio option is there. Why?
- external subtitle option in the advanced options is not set

3.3 If movie is automatically split into several parts will external subtitles be split as well?
- yes

3.4 Subtitles are out of synch/absent. What's wrong?
- Angle and PGC file naming probably was not used AutoGK has not idea about what was ripped. Of course sometimes DVD can be badly mastered, in which case you have to manually deal with them. Also subs will not be shown properly if you selected only several chapters/cells from PGC as VobSub only works with the whole vobset. As of version 2.12 AutoGK presents a choice of PGCs/Angles to the user upon parsing of IFO file - make sure to select the correct ones. If you don't use subs then selection is not used and you don;t have to select the correct PGC/Angle.

3.5 [obsolete]

3.6 When doing a preview of a movie I see double subs. What's wrong?
- nothing is wrong and movie will turn up ok. It's just internal and external subs are being displayed at the same time.

3.7 Where is "all subtitles" option?
- make sure "external subs" option is selected in advanced options (you need to reload input source to see "all subs" option after you enabled external subs)

3.8 I have my own text/vobsub subs for the movie. Can I burn them into AVI?
- Yes, CTRL-F8

==========================
4. Video/Codec

4.1 Which resolution is used in different output size modes?
- for Maximum Quality and Quality-based encoding it's the source width (unless custom settings are used in advanced options). For Target Size mode - resolution will depend on compressibility of the source.

4.2 Can I adjust codec settings within or outside of AutoGK?
- no, it is believed that AutoGK uses best speed/quality settings

4.3 Which codecs are supported?
- At the moment the only supported codecs are: XviD 1.1.x+, DivX 5.2.1 Pro and DivX 6.0.3+ (as of 2.25). If you're using MTK/Sigma compatibility option then you HAVE to use XviD build supplied with AutoGK, otherwise you may use potentially any build of XviD 1.x. (alternatively you can get xvidvfw.dll from Celtic_Druid to use with latest XviD build here )

4.4 Can you I use cartoon mode of XviD 1.x ?
- Yes, use ".cartoon" hidden option (CTRL-F9).

4.5 Can I use DivX non-pro free edition?
- No, as AutoGK requires b-frames feature to be enabled in the codec

4.6 Can I manually crop video?
- Sort of. Starting with version 1.86 its possible via ".autocrop" hidden option (CTRL-F9). Just set threshold to 0 and then use "Force cropping of" option.

4.7 If I don't know which chipset my standalone uses - what is the safest option to choose?
- ESS option is the most compatible one

==========================
5. General

5.1 Do you support Hyperthreaded/dual CPUs ?
- yes, AutoGK has no problems running on those CPUs (although encoding is NOT done by AutoGK directly, so the whole process may not run faster on such CPUs - codecs have to support that natively).

5.2. I have an old PC and AutoGK fails to work/start on it. Is there anything that can be done about it?
- AutoGK requires MMX-enabled CPU, nothing can be done to remove that requirement.

5.3 Will you make a CLI version of AutoGK?
- no

5.4 What kind of input sources does AutoGK support?
- mpeg2 sources (including vobs and transport streams), AVI sources (starting with version 2.00, providing that your OS can decode them via DShow), mpeg1 sources (starting with version 2.12).

5.5 Will you support OGM/MKV/MP4?
- may be at some point in the future. For sure if one of the formats gets accepted by hardware manufactures.

5.6 Can I edit a job once it is in the queue ?
- No. You can easily delete and recreate it though.

5.7 How can I set hidden options?
- CTRL-F9 (starting with version 1.86)

5.8 What do checkboxes do in the job queue?
- if item is not checked encoder will skip to the next item in the queue (its dynamic and status of checkboxes is verified after the end of each job).

5.9 What is the difference between DVD and File Mode (and where is DVD mode anyway)?
- A of version 2.15 there is no DVD mode anymore. If you select IFO file then it will be parsed and choice of audio/subs will be presented for selected PGC/Angle. If you just select VOB files then no subs choice will be available and only audio type and track number will be presented.

5.10 [obsolete]

5.11 Is it possible to show duration of a movie selected from IFO file?
- yes, started with version 2.12

5.12 What are limitations/features of AVI input mode?
- your OS has to be able to decode input AVI via Dshow (note sometimes decoder, for instance ffdshow, has problems with certain type of video, so you have to change it. See here for example problem: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=92047)
- no denoising is done for AVI mode except for DV sources
- no cropping is done for AVI mode apart from the one needed to keep AR (if you need it then enable it via hidden options)
- DV sources are detected via "dv" string in 4cc and appropriate AR resizing is performed (AR is 1.095 or 0.909). Original AR option won't work for such sources.
- only DV type 2 files are supported
- Analysis step is only performed for DV source (for deinterlacing)
- BFF is assumed for DV sources
- input audio can be PCM(always encoded)/MPA(kept/encoded)/MP3(always kept)/AC3(encoded/kept)/DTS(encoded/kept)
- if your DV source is 16:9 then you need to enable this AR in hidden options as AutoGK can't detect that.
- mp3 re-encoding is not possible due to LAME crashing on most mp3 sources
- sometimes LAME has issues with 11KHz PCM input audio, so it might need to be processed manually.
==========================
6. Encoding process

6.1 [obsolete]

6.2 When splitting into 2/3CDs I get a small (2-4Mb) additional chunk.
- it happens because key frame was found too distant from 700Mb border and AutoGK cannot split dynamically into 701/702 Mb chunks. This happens sometimes. May be in the future I'll make more intelligent split procedure.

6.3 I used to use old XviD and now I switched to XviD 1.0.x. Since then I _always_ have _very_ undersized/oversized files. What's the problem?
- old XviD has to be uninstalled properly, i.e. just installing new 1.0.x over it is not a proper way. Try uninstalling old one, then reinstalling new one.


6.4 When analysing source AutoGK found it to be hybrid and resulting AVI was jerky. Is there anything that can be done?
- if its really hybrid then AutoGK did it best. If it was detected falsely as hybrid you can force normal IVTC procedure by using ".ivtc" hidden option (CTRL-F9). Alternatively if the source was actually pure NTSC then you can force deinterlacing process via “.deinterlace” hidden option.

6.5 If I know exactly frame number for end credits start can I supply this info to AutoGK ?
- if you are using XviD 1.x you can use ".credits" hidden option (CTRL-F9). Note that starting frame is coming from input source (i.e. before IVTC etc) and AutoGK automatically adjust it if FPS changing operation is performed during encoding.

6.6 How can I select only subset of input VOBs? (i.e. remove credits for instance)
- There is no direct way of doing that but this can be done:
1) start the job
2) when DGIndex launched restore it from taskbar and hit Esc
3) go to agk_tmp folder (in output dir) and delete demuxed audio file(s) (i.e. AC3/MPA/WAV)
4) select subset you need
5) "save as" and overwrite partially created D2V file
6) encoding will proceed as usual

6.7 I got exception "Open AVI filed" right after comp test.
- have a look here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=76335 (short answer - you probably have to run /autogk/vdubmod/aviproxy/proxyoff.reg file)

6.8 I got exception "Range check error".
- have a look here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=75949

6.9 Why there is no "pause" button?
- Its not possible to pause execution of external programs as AutoGK just launches lots of external applications.

6.10 My DVD looks to be mastered incorrectly (4:3 vs 16:9). Can I change AR somehow in AutoGK?
- Yes, see hidden options via CTRL-F9

6.11 I want AutoGK to not split 1400/2100Mb files.
- make sure you select custom size like 1399 or 1401 and not exact 1400Mb

6.12 How can I add more than one file to encode in File mode?
- just put them in one directory and name them *_1.*; *_2.* etc. They will be picked up automatically. This only works for mpeg1, mpeg2 and vob files but not for AVI files.

6.13 During analysis step when looking for hybrid thresholds suddenly the following popup appears: "Debugger detected - please close it down and restart! Windows NT users: please note that having the WinICE/SoftIce service installed means that you are running a debugger". What is this?
- AutoGK has internal debugger running during that analysis step. Many programs mainly trials/shareware) have internal protection against debuggers to prevent modification of binary code. So all you have to do is to find such program that is running on your PC and exit it before AutoGK starts encoding.

6.14 I set XviD target size to be XXX and get in the end YYY. It doesn't happen with DivX. What's the problem?
- see Q 6.3 first. Even if that doesn't apply to you - still consider reinstalling XviD as size problems are usually due to messed up codec configuration in the system.


6.15. I get "EXCEPTION: Bad index file" error. What's wrong?
- Most likely you are trying to process unsupported input file. See Q 5.4

6.16 I get the following error in VDubMod during encoding: "FastWriteStream: couldn't open "xxxx.avi":".
- see here to find the answer (you have to disable your symantec antivirus...)
__________________
Gordian Knot Family:
Gordian Knot: website, download
Auto Gordian Knot: Website and download, tutorial, FAQ

Last edited by jggimi; 16th May 2007 at 15:06.
len0x is offline