AVANTI - FFmpeg/Avisynth GUI (support thread).

[Chris K]

Just one more small question, since version 0.2.9 Avanti has problems previewing clips with its internal player, i can only see something if i right click on the window and selet maximize,

i went to the program settings and switched the player to media player classic, any advice on how to reactivate the internal player?

At the "Preferences" at "Video player", remove the current path and type "Internal" (without double quotes).
This will set it back to the Avanti player.

Since you use XP, it's weird that you can't get normal display with the internal player.
The window should open at small size and you can drag to resize it or double click for fullscreen.
Can you give some more details.

[ricardouk]

The messed up preview happened when i was previewing some subs, the internal player works but only by selecting "maximize" on the task bar, i cant resize it. works fine with MPC

[Chris K]

but only by selecting "maximize" on the task bar, i cant resize it. works fine with MPC

Think I found what happens and something to fix it for now.
It's caused when you minimize the preview window and then close it.

Solution for now is...

1. Play a movie
2. Maximize the window from the taskbar.
3. Then "double click" once or twice on it untill a border appears around the window.
4. Drag the bottom border line up to resize the window to a smaller size.
5. Close the window the normal way (not minimized or maximized).

EDIT:
If you can't access the bottom border line because it's off screen, you can also drag
down the top border line or try to move the window a bit up or down first.

I'll try to make a few changes in the next version to prevent it.

[ricardouk]

Thanks Chris, it worked.

[nbarzgar]

Hi Chris,

this time I have a cropping/scale problem and am unable to solve it:
I use an AvisynthScript

MPEG2Source("D:\XXXl.d2v")
ConvertToYUY2()

nothing stylish and working fine, but when I enter the crop and scale values, I get the following error:

10:54:05 - Process started using FFmpeg SVN-r15815 [ffmpeg].
=====================================================================================

=

Input #0, avs, from 'D:/XXX....-mpeg2dec.avs':
  Duration: 01:59:19.32, start: 0.000000, bitrate: N/A
    Stream #0.0: Video: rawvideo, yuyv422, 720x576, 165888 kb/s,
    25.00 tb(r)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Output #0, avi, to 'D:/XXX.....avi':
    Stream #0.0: Video: mpeg4, yuv420p, 640x344, q=2-31, 200 kb/s,
    25.00 tb(c)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0.0 -> #0.0

=====================================================================================

=
                               +--------------------+
                               |                    |
                Source [1] --> | FFmpeg + user opts | --> Destination [1]
                               |                    |
                               +--------------------+
=====================================================================================

=

10:54:07 - Attention! FFmpeg c/s/p enabled (sizing to 640x344).
10:54:07 - FFmpeg user VIDEO option(s) included.
10:54:07 - Free space on destination disk 11,988 Mb.

FFmpeg messages/warnings:

error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
error cropping picture
... truncated (too many warnings), consider to cancel process.

10:54:47 - Process canceled by user (destination will be valid).
10:54:48 - FourCC set to XVID, frame rate to Source fps.
10:54:48 - Process finished after 00:00:42 hms with messages/warnings.

... Console processing <Ctrl><S> possibly shows more details.

The Crop/Scale page looks like this:


and I also entered these USER Video options:

-flags ilme+ildct

Can you possibly tell me, what's wrong? I wondered a bit that 'dest' and 'Picture area' remain the same, my mistake probably... Just can't figure it out.. After cropping the size is indeed supposed to be 640x344.
Thanks!

[Chris K]

Hi nbarzgar,

this time I have a cropping/scale problem and am unable to solve it:
I use an AvisynthScript[code]MPEG2Source("D:\XXXl.d2v")
ConvertToYUY2()

It's a FFmpeg issue with crop. It expects YV12 exclusively when cropping.
If you use ConvertToYV12() at the end of your script it should be solved.

I wondered a bit that 'dest' and 'Picture area' remain the same, my mistake probably... Just can't figure it out.. After cropping the size is indeed supposed to be 640x344.

Picture area changes when you pad. It shows the resulting picture size excluding the padding bars.

Chris.

[nbarzgar]

Great!
Thank you for replying so fast, that did it!

[Massa]

On the AVANTI main page, what should I plance at the VBR when converting MPeg into MPEg (re-encoding).
Should I set values for both bit rate and VBR or is one or the other?
I want to get a VBR file, similar to what I get when I use Quenc.
thanks

[Chris K]

I want to get a VBR file, similar to what I get when I use Quenc.
thanks

In the chm help at "basic overview" are three pictures that show the basic settings for
"1-pass constant bitrate", "1-pass fixed quantizer scale (vbr)" and "1/2-pass vbr".

Take a look at these and also at the mpeg2 template examples with these settings that
you can tweak a bit to fit your needs. If they are meant for ES you can simply set
them to PS.

I don't think you can copy the exact settings of Quenc cause it's not based on FFmpeg.
Perhaps it uses libavcodec in some way but I can't get details on it, only download links.

Chris.

[ricardouk]

Hi Chris!

Im having a small problem with the latest version, worked fine for a few days but now when i open it it the GUI doesnt show up but the process is running in teh background, i deleted the ini and started it again but same thing happens again.

I havent got that problem with version 0.31.

Any advice? Thanks

[Chris K]

Hi Ricardo,

I wouldn't call it a "small" problem.

I have the same problem when running Avanti from a third party shell (Total Commander)
and at the same time have certain other programs open like e.g. Outlook Express.

I can't find what it is yet but it never happens when I run Avanti from a desktop shortcut
or from the the standard Windows shell (Explorer).

Can you try this and report if it helps. Perhaps this can lead to a solution.

Chris.

[ricardouk]

Sorry Chris ive only had the time to test it fully today, i've put the shortcut in several locations and it worked fine this time.

Thanks for the new version

[Chris K]

Hi Ricardo,

i've put the shortcut in several locations and it worked fine this time.

It happened only under certain conditions which are hard to trace but I have made some changes
in the new version. I'm now back running it from "Total Commander" and it didn't show up so far.

Thanks for checking and reporting,

Chris.

[JNavas]

One important feature I haven't been able to find in a good FFmpeg GUI, that might be a great addition to Avanti, is the ability to set the process priority of FFmpeg so it can be controlled to not interfere so much with multitasking of other applications. One way to do this is to initiate FFmpeg with the "start" command, which has options to set the spawned process priority (/belownormal or /low).

[Chris K]

One way to do this is to initiate FFmpeg with the "start" command, which has options to set the spawned process priority (/belownormal or /low).

I run FFmpeg with the WinAPI call "CreateProcess()". This has priority options but only these;

HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS, IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS, NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS

so only "normal" and "idle" would be applicable. If this would help, I can add it to the user preferences.

[JNavas]

I run FFmpeg with the WinAPI call "CreateProcess()". This has priority options but only these;
HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS, IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS, NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS, REALTIME_PRIORITY_CLASS
so only "normal" and "idle" would be applicable. If this would help, I can add it to the user preferences.

Thanks!
IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS would be fine for me, but you should also be able to set BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS -- see GetPriorityClass constants.
However, I've heard that call might not work properly for a console application like FFmpeg, so I suggest you first hack a quick test to see what happens.
(Sysinternals Process Explorer can be used to inspect process priorities.)

[Chris K]

IDLE_PRIORITY_CLASS would be fine for me, but you should also be able to set BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS -- see GetPriorityClass constants.
However, I've heard that call might not work properly for a console application like FFmpeg, so I suggest you first hack a quick test to see what happens.

I found "BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS" in the header files. My WinAPI docs are a bit out dated.
I've compiled a new dll with it and checked it in the task manager when FFmpeg runs called by Avanti.
This shows "below normal" so it look like it works

I can add "normal", "below normal" and "idle" to the user preferences.

[JNavas]

I found "BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS" in the header files. My WinAPI docs are a bit out dated.
I've compiled a new dll with it and checked it in the task manager when FFmpeg runs called by Avanti.
This shows "below normal" so it look like it works
I can add "normal", "below normal" and "idle" to the user preferences.

EXCELLENT -- thanks!

You might want to also add "above normal" -- I've seen requests for that in other applications (from those looking for maximum app performance).

[Chris K]

You might want to also add "above normal" -- I've seen requests for that in other applications (from those looking for maximum app performance).

I'll do that! Note that I can see the changed priority but if it really has effect is up to the Windows OS.

I have a question about threads that you perhaps can answer.
Avanti can insert the "-threads x" command automatically if you set it higher than 1 at the preferences.
I later found that "-threads 0" (or auto?) is a valid setting which seems to mean "use as many as you can get".
Currently zero is not a option at the preferences. Do you think it would be useful to add this?

[JNavas]

I later found that "-threads 0" (or auto?) is a valid setting which seems to mean "use as many as you can get".
Currently zero is not a option at the preferences. Do you think it would be useful to add this?

Yes! "threads 0" means use the optimal number of threads automatically.

[KevinSartori]

I was hoping someone here could help. I normally use pyTivo to send video files over to my TiVo HD. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with subtitles. Since pyTivo uses FFmpeg to recode to mpeg2 (the only video format TiVo HD supports), I looked for a frontend for it that might let me recode these files with the subtitles burned into the video image before moving it over to the TiVo HD.

I've installed Avanti 0.3.3. I've installed Avisynth 2.5.8. I'm using a special build of FFmpeg that comes with pyTivo, but I've also tried using the suggested FFmpeg build over at http://tripp.arrozcru.org/ with the same results.

I installed VSFilter.dll into Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins from VSFilter_20081129.zip. Also, I use Vista Codec Pack.

I am using the following settings in Avanti:
Audio:
Codec: Copy Audio

Video:
Codec: mpeg2 / default
Frame Size, Frame Rate, Aspect Ratio: Source
Bitrate: 16384
Max rate: 30000
VBV buffer size: 4096

User VIDEO options:
-threads 2

Avanti actually works great without subtitles! No problems during video conversion. Unfortunately, when I try to enable subtitles, it just kind of hangs there. Then it tells me "Process is still in progress. Please wait!" Then it show "WARNING - FFmpeg shows no encode progression (Cancel process or terminate with chosen "hotkey")." If I try to cancel, I have to open Task Manager and manually stop ffmp_avanti.exe. The subtitles are a simple SRT file, so nothing fancy there.

I've tried removing -threads 2, but it does the same thing. I've also tried:

User VIDEO options:
-threads 2 -copyts

Now I don't get the warning messages, but the bitrate dips to nearly zero during encode and the output file isn't playable, it just shows a black screen with no progress.

I can't figure out why it's doing this. I assume I'm doing something wrong. Can anyone help?

[JNavas]

I was hoping someone here could help. I normally use pyTivo to send video files over to my TiVo HD. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with subtitles. Since pyTivo uses FFmpeg to recode to mpeg2 (the only video format TiVo HD supports), I looked for a frontend for it that might let me recode these files with the subtitles burned into the video image before moving it over to the TiVo HD.

Create and test an AviSynth script that adds your subtitles.
Then use that script as a video source.
Verify by playing it before converting it.

The command in the AviSynth script will be something like:

TextSub("SUBTITLEFILE.ssa")

Hope that helps,
John

[KevinSartori]

Thanks for the help, John!

The movie plays with subtitles almost centered on the screen if I open the .avs file in Media Player Classic or TheKMPlayer. I loaded the same .avs file as the source in Avanti and then disable subtitles, but it hangs the same way it did before.

I didn't know you could play .avs files. If I go to Video Decoder Configuration shortcut in Vista Codec Pack, it opens the "ffdshow video decoder configuration" settings screen. I can turn subtitles on there. I tried this before in Avanti and I didn't get subtitles. If I edit my .avs files so that it reads only:

DirectShowSource ("D:\TiVo\movie.mkv")

and then play the .avs file in Media Player Classic, I get subtitles!

Previous to owning my new TiVo HD, I would convert MKV files to WMV to watch on my Xbox 360. If I want to convert a movie with subtitles, I would enable subtitles in "ffdshow video decoder configuration" and load the above .avs file into Nic's WMEnc and the resulting WMV would have subtitles burned onto the image. I don't think the quality of WMV is as good, though, even at the 10mbps max bitrate that the Xbox 360 supports. I see background blurriness and banding artifacts even at that high bitrate that I don't see with videos converted to mpeg2 with FFmpeg. I would love to be able to get subtitles to work, though, and Avanti seems like the tool to do it, but I'm just not having any luck...

So you have any other ideas, John? Thanks again for the help!

[Chris K]

Hi Kevin,

You cannot use copy for the audio. The subtitle option uses a Avisynth script that delivers raw video and audio.
You can use copy on "audio only" and encode the video to a elementary stream (ES). But then you have to remux it afterwards.

Did you try the subtitle "preview" (which plays the script) and did that work as to be expected? For me it did.

I've tried a comparable setup with a 1440x1080 m2ts source and had the same problem.
I also had to set the frame rate instead of using "Source" cause the source frame rate was mis-interpreted by FFmpeg.

Finally when I tried the Avanti console mode <Ctrl><S>, I could see it took about 3 seconds for one single frame to process and FFmpeg reported fps=0. Bitrate also started at 0 but after a while it reached the actual bit rate setting.

When I use a 720x576 source and let FFmpeg upscale it to 1440x1080 with the subtitle option enabled, it does fine with a speed of 17 fps.

EDIT: If you set a hotkey at the "preferences", you don't have to go to the task manager when FFmpeg hangs or is extremely slow. The chosen key is only "hot" when Avanti runs and is disabled when you exit.

Chris.

[JNavas]

The movie plays with subtitles almost centered on the screen if I open the .avs file in Media Player Classic or TheKMPlayer.

Subtitles should be near the bottom of the frame.
Do any frame manipulation before adding subtitles.

John

[KevinSartori]

Thanks for the help, Chris! The audio was definitely the problem! I just tried again with the Audio Enabled box unchecked. The subtitles are now burned onto the video!

Most of the MKV files I'd want to convert have 5.1 AC3 sound. Unfortunately, the TiVo HD won't play back audio with a bitrate higher than 448kbps.

Avanti's drop-down audio boxes don't appear to support 5.1 channels or 448 as a bitrate. So I tried just typing those numbers in and everything seemed to work. Well, 5.1 didn't work, but 6 did. But when I play the converted video, the center channel and the right channel are swapped!

At one point, this was a problem with pyTivo, as well, but the channel swapping was fixed with a special build of FFmpeg.exe. I tried using this special build, as well as the build over at http://tripp.arrozcru.org/ but they both swapped those two channels.

I'm so close! Does anyone have an idea how to get the audio to pass through to the correct channels?

I'm thinking that maybe the best idea is to transcode the video with Avanti with no audio. Then I could extract the AC3 from the MKV, recode it to 448kbps and then mux it into the video-only MPG. I hate the extra steps, though. I could use BeSweet to recode the AC3 audio, but how would I mux it back into the MPG file? There must be a freeware program to do this...

I really appreciate the help so far and I hope someone has an idea how to fix this!

[JNavas]

I'm so close! Does anyone have an idea how to get the audio to pass through to the correct channels?

Suggest you manipulate the audio in the AviSynth script. That's what I do to convert various crazy multichannel formats into simple stereo.

John

[KevinSartori]

That's a good idea, John! Could you point me to a page that would explain how to do this?

[JNavas]

That's a good idea, John! Could you point me to a page that would explain how to do this?

Start here: http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Main_Page
Specifically for audio: http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Internal_filters#Audio_processing_filters
And especially: http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/GetChannel
~John

[Chris K]

Avanti drop-down audio boxes don't appear to support 5.1 channels or 448 as a bitrate. So I tried just typing those numbers in and everything seemed to work. Well, 5.1 didn't work, but 6 did. But when I play the converted video, the center channel and the right channel are swapped!

You can type 448 (or whatever) into the audio bitrate field and then press "Enter". It then will be added at the end of the list. You can also do that with most other settings. The additions you do yourself this way are saved.

FFmpeg isn't able to handle multi-channel sources. You can disable "video" and copy (demux) the audio to a separate stream. Then FFmpeg leaves the channels untouched.
You then can load the "mux" template and remux the demuxed audio and re-encoded video back into a mpg container.

The "mux video" setting in Avanti adds a -fflags genpts and -f vob command to the command line which is required
for mpeg2 muxing. The "copy video" setting doesn't do this automatically.

EDIT: To do proper muxing, you must re-encode your video to a elementary stream (m2v) not mpg.