error when converting mkv to dvd

[mr-scarface]

I'm converting an mkv movie file to DVD format with FAVC, but I got this error:

************************************************** *******
******************* Encoding Video 0 ********************
************************************************** *******


************************************************** *******
******************* Encoding Audio 0 ********************
************************************************** *******


Aften: A/52 audio encoder
Version SVN
(c) 2006-2007 Justin Ruggles, Prakash Punnoor, et al.

Found PCM audio: 6 channels, 48000 Hz, 16 bits, 7765.007708 seconds.
Warning: WAV file will be larger than 4 GB.
Writing WAV file...
input format: Microsoft WAVE Signed 16-bit little-endian 48000 Hz 5.1-channel
output format: 48000 Hz 3/2 + LFE

SIMD usage: MMX SSE SSE2
Threads: 1

error allocating read buffer
Invalid count passed to aften_encode_frame
Error encoding frame 0
progress: 100% | q: 0.0 | bw: 0.0 | bitrate: 0.0 kbps

Error: Could not write to the standard output.

It created a folder with a 4.1GB .m2v file, and a bunch of other files.

My question is, should I try it again, or do something with the folder it has already created?

[poisondeathray]

It looks like it choked on the audio conversion part, but the video elementary streams might be intact. Try playing the .m2v file with MPC or another video player - if it's 100% complete then you could plug it in manually to any DVD authoring application manually

What was the original audio format in the .mkv? (use mediainfo if you don't know)

[mr-scarface]

Ok I played the video with and it seems to be perfect.

Here is the audio information from mediainfo:

Audio
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 9mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Rear: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

[poisondeathray]

Not sure why the audio choked, but I seem to recall a 4GB hard limit on .WAV files (it seems to be doing that intermediate conversion, not sure why it doesn't just keep 5.1 AC3 which should be DVD compliant...Haven't used FAVC in awhile can't recall if there was an option to retain original audio?).

If the .m2v is fine, you could extract the 6-channel AC3 file from the .mkv with mkvextractgui (in the mkvtoolnix kit), and use that to author. To test it, you can extract it and put it in the same folder with the .m2v file. Rename both so they have the same name (e.g. file.m2v, file.ac3), and play it to test if it's in sync.

Many choices to author in the tools section, I use DVD Lab Pro, but some decent free ones include DVDAuthorGUI, GUI for DVDAuthor, DVD Styler.

Cheers

[mr-scarface]

Not sure if I have AC-3 filter installed. But I've done mkv to dvd conversions with FAVC successfully before.

Anyhow, I will probably try what you said, but this damn VLC media player that I use always has the audio out of sync for some reason, even when it's really not out of sync - I've tested it on a standalone dvd player and the audio was fine. Not sure what its problem is.

Any chance that it would work if I tried the same process with FAVC again? or is that a waste of time?

[rickydavao]

You can always try with FAVC again, but before you start the conversion, go to the audio tab ... for Audio Encoding, select "AC3", and for AC3 Audio, select "Retain if Present". This will keep the AC3 audio from your MKV file instead of trying to re-encode it, and the FAVC batch file will hopefully complete normally this time through.

[mr-scarface]

thanks. I will try that and report back.