CCE Low Bitrate problems

[homerpez]

BTW: I wans't confused about the DV-444 and DV-343... I just assumed both were similar and would have similar troubles... Actually I bought a DV-343 once, I was disgusted because it was VERY faulty, and I wasn't in the mood to wait a "working" one... but since I do keep hearing it's "bullet-proof"... I might just grab me one again...

[sue denim]

Hi again guy's ........ I'm back!

Unfortunately, not with any good news

I tried the de-install/re-install tip and nothing's changed ..... still a low bitrate of 160Kbps.
I took all versions of CCE off my system and re-installed my original demo of 2.50 (which was dl'ed from the CinemaCraft site ages ago!)

The only thing left to do now is a complete system format and re-install, which is something I don't take lightly considering the amount of software I have installed.
Maybe I'll image my C:drive before I try the format ...... then,if CCE still performs badly, at least I can revert to how I have it now.

Thanks to everybody who's contributed to this thread - your help has been much appreciated (especially Koala! ).

Sue xxx

[RoopeT]

Is it that important to get it on 2 CDs? I would try it with 3 CDs to see if the problems go away that way. I think that when you set the average as low as 1150, CCE can't respect your minimum bitrate demand anymore.

By the way, I just did a couple of Disney rips for my kid:

1) Emperor's new groove (75 min on 1 90 min CD, 352x576, avg 1500, min 900, audio 128), works OK

2) Hercules (89 min on 1 90 min CD, 352x576, avg 1250, min 900, audio 128), doesn't work, skips once in a while

So I think that in the latter case CCE didn't respect my demand of a minimum bitrate anymore.

[sue denim]

Honestly RoopeT, I've tried just about every setting under the Sun!

During all my tests, I've done several that use bitrate settings exactly like yours, without success.

Thanks for the info though .......

Sue xxx

[RoopeT]

If the problem is just with the first ~ two minutes, I would try the following:

Create a encoding job list (or whatever it is called) with the first ~3000 frames (problematic part) encoded at CBR 1150, then the rest of the first 1/2 of the movie with the 4 pass VBR settings you've already used. The second half of the movie is already OK?

[natcom]

for low bitrate dont used 2.50 used 2.62 cause 2.50 you will have many problems with every low bitrate and i dont see why this guy say that he now need to format to fix his problem when he can only go into the registry and delated anything that CCE 2.50 put in there i know this cause it work for me

[sue denim]

Hi!

Cheers for the 2.62 tip NatCom
I'll check it out ........

Come to think of it, I was getting better control of bitrates on that version - but still couldn't control the lower end properly.

The reason I suggested that I may reformat is that it's the only thing left for me to try!

From your 'registry' comment can I gather that you've had similar problems to me?
If I want to get rid of all 2.50 reg entries, is it a simple matter of searching for 'cce' or 'cinemacraft'?
Or is there something hidden away that also needs to be deleted??

Hope you can point me in the right direction.

BTW - I de-installed all versions of CCE (2.50 & 2.62) last night, then installed just the 2.62 PLUGIN.
I did a test using the same section of '2001' in Premiere6 and .......... F*CK ME ........ IT WORKED !!!!!!!

Bitrates all stayed roughly to my specs ....... I tried loads of different settings and all were fine.
So, now I'm wondering, what's the deal with the standalone versions on my system?

This is really starting to mess with my head!

Any(more) thoughts would really be appreciated.

Sue xxx

[KoalaBear]

The reason I suggested that I may reformat is that it's the only thing left for me to try!

There are still a few possibilities we haven't considered:

If the problem is with the DVD itself, encoding any other DVD (or portion thereof) should not exhibit the same symptoms. This would at least confirm that the encoder and settings are working properly, and that the problem lies in the data stream being fed to the encoder.

If the problem is with mpeg2dec, removing it from the chain may solve the problem. For example, if you were to load the AVS into VirtualDub and save the problematic portion as a stand-alone AVI, and then if you were able to encode that AVI without problems, it would indicate that mpeg2dec isn't decompressing the VOB correctly.

Why not give these a try, and let us know what happens?

[sue denim]

OK .... I'll hold off on the system format for a while (pheww!)

I've already tried encoding different DVD streams and got the same results as for '2001' ---- ie. couldn't control low bitrates.

However, you may be on to something with the 'mpeg2dec.dll' thing.
I'll try an uncompressed avi of the '2001' section in CCE and get back to you with the results.

Cheers,
Sue xxx

[sue denim]

Alright ..... that's it ....... I'm throwing in the towel ....... I think we've all had enough of this problem now

Tried the AVI file, same result (in fact slightly worse! )

You remember I said 2.62PlugIn works?????
Well guess what ...... I found out last night IT DOESN'T !!!!

It worked fine for a small clip (the first 5mins of '2001'), but when I encoded the whole movie ....... yep, you got it ....... lower bitrates down to 160Kbps ...... ARRRRGGGHHHHHH ........

One last thing to try ...... gonna encode it on another system (using same software, same OS, same movie etc)

I'll shout if I have anything new but, unless anybody's got anything more to add, I think we can safely say that this thread is closed.

Many many thanks to all who valiantly attempted to sort this problem ........ I will remember who you are!

Sue xxx