AVStoDVD Support Thread

[manolito]

A couple of ideas, yes. But a few questions first:

Are you using the free or the paid version of DVD Rebuilder?
DVD-RB comes with an older version of AviSynth while A2D needs v2.60. Did you still use the older version before you installed A2D?
Which encoder do you use in DVD-RB?

I also use DVD-RB for many years (I prefer the free version). I do not have any issues with it, having A2D installed at the same time certainly did not cause problems.


Things you could try:

If the Haali splitter is installed on your machine, you should uninstall it after installing LAV Filters. The LAV splitter and the Haali splitter do not get along well.

LAV Filters alter some AviSynth registry settings upon installation. In some cases this causes problems. I found that resetting these registry entries often fixes these issues, so this is always the first thing I do after installing a new version of LAV Filters.

Run the attached batch file as an administrator and reboot. Then check if the problem has disappeared.


Good luck
manolito

[RowRowYourBoat]

I'm using the free version of DVD Rebuilder. Can we still buy the full version—it's not abandoned?

I've used the free version for at least ten years, now that I think of it. I had used it successfully right up until installing AVItoDVD.

I know nothing about the Haali splitter. Unless AVItoDVD or Handbrake installed it last week, it is not on my machine.

I ran the batch file you provided and rebooted, with no success. I still get the green lines. I've edited the Registry many times, and can look for any problem areas you might point out.

Worse comes to worse, if I cannot fix DVD Rebuilder, I will have to go without AVItoDVD. I'm perfectly willing to reinstall Windows 7 and start afresh, as I wasn't happy with the way my reinstallation went the other week—IDE/AHCI setting in BIOS was wrong, could use more recent chipset drivers, guard against the telemetry nonsense from the start, yada yad yada....

Do know that I appreciate your help tremendously.

[manolito]

This is really weird because other than these AviSynth settings in the Registry there is absolutely nothing which is changed globally upon installing AVstoDVD...

DVD-RB does not use any DirectShowSource filters, so the LAV Filters are irrelevant for it. It can only handle a VIDEO_TS folder as input, and it uses DGDecode.dll for decoding the input. One thing you could check:
There are many different versions of DGDecode.dll out there, and DVD-RB needs a pretty old version. This older version resides in the DVD-RB folder, and it is important that in the DVD-RB setup the "Path to Decoder" points to this DGDecode.dll in the DVD-RB folder. If this entry is empty then the DGDecode version from the AviSynth\plugins folder will get used, and this will most likely be a newer version.

Everything else is just trial and error. You can try an older AviSynth version. In the attachment you can find the old avisynth.dll 2.57. Just extract this dll into the DVDRebuilder folder (no need to install it) so Rebuilder will use this old dll.


Well, of course DVD-RB has been abandoned for years, but this does not mean that jdobbs will not take donations and give you a download link. He even gave away the Pro version a couple of times just for asking (at Doom9). Happened to me, but I went back to the free version.


Cheers
manolito

[RowRowYourBoat]

I used the AviSynth dll, but the green lines remain.

My DVD Rebuilder paths in General Setup:

I'm not using CCE, so those three fields are empty.

Path to Rejig
C:\Program FIles (x86)\DVD=-RB\Encoders\ReJig\ReJig.exe

Path to QuEnc
C:\Program FIles (x86)\DVD=-RB\Encoders\QuEnc\QuEnc.eve

Path to EclPro (ProCoder)
C:\Program FIles (x86)\DVD=-RB\Encoders\EclPro\EclPro.exe

Path to Decoder
C:\Program FIles (x86)\DVD=-RB\DGDecode.dll

Path to Decomb.dll
C:\Program FIles (x86)\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\Decomb521.dll

So how about that Decomb521.dll? If AVStoDVD updates AviSynth, could this cause those green lines?

[manolito]

So how about that Decomb521.dll? If AVStoDVD updates AviSynth, could this cause those green lines?

No, I don't think so. Decomb.dll is only used if you specify "Deinterlace with DECOMB" under "AVS Options -> Advanced".
And if you updated AviSynth while installing AVStoDVD then the installer is intelligent enough to install the new version in the same folder as the previous version, and all plugins are preserved.

Time for you to upload a couple of samples...
A section of a problematic source MP4 would be nice, and a DVD-Rebuilder output VOB with these green lines is also appreciated...


Cheers
manolito

[RowRowYourBoat]

Is it possible to cut a little piece off of a M2V with AviDemux? I'm not sure how to cut off something small enough to upload.

[davexnet]

Possibly, if not DGindex. Use the [ ] buttons to select the clip, File/Save project and demux video

[manolito]

davexnet beat me on this...

My older version of AviDemux does not handle m2v files. DGIndex is already installed on your machine in a subfolder of AVStoDVD. Another good choice is DGSplit by the same author.

For MP4 files AviDemux is a good choice. An alternative is MP4Tools which contains an MP4 joiner and a splitter.

Cheers
manolito

[RowRowYourBoat]

OK. So now I have a little D2V instead of an M2V. How do I turn that into something I can upload here?

[davexnet]

In DGIndex file/save project and demux video should give you the the d2v and the m2v

[RowRowYourBoat]

I present for your viewing pleasure:

GREEN LINES!

[davexnet]

Is that your encode? What are the specs (mediainfo text view) of the source ?
From your earlier report:

TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: C:\Users\User\Videos\DVD.mp4
Info: AVC - 314 kbps - 640x266 - DAR 2.406 - 25 fps - Progressive - 1:50:20 hours - 165497 frames
Audio 1: C:\Users\User\Videos\DVD.mp4
Info: AAC LC - 96 kbps - VBR - 2 ch - 44100 Hz - 1:50:20 hours (0 ms delay)
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.77]

Sometimes Mod 2 width (266 in this case) can cause problems with some decoders.

Try using the FFmpegSource for video in the Preferences/Avisynth tab - set it, then rebuild the project so it takes affect.

[manolito]

I think that davexnet is right on the money...

To be on the safe side all source files should be mod4 (divisible by 4). For the width A2D already checks this and falls back to FFmpegSource. But for this source it is the height which is mod2 only.

Solutions:

1. Like davexnet said, force FFmpegSource as your video source filter
2. Use DSS2Mod instead of DirectShowSource.dll (Ask me how to do this if you are interested)
3. Make it a habit to always edit your AVS script and insert this line before the ConvertToYV12() command:

Video = Video.Crop(0,0,-Width(video) % 4,-Height(video) % 4)

Cheers
manolito


//EDIT//
If forcing FFmpegSource works then there is a very simple solution:
Extract the file from the attachment into your "AVStoDVD\Lib folder" (overwriting the existing file). The modified file makes sure that both the width and the height of the source file are mod4, otherwise it will fall back to FFmpegSource.

[RowRowYourBoat]

That is not from the MP4 I had problems with before.

I ripped a DVD-9 disc. The rip was fine—no green lines. The green lines appeared once DVD Rebuilder processed that rip. That is just part of the first M2V produced by DVD Rebuilder. As I said, DVD Rebuilder just started doing this. Either my AVStoDVD or Handbrake installations have mucked up DVD Rebuilder.

Again, I processed the same DVD on another PC that does not have AVStoDVD or Handbrake installed, and DVD Rebuilder operated normally on that PC.

[davexnet]

You used DVD rebuilder to do what, exactly? This product has not been updated for a while.
Is it a commercial DVD. Did you rip with DVD rebuilder?
Did you shrink it from DVD-9 to DVD-5 and the problems are on the DVD-5 it produced?

I would check the log as close as you can to see which programs are invoked. For example - does it use rejig?
What other steps does DVD Rebuilder do?

[RowRowYourBoat]

DVD Fab ripped a DVD.

DVD Rebuilder took the DVD-9 rip and encoded it for DVD-5.

This is when the green lines appear in the process, after DVD Rebuilder encoded it. In ten years, I've never seen these green lines in a video. I saw them for the first time when using AVStoDVD the other day on an MP4; switching to LUX filters removed those green lines from the video output by AVStoDVD.

But that was AVStoDVD. Now, I've got green lines on a DVD I've ripped. That has never happened to me before.

Installing either AVStoDVD or Handbrake did something to DVD Rebuilder.

[manolito]

Mediainfo shows that you used HCenc 0.17 (which comes with the DVD-Rebuilder installer). It is quite possible that this old HCenc version does not play nice with the much newer AviSynth v2.60. You should try to switch to the latest HCenc version for DVD-Rebuilder.

You already have the latest HCenc version in the AVStoDVD\HCenc subfolder. Copy the file "HCenc.ece" from there into the HCenc folder which Rebuilder uses. IIRC you will have to rename the file to the same name which the old HC executable had (I think it was HCbatch.exe).

This new version of HCenc works well with DVD-Rebuilder (even though some newer features won't get used because DVD-Rebuilder does not know them).


Good luck
manolito

[RowRowYourBoat]

Mediainfo shows that you used HCenc 0.17 (which comes with the DVD-Rebuilder installer). It is quite possible that this old HCenc version does not play nice with the much newer AviSynth v2.60. You should try to switch to the latest HCenc version for DVD-Rebuilder.

You already have the latest HCenc version in the AVStoDVD\HCenc subfolder. Copy the file "HCenc.ece" from there into the HCenc folder which Rebuilder uses. IIRC you will have to rename the file to the same name which the old HC executable had (I think it was HCbatch.exe).

This new version of HCenc works well with DVD-Rebuilder (even though some newer features won't get used because DVD-Rebuilder does not know them).


Good luck
manolito

THE GREEN LINES ARE GONE!

Thank you. I'm still reinstalling Windows 7, but at least I have a fix, should this happen again. Taking the time to offer detailed instructions the way you have is a rare gift amongst natural-born teachers. You deserve a raise!

[manolito]

Great, I'm glad you got it working...

Too bad a raise wouldn't do it for me, I'm retired.

[RowRowYourBoat]

I see that encoding is much faster than before, almost twice as fast. Another bonus?

[steptoe]

I'm using the free version of DVD Rebuilder. Can we still buy the full version—it's not abandoned?

I've used the free version for at least ten years, now that I think of it. I had used it successfully right up until installing AVItoDVD.

I know nothing about the Haali splitter. Unless AVItoDVD or Handbrake installed it last week, it is not on my machine.

I ran the batch file you provided and rebooted, with no success. I still get the green lines. I've edited the Registry many times, and can look for any problem areas you might point out.

Worse comes to worse, if I cannot fix DVD Rebuilder, I will have to go without AVItoDVD. I'm perfectly willing to reinstall Windows 7 and start afresh, as I wasn't happy with the way my reinstallation went the other week—IDE/AHCI setting in BIOS was wrong, could use more recent chipset drivers, guard against the telemetry nonsense from the start, yada yad yada....

Do know that I appreciate your help tremendously.

I'm sure you can still donate and get the keyfile for the pro version of DVD-RB, even though its reached its limits. I still use it for DVDs as nothing can touch it for quality or the ease of AviSynth support

I've been trying to look for the donate option on the website but can't seem to find anything. Maybe drop him an e-mail and ask about donating


You can also easily update HCEnc to the latest version of HCEnc simply by replacing the file HCBatch.exe with the file HCGUI.exe. Reanme it to backup the original or just overwrite it when you copy the file over. Now you are using DVD-RB Pro with the very latest HCEnc



DVD-RB Pro also works quite happily with AVISyth+, and you get a speed gain plus updates, it can be a bit fiddly to install the latest updfated though for AVISynth+ as there is currenty no official installer. You first need to install teh last official installer then copy over the latest files to their correct locations

[manolito]

I see that encoding is much faster than before, almost twice as fast. Another bonus?

Absolutely...
The encoding engine of the latest version by itself is already a bit faster than in the older versions, but the main speed increase comes from the SMP feature. HCenc now takes full advantage of multi-core CPUs. By default it uses all available cores which mostly is exactly what you want. You can tweak this setting in the HC.ini file.

If you want it even faster:
HCenc now has its own 1-pass VBR encoding mode. It works like a "poor man's 2-pass VBR mode", the bitrate distribution is less precise, but it is way faster than the full 2-pass mode. And IMO it delivers excellent quality.

To enable it all you have to do is add "*1PASS" to the HC.ini file (without the quotes).


BTW I noticed that your original DVD-RB version used HCenc 0.17. This means that you don't even use the latest free version 0.98.2 of DVD-RB because this latest version comes with HCenc 0.19.0.1. You really should upgrade your DVD-RB version from here:
http://www.jdobbs.net/freeware/DVD-RBv0982FreeUO.zip


Cheers
manolito

[digicube]

Is there a better way to convert 16/18fps to 29.97fps? A2D uses MotionProtectedFPS and I get mushy/blurry/wavy images during fast moving scenes like this race track frame.

Also I've never successfully made a motion menu DVD with A2D. It always abort during the menu creation.

Edit: Found a solution.
avisource("video.avi")
changefps(59.94)
assumetff()
separatefields().selectevery(4,0,3).weave()

[davexnet]

Doesn't this create a kind of interlaced source? Did you encode it interlaced?

[manolito]

Yes, the output of this script is interlaced, so the encoder must also be set to interlaced (interlaced motion estimation and DCT, alternate scan and flags set to interlaced with the correct field order). AVStoDVD takes care of it if you set it to interlaced and specify the field order unter the "Video" tab.

Such frame rate conversions are always a pain because all the methods to choose from have disadvantages. Basically you can choose between fluid motion or artifacts...

The basic methods are "ChangeFPS" and "ConvertFPS". With ChangeFPS you get repeated frames (motion judder), ConvertFPS creates ugly blending.

Using the above "interlaced" method effectively repeats fields, not whole frames. Results in much smoother motion, but you end up with an interlaced encode. In many cases this is the best compromise.

Next are the motion interpolated methods. MotionProtectedFPS is the fastest of them, but also the one with the most artifacts. How good (or bad) it looks depends very much on the source characteristics.

A newer interpolation method is based on MVTools2 instead of the old Motion.dll. This gives better results, but also is much slower. Probably the best script for this method comes from johnmeyer at Doom9, you can find it here:
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1800439#post1800439

The most advanced AviSynth based method today is "FrameRateConverter" by MysteryX. It adds artifact masking to the previous method, but again at the cost of some speed. The full plugin is here:
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1810223#post1810223
I made a simplified version of the script which makes it easier to use as a basic frame rate converter, and it also allows using older (but more stable) versions of MVTools2 and MaskTools2. Get it here:
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1805050#post1805050


And the last methods are using a hardware based solution like Alchemist or Tachyon. But only if you can afford shelling out the dough...


Cheers
manolito

[digicube]

@manolito Can you give an example of script of on how to use johnmeyer and MysteyX methods in A2D for 16/18fps film videos? I might use them if they are not slow.

I have used your change speed program. Is going lower than setting 19 (HQ) not worth it?

[manolito]

@manolito Can you give an example of script of on how to use johnmeyer and MysteyX methods in A2D for 16/18fps film videos? I might use them if they are not slow.

They are slow, be prepared...
Using these methods under AVStoDVD is easy. Use the last link in my previous post, at the bottom of the post you can find a link to an All-In-One version which comes with all the needed plugins. Just copy the files into your AviSynth\Plugins folder or for fftw3.dll into the Windows\SysWOW64 folder (for a 64-bit Windows version). If you are using a 32-bit version, use the Windows\System32 folder.

For the johnmeyer version goto the first link of my previous post, copy the script into the clipboard, create a new text file with the name "jm_fps.avsi" and paste the script into this file. Then copy the file into your AviSynth\plugins folder.

To use these methods all you have to do is go to the AviSynth tab in "View/Edit Title Settings" and edit the script. Replace "MotionProtectedFPS" with either "mx_fps" or "jm_fps". For mx_fps you can add 2 additional parameters: Preset can be "fast" or "slow", BlkSize can be 8, 16 or 32. Usually the defaults work well, but for anime you often get better results using "mx_fps(29.97, Preset = "slow", BlkSize = 32)". But this is REALLY slow.

I have used your change speed program. Is going lower than setting 19 (HQ) not worth it?

Not for me...
I did a lot of tests to determine the optimum CRF value, and for my sources (SD, mostly internet downloads or TV captures) and for my viewing device (CRT TV set), a value of 20 is transparent, it even has some headroom.


Happy testing...
manolito

[davexnet]

I'm mentioning this as something that (possibly) MrC could improve on in the next release. If you
encode a project using subs but .Net 3.5 is not installed, the program will encode all the video and audio
and then abruptly close and a box comes up asking you install dot Net 3.5.

Is it possible for A2d to see if it is installed before starting the project?
For those using Windows 10, it is not installed by default and there are enough reports on the Internet mentioning "Issues"
either during the install or after installing this component in Windows 10. Anybody do this ?

For now I'm avoiding it and running these projects in Windows XP

[Seeker47]

[

I'm sure you can still donate and get the keyfile for the pro version of DVD-RB, even though its reached its limits. I still use it for DVDs as nothing can touch it for quality or the ease of AviSynth support

I've been trying to look for the donate option on the website but can't seem to find anything. Maybe drop him an e-mail and ask about donating

A couple times within the last three years I was looking to purchase DVD-RB Pro and obtain a keyfile, but my efforts to contact the developer were unavailing. (There have been unsanctioned downloads of Pro that you could find online, but I would be suspicious re their reliability or being free of malware.)

I'm curious as to why manolito decided to return to the free version ?
That later-version HC replacement is a good tip.

[manolito]

Jdobbs is still active at Doom9, and if you make the effort to register there (which is insanely annoying, you have to answer some stupid "random questions", and on top of it there is a waiting period) then I am sure that jdobbs will get back to you after a post or a PM.

And yes, there were several pirated versions on the net which were either badly cracked or contained malware. But there was at least one crack which worked flawlessly. And as I said before, on several occasions jdobbs gave away the Pro version for free at Doom9. I was one of the recipients a couple of years ago. Since I do not use it I would gladly give it to someone who needs it, but I can't because the license is tied to my email address.

There are mainly 2 reasons why I prefer the free version over the paid version:

1. The Pro version has tons of options which were mostly added after some users requested it. Makes using it quite complicated unless you just ignore the options and use the defaults.
2. The free version gives me better control over the encoder options. HC is a good example:
In the Pro version DVD-RB writes a new HC.ini file for each encode. The parameters are taken from the DVD-RB options, but there is no way for a user to modify the HC.ini or use a custom ini file. This means that all new HCenc features which were introduced after the DVD-RB development stopped cannot be used.
With the free version this is not a problem. DVD-RB does not bother with HC.ini, so users can modify it at will. All newer HCenc features like its 1-pass VBR mode can be used.

Cheers
manolito