Looking for Video Tool Converter/Splitter that has Audio Sync fixing option

[CyborgX333]

Thanks for the idea and detailed work-flow, but I have 2 programs that do it much more easily and neither require AnyDVD.

Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate - Reads a whole DVD and you can select which chapters you want to work with (tick boxes), and then they each become a seperate edit job in a batch. Simple, but sadly the program has a slight audio sync issue I've noticed, and therefore I avoid using it these days. It also recodes instead of splitting. They might have another program in their suite that splits (I think they do) but not had time to look at it.

MPEGVideoWizardDVD is a bit messy, but in that mess is a lot of power and a variety of ways to do the same thing. I's more like a bundling of loosely connected tools. One of these tools is the DVD Read Tool. That gives all the start points (bookmarks) for the chapters that can then be exported to the main program by the press of a button. Then just click on a bookmark to go to chapter you want to rip, adjust the start point when necessary (to avoid track titles, intros etc), set the end point, add to batch. Next bookmark....... It's not as streamlined as Aimersoft, but the results are better because no recoding is done, quicker too in the long run. Aimersoft can also do trimming, cropping and some other basic editing functions, actually it has one of the nicest cropping tools I've ever used. It's downfall is the audio sync issue, as well as only allowing a selection of fixed resolutions and no Custom size option.

I have a lot of other stuff queued up at the moment, so will probably not be doing any encoding for a week or so, but I'll probably buy MPEGVideoWizardDVD. It's flakey, buggy and badly put together, but if you spend some time with it, you'll find more and more little gems there (such as the audio sync hidden away in the menus...).

[hello_hello]

Well I don't believe I'm about to do this, but after banging my head against the desk trying to find a way to successfully convert these files, then slowly working my way through them over the last couple of weeks.... I came across an episode today which was particularly noisy, so I foolishly experimented with a couple of AviSynth noise removal plugins and found one that worked... well... maybe too well. Not only did it remove the excessive grain, it seemed to do quite a good job removing the compression "noise" added when these videos were first encoded. So I'm running another test encode now, but it looks like I'll be deleting every encode so far and starting again, this time including the noise removal plugin. Sigh.....

Now... when you say you have two programs that do it much more easily.... I assume you can't really count the program which introduces audio sync issues? MPEGVideoWizardDVD sounds like it's doing what you can do with DVD Shrink, only it goes about it in a different way. I'm not saying DVD Shrink is necessarily better, but it sounds like it'll do what MPEGVideoWizardDVD will do, at least when it comes to ripping. Each to their own, but I'd probably stick with using DVD Shrink to re-author DVDs for encoding because I'd pretty much always encode them using another program anyway, usually either MeGUI or AutoGK.

[CyborgX333]

Glad to hear you found a better solution.

Aimersoft's audio sync issue is only very slight and I don't see it with every conversion. Other than that, it's a very nice tool and does nearly everything I want in one conveniet package. I just avoid these days because I never know if there will be a sync problem until after I've encoded. Splittings better anyway if possible.
The explanation you gave me of DVD shrink sounded like it only split on chapters, which is not enough, fine adjustments are also required because frequently songs do not fit exactly on chapter markers. Also the choice between manually setting 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6 for 30 songs every DVD sounds laborious and single click on bookmarks is much quicker. I thinks it's a much less powerful and flexible tool too, but that's probably why its free.
I went to the DVDShrink website (using the link here). just a single page, only 1 of the pictures loaded, and it just seemed like someone's old home or college project that they no longer care about. It had a link to the supposed DVDShrink website http://www.dvdshrink.org/ but that had little on it, and the link for DVDShrink went to Google Ads!

People can get very protective of the tools they use and I don't want to get into an argument over nothing. I do understand that it perhaps fits what you do much better than my work, but I don't mind paying a little cash for a tool that fits me better, from a more professional organization.

I'm starting to get a little pissed at SolveigMM, the person answering the questions seems not a native speaker (not a major problem), and has said something about staff being on holiday, but the support sos far stinks. It's gone a bit weird on me a couple of times, but the main thing I'm waiting for is an explanation on EXACTLY what settings I need to use for K-Frame or alternatively ANY FRAME splitting. I set what seemed sensible, but it didn't produce output as expected, and even with the same settings the output was on one occasion not consistent, leanding me to beleive the program was not even checking the current settings every time before encoding! Issue still open with them....

BTW just watched Battleship last night. Reasonably good acting, good special effects, but crap story, and aliens seem to have the mental capacity of 5 year olds LOL

[hello_hello]

Yeah I guess I'd probably use DVD Shrink because it's free and I'm used to it. It hasn't been developed in years so to be honest I'm surprised it still has it's own web page. Single clicking on bookmarked chapters would be easier.... at least until you have to edit them further when the time difference would probably diminish considerably, but each to their own. I'm not wanting to argue about it either.... just throwing about ideas.

What's the deal with the frame splitting problem? I'm not sure I follow.... are you trying to split on keyframes and not sure if the program is identifying them correctly, or something along those lines? What sort of files are you splitting at the moment?

Anyway..... back to my re-encoding..... after having done 70 or so episodes, I'm starting again. Only this time I think I'm going to go with x264/MKV instead of Xvid/AVI. Mainly to avoid the first frame being replaced by a frame from somewhere in the middle of the video when encoding via a script wrapped into an AVI. I'm still not sure why it's happening, I guess some DirectShow oddity caused by my editing the AVIs, but while most of the time the frame in question is a solitary keyframe which is easy enough to remove.... 70 encodes later it's getting on my nerves....

[CyborgX333]

I'm pretty anal about perfection, but you seem worse than me! LOL

I've had to learn to settle many times now, otherwise I'd still be working on the same vidoes from last year instead of having got through thousands.... It's hard to call time, but life's too short to get bogged down on one thing for too long.

Did you ever try the MPEGVideoWizardDVD or even the older main program with limited function MPEGCVR? It does have a few audio options, and is actually more your kind of tool since it's composed of many individual programs and might even work with your scripts.

Same question re SolveigMM? Since it goes down to frame level you might find it useful.

You could try Aimersoft Ultimate. You might find it works for you, especially the cropping function. I'd also be VERY VERY interested to know if you experience the same slight audio sync issues?

The frame splitting "deal" is that I was splitting a TV show recently, and some were not starting at the point I had set. Sometimes splitting on K-Frames means that unwanted presenter intros get into the clip, so I frequently need more exact Frame splitting.
I had already read on SolveigMM's site that they have an intelligent program that splits on the K-Frame, but frankly it was again a TERRIBLE explanation, and basically just confused matters more. It looked like a FAQ question saying "why does my video not start where I set it" the answer was SolveigMM splits on K-Frames. That was all very simple and understandable, but then it also said that it used some "intelligence" to do it's splitting and explained no more.
I think it can actually do both K-Frame and EXACT frame splitting, but nothing explained what settings gave which results. There are 5 settings in this area, and the support person came back with another one. I tried playing around with them and viewing the results, but the program seemed to start producing different results even with the same settings, and that is when I asked for a proper explanation from their support staff. So far their help has been less than useful.... Some of the settings effect the viewer pane (and perhaps the output too), some I guess just the output, but its definitely not clear. The support staff told me to use an "update batch" option on the menu which to me seemed totally unrelated, and when I tried to do it anyway it was greyed out.
I think the "Frame Accuracy (Smart Mode)" is the main setting that effects this, but it wasn't consistent when I tested it, and I've had no time since to try again since.

[hello_hello]

When I download SolveigMM (and the other programs) I'll have a look at the splitting function. At the moment the PC is busy converting and will be for the next few hours.... maybe days if I get a chance to set up enough encoding jobs.

I'm generally a s&*t in, s&*t out, kind of guy. I rarely mess around very much with filters as I've been doing with these encodes. They're the exception, rather than the rule. I like to get everything else right. I'm anal about aspect ratios and color converting (if need be) and cropping etc, but generally I just encode "as-is". It'll be a while before I go through this again, because I've been close to suicidal a couple of times.

I will get to those programs though, and post back when I do. Hopefully tomorrow while I'm taking a break from setting up encodes.

F*&k me!!! I just checked the last four encoding jobs. I've no idea how, but somehow I managed to miss the trimming by a couple of frames when I added it to the script, so now each of them has two unwanted frames at the beginning. ^%&^&$ DirectShow and it's frame inaccuracy. There goes the last couple of encoding hours down the drain....

[hello_hello]

I just found the encode I did with AVS Video Converter sitting on my hard drive. I didn't know why it was there at first, so I opened it and discovered what it was (due to the watermark). How on earth I didn't notice it the first time I have no idea, I must have been really tired when I ran the test encode, but about a second after I opened the video today..... well I know what you mean about the "green tinge" problem as it stood out straight away. Describing it just as a "tinge" may be a little generous.

[CyborgX333]

Sounds like you need more PC's. I keep 2 running 24/7/365, although 1 of them could go into hibernation occasionally, it never worked very well so I turned it off (it also takes up about 10% of my boot drive and I needed the space). I have the info to check why it wasnt working properly now (gave the problem to Microsoft for weeks and they got nowhere....), just not enough time to work on it.....

I'm glad that you can see the green problem and it's not just me getting stir crazy LOL. I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLLY love it if you could raise a ticket with them for it, they keep giving me excuses like they can't reproduce it, they can't see it, and nobody else is complaining about it.

[hello_hello]

I've still got the file I converted. I'll take a screen shot of the original and the converted version and email it to them if I can. The difference is fairly obvious.

Yeah.... another PC would be nice. I did contemplate upgrading an older one I've got here, leaving the current two as they are, and going with three of them, but I thought that might be a bit self indulgent. However, now you've put the idea in my head again.....

How anyone gets by with just one PC is beyond me.... I spend enough time waiting for two of them to finish what they're doing. With only one I'd never get anything done.

One of the reasons I've procrastinated upgrading for so long is the two PCs here have identical hardware (aside from different CPUs), so for a while now I've only ever had to format and install software on one of them. Then I image the setup to the second PC. I'm really going to miss that. Plus there's also the decision whether to upgrade Windows while I'm at it. I really don't want to. I like XP. I hate Vista. I can tolerate Win7.

[CyborgX333]

Thanks for reporting the problem, much appreciated.

I actually use a 3 screen setup (2 on main and 3rd for download pc). Both currently running Win7. I've been an IT pro for 30 years and Win7 is the most stable I've seen Windows for a VERY LONG TIME. I'd highly recommend the upgrade (although v8 is supposed to be basically the same, just a bit faster and with the new interface). Win8 might be the best decision in the long run, but I've only briefly played with the Beta, so can't say one way or the other.
My download PC is a customised tower case that I used to have about 9 HD's inside! Lots of extra fans were required as well as temperature monitoring, but now it's only got 3 in it. My Main PC is a MacMini running windows 7. Not the most powerful machine, but a nice small all-in-one device, reliable and does everything I need.
My main problem at the moment is a Drobo NAS. They are so ridiculously slow, I can't begin to tell you how frustrated I have got with them. The first device (Drobo FS) was replaced 2 times. Made no difference. They tried to blame it on everything from bad drives to the Gigabit network, but it was all b*llocks. The fact is that their devices are just not capable of performing as file servers and are not fit for the purpose they are sold for.
After complaining for over a year, they gave me a free upgrade to the 800fs which ocsts about 4 times the price of the FS I pad for. I obviously took their offer. Tested it. Just as bad! Using 7 drives all with speeds around 70MBps, the useless piece of crap was giving speeds around 2MBps! Before you try to guess what else might cause the problems, I've tested with different PC, changed the hub, changed the cabling, used 3 or 4 different speed test tools..... Trust me it's the Drobo.
As a quick and dirty test, I copied a file from one PC to another across the network. speed was about 65MBps, so no problem with the PC's or the network!
I checked out smallNetbuilder.com for a review, and found that they didn't do any on Drobo's because the manufacturer wanted too much control over the review process!
I've seen other reviews that all say they are slow. Trouble is doing a review all the files are neatly arranged and at first higher speeds can occur, but after a while the things just become snails, even when only 1 user is doing 1 disk task! GGGGGRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I'm in the market for a replacement, probably an 8 drive Qnap or Synology.

Oh yeah, Ialso use a 4 device keyboard switch to flick between the 2 PC's as well as plug in others occasionally when necessary (for example setting up replacements or friends PC's.

I will probably also buy a Macbook Air next month to do a bit of VJ'ing.....

[hello_hello]

You're certainly well set up, computer wise.

I used to run three PCs myself (till the oldest one died), running six 22" Trinitron CRT monitors between them (I picked up Trinitrons at pretty good prices while people were selling perfectly good CRTs to replace them with crappy LCDs years ago). Fortunately the monitors I use have dual inputs, which makes it easier. I had a big room to set up in at the time. My friends used to laugh at me, telling me the room looked like NASA control from the 60's. I can't help it if LCDs suck.
Plus the cat sleeps on the CRT which is almost touching the wall. She likes the heat and she's obviously worked out she's not likely to roll off that one in her sleep. I don't think I'd be very popular if I replaced it with an LCD.

These days I'm in a smaller room and stuck with 2 monitors for two PCs, although because of the dual input thing I can at least still run 2 monitors for each PC if I want to. And they're both connected to the 51" Plasma.

My only thought re your network problem..... you know how when transferring files from PC to PC, there's usually a huge speed difference depending on the direction.... ie if you "pull" a file (initiate the transfer from the machine you're copying the file to) it's pretty fast, but if you "push" a file (initiate the transfer from the machine from which you're copying the file) it happens much slower. Usually around 1/4 to 1/2 the speed of going in the other direction, I think. Well in the case of Network storage, I guess you'd probably be "pushing" files.
Just a thought anyway..... 2MB/s vs 65MB/s is obviously a ridiculous difference, although there's been times I've "pushed" files while the receiving PC's CPU is busy (or maybe it's the other way around) and stopped the transfer because of how ridiculously slow it was. Then I've "pulled" the same files from the other PC and they've transferred at normal speed. Is file transferring to/from the Drobo the same slow speed no matter which direction you're going?

These days I always "pull" files just out of habit. In fact if I'm copying files from each PC, I've found as long as I "pull" the files in each direction, I can copy in both directions at the same time without taking any real speed hit (RAID hard drive setup in both PCs). I can't offer any real experiences using network storage. I just use single external hard drives these days, either SATA or USB3 if I can. The only "network" storage I've used was a single LanDrive, but it was only 100Mb/s which was painfully slow, so I gave up on it. Even USB2 was faster.

[CyborgX333]

I got a mental image now of a cat trying to balance on the top of an LCD LOL!

I still have a 36" CRT in my bedroom gathering dust....

Push/Pull should not be different, it will depend on losts of factors, srive speeds at each end, CPU, RAM etc.. Factors that a lot of people forget to take into account is network traffic, network protocol, firewalls and especially anit-virus programs. Other factors like RAID reads should be a lot faster than writes (but depends on how good the implementation is), also other processes on sending and receiving PC's running concurrent with transfer. Just take my work for it, Drobo's are convenient, and locally attached single user might be a little better (but I doubt it), but thier operational speeds are so ridiculous, you might as well write the "1"'s and "0"'s yourself on paper!

One of my XBox 360's died this week. Red ring of death. Fixed it the first time myself (cleaned up processors and heat sink), but this time didn't work so given to a shop to do. Hope it recovers.......

Still catching up on my Mvid downloads so not done any coding recently, but will hopefully get some done in the next few weeks.

[hello_hello]

I'm almost through these encodes now. I think I've got about 24 left to do, then I can go back to having a life. I was so involved in encoding this week I even forgot about Breaking Bad until a couple of days after it aired again. That's just mental. Have you seen it (Breaking Bad)? If not, do yourself a favor.... if it's not one of the best TV series ever made, then it's probably the best TV series ever made.
I'm pretty sure you'd struggle to find a TV series with a higher rating on IMDB. It even just out-rates Firefly.

The "push/pull" difference is something I've noticed a lot. Even when both PCs are sitting doing nothing else. Both have onboard Realtek ethernet. At one stage I was so determined to work out why I even bought a couple of Intel gigabit ethernet cards and still had the same problem. If memory serves me correctly, mixing Intel and Realtek made "pushing" even slower.
I don't run antivirus, or anti-malware, or a software Firewall and I've tested speeds between two PCs with a gigibit switch between them and nothing else connected to their little "network".
The subject came up in another forum a while ago and I even managed to get a couple of other people to test it using their setups. Both found "pulling" files was faster than "pushing" them.

I'm not saying that's why the Drobo is as slow as it is though...... just that it might be a contributing factor.

[CyborgX333]

I keep hearing about Breaking Bad, but when I read the synopsis, it just sounded rather meh..... I'll give it a try on your recomendation.

As far as the Push/Pull thing goes, have you tried different OS's? If you still find the same, it could be an idiosyncracy of SMB protocol. Not heard about it before, but interesting to hear about.

You could try some Network Data transfer performance tools and see if you get similar results. I use :-
Lan Speed Test (totusoft)
BlackMagic Disk Speed Test
Crystal Disk Mark 3SIS Software's SANDRA

I also have 2 new tools to test for this job recommended by a website I trust :-
IoZone iozone.org
Intel NAS Performance Toolkit

[hello_hello]

Yeah.... I didn't watch Breaking Bad when it was initially recommended to me for the same reason. I just didn't see how the synopsis could make an interesting series, but it does. When I eventually did watch it I was hooked from the first episode. At the time, I think I got through the first three seasons in around a week or so. It's different to what you'd expect.... it's hard to explain without writing an essay, but if you don't like it I'll be astounded.

I've only ever tried the push/pull test using XP, but I'm fairly sure one of the people in the other forum who tested it and found the same thing was running Windows 7. Maybe give it a try yourself? It's fairly easy to test. Try "pulling" a largish file... say 4GB... from one PC to another. If memory serves me correctly it'll take about a minute. "Pushing" it usually takes at least twice as long, but often even longer.

I've got to head out the door pretty soon (have to work today) but I can try some of your network software tonight or tomorrow. Probably even some of those encoding programs. I finally finished my Doctor Who encoding last night. What a Marathon. Well after checking them all I might re-do a few of the more noisy ones just to see if I can fiddle with the filtering to improve them... I found a combination of two different noise filters which seemed to work well on the worse ones about half way through the last encoding effort, but other than that, I'm done.

I did report the AVS Converter "green tinge" problem and sent them a few screenshots. I've yet to check my email to see if they replied. Probably tomorrow too.....

[CyborgX333]

Watched all of Breaking Bad, the first and second series were good, but it went downhill from there....

Did you get a response from AVS about the green problem?

Had a chance to review the other editing tools yet?

[hello_hello]

Really?? I thought it kept getting better as it went..... well season 5 I'm not sure about yet but it's only half way through and the rest won't be shown for a while.

Yeah..... they replied about the AVS green problem, stating something along the lines of they are aware of the issue and working on a fix, but it's not proving to be an easy problem to solve. Nothing which sounded convincing. I did consider replying to ask why they were still selling the program, given it's not exactly a minor bug, or at least warning people about it before taking their money, but I never got around to it. Probably because I doubt they'd reply, and obviously they're working with the assumption most people won't notice it anyway.

To be honest I still haven't tried those other programs. I have thought about it a few times but knowing neither are free and I'm very unlikely to ever buy them I've not managed to find the motivation yet. I'll try to give them a spin tomorrow as I don't think I've got much else to do. Have I said that before? But this time, really.....

[CyborgX333]

Breaking Bad was cool at first with the fish out of water story, strange partnership, and most of all great chemistry, I mean the actual fun of mixing chemicals.... Also the great portrayal of a mental drug lord. But it then lost it's believability with him wanting to be a drug lord, the stiff as a board KFC drug lord who served tables as a cover (please like that would ever happen). The brother in law got more stupid by the episode (although it was well acted). Money laundering 100's of thousands of dollars through a little car wash? Might as well put a sign up saying we launder money here! It got so crap, that's why the show is cancelled and they have held the last few episodes until next year hoping they can get a few more viewers back for the end of the show.

I've not done any encoding for ages, just too busy. Perhaps in a couple of weeks, because I have a LOT queued up.....

[hello_hello]

Okay.... you didn't like season four. That's fine. I'm not sure about season five yet. We all like what we like. However your posts contains incorrect information.

The ratings have steadily increased from season to season. Episode one of season four held the record when it aired. Season four, episode thirteen held it when season four finished. Episode one of season five had 14% more viewers than the last episode of season four. Currently episode seven of season five is the record holder, with 47% more viewers than the final episode of season four.

Season five was in doubt for a while due to production costs. AMC wanted to keep it down to 6-8 episodes, in the end they agreed to sixteen over two years. Nothing to do with ratings. At the time there was similar drama surrounding other AMC shows such as Mad Men and The Waking Dead.

The money laundering through the car wash question is answered in season five.

I know a couple of other people who didn't "get" Gus Fring. That's fine. It's not compulsory. You're just in the minority.
Rolling Stone's Best Characters on Television.

[CyborgX333]

I'll accept your stats on viewers, but I presume they only apply to the US, and it is viewed around the world, so opinion in the rest of the world could be different.. I can't recall where I read the opinion I gave, and it could well be based on bad info.

I have seen the first half of season 5 and no explanation of how a little car wash business could launder 100's of thousands perhaps millions of dollars.

It wasn't so much I didn't like the character, it was that many things about him were totally unbelievable. You may like the character I may think it's too unbelievable along with the brother in law's blindness, and you may disagree, but please don't presume to tell me I am in the minority. Where have you see a survey on hos character and peoples opinion's of it? Just because rankings were high for the program, does not mean that people found his particular character believable.

I can agree on stats, I can agree to disagree on just about anything that is subjective such as opinions on a character, but I don't like to be told I'm in a minority, just because you only know 2 people who found his character implausible.

I think we have got on quite well up to now and been mutually helpful, I'd hate to waste all that over an opinion of a character on a tv show

PS I did notice your wink, but didn't get the joke. Now if you'd said "but you're still wrong" that might have got a giggle from me

[hello_hello]

Yeah I'm quoting US ratings. I don't know whether it's aired anywhere else yet. Free to air TV is always way behind where I am. That and the horrible quality is why I don't watch it.

Brother-in-law's blindness?? Who's brother-in-law? You'll have to refresh my memory there, I don't recall anyone being blind.

A quick Gus Fring Survey:
http://www.google.com/search?q=gus+fring+tv+villain

The scene in the storage unit about 2 thirds into episode eight of season five explains where the money which couldn't be laundered went.

I don't mind if you didn't like all of it. I'm not looking to fall out over it. I mean...... obviously you're wrong, but I won't hold it against you.

I'll confess I haven't fallen over myself to get excited about season five. It's seemed fairly non-eventful so far. I preferred the first 3 seasons myself but I still enjoyed season four. One of my favorite Breaking Bad episodes was "Fly". Virtually nothing happened. Most people I know thought it was disappointing. There's no accounting for taste. The last episode of season five though.... Breaking Bad basically did a montage. I sat in disbelief watching it while a little part of my soul died. Anyway, hopefully the second half of season five will be where the fun starts.

I still haven't looked at those programs, but I will.....

[CyborgX333]

The DEA "detective" brother in law. For a detective he doesn't seem to notice all the blatant clues that his brother in law is the biggest meths dealer in the west LOL Yeah right, he's gambling illegally and so brilliant at it that the people he plays with haven't tumbled him or killed him. Supposedly he was so broke he had to take 2 jobs, but he has the stakes for high roller poker games? And these high stakes games don't have the sense to prevent card counting by changing decks frequently? Oh yeah, he's also dieing from lung cancer, but hardly ever a cough, and even when on Chemo, he's running around like a teenager..... Sister in law cleptomaniac? that just seems like a throwaway story added as a filler since they ran out of interesting stuff for the main characters. Gus's hardnut (very well acted by the way) manages to get past security (with a face that says "I'm a villain") and under the noses of about 50 policemen kills one of the Cuban nutter brothers? I could go on and on....

I'll watch the last few episodes in the hope that they manage to do some thing cool at the end, but after opening with such a cool main charachter (chemistry teacher using his education and skills to beat the bad guys, along with his apprentice sidekick) and some good acting by all, I still say it went to shitsville after the end of the second season. Agree to disagree.

New series Elementary looks promising, although not as good as the recent Sherlock series which it's trying to copy. But, I do like me a bit of Lucy Lui

concerning the GREEN problem, could you please post the screenshot examples etc of your problem report in the thread I opened on their forum. It would be a great help to keep them from giving up, and hopefully get some others to complain. The thread is
http://forum.avs4you.com/posts.aspx?lng=ENG&t=4138

Thanks

[hello_hello]

The DEA "detective" brother in law was in hospital paralyzed when the gambling story was invented. The money for gambling came from Walter's pension fund. They were mostly backyard card games. Is changing decks normal practice?
I don't think the brother in law was ever told where the money for his treatments really came from. His insurance would have paid for it (just not as good a treatment) so I think he was told the insurance were covering it.
Remember when Gus arrived at the hospital with free food for all the police in the hospital and they all went downstairs to eat? I'd have to watch it again although I'm fairly certain we didn't see the Cuban brother being killed, and I'd hazard a guess it wasn't Gus's usual go-to hardnut given he was an ex cop who'd be recognized by half the people there.
Blatant clues Walter was the biggest meth dealer in the west? I'm not sure about that one.
Yeah Walter stayed fairly active, but then again he was fairly motivated and getting the best treatment available. He had his moments though, like the time he nearly collapsed while cooking and Jess had to finish.

I quite enjoyed Sherlock. I guess Steven Moffat might have redeemed himself a little bit as long as he doesn't continue to keep butchering Doctor Who, although given the last few episodes I don't think that'll happen. I'll probably watch Elementary at some stage but generally when a US studio copies/remakes an English program it's an exercise in disappointment at best.

Sorry, I didn't keep the screen shots of the encode I sent to the makers of AVS and I don't have it installed any more. I deleted the AVS installer as I'd be very unlikely to ever want to use it again.

[CyborgX333]

Yes it was Gus's hardnut who killed the Cuban in hospital.

Too many occasions with pregnant pauses where Walter has to make up a (usually implausable) story to his inlaws to explain his actions/whereabouts/money/appearance/injuries/companions.....

Someone great at chemistry, suddenly desperately needs money, now who can I think of? MMMnnnnnn..... Recently known to be associated with and admittedly buying drugs from a young drug dealer involved with the case......

Whatever, I think we've disucssed it to death, lets hope the finale is great! Perhaps someone else will start another series with a hero who is a super chemist and get some more cool stories and action started along those lines.

One of Stephen Moffats best series was Coupling. Great characters. The humour was somewhat childish, but I enjoyed it. The US version tried to copy it episode for episode with new actors which just made it a waste of time to watch.

The pictures you sent should still be in your problem report on their website support.avs4you.com/support.apsx

[CyborgX333]

Finally started recoding again. Looks like Womble and Handbrake are my new tools of choice! The others (Aimersoft and AVS) are quicker and easier to use, but both still have their associated bugs (AV sync and Green Bias). Womble is pretty buggy, but it's got so many ways of doing something, and it's so versatile as well as powerful, I forgive the frequent little bugs I come across. It's also got the AV sync adjustment which was the original reason for this thread LOL! SolveigMM still has its uses as a splitter (although I need to iron out the settings on that one to allow me to get more accurate splits).

Did you find the Green Bias pictures in your trouble ticket on their website or your email sentboxyet?

Have you finally got around to trying the 5 program I mention above yet?

[hello_hello]

Sorry, I can't say I've got motivated to look for the screenshots. I uploaded them directly when contacting support and I don't think I've kept the notification email from AVS.

5? programs?
No, I still haven't got around to that yet either . At some stage when I've got nothing else to do.....

I've never really warmed to Handbrake. You'd probably want to use the "High profile" Handbrake preset, which I think is kind of like using x264's Medium speed preset (I can't remember for sure, as it's been a while) with some advanced options changed to what the x264 VerySlow preset would use..... or something like that. Not being able to choose an x264 speed preset was enough to put me off Handbrake. That and the fact there doesn't seem to be any way to tell exactly what it's doing, aside from letting it encode a video and looking to see how it turns out.
If you like Handbrake, maybe give VidCoder a look. It's an alternative Handbrake GUI which seems a little more logical to me..... well at least it lets you choose an x264 speed preset. And it still has the option to pick a target file size if you need to, which for some reason Handbrake no longer does. And it seems to be updated more regularly.

[CyborgX333]

Handbrake does a fine job for me as is. I took expert advice on the x264 settings, then after reading about all of them made some minor adjustments of my own. I use it for compressing bloated V0Bs, black border trimming, and volume adjustment.

The other 4 programs are :-
AVS Video Converter
Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate
SolveigMM Splitter
Womble MPEG Video Wizard DVD

IF at some stage you can find the ticket number and pics, it would be a great help.

[CyborgX333]

AVS are asking me for more examples. They seem to finally be taking it seriously. I told them that they already have one from me and one from you. Do you have the problem ticket number for your report?

If you could send the file you used to them that would be marvelous, or send to me and I'll take it from there.

[CyborgX333]

BTW I'd definitely recommend the new series Elementary, looking good so far.....

[CyborgX333]

Heavily back into encoding again now. Womble is proving invaluable, if still a little flakey, once worked out a reliable process it's a BIG time saver, and results are good. SilveigMM has turned out to be too slow and crashes a lot.