Avisynth -> Virtual Dub

[dawgbowl]

Wasn't sure where to put this, I have been trying to get some Mp4s to run in virtual dub with the avisynth scripts (specifically directshowsource() ) and everytime I run it the video quality when I play it back in virtualdub gets all blocky and begins to drop data. I am aware this is very simple fix probably, but am trying once again to get into the creation of AMVs. I hate being that guy who posts stupid questions, I wish there was a "noob" section, but here I am. (tried changing framerate and other virtualdub options, I'm assuming its a simple change in the script)

MX 1280x720 H.264 AAC Chap.mp4 /// that is the end of the file name. I will eventually be editing the clips made in virtual dub in adobe premiere so any info I should obtain in relation to editing there would be great so I don't have to continue bugging you guys.

Thanks again,

[Enigma]

Watching the file in Virtual Dub isn't really a good idea, export the footage with a losless codec then judge it

[LeX]

How about just convert to avi?

[dawgbowl]

How about just convert to avi?

Well, I guess I'm trying to remember how I started doing it about 5 years ago. Where I was just cutting clips in virtualdub then arranging them in premiere.

I tried exporting it as an AVI(well saving it) through virtual dub and the distortion remained so I guess it has something to do with my AVS, is it the aspect ratio that's causing the problem? Is there a better way to convert mp4toavi to ensure that it will play properly or should I dive deeper into the AVS editing.

http://a.imageshack.us/img44/4756/testnny.jpg
(This is how the footage looks also when opened directly from the source into premiere)

Getting video that looks like that in virtualdub. (I am aware this is a downloaded raw, but I'd like to get comfortable with all the programs and do something small with this footage (30seconds - 1min) before I start ripping my DVDs.

In terms of converting to AVI, you mean using Virtualdubs capture AVI? I also have pazara some free MP4toavi converter but honestly the thing hangs up and explodes half the time. Is this all just a missing codec I haven't installed or a misplaced plugin?


thanks

[mirkosp]

High School of the Dead airs with 480 lines of detail so you don't really want to upscale it unless you're going to mix various animes, most of which are already natively HD.
Now as for the blocks, there might be 2 reasons you're getting them:

1. You are loading with directshowsource (or dss2, although this isn't the case), windows' directshow for h.264 defaults to coreavc, and you have a version of it prior to 2.0. The very large majority of x264 encodes nowadays are made with weightp on, and that breaks with older versions of coreavc (due to a bug it had). To fix this, just get ffms2 and load the video through

   Code: Select all

   ffvideosource("file.mp4")

2. The file was encoded with open-gop set to normal or bluray. In this case, watching the file or transcoding it whole will be fine, but random seeking might get you those nasty blocks on the B-Frames that did make use of the opn-gop feature. If this is the case, the best solution is to seek back until you find the frame that restores the quality, and make sure you set that as the initial frame for the lossless clip you want to cut. I'd suggest using ffvideosource regardless for this case too, though (directshowsource isn't frame accurate, and you don't want to edit an amv with the possibility of having to manually fixing animation skipping around).

[Mister Hatt]

Looks like weightp and CoreAVC 1.9 or whatever going by the screenshot. I haven't seen the frame coding type breakdown for the particular file but I'm pretty sure random raws off share use one of VFR_Maniac or JEEB's builds and those have strong warnings about not using Open-GOP. Get yourself [Kariudo: redacted] is pretty nice considering how horribly poor quality the show is on it's TV broadcast.

[dawgbowl]

High School of the Dead airs with 480 lines of detail so you don't really want to upscale it unless you're going to mix various animes, most of which are already natively HD.
Now as for the blocks, there might be 2 reasons you're getting them:

1. You are loading with directshowsource (or dss2, although this isn't the case), windows' directshow for h.264 defaults to coreavc, and you have a version of it prior to 2.0. The very large majority of x264 encodes nowadays are made with weightp on, and that breaks with older versions of coreavc (due to a bug it had). To fix this, just get ffms2 and load the video through

   Code: Select all

   ffvideosource("file.mp4")

2. The file was encoded with open-gop set to normal or bluray. In this case, watching the file or transcoding it whole will be fine, but random seeking might get you those nasty blocks on the B-Frames that did make use of the opn-gop feature. If this is the case, the best solution is to seek back until you find the frame that restores the quality, and make sure you set that as the initial frame for the lossless clip you want to cut. I'd suggest using ffvideosource regardless for this case too, though (directshowsource isn't frame accurate, and you don't want to edit an amv with the possibility of having to manually fixing animation skipping around).

Thank you very much! worked like a charm. And yes, the quality is rather poor but it'll give me a good feel for AMVs to play around with. (Option 1 that is) But I'll keep the rest of the advice in mind too. Soon I'll begin ripping Hopefully I won't have to ask any questions bout that!

Thanks again guys appreciate it!

[Mister Hatt]

Sorry Kariudo, what part of "use an ISDB-T tuner and B-CAS card to record your own footage" breaks forum rules and is required to be redacted?

[Kariudo: If only that's what you had written. If you have a problem with my actions, contact another mod or admin or take it to PM with me.]