Converting .mp2 audio directly to .ac3 possible?

[russurquhart1]

Hi,

I;m using the EyeTV 200 to convert video to MPEG2 prior to bringing it into DVDSP 2 to create a dvd.

I;m demuxing the mpeg2 stream that is converted to the video and audio parts. I then take the .mp2 audio to .aiff via Amadeus, and then convert eh .aiff to .ac2 with A.Pack.

Is there any way to take the .mp2 audio to .ac3 without the intermideiate .aiff file?

Thanks


Russ

[Thargok]

mencoder or ffmpeg could do it.

[mhar4]

Yes, ffmpegX has a preset which should do that conversion.

I am wondering russurquhart1 if you could give us a report on how you find the EyeTV 200?

[russurquhart1]

Thanks, I'll give ffmpeg a try. I have ffmpegx, and thought that is should be able to do this as well but had no luck. (IMO, their interface could be a little less confusing.)

As far as a review of the EyeTV 200. I got it a week or so ago and am still trying to find out all its features. Previously i was taking old VHS tapes and wanting to convert for use in creating a nice DVD in DVDSP 2. I would bring in the video to final cut pro using the Sony analog to DV box and then convering the Quicktime file to Mpeg 2 via Bitvice. This was a workable solution for me, but it was just the time the Bitvice took. Don't get me wrong, i think Bitvice is an excellant product, but it just takes time. For some of the things i wanted to convert, i really didn't fell the time was justified.
Anyway, i was reading on here about the EyeTV 200 and began to look into it for converting my video files in real time.
After speaking to Nick on their support, i found out that it was indeed a variable bit rate encoding that was supported. With that, i decided to give the box a try.
At first i thought that there might be some problems as i could not get an entire movie to be encoded. (The import would just quit after a time.) After downloading a software upgrade, this problems seems to have gone away. I was now able to download an entire 2 hour movie at one time.
Also, the preset settings for minimum and maximum variable bit rates, didn't include the ones i had been used to using under Bitvice (at least max of 7.5, with a minimum of 4.5) After taking to Nick again, he showed me how to access these values directly and put any value i wanted.
So the testing has begun, and i'm kind of at the end of that. For my test, I took the same 2 minute sample and encoded it in Bitvice, with my normal settings, and through EyeTV using different bit rate settings. I was looking for which video looked better as well as what was the size of the generated segments. (This still ultimately has to fit on a dvd.)
So far, IMO, the quality of the EyeTV generated files were as good, if not a little better in some areas, as the Bitvice generated files. As far as the size went, in my test sample, each of the EyeTV generated files were smaller than the Bitvice files. Also, since they were generated in realtime, they took less time to generate (2 minutes vs. 30 minutes ).
The EyeTV software also gives some basic, but useable editing software for your Mpeg2 files.
I guess my thoughts are that i've been pleased enough to keep using the EyeTV and take it to the next level and convert a whole movie.

Hope this helps!

Russ

[decay]

thanks for the detailed report!

dk

[mhar4]

Ditto

[promoter]

Thanks, I'll give ffmpeg a try. I have ffmpegx, and thought that is should be able to do this as well but had no luck. (IMO, their interface could be a little less confusing.)

I also find ffmpegX's interface a bit daunting, but using the presets to convert between .mp2 and .ac3 is simplicity itself (I'm using version 0.0.9L). Just choose your input file, select the appropriate preset from the pulldown menu, and click OK. I've done conversions both ways between the two formats quite easily.

[russurquhart1]

Thanks, I'll give ffmpeg a try. I have ffmpegx, and thought that is should be able to do this as well but had no luck. (IMO, their interface could be a little less confusing.)

I also find ffmpegX's interface a bit daunting, but using the presets to convert between .mp2 and .ac3 is simplicity itself (I'm using version 0.0.9L). Just choose your input file, select the appropriate preset from the pulldown menu, and click OK. I've done conversions both ways between the two formats quite easily.

Hi,

Thanks that did the trick. Turns out i had an older version (0.0.8d). Once i upgraded, that did the trick!

Thanks

Russ

[born bad]

I've found using the "Movie audio to ac3" preset on the MPEG much faster than "Audio file to ac3" using the MP2. I haven't noticed much difference in encoding time, but the file takes several minutes longer to be transferred to the Progress qeue when transcoding from MP2.