Need suggestions for a video converter

[socrates]

Hi,

I use Windows 7 64bit. I'm in search of a video converter which can convert my videos to avi, most of which are either in mp4 or mkv. I have used trial versions of AVS video converter, Wondershare, Aimersoft, Total Video converter, Winavi and few freewares such as avidemux, MeGUI etc etc. Avidemux used to be my favourite until I changed to Win 64bit. Everything I tested goes on good for 15 mins and then application crashes.
Please suggest a good one for 64bit OS.
Thanks in advance

[yoda313]

I don't have win7 or a 64bit os but I would recommend ripbot264 or handbrake for h264 conversions. Format Factory is also suitable. just scroll through their donwload choices for 64bit os's.

[socrates]

Hi Yoda313,

Thanks for the tip. I want suggestions for conversion to avi. Just tried ripbot but it doesnot have an option like that...

[transporterfan]

I can recommend TEncoder and Xvid4PSP.

[socrates]

Hello all,

I have noted that almost all the encoders are either running very very slow or hang/crash by 15% progression in win 7 64bit. Most of these run fairly fast in my laptop loaded with win 7 32bit. The only encoder which ran superbly was Boilsoft video converter (if anyone faces the same with win 7 64bit). But customization of bitrate and aspect ratio are unsatisfactory. I shall give Xvid4PSP a try and report back

[socrates]

hi Transporterfan,

Tried Xvid4PSP. The initiating command page showed this
AudioCodec: MP3
AudioBitrate: 32
Samplerate: 16000
Channels: 2

SCRIPT
------------------------------
Import("C:\Program Files (x86)\XviD4PSP 5\dlls\AviSynth\functions\AudioFunctions.avs")
Import("C:\Program Files (x86)\XviD4PSP 5\dlls\AviSynth\functions\VideoFunctions.avs")

DirectShowSource("E:\XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.mkv", fps=23.976, convertfps=true)

SSRC(22050)
ConvertToYV12()

###[FILTERING]###
###[FILTERING]###



DEMUXING
------------------------------
Demuxing audio stream to: E:\Temp\0000_0.mp3
MP3 32kbps 2ch 16bit 16000khz

mkvextract.exe: tracks "E:\XXXXXXXXXXXXX.mkv" 1:"E:\Temp\0000_0.mp3" --output-charset UTF-8

VIDEO ENCODING
------------------------------
Encoding video to: E:\Temp\0000.avi
XviD (1.2.2) 1100kbps 720x304 23.976fps (240770 frames)

...first pass...

xvid_encraw.exe: -pass1 "E:\Temp\0000_1.log" -qtype 0 -vhqmode 1 -nopacked -bquant_ratio 162 -bquant_offset 0 -lumimasking -max_key_interval 250 -quality 5 -zones 0,q,3.0 -notrellis -nochromame -turbo -threads 6 -i "E:\Temp\0000.avs" -o NUL

The convert FPS started at healthy 100+ but slowly fell to 0 and software stayed put till I shut it down
Dont know what went wrong

[transporterfan]

Sorry to hear that.
Xvid4PSP is my favourite converter (in terms of quality). It's not the fastest but it gives me consistently exceptional results.My system is x64 (quad), but not Windows 7. It came with Vista and I stuck with it because it was free. For all it's failings I have learned that (after XP) it is also the most compatible software I am likely to find. I wont upgrade. I hear too many horror stories from Windows 7 and 8 users to even consider it at the moment. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I think it may be your system not the converter software which is causing the problems.

Not being a system engineer I am not able to ascertain the root of your problem, but can only say I have used the majority of the software yourself and Yoda have discussed and not found any problems. What I would advise is a system check, especially of your system RAM. If the programs run for 15 minutes and then bottleneck, there is something very amiss.

I think there are still inexplicable incompatibility problems with Windows 7 x64 and various programs.
The people behind Avanti, for example, are still having difficulty tracing bugs with W7 x64:

http://avanti.arrozcru.com/windows7.htm

[Hoser Rob]

...I think it may be your system not the converter software which is causing the problems...

Unfortunately I think he's right. I've used avidemux many times in win7 64 bit. No crashes, at least once I figured out how to use it (it's that type of program).

How up to date is your hardware spec on your profile? I would think that 64 bit win 7 on a machine with 1Gb ram could definitely cause problems. On my 4Gb machine that still has a win 7 partition, I think just that OS takes over 1 Gb.

Have you tried running 32 bit versions of these programs?

[socrates]

Thank you all...
I understand that I might be left with couple of options
I can either stick with Boilsoft video converter or I should go for a RAM check/system check
If you guys come up with any solution, do let me know
As for my system, it is a AMD A8 APU, with 4 GB RAM and 1GB Graphic card

[transporterfan]

You could try turning any/all background tasks off before conversion, just to ensure there are no conflicts with system resources.

[ozok]

What happens when you try TEncoder? Does it hang/crash too? If it crashes, what sort of error message does it show?

[transporterfan]

I don't get why it happens every 15 minutes. Overheating? You will need diagnostic software to watch the core temperatures.

There was an problem with the Win 7 beta: the hard drive would go to sleep after a set period and software would time-out before it could spin up. If you go into the power settings, in the Advanced settings, how long is it before the hard drive is scheduled to turn off? Try setting it to 240 minutes initially and let me know if that helps.
Similarly, any other setting which sets the computer sleep mode choose 'Never'.

[socrates]

hi,
Contacted HP customer care. As suggested by them, I used the memory test and found no errors with RAM. Now they have washed their hands saying that it could be 3rd party software problem. Now trying out TEncoder. Shall report back soon

[pepegot1]

Video to Video is free and better than many that charge. It is very versatile

[socrates]

Hi,

Just finished trying TEncoder. When the re-encoding was done with Mencoder, the software failed to progress after 9%. But with FFMpeg, it did what was needed. So, is it incompatibility of MEncoder?
Now on my way to test Video to Video

[transporterfan]

Try and post a log report from TEncoder. ozok developed the package, so if anyone can help you it's him.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/340150-TEncoder-3-3-2-Multithreaded-GUI-for-FFMpeg-...port-thread%29

[socrates]

Hello transporterfan,

TEncoder worked really fine when I selected FFMpeg. With MEncoder, it just stopped going forward. There was no error shown. The log file didn't show any errors. Just didn't proceed after 9%.

[ozok]

Maybe the mencoder binaries that come with TEncoder are not compatible with AMD CPUs. I remember that once I changed some compiling options and TEncoder.exe (or some other project I don't remember really) stopped working for some AMD CPUs, but that is really unlikely.

Here is link to mplayer folder where you can download mplayer&mencoder binaries: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mplayer-win32/files/MPlayer%20and%20MEncoder/r36169%2Bg2844ea8/

Also why don't you use FFMpeg? Are you trying to embed subtitle?

[transporterfan]

@socrates: next time you log in read this thread (below). The solution may be very simple after all. Let me know how you get on.

https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/355331-Batch-video-conversion-Windows-becomes-slow-...h-unresponsive

[socrates]

Hi Transporterfan,

Thank you for the suggestion. I have infact stopped researching further on what could have gone wrong since Tencoder worked superbly with FFMpeg. Anyway, i have gone through the thread you have sent me. I dont face the problem mentioned there. My laptop works fine with encoder working in the background or just after stopping the encoder. my problem was that the encoder itself was slowing down to 'zero' speed maybe 5-10% through the conversion. Now I have 2 encoding softwares that breeze through re-encoding process. Boilsoft Video Converter and TEncoder with FFMpeg setting....

[socrates]

Hi everyone,
Started facing a new problem now.
Tried re-encoding the following file to avi: The original file mediainfo details are as follows
General
Unique ID : 200853193417929839216177163775403713839 (0x971AEAFF9E82F362899E9C8D1FC1652F)
Complete name : E:\XXXXXXXXX.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 3.27 GiB
Duration : 1h 29mn
Overall bit rate : 5 253 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-05-15 01:38:18
Writing application : mkvmerge v6.1.0 ('Old Devil') built on Mar 2 2013 14:32:37
Writing library : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.0

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 29mn
Bit rate : 3 745 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 536 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.228
Stream size : 2.27 GiB (69%)
Title : X264
Writing library : x264 core 132 r2310 76a5c3a
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=36 / lookahead_threads=4 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=3745 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Mode : 16
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1h 29mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 963 MiB (29%)
Title : DTS
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

The result avi file details post re-encoding is as follows

General
Complete name : E:\XXXXXXXXX.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Format profile : OpenDML
File size : 1.38 GiB
Duration : 1h 29mn
Overall bit rate : 2 220 Kbps
Writing application : Lavf54.61.104

Video
ID : 0
Format : xvid
Codec ID : xvid
Duration : 1h 29mn
Bit rate : 1 760 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 304 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.335
Stream size : 1.10 GiB (79%)
Title : X264

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : 00001000-0000-0020-8000-00AA00389B71
Duration : 1h 29mn
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Back: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 286 MiB (20%)
Interleave, duration : 32 ms (0.77 video frame)
Title : DTS

When played in my Philips HTS 5550, I receive message as audio codec unsupported. The video plays well but no audio. VLC player plays it well on my laptop. What might have gone wrong? Please give suggestions
Thank you

[Ai Haibara]

Try re-encoding the audio as MP3. Your Phillips may not recognize AC3 audio in an AVI container.

(...red text? Not a good thing for my eyes to read at 3AM. )

[Hoser Rob]

Try re-encoding the audio as MP3. Your Phillips may not recognize AC3 audio in an AVI container.

He's right. I looked up your device. That's always a good idea when you're having these sort of problems. This Phillips only supports mp3 and wma audio.

Did you solve your original problem? I wonder if you may have installed 3rd party codec packs that are causing system conflicts. Those things may have been defensible up to win xp. Not in win 7. They're not necessary anyway. There are good programs (like avidemux) that don't need them.

Sometimes weird things happen anyway. I use linux now, and you can't get codecs screwing up your registry in linux like you can in windows. I've had video files where the only thing that would convert them was the openshot editor in export mode. Openshot conversion is ffmpeg based, but every other ffmpeg based converter I have choked on them.

[socrates]

Hi,
Well, I re-encoded the mkv to avi (xvid + mp3) and it played fine in my HTS 5550. I have to disagree with Hoser Rob because HTS played all other avi (xvid + ac3) files except the ones converted via TEncoder. This is the 2nd time I face this problem. The first time I thought it was some mistake that I did in re-encoding.
Another note, I converted the same in avidemux and HTS played the ac3 fine. I really wanted the ac3 because mp3 gives only stereo sound to the 5.1 channel A_DTS of the source.
I want to rectify the TEncoder software because it runs fast on my Win 7 64bit system while avidemux doesnot, as you can see from the earlier postings in this thread.
Just wanted to know whether it is error with the ac3 codec in TEncoder. Yes, I use K-Lite codec pack in my system. As suggested, will uninstalling it help?

[Ai Haibara]

Start by using Mediainfo to check a video with AC3 audio that does work on the Phillips, and compare it to the info for the AC3 above that doesn't. See if there's any notable differences that stand out.

As I recall, my Phillips DVP-5990 has some support for either AC3 or AAC (one of them) in an AVI (and/or MP4?), but they were never really clear as to what the specifics of the audio had to be, if I remember correctly. I think I experimented with it once or twice, and just went back to MP3, to save myself some frustration. It sounds like there's probably a similar situation, here (unless the manual does list what it's looking for in AC3 audio...)

[socrates]

Hi,
Here is a comparison of ac3 files that worked and failed with HTS
The file that worked, details are:

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : 2000
Duration : 1h 39mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 319 MiB (22%)
Alignment : Split accross interleaves
Interleave, duration : 42 ms (1.00 video frame)
Interleave, preload duration : 500 ms

The file that didn't ( copying and pasting from earlier post)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : 00001000-0000-0020-8000-00AA00389B71
Duration : 1h 29mn
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Back: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 286 MiB (20%)
Interleave, duration : 32 ms (0.77 video frame)
Title : DTS

Please tell me what difference is there. Is it the codec ID?

[Budman1]

There are several hits on the internet about that codec ID. Seems it has been around for a while with several scenarios with high bit rates or muxing with ffmpeg and several other causes. Couple worth reading are below but basically it says it's happened with FFMpeg as the cause.
http://forum.mediacoderhq.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8127
http://roundup.libav.org/issue2455

[socrates]

Hi all,
Atlast I found a way out of my problem. This method is twisted but anyone has any better route, do post it here. Before you post, do note that this thread was created for a video encoder suggestion as most of it didn't work in my system.
I have this BRRip which is in mkv (avc+a_dts 5.1). TEncoder failed with Mencoder so I resorted to FFmpeg. But FFmpeg gave a weird ac3 output that didn't work with my Philips HTS 5550. Please note that HTS 5550 works with ac3 but this code was an exception.
Step 1- MKVtoolnix + MKVExtractGUI-2 to extract the audio and video files from mkv file
Step 2- MKVmerge to merge just the video part back to mkv, say mkv(new)
Step 3- TAudioConverter to re-encode whatever the extracted audio part to ac3. This conversion gave a proper coded ac3 5.1
Step 4- TEncoder to re-encode the mkv(new) to avi. Note that this would be just video and no audio.
Step 5- AVI-mux to mux the ac3 to created avi
Now I have a proper avi with ac3 5.1 that played on my HTS 5550...whew!

[ozok]

Actually both TAC and TEncoder use FFMpeg to encoder to ac3. Only difference might be version of FFMpeg.

[socrates]

Hi ozok,

How do I change/update the Mencoder and FFmpeg within TEncoder and TAC independently? Copying the latest build FFmpeg and Mencoder didn't work into the original folder didn't work. Will you be bringing the latest updates soon? This could help me use TEncoder only than going through the long route.