One File Has Multiple Resolutions

[criggs]

I've got these video files. Primarily they are 1920 x 1080, h.264, AAC 48k sampling, bit rate about 6 megs a second.

Unfortunately, every ten minutes or so, a section comes along with a different resolution. These portions run about two minutes and they are all over the map. For 30 seconds they might be at 1280 x 720, the next 30 seconds might be 640 x 360, etc. etc. Then, after two minutes or so, it flips back to 1920 x 1080 and all is well for another ten minutes, when all hell breaks loose again. The overall length of these files is about 50 minutes apiece.

I put one of these files into Video ReDo with the intention of deleting the non-1920 x 1080 portions and smartrendering the remainder into one clean file.

Well, I kept getting these messages as I scrubbed through the file that the file had multiple resolutions and that I needed to do a Stream Fix specifying which resolution I wanted. I ignored them and just kept on going. I carefully saved my work after each deletion that I marked, as a Vprj (Video Redo Project) file. Why? Because I was also experiencing persistent crashes, and I didn't want to lose all my work along the way.

Finally the project was ready, and I hit the save key for smart render. (By the way, I couldn't even get that far with the latest standard version of VRD; it was always crashing; however I was able to get this far with the new Beta version, which I'm also trying out.)

The final product, while it was a frame-accurate edit with all of the rogue-resolution-portions properly removed, was a mess. There was constant skipping, both in the audio and the video. The final file should have been around 43 minutes; instead it only ran 35 minutes because of all the missing material!

So I started scrubbing through the source file again to trigger the stream-fix-pick-resolution message. Once the message was triggered, I selected 1920 x 1080 as my desired resolution for the Stream Fix and executed it.

The final Stream Fixed file of the original was also a mess, and for the same reason: constant skipping in the audio and video, losing me about eight minutes of material.

At this point, I'm thinking maybe I should switch to the other highly recommended smart-rendering tool, that being TMPGEnc Smart Renderer 5. Some years ago, I did the free trial for both, and decided VideoReDo was a stronger product. But now I'm thinking I need to give Smart Renderer 5 a second look, in light of this problem.

But there's a hitch. A few years ago, when I did my comparison between the two aps, I used up the free trials on both. So now, if I want to try out Smart Renderer 5 with these problem multi-resolution files, I find that I cannot recycle my free trial (I tried uninstalling my Smart Renderer 5 and re-installing from scratch, hoping that would reset the free trial clock, but no dice). So, if I want to try these files in Smart Renderer 5, I don't have a choice: I have to put up the $70.

But suppose I do that and it turns out that Smart Renderer 5 can't handle these files either? Then I'm out $70 and am still stuck with these files which I can't seem to smart-render/edit.

I'm hoping that someone in this forum will be able to help me out with one of these four courses of action:

1) I will be told how to work around the skipping problem I'm having in Video ReDo, or
2) I will be told how to work around the expired free trial clock on Smart Renderer 5, or
3) Someone will be in a position to solemnly assure me that Smart Renderer 5 will indeed handle my multi-resolution files, no problem, and that that is one of Smart Renderer 5's great strengths, or
4) That someone will be able to point me in the direction of a third smart-render editor, separate and apart from VideoReDo and Smart Renderer 5, that handles a multi-resolution file perfectly.

So now I'm stumped. Any ideas? Please make me happy with a good solution! Thanks.

[transporterfan]

There probably isn't going to be one. The file sounds FUBAR! No genuine encode is going to have all those glitches.
It looks as though the file is corrupt and is unfixable. Try and find a new source is my suggestion.

[criggs]

There probably isn't going to be one. The file sounds FUBAR! No genuine encode is going to have all those glitches.
It looks as though the file is corrupt and is unfixable. Try and find a new source is my suggestion.

Your conclusion is certainly logical, given my report above. But there is an added wrinkle I forgot to mention.

The changes in resolution are content-related, not accidental. The non-1920 x 1080 material consists of commercials; the 1920 x 1080 material is the program itself. So it's not exactly accidental that the commercials are all over the map resolution-wise. Sure, they shouldn't be. But this problem was not random. Not sure if that helps give anyone an idea of how to solve this.

One other thing: Dan, at Video ReDo, states specifically that the latest Video Redo Beta "actually has a fix for this and allows you to edit files with multiple video resolutions," but then proceeded not to explain how one goes about fixing this. Since I actually used the latest Video ReDo Beta for this project (after the latest non-Beta version from last December couldn't even get to first base on this project due to repeated crashing), the idea that this Beta version was actually specifically designed, among other things, to address this particular issue rings a little bit hollow with me, but I'm hoping that this capability on the part of the Beta version may have some bells and whistles in some hidden menu that I haven't found yet but to which Dan, perhaps, will guide me.

[poisondeathray]

That will probably induce a crash on almost everything, including videoredo, solveigmm, tmpgenc smart renderer

But a true resolution change means a new GOP, so you can use other software as well (you don't need "smart rendering", a GOP level editor will work if it doesn't crash). So you can try avidemux, ffmpeg, tsmuxer, mkvtoolnix, dozens of other software to cut them up, then join with videoredo

One other thing: Dan, at Video ReDo, states specifically that the latest Video Redo Beta "actually has a fix for this and allows you to edit files with multiple video resolutions," but then proceeded not to explain how one goes about fixing this. Since I actually used the latest Video ReDo Beta for this project (after the latest non-Beta version from last December couldn't even get to first base on this project due to repeated crashing), the idea that this Beta version was actually specifically designed, among other things, to address this particular issue rings a little bit hollow with me, but I'm hoping that this capability on the part of the Beta version may have some bells and whistles in some hidden menu that I haven't found yet but to which Dan, perhaps, will guide me.

If you've tried the lastest beta, and it still doesn't work, send him a sample

[jagabo]

But a true resolution change means a new GOP, so you can use other software as well (you don't need "smart rendering", a GOP level editor will work if it doesn't crash). So you can try avidemux, ffmpeg, tsmuxer, mkvtoolnix, dozens of other software to cut them up

Maybe Mpeg2Cut2 if it's MPEG 2 video.

[criggs]

But a true resolution change means a new GOP, so you can use other software as well (you don't need "smart rendering", a GOP level editor will work if it doesn't crash). So you can try avidemux, ffmpeg, tsmuxer, mkvtoolnix, dozens of other software to cut them up, then join with videoredo

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, poisondeathray!!

AVI Demux did it!

The path was somewhat more winding than that, and I chased down plenty of blind alleys before I finally came up a with a procedure that worked. But AVI Demux was the key!

In the following description, I am not listing or describing any of the things I tried that did NOT work, only the things I did which finally WORKED.

First I took the original ts file and I recontained it, as an mp4 copy, in XMedia Recode.

Then I pulled it into AVI Demux, and planted A and B markers at the first and last GOP keyframes for each act of the program. I then saved each act using the MP4v2 option. That was tricky. Every time I scrubbed past the start of each commercial break, where the resolution change was, AVI Demux would always crash. But I discovered that if I used the Time function in the lower left corner and ordered it to go to a particular time that was PAST the start of each commercial, I could keep going.

Then I pulled each AVI Demux file in turn into the OLD Video ReDo (NOT the Beta!) and created a Joiner list. I then rendered the Joiner list in Video ReDo and it was fine.

A few notes.

First, it was impossible to deal with the original ts file in AVI Demux; the app was constantly crashing. It was only after I created the recontained mp4 copy in XMedia Recode that AVI Demux became somewhat more stable.

Secondly, my first attempt to render the Joiner list in Video ReDo used the newest Beta version. And, wouldn't you know it?, the file came out with traveling audio sync, starting out with the audio in perfect sync but with the audio gradually ending up at the end of the file about two to three seconds ahead of the video. After a lot of re-rendering, recontaining, stream-fixing, etc., all to no avail, I finally tried creating the Joiner List in the old VideoReDo and everything came out fine, finally.

Thanks very much, poisondeathray, for the AVI Demux suggestion. That was the key; without that, I'd never have been able to lick this puppy. I had no idea that AVI Demux could chop off sections of a file like that. Cool!

I guess I should tell Dan about the bug in the latest Video ReDo Beta.

Jagabo, this was an h.264 video file with AAC audio.

[jagabo]

Jagabo, this was an h.264 video file with AAC audio.

Jeez. How did I miss that. It was in the first line of your first post!

Is there any way you could post a short segment with multiple resolutions? I'd don't have any such files in my collection of odds and ends.

[criggs]

Is there any way you could post a short segment with multiple resolutions? I'd don't have any such files in my collection of odds and ends.

Sure. Here's the upload, if I did it successfully.

I would suggest the quickest, easiest way to see this multi-resolution file do its thing is to configure your VLC player in Tools Preferences Simple Interface, to Resize interface to video size. Position your VLC player so that the upper left-hand corner lines up with the upper left-hand corner of your monitor. Then close VLC.

After you have downloaded the file to your local drive, right-click the file and tell it to playback in VLC (unless you have your computer configured to use VLC automatically for mp4 files). Then sit back and watch the show; you will see the playback change size several times. Enjoy!

[pandy]

Commercials are sent with different resolutions. ffprobe report attached.

[jagabo]

Is there any way you could post a short segment with multiple resolutions? I'd don't have any such files in my collection of odds and ends.

Sure. Here's the upload, if I did it successfully.

Thanks for that. Indeed, VLC switches sizes for the different sections. MPCHC enlarges the smaller frames to the same size is the first section (1920x1080). VideoRedo gave the same problems you mentioned earlier. VirtualDub opened the video using the ffmpeg source filter -- small sections were automatically resized to the first section's size. It was able to edit the file and produce audio/video that was in sync. It wasn't able to direct stream copy (simple remux) but it could reencode.

[Marsia Mariner]

@ criggs

Well, thanks for sharing the "pathological" file (considering that it's an MP4 and not a transport stream).
FWIW...

=> mpv MultipleResolutions.mp4
Playing: MultipleResolutions.mp4
[ffmpeg/audio] aac: element type mismatch 1 != 0
 (+) Video --vid=1 (*) (h264)
 (+) Audio --aid=1 --alang=und (*) (aac)
[ffmpeg/audio] aac: element type mismatch 1 != 0
AO: [wasapi] 48000Hz stereo 2ch float
VO: [opengl] 1920x1080 yuv420p
AV: 00:00:01 / 00:02:54 (1%) A-V:  0.000
 (+) Video --vid=1 (*) (h264)
 (+) Audio --aid=1 --alang=und (*) (aac)
     Subs  --sid=1 (eia_608)
AV: 00:00:26 / 00:02:54 (15%) A-V: -0.000
[ffmpeg/audio] aac: env_facs_q 255 is invalid
Invalid audio PTS: 27.258312 -> 31.191667
AV: 00:00:26 / 00:02:54 (15%) A-V: -0.000

Audio/Video desynchronisation detected! Possible reasons include too slow
hardware, temporary CPU spikes, broken drivers, and BROKEN FILES. Audio
position will not match to the video (see A-V status field).

AV: 00:00:59 / 00:02:54 (33%) A-V:  0.000 ct:  3.904 Dropped: 1
VO: [opengl] 1280x720 yuv420p
AV: 00:01:29 / 00:02:54 (51%) A-V:  0.000 ct:  3.904
VO: [opengl] 404x228 yuv420p
AV: 00:01:44 / 00:02:54 (59%) A-V:  0.000 ct:  3.904
VO: [opengl] 1280x720 yuv420p
AV: 00:02:14 / 00:02:54 (76%) A-V:  0.000 ct:  3.904
VO: [opengl] 1920x1080 yuv420p
AV: 00:02:54 / 00:02:54 (99%) A-V:  0.000 ct:  3.904 Dropped: 2


Exiting... (End of file)

[Bernix]

Yes, weird file. Why not cut out the commercials or apply zones on them. Instead lower resolution... Weird. But cannot it be broadcasted that way? Only answer that comes to my mind.

Bernix