problem after problem converting Ts and MKV to mp4

[xtal_01]

Lets start from the beginning ..... I have a number of videos in different formats. I want them all in mp4 fromat.

Also some of the originals play great on VLC but have (for lack of a better term) artifacts. There are lines and blocks on the videos.

So .... I first tried VLC ... turns out the conversion on VLC does not work (was told this on the VLC web site).

So I tried ffmpeg. I tried just a straight copy ... ts to mp4 .... artifacts still there.

OK .. tried handback (learned in a hurry not to touch the factory settings ... started with a 2 gig file ... got a 1 gig bad image file and a 18 gig great image file). On "high profile", I did manage to get what I wanted. TS came out to mp4 and was great! Then I tried a mp4 that had some artifacts, again great video out!

I thought I was on the right path.

Then I tried to convert an mkv ... original video was good, no artifacts .... the mp4 output file was poor.

Below is a screen shot of the output mp4 file. (the input mkv files had no artifacts) the output files have the same artifacts as the input files that I was trying to clean up (the mkv files are the only ones that had no artifacts showing when viewed them on Windows Media Player.

On the left side you can see vertical line segments and "blocky" ... on the right, half the picture is "blocky".

Any idea what I am doing wrong? Why do some videos have these artifacts?

Is there any better program than Handbrake that I should be using to convert videos?

Thanks so much ..... Mike

[sneaker]

So HandBrake worked fine for all files except this one? Can you post a MediaInfo log and post a sample file? File could be damaged (but better concealed in WMP). Or maybe the ffmpeg decoder (integrated in HandBrake) is buggy for this. (Can happen for VC-1 sources, for example)
In that case maybe using a different decoder like ffmpeg DXVA2 or Microsoft's decoder through AviSynth's DirectShowSource() or DSS2() could work around the problem. Or a bug report to the ffmpeg team to make them aware of the problem. They'd need the sample to reproduce the problem.

[xtal_01]

Yes, it was funny ... after figuring out how to use Handbrake (and I am dumb as dirt when it comes to all these thing), it worked (that is to say converted and/or cleaned up) all the ts and mp4 videos which are now mp4 files.

Only when I tired two (just to make sure it was not just one file) mkv files did it insert artifacts when it converted it from mkv to mp4.

Is what you what me to post is the "activity log" from Handbrake? I see a "encode log" and "scan log" under this button ... do you want me to post both?

Also, I had a problem with a cut/join program ( downloaded a "free" one and did all kinds of things to my computer like changed my home page ). Can you suggest one (open source if possible) so I can post / send part of the original video files ( they are about 2 gig long each ).

Thanks so very much !!!!!!!!!!

Mike

[sneaker]

Is what you what me to post is the "activity log" from Handbrake? I see a "encode log" and "scan log" under this button ... do you want me to post both?

MediaInfo is a separate program. Download and install it. Open the mkv with it. Click "View"->"Text" and copy-paste the text here.

Also, I had a problem with a cut/join program ( downloaded a "free" one and did all kinds of things to my computer like changed my home page ). Can you suggest one (open source if possible) so I can post / send part of the original video files ( they are about 2 gig long each ).

Use Mkvtoolnix GUI. Open the mkv file. Go to "Output" tab. Set "Split mode" to "by parts based on timecodes". Enter the segment you want, e.g. from minute 5 to minute 6: "00:05:00-00:06:00" and click "Start Muxing" (at the bottom). (You can disable all tracks except the video track if you want.)

Make sure the sample exhibits the problem you want to show us.

[xtal_01]

So, the basic problem is I just don't know what I am doing.

I had been using Handbrake "as installed"

The only thing I changed was the preset from "normal" to "high profile"

I tried to find some documentation on the setting but it seems to be made for people how are familiar with video formats and conversions.

I decide to change three things 1) changed from "high profile" back to "normal" ... I had thought "high" would give me a better video ... files are about 10% larger on high
2) changed h.264 profile from "main" to "auto"
3) changed h.264 level from "4.0" to "auto"

I don't know which of these did it, but it worked .... good video with no artifacts.

So am I loosing any quality but setting it to normal? It did take only 2 hours instead of 7 to run the conversion.

Also, I did a quick search and find lots of programs for conversion of files. Is there a better choose than Handbrake?

Thanks again ..... Mike