feature film conversion to DVD - problems

[thefirstrule]

Hey all, thanks for helping out ahead of time!

We're trying to get a Feature Film out the door and are running very far behind with our scheduled release - we've been running into tons of problems and can't seem to get out of the quagmire. We shot a feature on 35mm film and converted to Digi-Beta (imported into Apple with the "FCP Uncompressed 4:2:2 settings). We edited everything on a 24p timeline (not 23.97, but true 24fps for working with the negatives, if we ever want to go back to film).

We originally planned on using Apple's Compressor, but after trying for almost two months (with render times hitting the 8 - 12 hour mark per burn, you can see how easily this happened), we kept getting some nasty jagged edges in our footage - like it was exporting the Uncompressed to the badly compressed minidv 5:1, and then going to mpeg. Since we did a lot of handheld stuff (it's an action film), it was tormenting to watch that beautiful stuff become, well, less than beautiful. Other than the jagged edges, everything else was good to go.

So last week, after 2 months of headaches, we switched over to ffmpegX and I do have to say, the footage looks great now (much better than the jaggedness we've been seeing). Plus, ffmpegX is easy to use (a full-on bonus). BUT, we're running into problems here too. Please read on...

When we try the burn with ffmpeg, we get great looking footage, and everything seems great, but DVDSP won't import the .mpv file without 1st formatting it to a 3:2 pulldown. No problem there, since ffmpegX can do that too. But the audio and video are out of sync by the end of the 82 minute film (you don't start to notice until halfway thru). We worked on syncing audio for 9 full months, so it was a big let down (a lot of the film was ADR, and we have prided ourselves in the fact that no one has noticed).

We've tried everything (and just about every different setting) and have gone thru the forum looking for answers, but haven't found anything that will help us sync up with ffmpeg settings, other than to use mpeg2enc.

So, we tried the mpeg2enc settings. It also looks great, BUT we get very jerky video. It seems like it drops a frame every second (like its combining 24p and PAL's 25p settings and dropping a frame when it sees the mistake). It's extremely noticeable, since it kinda strobes the last frame in certain places. And yes, we tried this with both versions: v and w and their respective binaries, but still had lots of jerk.

As stated above, I've tried all three versions of ffmpegX: t, v, and w - and the respectable older and newer binaries as well to make sure we covered all bases. None seem to work for us for some reason.

I've just conformed the feature with Cinema Tools to 23.98 (from the original 24p) in hopes that it will work, but I'm not holding my breath at this point (but my fingers are crossed). I just gotta know - are we doing something massively wrong? We were supposed to release this DVD last month (which was pushed back from an original release date of November/December!), so you can understand the stress we're under to get it out the door at this point.

Thanks - we would appreciate any help you can offer!

[rsgars]

Excuse me if this comes off a little rude but, you are working on a feature film, you're behind schedule and you're messing with a $15 trialware encoder? Am I missing something here? Shouldn't you be using Cinemacraft, or Mainconcept, or Sorensen or one of the ugly-expensive encoders that the real studio's use?

[thefirstrule]

Yeah, it may seem a little silly at first, but with all the good talk about Compressor, we thought we were the problem (not Compressor). Since everyone raved about Compressor so much, we weren't expecting to need to purchase DVD burning software (so it wasn't in our budget).

We're running Mac's, so we're kinda limited on software. After doing some research, we found ffmpegX was supposed to do a good job and was easy to use and ran on Macs.

Needless to say, at this point we don't need to invest a ton of time and money in a new program. So, instead of going out and throwing $2000 into Cinemacraft (and another $1000 into the computer that could run it), add to that the few days for the learning curve, we decided to give ffmpegX a whirl and were actually quite impressed with both the ease of use and the quality.

And, to be honest, we've just about run down the budget (we're an indie company, not some Hollywood million dollar production) so we're trying to keep enough in pocket to pay for the artwork, the cases, DVD's and such - it can get costly if you're not paying attention.

When $15 software works, its definitely better than shelling out $3000 for an indie feature that you pray you can at least break even on (hopes of profit are beyond our thought range at this point).

Cheers

[rsgars]

I'm not a mac man, so excuse me if this is a dumb question. FCP will render out an .avi file, right? Do you have any connections with someone who will do the conversion for you? What are you going to do once you have the master? Will you send it out to be pressed? Are you trying to fit this onto a single dual-layer DVD?

Send the .avi to me and for a reasonable fee I will encode it using CinemaCraft Basic. COntact me if you're interested.

[thefirstrule]

Mac does render out .AVI files, but they are usually ugly compared to their native .MOV files and/or a heckuva lot bigger (and thusly, the bandwidth to play them is thru the roof and quite unplayable in ordinary computers).

Digital doesn't mean it can go from one file type to another without some form of generational loss or another - and just because you can't always see it with the naked eye, doesn't mean there isn't digital loss (Tiff to Jpeg isn't always noticeable, but there is definitely a loss).

But, before I digress too far, we're dealing with uncompressed, 4:2:2 footage (while digibeta footage uses a 2:1 compression, when imported to Mac the files become Uncompressed). Either way, the main file is 104GB's - too big for ordinary transport without sending an entire drive, and too big for most drives to play without running a RAID.

Besides, (and I mean no offense by this) I'd rather use ffmpegX to do the work, if we could. That's why I posted to this forum.

Thanks

[rsgars]

No offense taken. Just thinking it might take you longer messing around with ffmpegX trying to get the right settings, or figure out if it can handle the job at all, than it would take to find someone with the proper equipment/software and have them do it. This time around anyway.

[DeusExMachina]

Hi:
Sorry it took me so long to reply, I have been suffering through a LOAD of technical problems, culminating in completely dead system.
Anyway, at this juncture, it would seem that the easiest solution would be to demux both your ffmpeg and mpeg2enc versions, take the audio from the mpeg2enc version, the video from the ffmpeg version, name them the same except for the extension, move the bad audio file or rename, then import the video file into DVDSP by dragging into the assets window; this will automatically import the working audio file and let DVDSP take care of remuxing when you go to final build.
There are some other solutions, too, but this should work. Let me know how it goes.

[DeusExMachina]

You can also try two additional things. The first is to change your decoder, by checking or unchecking the decode with Quicktime option.
The second is to use the <-async 1> command line option of ffmpeg.

[thefirstrule]

Hey Deus,
I think we're on track now. I'll know by tomorrow and I'll post my results when I do.

Thanks.

[DeusExMachina]

Just curious how it went.

[thefirstrule]

Hey Deus, thanks for checking in.

It's not so good - the ffmpeg settings are still throwing everything off by 1/2 a second or so. I'm gonna try and upgrade to version "w" again (I had converted back to "v" due to finding a post where someone said "w" did the same thing mine did [skip or something], so maybe the issue is gone?).

If I don't get it to work by tomorrow, I'm just gonna have to give up on it and purchase another DVD encoder (yuck, don't wanna do that).

Thanks

[DeusExMachina]

Did you try what I suggested above?

[thefirstrule]

I'm assuming it has to be decoded with Quicktime if it's an Uncompressed Quicktime file, correct? I'm getting errors otherwise.

Retrying with "w". The audio was taken right off the FCP timeline into AC3 (both a 24p timeline and a 23.976 timeline), so I shouldn't be bumping into issues there, correct?

As for the <-async 1> option, are you saying to use ffmpeg without the gui?

Cheers

[DeusExMachina]

What errors are you getting? I am not sure which of the decoders can handle 4:2:2, but I can't believe QT is the only one. Does it play in VLC? If so, I bet mplayer or ffmpeg can handle it.
That said, AC3 can always cause issues with Quicktime as the decoder.

Yes, you can use ffmpeg from the command line, or try VisualHub, another ffmpeg GUI that allows entering command line switches.

I thought you had said something about the audio on the mpeg2enc version being OK, but I can't find it now, so my muxing suggestion may be moot. If you still have the audio file from the Compressor encode, try muxing with that.

Also, what settings are you using in Compressor? Are you using a preset, or setting it yourself. Single pass or double pass? Improper Compressor settings can greatly effect output.

All that being said, I think the root of your problem is the 3:2 pulldown. What framerate are you setting on the record. You should NOT be setting it at anything but 24 fps. The 3:2 pulldown is usually performed in hardware in the player automatically. If you take a 24 fps film, convert it to 29.97 (NTSC) and then add the 3:2 pulldown flag using the tools (if that is even possible) it will give a player fits. Which brings up an important point. The reason you are getting jagged edges in Compressor is most likely the 3:2 pulldown. Because of the way fields are ordered to perform the pull, fast motion scenes invariable get jagged edges. That is what you are seeing when you try to play an interlaced file on a progressive monitor. These lines will not be as bad on a TV, but they are made worse if you encode as interlaced and add the 3:2 flag.
Instead, you should let the player do the work, encode at NTSC film frame rate (23.976) and add the pulldown afterward.
It is hard to know what the problem is without the error messages and the file to look at.

On possible work-around, regardless (if you have some extra space on the finished build) would be to use ffmpegX to convert the whole kit and kaboodle to NTSC video (29.97 fps) and let the player play it with no pulldown at all. This will always work, but adds to the file size (24 fps vs. 30 fps = 6 frames extra = 25% larger files.)
At that point there is no need to add the 3:2 pulldown flag, and you are golden. If your menus are not that elaborate, you could fit your film onto a single layer DVD with a bit rate of 7Mbps. If your menus are large motion menus, with 5.1 audio, this will be too large, and you should go with an average (VBR) bit rate of about 6Mbps. This will generate a 3.6 GB m2v file. I think you will find that this gives more than acceptable video quality.
If this is still too big, or for some reason the video quality suffer, you can always go to DL disks. They are more expensive, but you will have ample room to use full NTSC video frame rates, with 5.1 surround, complicated menus, multi-angle tracks, etc..

If none of this works, or even if it does, just post some of the information I asked for above, and I can take a look at it and see what else I can think of.

[thefirstrule]

Hey Deus,
This'll be kinda random, so my apologies up front (I'm getting tired - been a long day).

I borrowed a PC from a friend for the rest of the weekend and bought a copy of CCE Basic to try and hit the DVD from both sides. I figured at least one of these things has to work. I'm hoping I can figure CCE out and get it working while figuring out ffmpegX as well, since I'd love to have a side by side comparison to boot.

I agree - my problem is more than likely stemming from the 3:2 pulldown all the way around. I started out with 24fps Film, which was converted to DigiBeta (Non-Drop Frame NTSC time code), then imported onto the Mac Uncompressed with Uncompressed 10-bit 480i30. Then, using Cinema Tools, the 3:2 pulldown was removed and it was converted back to 24p. Needless to say, the files (and storage area) are still quite large, even after we cut out the extra 6 unneeded frames per second.

Now, in FCP, I reimported the 24p movie into a 23.98 timeline and then exported that back out, making a 23.98 movie. Weirdly enough, the film in a 24p timeline is 82m02s02f (minutes, seconds, frames) - but the 23.98 timeline messes everything up with 82m07s46f. Umm, 46? It shouldn't be any higher than 23. So I went in and looked at it frame by frame: 00,04,08,12,16,20,25,29,33,37,41,... Don't ask me - I can't figure it out, but it eventually jumps the numbers around and it ends around the 12th frame (if I'm counting correctly). Converting with Cinema Tools results in the same - btw: Cinema Tools says the timeline duration is 82m02s13f, no matter if it be 24p or 23.98p.

VLC can't read it. With that said, I know MPEG Streamclip 1.7 can.

As for what Compressor is doing, I have no clue. Maybe I'm too critical of it, but I've tried every setting, and it just can't get it right. The jaggedness makes the tree branches look "digital" to me. It almost looks like Compressor takes the footage to the minidv 5:1 compression BEFORE it goes to DVD (and I truly hate the look of minidv!). The best time to see it is when something cuts across the frame almost horizontally (ie, a straight object). It's as plain as day then - and when you have a slightly shaky tripod or a handheld shot, then you notice it even more. I'm talking still shots or moving shots (but especially noticeable in mostly still shots!). I think it's partially due to seeing the film's soft beautiful look, then Compressor just hacking it up to compress it down - not sure... I'm definitely not encoding in interlaced (unless there's a bug in compressor).

Also, DVDSP won't let you import a 23.98 M2V file unless it has 3:2 pulldown already (ffmpegX can add it, which is great).

The menus aren't large - but we do have a few extras, including the original film trailer, as well as a group (cast/crew) commentary, which is a small AC3 file at 80kbps - it really didn't need anymore than that.

I did try to adjust the audio by 0.1% for the 24p to 23.98p thing. I'm hoping that'll help (a friend told me to try that one). If not, I'm not sure what to do there, except try muxng and then demuxing as you said.

--Ok, here's some encoding progress info:
Encoding started on Fri Jun 16 18:48:23 EDT 2006
movtoy4m
Copyright 2002-2006 Johan Lindstr??m
All rights reserved..
Input #0, yuv4mpegpipe, from 'pipe:':
Duration: N/A, bitrate: N/A
Stream #0.0: Video: rawvideo, yuv420p, 720x480, 23.98 fps
Output #0, rawvideo, to '/Volumes/3000GB/FINAL.ff.mpv':
Stream #0.0: Video: mpeg2video, 720x480, 23.98 fps, q=1-20, pass 1, 6700 kb/s
Stream mapping:
Stream #0.0 -> #0.0
bench: utime=3139.490s
video:4030071kB audio:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.004089%
movtoy4m
Copyright 2002-2006 Johan Lindstr??m
All rights reserved..
Input #0, yuv4mpegpipe, from 'pipe:':
Duration: N/A, bitrate: N/A
Stream #0.0: Video: rawvideo, yuv420p, 720x480, 23.98 fps
Output #0, rawvideo, to '/Volumes/3000GB/FINAL.ff.mpv':
Stream #0.0: Video: mpeg2video, 720x480, 23.98 fps, q=1-20, pass 2, 6700 kb/s
Stream mapping:
Stream #0.0 -> #0.0
video:4030093kB audio:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 0.004935%
bench: utime=3131.573s
Encoding completed on Fri Jun 16 21:27:34 EDT 2006


--And here's part 2 (enabling 3:2 pulldown:
CURRENT GOP = 0 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 0
CURRENT GOP = 1 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 11
CURRENT GOP = 2 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 23
CURRENT GOP = 3 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 35
CURRENT GOP = 4 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 47
.
.
.
CURRENT GOP = 10402 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 118109
CURRENT GOP = 10403 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 118121
CURRENT GOP = 10404 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 118125
CURRENT GOP = 10405 COMPLETED FRAMES SO FAR = 118137

It depends on which timeline you are looking at, but I think it should be exactly 118130 frames from the 24p timeline (but from a 23.98 timeline, it may be something like 118141 for some reason).

Either way, after importing into DVDSP one more time, both the 24p & 23.98p exported audio don't match up.

Okay, if you can figure out half of what I said, then you're probably doing better than I am (tired people shouldn't write

Thanks

[DeusExMachina]

Before I really delve into it, I should say that I meant the error message you got when you tried to use anything other that Quicktime to decode.
Anyway, I did understand all that. Now I just have to mull it over a bit. And maybe major will chime in, too.

[DeusExMachina]

"I agree - my problem is more than likely stemming from the 3:2 pulldown all the way around. I started out with 24fps Film, which was converted to DigiBeta (Non-Drop Frame NTSC time code), then imported onto the Mac Uncompressed with Uncompressed 10-bit 480i30. Then, using Cinema Tools, the 3:2 pulldown was removed and it was converted back to 24p. Needless to say, the files (and storage area) are still quite large, even after we cut out the extra 6 unneeded frames per second. "


The problem may lie in here somewhere, I suspect.

"Now, in FCP, I reimported the 24p movie into a 23.98 timeline and then exported that back out, making a 23.98 movie. Weirdly enough, the film in a 24p timeline is 82m02s02f (minutes, seconds, frames) - but the 23.98 timeline messes everything up with 82m07s46f. Umm, 46? It shouldn't be any higher than 23."

Hmm… or here. There is something suspicious here. 46 DOES make sense, if you think of it in terms of fields as opposed to frames. If the file were actually i instead of p, then 82:07;46 (semicolon means drop frames) means frame 23. Which begs the question, did you encode from FCP in drop frame or non-drop frame? Therein may lie your problem. The problem with ffmpeg is that AFAIK, it encodes frame by frame, encoding a frame in the output for every frame in the input, instead of making 24 frames per second of video, on the fly. This, combined with the 3:2 pulldown, is the heart of your issue.
Now to figure out a fix…

[thefirstrule]

I'll try to get that for you in the morn (it's Encoding 24 to 29.97 via mpeg2enc.intel and so far it seems to look Ok - no jittery framerate yet). Afterwards, I have it setup to Enable 3:2 pulldown on the CCE stuff (trying to stay in 23.98p there too).

Cheers

[DeusExMachina]

OK well, I fell pretty confident the issue is the drop-frames. Here's why:
Because of the way drop-frames work (no frames are actually dropped, BTW) the non-dropframe version will always be shorter. The difference between 30 fps and 29.97 amounts to 108 f/hour. For your video, the 1:22:07;49? version is the one that runs the correct time. At 108fph, that makes a total of 148 (108+27.6+rounding error) frames for your video, or 4.93 seconds longer. Subtract that from 1:22:07;46 and you get approximately 1:22:02:04.8 (82:02:05 assuming :49 is from 60 fields) pretty darn close.
It seems that you are getting audio synced to the one, and the video of the other. My bet is that the issue is NOT ffmpeg, but rather FCP. I'd not be surprised if, upon re-rendering in FCP with the drop frames flag set correctly, your audio sync problems magically disappear in the final ffmpegX encode.

[thefirstrule]

Thanks again, Deus!

OK with mpeg2enc, the error is this: "Please remove spaces and special characters from your source filename and folders names." Doesn't even come up in the log - it just pops up and tells you this. Now, if you choose Quicktime, it starts Encoding instantly.

With ffmpeg, when Decode QT is unchecked, it fails instantly and you get this in red in the log: "Unsupported codec (id=0) for input stream #0.0"

I finally got CCE setup correctly last night and came in this morning to a fully working M2V file (woohoo!). Before heading out last night, I had setup ffmpegX to do the 3:2 pulldown so it could be imported into DVDSP (I like the fact that ffmpegX has a queue), but other than that (which is now added/fixed), the CCE file seems to work perfectly. I'll know for certain after I watch the DVD in its entirety to make sure there's no issues anywhere.

Watching the two side by side, 2pass VBR CCE versus 1pass mpeg2enc, depending on the footage and how much grain was in the film (we used a majority of 5298 Kodak, a 500T film, that was an older film and thusly had more grain), the CCE overall looks better, but there's a lot of places that they are equal in quality and quite a few places where the mpeg2enc encoded footage looks a little better than the CCE - of course, this is all personal preference. I also haven't compared ffmpeg in the mix yet.

Oh - The length of the CCE file is 82m06s47f (which I count to be about 12 frames). It is exactly 1 frame shorter than the audio, which I'm figuring it could be due to trimming off the last video frame or something along those lines. The length of the mpeg2enc file appears 7 frames longer at the finish, which, even thought it's shouldn't be too horribly noticeable, it is (I've gotta research that one some more to figure it out). It seems like it's a full second or two off towards the end, but that may just be me. Both ffmpegX and CCE encoded off the same, so I'm not going to point a finger at FCP just yet. Even more, it won't let you choose the dropframe flag when in 24/23.98 settings (at least it hasn't let me do it to date).

I'm going to keep trying to get ffmpegX to work over the rest of the weekend, even though I have a working CCE file. I really do want ffmpegX to work, since I need to be able to use the Mac straight thru without having to buy a PC just to burn DVD's. But, if I can't, it's PC time for this production facility...

Cheers

[DeusExMachina]

I still think the problem is with the drop frame settings, somewhere in the production chain.

that being said, the error in the mpeg2enc is weird, but avoidable. If the path in your output is as it is, there should be no problem but there appears to be. The issue is that when you deselect decode with Quicktime, and do not check Decode with Mplayer, the application defaults to decode with ffmpeg, and ffmpeg is very finicky with filenames. So, the solution is to simply check Decode with Mplayer. Mplayer deals with filenames better, although I have no idea why you are getting that error at all unless you changed an item in the path. Nonetheless, Decode with Mplayer should work.
Also, it would appear that ffmpeg can not decode 4:2:2 uncompressed (thus your red error message.)
In general, Mpeg2enc provides equivalent or slightly better encodes at high bit rates than ffmpeg, whereas ffmpeg blows them all out of the water at lower bit rates. If you are gonna go to the PC, try out TMPEGenc, which generally does the best job of the lot.
Before you go to the darkside, also try out VisualHub (another ffmpeg front end that allows switches, and in particular the async switch, to be passed to ffmpeg) and also for pay software try megapeg http://www.digigami.com/megapeg/index.php, which is quite time concuming for good results, but gives you almost frame by frame control over the encode, allowing you to tweak specific sections manually, instead of relying on the automated 2-pass.

This is a pretty good thread about all of them, including megapeg and bitvice. The developer of megapeg joins in the discussion to defend his app against complaints of bad macroblocking etc.. and explains how his software is intended to be used. It is quite informative.

[DeusExMachina]

Also, since most broadcast quality footage requires drop-frame timecode because of its proper timecode synchronicity, this is what Final Cut Pro defaults to. But your audio seems to have a non-drop timecode. You can tell if your footage is encoded in drop-frame timecode if it has a semi-colon like this: 00:30:15;12. Non-drop timecode uses a colon: 00:30:15:12. In Final Cut Pro it is fairly easy to change the timecode standard. Simply select the sequence you want to change the timecode of, then go to Sequence:Settings (Command-0). Select timeline options and uncheck the box marked “Drop Frame.” Now export your audio and video using this setting, and the two files should be consistent. I am not sure if this affects your chapter markers, but you should probably check.

[thefirstrule]

Hey Deus,
My Mac keeps locking up randomly, so I gotta make this quick (I think I am having a hardware conflicts due to the two Tempo-X cards, but haven't checked the log files well enough just yet to figure it out).

I said to heck with it and broke down and bought a PC for doing the 24p work. I usually don't work with 24p footage, but I did find out that 24p and 23.98p are like PAL, and don't have Drop Code.

We do a lot of film stuff here, since we do mainly corporate & industrial videos, as well as local commercials, which means we do a lot of NDF stuff.

I'll check those other progs out and see, since I'd much rather stay on one computer than pass files across the network and switch back and forth all day long (clogging up the network and killing two computers at once).

I appreciate all the help you've given. I'm gonna keep on trying from time to time, but I think I'm burnt out enough at this point that it's not gonna be too soon.

Thanks again

[DeusExMachina]

You shoulda just gotten an intel Mac mini or macbook; then you coulda run both OSes on one machine. You could then get Parallels Desktop to allow you to dual boot and copy files back and forth between the two OSes, just dragging files between partitions. Another upside is that yo could then use XGrid to network your macs and speed up your encodes.
Me, I just blew up my old 500MHz G4, and was able to find a 450 dualie for $45 to replace it last week. Also, just lost two drives, one 40 GB the other 200GB, possibly due to a crappy ATA USB bridge or an equally crappy USB 2.0 PCI card. was able to resurrect the 40 (I think) using Data Rescue, but I am still struggling with the 200.
I wish I had access to your files so I could check it out more closely. Maybe major will chime in at some point with another suggestion.
That being said, you should be able to get mpeg2enc to work if you just move the file to the root level of your drive, or rename you path folders
Also, you should try running it through MPEGStreamclip to see if it finds and timecode breaks

[DeusExMachina]

Just wondering how this all went.

[thefirstrule]

Hey Deus,
Finally pulled it off and managed to make a fully functioning DVD.

I was never able to use FFmpegX by itself without some sort of problem, but I did use CCE Basic and encoded with MPEG2 settings (versus the DVD settings, which added frames, kicking it from 24fps to 29.97 interlaced). But, since MPEG2 settings aren't able to be imported into DSP without adding 3:2 pulldown, FFmpegX did work quite well for that, which makes it a good tool to use in my book.

Anyway, we're actually selling the DVD's now (hurray). Not sure if we're allowed to post stuff like this on this site (but since it is relative to our topic, I'm hoping it doesn't get moderated), but the website is huntingdragonflies.com if you want to take a look at how the DVD turned out.

I personally feel the DVD looks great, especially for a 35mm feature film shot on a budget of $10,000!

Thanks again Deus, you were a lot of help!

[DeusExMachina]

Glad to hear it. From the trailer, the film seems sort of like the bastard step-child of local (at least to me) film legend George Romero and maybe Herschell Gordon Lewis. But with better production values!

Don't give up on ffmpegX. Having done a bit more research, I think the problem may be traceable to ffmpeg not correctly performing audio downsampling (I am not sure if you tried the audio sync flag in the CLI, or even if that would work.) Perhaps someday the ffmpeg folks will get around to fixing that. Too bad MEPG-2 is not garnering the attention it once did, now that it has lost some sex appeal, not being the brightest star in the video heavens any longer.

Anyway, it seems I am just north of you (behind the Steel Curtain®.) Maybe we will cross paths one day. Next time Adam is in need of a 5'9" half Korean half British computer nerd/former neuroscience major and Martial Arts fighter/actor/stuntman/choregrapher, let me know!! ha. (Hey how many blue-eyed Asians can there be?!)

Oh, and how about dropping the First Corinthians part and just calling the next film 12:21, á la Fox's 24? Similarly, I wrote a short story about envy that I called X. It was a bit tangential, but I got to that title from the original "Though Shall Not Covet" (which is the tenth commandment, so similar reasoning.) Or perhaps "Letters to the Corinthians?"

One last thing, back on topic. I know you already invested in CCE, but don't forget to give TMPGEnc a try. It is free and produces some of the best output you can get, if you have to be stuck with Windows.