Youtube Upload, increase quality/control (HQ hack obsolete)

[frifox]

it takes some time for "&fmt=18" version to be available... give it 1hr or so and then check back

[mikejf]

Can anyone verify this? What if you upload a HQ flv (or whatever format), 3 or 4 minutes with the black padding to make it 10:59 in length, and then playback with the &fmt=18

It appears to make it playback in higher bit rate- it did with one of my edit hacked flv vids on June10 and it it plays in HQ (with the &fmt=18). I will try another today with no hack.

[frifox]

it seems that youtube leaves FLV's with resolution less than 16x16 in original format without converting to LQ... so far all of my 16x12 uploads stayed HQ

that got me thinking, how does youtube check for resolution? after some experimenting i found that youtube apparently checks first video packet's resolution and takes that as your video's resolution.

by simply faking first video packet's resolution to something like 16x12, youtube will leave your uploads in HQ... which is pretty much what babymammoth's w16 method is all about =D

EXAMPLE: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_S0-mhiTd9I


PS: video packet's resolution is a set of 4 hex-pairs, if format "WW WW HH HH"... its the 16th hex pair after the 09 (start of the video packet)....

PS: 16x12 would be "08 06 11 1F"

[bayme]

by simply faking first video packet's resolution to something like 16x12, youtube will leave your uploads in HQ... which is pretty much what babymammoth's w16 method is all about =D

EXAMPLE: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_S0-mhiTd9I

PS: video packet's resolution is a set of 4 hex-pairs, if format "WW WW HH HH"... its the 16th hex pair after the 09 (start of the video packet)....

PS: 16x12 would be "08 06 11 1F"

Interesting, let's keep this one alive for a while I mostly hope YT does not re-encode later what is considered final now, i.e. it keeps its software off current status anti-re-encoded vids.

[rajman]

Ive been trying new methods also and I hope I have got it right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omMGdnHcFiE

I hope it doesnt get re-encoded later on And oh Frifox plz accept my friend request on Youtube (as I have a new account) so I can message you instead of posting on your wall XD

[NicksVideo]

I'm curious as to how you're getting these to work. I've edited my video width down to 16x12 thanks to the information frifox posted, but whenever I upload, it gives me the "failed to convert" error.

Rajman, I notice in your .flv's you add the "08 06 11 1F" hex in a different location. Any help would be appreciated!

[vhelp]

Poo, I miss the old YT flash player version, the one with the resolution button. I can't seem
to get it anymore. Also, you guys keep posting long videos. My dial-up can't take the beeting.
Yeah, post some short ones too, for us guys still pushing wheel barrols, you know

(As much as I've been following these threads, I realize that you post some of these clips for test
purposes in all but I like to view them for their content, too. And since my work has blocked YT, I
can't view or D/L them anymore. So I'm stuck in the slow lane unfortunately. So sometimes its
nice to see a short snip if it can be thrown in the tests too)


Thanks,

-vhelp 4713

[babymammoth]

Rajman, I notice in your .flv's you add the "08 06 11 1F" hex in a different location.

Yes, it`s like frifox`s timestamps. No matter where or which you change,
same situation on changing dimensions, it could be on the very start of video
or in the middle or at the end.

simply you can join videos one proper content 480x360 and second short video
with mentioned dimensions 16x576

we have to check possible short the 16x576 part
and if this must be real 16x576 or just HEX injected

Guys it`s amazing how this w16 develop,
i announce We got new HQ method! (and thumbnails are ok)

but for how long ... ?

[vhelp]

Regarding the "08 06 11 1F" hexing about..

I'm sorry. But I was reading your latest trend and I must admit that hex is not my forte. Anyway.

Forgetting about "08 06" pair for a moment, and looking at the "11 1F", when converted to decimal,
we get 11=17, and 1F=31, and both of which are non-printable charactors. But the confusion
part here is the 16. If I take a 16 decimal and convert to hex, we get 10.

Or, to put in another way:

(to see complete text line up, in Opera, press the F11 key to set full screen mode)

D: --> 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
H: --> 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F

I don't know about you, but aren't you suppose to be using 16=10, and
shouldn't it be "08 06 10 10" if we were talking 16x16, and if "08 06 10 0C" for 16x12 ??

You see, I'm trying to build a tool for this part but I want to make sure I have an understanding of
the parts propely so that I write out the hex values to the output stream correctly.

Thank you,
-vhelp 4715

[mikejf]

simply you can join videos one proper content 480x360 and second short video
with mentioned dimensions 16x576

that's a clever idea, have you joined two videos? How is that done when the two are different screen sizes? Also, join the 16x576 at the end? And how long (in time) does it need to be?

[frifox]

Regarding the "08 06 11 1F" hexing about..
You see, I'm trying to build a tool for this part but I want to make sure I have an understanding of
the parts propely so that I write out the hex values to the output stream correctly.

Thank you,
-vhelp 4715

why build a tool when there is already one? for videos made with ffmpeg, this command does the job:
hexalter uTubeVideo.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1F

and also, why 16x12? because one of its sides is 16px or less, and it also has a proper 4/3 aspect ratio

[vhelp]

why build a tool where there is already one? for videos made with ffmpeg, this command does the job:
hexalter uTubeVideo.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1F

frifox, you lost me on this.

Although I use x264 cli for the mp4 I'm not using it at this time. However, I use ffmpeg for my
YT flash (flv) video encodings. But, you BOLD text has me at a disadvantage and I do
not understand the nature/use of it. Anyway, the purpose of what I was building the tool for
was (after the flv encoding) I would perform the hacking part to the finished flv and then I
would upload it to YT. At least that is what my goal was. It seems a lot eaier to me and from
what I can see from others that maybe the method you posted above is the hold-up in others
( failed ? ) attempts. I want to make it easier by just letting them (and myself) encode the
videos and then alter the stream at the end of the process prior to uploading to YT.

Actually, although I've read through all these threads, I can't recall ever seeing that which you
posted above about. That's news to me In any case, is there some things that I'm missing
here ?? I'm all ears Thanks.

-vhelp 4716

[frifox]

google for "hexalter" and go to first link... there you'll find a download link for "hexalter" program. download it and put it in the same folder as your FLV video produced by FFMPEG

open a command prompt and browse to that folder. then simply execute the command:

hexalter uTubeVideo.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1F

*** of course replace "uTubeVideo.flv" with the your FLV's file name

what the command above does is, it goes to offset 0x120 (228th hex-pair), and replaces the next 4 hex pairs with "08 06 11 1F".


why offset 0x120? because i've noticed that in all of my FLV's produced with FFMPEG, the first video packet's resolution is located at the same exact place - starting at 228th hex-pair.

PS: i use values "08 06 11 1F" (16x12) because currently it worked 100% of times for me

[vhelp]

frifox, thank you for that clarity. I will take a look at your suggestion. It is indeed
an eye-opener. Thank you again

-vhelp 4717

[vhelp]

frifox, that link was an interesting read on how hexalter came about. Its always nice when something
like that happens, however.

And, althought that tool has some uses, I have other plans/ideas for what I'm building. But never
the less, I will research into how hexalter is used and applied to your latest YT trend and see how
far it gets me in this endeavor. Thanks again, you've been a big help to me, and everyone who
might ? have been stuck, here or there.

-vhelp 4718

[Golgota]

yes but i usually had black bars to avoid that, perhaps Golgota didnt do it.

nop ricardouk, i didnt add any black pad or bars. the vidz is 01:17 straight. the only thing i hate bout it is the total size, too big compared to VMuTube Flv Production, and it took much time to upload plus 1 hour half to see the "watch in high quality" link. Hmm..

[vhelp]

frifox, I had one last question before I retire to bed -- look it the time.

you mentioned the offset address. That was one problem I had trouble with. Calculating
the offset from within the stream that I open, as your basic byte array. Anyway. I post
a crude snap shot of the tool that I'm working on and you see where I filled in the offset.
Obviously its wrong, but I just wanted a dummy number in there. Its designed around the
idea of the drag n drop approach.

The next of this project was to add other user-friendly fields, such as: width; height; fps;
padding; etc etc, and various other finds that would be trial n error inside these discussions.

Well, see you all around..



-vhelp 4719

[frifox]

nice one, your tool looks good... so far

i took a different path, i simply implemented the hack into my batch scripts... works pretty good too

[Golgota]

FFMPEG:
ffmpeg -i audio.mp3 -acodec copy -loop_input -f image2 -i 16x12.png -vcodec flv -r 1 -g 5 -sameq -shortest uTubeVideo.flv

frifox, I used the same code method which mentioned by u on ur 1st HQ music (ReComeBack-HQ) - http://youtube.com/watch?v=wMVev-GEV3c

My Ori Mp3:

Bitrate - 320Kbps , 44100
Png Pic - 640x480

but after uploaded 1 min, YouTube Re-ENCODE it to mono :'((((((
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2e66rPJy_uM

Saddest thing in my life. Help me out pls..

[frifox]

Png Pic - 640x480

thats our problem

as you see in the command, i used "16x12.png" as input... which implies that the picture must be 16x12 pixels

[Golgota]

Again Frifox, i'm not as good as you in PROGRAMMING. How bout VMuTube & IMuTube Version 3? Any possiblity for me to have that? Dying to upload HQ content now!! My God!!

[Golgota]

as you see in the command, i used "16x12.png" as input... which implies that the picture must be 16x12 pixels

My God, what in the world TINY pixels?? okay i get u Fri.. how bout ur updated script (Dying to upload Video & Music in HQ... ;(

[NicksVideo]

So one final question from me. I've created my .flv using ffmpeg and the following settings:

ffmpeg -i jaws.avi -ab 96k -ar 22050 -ac 1 -vcodec flv -b 700k -g 160 -cmp 3 -subcmp 3 -mbd 2 -flags aic+cbp+mv0+mv4+trell jawsweb.flv

And I used HexAlter to edit add "08 06 11 1F" @ 0x120, and then varified with a hex editor that the values had, indeed, been altered.

Finally I edited the duration of the file, to 11mins, via the instructions on page 1 of this thread.

However, I'm still getting "Failed (unable to convert video file)" when I upload the file. Is there anything else I need to do?

EDIT: I think I know what's wrong, but have no clue how to fix it. Every video I encode with ffmpeg, when opened in MediaInfo, has no video bitrate. Any idea on what could be causing this?

[manono]

Sorry, never mind.

[rajman]

I'm curious as to how you're getting these to work. I've edited my video width down to 16x12 thanks to the information frifox posted, but whenever I upload, it gives me the "failed to convert" error.

Rajman, I notice in your .flv's you add the "08 06 11 1F" hex in a different location. Any help would be appreciated!

Oh well it wasnt to be....it was HQ for a while but the video got re-converted overnight =(

[rajman]

google for "hexalter" and go to first link... there you'll find a download link for "hexalter" program. download it and put it in the same folder as your FLV video produced by FFMPEG

open a command prompt and browse to that folder. then simply execute the command:

hexalter uTubeVideo.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1F

*** of course replace "uTubeVideo.flv" with the your FLV's file name

what the command above does is, it goes to offset 0x120 (228th hex-pair), and replaces the next 4 hex pairs with "08 06 11 1F".


why offset 0x120? because i've noticed that in all of my FLV's produced with FFMPEG, the first video packet's resolution is located at the same exact place - starting at 228th hex-pair.

PS: i use values "08 06 11 1F" (16x12) because currently it worked 100% of times for me

Thanks for that command Frifox, Ive just uploaded a video using that and its been HQ even after 20 mins....I just hope it stays that way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LllVc6JIMlw

EDIT: Ive noticed that the thumbnail is black (has to be the padded frames) is there any way to get the thumbnail as the frame that is half way through the video as normally youtube does?

[bayme]

why offset 0x120? because i've noticed that in all of my FLV's produced with FFMPEG, the first video packet's resolution is located at the same exact place - starting at 228th hex-pair.

This is correct, it's also in the official FLV1 file description. They have to put the first video packet in a static location, because it's a streaming format and the player needs to know this location in order to be able to start at the right place.

There's a thread in the doom9 forums about a free experimental tool showing the official file descriptors per video-type, especially made for Flash Video. If I find it, I'll post it again, it's quite handy for stuff like this.. (normally the people building flashplayers need to know this, which is why such tools exist)

[si_edgey]

Hi everyone, first. post.

I have been following this thread with great interest - I make videos of myself performing music to upload, so I need OK quality video and excellent sound! I am having difficulty getting Youtube to not re-encode my vids after 50-10mins, and it's really starting to make me want to bang my head off something hard.

I am using FFMPEG settings: ffmpeg -i YTvid.wmv -s qvga -b 100 -vcodec flv -ab 128k -ar 44100 YTvid.flv

And then using: hexalter ChopNew.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1 to set the new res.

Then I am using a hex editor to edit the length of the video to 11mins (it is actually 9:30).

Is there another stage to the process that I am missing out on Frifox? A pointer in the right direction would be hugely appreciated as I have read every message in this thread about 10 times!

Thanks!

[bayme]

I am using FFMPEG settings: ffmpeg -i YTvid.wmv -s qvga -b 100 -vcodec flv -ab 128k -ar 44100 YTvid.flv

And then using: hexalter ChopNew.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1 to set the new res.

Then I am using a hex editor to edit the length of the video to 11mins (it is actually 9:30).

Is there another stage to the process that I am missing out on Frifox? A pointer in the right direction would be hugely appreciated as I have read every message in this thread about 10 times!

There are a couple of things I see wrong here:

- The -b 100 command, with that you set the video-bitrate to 100 kbit/s, which is quite low.
- The time duration extension is a way to fool the average bitrate;
a video that uses 350 kbits/second for 11 minutes, is technically the same as
a video that uses 700 kbits/second for 5.5 minutes.
So if you encode content for only 5 minutes, and YouTube has a limit for 350 kbits/sec bandwidth use in 11 minutes, you can make use of that by spreading the data over fake time, and thus use all data available for those 11 minutes up in 5 minutes
First, make sure you understand that concept.
After that you encode your video with the bitrate that fits within the newly created (upped) barrier. It used to be 350, and will then be around 700 kbits/s. That is video plus audio.

[frifox]

And then using: hexalter ChopNew.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1 to set the new res.

Then I am using a hex editor to edit the length of the video to 11mins (it is actually 9:30).

Is there another stage to the process that I am missing out on Frifox? A pointer in the right direction would be hugely appreciated as I have read every message in this thread about 10 times!

no, i encode with FFMPEG and then hex with HexAlter... thats it


but hold on a sec, you said you used:
hexalter ChopNew.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1

but it should have been:
hexalter ChopNew.flv 0x120=0x08,0x06,0x11,0x1F

typo?