AVStoDVD Support Thread

[Nicety1]

I have a problem with a conversion. I had two subtitles in this movie (The Mummy). One was regular English subs and the other one was subs ONLY for foreign parts (Egyptian I believe). I sought to make the foreign subs hard-coded but they were skipped altogether. Attaching the log. What did I do wrong?

[Seeker47]

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 HC currently in use by AVS is 0.28, whose changelog says that it requires a later version of Avisynth. Is that irrelevant for DVD RB's use of HC ? (If not, I'm not sure whether the Avisynth in the AVS program tree is automatically available to other programs ?)

[EDIT: just checked my RB folders, and it looks like I had switched / updated to HC 0.25 a few years back -- and then renamed it appropriately -- most likely in response to a similar suggestion from one of these threads. Is there sufficient reason to update this again ?]

[Seeker47]

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

I think you made a good case for sticking with RB Free, vs. the Pro.

[Nicety1]

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 HC currently in use by AVS is 0.28, whose changelog says that it requires a later version of Avisynth. Is that irrelevant for DVD RB's use of HC ? (If not, I'm not sure whether the Avisynth in the AVS program tree is automatically available to other programs ?)

[EDIT: just checked my RB folders, and it looks like I had switched / updated to HC 0.25 a few years back -- and then renamed it appropriately -- most likely in response to a similar suggestion from one of these threads. Is there sufficient reason to update this again ?]

I'm not understanding what you mean. I see the HCenc subfolder and the file "HCenc.ece"that is in it. I don't know what folder you want me to copy it to (and then change the name). Can you be more specific about what folder to copy it to? "the HCenc folder which Rebuilder uses" means nothing to me. I need the NAME of the folder or subfolder as I see no "Rebuilder" folder.

** I just downloaded HC Encoder 0.28 from the link. It has a file named "HCenc_028.exe" in it and "HCgui_028.exe".

[manolito]

@Nicety1

this thing was a little OT, we were talking about DVD-Rebuilder for a while. No wonder we confused you...

For AVStoDVD you don't need to do anything, it already comes with the latest version of HCenc. The copying and renaming thing was only for upgrading HCenc in DVD-Rebuilder.


Cheers
manolito

[manolito]

I think you made a good case for sticking with RB Free, vs. the Pro.

You should really compare the two versions yourself. If you have some use for the advanced features in the Pro version then you should definitely use the Pro version. I remember many years ago when I made this same recommendation at Doom9, I got a lot of flak from jdobbs himself... which is very understandable of course. He felt that I was cheating him out of some hard earned money.


Cheers
manolito

[manolito]

The HC currently in use by AVS is 0.28, whose changelog says that it requires a later version of Avisynth. Is that irrelevant for DVD RB's use of HC ? (If not, I'm not sure whether the Avisynth in the AVS program tree is automatically available to other programs ?)

[EDIT: just checked my RB folders, and it looks like I had switched / updated to HC 0.25 a few years back -- and then renamed it appropriately -- most likely in response to a similar suggestion from one of these threads. Is there sufficient reason to update this again ?]

The latest HCenc version from Dec. 2015 (may well be the final version) requires AviSynth 2.60. The current AVStoDVD versions also require this AviSynth version, so there is no conflict.

DVD-RB came with a much older version of AviSynth, but in my experience there are no problems using it with AviSynth 2.60. I have even been using it with AviSynth 2.61 alpha for a couple of months now without any issues.

So my recommendation is:
Use AviSynth 2.60 and HCenc 0.28 both in AVStoDVD and DVD-Rebuilder.
(I have no idea about using AVS+. Have not tried it myself and found no reports by someone else)
And I also recommend to upgrade older HCenc versions to the latest one. Hank did fix quite some bugs.


Cheers
manolito

[Nicety1]

@Nicety1

this thing was a little OT, we were talking about DVD-Rebuilder for a while. No wonder we confused you...

For AVStoDVD you don't need to do anything, it already comes with the latest version of HCenc. The copying and renaming thing was only for upgrading HCenc in DVD-Rebuilder.


Cheers
manolito

Look. I started out asking WHY the hard coded subs were skipped. Without getting off topic, can SOMEONE just tell me WHY IT HAPPENED and HOW I CAN FIX IT! THAT'S IT! If you can't tell me THAT, I don't need to know about options that DON'T RELATE TO IT!

[Nicety1]

I have a problem with a conversion. I had two subtitles in this movie (The Mummy). One was regular English subs and the other one was subs ONLY for foreign parts (Egyptian I believe). I sought to make the foreign subs hard-coded but they were skipped altogether. Attaching the log. What did I do wrong?

[_MrC_]

I came across something I never saw before today, a file with compliant audio but with an audio delay of 168ms according to mediainfo.
When AVStoDVD processes it and by default, the audio is kept as-is since it's compliant, the resulting DVD has audio that is not synced properly.

Forcing A2d to re-encode the audio fixes the problem, as well as manually cutting the audio ac3 by 168 ms in DelayCut and using that audio in A2D.

This has always been the normal behavior of AVStoDSVD...

A2D corrects audio delays through an AviSynth command. But if the source audio is already DVD compliant (and you have ticked "Keep compliant audio") then AviSynth is not used at all for audio. FFmpeg is used for demuxing audio directly from the source file instead, and there is no provision for correcting audio delay here.

So you need to use some workaround, and you already found the right ones. Another possible workaround would be to tell A2D to create just elementary streams and then add the delay manually in the muxing or authoring stage.

For a DVD structure you would use Muxman which lets you add a delay. For a muxed MPEG2 file you can tell Mplex to add a delay with the "--sync-offset" parameter (here you need to specify a negative value for a positive audio delay and vice versa).


Cheers
manolito

Thanks manolito wasn't sure if it was normal or not. Perhaps A2D should offer warning if the project has this scenario?

Good suggestion, next release will provide the warning and give the possibility to temporary de-activate the option to keep DVD compliant audio tracks.



Bye

[_MrC_]

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

I'm a bit puzzled. SubtitleCreator requires .NET Framework 2.0. Win10 comes with .NET Framework 4.6 which *should* be retro-compliant with 2.0/3.0/3.5/4.x

Dave, are you sure that SC is crashing because of .NET Framework not installed? You can check the installed releases in the following reg key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP

Anyway, in the next A2D release, I will add .NET Framework release sanity check in Preferences > System > Software Info



Bye

[_MrC_]

I have a problem with a conversion. I had two subtitles in this movie (The Mummy). One was regular English subs and the other one was subs ONLY for foreign parts (Egyptian I believe). I sought to make the foreign subs hard-coded but they were skipped altogether. Attaching the log. What did I do wrong?

The hard-encode option is working only if you select to hard-encode the FIRST subs tracks. Just select the FORCED srt as first track and the REGULAR srt as second track. Then toggle on the hard-encode option for the FIRST track.

The Edit Title > Subtitles section GUI is a bit messy, need some optimization for the next release.



Bye

[Nicety1]

I have a problem with a conversion. I had two subtitles in this movie (The Mummy). One was regular English subs and the other one was subs ONLY for foreign parts (Egyptian I believe). I sought to make the foreign subs hard-coded but they were skipped altogether. Attaching the log. What did I do wrong?

The hard-encode option is working only if you select to hard-encode the FIRST subs tracks. Just select the FORCED srt as first track and the REGULAR srt as second track. Then toggle on the hard-encode option for the FIRST track.

The Edit Title > Subtitles section GUI is a bit messy, need some optimization for the next release.



Bye

Thanks. I'll try this!

[sinfony]

You need to install my FF_VBR plugin to get 2-pass VBR in AVStoDVD. Download here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/avstodvd/files/avstodvd_addons/Plugins/ff_vbr%20(ffmp...0VBR%20modes)/
Make sure to read the PDF manual for installation instructions...

Cheers
manolito

Hi, I successfully installed everything but am unsure what I need to change in the BAT file to force the 2-pass at highest quality.

I edited the one line to SET Force 2-pass VBR=3, is there something more to alter in the BAT file to make it happen? In the interface the only ffmpeg option remains CBR 1-pass.

Danke in Voraus!

[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

I'm a bit puzzled. SubtitleCreator requires .NET Framework 2.0. Win10 comes with .NET Framework 4.6 which *should* be retro-compliant with 2.0/3.0/3.5/4.x

Dave, are you sure that SC is crashing because of .NET Framework not installed? You can check the installed releases in the following reg key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP

Anyway, in the next A2D release, I will add .NET Framework release sanity check in Preferences > System > Software Info



Bye

H MrC,
nice to see you back again,
here's the end of the log where the problem occurred. A2D closes itself and simultaneously a message box from Windows pops up
asking me if I want to install dot Net 3.5:

It seems only V4 is installed, the other as seen from Explorer appear to be empty.

<8/5/2017 9:11:12 AM>
START SUBS ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
ANSI format conversion routine applied
SRT errors fixing routine applied (0 lines fixed)
SubtitleCreator Parameters: "C:\Users\davex\AppData\Local\Temp\avstodvd_temp\D VD_27_subs_1.srt" -p4 -i"I:\program files\AVStoDVD_286_NoInstall\SubtitleCreator\Examp les\VTS_01_1.IFO"
<>

<8/5/2017 9:11:12 AM>
WARNING! Process aborted during 'Title 1 SUBS encoding operations start' Section.
<>

<8/5/2017 9:11:12 AM>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.8.6
<>

Here's the registry and Explorer windows:

[_MrC_]

@dave

do you get errors if you try to run SubtitleCreator as standalone exe?



Bye

[manolito]

Hi, I successfully installed everything but am unsure what I need to change in the BAT file to force the 2-pass at highest quality.

I edited the one line to SET Force 2-pass VBR=3, is there something more to alter in the BAT file to make it happen? In the interface the only ffmpeg option remains CBR 1-pass.

Danke in Voraus!

You did it exactly right, "SET Force 2-pass VBR=3" is all you have to change in the BAT file. The A2D interface is not changed by installing my plugin. Just make a conversion and see how it comes out...


Cheers
manolito

[davexnet]

@dave

do you get errors if you try to run SubtitleCreator as standalone exe?



Bye

Yes, the following Window pops up. According to what I see in the registry and the Explorer window, only dot Net 4.0 is installed.
Perhaps this is the default for Windows 10? I'm running the Enterprise version LTSB

[manolito]

I am not familiar with Win10, but in my experience it is not much different with earlier Windows versions...

.NET Framework 4.xx may be downwards compatible with versions 3 and 2. But if a .NET application requests an earlier version then it does not matter if v4.xx has all the necessary functions. The application will only run if an earlier version is installed.

So I think you will have to install version 3.5 for SubtitleCreator to work. I also read some complaints about issues installing it under Win10. But Microsoft officially endorses using this version under Win10, and the net is full of tips how to make it work. Shouldn't be all that hard...


Cheers
manolito

[sinfony]

Hi, I successfully installed everything but am unsure what I need to change in the BAT file to force the 2-pass at highest quality.

I edited the one line to SET Force 2-pass VBR=3, is there something more to alter in the BAT file to make it happen? In the interface the only ffmpeg option remains CBR 1-pass.

Danke in Voraus!

You did it exactly right, "SET Force 2-pass VBR=3" is all you have to change in the BAT file. The A2D interface is not changed by installing my plugin. Just make a conversion and see how it comes out...


Cheers
manolito

It still seems to just make a single pass at a video.

Just to confirm:
1. The only thing I altered in the BAT was to change "SET Force 2-pass VBR=0"to "SET Force 2-pass VBR=3". Everything else is exactly as the file originally installed.
2. The video setting in the interface is set to "FFmpeg CBR-1 pass" with "Use FFmpeg High Quality settings" checked.

Here is the log of the video I tried:

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
START PROCESS
<>

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
PROJECT SETTINGS

DVD Video Standard: PAL
DVD Titles number: 1
DVD Size: 631/8100 MB (8%)
DVD Output Setup: MPEG2 File
DVD Label: DVD
DVD Menu: No Menu
Output Folder: C:\Users\Me\Videos
Delete Temp Assets Files: Yes
Delete Temp Working Files: Yes
Edit Command Parameters: No
Post Process Task: Show Progress Status window

PREFERENCES

MultiThread: 1
AVS Video Source Filter: FFMpegSource
AVS Audio Source Filter: A2DSource
AVS UpSize/DownSize Filter: Lanczos4Resize/Lanczos4Resize
Frame Adjust Strategy: 0
FPS Hard Conversion: 0
PAL SpeedUp: 0
NTSC SlowDown: 0
Video Resolution: 0
Video Encoder: 1
Video BitRate Min: 2500
Video BitRate Max: 8500
Keep DVD Compliant Video: 1
AC3 Audio Encoder: 0
Force FFmpeg for Long Audio: 1
DVD Audio Format: 0
DVD Audio BitRate: 128
Keep DVD Compliant Audio: 1
Normalize Audio: 0
Auto Delay Audio: 1
DVD Audio Language (Primary): EN - English
DVD Audio Language (Secondary): EN - English
DVD Subs Language (Primary): EN - English
DVD Subs Language (Secondary): EN - English
DVD Subs Font: Tahoma 16pt (255,255,255)
Chapters Interval: 5
Use Source Chapters: 1
DVD Burning Drive: E: TSSTcorp DVD+-RW SH-216DB D200
DVD Burning Speed: 4x
Auto Erase DVD RW: 1
Execute with Elevated Privileges: 0
Unload ActiveMovie Library: 1
Adjust DirectShow Filters at runtime: 1
Save General Settings: 0

SYSTEM INFO

Processor Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4170 CPU @ 3.70GHz
Operating System: Windows 10 (10.0.15063) 64 bit
User has Admin Rights: YES
Running with Elevated Privileges: YES
Available Output Disc Space: 119 GB
AviSynth is installed: YES (release 2.6.0)
LAV Filters is installed: YES (release 0.60.1)
ffdshow is installed: NO

CODECS REPORT

H.264/AVC: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
Xvid: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
DivX 4/5/6: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
Other MPG4: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
DV: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
MPEG1: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
MPEG2: LAV Video Decoder {EE30215D-164F-4A92-A4EB-9D4C13390F9F}
MP2: Microsoft DTV-DVD Audio Decoder {E1F1A0B8-BEEE-490D-BA7C-066C40B5E2B9}
MP3: MP3 Decoder DMO {BBEEA841-0A63-4F52-A7AB-A9B3A84ED38A}
AAC: Microsoft DTV-DVD Audio Decoder {E1F1A0B8-BEEE-490D-BA7C-066C40B5E2B9}
AC3: No Preferred Filter set

<>

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: C:\Users\Me\Desktop\Game1.mp4
Info: AVC - 4000 kbps - 1280x720 - DAR 16:9 - 25 fps - Progressive - 10:04 minutes - 15103 frames
Audio 1: C:\Users\Me\Desktop\Game1.mp4
Info: AAC LC - 128 kbps - CBR - 2 ch - 44100 Hz - 10:04 minutes (0 ms delay)
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.77]
<>

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
AVISYNTH SCRIPT
Import("C:\Program Files (x86)\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")
LoadCPlugin("C:\Program Files (x86)\AVStoDVD\Lib\ffms2.dll")

Audio = A2DAudioSource("C:\Users\Me\Desktop\Game1.mp4", CacheFolder="C:\Users\Me\AppData\Local\Temp")
Video = FFVideoSource("C:\Users\Me\Desktop\Game1.mp4", track=-1, fpsnum=25, fpsden=1, seekmode=0)

Video = Video.ConvertToYV12()
Video = Video.Lanczos4Resize(720,576)

Audio = Audio.SSRC(48000)

AudioDub(Video, Audio)
<>

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
DIRECTSHOW AUDIO MIXER OPERATIONS:
No LAV Filters mixer ON/OFF adjustment required at runtime
<>

<09/08/2017 10:10:20>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Video Encoding Profile: FFmpeg CBR 1-pass
Target Video FileSize: 612 MB
Encoding Parameters: -i "C:\Users\Me\AppData\Local\Temp\DVD_Game1_1.avs" -threads 4 -aspect 16:9 -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 8500k -minrate 8500k -maxrate 8500k -bufsize 2000k -dc 10 -bf 2 -mbd rd -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -y "C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1.m2v"
<>

<09/08/2017 10:24:29>
END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1.m2v (573.6 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 8000 kbps - 720x576 - DAR 16:9 - 25 fps - Progressive - 10:04 minutes - 15103 frames
<>

<09/08/2017 10:24:29>
START AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
Wavi+Aften Parameters: "C:\Users\Me\AppData\Local\Temp\DVD_Game1_1.avs" - | "C:\Program Files (x86)\AVStoDVD\Aften\aften.exe" -b 128 -pad 0 -dynrng 5 -bwfilter 0 - "C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1_1.ac3"
<>

<09/08/2017 10:24:42>
END AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
Audio Source Filter: A2DSource (DirectShowSource)
Created File: C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1_1.ac3 (9.2 MB)
OUTPUT AUDIO INFO: AC3 - 128 kbps - CBR - 2 ch - 48000 Hz - 10:04 minutes (0 ms delay)
<>

<09/08/2017 10:24:42>
START MUXING OPERATIONS
Mplex Parameters: -f 8 -L 48000:2:16 -o "C:\Users\Me\Videos\DVD_Game1.mpg" "C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1.m2v" "C:\Users\Me\Desktop\DVD_Game1_1.ac3" 
<>

<09/08/2017 10:25:20>
END MUXING OPERATIONS
Created File: C:\Users\Me\Videos\DVD_Game1.mpg (593.6 MB)
<>

<09/08/2017 10:25:20>
AVStoDVD Project ended successfully.
<>

<09/08/2017 10:25:20>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.8.6
<>

Do you see anything amiss there? Thanks for the help.

[manolito]

Your log looks fine (except for one unrelated thing...)

My plugin cannot change any log files which A2D writes. The only thing I could have done would be to write an additional VBR log file, but I was was too lazy to do this.

Before you do anything else you should check that the plugin installation is correct. I have attached an Explorer view of the AVStoDVD\FFmpeg folder after a correct installation of my plugin. Make sure that the file sizes in your folder are identical...

I also changed the batch file to show the current plugin mode in the FFmpeg title bar. Extract the batch file from the archive and copy it into the AVStoDVD\FFmpeg folder overwriting the older file.


The one problematic thing in your log file is that you are using Microsoft source filters for all audio sources. This is not good, you should set ALL Preferred DirectShow Codecs to LAV. See the "Preferred DirectShow Codecs" section in the A2D help.


Good luck
manolito

[_MrC_]

I am not familiar with Win10, but in my experience it is not much different with earlier Windows versions...

.NET Framework 4.xx may be downwards compatible with versions 3 and 2. But if a .NET application requests an earlier version then it does not matter if v4.xx has all the necessary functions. The application will only run if an earlier version is installed.

So I think you will have to install version 3.5 for SubtitleCreator to work. I also read some complaints about issues installing it under Win10. But Microsoft officially endorses using this version under Win10, and the net is full of tips how to make it work. Shouldn't be all that hard...

Thanks manolito for the comment on dotNET Framwork

I did some tests: SC definitively needs dotNET 2.0 to be installed. dotNET 3.x is not strictly required, but dotNET 3.5 redist package from M$ website does contain dotNET 2.0 and 3.0, so if a user has installed dotNET 3.5, than SC will work. Instead dotNET 4.x redist packages do not contain previous releases libraries.

dotNET 2.0/3.0/3.5 are automatically installed up to Win7. Starting from Win8, dotNET 4.x is present and previous releases have to be installed on demand.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework_version_history

I will definitively add a warning that dotNET 2.0 libraries must be present to run SC and manage authored subs.



Bye

[davexnet]

MrC/manolito
thanks for the info, I may research a bit more in-depth some of the issues regarding installing this older release on Windows 10.
Alternatively, I could just reboot my PC and run Windows XP for these projects using subtitles
If I try it, I'll update the thread. Thanks -
Dave

update - I installed the component through Control Panel/Programs and Features/Turn Windows features on and off
It asked if I wanted to download the necessary files from Windows Update to which I replied in the affirmative.
Two minutes later it was done, reboot unnecessary. Perhaps all the earlier horror scenarios on the internet
have been resolved. AVStoDVD/SubtitleCreator working normally

[manolito]

@MrC

It looks like the latest No-Install version of AVStoDVD comes with a broken SubtitleCreator folder...

Since I do not use subs I never noticed it, but after the recent discussion I tried using SubtitleCreator, but it would not run. Neither under WinXP nor under Win7-64bit. I finally solved it by downloading and installing the software, then copying the files into the A2D subfolder and adding the A2D profile XML.

Looks like some tilt bits to me. It is reproduceable, just download the No-Install version, extract the SubtitleCreator folder and run the EXE.
If you can confirm it, just tell me if I should upload the working SubtitleCreator folder...


//EDIT//
No, it's not tilt bits, it is your modified (empty) "Profiles.XML" file. As soon as I replace this file with the original file from the SubtitleCreator installation, the software works. Using your modified file causes the software to refuse to run.

//EDIT2//
It is not just the No-Install version, the install version shows the same problem. It works if I delete the modified (empty) "Profiles.XML" file and then rename the file "Profiles.A2D.XML" to "Profiles.XML". Will this work for A2D?


Cheers
manolito

[_MrC_]

@manolito

welcome to the golden unpredictable world of DVD subs...

You are bringing up an old SC issue.

When SC (GUI) is loading, it checks the presence of profiles.xml in .\SubtitleCreator\Data folder. If not present, SC crashes. If present, SC loads the subs profiles, where position and formatting info are stored. If there are no profiles in .\SubtitleCreator\Data\profiles.xml (like the file that comes with A2D), then SC looks for profiles.xml in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SubtitleCreator folder. If not present SC crashes, if present without profiles, SC crashes. If present with profiles, SC GUI finally pops up.

At runtime, A2D creates the profiles.xml file according to the user's sub settings in A2D. A2D is by default installed in %PROGRAMFILES%\AVStoDVD. In the WinXP age, everything was easier: A2D did overwrite profiles.xml into %PROGRAMFILES%\AVStoDVD\SubtitleCreator\Data folder and SC (CLI) was using that file in that location. Starting from Vista, if A2D is not running with elevated privileges, than A2D cannot write in %PROGRAMFILES%\AVStoDVD\SubtitleCreator\Data folder because it is protected. But it can write in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SubtitleCreator folder, of course.

Putting profiles.xml with no profiles in the .\SubtitleCreator\Data folder is a workaround, with the drawback you have encountered. However, if a user runs an A2D project with subs, then the %LOCALAPPDATA%\SubtitleCreator folder will be created and then the user will be able to open SC GUI. Instead you have never run an A2D project with subs...

I could add a section to the Installer package to create the %LOCALAPPDATA%\SubtitleCreator folder and copy the profiles.a2d.xml there, but anyway the issue will remain with the NoInstall package.

It works if I delete the modified (empty) "Profiles.XML" file and then rename the file "Profiles.A2D.XML" to "Profiles.XML". Will this work for A2D?

It will work, but every changes to the subs options you are going to do will not be reflected in the .\SubtitleCreator\Data\profiles.xml file, unless you are using XP or you have installed A2D in a non-protected folder or you are running A2D with elevated privileges.



Bye

[_MrC_]

AVStoDVD release 2.8.7 Alpha 170810 is available

Changes log:

- Some bugs fixed
- Added support to WebM files (*.webm) as input files, subset of Matroska
- Added warning messages when AVC/AAC title is added and Microsoft DTV-DVD decoders are default codecs
- Added a warning message when input title has a DVD compliant audio track with delay, to force audio re-encode
- Added check of .NET Framework 2 presence in 'Preferences'/'System'/'Software Info'
- Revised video encoder smart selection rationale: no more HCenc VBR 1-pass for multicore CPUs
- Improved handling of "non-mod4" interlaced sources within the AviSynth script generation routine
- LAV Filters updated to release 0.70.2

It is an Alpha release, please advise if you get problems with the new (and old ) features.



Bye

[manolito]

Thanks a lot for the explanation how SubtitleCreator works...

I know why I still prefer XP, the whole permissions thingy in later versions stinks (and it does not prevent malware from doing its things).
Will your workaround with the %LOCALAPPDATA% folder work under XP? I am asking because this environment variable is undefined under XP.

And many thanks for the new Alpha. Works nicely so far, and it did not break any of my plugins.


Cheers
manolito

[_MrC_]

Will your workaround with the %LOCALAPPDATA% folder work under XP? I am asking because this environment variable is undefined under XP.

Yes, it works, I use APIs to detect the special win folders

I still keep a XP virtual machine to check retro compatibility.

Thanks for the feedback about the new alpha.



Bye

[manolito]

Here comes a new version of my plugin package for AVStoDVD:

Only the FFmpeg VBR plugin is affected. After MrC changed this in the latest Alpha:

Revised video encoder smart selection rationale: no more HCenc VBR 1-pass for multicore CPUs

I decided to bring the FFmpeg VBR behavior more in line with the HCenc behavior. It works like this:

Like for HCenc the different encoding modes are automatically selected depending on the video bitrate. The bitrate thresholds are stored in the Registry, and the ff_vbr plugin uses these values just like HCenc. It also uses the High Quality parameters which can be turned on under "Preferences".

The difference to HCenc is that there is an additional "Extreme High Quality" mode which only kicks in if the bitrate goes below the Extreme HQ threshold (can be edited in the batch file) AND the FFmpeg HQ mode is activated.

Of course these automatic mode decisions can be overturned by forcing certain encoding and HQ modes (can be turned on by editing the batch file).

All in all this makes the plugin behavior more consistent with the A2D behavior for HCenc so it is more powerful and also less confusing than it was before.


Another change is that the plugin mode is now shown in the title bar of the encoding window. This kind of makes up for the still missing separate VBR encoding log.


Download here:
http://www74.zippyshare.com/v/jD2yxtqV/file.html

Cheers
manolito



//EDIT//

This kind of makes up for the still missing separate VBR encoding log.

No longer true...
The latest version of the FFmpeg_VBR plugin now creates a separate log file in the A2D output folder. Please redownload if you want this feature.

[manolito]

AVStoDVD users who feel the need to update some of the A2D helper applications to the newest versions please have a look here:
https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1814958#post1814958


Cheers
manolito