Source files and CODECS that work together!

[jjv]

There seem to be a lot of problems encoding and/or playing files that work the way they are supposed to with ffmpegX. I am having problems with ffmpegX myself but I refuse to give it up, ffmpegX still gives me the highest quality videos … even with its bugs.

Down below, I provide a basic pre-processing (pre-ffmpegX) workflow that match a few ffmpegX CODECS with a source file format, this process allows me to obtain excellent final videos with ffmpegX … working around the bugs … at least this process works for me on my G4 Mac.

To be fair to ffmpegX; it is my understanding that most of the problems with ffmpegX are probably the results of the changes Apple made with OS X 10.4.x, these OS changes caused problems for and/or broke many encoding applications, modules, and CODECS … not just ffmpegX. I also wonder how many of the problems I am experiencing with ffmpegX are caused by the Open Source Modules, CODECS, and ffmpegX itself being complied & optimized for G5 Mac’s and I am using a G4 Mac … maybe none, but I wonder.

Also the problems I am experiencing with ffmpegX seem to be erratic, I think all the OS updates, CODEC updates, Open Source Module updates, binary updates etc., etc., all from different sources, all trying to fix their own problems, are breaking or causing problems for each other, thus the erratic problems and behavior of ffmpegX.

Whatever the source of the problems I hope they can be fixed soon, and as long as ffmpegX does what I want I will use it.

If I am wrong about any of this … I am sure someone out there will try to correct me.

I do a lot of broadcast HDTV recording with my MAC (.m2t or .TS files) and some re-encoding of .VOB or .PS files. In my efforts to overcome the current problems with ffmpegX, I have found that the following PRE-PROCESING of the original source files with MPEG Streamclip solves most of my problems with ffmpegX.

Pre-process the original file with MPEG Streamclip …
1) Open original source file in MPEG Streamclip.
2) Fix Time Code Breaks.
3) Edit or cut out commercials or any other undesired parts of video.
4) Fix Time Code Breaks again.

5a) FOR ENCODING WITH “H264 [.MP4] (mencoder)” IN ffmpegX:
Use MPEG Streamclip to “Convert to MPEG”. This saves an MPEG2 video with AC3 (2 channel) audio. I can’t make any other source file format work with ffmpegX when using the “H264 (mencoder)” CODEC, however the resulting file works perfectly on my Mac, I have yet to test the files on Toshibas new HD-DVD player.

5b) FOR ENCODING WITH "XviD [.AVI] (mencoder)" IN ffmpegX:
Use MPEG Streamclip to “Convert to MPEG with MPEG2 audio”. This saves a file with MPEG2 video with MPEG2 (2 channel) audio. The resulting “XviD [.AVI] (mencoder)” files are working perfectly in my Phillips DVP642 DVD player and my Mac. I can’t make any other source file format work with ffmpegX when using the “XviD (mencoder)” CODEC, nor can I get any other MPEG4 CODEC to work correctly ... no matter what source file format I use.

It used to be the other way around; the “MPEG4 [.AVI] (mencoder)” settings used to work perfectly in the past versions of ffmpegX and all the other MPEG4 CODECS had problems. The “MPEG4 [.AVI] (mencoder)” will still play OK on my Mac, but will not play on my Phillips DVD player.

5c) FOR ENCODING A VIDEO_TS … USING “DVD (ffmpeg) quick preset” IN ffmpegX:
to create MPEG2 files for a normal DVD player.
Use MPEG Streamclip to “Convert to “MPEG with MPEG2 audio”.
In ffmpegX change audio settings to MP2 audio, I can’t get AC3 audio to work.

You can of coarse change many of the settings in ffmpegX to achieve the quality of video vs. encoding time you desire … within the limits of ffmpegX.

The above works FOR ME with my G4 Mac and OS X 10.4.x. I am curious if the workflows above will work for different hardware and OS configurations.

I hope this post helps some of you out there using ffmpegX and experiencing problems.

[rumplestiltskin]

Your post is heading in a number of directions so I won't even attempt to address all of them.

AC3 audio - still a problem for many Macs (even though the AC3 decoder works on some versions of OSX and is "iffy" on Intel Mac. Certainly H264 on the iPod won't work with AC3.

Generally, whatever you should do depends a great deal on where you hope to end up. I, too, like MPEG Streamclip for an "intermediate transcode", so to speak.

I've stopped burning DVDs and have bypassed the DivX disc players (like the DVP642, etc.). I do H264 for iPod and tweak some of ffmpegX's settings to maximize quality for playback on my TV using the iPod AV cable. I know it's not DVD quality but, frankly, if I want that, I'll just head down to Blockbuster and rent it. I don't own a plasma set (and probably won't buy one).

You suggested that there might be something different about using a G5 rather than a G4 with ffmpegX. There is an altered version of ffmpegX floating around that was optimized strictly for G5 but it's not something Major developed. I did try it (when I owned a G5 - I traded it for an Intel iMac) and got marginally better results.