AVStoDVD Support Thread

[mike252]

HI all, still having problem using Hcenc, it freezes not long into encode, notice at the bottom "vbr cfitical" whatever that is.

Have resorted to FFmpegsource and FFmpeg cbr 1pass with Hq options ticked, results don't look as good as Hcenc is there any

answer to this please. Now using 2.7.3 and ffdshow.

[manolito]

Maybe my little ffmpeg-vbr plugin could be useful for you. It allows to use 1-pass and 2-pass VBR modes with ffmpeg, and there is support for using custom quant matrices. Have a look here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/277852-AVStoDVD-Support-Thread?p=2304328&viewfull=1#post2304328

You can download the plugin from the AVStoDVD SourceForge site under Addons:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/avstodvd/files/avstodvd_addons/ff_vbr.bat%20(ffmpeg%20VBR%20modes)/



Cheers
manolito

[mike252]

I am using these new ffmpeg settings. Is it supposed to ask me to run 2 programs ?

My first attempt showed very low bit-rate and result output was 5o% normal size.

Is this correct thanks Manolito

[davexnet]

HI all, still having problem using Hcenc, it freezes not long into encode, notice at the bottom "vbr cfitical" whatever that is.

Have resorted to FFmpegsource and FFmpeg cbr 1pass with Hq options ticked, results don't look as good as Hcenc is there any

answer to this please. Now using 2.7.3 and ffdshow.

Did you keep or look at the HCenc log to see if there are further clues ?
Secondly, when this error occurred and HCenc appeared to hang,
did you check the task manager? How much cpu was it using ?

[mike252]

I'll have to re-execute that job , but Hcenc usually uses a lot of cpu 80% at least.

[manolito]

I am using these new ffmpeg settings. Is it supposed to ask me to run 2 programs ?

My first attempt showed very low bit-rate and result output was 5o% normal size.

Is this correct thanks Manolito

Sorry, I think I do not understand...
Which "new" ffmpeg settings are you talking about?

If you want to use my VBR plugin you will have to copy 2 files to the AVStoDVD\FFMpeg folder, rename the original ffmpeg.exe to _ffmpeg.exe and then rename ffmpeg.exe.vbr to ffmpeg.exe. The readme.pdf should tell you the details.

And it is not supposed to ask you to run 2 programs. It integrates transparently into AVStoDVD, it does not ask you anything.

But if you cannot get HCenc to work on your computer you probably want to modify the VBR batch file so HCenc won't be used at all. Please have a look at these 2 posts at Doom9:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1674245#post1674245
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1675144#post1675144


Cheers
manolito

[mike252]

If you want to use my VBR plugin you will have to copy 2 files to the AVStoDVD\FFMpeg folder, rename the original ffmpeg.exe to _ffmpeg.exe and then rename ffmpeg.exe.vbr to ffmpeg.exe. The readme.pdf should tell you the details.

And it is not supposed to ask you to run 2 programs. It integrates transparently into AVStoDVD, it does not ask you anything.

But if you cannot get HCenc to work on your computer you probably want to modify the VBR batch file so HCenc won't be used at all. Please have a look at these 2 posts at Doom9:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1674245#post1674245
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=1675144#post1675144




The only thing I did extra was to double click the bat file, so will reinstall and try again.


The modification to the bat file did get the bitrates up to normal level.

I have updated to latest beta program.

Thanks Manolito


P.S. Still asking me to run ffmpeg.exe am I suppose to delete _ffmpeg.exe ? Cheers.

[manolito]

From the Readme.pdf:

Extract the two files "ffmpeg.exe.vbr" and "ff_vbr.bat" into this folder,
then rename "ffmpeg.exe.vbr" to "ffmpeg.exe".

Are you sure that you have done this?

The plugin uses the same technique which every programmer knows as interrupt hooking. The original ffmpeg.exe is renamed, then a fake ffmpeg.exe is used instead. This fake ffmpeg.exe is just a stub which intercepts the calling parameters (issued by AVStoDVD) and then calls the ff_vbr.bat with these parameters. The batch file analyzes and modifies the parameters, and as the last step it calls the original (now renamed) ffmpeg.exe.

So of course you cannot delete _ffmpeg.exe since this is the original ffmpeg.exe which does all the work.


Cheers
manolito

[davexnet]

Hi MrC,
the program want's to re-encode my audio - 6-channel @ 384 kbps not valid spec?

[mike252]

My mistake is windows file security I needed to unchecked the box for checking this program each time.

Can I update FFmpeg and if so will it improve the quality , still feel that Hcenc has the edge still.

Thanks for all the help manolito.

[manolito]

@davexnet

Your audio is not compliant because the sample rate is 44100 Hz. DVD needs 48000 Hz,


@mike252

Yes you can update ffmpeg. I currently use the latest stable version from Zeranoe:
http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/win32/static/ffmpeg-2.2.3-win32-static.7z

But I have no idea if any improvements have been made lately on the MPEG2 encoder.
Fishman who provided the 2-pass parameters for ffmpeg is sure that for bitrates below 3500 kbps ffmpeg 2-pass gives better quality than HCenc (using his command line parameters). For bitrates above 3500 kbps HCenc has the edge over ffmpeg.

Honestly on my test encodes I could not detect too many differences, so I normally use the encoder which is faster (HCenc).


Cheers
manolito

[davexnet]

@davexnet

Your audio is not compliant because the sample rate is 44100 Hz. DVD needs 48000 Hz,



Cheers
manolito

Thanks manolito - must admit, I never noticed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Dave

[mike252]

Hi all, I've got some good news and some bad news.

Good news is I've managed to get Hcenc working again. Just recently I put Bitdefender free on and
unbeknownst to me seems to have affected Hcenc without any warning. I decided to delete it on a whim
and try Hcenc again.

Bad news I hope I haven't wasted anybodies time, though I have learnt a lot,especially about ffmpeg
thanks to manolito.

Maybe this might help someone else with future problems.

Anyway sorry again and thanks everyone for the magnificent responses.

[manolito]

However, I found a workaround. Every time I run ffmpeg I can drop it's priority to Below normal, which only adds a few minutes to the (re)encode and I can continue to do other things on my computer. Otherwise, considering the amount of media work I do, I'd have to buy another computer just dedicated to the task.

Having to "do nothing else" whilst using AVStoDVD is just not an option, especially in this day and age. 10 years ago that might have been an acceptable response.

I guess you know that you can specify the encoder priority right within AVStoDVD itself. It's under Preferences -> Misc and is called "Encoding Priority (if possible)"

At least on my machine running WinXP this setting is also honored by ffmpeg.


Cheers
manolito

[wildsharks]

Ok I am getting this errors while using AVStoDVD. When I click on the menu, it gives me this message.


[Attachment 26519 - Click to enlarge]

Then I got this error,


[Attachment 26520 - Click to enlarge]

and it hangs when loading the menu editor.


[Attachment 26521 - Click to enlarge]

What's wrong with the software?

PS: This error pop out with both the installed version and the portable version.

[Yanta]

However, I found a workaround. Every time I run ffmpeg I can drop it's priority to Below normal, which only adds a few minutes to the (re)encode and I can continue to do other things on my computer. Otherwise, considering the amount of media work I do, I'd have to buy another computer just dedicated to the task.

I guess you know that you can specify the encoder priority right within AVStoDVD itself. It's under Preferences -> Misc and is called "Encoding Priority (if possible)"

At least on my machine running WinXP this setting is also honored by ffmpeg.

@manolito, yes I saw that. It is set to "idle", where it has always been. That does not "seem" to be honored by ffmpeg, so manually adjusting the priority at run time seems to be the only workaround at present.

But thanks for the suggestion.

Tanya

[Yanta]

Problems with subtitles

I recently purchased a copy of the Salt Deluxe extended edition blu-ray. This contains 3 versions. The English subtitles that come with it are all audio. I only want the foreign parts. I often have problems with subtitle handling with AVStoDVD so I generally just use mkvmerge to remove all the audio and subtitles I don't want AVStoDVD to process.

So, I used DVDFAB to create an MKV with the audio and subtitles. Downloaded the foreign subs and merged that into the MKV file.

Then I loaded that file into AVStoDVD. At the subtitles dialogue it showed only the TEXT/UTF-8 foreign subtitles I had merged (The PGS subtitles were not listed).

During the final stages of processing AVStoDVD said it was processing the PGS subtitles, not the subtitles I had selected. Upon completion there were NO subtitles in the DVD, either the PGS one or the foreign ones I had merged into the file at selected when I loaded the MKV file.

When I backup my Blu-rays like this I create a Blu-ray backup and a DVD backup for my kids who can't play blu-rays on their computers. I do this because AVCHDCoder seems to handle subtitles the way I want (of by default), whereas AVStoDVD always seems to set them on when I want them off by default.

The work around I guess it to create two versions of the MKV: One with all English subs, and the foreign parts if applicable, and one with only the foreign subs for AVStoDVD, though IMHO the handling of subtitles would be better if corrected.

It seems to me that AVStoDVD is not handling the subtitles correctly.

Of course, I acknowledge that I'm not really highly experienced, so if I am doing something wrong please feel free to politely point me in the right direction.

thanks
Tanya

[_MrC_]

@wildsharks

- open AVStoDVD
- go to 'Preferences'/'Path'
- select a valid 'Menu Templates Path'
- save current Preferences as default
- start again your project

if it does not work, reset AVStoDVD settings with 'Options'/'Restore Default Preferences'


@ Yanta

we definitively need the assets you are using to replicate the issue, plus the AVStoDVD project log file.




Bye

[Yanta]

we definitively need the assets you are using to replicate the issue, plus the AVStoDVD project log file.

Ok, Please find attached.

Just to summarise..

1. Original Blu-ray only has subtitles for full feature. But I only want the Foreign parts for the DVD.
2. Used DVDFab to create MKV with all original subtitles and audio tracks
3. Muxed in the Yanta_salt_720p_English_forced.srt subtitles.
4. Add the MKV file to AVStoDVD
5. Select first audio track
6. Subtitles diaglogue says there are 4 subtitles. It only shows one which is the (SRT) one - I assume that is the one I want as all the others are PGS.
7. I believe the FIRST Internal PGS subtitle is the one that was added when looking at the Source Titles window.
8. During processing it says it is processing the PGS subtitle. Once completed, there were NO subtitles in the resulting file

Second attempt

1. I then removed the PGS subtitle and Added the SRT file from the source folder.
2. I then ended up with the correct subtitles in the output, however, the subtitles did not display correctly in VLC or PotPlayer. (A screen cap is included with the attachment). The line across the screen is actually "But I'll listen anyway", clearly not displayed correctly.

Third attempt,

1. I did not select any subtitles from the source MKV when adding to AVStoDVD.
2. Manually added the SRT Forced subtitles
3. The correct subtitles were processed, but again, they were often unreadable, as in the attached image

Fourth attempt

1. I removed all subtitle tracks from the original MKV created by DVDFab using MKVMerge.
2. Manually added the SRT forced subtitles from the source folder using MKVMerge
3. After processing by AVStoDVD, everything worked fine. Output displays the subtitles correctly.

Hope this is enough info for you.

[NDMMackay]

Job aborts during final mux.
Log files attached.

[wildsharks]

@wildsharks

- open AVStoDVD
- go to 'Preferences'/'Path'
- select a valid 'Menu Templates Path'
- save current Preferences as default
- start again your project

if it does not work, reset AVStoDVD settings with 'Options'/'Restore Default Preferences'

Looks like I have to reset the preference every time I reinstall the software. Anyway, how do I delete "DVD menu items" and add my own items?

[manolito]

Looks like I have to reset the preference every time I reinstall the software.

How often do you need to reinstall the software?

Anyway, how do I delete "DVD menu items" and add my own items?

You don't. You can edit the properties of the different menu items, but you cannot delete them and add your own items.

If you need more menu creation power, use DVDStyler or other advanced authoring packages.



Cheers
manolito

[wildsharks]

Ok, I just tried burning with my mkv video with AVStoDVD and Guess what, my video is total grey! Only audio and subtitles were working. Tried this with DVD Folder Structure and still gives me the same output. How to solve this?

[davexnet]

Ok, I just tried burning with my mkv video with AVStoDVD and Guess what, my video is total grey! Only audio and subtitles were working. Tried this with DVD Folder Structure and still gives me the same output. How to solve this?

Which OS? Windows 8?

[_MrC_]

@Yanta

do you have the possibility to upload the mkv+srt of 2nd attempt?

@NDMMackay

the authoring stage aborts when processing the chapters of 2nd title. Try to remove the last chapter flag: 'Edit Title'/'Chapters', toggle off 'Auto Chapters Setup', select last chapter, click on 'Remove Chapter'. Run the project again.

@wildsharks

use the 'Codecs'/'Build DirectShow Filters Graph' to see if the video decoding path is ok or messed up. Post here the screenshot you get.



Bye

[wildsharks]

@wildsharks

use the 'Codecs'/'Build DirectShow Filters Graph' to see if the video decoding path is ok or messed up. Post here the screenshot you get.

Here's the graph.

[NDMMackay]

I ended up deleting all the chapters to get it to work.
Thanks.

[_MrC_]

Here's the graph.


[Attachment 26595 - Click to enlarge]

OK, both the video and audio paths show directshow filters redundancy.

Go to 'Codecs'/'Preferred DirectShow Codecs Setup' and select ffdshow for video H.264/AVC and for audio AC3. Then verify with the filters graph tool that only ffdshow is used.

For system cleanliness, I suggest you to uninstall AC3Filter as well, that is totally unnecessary if ffdshow is installed.

See Help/FAQ/General Q1.5



Bye

[wildsharks]

I can't select the ffdshow. When I select that option, it tells me that my ffdshow is outdated. So I installed the latest version and now, it does not even give the option to select it.



PS: Ok I don't know what's wrong with the software. I had to uninstall everything, install the ffdshow (64bit)(latest version) FIRST, and then install AVStoDVD with a built in ffdshow(32bit)(older version). Only then I can select my ffdshow. Seems very complicated here.

PPS: I don't know why the selection always goes back to 'Microsoft'. There was no 'OK' button to save my settings so I just close the setup window. When I click the codecs set up again, it automatically goes back 'Microsoft'. What's wrong here?

[tebugg]

@MrC

is there any way for us or you to stop avstodvd application and its dependents from stealing focus? lots of times i'm doing something in another application while avstodvd is doing it's thing and all of a sudden a command window pops up in front of what i'm doing and stops me from what i'm doing. or i accidently hit esc or enter at the wrong time and it messes up avstodvd's routine because it stole focus at the wrong time.