Cmd Line MPEG4 Encoder - ffmpeg

[Bubster]

Originally posted by edbmdave
IT WORKS. I was definately having the audio drop out at around 10 seconds. I have (using the command line you referenced in your post on page 8) successfuly encoded and played back a 30 second, 60 second, 5 minute, 20 minutes, 1 hour, and 2.5 hour MPG2. Works beautifully. What do we have to do to get the compress java thing to use that command sequence? It works!!!

Nice, another success. I'll post some (hopefully) complete instructions shortly.

- Neil.

[Bubster]

Originally posted by Muchacho
I was thinking that the differences that people are having may have to do with the codec that is doing the decoding? I am using the latest ffdshow and have never installed any of the DIVX codecs if that helps.

That's the theory I was leaning towards at one point, but it does seem that a couple of people who were having trouble before are getting it to work now with a different ffmpeg version/command-line.

Mind you, it could be that they were using fussier codecs, and the new command-line is causing ffmpeg to output slightly better behaved data. Or something.

- Neil.

[Bubster]

OK, here's what I hope are a set of complete, all in the one place, instructions on setting up the compressor.

Stage 1 - Get the bits[list=1][*]Get MlbDude's beta STV
[*]Get FFMPEG Pickup/Compressor[/list=1]
The pickup/compressor is a combination of Alex0230's latest pickup processor, my build of ffmpeg (with mp3 and XviD support), my pickup properties file, and a slight modification I made to Alex's processor to remove any ":"s from programme names, as this was causing the output directory not to be created (I need to add a couple of other illegal chars in there at some point).

Stage 2 - Install the bits[list=1][*]Make sure Sage is not running.
[*]Replace your "MlbDude2.stv" with the one from "MlbDude2_Beta.zip".
[*]Extract the contents of "FFMPEG_Pickup_Compressor.zip" into a folder called "Compressor" in your Sage program dir (usually "C:\Program Files\Frey Technologies\SageTV" unless you changed it at install time). When you have done this, the "Compressor" dir should contain "ffmpeg.exe" and a few other files.[/list=1]

Stage 3 - Set up the STV[list=1][*]Make sure Sage is still not running.
[*]Edit your Sage properties file and add the following 2 lines, modifying as required:

mlbdude/compress_job_folder=C\:\\Program Files\\Frey Technologies\\SageTV\\Compressor\\Jobs
mlbdude/compress_target_root=V\:\\Video-Library

The first line should be ok if you installed Sage at the default location - change it if not. The second line needs to give the location where you want the output videos to go (this should normally be one of the paths you have in the Sage video library paths in the settings, if you want to play them later in Sage).

*Important* Make sure you pay careful attention to the start of these paths. They should start "X\:\\", where X is the drive letter you want.
[*]To test this, start Sage and go to Recordings. Pick a recording (not the one currently recording) and hit "Compress". You should now find an XML file in the "pickup" dir, with a name very similar to the recording you just selected.[/list=1]

Stage 4 - Set up the compressor[list=1][*]The "properties.xml" file in the "Compressor" dir should work as-is. It uses the video library output dir passed to it in the job XML file from MlbDude's STV (which you edited in stage 3).
[*]Open the "ffmpeg_convert.properties" file in your favorite text editor.
[*]The first line will look like this:

Java_Executable_Path=java.exe

This should be OK, as the Java exe should be in your path. If it is not, however, locate it and modify this line as required.
Here's an example using a full path:

Java_Executable_Path=C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2\bin\java.exe
[*]To test this, make sure you have a job XML in the "Compressor/Jobs" dir (you would have created one when testing the STV in stage 3), and run "ffmpeg_convert.exe". You should see two "DOS" boxes appear in the taskbar (they start minimised so you can run this while watching TV). Open them up and you will see that one is running FFMPEG to compress your recording, and the other is the pickup program, which is waiting for the compressor to finish before starting the next job (if there are any).
[*]If you don't get two "DOS" boxes, or get them and then they disappear quite quickly, then you probably have an incorrect path somewhere. Assuming you have followed these instructions exactly, the likely candidates are the Java exe path and the video library path in your Sage properties file.
[*]If you're feeling adventurous, add "ffmpeg_convert.exe" as a scheduled task in Windows, so it runs automatically at night, or even a few times a day.[/list=1]

End

OK, I'm pretty sure that's it. If anyone finds any problems with these instructions, I can fix them and re-post until they are correct.

Fingers crossed...

- Neil.

[Muchacho]

To make thing simpler I would tell people that they need to d/l mlbdudes full beta stv and then add just the .stv file over the one from the full installation.

Also how do you get the xvid ffmpg to use xvid? Is it better than the default mpeg4 encoder and is it as fast?

[Bubster]

Originally posted by Muchacho
To make thing simpler I would tell people that they need to d/l mlbdudes full beta stv and then add just the .stv file over the one from the full installation.

Yes, might be an idea. I'll store up any suggestions for a bit before posting updated instructions - just in case there's a fair few to do.

Also how do you get the xvid ffmpg to use xvid? Is it better than the default mpeg4 encoder and is it as fast?

To make it use XviD, just change the "mpeg4" to "xvid" for the "-vcodec" command-line option.

I haven't done any comparisons, so I couldn't really say if it gets better results than the mpeg4 encoder, or if it runs as quickly. Maybe someone else has done some tests and can post them here?

- Neil.

[invisible_ink]

You may want to file this under better late than never, but...

Has anyone tried to adapt the newest version of vidomi (vidomi.com)? It has some command line switches, seems to have been built for batch jobs, default output is xviD and when all else fails has a half-decent GUI.

Just a thought.

ink.

[falchulk]

Originally posted by invisible_ink
You may want to file this under better late than never, but...

Has anyone tried to adapt the newest version of vidomi (vidomi.com)? It has some command line switches, seems to have been built for batch jobs, default output is xviD and when all else fails has a half-decent GUI.

Just a thought.

ink.

Actually, I did. I was unable to find the command line documentation. I did find the -encoder but no way to specify bitrates or any other settings.

[JUC]

Alright, I am having trouble setting this up. I had the previous version of ffmpeg working but I decided to try this one. I am having the java.exe boxes disappear on me so one of my lines must be wrong. Here's what I got:

mlbdude/compress_job_folder=C:\\Program Files\\Frey Technologies\\SageTV\\Compressor\\Jobs

mlbdude/compress_target_root=E:\\My Videos\\SageFiles


-Sage dumps the file correctly into the Jobs folder. I then run the compressor program and the promps show up briefly and disapear.

My Java is set to:

C:\Program Files\Java\j2rel.4.2_04\bin\java.exe
this is where my java is located and should work

-So, everything seems to be set correctly but I am not sure what's going on. I think it may have to do with the properties XML file. In there, it says that my pickup location is: .\pickup

-should I change this to point to the jobs folder instead. What would the line start with--ie. would it be c:\ or do I use .\
thanks
JUC

[RedCoat999]

From instructions in previous message:

*Important* Make sure you pay careful attention to the start of these paths. They should start "X\:\\", where X is the drive letter you want.

[edbmdave]

Ok, now that it seems to be working. How do we get a two pass method for optimal quality??

[falchulk]

Originally posted by edbmdave
Ok, now that it seems to be working. How do we get a two pass method for optimal quality??

Actually, the one pass looks to be better quality. The 2nd pass results in a smaller file size.

[beautye350]

Originally posted by RedCoat999
From instructions in previous message:

*Important* Make sure you pay careful attention to the start of these paths. They should start "X\:\\", where X is the drive letter you want.

I'm having the same problem as JUC and my paths ARE in the correct form. I'm trying this on my sage client and my path is a mapped network drive.

here's mine:

mlbdude/compress_job_folder=C\:\\Program Files\\Frey Technologies\\SageTV\\Compressor\\Jobs
mlbdude/compress_target_root=M\:\\

Possible that the files were changed? I just downloaded last night.


Regards,

Beau


EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have altered the xml properties to allow xvid. This was in the hopes it would fix the problem as it was not working in standard form. Thought maybe I was missing a codec or something. I know I've got xvid installed.

[Bubster]

Originally posted by JUC
-So, everything seems to be set correctly but I am not sure what's going on. I think it may have to do with the properties XML file. In there, it says that my pickup location is: .\pickup

Sorry, my fault. I uploaded the zip to my webpage, changed the properties file, updated the zip... and then forgot to upload the new zip.

Fortunately, the only difference between the two is that the pickup location is wrong. It should be ".\Jobs", as you guessed. The rest of the zip file is identical, but I have uploaded the proper one to avoid catching anyone else out.

- Neil.

[Bubster]

Originally posted by beautye350
I'm having the same problem as JUC and my paths ARE in the correct form. I'm trying this on my sage client and my path is a mapped network drive.

Hopefully you're just having the same problem that JUC pointed out, with the incorrect pickup folder in the properties.xml I uploaded at first.

So line 4 in properties.xml should be:

<Pickup_Location>.\Jobs</Pickup_Location>

I forgot to mention that I have altered the xml properties to allow xvid. This was in the hopes it would fix the problem as it was not working in standard form. Thought maybe I was missing a codec or something. I know I've got xvid installed.

I'm pretty sure the XviD codec also supports DivX decoding, so if you've got that installed, both should work for you. Most people end up with 3 or 4 codecs that can play DivX files, which can cause no end of confusion.

- Neil.

[Bubster]

Originally posted by falchulk
Actually, the one pass looks to be better quality. The 2nd pass results in a smaller file size.

The whole fixed bitrate (1/2-pass) thing exists mainly to allow people to fit the output file onto a CD.

Depending on the codec, the 1-pass method will get you pretty close to the desired output size, but may be smaller (which wastes perfectly good CD space), or too big (which means you have to guess again and re-encode it). I believe the XviD codec tends to overshoot more than the DivX one, but don't quote me on that.

The 2-pass method can use stats from the 1st pass to give results much closer to the desired output size. And, as I understand it, these stats can also be used to distribute the bitrate a bit more intelligently, so "cheap" frames will use a little less bitrate to leave a bit more for more expensive frames, resulting in overall better quality and cleaner scene changes.

Another reason for the fixed bitrate method is that you may be transmitting the movie over a slow medium (e.g. network), so you never want the bitrate to go too high, even if there's some saved up from cheap frames in a 2-pass encode, so there's a limit to how much redistribution of bitrate that goes on. For example, the average bitrate over 3-4 seconds must be under the desired rate, or something like that.

Now, there is another option, and this is the one I use, although I didn't put in in the properties.xml I uploaded to minimise confusion.

Ffmpeg supports quality-estimated encoding, which basically lets you set some arbitrary quality level you want to maintain, and it will use however much bitrate is required to achieve this. The big advantage of this is that you know you'll get decent results every time (which is a nice property for a fire-and-forget recompressor for Sage). The downside is that you don't know how big the final file will be. If it's a smooth, easy-going programme, the file could be quite a bit smaller than what you'd get with your default fixed bitrate, but if it's a pretty noisy affair with lots of random movement, you might get something rather larger.

If it's "quality with a bit of space-saving" you're after, this is your option.

The commandline parameter is: "-qscale E", where E is the level of error you want to allow in the output stream. Lower values mean less error and higher quality, but larger files. I've been using 5 so far, and it _seems_ to give size/quality similar to a bitrate of 1600 with average TV programmes, but will of course scale up or down depending on the content.

For example, I've got a clip with lots of penguins moulting their feathers in the wind. All those feathers floating on screen really hurts, even at a fixed bitrate of 1600, but -qscale 5 sorts them out pretty well, albeit with a noticable increase in bitrate for that scene. The rest of the programme encodes at around 1200-1300, so the gain in size for the moulting scene is compensated for in this case by a drop in size for the rest of the programme. The end result is a slightly smaller file than fixed-1600, but with the moulting scene intact.

Oh, make sure you remove the "-b" option if you use this. You obviously can't have both at the same time.

- Neil.

[JUC]

allright, I actually DID have the correct paths in my sage properties file, I just typed them in wrong when I posted my question. So, I just need to change the .\pickup to .\jobs and all should be working. Ill get to it first thing in the morning and hopefully all is well.
Thanks
JUC

[beautye350]

Originally posted by Bubster
Hopefully you're just having the same problem that JUC pointed out, with the incorrect pickup folder in the properties.xml I uploaded at first.

So line 4 in properties.xml should be:

<Pickup_Location>.\Jobs</Pickup_Location>



I'm pretty sure the XviD codec also supports DivX decoding, so if you've got that installed, both should work for you. Most people end up with 3 or 4 codecs that can play DivX files, which can cause no end of confusion.

- Neil.

Thanks, Bubster. It works now!

I agree about the codecs though. That's why I have only installed xvid as it will do divx also.

Here's hoping it works for JUC as well.


Regards,

Beau

[edbmdave]

Do you need a special version of FFMPEG to run XVID? If so were do you get it? If not if you have XVID installed can you just change the video codec to XVID to use it?

[Bubster]

Originally posted by edbmdave
Do you need a special version of FFMPEG to run XVID? If so were do you get it? If not if you have XVID installed can you just change the video codec to XVID to use it?

The compressor zip I gave the link to in my "complete" instructions has a version of ffmpeg with XviD support built-in. You don't need XviD on your system to use it within that version of ffmpeg, but you will need it to play an XviD movie back.

- Neil.

[JUC]

Got it working! Thanks. What encoding quality are you all using and how much of a compression are you achieving--before and after?
thanks
JUC