Why doesn't Mediacoder create 2pass good quality videos? The result: error

[Stears555]

Hi!

Why doesn't Mediacoder create 2pass good quality videos? The result is always error, when it start the second pass. Even the encoder is not matter, because X264 X265 and vp9 cause the same error in the 2nd pass.


The ResulT: Error code 14

"014

Description: A video encoder error is encountered
Possible causes:
Video encoder cannot be started as expected
Video encoder is absent"

[poisondeathray]

Did you try updating the software ?

Maybe you have to pay for full version ? I remember reading a while ago it was "ransomware" and wouldn't complete encodes unless you paid the fee

You should ask on their forum if you can't figure it out

Or try another tool

[poisondeathray]

It looks like HEVC isn't supported, unless you pay for the HEVC premium version

http://www.mediacoderhq.com/premium/

wow ... freeware version is limited to 16Mbps

But it doesn't say anything about 2pass limitations on that page



Eitherway - I would use something else. I can't believe people would pay for this when there are free tools / GUI's

[Stears555]

It looks like HEVC isn't supported, unless you pay for the HEVC premium version

http://www.mediacoderhq.com/premium/

wow ... freeware version is limited to 16Mbps

But it doesn't say anything about 2pass limitations on that page



Eitherway - I would use something else

I can't encode 2pass videos with Mediacoder since 2013...

Only the lowest quality settings are accepted by Mediacoder without errors.

[poisondeathray]

I can't encode 2pass videos with Mediacoder since 2013...

So why did you wait 2 years before posting?

[Stears555]

I can't encode 2pass videos with Mediacoder since 2013...

So why did you wait 2 years before posting?

Or can you use it with high quality settings in 2pass mode? I doubt it.

[poisondeathray]

I can't encode 2pass videos with Mediacoder since 2013...

So why did you wait 2 years before posting?

Or can you use it with high quality settings in 2pass mode? I doubt it.

I don't use it

There are better alternatives for free that actually work

[Stears555]

I can't encode 2pass videos with Mediacoder since 2013...

So why did you wait 2 years before posting?

Or can you use it with high quality settings in 2pass mode? I doubt it.

I don't use it

There are better alternatives for free that actually work

However they are much slower with the same codec settings. Can you suggest some good transcoders?

[newpball]

Hi!

Why doesn't Mediacoder create 2pass good quality videos? The result is always error, when it start the second pass. Even the encoder is not matter, because X264 X265 and vp9 cause the same error in the 2nd pass.

More important question is why use 2 pass anyway?

Sure 2 pass can save a few bits but if you are scraping for bits because of limited space you should reevaluate your choice of media.

[poisondeathray]

However they are much slower with the same codec settings. Can you suggest some good transcoders?

How can they be slower? They use the exact same tools in the background, it just costs money and it's actually slower with mediacoder, because it's GUI based

Or are you taking about the GPU variant that produces lower quality ?

If you learn use commandline it will be faster than any GUI - there will be none of those extraneous steps like analyzing, preprocessing, etc...it's more steamline and does exactly what you want without wasting time

[Stears555]

However they are much slower with the same codec settings. Can you suggest some good transcoders?

How can they be slower? They use the exact same tools in the background, it just costs money and it's actually slower with mediacoder, because it's GUI based

Or are you taking about the GPU variant that produces lower quality ?

If you learn use commandline it will be faster than any GUI - there will be none of those extraneous steps like analyzing, preprocessing, etc...it's more steamline and does exactly what you want without wasting time

Just try a 1pass x265 or x264 encoder with other softwares and compare the speed with mediacoder.

[poisondeathray]

Kust try a 1pass x265 or x264 encoder with other softwares and compare the speed with mediacoder.

FACT: It's impossible for a GUI to be faster than a binary that is doing the actual encoding . This assumes you're using the same encoder, same settings, same decoding pathway. The GUI will ALWAYS consume more memory, take more CPU resources, and perhaps even do other processes / preprocessing /analyzing to slow things down . In some cases the difference is substantially slower

[SameSelf]

To me the bigger question is whether ffmpeg or ffmbc are capable of more than 2 passes, e.g. 4 or 5 passes?

[newpball]

To me the bigger question is whether ffmpeg or ffmbc are capable of more than 2 passes, e.g. 4 or 5 passes?

Lol.

[SameSelf]

it was actually a serious question

EDIT: Wow, sometimes all it takes is just knowing what question to ask (ok, easier said than done most of the time). But, I have to save this link to my favs. So much good info that I have never seen anywhere else:

http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/menc-feat-x264.html#menc-feat-x264-encoding-optio...sc-preferences

[newpball]

it was actually a serious question

Alright I'll bite, what do you think you gain by doing 5 passes?

[SameSelf]

probably not much since x264 is a free encoder and not on par with the whiz bang ($$$) encoders that studios use when doing multi-pass rendering for DVDs and BDs. But I am working on a project at the moment and will likely post a thread seeking advice soon.

[newpball]

But I am working on a project at the moment and will likely post a thread seeking advice soon.

Great!

Just a heads up: tinkering with parameters and doing extra passes are no match for straightforward encoding with a great bitrate.

[poisondeathray]

What does this have to do with mediacoder?

Yes you can do "nth" pass encoding with ffmpeg, or x264, or x265 . 99% of the potential benefit is achieved with 2pass, 99.99% achieved with 3passes. Huge diminishing returns after 3 . More than 2 passes is really only for bitrate convergence (more accuracy in final filesize, maybe a few less kb off). If going all out , don't care about speed, and using multipass like that, it's better to use --slow-firstpass which actually affects frametype placement and quality

The trick is to use --pass 3 for each intermediate pass after the first and --pass 2 for the final pass . Each subsequent pass will check the convergence and readjust . It's not the more intuitive pass 1,2,3,4,5.... etc....

[SameSelf]

What does this have to do with mediacoder?

Yes you can do "nth" pass encoding with ffmpeg, or x264, or x265 . 99% of the potential benefit is achieved with 2pass, 99.99% achieved with 3passes. Huge diminishing returns after 3 . More than 2 passes is really only for bitrate convergence (more accuracy in final filesize, maybe a few less kb off). If going all out , don't care about speed, and using multipass like that, it's better to use --slow-firstpass which actually affects frametype placement and quality

The trick is to use --pass 3 for each intermediate pass after the first and --pass 2 for the final pass . Each subsequent pass will check the convergence and readjust . It's not the more intuitive pass 1,2,3,4,5.... etc....

Thanks pdr. You're right this has nothing to do with mediacoder. It is just me complaining that 2 pass algo's seem woefully inadequate to me. The devil is in the details and I find myself obsessing more and more over how to tweak the settings to get better encodes and as a result thinking harder about multipasses as that is where the real power for bespoke encodes seems to lie.