


	AVANTI - Version 0.2.1 - FFmpeg/Avisynth GUI
	============================================


	Detailed instructions on how to setup the Avanti environment can be found in the
	"Avanti-help.chm" file.

	

	Before you continue.
	====================

	Avanti doesn't offer single-click solutions for end-users. It comes with a limited number
	of default options and example templates. It is however highly user configureable and uses
	a powerful concept. It comes with 80Kb of compressed documentation and you need to read this.
	It expects the user to be familiar with the basics of audio and video encode. 
	The skill needed to configure the program for a specific task can be compared to that
	needed for encoders like "TMPGEnc" or "CCE". Additional knowledge of FFmpeg and Avisynth
	is not essential but can expand the capabilities of Avanti. 
	
	
		
	The on your system available codecs.
	====================================
	
	With the Avanti/FFmpeg/Avisynth combination you can encode to a large number of audio and
	video formats. To decode/playback these formats your system need to have compatible codecs. 
	Basically only a limited number of audio/video codecs is installed with the Windows OS.
	The actually on your system registered codecs often depends on the installed video related
	software. E.g. Nero installs audio/video codecs. If you use Pinnacle soft/hardware a large
	number of codecs are installed etc.

	To use the "Preview" and "Avisynth" options of Avanti with success you need to install
	additional (DirectShow) codecs for the file/container formats you wish to decode or play.
	Often you need to only install codecs for DivX/XviD, h264, Matroska, Vorbis, AAC etc.,
	if you use these formats.

	The best you can do before you install codecs is to check what's already on your system and
	works properly. You can use "Direct Show filter Manager" (www.softella.com) and "GraphEdit"
	(try www.videohelp.com) to manage the job.
	Drop media files on the "GraphEdit" window to see what codecs your system uses for playback.
	Use "Direct Show filter Manager" to change the "merit" (priority) of certain codecs.

	The K-Lite codec packs have a option to check the validity of installed codecs and remove
	broken codecs. It can be very useful to do this cleanup before you install new codecs. 



	Example Templates.
	==================

	When you load one of the example templates, a message box may appear showing:

		This template contains the following
		(possibly removed) user options:

	followed by a non-predefined setting (e.g. Frame size: 560x488). To use the template with
	success, you have to select the restore option on this message box.
  


	Recommended Video Player.
	=========================

	We prefere the build-in video player for Avisynth script preview. It is based on MCI and we
	experienced it plays in real-time with all basic Avisynth options selected (expand luminance,
	color conversion and audio transcode). We found that some other players under the same
	conditions (AMD Athlon XP 2000+) stutter and loose track on audio sync.


	
	Notes for Avisynth experts.
	===========================

	-1-	

	The use of Avanti with avs scripts can give problems if you "autoload" a number of plugin
	dll's. Avanti could come up with the message "This FFmpeg version doesn't support Avisynth". 
	This is in generally caused by one or more dll's in your plugin directory.

	On a AMD Athlon XP2000+ with SSE only, we had to remove: 

		RemoveGrainSSE2 and SSE3.dll 
		RepairSSE2 and SSE3.dll 
		RSharpenSSE2 and SSE3.dll 
		Yadif.dll 

	There are SSE versions available, you can use for CPU's without SSE2 and SSE3 support. 

	On a P4 with SSE2 we had to only remove: 

		Yadif.dll 

	This is a C dll which is not "autoloaded" by Avisynth. Still it seems to cause the problem
	if it's in the Avisynth plugin directory.
	
	Next dll's were also reported as cause of the problem:

		CondTemporalMedian-gen.dll
		CondTemporalMedian-isse.dll 

	Either of these filters required "avisynth_c.dll"
 
	Possibly other plugin dll's can cause the same problem. You'll have to do some research
	yourself to find out. We checked for over 40 plugins that all worked fine with Avanti.

	-2-

	When you "preview" the AUTO Avisynth scripts, you will notice that they always put the
	sources into the A and V variables even if there is no necessity for it. This is because
	Avanti compiles the scripts from standard lines that can be used for both combined and
	separated AV sources.     


	
	Note for Windows 2000 users.
	============================

	This OS is very slow in releasing memory and update of HD cache. If you rename a FFmpeg
	version that already was active under its old name, you have to restart your system before
	the OS recognizes its new name.



	Known bugs and limitations.
	===========================

	In case of persistent errors, delete the "avanti.ini" file in your Avanti install directory
	and restart Avanti. This will restore the default settings.

	Avanti is still under development and the GUI occasionally will show unused elements which
	are reserved for future expansion.
 
	Most NTSC template examples are only applicable on NTSC "film" sources. We tested the PAL
	to 29.970 fps NTSC "video" example with a interlaced source on a DVD player and TV set that
	support multi TV standards and it played fine (we live in a PAL area). We hope to add more
	approved NTSC "video" templates based on (Avisynth) user feedback in future Avanti versions.

	From FFmpeg version SVN-r9260 a number of codec names are changed (e.g. mp3 became libmp3lame).
	If you switch over to older FFmpeg versions you have to ensure that you have codec labels
	to both mp3 and libmp3lame. This is also applicable to other codecs (ac3, xvid, aac etc.). 

	Some older FFmpeg versions generate a error at Avanti startup when the install path is less
	then eight characters. If you want to use the name "Avanti" for your install directory, please
	choose "Avanti GUI" or anything longer then seven characters. Most FFmpeg versions used for
	testing didn't had this error.

	Some older FFmpeg versions (probably the same as mentioned above) can't be renamed to file
	names longer then seven characters. If so, they work fine when you run them from the command
	line but they are not recognized by the Avanti system. Most FFmpeg versions used for testing
	didn't had this error.

	The aspect ratio options of the Avanti Video Preview are not applicable on the "Full-screen"
	option. In this case MCI takes over control and for mpeg2 video it will display properly at
	the ratio it finds in the file. AVI video is always stretched regardless of the aspect ratio.
	Note that Avanti has a semi full-screen option that doesn't have these restrictions.
	
	For the preview option of the Avisynth SuperEQ editor, Avanti creates a temporary preset and
	avs script on disk and plays this. This is a heavy job and on slower systems this might
	introduce some delay and stutter when you move the position bar or press the "move all"
	up/down buttons. 

	Avanti uses the DirectShowSource option of Avisynth. It's a known problem (not primary a
	Avisynth bug) that decoding of certain sources starts with a few blank frames.



	October 2007 - Chris Kevany



