AutoX264 (Multi Encoder GUI for H.264) v. 0.18 (windows/linux)

[Goblack]

tried encoding a mkv file with DGAVINDEX, but first pass was twice as slow as with mencoder (main difference being that with mencoder first pass is in 3.0, and it is in 4.0 with dgavindex).

Same settings, including turbo first pass, were used in both cases. Is that normal? (first pass dgavindex much longer than first pass mencoder using same settings)

[buzzqw]

encoding with mencoder is a little faster then dgindex/dgavcindex, but only by marginal value (-+10%)

the difference could be caused by filters used (like deinterlace)

i will look at this.. maybe related to "turbo" setting in first pass

BHH

[buzzqw]

update to 0.17, update both windows and linux build

link in first post of thread

fixed : turbo were unused when encoding with avisynth/x264 (thanks to Goblack)
fixed: m2ts muxing was done twice
fixed: ffmpeg bitrate was computed wrong
fixed: detecting of ffmpeg executable (bug only for windows)
added: possibility to add an arbitrary string to avisynth script
changed: unit access delimiter (aud) is now active by default
added: preview button now allow to ear audio track selected

BHH

[Goblack]

thanks again

I tried encoding a mkv file with internal subtitles (in the container, not hardcoded) and the output file had those subtitles hardcoded. (so it went from 3 tracks for source to 2 tracks for encode + harcoded subtitles)

[buzzqw]

this is a "issue" of mencoder

seems that subtitle found in mkv container will be always encoded on output video

i can only suggest to demux the mkv and remove or use ffmpeg
OR
use avisynth (ffmpegsource/dgavcindex for avc video)

BHH

[Goblack]

hmm, that's annoying

On another forum, this problem has been reported, and a work around seems to be to set -sid <high value>

about the issue itself, on the forum it says:

So, I tried the "-sid <insanely high value>" method and it works.
Also, apparently the bug kicks in only when
1) there is vobsub subtitle and
2) that subtitle is the first one (in order of tracks) in the mkv file

[buzzqw]

thanks for the hint!

BHH

[Goblack]

about the "unit access delimiter (aud) is now active by default ", should that be used in most cases?

[buzzqw]

aud will not slow decoding and will not slow encoding , and will add very few mb (1 to 2) in a full cd rim

it is recommend for varius hardware player and will "robust" the file

BHH

[Goblack]

thanks for the explanations

a few things:

• I still don't get the DAR field and the way it is updated/set. Right now, from what I saw, this field only updates if "follow ITU" is changed (but even there you need to click on the height again or change resolution for the field to update) OR if a crop is added. Your program pretty much says that it is better to keep source AR as DAR rather than computing DAR from the new resolution.
  
  How is the itu DAR computed? To me itu is a way to resize, this is what I understand so far, but here, if I set a itu resolution with itu disabled, still gives me source ar as dar, and if I set a non itu resolution with itu enabled, will still give me the itu dar. That doesn't make much sense to me. Am I missing the point?
  
• in order to make the gui a bit quicker to use, would you mind adding some keyboard shortcuts? (things like "next tab", "previous tab") This way you don't have to redesign the gui but it is still improved.
• as I said before, would be nice to able to save settings for profile and audio (I said for audio, but first time saying it for profile)

about the access unit delimiter, I found:

aud

Default: Not Set

Use access unit delimiters. Not for general use.

Recommendation: Default

Can this option be set in the profiles? If so, it would mean you are "altering" the profiles by enabling aud by default even though not specified in profile. If that can't be set in profile, then no problem I guess.

just trying to help here

[buzzqw]

the DAR is computed as
DAR=((FULL_WIDTH-Crop_Left-Crop_Right))/FULL_WIDTH)/((FULL_HEIGHT-Crop_Top-Crop_Bottom)/FULL_HEIGHT)*AR*ITU
where ITU=53.3333/52 or ITU=1 if deactivated

Your program pretty much says that it is better to keep source AR as DAR rather than computing DAR from the new resolution.

where ? the most important thing is the AR, the DAR is a derivative misure

moreover: i can be wrong !

in order to make the gui a bit quicker to use, would you mind adding some keyboard shortcuts? (things like "next tab", "previous tab") This way you don't have to redesign the gui but it is still improved.

good idea!

as I said before, would be nice to able to save settings for profile and audio (I said for audio, but first time saying it for profile)

audio maybe, profile.. don't know.. better to modify a MeGui one to your taste

about aud on profile: megui profile's don't support AUD, when megui will support aud in profile i will add support for it too

thanks for your help and suggestio!

BHH

[Goblack]

about profile, I didn't explain it well: I meant allowing us to define a default profile/preset instead of having to select it each time, didn't mean being able to save the profile settings from autox264. Saving the preset field, not the preset itself.

about dar, I still think this way to compute and update fields is confusing and not very thorough, but as you said dar itself isn't very important and can be changed at any moment.

I guess my question comes down to: why do you need to compute dar a different way when itu is on? And even with itu on, I can still change the resolution to something that has nothing to do with itu and I will still get itu dar.

Here I am mainly saying this aspect of your program isn't very robust. One way to make it a bit more robust would be to force the user to use an itu resolution when itu is on (only resize allowed would be with the slider). And when the user would try to type the resolution, there could be a pop up or something telling them they have to disable itu, or even a popup asking them if they want to disable itu and if "yes" is clicked, program changes it for user and/or takes him to the right tab.

thanks

[buzzqw]

about profile: like have a superset of profiles that will allow user to reload predefinied selections ?

about dar: dar is used for compute height, and sorry but i cannot uderstu why you think is confusing
dar must change when:
change height width of input
change ar of input
change crop values
allow itu or not (actually this change ins't automatic, to be fixed in next update)

ITU is a standard, and define the relations between width/height/frequency
again: imho itu change the dar, but i will glady correct it if mistake

moreover: why you speak of ITU resolution ?, do you mean forcing only standard ITU resolution ?
if so, the answer is not. As AutoGK, GK, Megui, FairUse, StaxRip... ITU can be allowed or NOT, not all video file follow the rules

users don't know what itu is, and that ok, if someone want to disable it and change width&height manually, it is allowed, but this isn't the normal way

i hope to understud you well

BHH

[Goblack]

for profile, I meant something very simple: when you click on "save program path and settings", I just want it to save what profile is open right now. Or it could also be just remembering what profile was open last time you closed the program.

about dar, I also feel we're not talking about the same thing.

I'll try to be clearer: I was saying that your design is inconsistent and not robust.

If you're going to compare your itu implementation to that of a program such as staxrip (which I know quite well), that will be a long discussion. Open staxrip and compare it to your program... there is no weird aspect ratio, dar changes as video is resized, it uses mod 16 by default not your mod 2 hidden behind an out of nowhere 20 20 20 20 16 20 20 20 20 20 16 (I didn't count the amount of 20's between each 16, but I guess it is a fixed number) which I don't understand at all.

[buzzqw]

goblack feel free to ignore dar, ar, arerror and what ever you don't think is correct

just to this: launch staxrip, open your file, set crop and width
now open your file on autox264, check ITU or not, set crop and width

compare the height: are different ?

if yes: please post here all the values of this media file
if not: what's the problem ?

best regards

BHH

[Goblack]

just read something you said I had not noticed (edited your post?):

dar must change when:
change height width of input
change ar of input
change crop values
allow itu or not (actually this change ins't automatic, to be fixed in next update)

I agree with that, but autox264 doesn't do it for "change height width of input", and this is one of the things I've been trying to explain you...,

your formula, it only calculates with initial resolution, doesn't recalculate when resolution changes...

[buzzqw]

i loaded a vob (matrix movie), hit analyze with mplayer and got a dar of 2.37 (itu off)

loaded an hd movie.. hit analyze, got a dar of 1.7647

if you change the input file and you hit analyze the dar change
BUT if you manually change with/height (of resolution box) the dar don't change, you must always pass from analyze button

BHH

P.S. not edited my post

[Goblack]

what's the point of trying with more than one file, we're really not talking about the same thing...

[buzzqw]

width and height of input change only on input file change
on input file change the new ar/dar is computed

if you want to explain an error please report step by step , numbers by numbers, what you do , and what you get

BHH

[lordsmurf]

AutoX264 refuses to create a 640x480 file from a 720x480 DVD source. That's not good at all.

If I try to crop pixels from the sides, remove overscan, all hell breaks loose, and the resolutions are all over the place.

WTF?

I should be able to specify any output size into an encoder, and it had better bend over backwards to make that size happen. And it's not like I'm even trying anything weird here, 640x480 is a standard expected size.

[buzzqw]

please check the ar detected

about output size.. you can write how many mb you you want, or you can specify the bitrate

also, please post a sample to test

EDIT: you can always manually edit the height
EDIT: remember to activate or deactivate ITU resizing (*1.02xxx)

thanks

BHH

[lordsmurf]

I don't have permission to post clips here. I guess I could try from another random DVD from my own collection.

By "output size" I refer to the resolution pixel dimensions, not the bitrate.

I don't see how to manually adjust the height, and I don't see the option for ITU resizing.

[buzzqw]

using the slider or manually writing , you can set width
after setting width you can manually set height

ITU (will be deactivated on default by next update) is on "subtitle&muxing&encoding"

BHH

[lordsmurf]

If I click on the crop settings, the pixel res changes. If I crop, then change the res, it's fine. That was my problem, I kept clicking on crop last. Is that a bug?

I found ITU, thanks. I changed it to FFMPEG, and that's working well.

Encoding at about 20-30fps on AMD64 right now. It crashed the first time through.

I was aggravated a few posts ago, but it seems to be an okay GUI or task manager, whatever you call this sort of tool.

I'm not liking h264 at all, at least not on anything longer than 10 minutes. It's horrible to encode, worse than MPEG-2 in 2001.

[buzzqw]

follow these step
1) load input
2) hit analyze with (mplayer or mediainfo)
3) if analyzed with mediainfo, click on Detect Crop (or no.. for no cropping)
4) activate, deactivate ITU, then adjust the resize , with slider or manually
5) select encoder/audio
6) start

ffmpeg is the WORST on h264 quality. i can suggest to use ffmpegsource (on windows) or mencoder (on linux)

on next update you will have less problem..

BHH

[buzzqw]

update to 0.18 (windows, linux will follow)

fixed hardcoding subs when using mencoder
added support for multiple subtitle: if input is mkv user is now allowed to select any arbitrary number of subs (please check the manual)
added support for HandBrakeCLI (already present in windows full pack)
added support for saving customized x264 profiles (on More X264 Options (3)) (please check the manual)
better audio size when using aac encoder
update manual (please read it!)

BHH

[Goblack]

thanks for the update once again, I'll test that right ahead.

I can't hide the fact I got a little pissed off last time when we were not understanding each other, but I am still interested in this program.

edit: when saving a new profile, the option b adative isn't saved correctly, I set it to "2" and when I reload the profile it gives me 1.

[buzzqw]

thanks for the bug Goblack

update the windows build

BHH

[Goblack]

thanks,

I also noticed irregular behavior when manually launching (start button) a second encode (after the first one is completed, of course), without closing the program

some weird stuff there (sometimes just won't encode, and one time it gave me a huge zoom)

usually solved by closing and opening the program again

sorry, in a hurry, can't give more details now

also, anything else than mencoder doesn't seem to work well for me, the others almost always fail

[buzzqw]

usually solved by closing and opening the program again

i'll check, thanks (maybe due to missing "analyze it")

other encoder works very well.. when suited for input

click on "About Input" it will give some info about decoder

also, on manual i have written some note about input files and decoder

basically is this

vob/ts with mpeg2 codec: mencoder or dgindex or ffmpegsource
ts/m2ts with h264 codec: dgavcdec
mkv with h264: dgavcdec (plus eac3to)
mkv with all other codec: mencoder or ffmpegsource (or directshowsource)
mp4 with all codecs: mencoder or ffmpegsource
wmv: mencoder or ffmpeg

the directshowsource can always be used, if correct decoder are installed

BHH