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  1. Hi people
    I have ben recording a load of kid's TV shows from CHannel 5 HD in the UK via my HDHomerun. Due to an ongoing issue with the Amazon Fire 4k stick it can't play these videos back (the same problem is in the HDHomerun app, Plex and Emby - it's been an issue with some UK HD broadcasts for a while and not yet fixed in a firmware upgrade).

    Anyhoo, now that I have these recordings I have been using Avidemux to just top and tail them (to take out the ads) and save as mp4, but I'd like to convert them all to a video format that will work with the 4k stick - my Android TV and Shield TV in other rooms play them all with no problems, but we have one TV that has the Stick and that's the one my daughter watches most.

    The issue is, I can't seem to find what the bitrates of the originals are things like VLC, Mediainfo, etc just show it like this;




    Basically, I want to keep them in as close to the original capture quality, but to play on all devices. Also, it would be handy to be able to drop a load in together for a batch conversion (I have a few hundred to do!)

    Thanks!
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  2. You can probably use Bitrate Viewer to see the average bitrate. Or just estimate the bitrate from the file size (file size in bits / running time in seconds, minus a little for the audio and container).

    But your premise of retaining the original quality by using the same bitrate is somewhat flawed. Every time you reencode with a lossy codec you will lose some quality (the higher the bitrate you use the less quality you will lose). Some encoders deliver better quality than others (at the same bitrate). And the other encoder settings you use will have an effect on quality (fast with low quality vs. slow with higher quality). Even if you reencode with the same codec, the same settings, and the same bitrate you will get reduced quality.
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  3. Member netmask56's Avatar
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    Do you know if you use Mediainfo in Text mode you can copy and paste directly into the body text of your post without having to make jpeg files etc,,
    SONY 75" Full array 200Hz LED TV, Yamaha A1070 amp, Zidoo UHD3000, BeyonWiz PVR V2 (Enigma2 clone), Chromecast, Windows 11 Professional, QNAP NAS TS851
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  4. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    You can probably use Bitrate Viewer to see the average bitrate. Or just estimate the bitrate from the file size (file size in bits / running time in seconds, minus a little for the audio and container).

    But your premise of retaining the original quality by using the same bitrate is somewhat flawed. Every time you reencode with a lossy codec you will lose some quality (the higher the bitrate you use the less quality you will lose). Some encoders deliver better quality than others (at the same bitrate). And the other encoder settings you use will have an effect on quality (fast with low quality vs. slow with higher quality). Even if you reencode with the same codec, the same settings, and the same bitrate you will get reduced quality.
    Thanks, I'll have a look at bitrate viewer. I wasn't going to do exactly the same, I was going to drop them down a bit as they're for a two year old so she won't care, it's more me that hates seeing SD video and wanted to keep it at least decent!

    I just cant think of any other way of getting the videos to play back on the stick with it's current issue with these videos and whenever my wife tries to play one of those ones it crashes the apps and we have to reboot.... toddlers are not very patient!

    I guess another option would be to use an app that will let me convert to a given filesize and select a size around 3/4 of the original.
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  5. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Pardon my ignorance in these matters but how will you link the firestick to the device that holds these edited recordings ?
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  6. They're all sat on a QNap NAS. With the Fire Stick and Android TV we generally use Plex or Emby, server on the QNap, client on the stick.

    I use Kodi on the Shield TV (our main media player)

    I've had a look at Bitrate Viewer they seem to be an average of around 4000 kbps and a peak of 11000-13000, depending on the file. I was thinking of looking at using Plex to optimize (ie pre-transcode) them, but the lowest option in Plex for this is 8000kbps, lower rates will give 720, so would probably look at them and think they don't need transcoding.
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  7. Can't you just set Plex to transcode on the fly? Or maybe just remux to MKV?
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  8. Remuxing doesn't make any diference unfortunately, it's the video format it doesn't like, not the wrapper. I've tried mkv as well
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    Originally Posted by Emanef View Post
    Remuxing doesn't make any diference unfortunately, it's the video format it doesn't like, not the wrapper. I've tried mkv as well
    Can you post a sample of one of these troublesome clips to the forum ?
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  10. Sure, hopefully get a chance this evening, thanks
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  11. Member DB83's Avatar
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    I would expect to see an original recording, not one you have edited/remixed.

    One further Q. Can the Fire Stick play other clips on your NAS ?
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  12. Here you go, it's about five mins long, 75MB. I have five seasons of Peppa Pig all like that, none can play on the 4k Stick! As soon as I try to play one the video just freezes. Occasionally I can quit back to the user login screen, but it usually just crashes Plex (or Emby)

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/aehbh3l53i5nu8l/Peppa%20Pig.S02E01.Bubbles.mp4?dl=0

    Thanks
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  13. Originally Posted by DB83 View Post
    I would expect to see an original recording, not one you have edited/remixed.
    Will try to get one, but I deleted all the Peppa ones after clipping them.

    Originally Posted by DB83 View Post
    One further Q. Can the Fire Stick play other clips on your NAS ?
    Yes, the Fire Stick usually plays everything without problems. It's the 4k one so it handles x264 videos as well (although the telly isn't 4k so I've not tried 4K content on it)
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    Mediainfo in text view shows this, the bitrate is not Inordinately high; it plays OK on my 2017 LG 4k TV over DLNA
    from the built in Windows 8 media server. I wonder if the mbaff scan type is the issue with your Fire Stick ?


    Video
    ID : 1
    Format : AVC
    Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
    Format profile : High@L4
    Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
    Format settings, CABAC : Yes
    Format settings, RefFrames : 4 frames
    Format settings, GOP : M=8, N=24
    Codec ID : avc1
    Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
    Duration : 4 min 58 s
    Bit rate : 1 926 kb/s
    Width : 1 920 pixels
    Height : 1 080 pixels
    Display aspect ratio : 16:9
    Frame rate mode : Variable
    Frame rate : 29.844 FPS
    Minimum frame rate : 16.667 FPS
    Maximum frame rate : 50.000 FPS
    Original frame rate : 25.000 FPS
    Standard : Component
    Color space : YUV
    Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
    Bit depth : 8 bits
    Scan type : MBAFF
    Scan type, store method : Separated fields
    Scan order : Top Field First
    Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.031
    Stream size : 68.5 MiB (94%)
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  15. Member DB83's Avatar
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    What did you use to 'convert' this ?

    I assume you started with a constant frame-rate of 25fps. Now you have a variable frame-rate. Little wonder why it does not play.

    And more important to get an original one.
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  16. I used Avidemux. I just remuxed it from the TS to MP4, output for video and audio was copy, not converting done.

    I think those were recorded directly by the HDHomerun, I mostly use Plex to capture via the HDHomerun at the moment and those seem ok. I'll reset the HDHomerun up to record and get a couple and come back with some original captures
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  17. Member DB83's Avatar
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    In my own experience, avidemux does not screw up video frame-rates under 'copy'

    So if we can have an original and do some trimming we can then hopefully see what is going on.
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  18. OK, sorry about the delay, been a busy week!

    So here are a handful of shows I recorded over the week, some directly via HDHomerun, some by Emby and some by Plex, none set to convert the recordings on record;
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/uv6l2cd40dhmvmr/BBC%20News%20at%20Ten%20-%202019-10-04%2022%...20PLEX.ts?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/o67345ndacoz9qh/Click%2020191005%20%5B20191005-0030%5D.mpg?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/sp4akypanohoknj/Noddy%20Toyland%20Detective%20%282016%29%20PLEX.ts?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/mdl2dcwasnbwifz/Paw%20Patrol.S03E47.Pups%20Save%20Their%20Fl...riends.ts?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/7zzyv0svd3tfq8c/Peppa%20Pig%20S02E38%2020070320%20%5B2019100...55%5D.mpg?dl=0
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ocrvqdk6qut8di/Shane%20the%20Chef%20S01E11%20EMBY.ts?dl=0

    Sorry for the sizes but I thought it best not to do anything with them so they're the original recordings. The mpgs are recorded directly via the HDHR app, the rest via Plex or Emby using their HDHR DVR features.
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  19. Member DB83's Avatar
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    Thank you for the original recordings.

    I only downloaded one for the time being - Peppa Pig - and used your method of edit/save.

    But something weird is going on.

    Mediainfo reports the file to be 25 fps
    Avidemux reports the file to be 50 fps

    And whether I simply mux the entire file or an edit in to .mp4 I end up with variable frame rate as in your sample. But more than that timing is now off and sound is distorted.

    Maybe others can solve this. Else I will take another look later tomorrow.

    I also attempted a mux via handbrake and that also produces weird results (dual audio) at 25 fps
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  20. Here's a quick, simple, low bitrate, h.264 conversion from 1080i to 720p with ffmpeg. See if it plays on your TV...

    Code:
    ffmpeg -y -i %1 -vf yadif=1,scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -acodec copy "%~dpn1.720p.ts"
    The 9 minute clip took about 4 minutes to convert on my i5 2500K (quad core). Of course, slower, higher quality settings will take longer.

    <edit>
    I forgot to limit the GOP size. If that one doesn't play I'll upload another with 50 frame GOPs (one second).
    </edit>
    Image Attached Files
    Last edited by jagabo; 11th Oct 2019 at 19:29.
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  21. Strange isn't it. From what I can find, Channel 5 HD channels are progressive 1080p (presumbaly 25 frame rate?) and BBC are interlaced 1080, presumably 50fps.

    Does Peppa look like it's 1080i then? I thought it was 1080p.

    It's only the 4k Fire Stick that doesn't like them though, they play back fine on my Shield TV, Sony Bravia Android TV, Plex and Emby on my Android tablet, fine on Windows. It also means that the HDHomerun is not much use on the Fire 4K Stick either as the same problem happens with the live HD channels.
    Last edited by Emanef; 12th Oct 2019 at 08:52.
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  22. I only downloaded three of the clips, BBC News, Noddy, and Peppa Pig, and there's nothing unusual about them. They're all encoded interlaced.

    The BBC clip is mostly true interlaced material (live video with every field from a different point in time).

    Noddy contains mostly progressive frames -- but as with the other clips it's encoded interlaced.

    Much of Peppa Pig is progressive frames digitized out of phase. That is, rather than top and bottom fields of the same film frames being combined into video frames, fields from successive film frames are woven into video frames. This is very common in PAL broadcast and has nothing to do with the Fire Stick's inability to play the files.

    The 50 fps report from AviDemux is a bug in that program. It's reporting the field rate rather than the frame rate. This is also a common problem with "separated fields" interlaced video (this has to do with how the video is handled internally by the codec, it has no bearing on the output of the decoder). This might be the problem with the Fire Stick too.
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  23. Member DB83's Avatar
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    (if the following appears duplicated then my apologies)

    My 'issue' is regardless of whether we have 25 frame p/s or 50 fields p/s why does a program that claims to mux without change to the video or audio specs spew out a pile of garbage.

    Now my version of avidemux is not 'up to date' and the OP's may be more current since he did not experience the issues I experienced in my report yesterday.
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  24. Originally Posted by DB83 View Post
    My 'issue' is regardless of whether we have 25 frame p/s or 50 fields p/s why does a program that claims to mux without change to the video or audio specs spew out a pile of garbage.
    AviDemux has always been garbage.
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  25. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Here's a quick, simple, low bitrate, h.264 conversion from 1080i to 720p with ffmpeg. See if it plays on your TV...

    Code:
    ffmpeg -y -i %1 -vf yadif=1,scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -acodec copy "%~dpn1.720p.ts"
    The 9 minute clip took about 4 minutes to convert on my i5 2500K (quad core). Of course, slower, higher quality settings will take longer.

    <edit>
    I forgot to limit the GOP size. If that one doesn't play I'll upload another with 50 frame GOPs (one second).
    </edit>
    Thanks, yes, that one played back fine on the Stick.

    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    AviDemux has always been garbage.
    So is Avidemux actually causing further problems with them? Should I use something else to top and tail them? What's a better but quick and easy program to use? I have hundreds to do so I don't want it to be too convoluted.
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  26. Member
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    Originally Posted by Emanef View Post
    So is Avidemux actually causing further problems with them? Should I use something else to top and tail them? What's a better but quick and easy program to use? I have hundreds to do so I don't want it to be too convoluted.
    I just tried VideoReDo TV Suite v6, which I use to edit my ATSC and US digital cable recordings, to edit your DVB Peppa Pig recording and output a TS in its original resolution and frame rate. It seemed to work just fine and the DVB English subtitles were intact when played back using VLC. Smart Cutter PS/TS, which costs less than VideoReDo TV Suite, is often suggested by others in DVB countries for editing recorded TV. I have not tried Smart Cutter PS/TS, but it seems to be well-liked by those VideoHelp members who use it.

    These are paid programs but IMO worth it.

    [Edit]I neglected to mention that I don't have a FireTV Stick to test with.

    [Edit 2] I just tried VideoReDo for re-encoding your PeppaPig recording to a 720p50 ts. The DVB subtitles are still working in VLC.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 12th Oct 2019 at 16:41. Reason: Clarified what I did
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  27. Member DB83's Avatar
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    I downloaded the latest version of avidemux. The 'chipmunk' sound I experienced before is now gone but the output was still variable frame-rate under copy. I changed the video to mpeg4 AVC and now get this (constant frame-rate and 25 fps with no other changes in the program). Let me know if it now works.
    Image Attached Files
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  28. Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Here's a quick, simple, low bitrate, h.264 conversion from 1080i to 720p with ffmpeg. See if it plays on your TV...

    Code:
    ffmpeg -y -i %1 -vf yadif=1,scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -crf 23 -acodec copy "%~dpn1.720p.ts"
    The 9 minute clip took about 4 minutes to convert on my i5 2500K (quad core). Of course, slower, higher quality settings will take longer.

    <edit>
    I forgot to limit the GOP size. If that one doesn't play I'll upload another with 50 frame GOPs (one second).
    </edit>
    Hi fellas

    Just coming back on this - not had a chance to spend much time on it recently but have managed to make a bit of time for myself!

    I still have the problem with the playback on the Fire Stick 4K so I want to just convert everything to non-interlaced files so I don't have the problem. I will be using Handbrake (as I can work out how to do folder batch conversions with ffmpeg command line!) but just want advice on those settings you chose for the Peppa test conversion.

    Firstly, with the original being 1080i, is it better to convert to 720p or could I do it to 1080p? Just thinking that dropping down from 1920 to 1280 will reduce the quality as opposed to having it deinterlace but keeping the higher res? My daughter usually watches on our lounge 60" telly or our bedroom 49", so not a small screen. They're all from Channel 5 HD so presumably all similar, and they're all animated shows (if that makes any difference - presume they're easier for it to do as there's far less detail than filmed video?)

    With the deinterlace setting, why yadif and not decomb? (Just wondered what the difference is and if one is better than the other for this sort of video).

    For the framerate setting in Handbrake I usually use same as source (when converting videos from x265 to x264), but with these being interlaced what should I choose? For the one I am trying, Mediainfo and VLC say it's 25.152332, bitrate viewer says 50PAL. I did a couple of tests in Handbrake with it set to same as source and VLC shows the new file as frame rate 25.000522!

    Thanks
    Last edited by Emanef; 28th Feb 2020 at 07:44.
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  29. Originally Posted by Emanef View Post
    Firstly, with the original being 1080i, is it better to convert to 720p or could I do it to 1080p?
    I gave a least-common-denominator conversion for the best chance of success. You have two broadcast standards: 1080i25 and 720p50. So I converted from one to the other. Many devices will not play 1080p50. If your TVs can handle1080p50 t you can use that instead.

    Originally Posted by Emanef View Post
    With the deinterlace setting, why yadif and not decomb? (Just wondered what the difference is and if one is better than the other for this sort of video).
    Decomb will produce 25p from 25i. Yadif=1 produces 50p from 25i. Most of the clip is 25p material encoded as 25i. Decomb should work fine for that. But if you convert true 25i material to 25p you will lose half the motion smoothness. For example, the ad at the beginning of the clip was originally 23.976p but was converted to 25i with field blending. Converting that to 50p looks no worse than your 25i source (in terms of motion smoothness and blending artifacts). Converting to 25p would make it a little jerky/flickery with more visible blending. And again, I went for the most "standard" conversion. There's no guarantee your TV will play 720p25 (though it probably will -- you'll have to check for yourself).

    Originally Posted by Emanef View Post
    For the framerate setting in Handbrake I usually use same as source (when converting videos from x265 to x264), but with these being interlaced what should I choose?
    Converting 1080i25 to 720p50 (or 1080p50 if your TV can deal with it) is your best bet if you're not going to analyze each video and determine what frame rate is best.

    I suspect a child young enough to be watching Peppa Pig isn't going to be all that discerning of video quality.
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  30. Ah, ok, so I shouldn't set Handbrake to use the same framerate as the source if I'm deinterlacing then? I should use 50fps and either set the frame size to 1920x1080 (if it plays ok on the TVs) or 1280x720 if not?

    And I'll stick with yadif. In Handbrake do I keep interlace detection to default and yadif > preset to default, or do I need to change those? And I'm testing them with crf as 22, seems to be good quality on the other tests I did at that.

    I know she won't care about the quality, but I hate seeing SD stuff, and we sit and watch some of it with her.... I even find myself changing the channel to the HD version when we have family staying and they're watching a channel on the SD version!
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