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  1. Member
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    I have seven .mp4 files (about 4Gb / 11 minutes each), filmed with a GoPro Hero4.

    I want to merge them into one single file.

    Of course, seven x 4Gb is way too big a file. So I first compressed each individual file, using Handbrake then Mobile Media Converter: the result is seven 80Mb files. Fine.

    Then I used VobMerge to merge those seven resulting files. Fine again: I got one nice 560Mb file (which should last about one hour and twenty minutes).

    The only point is that, when I open this later file with VLC, its length (in minutes) is the same as the first GoPro film, ie 11 minutes!

    My understanding is that my merged film includes the seven films, however, for a reason or another, VLC does not understand that it is in fact much longer than 11 minutes!

    --> can you tell me what to do so that my 560Mb film can be read completely (i.e. one hour and twenty minutes instead of 11 minutes)?

    (please excuse my English, if a Frenchman may say so!)
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  2. So I first compressed each individual file, using Handbrake then Mobile Media Converter
    You should only compress once as each loosy-to-loosy compression is a drop in quality.

    I don't use Mobile Media Converter but I take you for-some-reason-or-other use it to get VOB. But a filesize of 560 MB for 77 min playtime would mean a bitrate below 0.8 Mb/s which is bound to be of poor quality.

    If the recordings are made with the same settings you could join them without compression using MP4 Joiner ,My MP4Box GUI, MKVToolnix GUI.

    Then compress with XmediaRecode (Format = DVD Player standalone/VOB) or Mobile Media Converter.
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    Thanks a lot Videoburger, I tried to join my files with MP4 Joiner, and it worked!

    (Yes indeed, I compressed each of the seven files with the same settings. The problem in joining first, then compressing, was that it implied doing so with a 30 Gb file... a bit huge, I guess).

    I still have a remaining issue: I can read my joined .mp4 file with VLC from the beginning to the end, without any problem. However, when I open the file, VLC shows me that my file lasts 02:24:10. Whereas in fact, it lasts 01:22:04 and stops normally at the end of this time span.

    Actually, this is exactly the same problem as my initial one, in the reverse sense: VLC does not show me the real length of my film (shorter in the beginning, longer now!).

    --> so my technical question is: how can I "artificially" force VLC to understand and read the "real" length of a film?

    --> or, another way round, where and how can I modify the .mp4 "attributes" so that the shown length is the same as the real one?

    I hope you will understand what I am trying to say...
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    Any clue, Videoburger or anybody else? Thanks in advance!
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  5. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Could this be an NTFS vs. FAT32 problem? Gotta ask.
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    I am not sure. I would tend to think that while joining the 7 .mp4 files, the softwares I used (VobMerge then MP4 Joiner) did not write the correct information (ie the real length of the 7 merged files)... somewhere; where?
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  7. Of course, seven x 4Gb is way too big a file.
    Why would you think that? If you rip BD disk the main movie is often 20-30 GB.

    VLC shows me that my file lasts 02:24:10. Whereas in fact, it lasts 01:22:04
    My guess is that "somewhere" it's detected as interlaced when in fact it's progressiv since the playtime is shown as the double of the actual playtime.

    I don't understand why your final target is VOB. VOB is not intended for a stand-alone format but to exist in a video-DVD context. Also it's SD (I guess your recordings are HD) and it use MPEG-2 codec which requires higher bitrate/filesize than h.264 for comparable quality.

    Anyway I suggest you join the original .mp4's with one of the aforemention tools to a 30 GB file and use MediaInfo (View -> Text) (and VLC) to see the playtime.

    Then (if it's really your target) convert it to VOB with XmediaRecode or Mobile Media Converter and again use MediaInfo.

    If you still have problems with the playtime attach or paste the result of MediaInfo to a post.
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    The point is... I do not know much about video formats: I try and sometime manage, sometime fail. Here, it was a failure. And although I know the words interlaced and progressive, I do not know what they really mean... sorry about that.

    I initially used VobMerge because I did that before with a video film.

    Then I read your post #2 and I subsequently used MP4 Joiner (see my post #3), so we can forget the Vob issue.

    Now, I just "MediaInfoed" my final .mp4 file, and here is what I found (abstracts):

    General
    Complete name : D:\...Couturiere.mp4
    Format : MPEG-4
    Format profile : Base Media
    Codec ID : isom (isom)
    File size : 532 Mio
    Duration : 2 h 24 min ---------------------------------------------------------------------------> not normal (expected duration is 1 h 22 min)
    Overall bit rate mode : Variable
    Overall bit rate : 516 kb/s

    Video
    ID : 1
    Format : AVC
    Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile : Baseline@L3
    Format settings, CABAC : Non
    Format settings, ReFrames : 2 images
    Codec ID : avc1
    Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
    Duration : 1 h 22 min -----------------------------------------------------------------------------> same as expected
    Bit rate : 519 kb/s
    Maximum bit rate : 2 050 kb/s
    Width : 720 pixels
    Height : 406 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16/9
    Original display aspect ratio : 16/9
    Frame rate mode : Variable
    Frame rate : 29,970 (30000/1001) Im/s
    Minimum frame rate : 29,970 Im/s
    Maximum frame rate : 29,980 Im/s
    Color space : YUV
    Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
    Bit depth : 8 bits
    Scan type : Progressif
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.059
    Stream size : 305 Mio (57%)

    --> Here you can spot the discrepancy in terms of duration: 2 h 24 mn under "general" (not what expected) and 1 h 22 mn under "video" (exactly what I expected).
    So I looked further under "audio" and got this:

    Audio #1
    ID : 2
    Format : AAC
    Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
    Format profile : LC
    Codec ID : 40
    Duration : 1 h 22 min ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> this is
    Source duration : 1 h 22 min ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> ok
    Bit rate mode : Variable
    Bit rate : 161 kb/s
    Maximum bit rate : 192 kb/s
    Channel(s) : 2 canaux
    Channel positions : Front: L R
    Sampling rate : 48,0 kHz
    Frame rate : 46,875 Im/s (1024 spf)
    Compression mode : Avec perte
    Stream size : 94,3 Mio (18%)
    Source stream size : 94,3 Mio (18%)
    Title : Stereo / Stereo
    Language : Anglais
    Default : Oui
    Alternate group : 1
    Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-25 17:20:46
    Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-26 13:17:23
    Fallback From : 3,4,5,6,7,8,9

    Audio #2
    ID : 3
    Format : AC-3
    Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
    Mode extension : CM (complete main)
    Format settings, Endianness : Big
    Codec ID : ac-3
    Duration : 11 min --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> normal length of first film out of 7
    Bit rate mode : Constant
    Bit rate : 224 kb/s
    Channel(s) : 2 canaux
    Channel positions : Front: L R
    Sampling rate : 48,0 kHz
    Frame rate : 31,250 Im/s (1536 spf)
    Bit depth : 16 bits
    Compression mode : Avec perte
    Stream size : 19,0 Mio (4%)
    Title : Stereo / Stereo
    Language : Anglais
    Default : Inherited From: 2
    Alternate group : 1
    Encoded date : UTC 2016-08-25 17:20:46
    Tagged date : UTC 2016-08-26 13:17:23
    Fallback To : 2

    Audio #3
    ID : 4
    Format : AC-3
    Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
    Mode extension : CM (complete main)
    Format settings, Endianness : Big
    Codec ID : ac-3
    Duration : 34 min --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> strange:
    Source duration : 11 min -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> it incremented audio #2 and audio #3 !!!
    etc.

    Audio #4
    ID : 5
    Format : AC-3
    Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
    Mode extension : CM (complete main)
    Format settings, Endianness : Big
    Codec ID : ac-3
    Duration : 56 min --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> and again:
    Source duration : 11 min -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> it incremented audio #3 and audio #4 !!!
    ...and again and again for audio #5, 6, 7 and 8

    --> Again, I do not know much, but my guess here is that the audio joining / encoding somehow failed: either while joining the files (using MP4 Joiner) or encoding the joined .mp4 file (using HandBrake), one of the softwares created audio #1 (fine) AND added the seven original audio tracks (audio #2-8).

    So I am going to try again, joining first, then encoding, since now I do not remember in what order I did it the last time.

    Sorry about all this fuss!
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  9. If you are familiar with VirtualDub, you can simply open all segments and then encode to avi.
    Get my version https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod
    Open first file, then "file->append video segment" next file, and so on.
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  10. Member
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    Ooops, another stupid question: which format, between .mp4 and .avi, is the one I want?

    In other words, which of the two formats will give me the best quality for the same wheight (ie around 600 Mb)?
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  11. Member
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    Originally Posted by shekh View Post
    If you are familiar with VirtualDub, you can simply open all segments and then encode to avi.
    Get my version https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod
    Open first file, then "file->append video segment" next file, and so on.
    Sorry, but Virtualdub does not accept to load / open .mp4 files...
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  12. [QUOTE=TonyBoulet;2458012]
    Originally Posted by shekh View Post
    Sorry, but Virtualdub does not accept to load / open .mp4 files...
    Did you download from the link that I give? Here it is again https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod
    It is ready for use with decoding library already set up and it does accept everything, and I tested a lot of Gopro mp4 samples specifically.
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  13. Member
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    [QUOTE=shekh;2458018]
    Originally Posted by TonyBoulet View Post
    Originally Posted by shekh View Post
    Sorry, but Virtualdub does not accept to load / open .mp4 files...
    Did you download from the link that I give? Here it is again https://sourceforge.net/projects/vdfiltermod
    It is ready for use with decoding library already set up and it does accept everything, and I tested a lot of Gopro mp4 samples specifically.
    Oooops... I must have downloaded somewhere else: yes indeed, I can load and open .mp4 files with your version, thanks!

    I will let you know what happens then. Can you just tell me if it is better for me to create an .avi file rather than an .mp4?
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  14. Originally Posted by TonyBoulet View Post
    I will let you know what happens then. Can you just tell me if it is better for me to create an .avi file rather than an .mp4?
    avi/mp4 is not that important. You should care about codec for AVC/H264 video format. The matching codec for VD is "x264vfw". Considering your question I suggest you find some tutorial using keyword "x264vfw".

    In the newest version of filtermod I have this codec built in https://sourceforge.net/p/vdfiltermod/wiki/compression/
    But I am afraid to recommend newest stuff.. well try it if you can.
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    Ok, Shekh, I'll do that and let you know.
    Thanks!
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  16. Member
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    Shekh, I have a problem... While encoding, VirtualDub creates a HUGE (temporary?) file on the disk: the software eventually stopped encoding when all the free space on my disk (ie 75 Gb) was used by this kinf of temporary file.

    I guess there is an option in "configure x264vfw" that is not ticked properly... Could you tell me which one, please? Thanks!
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