DVD to XviD Conversion

[DJRumpy]

I can't help you with the PowerDVD problem. I'd suggest you check their webiste for help there. You should check the length of your avi in Virtualdub, and an OS player like Windows Media Player.

If the offset is all in the beginning, then you can offset the audio using the Audio -> Interleaving menu in VirtualDub. Just use a negative value to speed up the audio start. -1000 MS would be 1 second.

You can also use the Delayaudio() command in your AVISynth script to do the same. It's odd that your audio is offset only at the beginning, but the problem could have been introduced anywhere in the process.

Is the video length the same in the source and the AVI?

[Ashed]

I played the DVD with VLC and the length of the movie is still 7 seconds shorter than the XviD created.

[DJRumpy]

What, if any conversions did you use (pal/ntsc). Also, did you keep the audio as-is, or did you convert it to another format. Did the audio source extracted from the dvd have an audio offset reported?

Also, what script did you use?

[Xad]

I'm trying to convert a home made DVD to XVid but i have quality problems.

I followed the guide however, the quality of the final video is quite pixelly. When i was going though the 2nd pass i set the bitrate to 2000. I tried setting the bitrate higher to like 4000 just to test it, but it seems the bitrate gets brought down (i see the average bitrate window going lower and lower).

Am i doing something wrong which is causing the pixelly video? I'm pretty sure i followed to guide correctly. Weird thing is when i do the single pass method (as in no stat file just straight conversion) at 2000 bitrate i get better quality - but i read that 2pass encoding is supposed to give MUCH better results.

Anyone know whether i'm going wrong somewhere?

[DJRumpy]

That would depend on a whole variety of things, from your source's quality, to your settings. Also, is your DVD interlaced or progressive? What is the framerate? What audio bitrate does it have? Is your DVD actually DVD quality, or was it made from VHS, CAM, etc. You get the idea.

You need to supply more information.

[Xad]

Hi, heres some more info:
Video source: Sony Digital8
Video Length: just under 1 hour
Framerate 25 fps
Interlaced
DVD Bitrate: 8000
Quality: Very good - however, it was transferred from a camcorder - even though it was digital8 the quality isn't as good as retail DVDs - but still good.

I'm not sure about the audio as its a DVD a friend made and i'm not 100% sure how to check properly, however, in GSpot it says "DVD_LPCM_AUDIO"

[DJRumpy]

Ok, for the audio, your going to want to convert it to either AC3 or MP3 using BeSweet, or AC3Machine (or any other encoder you prefer). For your video, you need to ensure that you select "Interlaced Encoding" under the "Profile @ Level" settings. Also, make sure that your Maximum I-Frame Inerval is 250 (your frame frate times 10 or 25X10=250).

I think in your case, your audio is taking up all of your bitrate. PCM Audio is huge. Convert it to 128 bkps mp3 or ac3 and go from there.

2000 kbps for XviD is more than enough for even a noisy encode. It's possible your not following the steps properly so that when you save, your bitrate is not set properly. The bitrate option is only available for the second pass. It is not even an option for the first pass.

[Xad]

I did a few test files and left the audio out so that i can see what the video looks like and i still get pixelly video quality. I set the i-frame to 250 and had interlace selected and stuff - but quality was still the same. I went over the steps again several times and i can't see anything that i've missed. Could it be that its just because of the quality of the video? I mean its not bad quality, every things nice and all as you'd expect - its similar quality to MiniDV quality - even though i'm saying its similar it is slightly different as it was encoded to mpeg to for dvd - but the bitrate was set to max when that was done.

BTW, i tried splitting the file so that no audio exists on the audio file, as in i had an m2v file only (just video) -- but i still get the same pixelly quality.

edit: is there any place i can download .vcf files that contain settings for virtualdub so that i can try those? Does anyone here have their settings save so i can try that without setting all the configs myself just incase i am making a mistake somewhere?

[DJRumpy]

I would suspect your source quality isn't quite as good as you might think it is. You should examine the same frame in both your source copy (dvd) and the output AVI.

There is no reason that 2000 kbps wouldn't be enough to handle any normal sized AVI. What resolution are you resizing your AVI to?

About the audio: You don't really need to physically seperate your audio. I'm just suggesting you don't use PCM. Most people encode to XviD so that they can easily fit their video's onto smaller media like CD-R. The bitrate that you set when encoding your avi is strictly for the video. It has no bearing on the audio.

[Xad]

I didn't select a target size instead i selected the target bitrate - which i set to 2000 and then higher - seems to keep coming down though.

I did a test and left the 2pass method for once and played around with single pass - i noticed that if i set the bitrate at 2000 a similar thing happens, however - if instead of setting a target bitrate i use the "target quatitizer" method and say set it to 3 - the bitrate value in the xvid status window is HUGE - like it shows it being converted at around 10,000kbps. Of course the quality turns out to be great, but how come the value is SO high if i set it to quantitizer 3? Its not like i set it at 1 or even 2. In the past when i've converted files, such as direct minidv file conversion to xvid, and i set the target quantitizer to 2 even, the bitrate wasn't even that high....from what i can remember anyway.

Could this be a clue as to why the quality is like it is?

[DJRumpy]

Your avi's frame size (resolution) is either huge, or your video's quality is noisy, or your video has alot of motion/shakiness (think Blair Witch). What did you size your AVI to?

[hoangle]

First of all, I have to say this method is the best in converting DVD to XviD even though it might be difficult for newbies. Thanks to DJRumpy

Some opinions:
1. Using DGMPGDec instead of DVD2AVI and replace "mpeg2dec3.dll" with "dgdecode.dll" (in DGMPGDec folder)
2. If users do not have AVISynth, they can demux VOBs in DGIndex to .M2V file and open it in VirtualDubMod (V1.5.10 or later). However, I prefer to use AVISynth
3. Using BilinearResize for shrinking and BicubicResize for enlarging. LanczosResize usually slows and sharpens video, so the output video size must be large to keep the quality, otherwise, blockies will appear in faces. (You cannot distinguish Lanczos with Bicubic (or Bilinear when shrinking) after compression ).
4. Bitrate for 2nd-pass should not less than 60% of full-quality first pass
5. If video is interlaced, you should do deinterlacing before any filter. Smart Deinterlace Filter for VirtualDub is my preference.

[trippy]

Thanks for the update hoangle. Useful info.

[DJRumpy]

hoangle, Lanczos is simply more accurate, which when reducing, has the side effect of making the video appear sharper. Normally that might be a problem with a lesser format like CVD or SVCD, but clarity is definately desirable for XviD. XviD doesn't have the bitrate limitations of CVD, VCD, or SVCD. The sharpeness can be controled by the XviD matrix if desired. As for slowing down the encoding process, todays faster processors, and dual core chipsets don't even notice

Deinterlacing is not always assumed. It depends on your target display and whether or not it is progressive only, or interlaced, or capable of both. Deinterlacing a true interlaced material will always degrade quality. This should be a personal choice, not a 'rule' to follow.

[RezSav]

Hi, great guide. It was all going buddha for me up until the whole AVIsynth fiasco. I downloaded the plugin and installed it in the right place but I can't move the MPEG2Source("dvd2avi.d2v")script into WMP, it only says "cannot play file" Probably doing something stupid here, and I know you said talk about problems with AVISynth in the main forum, but I figured the problem wouldn't make sense without the context.

Thanks in advanced

[DJRumpy]

Hold down the shift key. Right click the .AVS file, and select OPEN WITH -> Windows Media Player. If you try to do a file -> open with WMP, it will tell you it's not a supported file. You can also just try dragging and dropping your file onto WMP.

If it still won't work, uninstall and reinstall AVISynth.

Before trying anything with AVISynth, you should have first tested it by trying to play the following script:

Version()

If that doesn't play in WMP, then it's not installed correctly.

[RezSav]

I was using the drag-and-drop move, but still nothing (referring to before). I did try the test and it worked with all the media players I have except WMP, so I don't know if its a problem with that or what. Anyway, thanks for your help.

[DJRumpy]

If it works with everything else, then I would say it's probably an issue with Windows Media Player. You can try associating a .AVS file with Windows Media Player and see if it still has an issue, but that shouldn't be necessary.

[TheRainmaker]

Great guide!
I found many kind of like this guide but i never find this answer:
Can i use more filters when i use VDM(after nullstorm,cropping?
I just want to use HSV filter too...
İf its possible how can i do that?
I have a idea for settings in HSV filter...
Just wanna know can i add that filter or not?



Thanks for your help...

[DJRumpy]

You can use any filter you like. Assuming it's available for AVISynth that is.

[TheRainmaker]

Do i have to write any script for that or AVISynth is grabbing automaticly?
Or when i use VDM just go and add filter?

[DJRumpy]

If your using VDM, then just add it in VDM.

[TheRainmaker]

I didn't understand this
"The first thing we want to do is open the D2V project file we created in Step 2, with AVISynth. We do this using the MPEG2DEC3 plugin we previously placed in our AVISynth 2.5 Plugins directory."

How can i open AviSynth?
Cause AviSynth is not aplication to run directly...

And i created movie.avs(with notepad(start/run "notepad") and there was MPEG2Source("dvd2avi.d2v") line in notepad) as you said but when i open with VDM it says:

AviSynth Open Failure:
MPEG2Source: The input file is not a D2V Project File.
(D:\MOVIE\VIDEO_TS\Ripped\Movie.avs, line 1)

Whats wrong with that?


Thanks for your helps...

[manono]

Hi-

How can i open AviSynth?

Assuming you have the MPEG2DEC3.dll in your AviSynth Plugins directory, and you created a D2V project file following the instructions, then a script like:

MPEG2Source("C:\Path\To\Video.d2v")

adjusted for your names and paths, should open in VDubMod, just as you would open an AVI.

Whats wrong with that?

If you installed AviSynth, stuck the MPEG2DEC3.dll in your plugins folder, created the D2V project file, and used MPEG2Source with the full path and correct names inside of an .avs file, then it will open.

However, that guide is very old and out of date. For more information about the process, and about how to upgrade your tools, read this:

http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/QuickStart.html

Also, get the latest DGMPGDec package which includes DGIndex (replaces DVD2AVI), the DGDecode.dll (replaces the MPEG2DEC3.dll ), and 3 very good guides for getting started with AviSynth and MPEG2Source/D2V.

Or, just use AutoGK to go from DVD to AVI, and study how it does it, until you understand better what's going on.

[DJRumpy]

Yeah, I do need to update it, as the dll's have changed. In either case, your path in the .AVS file is either not pointing to the actual .D2V file, or your MPEG2DEC3 DLL isn't in your plugins directory.

[TheRainmaker]

First of all thanks so much for quick answer...
"http://neuron2.net/dgmpgdec/QuickStart.html"
That website is too complicated for me...
I know to use GK and AGK very good... its no problem...
I Just liked DJRumpy's guide cause i need to add more effects as like filters to my avi file by VDM...
PS: I already downloaded MPEG2DEC3.dll in AviSynth Plugins folder....

[DJRumpy]

That's odd. It sounds like something is wrong with your D2V File then. What version of DGIndex are you using to create your D2V file?

[TheRainmaker]

That's odd. It sounds like something is wrong with your D2V File then. What version of DGIndex are you using to create your D2V file?

Normally i used DVDToAvi as you said in your guide...
But my DGIndex version is 1.4.9.7 in AviSyth Plugings folder...

[DJRumpy]

The version of DVD2AVI or DGIndex must match the MPEG2DEC3 plugin you use. I updated the guide a few months ago to indicate you should be using DGIndex, and not DVD2AVI. Just recreate your D2V file with DGIndex and you should be fine.

[TheRainmaker]

The version of DVD2AVI or DGIndex must match the MPEG2DEC3 plugin you use. I updated the guide a few months ago to indicate you should be using DGIndex, and not DVD2AVI. Just recreate your D2V file with DGIndex and you should be fine.

If i use the DGIndex so should i change that line?
"MPEG2Source("dvd2avi.d2v") "