How to encode video as fast as pirates.

[Dolphan24]

I use the Hauppague HD PVR to record TS files off my cable box. Then I use MeGUI to encode them to HD MKV files, using a 2 pass script. My question is this: How do the scene pirates encode video so fast? They usually have the TS file stripped of commercials and encoded to an MKV file in as fast as 15 minutes sometimes. The process that I use takes nearly 3 hours for an hour long show.

My specs are AMD Athlon II 640 Quad Core Processor, 4GB DDR3, ATI Radeon HD 4200 and 1TB HD. Are there settings I need to change to speed up the encoding?

[-t40-]

as fast as 15 minutes sometimes

They can't do that, it's just a myth. Usually files have metadata if you read it you will see pirates are using the same widespread tools as everyone do.

[LigH.de]

If you have the money to buy a server mainboard with two sockets for intel Core i7 CPUs with 8 cores each, and enable HyperThreading, you get 32 virtual cores. That may make well parallelizing encoders like x264 run a little faster than on an AMD. And if you even have a "render park" containing several PCs, you may even be able to split the encoding of one movie across them, so each PC only encodes a part of it, and join the parts afterwards. And when you get busted by the cops, you won't see them again...

[dicto]

1. use veryfast preset
2. upgrade your computer, especially your processor. Most of pirates might use Xeon instead of i7
3. upgrade your video card. Some of pirates (i think) prefer Video Card encode such as CUDA H264 technology
4. yes, it's possible to encode in 15 minutes

[Dolphan24]

as fast as 15 minutes sometimes

They can't do that, it's just a myth. Usually files have metadata if you read it you will see pirates are using the same widespread tools as everyone do.

Then how do they release them so fast? I see it everyday. A show airs from 9pm-10pm by 10:15pm the show is up on the piratebay.

[Cornucopia]

You do realize that "when a show airs" is not universal, right? In the US, for example, shows are time-shifted between the East coast and the West coast, such that a show that starts at 9:00pm on the East coast, shows at the same moment (at 8:00pm) in the Midwest and (at 7:00pm) in the Mountain states. But it still shows at "9:00pm" on the West coast, which is now 3 hours later on the East coast.

So if your "pirate" lives on the East coast and you live on the West, and your show just ended 15 minutes ago, the pirate has had 3 hours + 15 minutes to encode. Not just 15 minutes. And that's only the continental US: expand that to include (via satellites & cable companies, many of which time-shift) all over the Globe, and you could be looking at lead times of over at least 10-12 hours.

Don't believe all their BS. And stop consorting with pirates anyway. Not a good idea in the long run.

Scott

[Selur]

Here my 2 cents of thoughts:
In theory there is a (relatively easy) way to be finished with uploading and re-encoding shortly after a show ended airing even without needing to use ultrafast presets or a really fast machine.

General process:

• capture into multiple files (in example split every X min)
• re-encode* and upload** these parts to your private server (assuming your upload isn't fast enough to do the spreading) which is used to spread the re-encode later, while the show is still airing
• once the show if finished airing and the last re-encode is finished (and uploaded to your distribution server):
  • join the parts into one file
  • repack them for distribution
  • spread them
  • delete the old temp files on the server and your machine

* like LigH mentioned, reencoding could be done by local network encoding to boost the speed or by simply using a faster machine
** to not slow the whole process down a internet connection which allows you to upload the re-encoded content in at least real time is advised (normally the re-encoded content should have a lower data-rate the incoming content, otherwise why re-encode in the first place?)

Possible problems:

• if your capture software doesn't allow you to capture into parts with a specific length or size another capture software is needed or some clever file parsing and splitting has to be done (second part can get really complicated)
• if the captured stream isn't proper, it has to be run through some tool to fix the stream, which might influence synch and will lengthen the whole process
• re-encoding setting need to create output files which can be merged easily and re-encoded fast enough
• handling subtitles might be tricky

-> assuming your encoding settings allow at least real time encoding, your main bottleneck is your internet connection

Not a good idea in the long run.

I totally agree, but the problem is a nice mind exercise.

Cu Selur

Ps.: I know that some release groups thought about implementing something like this a few years ago, but not sure if they ever did.
(Back in the days they were looking for programmers who where willing to implement something like this and since it's not that off-the-top I would be surprised if some release groups don't have something like this nowadays.)
Also as a side note: iirc. some tv studios use similar techniques to edit live streams, in example show some breaking news or live footage during a news show.

[Placebo]

I'm sure there is a atleast one pirate on this forum ... but why doesn't he explain us??
Why are they so secretive about their modus operandi in the first place??

[LigH.de]

If you were a movie pirate, would you tell in a public forum that you are one, so the investigative authorities are able to put the forum owner under pressure to release your activity history to catch you?

And I am not much interested in encoding techniques which prefer speed and size over quality. I won't mind sparing a bit time and disk size for my private copies with reasonable efforts, but "haste makes waste".

[Selur]

Having a tool like I described it is a competitive advantage for a release group to make a release before another group.

For normal use I too do not see any advantage to use such a tool.

[KBeee]

Cos other than "my dick is bigger (quicker) than yours" it's of NO consequence..?

[Dolphan24]

I don't plan on uploading anything. I like to record sports games for myself. I'm just wondering how the hell they do it so fast and yet it takes my quad core pc forever!

Also you say different time zones and such but here is a fact. Doctor Who airs in the UK first, before any other time zone. They are 5 hours ahead of the US broadcast and it still gets uploaded within 15 minutes of the UK airing. It can be done, I'm sure of that. And if you use mediainfo to look at the specs of the mkv files they are using the same tools as the rest of us, which means it's a hardware or spec thing. I have no plans to pirate anything but I can't save shows on my DVR forever.

[manono]

I'm just wondering how the hell they do it so fast and yet it takes my quad core pc forever!

Why are you still wondering when Selur already explained the method? It's called 'segmented encoding'.

[Dougster]

"Doctor Who airs in the UK first, before any other time zone. They are 5 hours ahead of the US broadcast and it still gets uploaded within 15 minutes of the UK airing. "



The BBC post the show on the BBC iPlayer service within 15 minutes after airing. The files are protected with DRM protocalls but there is decrypting software out there to deal with that. With a VPN service in the United States you can watch almost any BBC program on the web live as it airs in the UK.

Thats my 2 cents worth!

[Selur]

So in the Dr. Who case we now have two explanations:
a. segmented encoding
b. circumventing the DRM of the BBC iPlayer streams
and then there's still the possibility of simply having a fast computer and a fast Internet connection.

[Dougster]

Many shows in the US even are posted via the web in some fashion or another shortly after airing.

My point is that some of the pirated materiial out there could be from DRM circumvented sources,
so the 'encode' was done before it aired by the network!

[LigH.de]

Maturity is when you realize that you will survive a missed episode.

I am much more interested in getting original Dr. Who episodes with german audio. But they are not even sold, I believe. So whatever this hype means, I won't be able to join it anymore. Instead, let's play again "The Timelords: Doctorin' The Tardis", the only piece of the original series I ever got to know, and may ever get to know...

[Brad]

At least one of the pirate groups uses stolen sources which they encode around a week early (according to the metadata) and then just wait until after the airing to spread the files.

[Placebo]

So in the Dr. Who case we now have two explanations:
a. segmented encoding
b. circumventing the DRM of the BBC iPlayer streams
and then there's still the possibility of simply having a fast computer and a fast Internet connection.

add this too

At least one of the pirate groups uses stolen sources which they encode around a week early (according to the metadata) and then just wait until after the airing to spread the files.

[jagabo]

it takes my quad core pc forever!

Then use faster settings. There's a 100 fold difference between x264's fastest and slowest settings. At the veryfast preset it can encode standard definition video 400 frames per second on my quad core i5 2500K. 720p video can be encoded at around 80 fps and 1080p at 30 fps.

Of course, one can use a realtime hardware encoder like the Hauppauge HD PVR 2 (and an HDCP stripper) to record directly from any HDMI source. The recording will be done as soon as the show finishes airing.

[transporterfan]

Register an upload/storage account somewhere which uses a watch folder.
So, as the stream is captured it is also uploaded.
When the stream capture (or screen capture) is finished AND the upload is complete convert to torrent (http://burnbit.com/).
Peer 'helpers' will soon copy/help distribute.

This method assumes no editing (or the file hoster provides a basic editor (advert (block)/start/end clipping)).

No, I am not a pirate, but I like to investigate things too. This is a theoretical approach only.