AVStoDVD Support Thread

[Mike99]

Mike, Avidemux can do it.
Leave video and audio to "copy", set format to FLV.
Use the red A and B buttons to set the start and end points.
Start the cut on an I frame - up and down arrow keys to seek to them.

I could probably just D/L part of the FLV file. How would I then upload it to you or the forum? Another option, if you wanted, is to just download the Hulu file directly.

Please advise.
Thanks

[davexnet]

You can upload any file to mediafire.com and post the URL in here.

Weren't you able to get a section of it using Avidemux?
What is the deal with downloading from HULU ? I thought it was view/stream only

[ThaDraGun]

I'm trying to make a Disc with Dexter Episodes on it. I've tried twice and keep getting the same error, the first time I didnt have the log so thats why I had to do it again. Problem is I still can't figure out what is wrong from reading the log. It keeps saying: "PROCESS ABORTED DURING TITLE 1 AUDIO (TRACK 1) ENCODING OPERATIONS." The original mkv file plays fine with no audio errors that I could notice. Maybe there are too many episodes on a disc? Usually I do 3 on a disc but this time I'm trying to do 4 because its for a friend and thats how they wanted it.

Any Ideas?
Thanks

LOG:

<29/10/2010 12:19:34 PM>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Encoding Profile: HCenc VBR 2-pass
Target Video FileSize: 978.5 MB
HCenc Parameters: -ini "C:\Users\MARCEL~1\AppData\Local\Temp\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.HCenc.ini"
HCenc ini file:
*INFILE C:\Users\MARCEL~1\AppData\Local\Temp\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji_1.avs
*AVSRELOAD
*OUTFILE H:\AVStoDVD\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.m2v
*LOGFILE C:\Users\MARCEL~1\AppData\Local\Temp\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.HCenc.log
*MAXBITRATE 9000
*BITRATE 2561
*PROFILE BEST
*ASPECT 16:9
*PROGRESSIVE
*TFF
*PULLDOWN
*BIAS 30
*DC_PREC 8
*MATRIX MPEG
*AQ 1
*LUMGAIN 1
*SMP
*PRIORITY IDLE
*WAIT 2
<>

<29/10/2010 1:02:14 PM>
END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
A2DVideoSource: DirectShowSource
Created File: H:\AVStoDVD\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.m2v (979.2 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 2577 kbps - 720x480 - DAR 1.778 - 23.976 fps (CFR) - Progressive (2:3 Pulldown) - 53:24 minutes - 76841 frames
<>

<29/10/2010 1:02:18 PM>
START AUDIO DEMUXING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
FFmpeg Parameters: -i "E:\TV Shows\Dexter - Season 5\dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.mkv" -acodec copy "H:\AVStoDVD\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji_1.ToFix.ac3"
<>

<29/10/2010 1:16:54 PM>
START (BACKUP) AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
FFmpeg Parameters: -threads 4 -i "E:\TV Shows\Dexter - Season 5\dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji.mkv" -map 0:1 -y -vn -acodec ac3 -ac 6 -ar 48000 -ab 384k "H:\AVStoDVD\Dexter S05 [01-04]_0_Title_01_dexter.s05e01.720p.hdtv.x264-orenji_1.ac3"
<>

<29/10/2010 1:22:47 PM>
PROCESS ABORTED DURING TITLE 1 AUDIO (TRACK 1) ENCODING OPERATIONS.

CHECK LOG FILE <H:\AVSTODVD\DEXTER S05 [01-04]_0.LOG> FOR MORE INFO.
<>

<29/10/2010 1:22:47 PM>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.3.2
<>

[_MrC_]

@ThaDraGun

It seems from the log file portion (next time provide the full text) that FFmpeg has some trouble in extracting the AC3 audio track. I suggest you to try do demux the video and audio tracks using MKVExtract (from MKVToolnix) and then add them to AVStoDVD.

Let me know



Bye

[Mike99]

You can upload any file to mediafire.com and post the URL in here.

Weren't you able to get a section of it using Avidemux?
What is the deal with downloading from HULU ? I thought it was view/stream only

I have not tried Avidemux yet. I don't know if it's worth spending any more time trying to see what HCenc 2-pass looks like, especially since QuEnc works & looks very good.

I came across StreamTransport which lets you save Hulu FLV files.

[Mike99]

MrC,

Now it does not work with QuEnc either. When I tried the one video episode using QuEnc at 5000 & 7000 Kbps it worked properly. But now I tried 2 other episodes & the 23.976 was converted to 29.97. Here is one of the logs

<11/4/2010 1:41:48 PM>
START PROCESS
<>

<11/4/2010 1:41:48 PM>
PROJECT SETTINGS

DVD Video Standard: NTSC
DVD Titles number: 1
DVD Size: 2997/4450 MB (67%)
DVD Output Setup: DVD Folder
DVD Label: DVD
DVD Menu: No Menu
Output Folder: F:\Peace_1_360
Delete Temp Process Files: Yes
Delete Working Files: Yes
Edit Command Parameters: No
Post Process Task: Show Progress Status window

PREFERENCES

MultiThread: 1
AVS Source Filter: A2DSource
AVS UpSize/DownSize Filter: Lanczos4Resize/Spline64Resize
Video Resolution: 0
Video BitRate Min: 2500
Video BitRate Level 1: 6500
Video Profile Level 2: 4500
Video BitRate Max: 8500
Keep DVD Compliant Video: 1
AC3 Audio Encoder: 0
PAL SpeedUp: 0
Force FFmpeg for Long Audio: 1
DVD Audio Format: 0
DVD Audio BitRate: 192
Keep DVD Compliant Audio: 1
Normalize Audio: 0
DVD Audio Language: EN - English
DVD Subs Language: EN - English
DVD Subs Font: Tahoma 18pt Bold
Chapters Interval: 5
Use Source Chapters: 1
DVD Burning Drive: E: HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GSA-H55L 1.05
DVD Burning Speed: 4x
Auto Erase DVD RW: 1
Save Log file: 1
Save General Settings: 0
Unload ActiveMovie library: 0
Adjust ffdshow mixer: 1
<>

<11/4/2010 1:41:48 PM>
TITLE 1 SOURCE FILES
Video: F:\Peace_1_360\Hulu - Sample1.flv
Info: AVC - 553 kbps - 640x360 - DAR 1.778 - 23.976 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 1:06:33 hours - 95759 frames
Audio 1: F:\Peace_1_360\Hulu - Sample1.flv
Info: AAC LC - 0 kbps - CBR - 2ch - 48000Hz - 1:06:33 hours - Internal
Subs:
[MediaInfoLib - v0.7.35]
<>

<11/4/2010 1:41:48 PM>
AVISYNTH SCRIPT
Import("C:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")

Video = A2DVideoSource("F:\Peace_1_360\Hulu - Sample1.flv", CacheFolder="C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp", VFR=false)
Audio = A2DAudioSource("F:\Peace_1_360\Hulu - Sample1.flv", CacheFolder="C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp")

Video = Video.ConvertToYV12
#Using DGPulldown/HCenc to upsize FPS
Video = Video.Lanczos4Resize(720,480)

AudioDub(Video, Audio)
<>

<11/4/2010 1:41:48 PM>
START VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
Encoding Profile: QuEnc CBR 1-pass
Target Video FileSize: 2856.7 MB
QuEnc Parameters: -i "C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_1.avs" -o "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1.m2v" -b 6000 -1 -hq -novbr -scene -trell -aspectratio 16:9 -nointerlaced -mpeg2mux noaudio -dc 9 -priority 5 -auto -close
<>

<11/4/2010 2:47:36 PM>
END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS
A2DVideoSource: DirectShowSource
Created File: F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1.m2v (2856.7 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 6000 kbps - 720x480 - DAR 1.778 - 25 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 1:06:33 hours - 99848 frames
<>

<11/4/2010 2:47:36 PM>
START PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown Parameters: "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1.m2v" -srcfps 25.000 -destfps 29.97 -inplace -tff
<>

<11/4/2010 2:55:48 PM>
END PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown executed on File: F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1.m2v (2856.7 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 6000 kbps - 720x480 - DAR 1.778 - 29.97 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 1:06:33 hours - 119697 frames
<>

<11/4/2010 2:55:48 PM>
START AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
Wavi+Aften Parameters: "C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_1.avs" - | "C:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Aften\aften.exe" -b 192 -pad 0 -dynrng 5 -bwfilter 0 - "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_1.ac3"
<>

<11/4/2010 2:57:32 PM>
END AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS (Track 1)
A2DAudioSource: DirectShowSource
Created File: F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_1.ac3 (91.4 MB)
OUTPUT AUDIO INFO: AC3 - 192 kbps - CBR - 2ch - 48000Hz - 16bit - 1:06:33 hours
<>

<11/4/2010 2:57:32 PM>
START DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
BatchMux Parameters: -arglist "C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp\DVD_0_BatchMux.ini "
BatchMux ini file:
-d "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0\VIDEO_TS"
-mxp "C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp\DVD_0_MuxMan.m xp"
-l "C:\DOCUME~1\Mike\LOCALS~1\Temp\DVD_0_MuxMan.l og"
-muxman "C:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\MuxMan"
-prio LOW
-v "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1.m2v"
-vidmode LB
-a1 "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_1.ac3"
-a1lang en
-cellfr "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_Chapters.txt"
-progfr "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_Chapters.txt"
-chapfr "F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0_Hulu - Sample1_Chapters.txt"

<>

<11/4/2010 3:07:18 PM>
CHECK DVD SIZE
DVD Folder (actual) Size: 3002 MB
vs Estimated Size: 2997 MB -> 0.2% oversize
vs Assets Size: 2948.1 MB -> OK
<>

<11/4/2010 3:07:18 PM>
END DVD AUTHORING OPERATIONS
Created Folder: F:\Peace_1_360\DVD_0 (3002 MB)
<>

<11/4/2010 3:07:19 PM>
Log file created by AVStoDVD Release 2.3.2
<>

[Mike99]

Could the FLVSplitter be the problem?

QuEnc worked before I installed FLVSplitter. I installed FLVSplitter in order to get HCenc to work. HCenc works, but incorrectly changes the video to 29.97 fps. Which is what now happens with QuEnc.

How do I uninstall FLVSplitter?

[davexnet]

How did you install it? Was there a setup of any kind ? If it's just a filter
you can unregister by using the following command from a CMD box:
REGSVR32 "c:\my_folder\flvsplitter.ax" /u

(obviously insert the proper folder name)

Actually NTSC DVD should be 29.97 frame rate. Asssuming the source is 23.97 it uses PULLDOWN to get there,
either in HCenc or DGpulldown (separate step).

You would expect DGpulldown to run 23.976 > 29.97 since you used QUenc. The problem above is that the
file was recognized as 25 fps after the encode and that's a problem.

Difficult to diagnose, you didn't provide a clip.

[Mike99]

I installed by double clicking on the file > Select the program from a list > Browse > Windows\System32 > regsvr32.exe. I tried doing the Start -> Run and type: regsvr32 process, but could not get it to work.

I just tried to uninstall it by two methods & neither one worked.

Start > Run > regsvr32 /u flvsplitter.ax, and via a command window & first changed directory to Window\System32.

I also tried “-u” because I also saw that mentioned when I did a search.

In all cases I get a RegSvr32 message: LoadLibrary(“flvsplitter.ax”) failed - The specified module could not be found.

You mention using the proper folder name. But would the flvsplitter.ax file now be registered (or whatever it does) in the Window\System32 folder?

Previously the output file was 23.976 just like the source file. From what I read here, it stays at 23.976 but uses the pulldown to make it 29.97 compliant. And that’s what I want And the picture looked good. However when it just converts to a real 29.97 the picture looses quality.

I know I know, I should provide a clip. I’ve already installed 4 programs plus FLVSplitter in order to do what should be an easy to do task. So I’m just a little put off that I need to install yet another program. That’s why I figured I would just stick to using QuEnc, but now it does not work.

[davexnet]

Mike, before you get rid of the flv splitter,
have you tried forcing directshowsource instead of A2dsource ? It's in the preferences/avisynth.
You'll have to start the project again, because it's one of those settings that takes affect with the new project.
Give that a try first.

Search your harddrive for flvsplitter.ax . It is not necessarily in windows\sysem32, regsvr32 will register it where ever it is.
You can either unregister, or just delete the ax file.

Technically you're right about the frame rate. The *effective* frame rate becomes 29.97 by using pulldown to repeat some frames
at playback time.

Hopefully this will help.

[Mike99]

I had to install FLVSplitter in order to get HCenc to work, although not properly. When the HCenc window came up so did a couple of ffdshow configuration icons in the bottom taskbar. These never appeared when using QuEnc before installing FLVSplitter. I have no idea if/when the ffdshow icons are supposed to appear, I’m just explaining what did happen.

When I went back to using QuEnc after FLVSplitter was installed I noticed a few other differences (compared to using QuEnc before FLVSplitter).

1) With FLVSplitter, the ffdshow icons showed up in the lower taskbar.

2) Right after Starting, two firewall alerts came up which I never had before. IIRC QuEnc wanted to do some global hook with a .dll file and it wanted access to the registry. I have no idea what these meant but since QuEnc was a trusted program I allowed it to do what it requested.

3) The authored DVD file did not contain the AUDIO_TS folder.

4) There is audio but it is way out of sync, just like when using HCenc.

I restored Windows to before FLVSplitter condition and QuEnc now works properly again. From my perspective, FLVSplitter launches ffdshow which then causes the incorrect conversion with out of sync audio. But that’s a guess.

Perhaps I’ll re-install FLVSplitter and try directshowsource. But for now everything is working. What is the difference between directshowsource & A2dsource, what do these do & why would you choose one over the others?

[davexnet]

Mike, I'm sure MrC could explain it better, but basically A2dsource is AVStoDVD's own program,
and under the covers it decides what Avisynth source routine to use.

Choosing directshowsource is really for troubleshooting purposes; not always the best choice.
The appearance of the FFDShow items is normal and expected.

FFDshow is MrC's recommended codec so not sure what is going on.

I'm going to download the media file from Hulu myself and see if I can find out .

[_MrC_]

@Mike,

the situation is becoming very complex. What's going on with flvsplitter and ffdshow? I would not test A2DSource vs DirectShowSource, simply because if ffdshow instances pop up, then DSS is already in use (A2DVideoSource tests, sequentially, AVISource, DSS, FFMS).

Please provide the clip, it will be much faster/easier to understand.



Bye

[Mike99]

I uploaded a clip of the one FLV file I working with. Hopefully you can access this.
http://www.mediafire.com/?uoc8wh34pqmyj3b

Now another problem. I missed Fringe on TV and D/L it from Hulu and the FLV file plays just fine. It's another 23.976 fps file. I thought I'd author & burn a DVD so I could watch it on TV instead of the PC. I tried 3 times but the VIDEO_TS and .VOB files play the audio really slow & low and cannot be understood at all.

[_MrC_]

I uploaded a clip of the one FLV file I working with. Hopefully you can access this.
http://www.mediafire.com/?uoc8wh34pqmyj3b

Thanks, let me check.

Now another problem. I missed Fringe on TV and D/L it from Hulu and the FLV file plays just fine. It's another 23.976 fps file. I thought I'd author & burn a DVD so I could watch it on TV instead of the PC. I tried 3 times but the VIDEO_TS and .VOB files play the audio really slow & low and cannot be understood at all.

I have encountered a similar problem when using FFMpegSource in combination with FLV files. Resolved using FLVSplitter... so we have to fix that.



Bye

[davexnet]

HI all,
yes, I found the same thing - I tried to mention it earlier, but I guess I complicated the thread.
Sorry about that !
Dave

[_MrC_]

@Mike99

there's something weird in that flv file: MediaInfo detects 23.976 fps, GSpot 24.013 and AviSynth 25 fps. I suspect that AviSynth is right. I have tried to load that flv with AviDemux (to change container from flv to mkv), but it hangs forever and I had to kill it.

Workaround still using FLVSplitter: go to 'Edit Title'/'AviSynth', toggle off 'Auto AviSynth Script' and write this line:

Video = Video.ChangeFPS(29.97)

over

#Using DGPulldown/HCenc to upsize FPS

Let me know



Bye

[Mike99]

@Mike99

there's something weird in that flv file: MediaInfo detects 23.976 fps, GSpot 24.013 and AviSynth 25 fps. I suspect that AviSynth is right. I have tried to load that flv with AviDemux (to change container from flv to mkv), but it hangs forever and I had to kill it.

Workaround still using FLVSplitter: go to 'Edit Title'/'AviSynth', toggle off 'Auto AviSynth Script' and write this line:

Video = Video.ChangeFPS(29.97)

over

#Using DGPulldown/HCenc to upsize FPS

Let me know



Bye

Are making those changes going to convert my video to 29.97 fps? And also correct the out of sync audio that FLVSplitter causes with both Hcenc and QuEnc?

Obviously the FLV file frame rate seems questionable. But it does seem strange that Hulu would convert USA programs to 25 fps when we do not use that frame rate.

When I previously used another conversion program it converted the Peacemaker video to 29.97 fps and it looked a bit jerky. When AVStoDVD converted to 29.97 it also lost some quality and did not look sharp.

However when AVStoDVD provides a 23.976 fps output video it looks the best. I've had a few friends look at both frame rates & everyone agrees the 23.976 looks the best. Just a thought, but maybe that's because the frame rate was not converted. IOW 23.976 in and 23.976 out. Again, just a thought.

I may want to withdraw my previous comment:
“When I went back to using QuEnc after FLVSplitter was installed I noticed a few other differences (compared to using QuEnc before FLVSplitter).
1) With FLVSplitter, the ffdshow icons showed up in the lower taskbar.”

The more I think about it the more I’m not sure if the little red icon was for ffdshow or QuEnc. I’m just trying to remember too many variables.

[_MrC_]

Mike99,

some important clarifications:

1. NTSC standard requires 29.97 fps. This framerate can be achieved by encoding directly to 29.97 fps or by pulling down (i.e. inserting playback frames) a "lesser fps" source to 29.97 fps. Pulldown is the best method (optimal when source is 23.976 because a easy 3:2 pulldown is applied) but the other is a good workaround. Just try it.

2. ffdshow instances (the red icon for video, blue icon for audio) are invoked every time there is a directshow codec call. If you are playing (decoding) a video without the red icon, it means that directshow is not used (i.e. AVISource, MpegSource, FFMpegSource, WAVSource, ...).



Bye

[djkilla]

Just started using this program and love it! Got a few questions though. If I'm using only AVI and MKV files, what do I need to get the most with version 2.3.2? I'm using Windows 7 64bit. Do I need the following:

- use 'A2DSource' instead of 'FFMpegSource' (FFMS takes a long time indexing your big input files)
- make sure you have Haali Media Splitter installed
- make sure you have ffdshow installed
- make sure you have Windows 7 Preferred Filter Tweaker installed and select ffdshow as video/audio decoder
- use 'Preview Clip' function to test output before start encoding

I don't have FFDSHow installed or Preferred Filter Tweaker. Do I need these? Is there also any settings I need to change in FFDShow after I install it?

[davexnet]

Mike99, Here's one I did from your clip, quality quite good (95 MB), I used AQ=2 in HCenc.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?t52x7evjef0eqey

[Mike99]

MrC,

I already have 29.97 fps versions of the Peacemaker video. These were made when I had FLVSplitter installed. One was using HCenc 2-pass and this had the delayed audio. The other was using QuEnc and had the slow audio. Both of these have inferior video compared to the QuEnc without FLVSplitter installed.

Is the script change for Peacemakers or Fringe?

Is making the script change going to create a better 29.97 fps Peacemaker video with either QuEnc or HCenc? Or will it just correct the audio in both cases?

I’m not trying to be argument, but if 29.97 fps looks worse than 23.976 fps then why would I want it?

[_MrC_]

@Mike99

please understand I cannot guarantee anything. Just try (if you will) and give your own judgement: visual quality is too much subjective. Is davexnet's clip good for you? Ask him what codecs/settings/system he has used.

@djkilla
I always suggest to use ffdshow as directshow codec suite and get rid of other packs. Then, if you have W7, you should use Preferred Filter Tweaker to inform W7 to use ffdshow instead of its internal codecs. To properly use the 'Preview Clip' feature, have a look at Help/FAQ/GUI/Q2.2 and Q2.3



Bye

[Mike99]

Mike99, Here's one I did from your clip, quality quite good (95 MB), I used AQ=2 in HCenc.
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?t52x7evjef0eqey

I went to compare your 23.976 fps version to my 23.076 fps versions. I was trying to do some pixel peeping and compare identical frames. But the timings per VLC were all different. IOW the frame at your 2:00 minute mark was different than mine. So I looked at approx the same frame & noted where VLC said it was. Here’s what I found.

The reference frame I picked was at the 2:00 minute point on the original FLV file. Times are within a second or two.

The reference frame on your video was also at the 2:00 minute point.
The reference frame on my QuEnc at 8500 Kbps was at 1:45 minutes.
The reference frame on my QuEnc at 6500 Kbps was at 1:20 minutes

When I timed it with my watch the VLC 1:20 mins was actually 2:00 mins.

Something is causing VLC to display different times but I have no idea what this means or if it is significant. Could it be the frame rate? The QuEnc ones are supposedly constant and it appears your is variable & with a higher max.

You said you used AQ=2 in HCenc. I could not find this, where is it located?
Did you use directshowsource and FLVSplitter?
Any other setting I should change?

[davexnet]

Edit the title and on the video tab I set 1-pass HCenc. Just to the right there's a small icon with some setting for HCenc,
click on that and you'll see the setting you need. I did use directshowsource and I believe FLV splitter was installed.
Look closely at the log I included, and you'll see the settings I used, the Avisynth script,etc,etc.

Not sure about VLC, since I don't use it. Perhaps you should give MPC-HC a try.

Regarding HCenc in general, I usually take out the BIAS setting from the input settings - I think it works better without it.

[Mike99]

Edit the title and on the video tab I set 1-pass HCenc. Just to the right there's a small icon with some setting for HCenc,
click on that and you'll see the setting you need. I did use directshowsource and I believe FLV splitter was installed.
Look closely at the log I included, and you'll see the settings I used, the Avisynth script,etc,etc.

Not sure about VLC, since I don't use it. Perhaps you should give MPC-HC a try.

Regarding HCenc in general, I usually take out the BIAS setting from the input settings - I think it works better without it.

Now you got me curious about the HcEnc settings such as AQ and LUMGAIN.

I read in the HcEnc pdf that AQ is 2 as default, yet AVStoDVD comes up at 1. Is this normal or have I somehow changed things when I was trying the different HcEnc versions?

What about LUMGAIN? The pdf states default as 0, however AVStoDVD has it as 1. Should I leave it at 1? What do you know about the warning at the end of the LUMGAIN section: “CAUTION: although it is DVD compliant, it might not play correct on some HW players.” ?

Reading through a lot of online articles & postings it appears a lot of people use AQ=2 and quite a few use LUMGAIN=2. Any thoughts on this?

I see Bias mentioned in the pdf, but where is this accessed in AVStoDVD?

[davexnet]

Mike, in previous releases of HCenc AQ=1 was the default (I'm pretty sure) now it's 2.
Lumgain has always been 0, as far as I know.
Perhaps MrC forgot to update his program ? Regarding the DVD compliancy issues,
I don't know that much about it, the encoder uses an adaptive matrix that apparently
can cause issues with some players.

Perhaps MrC thought Lumgain=1 was a good starting point, have to ask him.
As you probably know Lumgain steals bit from dark
area's as you increase it, while AQ gives more bits to flat area's as it's increased.
I've found AQ=1 or 2, Lumgain 0 or 1 to be most useful; you could always use "trim"
in the script to encode a small representative section and try the different settings.

Regarding BIAS, I think it's best to leave it out and let the encoder decide.
Enable "advanced project settings" via the "settings" button at the top of the main screen.
Select "edit encoder command parameters at runtime".
Set the project to use HCenc, and when you "start", just delete the BIAS line from the list
of passed parameters and click the x top right.

[Mike99]

davexnet,

I’m going to try HCenc again & use your changes. Just for reference I compared your log to my problem video log & noticed these differences.

You have AVS Source Filter: DirectShowSource and I have AVS Source Filter: A2DSource. This is one of the changes I will make.

My AVISYNTH SCRIPT Starts with:
Import("C:\Program Files\AVStoDVD\Lib\A2DSource.avsi")
You don’t have that line & I’m presuming I have it because of the A2DSource.

Between END VIDEO ENCODING OPERATIONS and START AUDIO ENCODING OPERATIONS I have these two sections which you do not:

START PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown Parameters: "C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Videos\DVD_0_Hulu - Peacemakers Bad Company - Watch the full episode now..m2v" -srcfps 25.000 -destfps 29.97 -inplace -tff

And END PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown executed on File: C:\Documents and Settings\Mike\My Documents\My Videos\DVD_0_Hulu - Peacemakers Bad Company - Watch the full episode now..m2v (1877.1 MB)
OUTPUT VIDEO INFO: MPEG-2 Video - 6531 kbps - 720x480 - DAR 1.778 - 29.97 fps (CFR) - Progressive - 40:28 minutes - 72780 frames

I’ll experiment a bit later & let you know what happens.

[Mike99]

Now I’m getting an error message when I do the FrameServing Check. It says to see Help/FAQ/Video/Q3.1, which states:

Q3.1 I cannot encode anything, errors are everywhere.
A: Make sure you have installed AviSynth and a good directshow codecs suite (like FFDShow stable releases).

I do have AviSynth and FFDShow installed. If I use A2DSource there is no error message. In fact ffdshow icons appeared on the lower task bar when I previously tried A2DSource with HCenc. The video & audio were problematic but at least ffdshow was acknowledged.

Any suggestions?

[davexnet]

Use GraphStudio to render the FLV.
https://www.videohelp.com/tools/GraphStudio

If you get a complete graph and it plays when you hit the play button, it means directshow is working normally.
Otherwise there's an issue, and there may be a missing filter.