Error when trying to playback h264 .mp4 video. Help.

[lovethisnation]

So, i consider my self a newbie when it comes to compression and converting vhs analog videos to digital. However, i've done a bit of research and I can understand the basics. I've downloaded the proper tools to get the project done such as VirtualDub2 for compression and AmerecTV for capturing. My capture card is the GV-USB2.

Now the issue I have is that for some reason i cannot play the converted files from avi to .mp4 using windows media. See screenshot of my settings when saving the file using VirtualDub2. What am I doing wrong?

The video that gives me the error is attached.

[poisondeathray]

You might need YUV420 instead of YUV422 pixel format. WMP might not accept AVC 422. There should be an option to downconvert in the conversion options

Or a better idea is use a better player, such as MPCHC, or VLC, or MPV, etc...

[lovethisnation]

You might need YUV420 instead of YUV422 pixel format. WMP might not accept AVC 422. There should be an option to downconvert in the conversion options

Or a better idea is use a better player, such as MPCHC, or VLC, or MPV, etc...

Thanks. Isn't YUV420 an inferior format? My ultimate goal is to be able to share these converted videos in a cloud drive where i want folks on the other end to just be able to play and not get errors but I want to keep the highest quality.

[poisondeathray]

You might need YUV420 instead of YUV422 pixel format. WMP might not accept AVC 422. There should be an option to downconvert in the conversion options

Or a better idea is use a better player, such as MPCHC, or VLC, or MPV, etc...

Thanks. Isn't YUV420 an inferior format? My ultimate goal is to be able to share these converted videos in a cloud drive where i want folks on the other end to just be able to play and not get errors but I want to keep the highest quality.

What is your source / what are you capturing ? It's unlikely that it has 4:2:2 worth of color information to begin with, unless it's a video game, or screen capture

If the folks you're sharing it with use WMP or some bad player - then they won't be able to play it either, like you.

4:2:0 is the most common distribution format by far, and will give you the least problems with playback

[lovethisnation]

You might need YUV420 instead of YUV422 pixel format. WMP might not accept AVC 422. There should be an option to downconvert in the conversion options

Or a better idea is use a better player, such as MPCHC, or VLC, or MPV, etc...

Thanks. Isn't YUV420 an inferior format? My ultimate goal is to be able to share these converted videos in a cloud drive where i want folks on the other end to just be able to play and not get errors but I want to keep the highest quality.

What is your source / what are you capturing ? It's unlikely that it has 4:2:2 worth of color information to begin with, unless it's a video game, or screen capture

If the folks you're sharing it with use WMP or some bad player - then they won't be able to play it either, like you.

4:2:0 is the most common distribution format by far, and will give you the least problems with playback

Understood when it comes to compatibility. Makes sense. VHS Analog video is the source.

I'm thinkin now, what if I want to upconvert these videos at a later time (say to 720p or 1080p) wouldn't it be best to compress it using 4:2:2 pixel format from the getgo? Also, wouldn't it be best to use 422 for TV playback? I am not sure i understand the implications of 420 and upconversion. Ultimately, i do want to try to make the picture better, if possible.

[poisondeathray]

Understood when it comes to compatibility. Makes sense. VHS Analog video is the source.

I'm thinkin now, what if I want to upconvert these videos at a later time (say to 720p or 1080p) wouldn't it be best to compress it using 4:2:2 pixel format from the getgo? Also, wouldn't it be best to use 422 for TV playback? I am not sure i understand the implications of 420 and upconversion. Ultimately, i do want to try to make the picture better, if possible.

VHS does not have very much chroma information to begin with. 4:2:2 is upsampled chroma already for a VHS source as SD resolution (720x480 for NTSC, would have 360x480 in terms of color samples)

But 4:2:2 is important for the capture stage because of "interlace" . Each scanline has a chroma sample, instead of sharing samples . Many programs/devices can have problems with interlaced chroma in 4:2:0 configuration - you get errors like chroma notching

But if you're deinterlacing properly, then 4:2:0 will be more than adequate to hold all the color information in the VHS source. There will be no difference upscaling later, 4:2:2 is already upscaled in terms of chroma information at SD resolution for VHS


If you decide to keep it 4:2:2 for distribution, then tell your recipients to use a proper player, otherwise they won't see anything

[lovethisnation]

Understood when it comes to compatibility. Makes sense. VHS Analog video is the source.

I'm thinkin now, what if I want to upconvert these videos at a later time (say to 720p or 1080p) wouldn't it be best to compress it using 4:2:2 pixel format from the getgo? Also, wouldn't it be best to use 422 for TV playback? I am not sure i understand the implications of 420 and upconversion. Ultimately, i do want to try to make the picture better, if possible.

VHS does not have very much chroma information to begin with. 4:2:2 is upsampled chroma already for a VHS source as SD resolution (720x480 for NTSC, would have 360x480 in terms of color samples)

But 4:2:2 is important for the capture stage because of "interlace" . Each scanline has a chroma sample, instead of sharing samples . Many programs/devices can have problems with interlaced chroma in 4:2:0 configuration - you get errors like chroma notching

But if you're deinterlacing properly, then 4:2:0 will be more than adequate to hold all the color information in the VHS source. There will be no difference upscaling later, 4:2:2 is already upscaled in terms of chroma information at SD resolution for VHS


If you decide to keep it 4:2:2 for distribution, then tell your recipients to use a proper player, otherwise they won't see anything

Excellent and detailed response. Thank you!

[Sharc]

Many programs/devices can have problems with interlaced chroma in 4:2:0 configuration - you get errors like chroma notching

Yes, the free NLE Shotcut had problems with interlaced 4:2:0 processing, for example. With the latest release 23.06.14 the issue is however fixed.