Nothing will encode!

[starwerx]

I am trying to use mencoder to encode a VIDEO_TS folder to an avi... I have tried with several VIDEO_TS folders... all are unencrypted and region-free. The ffmpeg progress window comes up and after only about one minute it finishes and leaves me with an unplayable 12k file... what should be between 600mb and 700mb.

I have tried deleting ffmpegx and the ffmpeg folder from the application support folder and reinstalling/re-downloading all files and binaries... this hasn't worked with various versions of ffmpegx and the binaries.

The Video_TS folder will play out fine with m-player

The program used to work (ffmpegx-d worked fine) but after I reinstalled everything on my ibook(800Mhz,640MB,30GB-HD,32VRAM, OSX 10.3.7) all of a sudden I can't encode anything. What should I try next? Thanks.

[starwerx]

Here, for those who understand any of this stuff, is what gets displayed in the ffmpeg progress info window... maybe it will help?:

Encoding started on Thu Jan 13 23:56:59 EST 2005
MEncoder dev-CVS-041116-19:27-3.3 (C) 2000-2004 MPlayer Team
AltiVec not found
CPU: PowerPC
Reading /Users/justin/.mplayer/codecs.conf: Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: Using built-in default codecs.conf.
libdvdread: Couldn't find device name.
Font /usr/local/share/mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 1 titles on this DVD.
There are 24 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
DVD successfully opened.
success: format: 0 data: 0x0 - 0xe74a0800
MPEG-PS file format detected.
VIDEO: MPEG2 720x480 (aspect 3) 29.970 fps 7800.0 kbps (975.0 kbyte/s)
[V] filefmt:2 fourcc:0x10000002 size:720x480 fps:29.97 ftime:=0.0334
================================================== ========================
Opening audio decoder: [liba52] AC3 decoding with liba52
No accelerated IMDCT transform found
AC3: 5.1 (3f+2r+lfe) 48000 Hz 448.0 kbit/s
No accelerated resampler found
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, 16 bit (0x20), ratio: 56000->192000 (448.0 kbit)
Selected audio codec: [a52] afm:liba52 (AC3-liba52)
================================================== ========================
Opening video filter: [expand osd=1]
Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1 (-1=autodetect) osd: 1
Opening video filter: [scale w=560 h=320]
================================================== ========================
Opening video decoder: [mpegpes] MPEG 1/2 Video passthrough
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Mpeg PES)
The selected video_out device is incompatible with this codec.
VDecoder init failed
Opening video decoder: [libmpeg2] MPEG 1/2 Video decoder libmpeg2-v0.4.0b
MP3 audio selected
Selected video codec: [mpeg12] vfm:libmpeg2 (MPEG 1 or 2 (libmpeg2))
================================================== ========================
Building audio filter chain for 48000Hz/2ch/16bit -> 48000Hz/2ch/16bit...
ODML: Aspect information not (yet?) available or unspecified, not writing vprp header.
Writing AVI header...
Setting audio input gain to 5.000000
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is 1.78:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 2 -> 2
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 2 -> 2
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 2 -> 2
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 2 -> 2
SwScaler: FAST_BILINEAR scaler, from Planar YV12 to Planar YV12 using AltiVec
videocodec: libavcodec (560x320 fourcc=58564944 [XVID])

[major]

There are no visible errors in this output. There is no other message past this line when the encoding is finished?

[starwerx]

no... I just tried encoding again... this is everything in the info file. Same result as well.

Any ideas?

[major]

Try to enable the "Open in terminal window" option and check what happens when it finishes.

[starwerx]

Here's what it spat out at the end, after the last line that I posted before, in Terminal:

sh: line 1: 1466 Illegal instruction '/Library/Application Support/ffmpegX/mencoder' dvd://1 -dvd-device /Volumes/LaCie/Open\ Water\ 81min/VIDEO_TS -dvdangle 1 -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=128:vol=5 -srate 48000 -aid 128 -ovc lavc -sws 0 -lavcopts threads=2:vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1063:keyint=240:vq min=2:vqmax=15 -ofps 23.976 -vop scale=592:320 -noodml -o /Volumes/LaCie/Movies/Open\ Water.avi

[hazard]

I have the same problem, weather or not its set to "open in terminal window" regardless of the codec. OR where the target file goes to, of where the source file is (or how the source was removed from the DVD).

This is on my ibook (14.1in 900mhz G3, X.3.7, 640ram), on my tower, the only notable diffrence between this iBook and my tower is the Tower is a G4 (dual 867, with more ram, and a 9800pro, none of which should matter).

I get the same output (well, with diffrent names), it "claims" to be done, then gives me a file with an AVI header but no data (regardless of what's in the file, its only 16k-which isn't right). I've removed the ffmpegx components (menc and mplyer) from the folder they install to (which I don't remember off the top of my head) and reinstalled it from scratch doezens of times. No affect. I've even tried running the program on a NEW profile (a new user account), same thing. About the only thing I haven't tried is wiping my drive and reinstalling panther (which I think is completely unncessary).

The only remaining thing I haven't done is installed the newer version of ffmpegx on my bro's laptop, see if it does the same thing (its identical to mine, but with stock 256 ram).

I've pretty much torn my hair out only to determine that the current verion of ffmpegx either hates my ibook, or hates G3s.

Given, as of right now I can still do the encoding I need to (because my tower can do two at once, as the MPEG4 encoder appears to be unaware of how to use two CPUs, so running two encodings effectively uses 200% CPU (which ends up being 100% of the system, otherwise there's still ~50% idle)


I'd much rather prefer if it gave me error messages, because I can do something about those, but as of right now, all it says is that somethings wrong with a perfectly good commandset (which is OBVIOUSLY fine, because it works FINE on my tower). (I'm not trying to be hostile.)

EDIT: the one other thing I haven't tried is going back a few versions to see if I can't find the last version in which ffmpegx worked on my ibook, because it used to work fine...

[starwerx]

Major... Have you heard of any problems like this specifically with G3s? or Maybe G3s with OS X 10.3.7? or do you think it has nothing to do with this? Any other options you can offer?

[hazard]

Hrm, fiddling with my laptop on the bus home yeilded that converting an avi made by my tower worked, or at least having ffmpegx convert the AC3 sound track to mp3 does.

The only diffrence between this file and the VOB that it was from, is that this file is an AVI (which is admittedly a big diffrence).

At any rate, it means that SOMETHING works. Just not everything.

Perhaps the problem lies somehow in a 'disagreement' with one (or more) of the following:
G3 CPUs (or just G3 ibooks), ffmpegx0.0.9r, 10.3.7, a vob source file

Regardless of the cause, its not apparent because there are no error messages.

[major]

Yes, it is highly probable that the current version of mencoder with all optimizations does not support non-altivec CPUs. Try ffmpegX 0.0.9k from http://homepage.mac.com/major4/download.html

[starwerx]

now I get this in terminal:

Encoding started on Wed Jan 19 16:59:11 EST 2005
MEncoder dev-CVS-040614-23:18-3.3 (C) 2000-2004 MPlayer Team

AltiVec not found
CPU: PowerPC
Reading /Users/justin/.mplayer/codecs.conf: Can't open '/Users/justin/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: Can't open '/usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
Using built-in default codecs.conf.
File not found: 'frameno.avi'
Failed to open frameno.avi
Reading config file /Users/justin/.mplayer/mencoder: No such file or directory
-dvd N is deprecated, use dvd://N instead.
Exiting... (error parsing cmdline)

This is with version "0.0.9k"... what is this about?

[major]

Version 0.0.9k uses older mencoder and mplayer binaries. Run the ffmpegX engines installer included with ffmpegX 0.0.9k and use the older binaries from http://prdownloads.sf.net/mplayerosx/ffmpegxbinaries.sit

[starwerx]

Ah... that fixed it... thanks... I guess its a processor thing. Anyway that could get fixed in later versions? hopefully by version 1.0?

[starwerx]

That help was way worth the registration fee, btw... I just paid... hope my $15 gets put to good use. Thanks major.

[hazard]

Horay!

It works now!

Any chance in the future that you'll get around to making a special un-optimized version for G3s? Or just making the optimized version operate on G3s?


Cuz I really like some of the features of 9r

[hazard]

How come in version k the time it takes for ffmpegx to start encoding is so small, but in version r (even on my tower) it takes an eternity.

The length of time seems to be related directly to how long the movie segment it's being told to encode is, more chapters, more waiting to hide or minimize the ffmpegx window, and more time to wait until I can start setting for another encode to run after the first is finished. Its doing something, because there is lots of CPU usage and disk activity...but version K (on my ibook) dosen't do that...

Is this a common problem? (if it is, I'll just be quiet, and await the next exciting update!)

[major]

I think this should only happen with some VIDEO_TS folders. Can you confirm? If it is the case I can find a fix.

[hazard]

It happens to all the ones I have (that being all the DVDs I have encoded with version R). The only way to make the delay small is to tell it to encode a small section (which would make it so it only has to scan a small section wouldn't it?), small section being 1 chapter, but it only seems to do it with VOB files (the painfully long wait thing that is).

One other thing I've noticed, is that if I use Mac the Ripper to pull the DVD from the disk, and I tell MTR to do a title only or title/chapter rip it leaves me with one VOB file. Which I'd think (and was hoping) would allow me to encode it as is, making it so I wouldn't have to eat up so much drive space temporarily, but it does this:

libdvdread: Couldn't find device name.
Reading disc structure, please wait...
libdvdread: Can't open file VIDEO_TS.IFO.
Can't open VMG info!
Cannot open file/device.
Exiting...

I'm guessing that's because libdvdread sees it as a DVD, but its only a specific part, and it gets confused. I'm also guessing that its not fixable.

[major]

0.0.9s to be released later today can encode the single VOB file created by Mac The Ripper inside a VIDEO_TS folder.

As per the VIDEO_TS delay said before, I will fix it in 0.0.9t (no time left before release of 0.0.9s).

[hazard]

Cool, thats great!