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  1. Hi,

    I want a workflow like this:

    DV-AVI file --> Edit & filter in VirtualDub --> Frameserve to an MPEG-2 encoder --> Author DVD

    My problem is with Frameserve to MPEG-2 encoder step. Which freeware encoder (GUI or otherwise) will allow video as input that is frameserved from VirtualDub? I prefer HcENC encoder. I tried frameserving from VirtualDub to AVS2DVD, AviDemux, FAVC. They don't seem to accept the .avs file from VDub.

    Also, another question: Which encoder does AviDemux use? Is it FFMPEG? If so, is ffmpeg is better than HcEnc?

    I am dealing with movie captures off satellite box.

    Thanks for your help.
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  2. avidemux uses mpg2enc, quality is not that great

    yes, ffmpeg's mpeg2 encoder quality is noticably lower than hcenc

    hcenc will accept vdub frameserver through an avs script, what is the error message you get?
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  3. Originally Posted by nharikrishna View Post
    I am dealing with movie captures off satellite box.
    Then you should learn to frameserve directly into HCEnc using AviSynth scripts. Your VDub method is very inefficient, significantly slower, and produces poorer quality, because of colorspace conversions and the fewer and often inferior filters available.
    Originally Posted by nharikrishna View Post
    I tried frameserving from VirtualDub to AVS2DVD, AviDemux, FAVC. They don't seem to accept the .avs file from VDub.
    And what are the VDub filters you're using that AviSynth doesn't have?
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  4. Thanks for the reply. I am currently at work, so cannot give the exact description of the error. I will do so when I get home and post here.

    I am not trying to use HcEnc directly, rather trying to use it from another program such as FAVC and AVS2DVD.

    I am frameserving from VDub like this:

    Do the cutting & filtering in VDub, click on File --> Start Frameserver. Then it will ask me to name the file twice. It saves the file as something like clip.vdr. I then change the extension .vdr to .avs. It is this .avs file that I am trying to give input to FAVC or AVS2DVD.

    Both didn't accept it. Also tried AviDemux, it didn't accept it either.

    Am I doing something wrong while frameserving?

    I want to do editing & filtering only in VirtualDub and didn't want to create an intermediate file before encoding.

    Regards
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  5. Originally Posted by manono;2299909Then you should learn to frameserve directly into [url=https://www.videohelp.com/tools/HC
    HCEnc[/url] using AviSynth scripts. Your VDub method is very inefficient, significantly slower, and produces poorer quality, because of colorspace conversions and the fewer and often inferior filters available.
    Monano, your reply came about while I was typing my reply to poisondeathray. I really liked the filters AutoLevels and Fill borders in VDub and those are only filters I am using. Sometimes I use the filter 'greyscale' too. Nothing more.

    I am too scared to get into Avisynth scripting....hence using VDub.

    Regards
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  6. I think some programs will accept the .vdr signpost if you rename it .avi

    You need a 1 line script in avisynth for the .vdr . All you do is open a file with notepad, write the following, change name and paths to match, save it, rename the .txt extension to .avs

    AVISource("PATH\file.vdr")

    (well 2 lines if you want to convert the colorspace to YUV from RGB that vdub is serving, +/- interlaced=true if your source is interlaced)

    AVISource("PATH\file.vdr")
    ConvertToYV12()

    Or

    AVISource("PATH\file.vdr")
    ConvertToYV12(interlaced=true)

    Some people use ConvertToYUY2 if their encoder prefers YUY2 input



    Not sure what fillborders does in vdub, but greyscale and several versions of autolevels filters are available in avisynth

    Movie captures will be encoded interlaced, but progressive material. So you should inverse telecine those
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  7. I think some programs will accept the .vdr signpost if you rename it .avi
    I will try this.

    2 lines if you want to convert the colorspace to YUV from RGB that vdub is serving
    Please guide if I should I be converting. All I have is a DV-AVI file captured using Canopus ADVC 110 from satellite box. I am in PAL world. My goal is DVD. I would like to see if I can frameserve to x264 encoder also (Handbrake or Avidemux) at some point in time.

    Some people use ConvertToYUY2 if their encoder prefers YUY2 input
    If HcEnc is the best out there, does it expect YV12 or YUY2?

    Also, if I am succesful with the above Avisynth scripts (for frameserving from VDub), should I be using the HcEnc directly, or some other GUI program that has HcEnc(such as FAVC or AVS2DVD)? I used to like FAVC very much. Now it seems no longer developed.

    Not sure what fillborders does in vdub
    Usually, my DV-AVI captures have small blackish borders on all 4 sides which I presume as overscan. I see more of it on left (about 16 pixels??), about 8 pixels on the right, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. So I tend to use 'Fill Borders' filter to fill those with full black, so that it is not perceived by the encoder as noise. When I watch the DVD on TV, those black borders are not usually seen (due to overscan??). All I am trying to do there is to replace the 'noise' around the borders with pure black color so encoding will be efficient.

    Thanks for your help.
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  8. Originally Posted by manono View Post
    Then you should learn to frameserve directly into HCEnc using AviSynth scripts. Your VDub method is very inefficient, significantly slower, and produces poorer quality, because of colorspace conversions and the fewer and often inferior filters available.
    Thanks. I am really interested in better quality, so will learn Avisynth, atleast for this part. The AutoLevels filter in VirtualDub really does amazing job for me. If there are better ones in AviSynth, I will learn them.

    But how do I remove commercials in Avisynth?
    Last edited by nharikrishna; 5th Feb 2014 at 01:06.
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  9. Originally Posted by nharikrishna View Post
    The AutoLevels filter in VirtualDub really does amazing job for me.
    I have yet to see a decent AutoLevels filter anywhere. But AviSynth has many, beginning with the built-in Levels filter.
    But how do I remove commercials in Avisynth?
    With Trim commands:

    http://avisynth.nl/index.php/Trim

    As for your black borders, I often crop them away and then add fresh black, often also equalizing the black on left and right.

    So you'll need both Crop and AddBorders:

    http://avisynth.nl/index.php/Crop
    http://avisynth.nl/index.php/AddBorders

    If replacing black on top and/or bottom, the Letterbox command can do both at the same time:

    http://avisynth.nl/index.php/Letterbox
    Last edited by manono; 5th Feb 2014 at 01:35.
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  10. AVISource("PATH\file.vdr")
    ConvertToYV12()
    This worked great. Thanks!!!
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  11. Member
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    In general, doesn't any autolevels filter have to scan the whole file to find the existing
    peaks before it changes anything? (Similar to normalize in audio).
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  12. Originally Posted by davexnet View Post
    In general, doesn't any autolevels filter have to scan the whole file to find the existing
    peaks before it changes anything? (Similar to normalize in audio).
    Usually not in video - It depends on the type of plugin , but usually it's adjusted according to some set levels per frame e.g. expand levels to Y' 16-235 or some set value - so it's usually done on a per frame basis

    Some plugins use some sort of temporal averaging to stabilize the changes (e.g across 30 frames) , so you don't get as much fluctuations or flicker

    Some have features like scene change detection, limits , thresholds
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