Problems Converting ASF/WMV to other formats

[elcoyoteloco]

Hi all,

I have three WMV files, I think ASF encoded (if that's the right term). I've tried to convert them to AVI, MPEG, and other formats, but the quality is always substantially degraded (very muddy and pixelated), no matter how high I set the conversion quality.

I've used Freemake Video Converter and Avidemux2. Same poor results with both, but this could very well be because I don't know how to tweak the settings properly.

Any ideas? Maybe convert them to some uncompressed format, if so how?

Thanks in advance!

[Baldrick]

Why convert?

But you can try a lossless codec like huffyuv in avidemux. The file will be huge though.

[Selur]

If the preview in Avidemux is fine, the quality degradation is due too low bit-rate or otherwise not properly configured settings,..
-> post detailed MediaInfo analysis data for you files and people might be able to help more,..

[elcoyoteloco]

If the preview in Avidemux is fine, the quality degradation is due too low bit-rate or otherwise not properly configured settings,..
-> post detailed MediaInfo analysis data for you files and people might be able to help more,..

Thanks! Hope it makes sense

General
Complete name                            : I:\LS1.wmv
Format                                   : Windows Media
File size                                : 1.38 MiB
Duration                                 : 22s 121ms
Overall bit rate mode                    : Constant
Overall bit rate                         : 525 Kbps
Maximum Overall bit rate                 : 547 Kbps
Movie name                               : 
Performer                                : 
Encoded date                             : UTC 2005-10-03 03:31:27.970

Video #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : WMV2
Codec ID                                 : WMV2
Codec ID/Info                            : Windows Media Video 8
Description of the codec                 : Windows Media Video V8
Duration                                 : 22s 133ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 25.2 Kbps
Width                                    : 320 pixels
Height                                   : 240 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate                               : 15.000 fps
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.022
Stream size                              : 68.0 KiB (5%)
Language                                 : English (US)

Video #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : WMV2
Codec ID                                 : WMV2
Codec ID/Info                            : Windows Media Video 8
Description of the codec                 : Windows Media Video V8
Duration                                 : 22s 122ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 424 Kbps
Width                                    : 320 pixels
Height                                   : 240 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate                               : 29.970 fps
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.184
Stream size                              : 1.12 MiB (81%)
Language                                 : English (US)

Audio
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : WMA
Format version                           : Version 2
Codec ID                                 : 161
Codec ID/Info                            : Windows Media Audio
Description of the codec                 : Windows Media Audio 9 -  64 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo (A/V) 1-pass CBR
Duration                                 : 22s 120ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 64.0 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Stream size                              : 173 KiB (12%)
Language                                 : English (US)

[Selur]

not as detailed as I hoped, but I think the main reason you output has such a bad quality, might be because Avidemux reencodes the 1st and not the second video stream.

Cu Selur

Ps.: No clue if Avidemux allows you to select which video stream to reencode,.. (Hybrid should, but it's harder to configurate, so not really for newbies, but it might be worth a try,..)

[elcoyoteloco]

not as detailed as I hoped, but I think the main reason you output has such a bad quality, might be because Avidemux reencodes the 1st and not the second video stream.

Sorry, I tried both the tree and sheet views, but this is all the info they provided. :/

Ps.: No clue if Avidemux allows you to select which video stream to reencode,.. (Hybrid should, but it's harder to configurate, so not really for newbies, but it might be worth a try,..)

I'm also not finding anything for selecting specific video streams in Avidemux, so I'm going to ask in their forum. I'll also see if I can muddle my way through Hybrid.

Thanks again

[poisondeathray]

Perhaps you can use asfbin , to select the proper stream. video stream #1 looks to be very low quality 15fps, 25kbps bitrate (make a new wmv/asf, where only the proper video remains, so your converter program has no choice but to use the proper stream)


But , as Baldrick asked earlier - why are you converting these at all? You only lose quality, unless you use a lossless format. If you use a lossless format, filesize will increase, easily 5-10x

[elcoyoteloco]

[QUOTE=poisondeathray;2160320]Perhaps you can use asfbin , to select the proper stream. video stream #1 looks to be very low quality 15fps, 25kbps bitrate (make a new wmv/asf, where only the proper video remains, so your converter program has no choice but to use the proper stream)

I'll give that a try, thanks.
EDIT: That worked, thanks!!!

But , as Baldrick asked earlier - why are you converting these at all? You only lose quality, unless you use a lossless format. If you use a lossless format, filesize will increase, easily 5-10x

I want to group them as a single AVI file. Currently when I do that the quality is poor, apparently because it's the 1st video streams that are being used. I'm not concerned about file size, since they're each less than a minute long. So, if I can convert the 2nd streams to usable AVIs, I can them group them together.

[elcoyoteloco]

@Selur:

I just tried using Hybrid, selecting Video 2, but I'm getting the following errors. What am I doing wrong?

Log Messages 
Added new job with id 14_58_40_321
Added new job with id 15_00_39_221
Optional components are missing:
 - fhgaacenc is used for aac/alac encoding,...
If you want to use one of them, you can:
 - specify where to find the tool(s) (Config->Path Settings)
 - save settings (Config->Defaults->Save->GlobalModel and hit 'Selected')
 - restart Hybrid)

analysing: I:\New folder\LS2.wmv
grabbing audio ids ...
analysing audio streams...
analysing audio stream (1) with mplayer
grabbing video ids for: I:\New folder\LS2.wmv
analysing video streams...
Analysing video stream 2 with MediaInfo!
Analysing video stream 3 with MediaInfo!
createJobs for I:\New folder\LS2.mp4
createJob video...
Added new job with id 15_20_39_981
x264 (1st pass bitrate) encoding started...
Starting Main@15:20:55.067:
"C:\Program Files\Hybrid\x264.exe" --pass 1 --bitrate 1500 --profile high --level 4.2 --direct auto --sync-lookahead 15 --weightp 1 --aq-mode 0 --stats "\LS2_15_20_39_981_01.stats" --fps 15 --input-res 320x240 --output NUL -
raw [info]: 320x240p 0:0 @ 15/1 fps (cfr)
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 FastShuffle SSE4.2
x264 [info]: profile Main, level 4.2
x264 [info]: frame I:2     Avg QP: 3.59  size: 22882
x264 [info]: frame P:284   Avg QP: 0.20  size:  8318
x264 [info]: frame B:39    Avg QP: 1.63  size:  4903
x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 84.0%  0.0%  0.0% 16.0%
x264 [info]: mb I  I16..4:  9.2%  0.0% 90.8%
x264 [info]: mb P  I16..4:  0.8%  0.0%  0.0%  P16..4: 83.3%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:15.9%
x264 [info]: mb B  I16..4:  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  B16..8: 57.3%  0.0%  0.0%  direct:26.0%  skip:16.7%  L0:46.5% L1:42.4% BI:11.0%
x264 [info]: final ratefactor: -6.20
x264 [info]: direct mvs  spatial:94.9% temporal:5.1%
x264 [info]: coded y,uvDC,uvAC intra: 95.0% 97.1% 94.5% inter: 53.2% 46.2% 45.9%
x264 [info]: i16 v,h,dc,p: 26% 37% 27% 11%
x264 [info]: i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 19% 32%  6%  4% 11%  8%  8%  5%  7%
x264 [info]: i8c dc,h,v,p: 40% 27% 22% 10%
x264 [info]: Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.0% UV:0.0%
x264 [info]: kb/s:959.77
encoded 325 frames, 562.28 fps, 959.77 kb/s
finished after 00:00:00.653
finished...

x264 (2nd pass bitrate) encoding started...
Starting Main@15:20:55.734:
"C:\Program Files\Hybrid\x264.exe" --pass 2 --bitrate 1500 --profile high --level 4.2 --direct auto --sync-lookahead 15 --partitions i4x4,p8x8,b8x8 --no-fast-pskip --subme 5 --trellis 0 --weightp 1 --aq-mode 0 --vbv-maxrate 62500 --vbv-bufsize 78125 --colormatrix bt470bg --stats "\LS2_15_20_39_981_01.stats" --fps 15 --input-res 320x240 --output "LS2_15_20_39_981_02.264" -
raw [info]: 320x240p 0:0 @ 15/1 fps (cfr)
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 FastShuffle SSE4.2
x264 [warning]: target: 1500.00 kbit/s, expected: 1110.29 kbit/s, avg QP: 0.0000
x264 [warning]: try reducing target bitrate
x264 [info]: profile High, level 4.2
x264 [info]: frame I:2     Avg QP: 0.00  size: 29125
x264 [info]: frame P:284   Avg QP: 0.00  size:  7974
x264 [info]: frame B:39    Avg QP: 0.00  size:  5552
x264 [info]: consecutive B-frames: 84.0%  0.0%  0.0% 16.0%
x264 [info]: mb I  I16..4:  5.5% 17.5% 77.0%
x264 [info]: mb P  I16..4:  0.1%  0.0%  1.1%  P16..4: 67.3%  8.1%  6.6%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:16.7%
x264 [info]: mb B  I16..4:  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  B16..8: 43.2% 12.3%  1.8%  direct:26.4%  skip:16.3%  L0:46.9% L1:45.0% BI: 8.2%
x264 [info]: 8x8 transform intra:6.4% inter:7.2%
x264 [info]: direct mvs  spatial:100.0% temporal:0.0%
x264 [info]: coded y,uvDC,uvAC intra: 97.3% 96.6% 94.1% inter: 53.1% 44.9% 44.9%
x264 [info]: i16 v,h,dc,p: 14% 26% 10% 49%
x264 [info]: i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 12% 39%  5%  1% 16%  4% 18%  1%  3%
x264 [info]: i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 22% 34%  9%  4%  8%  7%  6%  4%  6%
x264 [info]: i8c dc,h,v,p: 37% 26% 24% 12%
x264 [info]: Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.0% UV:0.0%
x264 [info]: ref P L0: 94.9%  4.2%  0.9%
x264 [info]: ref B L0: 97.6%  2.1%  0.3%
x264 [info]: ref B L1: 99.1%  0.9%
x264 [info]: kb/s:937.65
encoded 325 frames, 284.59 fps, 937.65 kb/s
finished after 00:00:01.217
finished...

deleted \LS2_15_20_39_981_01.stats
deleted \LS2_15_20_39_981_01.stats.mbtree
Starting Main@15:20:56.967:
"C:\Program Files\Hybrid\MP4Box.exe" -fps 15 -add "LS2_15_20_39_981_02.264"#video:par=1/1:name="" -brand avc1 -tmp  -new "I:\New folder\LS2.mp4"
Cannot open destination file I:\New folder\LS2.mp4: I/O Error
finished after 00:00:00.085 with exitCode 1
finished...

I:\New folder\LS2.mp4 was not created!
Job 15_20_39_981 finished!

[poisondeathray]

I want to group them as a single AVI file. Currently when I do that the quality is poor, apparently because it's the 1st video streams that are being used. I'm not concerned about file size, since they're each less than a minute long. So, if I can convert the 2nd streams to usable AVIs, I can them group them together.

Basically what I'm saying is discard video#1 track, so only video#2 track remains (the higher quality version), so the converter software has no choice but to use the higher quality version. ASFBin should be able to do it (just unchekmark the appropriate video stream) , if not, windows media stream editor should be able to as well

If you want to append a group of videos (join them end to end) they have to be the same characteristics like frame rate, audio sample rate etc...even if you convert them to avi first. For example, one of your video streams is 15 fps, the other is 29.97 fps. If the "good" stream in some of your other videos were not exactly the same characteristics, it won't join properly. In fact, its better to join them before converting, less likely to encounter problems.

[elcoyoteloco]

I want to group them as a single AVI file. Currently when I do that the quality is poor, apparently because it's the 1st video streams that are being used. I'm not concerned about file size, since they're each less than a minute long. So, if I can convert the 2nd streams to usable AVIs, I can them group them together.

Basically what I'm saying is discard video#1 track, so only video#2 track remains (the higher quality version), so the converter software has no choice but to use the higher quality version. ASFBin should be able to do it (just unchekmark the appropriate video stream) , if not, windows media stream editor should be able to as well

If you want to append a group of videos (join them end to end) they have to be the same characteristics like frame rate, audio sample rate etc...even if you convert them to avi first. For example, one of your video streams is 15 fps, the other is 29.97 fps. If the "good" stream in some of your other videos were not exactly the same characteristics, it won't join properly. In fact, its better to join them before converting, less likely to encounter problems.

ASFBin worked perfectly, even joined them for me. Thanks again

[Selur]

Cannot open destination file I:\New folder\LS2.mp4: I/O Error

Sounds to me like the MP4Box is not able to write to the output folder you specified,..
Other than that I need a debug output (normal log really doesn't help much) to see what's going wrong.