Cannot mux a H264 with AAC on .TS with Maximum overall bitrate of 8,000

[dogmydog]

Dear Community,


Thank you for your attention!

I have been trying to export h264 1920x1080 files muxed with AAC 160bits stereo audio on a .TS encapsulation from Adobe Media Encoder 2020 with no avail.
I am able to export them separately on the H264 Blu Ray preset, getting audio as AAC and video as M4V.

However, when I try to mux them on a third party program, such as tsmuxer, the mux rate of 8000kbps doesn't work and it keeps giving me a lot of errors VBV errors:
VBV buffer overflow at position 115.086 sec

When I dont specify the 8000 Max Overall Bitrate, it works fine, but the end file gets me a 35.5mb/s max overall bitrate, which my client doesn't accept.

Can you please help?


Thanks again!

[ProWo]

What's the video bitrate?
Why 8000 kbps/max? The BR max bitrate for AVC is 100 Mbps.

[dogmydog]

Thank you for the quick reply!!
The video bitrate is h264 6000 CBR and the audio is 160kbps AAC.

[dogmydog]

To answer the second question: this is a format requested by the client.
They use a VOD platform for TVs and it requires TS files with a total mux bitrate total max of 8000. It is not blu-ray i am afraid

[ProWo]

Try to mux them with my clever FFmpeg-GUI to ts.

[dogmydog]

Dear ProWo, thanks for the quick answer!
I downloaded the clever prog and the required ffmpeg files.
I opened my .m4v video file and .aac audio file at the MULTIPLEX option and set a output file.

Two questions:
1) Unlike the tsmuxer, there is no option for a max overall bitrate
2) Whenever I press multiplex, after 2 seconds of processing, it gives me a 2kb .ts file which doesnt play.

[ProWo]

Dear ProWo, thanks for the quick answer!
I downloaded the clever prog and the required ffmpeg files.
I opened my .m4v video file and .aac audio file at the MULTIPLEX option and set a output file.

Two questions:
1) Unlike the tsmuxer, there is no option for a max overall bitrate
2) Whenever I press multiplex, after 2 seconds of processing, it gives me a 2kb .ts file which doesnt play.

1) That's right, because the muxed bitrate it video bitrate+audio bitrate + overhead; nothing to set.
2) Rename the .m4v to .mp4 and retry

[dogmydog]

Thanks for the prompt response!
I really appreciate this.

I tried to rename it to mp4 but still didn't work. Processing time instantaneously, a popup named DONE! and 6kb TS file
Also tried to export to m2ts and got same results.

[ProWo]

On start choose your m4v videostream as source, After the analysis the stream is shown properly?

[dogmydog]

You're right, I guess there is something wrong with the m4v files.


I tried reencoding as CBR 6,000 and gonna try again!

[ProWo]

Export to mp4 instead. In your m4v Stream the duration info is missing.
You can also try to remux the m4v to mkv first with MkvToolNix

Use the newest beta https://files.videohelp.com/u/292773/clever_ffmpeg_gui_newest_beta.7z
and load your m4v again. It should be copied automatically into a mp4 container and reloaded.
The multiplexing should then work flawless.

[dogmydog]

Amazing! It works!
I exported a mp4 .h264 file on AME 2020 (with audio) then re-exported only the AAC audio 160kbps.
Then I went to Clever FF and import the .mp4 and multiplexed it with the AAC again, and the mp4 muxed file shows on MediaInfo as 6000 bitrate!

I'm going to send this to my client and check if the platform accepts it.
Thank you so much for the help!

[smrpix]

Amazing! It works!
I exported a mp4 .h264 file on AME 2020 (with audio) then re-exported only the AAC audio 160kbps.

Glad you got it working but there was no need to output the audio twice.
Both TSMuxer and ProWo's tool could handle the combined .mp4.

[dogmydog]

Hey @smrpix, thanks for joining the conversation.
I had to output with audio because, for some weird reason, I couldn't read the .m4v file that AME 2020 generated.
Not in Clever, not in VLC, nowhere. It was generating a corrupt file. I used the PRESET Vimeo Full HD and unchecked the audio box, and it still didn't work.

The Mp4 muxed file, however, worked just fine.

About the ts_muxer:
On ts_muxer General Tab, there is an option called Mux VBR.
In default, the generated ts file gives me a Maximum Overall bit rate of 35.5 Mb/s (according to Media Info).
This is weird because the video is encoded at 6,000 CBR and the audio is only 160 bits.

[Attachment 56282 - Click to enlarge]

And when I try to limit the bitrate on ts_muxer for whatever value, it starts givin me VBV errors such as:
VBV buffer overflow at position 115.086 sec
VBV buffer overflow at position 105.326 sec
etc

I'm going to send the generated ts to the client and check if it works.
Thanks again for the time spent on this matter

[smrpix]

Looks like you aren't using AME correctly.

Under the h.264 presets you can set the bitrate for both video and audio as you wish. The resulting multiplexed .mp4 can be fed directly into either TSMuxer or clever ffmpeg GUI. (M4V is video only -- not sure why you're putting yourself through that step.)

[dogmydog]

That is a good idea, smrpix. I thought that ts-muxer needed the .m4v and .aac files separate to mux.

I did, however, just tried exporting the multiplexed mp4 into ts-muxer and exporting a TS.

Media info still claims the file's Maximum Overall bit rate is 35.5 Mb/s, even though the video is encoded at 6,217kb/s, just as the img I sent previously.
And when I try to limit the Mux Rate to CBR 8,000 on the General Tab of ts_muxer, or any other value, I get the VBV errors...


Please see attached SS.

[dogmydog]

Hey guys, quick update: the clients platform has rejected my H264 encode with the Clever FF muxing or Ts_muxing.
I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, since I am obeying the h264 encoding limits using the Vimeo Full HD preset and limiting bitrate to 6,000 and audio AAC 160bits.

Here are the specs they need to ingest the TS files, which i configure in Episode 6 Pro.

General
Container MPEG-TS (ts)
Transport Rate 10,000 kbit/s

Video
H264 (Main Concept)
Constant Bitrate (CBR)
Bitrate: 6,000 kbit/s
Natural and Forced Keyframes
Keyframe Interval: 100 Frames
Adaptive B-frames (X)
Number of B-frames: 3 frames
Number of Reference Frames: 2 frames

Encoder Profile: High
Context-Adaptive Binary-Arithmetic Coding (CABAC)
Color Space: 4:2:0
Display Aspect Ratio: From Source/Resize Filter
Two Pass Encoding (X)
Deblocking Filter (X)

Number of Slices: 4 Slices
Initial Buffer Fullness: 100%
IDR Frames: Every
Force headers for every GOP (X)
Signal fixed framerate (X)
Pulldown: None
Level Signalling: Level 4.0
Audio
AAC Quicktime
Bit Rate Based
Bit Rate: 160kbit/s
Setting Type: Standard Settings

Any help is much appreciated!
Thanks

[4kblurayguru]

Seems you have to put some more settings into ffmpeg. What does (x) mean? you must include or omit?

[ProWo]

The videostream seems fine, maybe the platform doesnt like the aac audio. You could try to load your mp4 video with aac audio into clever Ffmpeg-GUI, converse the aac audiostream to ac3 248 kb/s 48kHz and remux this new audiostream with the videostream to ts container.

[dogmydog]

Seems you have to put some more settings into ffmpeg. What does (x) mean? you must include or omit?

Thanks for the help!
X means yes, include. How can I insert these options on FF mpeg?

[dogmydog]

The videostream seems fine, maybe the platform doesnt like the aac audio. You could try to load your mp4 video with aac audio into clever Ffmpeg-GUI, converse the aac audiostream to ac3 248 kb/s 48kHz and remux this new audiostream with the videostream to ts container.

Thanks for the reply!
I believe the platform accepts AAC audio, since these are the settings I have been using to upload files done with Episode Pro.

I have uploaded a example file 4000283 to wetransfer so you can check out the differences:
4000283-original.mov (the original file on 12mbps)
4000283-episode.ts (the original file converted to TS using the settings listed above on Episode 6 Pro) -- THIS ONE IS ACCEPTED BY THE CLIENT PLATFORM.
4000283-adobemediaencoder.mp4 (the original file converted to 6,000 CBR using the Vimeo Full HD preset tweeked for lesser bitrate)
4000283-ts-muxer.ts (the 4000283-adobemediaencoder.mp4 file multiplexed using ts-muxer with Mux VBR)
4000283-clever.ts (the 4000283-adobemediaencoder.mp4 file multiplexed using Clever FFmpeg Gui with the multiplexing function).

https://we.tl/t-kdK8PoQArw

I checked the Media Info on the files and I think maybe it is because the file multiplexed on AME is not interlaced TFF.
I tried interlacing the file and sent to the client again. Will send you news soon

Thanks again for the help so far!

[dogmydog]

Hey guys, another update. The Platform has refused my file again. :'(
Can you please take a look at the wetransfer files and see if you can help me investigate?

https://we.tl/t-kdK8PoQArw

[sneaker]

4000283-adobemediaencoder.mp4:
- is uses Main profile
- it uses no b-frames at all
- keyframe interval: 30 frames
- no slices
(The "original" also does not have slices nor is its keyframe interval 100 ...)


P.S.: The AME H.264 encoder does not have very good reputation AFAIK. I would probably export to a lossless or near lossless format and re-encode with x264 cli. Then you also have finer control over settings.

[ProWo]

Hey guys, another update. The Platform has refused my file again. :'(
Can you please take a look at the wetransfer files and see if you can help me investigate?
https://we.tl/t-kdK8PoQArw

Maybe the Format profile: Main@L4.1;
change the profile of 4000283-clever.ts from Main@4.1 to Main@4.0 and send it again to the platform for testing.
https://www.videohelp.com/software/H264-AVC-Level-Editor

[dogmydog]

Hey @sneaker and @prowo, thanks for the help!

I'm gonna take a look at x264 cli, thanks for that.

About the Main Profile, I have thought about that and AME permits me to change from High to Main.
One other thing that caught my eye is that on the episode.ts file, Media Info states that the Standard is NTSC:

Video
ID : 481 (0x1E1)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4
Format settings : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 2 frames
Codec ID : 27
Duration : 25 s 25 ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Nominal bit rate : 6 000 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : MBAFF
Scan type, store method : Interleaved fields
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.097
Color range : Limited

When I encode thru AME, if I choose H264 or H264 (Blu-ray) it does not give me NTSC as a Standard.
Video
ID : 256 (0x100)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 4 frames
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=2
Codec ID : 27
Duration : 1 h 17 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Nominal bit rate : 6 000 kb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan type, store method : Separated fields
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.097
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

So I'm definately going to try a different encoding software and get back to you!
Thank again for the continuing support ^^

[ProWo]

It seems that something is wrong with your encoder.
I have made some attempts; try the following:
Re-encode your mov original with the following command line:

ffmpeg -i "4000283-original.mov" -c:v libx264 -crf 21 -r 29.97 -profile:v main -level:v 4.0 -c:a copy "4000283-original.ts"

[dogmydog]

It seems that something is wrong with your encoder.
I have made some attempts; try the following:
Re-encode your mov original with the following command line:

ffmpeg -i "4000283-original.mov" -c:v libx264 -crf 21 -r 29.97 -profile:v main -level:v 4.0 -c:a copy "4000283-original.ts"

Great, it worked, but:
1) I still don't get interlaced results, nor the NTSC Standard.
2) The Overall Bitrate is at 4836, can I up it a bit to be at ~6000kbps?
3) Also, it still states CABAC 4 ref frames and not CABAC / 2 ref frames as the episode 6 pro file (sorry if I'm newbing, I'm very new at this).

Thanks!

[ProWo]

Great, it worked, but:
1) I still don't get interlaced results, nor the NTSC Standard.
2) The Overall Bitrate is at 4836, can I up it a bit to be at ~6000kbps?
3) Also, it still states CABAC 4 ref frames and not CABAC / 2 ref frames as the episode 6 pro file (sorry if I'm newbing, I'm very new at this).
Thanks!

1) It makes no sense to encode interlaced. But it is possible if you want.
2) You can vary the crf value (g.e. -crf 19). Smaller value gives better quality and higher bitrate.
3) You could try add

-x264opts cabac=1:ref=2

after libx264. (Not tested).

[badyu17]

Forget about "NTSC" flag and interlaced encoding. The culprit is probably your GOP configuration. It clearly states keyframe interval "100" and 3 b-frames in your spec. So modify preset in your application to use those. MediaInfo should show that as M=4, N=100 if it's fixed interval without adaptive b-frames. Next suspect can be number of slices. Also their spec is inconsistent. They ask for constant bitrate (cbr) but also want two pass which is variable bitrate. They need to make up their mind.

[dogmydog]

Forget about "NTSC" flag and interlaced encoding. The culprit is probably your GOP configuration. It clearly states keyframe interval "100" and 3 b-frames in your spec. So modify preset in your application to use those. MediaInfo should show that as M=4, N=100 if it's fixed interval without adaptive b-frames. Next suspect can be number of slices. Also their spec is inconsistent. They ask for constant bitrate (cbr) but also want two pass which is variable bitrate. They need to make up their mind.

Hey badyu17 thanks for joining the conversation!
As I stated before, I'm not a engineer, so I'm following your tutorials and trying to get similar results to what the platform accepts.
Right now I'm trying the ProWo ffmpeg instructions.

I asked them for more examples and here is what I got (I translated the img for you, it is in pt-br language)

General: Standard example NOW
Format: MPEG-TS
File Size : 5.70GiB
Duration: 1h 32mn
Bit Rate (Method): Constant
Bit Rate (Total): 8000 Kbps

Video

ID: 481 (0x1E1)
Menu ID: 1 (0x1)
Format: AVC
Format / lnformation: Advanced Video Codec
Format Profile: High@L4.0
CABAC: Yes
Format, Ref Frames: 3 frames
Codec ID: 27
Duration: 1h 32mn
Bitrate: 8,000 kbps
Width: 1920 pixels
Height: 1080 pixels
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Frame rate: 29.970 fps
ColorSpace: YUV
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Bitdepth / String: 8 bits
Scan type: Progressive
Bits/(Pixels*Pictures}: 0.129
File Size: 5.17GiB (91%)
Used Library: x264 core 148

Supported Audio Compression is AAC, AC3, MPEG layer 2, None, PCM.


[Attachment 56388 - Click to enlarge]