MP4 muxers

[GeoffreyA]

I have been using FFmpeg to create MP4s for years and never had much of an issue, except perhaps during 2020, when I found the MP4s temperamentally working, or not, on our Samsung TV. (Though that could have been due to the USB drives. I don't quite know, except that the problem went away; I took it as there being some change in the muxer.) I prefer FFmpeg, being familiar with its syntax and metadata switches; and changing means changing scripts and more headache.

Objectively, how well does MP4Box mux compared to FFmpeg? Or, put differently, is there any tool that is the MKVToolNix of MP4s?

[tebasuna51]

Originally Posted by GeoffreyA

... is there any tool that is the MKVToolNix of MP4s?

Read this thread (it is still short) about GUI's for mp4 mux.

[GeoffreyA]

Originally Posted by tebasuna51

Read this thread (it is still short) about GUI's for mp4 mux.

Thanks, tebasuna. I actually dont want a GUI. I meant, what is the reference-quality muxer? I noticed that, in this thread, many are recommending MP4Box. If it is better than FFmpeg, I'm willing to switch. Having said that, I don't have any issues with FFmpeg's MP4 muxing at present. (In fact, I found issues with its MKV muxer.)

[LigH]

Objectively, the GPAC suite is the de-facto standard of MP4 tools; and MP4Box is part of it (a more user friendly CLI and less generic toolbox than GPAC).

If your hardware has issues, then it might support only a part of the MP4 standard and expect default values or extra flags MP4Box is able to provide but maybe only when you add them to the command line parameters explicitly.

[GeoffreyA]

Thank you, LigH. Well, I think I'm inclining to give MP4Box a go for the final muxing of permanent encodings.

[FranceBB]

I've been using MP4Box for years and I've never had a problem.

Originally Posted by GeoffreyA

is there any tool that is the MKVToolNix of MP4s?

Yes, you can consider MP4Box as the "MKVToolnix" of mp4, a bit like TSMuxer is the "MKVToolnix" of .ts files.
I generally encode the raw_video.h264 with x264, then audio.aac with NeroAAC and lastly mux them both together with mp4box.
The simplest possible syntax would look something like this:

x264.exe "AVS Script.avs" --preset medium --ref 4 --level 4.1 --profile High --crf 22 --vbv-maxrate 25000 --vbv-bufsize 25000 --deblock -1:-1 --overscan show --colormatrix bt709 --range tv --log-level info --thread-input --opencl --transfer bt709 --colorprim bt709 --videoformat component --nal-hrd vbr --output "I:\raw_video.h264"

Bepipe.exe --script "Import(^AVS Script.avs^)" | neroAacEnc.exe -lc -br 320000 -if - -of "I:\audio.aac"

mp4box.exe -add "I:\raw_video.h264" -add "I:\audio.aac" "I:\final_output.mp4"


pause

so... no need to use FFMpeg, not even for audio.

[GeoffreyA]

Appreciate your help, FranceBB. Generally, what I do is first process the audio with FFmpeg, piping to qaac, and then encode the final video, pulling in the encoded audio by direct-stream copy, and it works well. Using MP4Box will necessitate only a small change in the script at the end. Indeed, I'll still encode with FFmpeg: I consider it a crime not to do so!

This is my audio script:

set out_i=-23
set out_tp=-2
set out_lra=8.5

set in_i=-13.4
set in_tp=8.4
set in_lra=24.1
set in_thresh=-26.4
set tg_offset=1

::ffmpeg -i %1 -map 0:a:0 -af aresample=ochl=stereo,loudnorm=i=%out_i%:tp=%out_tp%:lra=%out_lra%:print_format=summary -f null -

ffmpeg -i %1 -map 0:a:0 -af aresample=ochl=stereo:osr=192000:resampler=soxr:precision=33,
loudnorm=i=%out_i%:tp=%out_tp%:lra=%out_lra%:measured_i=%in_i%:measured_tp=%in_tp%:measured_lra=%in_lra%:measured_thresh=%in_thresh%:offset=%tg_offset%:linear=true:print_format=summary,
aresample=48000:resampler=soxr:precision=33 -c:a pcm_f32le -f wav - | "%qaac%" --tvbr 91 --ignorelength --no-delay --verbose - -o "audio.m4a"

And the final video one (edited for clarity):

set src=FILM_NAME.mkv
set out=FILM_NAME.mp4
set name=FILM_NAME
set crop=1920:816:0:132

set param_colour=-colorspace bt709 -color_primaries bt709 -color_trc bt709 -color_range tv

ffmpeg %param_colour% -i "%src%" -i "audio.m4a" -map 0:0 -map 1:a -map_metadata -1 -map_chapters -1 -metadata title="%name%"
-metadata:s:v language=und -disposition:v:0 default -metadata:s:a:0 language=eng -disposition:a:0 default
-vf crop=%crop% -c:v libx264 -profile:v high -level 4.1 -preset veryslow -tune film -aq-mode 3 -crf 23 -c:a copy "%out%"

[filler56789]

Originally Posted by filler56789

for the fresh binaries.
Within some days, I will check whether the newest MP4Box finally started supporting VC-1 video and DTS audio

Very-unlikely, I know, but anyway, it's always good to bash the GPAC devilopers

Well, "some days" became "some months" :-/ ,
but anyway:
Just confirming, after all these years, MP4Box still does not want to support VC-1 video nor DTS audio.

There is no "lack of time", there is just lack of interest.

https://sourceforge.net/p/gpac/discu...read/43881fa9/

As one of the GPAC devilopers told me in their GitHub page,
he already had all the code written. But what he didn't dare to say is this, they (GPAC) will not implement the improvements, unless they receive some big fat money in return. *THUMBS DOWN*

https://github.com/gpac/gpac/issues/536

[Kurt.noise]

muxing dts streams within mp4box works in fact...

General
Complete name : E:\Backup\Input.av1-muxed.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom)
File size : 107 MiB
Duration : 2 min 15 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 6 592 kb/s
Frame rate : 24.000 FPS
Encoded date : 2024-11-20 04:50:36 UTC
Tagged date : 2024-11-20 04:50:36 UTC
Writing application : GPAC-2.5-DEV-rev707-g9c261926-master

Video
ID : 1
Format : AV1
Format/Info : AOMedia Video 1
Format profile : Main@L4.0
Codec ID : av01
Duration : 2 min 15 s
Bit rate : 305 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 987 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 24.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.006
Stream size : 4.95 MiB (5%)
Encoded date : 2024-10-26 16:39:29 UTC
Tagged date : 2024-11-20 04:50:37 UTC
Color range : Limited
Codec configuration box : av1C

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : dtsc
Duration : 2 min 15 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 6 283 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 9 423 kb/s
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Stream size : 102 MiB (95%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : 2024-11-20 04:50:36 UTC
Tagged date : 2024-11-20 04:50:37 UTC

[tebasuna51]

Originally Posted by Kurt.noise

muxing dts streams within mp4box works in fact...

How do you make that mux?
With mp4box from GPAC-2.5-DEV-rev707-g9c261926-master (like your MediaInfo) and with the last (2024-11-07) mp4box from GPAC-2.5-DEV-rev816-g1bc97198-ab-suite I always get a error:

[Importer] Error probing TestMA.dts
Failure while importing import: Filter not found for the desired type

Tested for dtsMA and dts standard (core)

BTW I can understand the lack of interest for this old, obsolete and not-free codec when can use AAC for lossy compression or ALAC and FLAC for lossless audio with better compression ratio and free use.

[Kurt.noise]

Originally Posted by tebasuna51

How do you make that mux?

1/ I took a win64 installer from there : https://gpac.io/downloads/gpac-nightly-builds/ & extract it into a folder.
2/ Then, apply this command :

mp4box.exe -add input.mkv#trackID=1:fps=24000/1001 -add audio.dts#trackID=1:lang=eng -new output.mp4

Info from audio.dts :

General
Complete name                  : audio.dts
Format                         : DTS XLL
Format/Info                    : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                : DTS-HD Master Audio
File size                      : 51.4 MiB
Overall bit rate mode          : Variable

Audio
Format                         : DTS XLL
Format/Info                    : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                : DTS-HD Master Audio
Bit rate mode                  : Variable
Channel(s)                     : 6 channels
Channel layout                 : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                      : 24 bits
Compression mode               : Lossless

Info from output.mp4 :

General
Complete name                  : output.mp4
Format                         : MPEG-4
Format profile                 : Base Media
Codec ID                       : isom (isom/avc1)
File size                      : 170 MiB
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Overall bit rate mode          : Variable
Overall bit rate               : 6 935 kb/s
Frame rate                     : 23.976 FPS
Encoded date                   : 2024-11-20 12:35:15 UTC
Tagged date                    : 2024-11-20 12:35:15 UTC
Writing application            : GPAC-2.5-DEV-rev707-g9c261926-master

Video
ID                             : 1
Format                         : AVC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                 : High@L4.1
Format settings                : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC         : Yes
Format settings, Reference fra : 4 frames
Codec ID                       : avc1
Codec ID/Info                  : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Bit rate                       : 4 829 kb/s
Maximum bit rate               : 19.2 Mb/s
Width                          : 1 920 pixels
Height                         : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Variable
Frame rate                     : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Minimum frame rate             : 23.810 FPS
Maximum frame rate             : 24.390 FPS
Color space                    : RGB
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Scan type                      : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)             : 0.097
Stream size                    : 118 MiB (70%)
Title                          : Piste Vidéo
Writing library                : x264 core 146 r2538 121396c
Encoding settings              : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=15.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                       : English
Encoded date                   : 2024-11-20 12:35:15 UTC
Tagged date                    : 2024-11-20 12:35:16 UTC
Color range                    : Limited
Matrix coefficients            : Identity
mdhd_Duration                  : 205202
ColorSpace_Original            : YUV
Codec configuration box        : avcC

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : DTS
Format/Info                    : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID                       : dtsc
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Bit rate mode                  : Variable
Bit rate                       : 2 100 kb/s
Maximum bit rate               : 2 746 kb/s
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Stream size                    : 51.4 MiB (30%)
Title                          : Piste Audio
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Alternate group                : 1
Encoded date                   : 2024-11-20 12:35:15 UTC
Tagged date                    : 2024-11-20 12:35:16 UTC

Info from input.mkv :

General
Unique ID                      : 194964996866116433750323166388027802333 (0x92ACE47EA0A15008964FF4FED95642DD)
Complete name                  : input.mkv
Format                         : Matroska
Format version                 : Version 4
File size                      : 170 MiB
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Overall bit rate mode          : Variable
Overall bit rate               : 6 931 kb/s
Frame rate                     : 23.976 FPS
Encoded date                   : 2015-04-06 09:49:53 UTC
Writing application            : mkvmerge v6.9.1 ('Blue Panther') 64bit built on Apr 18 2014 18:23:38
Writing library                : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.1

Video
ID                             : 1
Format                         : AVC
Format/Info                    : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                 : High@L4.1
Format settings                : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC         : Yes
Format settings, Reference fra : 4 frames
Codec ID                       : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Width                          : 1 920 pixels
Height                         : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio           : 16:9
Frame rate mode                : Constant
Frame rate                     : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                    : YUV
Chroma subsampling             : 4:2:0
Bit depth                      : 8 bits
Scan type                      : Progressive
Writing library                : x264 core 146 r2538 121396c
Encoding settings              : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=15.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No

Audio
ID                             : 2
Format                         : DTS XLL
Format/Info                    : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                       : A_DTS
Duration                       : 3 min 25 s
Bit rate mode                  : Variable
Channel(s)                     : 6 channels
Channel layout                 : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                  : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                     : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                      : 24 bits
Compression mode               : Lossless
Language                       : English
Default                        : Yes
Forced                         : No

All ffmpeg libraries from the installer are required in this case.

[tebasuna51]

Originally Posted by Kurt.noise

1/ I took a win64 installer from there : https://gpac.io/downloads/gpac-nightly-builds/ & extract it into a folder.

Maybe we need the full gpac package instead the standalone MP4Box.exe

EDIT: like you say in the edited post

[LigH]

If MP4Box built by M-AB-S is unable to multiplex dts, I wonder if that requires a specific configuration parameter or an additional patch to enable it.

In my MP4Box.exe I can find "DTS", "DTS-HD", "Coherent Acoustics" etc. being mentioned.

PS: It seems that MP4Box.exe is not able to print out a list of supported codecs; instead, gpac.exe from the same build does report some list. In my case:

dstc [O]:                     DTS Coherent Acoustics and Digital Surround Audio (audio/dts)
dtsh [O]:                     DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and DTS-Master Audio (audio/dts)
dstl [O]:                     DTS-HD Substream containing only XLLAudio (audio/dts)
dtse [O]:                     DTS Express low bit rate Audio (audio/dts)
dtsx [O]:                     DTS-X UHD Audio Profile 2 (audio/dts)
dtsy [O]:                     DTS-X UHD Audio Profile 3 (audio/dts)

Apparently, all the DTS formats are only supported for output, means demultiplexing, but not multiplexing...

PPS: Did you notice the typos in the FourCC's? gpac issue 3044 reported

And ... it's gone. At least the typos. Quick response.

[RBO]

Discovering this discussion thanks to @LigH bug report

I think VC-1 is supported now. Let us know politely if you see any issue.

By the way we've also been working on a GUI to help people visualize the processing pipeline. It includes the capability to add "templates". I had planned to post about it specifically, but let me know about your needs (in a specific topic if it makes more sense).

[LigH]

Hello there

The typos got fixed quickly. Still open: The question why DTS is only supported as output in a self-compiled MP4Box, while it works in your distributed version as input too.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally Posted by RBO

By the way we've also been working on a GUI to help people visualize the processing pipeline. It includes the capability to add "templates". I had planned to post about it specifically, but let me know about your needs (in a specific topic if it makes more sense).

Oh wow... That should help people like me

[filler56789]

Originally Posted by tebasuna51

BTW I can understand the lack of interest for this old, obsolete and not-free codec when can use AAC for lossy compression or ALAC and FLAC for lossless audio with better compression ratio and free use.

DTS's D.C.A. is not more obsolete or less useful than the ultra-low-bitrate audio codecs from the 3GP era. GPAC's lack of interest is purely a matter of (bad) taste, there is no "technicality" involved.

Originally Posted by RBO

I think VC-1 is supported now. Let us know politely if you see any issue.

Well, do not expect any "politeness" from me while you all don't buy and swallow some deciliters of HONESTY.
It's fine to say you will not do this or that because you don't want to do this or that.
But it's very bad to pretend that your non-activity is caused by "lack of time" or because "oh the real world issues (*) keep me busy 24x7"

(*) Hello Archie

[RBO]

Originally Posted by LigH

Still open: The question why DTS is only supported as output in a self-compiled MP4Box, while it works in your distributed version as input too.

Maybe a difference in FFmpeg support? What does "ffmpeg -codecs | grep -i dts" (or equivalent) give?

[GeoffreyA]

New to MP4Box but noticed that there is no way to set a global title field or omit tagged date. Is that correct?

[LigH]

Originally Posted by RBO

Maybe a difference in FFmpeg support? What does "ffmpeg -codecs | grep -i dts" (or equivalent) give?

Does MP4Box (as part of GPAC) depend on ffmpeg? That would surprise me. Anyway:

ffmpeg -codecs

 DEAILS dts                  DCA (DTS Coherent Acoustics) (decoders: dca) (encoders: dca)

ffmpeg -formats

 DE  dts             raw DTS
 D   dtshd           raw DTS-HD

ffmpeg -muxers

  E  dts             raw DTS

ffmpeg -demuxers

 D   dts             raw DTS
 D   dtshd           raw DTS-HD