AVI to x264 Problems

[DarthBuckets]

I really want to convert a library of AVI TV episodes to mp4 that is good quality and can play on the PS3. However, I can't seem to get it to work no matter what I try.

For this try I am using all the x264 options checked and the 4.1 AVC Profile. Previous option combinations resulted in a file where the audio was normal but the video was severely sped up. This attempt resulted in a file with valid audio, but the video is all white. I tried playing it in Quicktime and VLC and get the same results. Any ideas? Is there a way to use the x264 included in ffmpegx with a standard CLI? I tried compiling and installing the current source of x264 and that failed . . .

AVI to MP4:
Source video: mpeg4, yuv420p, 640x480
Source audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, 192 kb/s
Output video: x264 h264, 640x480, 900 kbps, 25 fps, no crop
Output audio: aac, 48000 Hz, 128 kbps

Console Output:
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2
Tue Jul 1 20:48:10 EDT 2008
mp4 [info]: initial delay 1000 (scale 25000)
movtoy4m
Copyright 2002-2006 Johan Lindström
All rights reserved..
x264 [info]: slice I:130 Avg QP:10.08 size: 158 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: slice P:16184 Avg QP:10.00 size: 35 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: slice B:16055 Avg QP:12.00 size: 29 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: mb I I16..4: 99.8% 0.0% 0.2%
x264 [info]: mb P I16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% P16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: mb B I16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% B16..8: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% direct: 0.0% skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: final ratefactor: -22.81
x264 [info]: PSNR Mean Y:100.000 U:100.000 V:100.000 Avg:100.000 Global:100.000 kb/s:6.50
encoded 32369 frames, 62.44 fps, 7.94 kb/s
movtoy4m
Copyright 2002-2006 Johan Lindström
All rights reserved..
x264 [error]: Error: 2pass curve failed to converge
x264 [error]: target: 900.00 kbit/s, expected: 7.53 kbit/s, avg QP: 10.0001
x264 [error]: try reducing target bitrate or reducing qp_min (currently 10)
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2
mp4 [info]: initial delay 1000 (scale 25000)
x264 [info]: slice I:130 Avg QP:10.00 size: 158 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: slice P:16184 Avg QP:10.00 size: 35 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: slice B:16055 Avg QP:12.00 size: 29 PSNR Mean Y:100.00 U:100.00 V:100.00 Avg:100.00 Global:100.00
x264 [info]: mb I I16..4: 99.8% 0.0% 0.2%
x264 [info]: mb P I16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% P16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: mb B I16..4: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% B16..8: 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% direct: 0.0% skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: PSNR Mean Y:100.000 U:100.000 V:100.000 Avg:100.000 Global:100.000 kb/s:6.50
encoded 32369 frames, 75.40 fps, 7.94 kb/s
FFmpeg version CVS, Copyright (c) 2000-2004 Fabrice Bellard
Mac OSX universal build for ffmpegX
configuration: --enable-memalign-hack --enable-mp3lame --enable-gpl --disable-vhook --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --enable-a52 --enable-xvid --enable-faac --enable-faad --enable-amr_nb --enable-amr_wb --enable-pthreads --enable-x264
libavutil version: 49.0.0
libavcodec version: 51.9.0
libavformat version: 50.4.0
built on Apr 15 2006 04:58:19, gcc: 4.0.1 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 5250)
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'f_01.avi.ff.video.mp4':
Duration: 00:21:34.7, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 10 kb/s
Stream #0.0(und), 25.00 fps(r): Video: h264, yuv420p, 640x480
Input #1, avi, from 'f_01.avi':
Duration: 00:21:34.7, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1133 kb/s
Stream #1.0, 25.00 fps(r): Video: mpeg4, yuv420p, 640x480
Stream #1.1: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, 192 kb/s
Output #0, mp4, to 'f_01.avi.ff.audio.mp4':
Stream #0.0: Audio: aac, 48000 Hz, stereo, 128 kb/s
Stream mapping:
Stream #1.1 -> #0.0 [sync #0.0]
Press [q] to stop encoding
video:0kB audio:20223kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead 2.347597%

IsoMedia import - track ID 1 - Audio (SR 48000 - 2 channels)

Saving f_01.avi.ff.mp4: 0.500 secs Interleaving

Encoding completed on Tue Jul 1 21:05:03 EDT 2008

Any ideas?

[DarthBuckets]

Searching the forums I found I wasn't alone. It seems that decoding avi with ffmpeg (default) doesn't work . . . Using QT codecs for AC3 and Divx allowed me to create a regular file with the "Decode with Quicktime" option. I haven't tried loading it on the PS3 yet.

[rumplestiltskin]

Do you have Perian installed?