STV Import: SageMC Video Tools v2.0.1a (2/02/07)

[AngelofDeth]

First off for this import, even though im having some probs... All my xvids seem to lower quality than I would expect, and they all skip significantly on my MVP and my PC. I would say its just my server not being powerful enough, but I have several TV episodes I have downloaded, all at the same bit rate/resolution, and they play fine as long as the transcoder is set to high priority. Does anyone have any ideas as to where to look? I am also seeing very SLIGHT audio sync problems on dvds that are created. Could this be caused by an underpowered CPU, and could this also effect the xvids I am creating?

[evilpenguin]

Yeah, now that i'm starting to compress more live action shows i'm starting to notice it losing audio sync too. Not by much, mind you, but just enough so that it feels wrong.

It shouldn't have anything to do with CPU speed, but just issues muxing the video an audio track together. I should be able to fix it with a few minor adjustments to the mencoder command.

[evilpenguin]

Since I haven't been very active the last week or so I thought i'd throw down a little preview for what i'll be working on over the next couple of weeks...

1) Compressing HDTV shows is not working consistently at all. Occasionally a show will work, occasionally mencoder will crash, and on the rarest occasions it will finish with an unplayable video that will replace your original. I need to figure out a consistent way to do this or just disable it.

2) As mentioned, theres an audio sync issue that I wasn't noticing before because I was only using this to compress cartoons and narrated documentaries. This is most likely an issue with the mencoder commands i'm using and once I figure out a solution, i'll post a new perl2dvd.mencoder.profile.

3) Dirmon2 and the Other Program menu have treated me well up to this point, but its time we parted ways. I've been doing a lot of work the last few releases to give perl2dvd true CLI capabilities, as shown by the batch files, and using this launching method I can now queue and run compression jobs straight from within Sage. This means that with a little studio work I should be able to completely duplicate level of integration of the stock compression system.

4) As shown by a few of the youtube videos i've posted i'm fairly certain I can start producing full motion video DVD menus very soon. Unfortunately, the only kicker will be that the program that lets me do it always wants to steal focus when it runs. This will most likely mean that unless you're running the transcoding on a server where it doesn't matter who's got focus, you'll probably want to stick to the slide show.

5) While i'm happy with how the mencoder.profiles are setup, some people have expressed concern that they are too mencoder specific. As such i'll be giving them a pretty hefty update soon that should allow you to use pretty much any CLI encoder you want as well as allow a little external pre and post processing (read: videoRedo)

[AngelofDeth]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

Yeah, now that i'm starting to compress more live action shows i'm starting to notice it losing audio sync too. Not by much, mind you, but just enough so that it feels wrong.

It shouldn't have anything to do with CPU speed, but just issues muxing the video an audio track together. I should be able to fix it with a few minor adjustments to the mencoder command.

Ok, im glad its not just me. I did do one episode of king of the hill, I can't say I noitced the audio sync problem. But on a non-animated show, the audio sync issue is there. Its like its so minor you don't immediately notice it, but its distracting because you keep thinking the audio might be slightly out of sync.

[Halstead]

Any thoughts on my profile selection issue? Otherwise, it's working flawlessly for me.

[Enormous]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

3) Dirmon2 and the Other Program menu have treated me well up to this point, but its time we parted ways. I've been doing a lot of work the last few releases to give perl2dvd true CLI capabilities, as shown by the batch files, and using this launching method I can now queue and run compression jobs straight from within Sage. This means that with a little studio work I should be able to completely duplicate level of integration of the stock compression system.

Very eagerly awaiting this!
I've been having some trouble getting the Other Programs straighted out, so being able to check on status just like the stock system would be great!

[emverham]

I can't install the SageMC version of the newest download, Windows is saying the zip file is corrupt. Anyone else having this problem?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by emverham

I can't install the SageMC version of the newest download, Windows is saying the zip file is corrupt. Anyone else having this problem?

It's actually a 7zip file. Use Winrar to extract it. This will be changed soon.

Gerry

[nyplayer]

EP,

Maybe you can help me set up a profile using these settings... I am having a bit of trouble.

encodesettings=-subcp cp1252 -sws 2 -vf scale,harddup -zoom -xy 320 -ofps 30000/1001 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts threads=1:autoaspect:trellis:chroma_me:chroma_opt:hq_ac:quant_type=h263:bitrate=800
audiosettings=-af volume=10.00:0 -oac mp3lame -lameopts vbr=2:q=6:highpassfreq=-1:lowpassfreq=-1

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Halstead

Any thoughts on my profile selection issue? Otherwise, it's working flawlessly for me.

I have the same problem. I have my Sage Install on an S drive and it appears that the perlsetup did not set it properly. I too cannot select a profile in the Favorites settings. I am able to compress and select profiles from within the library with no problems. Just cannot change the favorites compression from xvid 2 pass.

[belleboyd]

Trying to compress (2 pass xvid) an episode of Daybreak. QDVD log keeps saying file does not exist.. 2 other episodes queued at the same time compressed perfectly. I haven't moved the file to another location or anything...tried it by itself and got the same thing. Any suggestions on what to fix? Log is attached...

Thanks for the help!
Happy New Year!

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

I have the same problem. I have my Sage Install on an S drive and it appears that the perlsetup did not set it properly. I too cannot select a profile in the Favorites settings. I am able to compress and select profiles from within the library with no problems. Just cannot change the favorites compression from xvid 2 pass.

Sorry, finally back from the holidays!

The important setting for that is in sage.properites and it should be

evilpenguin/compress/profile_list=2-Pass Xvid,2-Pass x264,2-Pass Divx,1-Pass Xvid

Check out your sage.properties and sageClient.properties file and make sure that this line is in all of them. If its not, you'll have to add it in manually, but remember to completely close Sage first.

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

EP,

Maybe you can help me set up a profile using these settings... I am having a bit of trouble.

encodesettings=-subcp cp1252 -sws 2 -vf scale,harddup -zoom -xy 320 -ofps 30000/1001 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts threads=1:autoaspect:trellis:chroma_me:chroma_opt:hq_ac:quant_type=h263:bitrate=800
audiosettings=-af volume=10.00:0 -oac mp3lame -lameopts vbr=2:q=6:highpassfreq=-1:lowpassfreq=-1

Try this out,

	Profile           =Custom Xvid
	Command           =
	Pass 1 Options    =%input% -af volume=10.00:0 -oac mp3lame -lameopts vbr=2:q=6:highpassfreq=-1:lowpassfreq=-1 -subcp cp1252 -sws 2 -vf scale,harddup -zoom -xy 320 -ofps 30000/1001 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts threads=1:autoaspect:trellis:chroma_me:chroma_opt:hq_ac:quant_type=h263:bitrate=800 -o %output% 
	Pass 2 Options    =none!
	Container         =avi
	mb/30 minute      =
        custum Res        =
	Audio Options     =
        copy AC3          =0
        est. Audio Size   =1.09
	Video filters	  =
	Output Folder     =

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by belleboyd

Trying to compress (2 pass xvid) an episode of Daybreak. QDVD log keeps saying file does not exist.. 2 other episodes queued at the same time compressed perfectly. I haven't moved the file to another location or anything...tried it by itself and got the same thing. Any suggestions on what to fix? Log is attached...

Thanks for the help!
Happy New Year!

Try drag n' dropping the file onto the "compress_2_xvid_dragNdrop.bat" in your SageTV directory.

Also, is E: a network drive by any chance?

[grooves12]

I got this all setup and am now running into problems. It started processing the DVD and then I got an error message that popped up in windows.



Here is the .log file for the job:

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

Sorry, finally back from the holidays!

The important setting for that is in sage.properites and it should be

evilpenguin/compress/profile_list=2-Pass Xvid,2-Pass x264,2-Pass Divx,1-Pass Xvid

Check out your sage.properties and sageClient.properties file and make sure that this line is in all of them. If its not, you'll have to add it in manually, but remember to completely close Sage first.

Still Doesn't work. I cannot change the profiles at all. I am using the latest SageMC full install. The Original Java and below are the settings in the Sage Properties. It Defaults to the 2-Pass Xvid and cannot be changed. I hope I can get this going the Mencoder quality is far better than FFMPEG aka SageTVTranscoder.


evilpenguin/58503/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/compress/enable=true
evilpenguin/compress/profile_list=2-Pass Xvid,2-Pass x264,2-Pass Divx,1-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/dvd/enable=false

[nyplayer]

PS Everytime I try to change it all I get is an entry in my properties file example below.


evilpenguin/1650516/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/1650517/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/58503/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/58524/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid

evilpenguin/compress/enable=true
evilpenguin/compress/profile_list=2-Pass Xvid,2-Pass x264,2-Pass Divx,1-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/dvd/enable=false

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by grooves12

I got this all setup and am now running into problems. It started processing the DVD and then I got an error message that popped up in windows.



Here is the .log file for the job:

That's just mencoder crashing, which happens sometimes. I recommend trying another build.

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Still Doesn't work. I cannot change the profiles at all. I am using the latest SageMC full install. The Original Java and below are the settings in the Sage Properties. It Defaults to the 2-Pass Xvid and cannot be changed. I hope I can get this going the Mencoder quality is far better than FFMPEG aka SageTVTranscoder.


evilpenguin/58503/standard_profile=2-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/compress/enable=true
evilpenguin/compress/profile_list=2-Pass Xvid,2-Pass x264,2-Pass Divx,1-Pass Xvid
evilpenguin/dvd/enable=false

I've got an updated version of SageMC that I'll try and get released tomorrow, hopefully this will fix your problem.

[belleboyd]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

Try drag n' dropping the file onto the "compress_2_xvid_dragNdrop.bat" in your SageTV directory.

Also, is E: a network drive by any chance?

E *is* a network drive. Is this bad??

I did the dragNdrop thing but I can't tell if it's doing anything. I got a command window and the .bat file opened in notepad. Other than that - it's just sitting there.... Mocking me ...