Does the mvp support .mkv files?

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by valnar

It still kinda pisses me off about the way the powers-that-be created the DVD standard. It makes HD/Blu-ray.....rips....that more enticing.

Robert

I can't wait for the format war between Blu-ray and HD-DVD to be finished. I have a couple rips of HD movies and they look awesome! Even at the 720p of these there's just no comparison to DVD.

As far as DVD goes I don't really see a problem with the standard. I understand that they didn't want to have two different image formats to contend with between normal and wide screens. Plus with anamorphy you have the added benefit of higher detail. Not that you notice it on a standard def TV.

Interestingly, I've read somewhere that overseas the TV standards there embed data to include whether the picture is anamorphic or not and that it's been like that since the mid to late 90's. NTSC on the other hand has not kept up with the times and always requires letterboxing for broadcast of wide content.

[Taddeusz]

Well, I'm going to submit a bug report. The movie I created didn't show up in SageTV with the correct aspect ratio. Obviously Handbrake adds something to the video that AutoMKV doesn't that that makes those videos work.

Aside from that I can't seem to get AutoMKV to render (or burn) the subtitles into the video. The subtitles get encoded otherwise but of course SageTV doesn't support that in imported videos.

I'll keep playing though. In the mean time I'll continue to use Handbrake.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Well, I'm going to submit a bug report. The movie I created didn't show up in SageTV with the correct aspect ratio. Obviously Handbrake adds something to the video that AutoMKV doesn't that that makes those videos work.

Aside from that I can't seem to get AutoMKV to render (or burn) the subtitles into the video. The subtitles get encoded otherwise but of course SageTV doesn't support that in imported videos.

I'll keep playing though. In the mean time I'll continue to use Handbrake.

The 0.95 beta 10 adds the appropriate AR "bits" which didn't work in the 0.93a beta. There is also the option to burn the subtitles in the video on the advanced options tab.

Robert

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by valnar

The 0.95 beta 10 adds the appropriate AR "bits" which didn't work in the 0.93a beta. There is also the option to burn the subtitles in the video on the advanced options tab.

Robert

I tried the latest 0.95 beta last night with the same results. Maybe I didn't have the correct option checked for the AR?

As far as the subtitles go I still can't get it to burn into the video. Is there some kind of secret to get it to work?

And just an update. I sent a bug report in last night and got a reply back. At least about mkv chapters and subtitles they say it's planned for a future release. They didn't expound beyond that though. But they suggested filing a bug report to the AutoMKV guys for the AR issue.

I'll mess around with it tonight and over the weekend and see what I can come up with. I'd like to get a nicer looking Mallrats. That will be one of my primary focuses as far as computing goes for this weekend.

So far I'd rather use AutoMKV than Handbrake if it weren't for subtitles and the AR thing. It's more of a one-stop-shop for me. Particularly for titles where I want the DTS audio rather than AC3.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by valnar

The 0.95 beta 10 adds the appropriate AR "bits" which didn't work in the 0.93a beta. There is also the option to burn the subtitles in the video on the advanced options tab.

Robert

Ok, I have some mostly good news. I figured out the AR problem. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Basically it stems from the fact that since, I think, 1.5 of mkvmerge by default it strips the bitsream AR info. That's why I "--engage keep_bitstream_ar_info" must be added to my Handbrake encodes to run them through mkvmerge to add the cue table.

So, I've decided that AutoMKV has the MUCH better inverse telecine engine. It was able to figure out the screwed up telecine of the sample of Mallrats I was testing with. Came out perfect between the two sections. I've started encoding the whole movie to give it a go. I'm very positive.

So, back to the original problem. The bitstream AR data. What's happening is that when it comes time to mux the video using mkvmerge it automatically strips the AR data out. Since I'd like to start using AutoMKV for the time being I'm going to manually mux the videos with mkvmerge gui and submit a bug to the AutoMKV guy.

I'm very happy about figuring it out.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Ok, I have some mostly good news. I figured out the AR problem. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Basically it stems from the fact that since, I think, 1.5 of mkvmerge by default it strips the bitsream AR info. That's why I "--engage keep_bitstream_ar_info" must be added to my Handbrake encodes to run them through mkvmerge to add the cue table.

So, I've decided that AutoMKV has the MUCH better inverse telecine engine. It was able to figure out the screwed up telecine of the sample of Mallrats I was testing with. Came out perfect between the two sections. I've started encoding the whole movie to give it a go. I'm very positive.

So, back to the original problem. The bitstream AR data. What's happening is that when it comes time to mux the video using mkvmerge it automatically strips the AR data out. Since I'd like to start using AutoMKV for the time being I'm going to manually mux the videos with mkvmerge gui and submit a bug to the AutoMKV guy.

I'm very happy about figuring it out.

If you want to take an original anamporhic movie to keep the FAR/DAR, you only have to select "Anamorphic Encoding" on Advanced page and keep "Original" for the resize filter on the Basic settings page. There is also the option to burn subtitles in on the Advanced page. I ran it through a whole movie last night and all worked out well with SageTV. I did have to choose 16:9 AR though. I usually leave it on source.

-Robert

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by valnar

If you want to take an original anamporhic movie to keep the FAR/DAR, you only have to select "Anamorphic Encoding" on Advanced page and keep "Original" for the resize filter on the Basic settings page. There is also the option to burn subtitles in on the Advanced page. I ran it through a whole movie last night and all worked out well with SageTV. I did have to choose 16:9 AR though. I usually leave it on source.

-Robert

That's how I have mine setup. It didn't work when I played it in SageTV. What kind of container are you using? MKV or MP4?

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

That's how I have mine setup. It didn't work when I played it in SageTV. What kind of container are you using? MKV or MP4?

MKV

I asked the AutoMKV author if he was tagging the AR properly and he said yes. You can look up my latest posts (threads) on Doom9 asking Buzz that. If you can elaborate more on what is not working, he is very responsive at fixing bugs.

Robert

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by valnar

MKV

I asked the AutoMKV author if he was tagging the AR properly and he said yes. You can look up my latest posts (threads) on Doom9 asking Buzz that. If you can elaborate more on what is not working, he is very responsive at fixing bugs.

Robert

I registered on the Doom9 forums last night. I have to wait 5 days before I can post.

[t4uecker]

hi guys -

i just read through your dialogue on this thread and it's quite interesting and useful. i'm just in the process of setting up my sagetv system with a pair of the hd extenders as well as one of the mediamvp extenders and one of the things i'm looking forward to is having a central source with my dvd movies (as well as the tv shows, of course).

my objective is to have dvd movies encoded at a quality level that is hard to distinguish from the original dvd. although my display system is all hd widescreens, i'm just focusing on sd dvds for right now...i'm assuming that the software side for blu-ray dvds isn't as stable/easy as it is for dvds right now.

i haven't encoded anything yet and from the bit of research i've done it sounds like automkv might be a good options. it sounds like you guys agree with that but i was wondering if there was pretty decent consensus about that or is there another tool (besides handbrake) that gets equal or more interest?

in that regard, and keeping in mind that i'm probably in the beginner-middle range of knowledge on this stuff (have used autogk before but sadly still don't fully understand the whole "anamorphic" concept), what is the full set of settings/changes that you'd suggest for automkv to get a near dvd-quality encode while preserving the original audio?

thanks,
tu