TMPGEnc Plus or MainConcept 1.4?

[reboot]

If you have the full nero package, you can author in Nerovision Express.
There are far better programs though, such as dvdlab, tmpgenc dvd author, Ulead dvd studio 3, etc.

[barqy]

oh okay thanks

I extracted a .wav from from my file usinv virtualdub.

I ran that thru AC3 machine and when I used mainconcept encoder and selected the .ac3 file as the audio source it says "no data in audio"!


I am able to select the wave file I originally extracted or just use the audio embedded in the .avi itself.

What am I doing wrong?


Here are the settings I used in ac3 machine

[barqy]

I managed to use MCE and make a dvd format file

I used a dvd authoring programme and made the dvd, burnt it, video quality is great!

But just one problem, no sound!

I went back to the file that MCE encoded and played it on my PC, no sound as well.

Can anyone guess as to what went wrong?

Here's a snapshot of MCE



I used the .wav file (48000mhz) I extracted from the original .avi as the audio source

thanks in advance~!

[dafreak]

TMPGenc don't spread the bitrate well on VBR encodings.
So, you need to rise the lower value a lot for 2 Pass VBR or CQ VBR.
Set for example set CQ 2000min 5000 max or 2 Pass 2000min 3000 average 5000 maximum and all the problems are gone for 1 /2 D1 projects.
But set minimum 0 / maximum 5000 and the picture at the dark backgrounds look bad! If you check "no motion search for half pixel" helps, but create other kind of mess in the picture (pixelarization on slighty moves)
What helps a lot TMPGenc, is the resizing during frameserving. After years of tests, I can say for certain that most of the quality issues TMPGenc has to deal with, are really solved when you resize before. TMPGenc does terrible resizing!

ALL the other encoders (CCE, Procoder, MC, etc) don't have to deal with this issue, thankfully.

I use MC 1.4.2 for realtime mpeg 2 captures. Excellent solution for fast and dirty transfers. I don't use it for offline encodings. I found the picture of MC somehow "Blurry" compared TMPGenc's. Even CCE's picture is not as sharp as TMPGenc's IMHO.

About speed, well... Vfapi really slows the things down, that's for sure. I don't feel that they gonna change this easy.

bleh nevermind. I reread your post.

[lchiu7]

Mainconcept support Avisynth but didn't support frameserver from Virtualdub.

Mainconcept have first position of Encoders.

Hmm

I frameserve all the time from Virtualdub to MC.

Load up a raw captured video file (usually in MJPEG format)
Edit out the ads (easy to do in Vdub)
Apply deinterlace and resizing filters (resizing to get over overscan issues)
Frameserve to MC for MPEG2 encoding - works fine

[reboot]

What file did you specify as audio source in MCE? Was it a full stream .wav from virtualdub, the AC3 you made, or what?

Don't want to hijack a thread, but lchiu7, could you please share a few tips on HOW to frameserve to MC from VD?

[barqy]

What file did you specify as audio source in MCE? Was it a full stream .wav from virtualdub, the AC3 you made, or what?

Don't want to hijack a thread, but lchiu7, could you please share a few tips on HOW to frameserve to MC from VD?

I tried to use the AC3 audio source in MCE but it wouldn't allow me, it said "no data audio found" or something to that affect.

So I was forced to use the .wav file as my audio source.

I suspect that it is the stream type selection I choose that affected the audio? B/c I reencoded using a different stream type (got a different extension *.mpeg instead of a *.mpv), but was able to hear the sound.

Can I author a DVD (after encoding) into an ISO rather than burn it directly to a DVD? I want to make an ISO and shrink it so I can fit 2 episodes into 1 DVD.

If so, which programmes allow for this

thanks

PS: I woud also like to know how to frameserve w/ virtualdub and MCE.

[Cecilio]

Bargyi havent tried many different dvd authoring programs, but i have tried Tmpgenc DVD Author. its an ok program it does the job. the only thing i dont like about it, is that it adds more memory onto your movie, meaning that if your movie is about 4 GB, it will make it 4.2 GB or something like that. as i said in the post before just use DVD2SVCD and that will do everything from converting to multiplexing to authoring. thats an easy way out of your problem.

[Cecilio]

OH bargy the reason there was no sound from your Mpeg file, was simply because in MCE, you need to select Mpeg 2, Program (video+Audio) you selected Elementry steams, which means that it encodes both the audio and the video seperatly not combined. i cant believe no one caught that mistake!

[barqy]

OH bargy the reason there was no sound from your Mpeg file, was simply because in MCE, you need to select Mpeg 2, Program (video+Audio) you selected Elementry steams, which means that it encodes both the audio and the video seperatly not combined. i cant believe no one caught that mistake!

Great thanks!

So you mean for "mpeg format" it should be: mpeg 2 (not DVD like I selected) and stream type: Programe (video + audio)?

Then why do they have the mpeg type DVD? What's it for then?

At least I *think* that's what you were saying cecillio.

[Cecilio]

Let me just help you out.... your first window should look like this



your second box should look like this... oh and go into the details tab to get here



next go to this box, and you are dealing with an avi, which isn't perfect quality, so instead of using the resolution 720*480, why not use 352*480, and you can fit 2 movies on a dvd r. if it was a DVD, then use 720*480, but this is probably a 700 MB avi with bitrates such as 1000 kbs, why would you go on wasting an avg of 6000 when you can achieve the same quality using 3500 and 352*480.

[barqy]

wow, thanks a lot!!

much clearer now

but can I use 16:9 rather than 4:3 display?

also the dramas im encoding are dvd rips.

so should i still change it to 352x480?


thanks again cecillio

[lchiu7]

What file did you specify as audio source in MCE? Was it a full stream .wav from virtualdub, the AC3 you made, or what?

Don't want to hijack a thread, but lchiu7, could you please share a few tips on HOW to frameserve to MC from VD?

The video file I edit was capture is from a Hauppauge WinTV PCI card using IUVCR. It's avi format with MJPEG compression and PCM sound (16 bit 48Khz)

Load the file in Virtualdub, edit the ads out, apply the filters and set Full Processing Mode for the video and direct stream copy for the audio

Start the frameserver and save the .vdr file someplace

Open MCE and find the .vdr file for the video. MCE automatically fills in the same name for the audio

Select whatever template you want for the output mpeg file and go

Larry

[reboot]

lchiu7:
Thanks, but that doesn't work. MCE crashes. I found a workaround though, by loading the .vdr in avisynth, then loading the avs in MCE.

Cecilio:

so instead of using the resolution 720*480, why not use 352*480, and you can fit 2 movies on a dvd r

Wrong. Resolution has nothing to do with filesize. You should maybe have said, "You can fit two movies on one dvdr by reducing the bitrate to blah blah blah, and you may as well encode in HalfD1 (352x480) as avi quality is not usually that good anyhow, no point in having the encoder resize to full D1 (720x480)."

barqy: Yes, you can select 16:9 if your source is 16:9 otherwise it's gonna get squashed or stretched. If they are good dvd rips, then you should be encoding at full D1, not half D1 as Cecilio has suggested. Bitrate is up to you. Higher bitrate=better quality, but again, that depends on how the rips were made. Someone may have done a lousy job, and compressed them poorly. Generally, the smaller your source avi, the worse the quality is. 2hours of avi should be at least 800meg, and hopefully more if it's dvdrip, or someone used severe compression during the rip, and quality has suffered badly.

[barqy]

Can anyone also explain why in MCE when I load up a .ac3 file rather than .wav I get a 'no audio data found' message?


i followed the steps of converting from .wav to .ac3 using ac3 machine, but still no go. sorry if this is OT, but i figure it's part of a MCE problem

Is there really a difference from using a .wav or .ac3 as the audio source when encoding to mpg in dvd format?

And is D1 6000bitrate?

PS: The original file i want to convert is 640 x 352 according to virtual dub. 16:9 still ok? And which bitrate is recommended?

I don't want the thing to be squashed/stretched/abnormal looking. How do you tell if using 4:3 or 16:9 ?

thanks in advance.

[reboot]

MCE doesn't support AC3 (I don't think).
You encode the video in MCE, and then mux them in your authoring app.

D1 is a resolution, 720x480 for NTSC. Half D1 is 352x480 and it looks screwy during encoding, but dvd players will play it properly.

Your original file is 640x352. Do the math: 640 divided by 352 gives 1.82:1
16:9 is 1.78:1
4:3 is 1.3:1
What you have is known as anamorphic.
Are there any black bars top and bottom in the source file?
If so, subtract those, and you will find out what the ratio really is.
You can remove them in virtualdub easily, then encode as needed.

[lchiu7]

lchiu7:
Thanks, but that doesn't work. MCE crashes. I found a workaround though, by loading the .vdr in avisynth, then loading the avs in MCE.

Hmm - glad you found a workaround but I don't do anything special and it works fine for me


For example here are the properties of the video file I am editing. Note the video is in MJPEG format and the audio in uncompressed PCM. For Virtualdub I tell it to process video fully (I also sometimes apply some filters to deinterlace etc.) and for audio, direct stream processing and let MCE encode the audio to MP2



Then start the framserver



Save the .vdr file someplace




Open it in MCE




And then start processing (note the frame counts of the frames being served from Virtualdub)



Larry

[reboot]

Well, thankyou for going into such detail for me.
Here's the avi specs. Most of my stuff is about the same.

Everything works, up to a point here:

Open it in MCE

Result:

[Jukka]

Bargy,

Mainconcept wont accept AC3, however if you use TMPGEnc DVD Author you can import the MPEG video file created from MCE and then specify the AC3 audio file you have created.

Also the AVI you have is not quite 16:9, etc. If you need help in sorting the aspect ratios look at my post https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=210133&highlight=
use these in conjunction with selecting '16:9'

As for the bitrate use the bitrate calc on this site to help you,

good luck,

Jukka

[Cecilio]

wow, thanks a lot!!

much clearer now

but can I use 16:9 rather than 4:3 display?

also the dramas im encoding are dvd rips.

so should i still change it to 352x480?


thanks again cecillio

No you cannot use 16:9, and use the resolution 352*480. But what you can do is you can use a program like Tmpgenc or Virtual dub to save a project file. For example, close the wizard in Tmpgenc. Then where it says load on the bottom, click Unlock. then load up your Avi in Tmpgenc and you load your audio.







put ok on all the boxes, and when you get to the main window on Tmpgenc, click on file save, to save your project file.



Load the Tmpgenc Project file into VFAPI Reader Codec, and click ok and convert. this should only take a couple of minutes or seconds depending on your pc.


You will now have a fake avi file, which you can load into MCE, and encode as 4:3 and you shouldn't get it stretched out, but i haven't tried it, try it and tell me whats up.

[lchiu7]

Well, thankyou for going into such detail for me.
Here's the avi specs. Most of my stuff is about the same.

Everything works, up to a point here:

Open it in MCE

Result:

Hmm - looks your video is in Xvid format, not mjpeg. Out of interest I tried what you are doing - viz load up a MPEG4 video in Virtualdub (loaded okay but complained about VBR encoding for the sound) . File information shows xvid MPEG4 codec being the codec in the file

Started the frameserver and created the vdr file and tried to load that in MCE. It hung immediately and I have to cancel it with the same result as you are getting. Interestingly the file opens up fine directly in MCE

So presumably MCE cannot open a xvid video file that is being framserved? As you probably found, that same vdr file opens fine in tmpgenc

One to remember I guess

Larry

[reboot]

No, it's not POS crap hacked XviD codec. It's bought and paid for DivX Mpeg codec.
Thinking of switching to Cinepak, or WMV1, or something...

[Laddydaddy]

reboot,
I hope you don't mind a johnny come lately joining in. Your audio looks to be VBR audio. Try saving the file to wav and then using the wav file in vdub as the audio. I've never had a problem with MC accepting a clip from virtual dub when I used a wav audio.

[lchiu7]

No, it's not POS crap hacked XviD codec. It's bought and paid for DivX Mpeg codec.
Thinking of switching to Cinepak, or WMV1, or something...

I didn't mean to say your codec was hacked - just that it was some form of MPEG4 which is the key difference as what I process is in MJPEG format. Well as somebody else noted your audio is in MP2 format while mine is in uncompressed PCM format (which is how it was captured)

Not sure xvid is a hacked codec either - isn't it an open source MPEG4 codec?

Larry

[reboot]

Semantics, "open source/hacked".
Going to try wav/pcm, thanks.

[barqy]

damn ceciillio, you were right...5 coasters later and....

the vid I have is 640x352

so I get a 1.81 ratio.

This doesn't seem to fit in with any of the categories as mentioned here:

ASPECT PAL NTSC
----------------------------------------------------------
2.50:1 412 340
----------------------------------------------------------
2.35:1 436 364
----------------------------------------------------------
1.85:1 554 462
----------------------------------------------------------
1.78:1 576 480
----------------------------------------------------------

I used MCE and just selected 16:9 (w/o changing anything else) and the dvd worked fine, except it was stretched, like the video covered more than the screen can handle.

what do you guys think?

[lchiu7]

Looks like you authored a widescreen DVD which seems like it has an anamorphic stretched image on it. Most commercial DVD's are now made that way and you can tell your DVD player to stretch it out (which actually drops lines) so that the AR looks okay, or if you have a widescreen TV or projector capable of 16:9 stretch out the image to get back to a normal AR

I often author DVD's at 16:9 using MCE and when played back on a projector stretch out the image.

[barqy]

Looks like you authored a widescreen DVD which seems like it has an anamorphic stretched image on it. Most commercial DVD's are now made that way and you can tell your DVD player to stretch it out (which actually drops lines) so that the AR looks okay, or if you have a widescreen TV or projector capable of 16:9 stretch out the image to get back to a normal AR

I often author DVD's at 16:9 using MCE and when played back on a projector stretch out the image.

so should i just keep my original file size of 640x352 and use 4:3? or will i have to resize?



I dont want the image to be stretched.

thanks.

[reboot]

For fun, I edited a 4:3 letterboxed avi to 16:9 aspect, then increased it's size to 640x352 (the same as yours).
I then encoded it in Mainconcept using the default DVD template.
Here's what happens:

Input avi:

REsized and cropped avi:

Output, first try:

Details, Advanced, set aspect ratio to 16:9 Display, and
VOILA!:

[barqy]

OK, so I did encoded another file with 4:3 display using MCE.

This seems to have fixed the horizontal stretch. However sometimes the subs (hardcoded) seem to be bigger than the screen it self. Very slightly though. I dont really mind this.


But, the vertical stretch is noticiable for sure.

I just kept the 640x352.

How do I figure out what the correct dimensions are besides guess and testing?

Am i suppose to change it to 352x480 as cecillio suggested?

I want to keep it as original as possible.

thanks a lot

PS: how would I add those black bars at the bottom and top of the screen, like reboot did?