24fps HD-MKV (H264/VC-1) to 25fps SD-MPEG2

[Nightwalker_z]

Hi Board,
this is my first post here, I used the search function and checked out the guides, but I had no luck. Perhaps you can help

Here's the point.
I have a mkv file (H264, 1080i with 24fps) and I want to covert it to a DVD compilant mpeg2 (720x576; 25fps).
Why I want to do that? In one location I have a HTPC with an LCD screen and blu-ray ROM. At the other location I have an old fashioned TV and a XBOX1 with XBMC. The XBOX is too weak to play the H264 codec - so I'll need to convert to something different like MPEG2 (or XVID).

Here are my first thoughts:
I want to use AviSynth, VirtualDub and perhaps eac3to.

Step 1: Demux the mkv file with TSMuxer that I have a dts and a 264 file.
Step 2: Convert and speed up the dts file to a ac3 file (eac3to.exe "<SOURCE>" "<DESTINATION>" -448 -speedup)
Step 3: Make an AviSynth Script to resize the video and speed up the video

DirectShowSource("<SOURCE-VIDEO>", audio=false)
Spline36Resize(720,576).Sharpen(0.2)
AssumeFPS(25, 1)

Then "somehow" load that stuff into virtualdub and reencode the video (to MPEG2 with ffdshow or XVID), and just add the audio directly.

Does that work? Are there better alternatives? I didn't get it to work yet, because VirtualDub doesn't accept ac3 files.
Can I add the audio via AviSynth?

Thanks in advance!!!

[guns1inger]

Xvid4PSP can do most of this in a program, outputting a DVD compliant mpeg-2 program stream. It even has LimitedFastSharpen as an optional filter.

However if the Xbox can output NTSC I would avoid the conversion to PAL/25 fps and keep it NTSC 23.976 fps.

Other options include FAVC, DVD Flick and ConvertXtoDVD.

[manono]

However if the Xbox can output NTSC I would avoid the conversion to PAL/25 fps and keep it NTSC 23.976 fps.

Or, if it absolutely has to be PAL, resize for PAL but encode for 23.976fps. When done run it through DGPulldown set for 23.976->25 to make a compliant PAL M2V ready to be authored. That way you can use the original untouched audio (if AC3).

Then "somehow" load that stuff into virtualdub and reencode the video (to MPEG2 with ffdshow or XVID), and just add the audio directly.

Eh? That makes no sense to me. VDub isn't an MPEG-2 encoder and XviD isn't an MPEG-2 codec. Maybe VDub does things now I don't know or care about, but XviD will always be just an MPEG-4 codec

[Nightwalker_z]

Thank you for your replies. I'll try the tool Xvid4PSP first.
Yes - I have to convert the FPS to 25. My TV doesn't support 24 fps. Otherwise I see some lagging during the movie.

Why isn't it recommended to convert the FPS. What I want to do is to speed up the movie - not adding additional / duplicate frames to achive 25fps. So, it should not lower the movie-watching experience. Am I right?

[Nightwalker_z]

Eh? That makes no sense to me. VDub isn't an MPEG-2 encoder and XviD isn't an MPEG-2 codec. Maybe VDub does things now I don't know or care about, but XviD will always be just an MPEG-4 codec

Sorry for not explaining stuff right
I meant, that I could use XVid as an alternative to MPEG2. But regarding the MPEG2 topic. I thought, that I can encode video with ffdshow using VDub, right? And I configure ffdshow to use MPEG2 for encoding. So I can encode video with MPEG2 using VDub

[manono]

Why isn't it recommended to convert the FPS. What I want to do is to speed up the movie - not adding additional / duplicate frames to achive 25fps. So, it should not lower the movie-watching experience. Am I right?

Well, for the record I'm in NTSC land and this is an old disagreement. I might ask if unnaturally fast movement and off-key dialog and music doesn't by itself lower the movie-watching experience? One good reason not to speed up the video is so you don't have to also reencode and speed up the audio (if it's already AC3). And you'd be adding additional fields, which gives you a considerably less jerky result than does adding duplicate frames.

If you can encode MPEG-2 using ffdshow through VDub, then fine. But if HCEnc is a much better MPEG-2 encoder, then I might ask why not use it?

[Nightwalker_z]

[quote="manono"]

Why isn't it recommended to convert the FPS. What I want to do is to speed up the
If you can encode MPEG-2 using ffdshow through VDub, then fine. But if HCEnc is a much better MPEG-2 encoder, then I might ask why not use it?

Sorry, I wasn't aware of that

[jagabo]

I have a mkv file (H264, 1080i with 24fps) and I want to covert it to a DVD compilant mpeg2 (720x576; 25fps).
Why I want to do that? In one location I have a HTPC with an LCD screen and blu-ray ROM. At the other location I have an old fashioned TV and a XBOX1 with XBMC.

Computers (XBMC) can convert the frame rate while playing so you don't need to convert the frame rate while converting the video. I'm not familiar with XBMC. It might change the frame rate by duplicating or dropping frames which would be a little jerky (one jerk every second to go from 24 fps to 25 fps). Have you at least tried playing a 24 fps file?

[Nightwalker_z]

Perhaps you'll kill me now - but anyway ....

I just dropped the mkv file to SUPER. I guess it worked out

[Nightwalker_z]

Ok ... SUPER wasn't the right choice.
Here's my personal solution to convert a H264 MKV (24fps) file to a DVD compilant PAL MPEG2 (25fps).

1.) Demux the mkv file (for example with tsMuxer). The result is one or multiple audio files (for example .dts) and one video file (.264).

2.) Convert the desired audio track with eac3to:

eac3to.exe "<SOURCE>" "<DESTINATION>" -448 -speedup

For example: eac3to.exe c:\temp\movie.dts "c:\temp\movie.ac3" -448 -speedup

3.) Encode the h264 movie with henc. Windows dummies like me use the GUI (HCgui_023.exe)
First create an AVISynth script:

DirectShowSource("C:\Temp\movie.264",audio=false)
Spline36Resize(720,576).Sharpen(0.2)
AssumeFPS(25, 1, true)

- Save this with a texteditor and open this text file with the HCGui (Input)
- Set an output filename in HCGui
- Set an output filesize or define an average bitrate
Do other settings if you wish and click "encode"

After a while you'll get a result-file with the extension .m2v

4.) Mux the audio and video stream again using ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i c:\temp\movie.m2v -i C:\temp\movie.ac3 -acodec copy -vcodec copy -f mpeg C:\temp\movie.mpeg

Voila