Encoding problem (small one but anoying)

[eros28]

I've been using TEMPGEnc Plus to encode my Avi's and have followed the instructions and tips of the guides on this site, however when I play my the DVDs i've made (using TEMPGEnc Plus, TEMPGE DVD Author and Nero ) there appears to be blocks on the screen when there is a dark or almost black scene. I wonder if this is considered ghosting or is there another term for this. It only happens in dark or almost black scenes. Its a small problem and I can live with it but if there is some setting I can play around with or another encoder that can do a better job in getting rid of the blocks then I'd like to give it a shot.

I must say that my primary DVD player at this moment is my Xbox.
I use Memorex DVD-R media (from a cake spindle)

If anyone has any tips I'd greatly appreciate it.

[daamon]

Hi eros28,

What are the settings (particularly the bitrate, if applicable) you're using in TMPGEnc the encoder?

[ZippyP.]

It's macroblocks and is caused by using too low a bitrate when encoding, it's probably present in the AVI. To minimize it you must use a high enough bitrate and you can turn on "soften block noise" under the quantize matrix tab.

[daamon]

It's macroblocks and is caused by using too low a bitrate when encoding, it's probably present in the AVI. To minimize it you must use a high enough bitrate and you can turn on "soften block noise" under the quantize matrix tab.

That was my first thought ZippyP., but then I re-read the bit...

It only happens in dark or almost black scenes.

That's why I asked what settings were used - I was wondering if it was a case of too high a bitrate. I thought this because I've encoded stills (JPGs) before now and got macroblocks, and the solution was to lower the bitrate... I wondered if this was a similar thing (especially if it's VBR, to lower the minimum)?

[eros28]

Well I use
23.976 (internally 29.97 FPS) Frame Rate
CBR
The bitrate is the value I get from Bitrate Calculator. For this particular avi the run time is 1:30:34 with a 1.90:1 ratio and a 128kbs/s audio rate is 6607.
I use VirtualDub to save the audio into a wav file and then use TMPGEnc for encoding the video only.

Video format is NTSC (for both the avi and the output) at 9 DC, Motion Estimate Search, 3:2 pulldown when Playback

[ZippyP.]

I thought this because I've encoded stills (JPGs) before now and got macroblocks, and the solution was to lower the bitrate...

Learn something new everyday!

[daamon]

Mmmm..... 6607 should be OK - especially for totally dark, or nearly dark parts.

I wonder if there's artefacts in these dark parts that aren't visible to the naked eye, but are (very) noisy to TMPGEnc? What d'ya think ZippyP.?

@ eros28 - Try encoding the same footage (or just a portion that has a few mins either side of a problem dark area) but using VBR with:

Max = 8,500
Avg = 6607
Min = 1000

And other settings the same... See how that goes.

[eros28]

Thanks Daamon...I will try that. Do I have to set TMPGEnc to 'Manual VBR'? or Could I try 2-pass (but I guess that will take longer, but with better results I imagine)

ZippyP --> If I enable the "soften block noise" option do I leave the 'intra and non-intra block numbers as is or can I take them up to 40?

[daamon]

Sorry, I should've said - "2-pass VBR"

[FulciLives]

Sounds like a luminance problem to me (since it is very noticealbe in the black parts).

This is the reason I stopped using TMPGEnc Plus as my MPEG-2 encoder (I use CCE now aka Cinema Craft Encoder).

As for TMPGEnc Plus you might want to try the opposite setting from the default for the "dreaded" option entitled, "Output YUV data as Basic YCbCr not CCIR601"

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
If you are doing a 2-pass VBR MPEG-2 for DVD then try setting the MIN at 2000kbps ... setting it lower can cause macroblocks.