Can't create a h.264 video at any setting

[one09jason]

I have tried the last two versions of ffmpegX, and no matter what combination of settings I choose, I cannot create a h.264 video that will play with quicktime. I end up with a file that quicktme says it "can't understand", or a file that opens witha scrubber the correct lenght of the video, but no video and no sound. For input, I am using a variety of VOB files that play correctly in players like VLC. I have tried:

default iPod h.264 setting
default MP4 h264 setting
just about all the possible combinations using the "H264 [.MP4] (mencoder)" and "H264 [.MP4] (x264)" codecs, including using the "Decode with Quicktime" option.

Using other codecs works fine, including MPEG4 [.MOV] (ffmpeg). I really like ffmpeg and want it to work. What could be going wrong?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[PiggyWiggy]

Nothing is wrong at all.. Quicktime can't play h.264... Use VLC, that should work fine.

[one09jason]

Uh, what? Am I missing something, or are you? If QuickTime doesn't play h.264, then what does this mean from Apple's website...

Built into QuickTime 7
Because H.264 is now an integral part of the QuickTime 7 architecture in Tiger, QuickTime-based applications — including iChat AV, Final Cut Pro HD and a litany of third-party applications — can take full advantage of this incredible new video codec.

And why do all thesse h.264 videos play fine for me...

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/guide/hd/

Anyway, the problem h.264 files in question won't open in VLC either.

[one09jason]

Aha, a clue! I looked into the "Process Information" window when the encoding finishes, and the last line reads:

"error: movie contains no audio tracks!"

I don't understand this error, b/c if I play the source VOB in VLC, I certainly hear an audio track, and if I click "Info" on the Summary tab in ffmpegX, it reads:

"Audio : Mpeg 1 layer 3
112 kbps 44100Hz
Stereo, No emphasis"

Looks like there's an audio track to me.

[Case]

"Audio : Mpeg 1 layer 3
112 kbps 44100Hz

That's odd, cause VOBs usually have audio in other formats than mp3, and audio sampled at 48 kHz.

[PiggyWiggy]

Sorry about my ignorance ^^... The VOB file having an mp3 audio stream is indeed weird though... But my knowledge only goes so far.. Don't have much of a clue what could cause all this.

[rumplestiltskin]

Demux the VOBs (ffmpegX or MPEG Streamclip or bbDemux will do this), convert the audio to another format (Audiocity will do this), and combine the tracks (any number of apps will do this). Then run it through ffmpegX again.

You can also combine the tracks as a QT reference movie and drop that ref movie into MPEG Streamclip. That app has no problem working with ref movies (ffmpegX can't do this yet).