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OK - I've successfully got the video files off the Humax, demuxed them with Project X. and edited them with Cutterman. Now I want to put them on a DVD.
I've got both Encore (new 2.0) and Nero7, but neither appear to accept the m2V and MP2 files from Project X as 'DVD ready' and they both want to Transcode.
I don't really want any menus, chapter generation etc; I just want something that will remux the MPEG video & audio to a normal DVD. Can somebody suggest something that will do this job?
I've got both Encore (new 2.0) and Nero7, but neither appear to accept the m2V and MP2 files from Project X as 'DVD ready' and they both want to Transcode.
I don't really want any menus, chapter generation etc; I just want something that will remux the MPEG video & audio to a normal DVD. Can somebody suggest something that will do this job?
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I use HDTVtoMPEG2 (free) to convert .ts files to .mpeg, then use TMPGEnc DVD Author (cost) to make DVD files (vobs, ifo, etc) and then use Nero (cost) to burn a DVD Video disk. Or, once the DVD files are made, use SimpleDivX (free) to convert into DivX (mpeg-4).
See this thread: http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=328636
Have a look at Avidemux <http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/> Although primarily a Linux program, I believe windows binaries arae available. This is the swiss army knife of video tools, and one I use almost exclusively to solve problems like this. It has an auto dvd function that will select all the right parameters for you.........
Your warning about frame sizes was probably at the nub of my current experiments. I'm using a Freeview prog which IS 704x576 but I wonder if Encore accepts this alternate or insists upon 720x576. I've only just got Nero7 so I haven't tried all the options in that yet.
I'm a video professional engineer, but I just want something quick and dirty to archive programmes to DVD, after editing out (quick frame accurate cuts) the unwanted top/tail and ads.
I know it is mostly free so I can't complain, but to quote the recent (and splendid) BBC prog, I do feel a bit like I've just landed on Mars!
Cliff
What is certain is that you can never make it better by decoding/re-encoding so the best quality solution will always be to keep the MPEG encode as broadcast.
Cliff
If I look at video files copied with the elinker, I have 2 different apps that will play the .ts files and both show pixelation in the same places in the files, yet if I watch them on the humax, they're perfect?
Is the humux that good at fixing broadcast errors? If I want to save to dvd, am I doomed to have the pixelation on my DVD copy?
Thanks
Nick
I assume if you're wishing to make a permanent DVD copy it is a film you want to watch so why not just watch while it copies and then you are actually saving the half hour or so it takes to do it 'quicker' with a PC. That way you can pause the recorder thru the ad breaks.
I don't believe the quality suffers significantly even through a good scart lead altho i usually use the component moutput from the 8000. Even worse case it is still far superior to the best video tape recordings I have seen and I think most people would be hard pushed to spot any deterioration accept on a very large screen. As most large screen TVs are Plasma or LCD i still think the quality is better than most of these tvs are capable of producing anyway.
At the end of the day you pay your money and take your choice but for me a direct copy to DVD is mnuch easier and i believe saves time in the long run.
eLinker has no error checking, so the fault is probably down to a transfer error. I've Had instances where the complete transfer is corrupted, even after several attempts, and they play perfectly via the box itself...
Yep, avidemux is a fantastic app. It's absolutely perfect for the job. The latest version will load a file directly from the HUMAX, fix any audio-sync problems and save it as a legal DVD compatible file (MPEG PS). Just remember to pick the right audio stream when importing the original file (the stereo one).
I then just use the command line version of dvdauthor to prepare the DVD. The burning is done with growisofs, or k3b, if I want to use a GUI.
Just to reiterate, I've never had to re-encode a video or audio stream to make it play on a DVD player. Perhaps I've been lucky.
Cliff
The way I got to keep one of the programme was to connect a DVD recorder to the Hummy and did a scart to scart play and record...
So were you using the Windows version Brett? If so, which version? I can see it does everything I need (including the trimming) but it just kept crashing on me when I started to push its features!
Your comments about DVD authoring/burning are another trip to Mars for this old timer!
I use yet another method
Import files from Hummy into VideoRdo (cost). Trim off end bits and take out ads (if you need to) and then use Nero 6.0 (free in my case - came with dual layer burner). I save VideoRedo's output as one large VOB file. Nero then splits this file up into the 1GB chunks and adds the required .BUP and .IOF files. It then copies straight to disk without needing to transcode.
If files are too big to fit onto single layer DVD, either burn to DL (expensive still) OR, send Nero DVD files to disk and use DVDShrink32 to shrink to single layer. DVDShrink then automatically burns to DVD using Nero as its slave.
Phil.
I'm not on Mars, but my software does run on Linux
Sorry, if you're having trouble with the Windows version. There is a forum on the avidemux main site which has a place for Windows users. Perhaps there's someone there that can help? All I can say is that if you manage to get a version that doesn't keep crashing, it'll be very useful, and of course it's FREE!
The version I've been using so far is 2.1.0. But I'm just about to install the latest (2.1.2).
As for pushing it's features, I mainly use it to fix audio sync, trim and cut out ad breaks.
BTW, you really have to remember to look at the type of frame you're setting the A and B markers on, when cutting MPEG videos. The B marker (end position) should always be an "I frame" (unless it's the very last frame of the video) and the A marker (start position) should never be just after a "B frame". Sorry if this is confusing, but if you follow those rules, the cuts will be seamless and you should not be able to see any broken frames.
I'm sure that's the easiest way. The output from the Humax IS he broadcast stream so nothing is lost by the delayed transfer. The DVD recorder can be set for the optimum bitrate; decent DVD recorders can offer quite a range of settings, cheaper ones usually just four or six.
If the DVD recorder has a hard drive then it is possible to edit the transferred recording to frame accuracy (I expect you get what you pay for so maybe not all HDD/DVD recorders offer this.) Playback resolutions should be correct so that 16:9 recordings playback at the correct resolution in Power DVD or similar on a PC. The DVD recorder is specially designed for the purpose so it ought to be OK!
The advantage being I can continue to browse or whatever on the PC without the fear of corrupting the video data coming off the Humax or during some other conversion process. Until elinker issues are resolved, copying to a DVD recorder sounds to be the most reliable way to get a good transfer and subsequent DVD.
If there is a downside to using a dedicated DVD recorder it is that the finshed DVD relies on the authoring system used by recorder. This means that the flashy presentations created by PC authoring programs aren't so much of an option thought there is nothing to prevent the DVD being re-authored on a PC should that be an essential requirement.
A basic no frills DVD recorder (no HDD) can take the video from the Humax and burn it to a DVD directly. Use the .vob files from this DVD to create a finished product on the PC. Basic no frills DVD recorders are available for well under £100 now but you DO get what you pay for.
I've got the editing working fine with the in/out points and the requisite red & green areas. However, I was hoping it would remove the red areas and join up all the green areas to a single new movie. What I've actually got is a single file but the red areas are replaced by an equivalent time of black! I assume this is simply some 'finger trouble' on my part, so could somebody suggest what I've done wrong?
Moving on to the resolution issue (I too am a professional video editor / engineer), the official dvd specs are for 704 or 720 x 576 and either mp2 or ac3 audio. That's not to say that other resolutions won't work, just don't be surprised if they don't! Some dvd authoring tools will refuse to author non-compliant streams!
Strangley, I've found in the past that the more expensive a player is, the fussier it gets! The cheap and cheerful units seem to handle a far wider range of dvd's than expensive well known brands........!
I'm not sure why you are getting areas of black when you use projectX! Whenever I've used it (usually to correct drifting sync - avidemux will only handle a static offset) it removes the "red" bits and joins the "green" bits as I would expect it to. Could be a digital problem (ie: finger trouble!) The instructions are less than helpful, and its not particularly intuitive, so I wouldn't be surprised if you were doing something wrong. I guess I was just lucky! All I can suggest is experimentation......!
Maybe folks would like some background into the 'resolution' specs. When digital video was first proposed for professional recording, the requisite international committees proposed a cross NTSC/PAL resolution of 720 samples per line. This covered a period somewhat longer than the analogue video active time for each standard, so that in practice the NTSC picture covered about 710 samples and PAL about 702. The PAL period is rounded up to a x16 multiple (for MPEG block reasons) to give the 704 samples used in the discussion.
Many modern cameras do in fact now record a full 720 samples, but any older programmes converted from analogue recordings will be limited to the 702 samples mentioned. There is no difference in the actual 'resolution', it is simply that these older programmes are slightly narrower than the modern digital equivalents. Rather than broadcast black bars on the sides, the choice was made to only send the smaller width.
Its vital to understand ProjectX only performs robust error detection/correction in demux mode, all the others are likely to have problems, particularly trying to cut video. m2p mode tends to output files with missing audio when I've tried it, it maps the audio description stream as the main stream on about 25% of files with an AD stream.
Stick with demux mode and its a lot more reliable. Its also the only mode guaranteed to execute all the cuts, the others tend to do the first and last only as you discovered.
The simplest to use cut+convert tool is HDTV2MPEG, simple apart from the guessing games grabbing the correct audio stream and it also has the same problems getting the correct audio.
I use ProjectX (in demux mode) for cut+demux, Mpeg2Schnitt for precise cutting (optional) and GFD (GUI for DVDAuthor) for authoring. GFD makes no attempt to recode video *ever* and will happily accept 544x576 files, demuxed .m2v+.mp2 or DVD muxed .mpg. So far they all play on both my DVD players.
Also GFD allows for inserting subtitles (although the colours are restricted) and menus to give easy navigation to chapters or title sets.
I do have a very dodgy Freeview signal and this produces lots of errors for Project X to correct; more than a thousand for a 2 hour show seems typical. I'm wondering whether Project X has a maximum number; it stops logging the errors after 500, but it doesn't indicate anything appropriate in the log (about not saving the video).
Perhaps this number of errors in the Humax file is why Avidemux keeps crashing on me.
Rather disheartened by the whole procedure! I should emphasise that the picture from the Humax on the TV is very watchable with just the odd dropouts visible as blocks and the occasional momentary audio mute. I think I'm going to start saving for a Sony DVD/HD recorder, my neighbour says his has done wonders for his Freeview signal. I should also emphasise that officially we don't get Freeview so I can't really complain!
In ProjectX check 'Settings/special/specials2/Video:ignore errors after 1st PTS/GOP" is set. The 2 audio settings above it can help with truncated audio *however* they almost always cause loss of AV sync so don't leave them enabled.
If your signal is really noisy it may be better using TS capable playback software without converting, try Media Player Classic or VLC. There are some errors that demux tools will actually make worse, the files usually have missing timestamps that players can resync to where demux tools will just propagate errors through the file.