How to convert files that are not recognizable by Tmpgenc

[wwenze]

Basically, I know some (or many) of you have tried to encode files of various encodes into mpg using Tmpgenc. However, sometimes Tmpgenc simply close on error, or the encoded file just have a black screen. (this especially happens on DivX and other 'funny' codec e.g. brooktree YUV)

Problem: You don't have the correct codec to the file.

Some may ask: then how can I play it with (blah blah blah)? This is coz the player will most likely use a compatible codec (DivX 3.11, code div3 and be played back using the DivX 5.0X codecs). Or the player uses a built-in decoder in itself (like quicktime, realplayer, and DivX player)

Solution: Find the original codec used to encode the file (we are all advanced conversion pple, so you should know how to find it right?)
Download whatever codec you need and install. Do not matter when windows says the codec is hack or something, or when the default codecs are changed. Just do it, and later, open Tmpgenc, try and encode, and Viola!

Note: do not use virtualdub to find the codec, as virtualdub will show you the codec used to open, not the codec used to encode.

Note: Xvid still poses a problem since there are too many varients, and installing one will generally overwrite the other. This I have no solution, unless the encoder kindly tells you what codec he used.

[DivXExpert]

frameserve from avisynth with a directshow source.

anyfile that media player can play can be frameserved

[wwenze]

But framserving gives funni results for me.
1 question: do you need a very powerful com that can encode DivX to mpg at real time? (faster than 30 recommended) Or else it will result in stuttering?

To be precise, 640*480 DivX to 352*240 VCD mpg

[Conquest10]

But framserving gives funni results for me.
1 question: do you need a very powerful com that can encode DivX to mpg at real time? (faster than 30 recommended) Or else it will result in stuttering?

To be precise, 640*480 DivX to 352*240 VCD mpg

a fast computer can encode in real time. but a slow computer will not result in stuttered play. you're doing something wrong. i have a p3 667 and my encodes come out perfect. it takes a while, but its perfect.

[wwenze]

Gee thanks. I will see to that.

[DJRumpy]

wwenze, for you codec problems, just use GSpot, or AVICodec. They will report the audio, and video codecs used in your source file. GSpot will also tell you if you have the necessary codecs installed to properly decode the file.

If your looking for speed in encoding, use the Cinema Craft Basic encoder. It will encode faster than realtime for VCD resolutions, even on a slower pc.

But framserving gives funni results for me.

Just curious. What sort of funny results did you get?

[wwenze]

Hell lot of stuttering, resulting in inviewable video.

I like Cinemacraft too, but I couldn't find the frame rate for 23.976.
Frame rate aside, Tmpgenc gives better quality, and after you use a third party sound encoder, the quality is superb.

[wwenze]

Oh, what the heck
I finally mastered the solution to all kinds of conversion problems:
Install all bloody codecs you can find.
So now I have:
4 versions of DivX
4 versions of Mpeg4
3 Versions of YUV
5 versions of Xvid
and 3 versions of mp3 codec.

If one installs this many codec there is no chance that a certain codec cannot work.

Hey mod, maybe you can delete this thread now, now that with this new found solution all bullshit talkin' in this thread is useless.

(And I had to double post since the above post and this are of totally different topics)

[DJRumpy]

Cinema Craft just encodes what you give it, at the same frame rate that is input into it. If you put in 23.976, you get out 23.976. You can also change the output framerate. Of course your audio would lose sync, which would have to be fixed elsewhere, in BeSweet for example. Your stuttering video is due to something else. Frameserving will not cause a symptom like the one your describing. One of your settings is wrong.

On a side note, blindly installing codecs is hardly a good solution. It would eventually work if you guessed correctly, and installed the right codec. You should simply find what codec is needed using the tools indicated above, and install it. Your more likely to make a mess if you just keep installing codecs, until you get compatability problems, causing wierdness in your playback, or encoded output.

[DivXExpert]

He is encoding with Tmpgenc. TMPGEnc is not very good at framrate conversions. Duplicating frames causes jerkyness. and that is exactly what TMPGEnc does. Or decimate frames. But it doesn't seem to be too good at that either.

Just framserve. In the advanced options, just click "do not do framerate conversion" on.

[wwenze]

Thanks everybody for the knowledge and experiance.

And I didn't not install the codecs blindly. Each of this codecs actually caters for a group of specific files that uses the codec (you should have guessed why I had 5 versions of Xvid, why 5 and not 100+!) I figured out nothing gives better compatibility than using the original codec used to encode to decompress.

Your more likely to make a mess if you just keep installing codecs, until you get compatability problems, causing wierdness in your playback, or encoded output.

This is the problem I am actually tackling by installing all these codecs, coz things like DivX 3.11 don't actually play quite well using DivX 5 (and gives even more of a headache when one tries to re-encode it using this codec). Sometimes you may need the hacked Radium mp3 codec for sound, and each of the Mpeg4 are also not quite compatible with each other. And HuffyYUV is totally incompatible with my version of the BrooktreeYUV which came with my TV card.

And how did I know which is the original? I simply asked the encoder!

[DJRumpy]

For codecs, you should be fine with version 3.11 (alpha), 4, and 5 of the DivX codec. I have these, XviD, the standard MS MPEG-4 codec (already supported via OS), VFAPI, and Huffy.

For audio, you need only codecs for MP3 and MP2 (Fraunhofer and Lame). I also have a DivX WMA codec (installed with the DivX5 codec).

It serves all of my needs. No compatability problems, and I can decode anything I need (I don't mess with OGG).

DivXExpert, TMPGenc can do PAL to FILM, and vice versa flawlessly using the 'do not frame rate convert' option. It does, however, require you to resample your audio in to the new framefrate (in BeSweet for example) to keep audio sync. It does not drop frames using this method. It simply speeds up, or slows down your output to match your output framerate setting. Whether your source is frame served or not is irrelevant. If you note the warning, it tells you it will lose audio sync. If TMPGenc dropped/duplicated frames to meet the new framerate, then this wouldn't be the case.

[wwenze]

I have:
Divx:
3.11 (div3)
4.x (div4!?)
5.x (divx)
And a special hacked ver. of 5.x (div5)

Mpeg4:
Microsoft Mpeg4 codec v1 (mp41)
blah blah blah v2 (mp42)
blah blah blah v3 (mp43)
And a hacked ver too: (mp4a)

Xvid:
5 versions all named (xvid) that overwrites each other. Each of them is simply incompatible giving stuttering (Strange, when I scan the frames in Vdub they are all right, but playback, read above.) So I reinstall them whenever I want to encode the file.
This is stupid, I know, but this is the simplest way since i son't know how to compile my own version.

For audio, I also have Fraunhofer and Lame for mp3 and mp2, but occasionally use the Radium (hacked Fraunhofer ).
I also use the DivX sound in both 5.x and 3.11 and don't use ogg.

And speaking about frame rate conversion, I noticed that the encoder in NERO actually does a great job converting. Normally a program would either duplicate some frames and cut some, which might still induce inperfect moving action. But for the NERO when I opened it up with VDub, the frames, guess what, look more like two interlaced frames joined together How they do that I don't know, but when played back the movement was superb. I could convert from Ntsc film to pal without problem.
Sadly, the good frame rate conversion was screwed up by bad picture detail.

[DivXExpert]

if you goto 23.976fps to 25. you can just speed it up.

Will work alot better. in avisynth just use assume fps 25. and convert the audio with besweet.