Which version of AviSynth should I install?

[digicube]

I intend to encode using CCE, which version of Avisynth should I install? 2.08 or 2.5? I also intend to use FitCD and Aviscript.

[videocheez]

This depends on which version of CCE you plan to use. When i was using CCE 2.5 i used Avisynth 2.08 now that im using CCE 2.67 i use avisynth 2.52. I think i remember readingg somewhere that avisyth 2.52 will not work with CCE 2.56. Check out the guides at www.doom9.org for more info on the subject.

Goodluck,

VC

[kalo]

Hey !

some info from me (author of AviScript):

To get all features of AviSynth you have to install the actual 2.52. If you work with AviScript too, also AviSynth 2.52 is recommended (the optional filters and the input of d2vfiles in AviScript can't work with the 2.0x)

I'm using:
AviScript 2.01 - AviSynth 2.52 - CCE Basic 2.67 (alt: CCE SP 2.67) … it works together very fine !



best regards
Kai Locher

[digicube]

Have you ever converted a Divx file to VCD using CCE and Avisynth? As you know Divx files have a frame rate of 23.976 fps. What code did you put into your AVS script so the video will have 29.97 fps to use with CCE?

[adam]

I use Avisynth 2.52 with CCE 2.5 with no problems. If you can get Avisynth 2.52 to work than use it, at the very least it should give you slight speed increases over older versions.

digicube, its more than just divx files that typically use framerates of 23.976fps. The vast majority of NTSC DVDs do also, and it is the preferred framerate to encode NTSC material in. There is no reason to telecine the movie to 29.97fps when making a VCD, SVCD, or DVD. The telecine is done by the decoder in real time. By encoding in 23.976fps you get a huge boost in quality.

If your source is 23.976fps then you're golden. Just keep it that way.

[Flave]

If your source is 23.976fps then you're golden. Just keep it that way.

But if you keep it that way, my DVD authoring software (DVD Workshop) will complain that it is not DVD compliant and try to re-encode it.

I've heard to get around this you should run Pulldown on the converted MPG. If I do this, then DVD Workshop will accept the file but this also results in very jerky video. At least it does for me. Can you recommend anything I should look out for to fix this?

[adam]

Yes you must run pulldown on the 23.976fps encoded file. This doesn't change anything about the file other than the file header, it inserts a command to your DVD player to telecine the movie to 29.97fps as it plays. I can assure you that all NTSC DVDs are capable of doing this, because the vast majority of commercial NTSC DVDs are authored this way. This should never cause jerky playback unless the file is encoded incorrectly. Encoding NTSC material to 29.97fps is highly inefficient and besides lowering quality it presents other particular problems.

Either you are not encoding correctly, and there are a number of ways in which you could be, or there is a serious problem with DVD Workshop. Make sure you are encoding progressively, and that all of the other tags on your stream are correct. I would recommend getting the gui to pulldown.exe and setting the prog_seq to interlaced and the prog_frame to progressive.

Also your GOP settings may be incorrect. When you encode at 23.976fps rather than 29.97fps you have to decrease the size of your GOP to remain DVD compliant. If you are using CCE set your GOP size to 3/4. If you use something like TMPGEnc than you would probably be best off setting the GOP size to 15 and enabling closed GOPs. (even though the NTSC standard supports higher and doesn't require closed GOPs, TMPGenc seems to have problems maintaining GOP structure unless you place these artificial restrictions.)

[Poplar]

If you are converting some YV12 divx/xvid/3ivx files to MPEG2 with CCE 2.50, you can run into problems. You need to add converttoyuy2() in your script. You don't need to do that with CCE2.67. However, even with that extra conversion, CCE2.50 is still faster than 2.67.

[Flave]

How do you throw kisses on this forum? Adam, I can't thank you enough! I followed your instructions and it's all working.

To summarize the changes I made in my workflow:

1. Use AssumeFPS(23.976) iso ChangeFPS(29.97) in my script

2. Use 3/4 GOP on the CCE encode (if you have some time to explain this one to me, I'd be most appreciative)

3. Run Pulldown with prog_seq set to interlaced and prog_frame set to progressive

and my own last item

4. Remux audio+video streams to a final mpg (this seems to solve an audio sync issue with DVD Workshop)

By doing all of the above I am now able to produce smooth video. Thanks again Adam!!!

Now, to see what I can do with a PAL source with 5.1 AC3 audio. Any suggestions would be more than welcome Adam! Do I need the 3/4 GOP with PAL or do I use 3/5? Do I still use AssumeFPS(23.976)? What the heck do I do with the audio in this case?