wmv to DVD

[Steve Walsh]

Hi,

I'm stuck !
I've got many many WMV files and I'd like to convert to another format.
I can convert to AVI with VirtualDubMod and the audio will stay in sync if I select the options "Sync to Audio" and "Drop frames when behind".
However, I'm now trying to convert to DVD (MPEG2) and whilst I can open the WMV in HCenc using AviSynth DirecShowSource("xxxxxxx.wmv"), I end up with the problem of the audio being out of sync when I remux the audio+video (only vdub has the "drop frames when behind" option which seems to sort this!)

Having done some reading, I'm blaming the original WMV files - apparently they can be variable frame rate etc...

So my next solution was WMM (Windows Movie Maker) and outputting the file as DV-AVI.
This turned my 500MB-900MB files in 12GB files.

I can open these files in VirtualDubMod (after many codec installs, ffdshow included) but I'm still having problems opening the files into HCenc with AviSynth.
I'm using the same DirectShowSource parameter in the .avs file (of course, it now points to a huge .avi file instead of the wmv).

The error in HCgui 0.21 is - Can't load video.

When I try to load the .avs file into VirtualDubMod, I get the error "No Video Stream Found"

PLEASE can someone explain how I can open this file with AviSynth ?

Thanks.

[mats.hogberg]

Tried AVISource instead of DirectShowSource?

/Mats

[Steve Walsh]

I have tried AVISource and that just "closes" (crashes/kills) VirtualDubMod and/or HCgui.

[mats.hogberg]

What about the Panasonic DV Codec? Got that installed?

/Mats

[Steve Walsh]

A ha !

Yes, I did install it, but I also installed EVERY other DV codec I could find - this turns out to have been my mistake !

In my AVIcodec video codec list, I had "dvsd;Enabled;cedocida" - but I re-installed the panasonic one and this has now been replaced with "dvsd;Enabled;DV Video for Windows Driver"

And yes, now I can open the avi in HCenc using AVISource("xxxx") !

Thanks for helping me to see the light - this has been annoying me for a few weeks now !

I guess the moral of this story is - only install the codecs you need and test after each codec install (don't install 'en-masse' like I did)

(ahhh - the relief, I can start batch encoding now!)

Thanks again.

[guns1inger]

You can only have one registered vfw DV codec at a time.

[Midzuki]

Apparently, the OP did not give a try to:

DirectShowSource("xxxxxxx.wmv", fps=##, convertfps=true)


P.S.: XXX.wmv? P0RN stuff, I guess.

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[Steve Walsh]

The "one VFW DV codec at a time" issue was the problem - It's not something I'd heard of before.
Is that the same rule for other vfw codecs ?

Doh - No, I didn't try the DirectShowSource("xxxxxxx.wmv", fps=##, convertfps=true)
I never thought of trying that !
Do you know if it works for these "variable frame rate" WMV files ?
Will the audio still match (in-sync) ?

(I'll try this once my PC is free - it's busy encoding to mpeg2 already!)

No, it isn't p0rn - I just used x's instead of a random name that meant nothing - hold on, x's don't mean anything either - except maybe to those with an interest in p0rn ?

Thanks again to everyone for their help and input.

[Relayerman]

ConvertXtoDVD will also do the trick. So far its the only tool I've found that actually does the job the most cleanly (audio in sync, no jerkiness). Those WMV files are a pain to convert correctly unless you spend days sorting thru codecs, and trying to figure out AVISynth or ffdshow. One needs a college course to figure out what all the terminlogy is let alone how to use a tool.

We've got a wealth of tools that all do the same thing and are nothing more than frontends to ffdshow, avisynth, etc. What we need is a tool for converting WMV files to MPEG or Xivd WITH audio in sync and no jerkiness. Yeah, I suppose I could go the AVI route and end up with 12gig files, but, nah, come on, there ought to be a way without going thru the pain of installing all the right codecs and all the script processors and all the frontends. Someone step up to the plate.

Relayerman

[mats.hogberg]

<rant>If people avoided using the proprietary WMV format, the world would be a better place. IMO, WMV is an end format, and should be left on its own. I really don't understand why so many spend so much time converting different end formats, never intended to do anything more with than watch, often of very low quality (like RMVB, flv, wmv & cetera). </rant>

/Mats

[t0nee1]

Occasionally I'll use WMM to capture home movies via VCR,which gives me a
.wmv file,then I'll use DVDFlick or FAVC to convert to DVD...works fine, for me.......

[mats.hogberg]

use WMM to capture home movies via VCR,which gives me a
.wmv file

You'd be much better off (quality and compatibilitywise) saving out as DV AVI from WMM instead of WMV.

/Mats

[Alex_ander]

I didn't try the DirectShowSource("xxxxxxx.wmv", fps=##, convertfps=true)
I never thought of trying that !
Do you know if it works for these "variable frame rate" WMV files ?

It's really worth trying (usually works). FPS value should be the actual one. If VFR, 'convertfps=true' parameter is necessary to get audio in synch (you'll possibly still need simple delay adjustment after encoding). If .wmv is not seekable at playback, add seekzero=true parameter in DirectShowSource.

[Relayerman]

<rant>If people avoided using the proprietary WMV format, the world would be a better place. IMO, WMV is an end format, and should be left on its own. I really don't understand why so many spend so much time converting different end formats, never intended to do anything more with than watch, often of very low quality (like RMVB, flv, wmv & cetera). </rant>

/Mats

While some of that is true, I have gotten some 'DVD quality' WMVs (thats debateable, I know) that I want to convert to Xvid for storing several on a DVD and playing in a standalone DVD player. Currently there is no reliable tool to do just that. I tried several so-called converters and nothing worked and those that did work did a lousy job. ConvertXtoDVD was the best at making a full blown DVD, but putting several WMVs on a DVD for ConvertXtoDVD would result in low quality results. Hence, the Xvid route for me.

Yes, I agree that WMV is and 'end' format, but with high quality movies in the WMV format things have changed.

Relayerman

[Steve Walsh]

My WMV's are also of reasonable quality to start with !

I understand the points raised and I wouldn't go near WMV if I had a choice... as it stands, I don't have a choice and I do need a way to convert.

I'll do the WMV in WMM (=12GB) to MPEG for now, but I'm also going to try the avisynth fps parameters to see if that works - 1 less step (thanks to Midzuki and Alex_ander) !

A nice tool to do it all would be good though - it's still a bit manual, and that's before I start on the audio...

Thanks again (esp. mats.hogberg for the codec solution)

[t0nee1]

Thanx mats for that,however as I mentioned I only capture from VCR (an old one at that,component,RCA outs) occasionally,but will definitely try DV AVI, if I buy a new VCR...
thanks again!....

[Midzuki]

No, it isn't p0rn - I just used x's instead of a random name that meant nothing - hold on, x's don't mean anything either - except maybe to those with an interest in p0rn ?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=%22xxx+videos%22&btnG=Search

AFAIK, many (if not most) P2P-shared p0rn videos are .wmv files
(duly DRM-ed, needless to say), the remainder being .mov (the tiny minority),
.mpeg, and .avi (which can be XviD, DivX, DivX ;-) and even 3ivx).

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[Steve Walsh]

Using DirectShowSource("yyyyyyyy.wmv", fps=25, convertfps=true) and ConvertToYV12() it all seems to have worked ok !
The resulting video is in-sync with the audio...

I've not compared the 2 versions - I'll update this one when I do...

I hope the y's are more acceptable to those with issues around the letter x (Midzuki - I never used just 3 for that very reason)

btw - I usually demux audio from video with vdub then re-encode using BeSweet etc..., but I've just tried Mediacoder and it did the audio conversion (to ac3) straight from the .wmv file ok. 1 less step there.

Just spotted Avi to Ac3 - it uses the avs files I create anyway - bonus - I'll be trying this app...

[Midzuki]

Steve Walsh escribió:

Using DirectShowSource("yyyyyyyy.wmv", fps=25, convertfps=true) and
ConvertToYV12() it all seems to have worked ok !
The resulting video is in-sync with the audio...

I´m glad to hear that

And no, I do not have issues around the letter X,
or about b0urne --- it was just a wanna-be joke
about a very "well-known" fact

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