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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 4 2010, 01:28 PM |
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How to use the external encoder feature, a brief overview
[EDIT - replaced missing images, added caveats - mod]
Here follows a brief instruction for the new External Encoder feature. People who have used CLI tools before will pick this up very quickly, but it should be enough to get inexperienced users started as well.
What is meant by External Encoders?
External Encoders refers to video related tools that can be used from the command prompt. Since VirtualDub 1.10.0 video and audio tools that accept input via pipes can be used as encoders. More specifically, the video encoder must accept raw YV12, while audio can be piped as raw or with a WAV header. A list with working tools is provided in the third post of this thread.
How to set up an Encoder set?
An encoder set requires a video encoder, an audio encoder and a multiplexer. Optionally it is also possible to only output video or audio without further multiplexing. To make an encoder set go to Options > External encoders, then click on the 'Encoders'-tab.
Press 'Add' to add a new encoder profile and give it a name (e.g. LAME). Then press 'Edit' to configure the encoder and the following window appears:
'Program' is pointed to the preferred executable (in this case the LAME MP3 encoder). The '...' button can be used to browse to the file. It is recommended to place your executables in a directory called 'tools' placed under the VirtualDub directory, but it is not required. The advantage of this is that it makes VirtualDub and the profiles portable.
The 'Command arguments' contain the arguments that will be passed to the LAME encoder. Here '-V6' is a quality setting specific to LAME, the single hyphen (-) means that the encoder will expect to receive its input via a pipe and "%(tempaudiofile)" is a macro that can be used as temporary file which VirtualDub will delete automatically afterwards (a list of macros will is given in the second post of this thread).
'Output filename' is the filename of the temporary file that the encoder creates. By default it will be %(outputname).audio or %(outputname).video, but it is recommended to change '.audio' and '.video' to the correct extension as some multiplexers rely on extensions for file type detection. In this case it is changed to '.mp3'.
It is recommended to keep the first check box on. For debugging purposes (or in case the messages from the encoder are needed) the logging can be enabled and be found in the log afterwards. Go to View > Log in the main VirtualDub window to bring it up.
In the above window there is an extra tab called 'Audio' (audio encoders only of course). Select it and another dialog appears.
Here the output format of the pipe can be selected. If the audio encoder accepts WAV (which LAME does) it is recommended to use this. This way things like sampling rate, number of channels and bit width will be automatically set correctly.
"Bypass compression" avoids feeding an already compressed audio format to the encoder. This is normally recommended.
For the video encoder and the multiplexer similar steps can be taken and when finished it should look something like this:
If you are not sure how to set up your video encoder and multiplexer there is a list of programs with tested settings in the third post of this topic.
Now go back to the 'Encoder Sets'-tab, press 'Add', give your encoder set a suiting name and then press 'Edit'. In the next picture some of the work is already done again.
The video, audio and multiplexer profile created earlier can be selected now. It is possible to mux the file anyway when aborting the encoding process manually. A description of the file can be given along with the proper extension. Check the bottom option ("replace temp video/audio paths...") only when using a video or audio encoder without wanting to mux the file.
Now the hard work is done. Go to File > Export > Using external encoder, select the Encoder set and if everything is configured correctly a new file will be saved.
Some caveats:
1. An audio track is required if your encoder set has an audio encoder. If need be you can use audio from another file.
2. Many errors don't appear until the final muxing stage, so before compressing your entire video, select a short clip and make sure the process completes successfully.
3. If you do have a problem, view the log for clues.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 4 2010, 04:48 PM |
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List of macro's:
for files:
%(tempaudiofile) - a temporary file for the audio, deleted when process is completed
%(tempvideofile) - a temporary file for the video, deleted when process is completed
%(outputname) - name of the output file, given by user
%(hostdir) - evaluates to VirtualDub's program directory
%(outputdir) - evaluates to the directory of the output file
for raw audio:
%(audioprecision) - audio bitwidth (e.g. 8 or 16 bit)
%(channels) - number of channels
%(samplingrate) - samplingrate of the audio in Hz
%(samplingratekhz) - samplingrate of the audio in kHz
for video:
%(height) - height of video
%(width) - width of video
%(fps) - framerate (as float)
%(fpsnum) - see %(fpsden)
%(fpsden) - %(fpsnum) and %(fpsden) can be used to give the framerate as a fraction (e.g. for the standard NTSC framerate %(fpsnum) = 30000 and %(fpsden) = 1001)
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 4 2010, 05:00 PM |
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Tested configurations
Here some CLI tools with example configurations will be listed. The command arguments can be adjusted to your liking, but remember that some settings must stay to keep the pipe functional. Such settings are made bold.
Special note:
As explained before the hyphen symbol ( - ) is used to indicate that the encoder receives input from a pipe. However, it is very difficult to see the difference between a bolded - and a normal -. Therefor, if you see a lonely hyphen don't remove it from the command argument.
Often such tools are open-source projects that don't supply binaries (.exe files). In that case a separate link with a binary is given in case you cannot compile them yourself.
Tested video encoders:
x264 (H264/MPEG4 AVC) - Homepage / Binary
Output filename: %(outputname).264
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | --crf 21 --preset medium --tune film -o "%(tempvideofile)" --stdin yuv - %(width)x%(height) --fps %(fpsnum)/%(fpsden)
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Update:
The above commandline only works with old versions. At least from revision 1688 and later the following should be used:
| QUOTE | | --crf 21 --preset medium --tune film --demuxer raw --input-csp i420 --input-res %(width)x%(height) --fps %(fpsnum)/%(fpsden) -o "%(tempvideofile)" - |
ffmpeg (multiple formats) - Homepage / Binary
Output filename: %(outputname).m2v (for this example)
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | -f rawvideo -s %(width)x%(height) -r %(fpsnum)/%(fpsden) -i - -vcodec mpeg2video -bf 2 -b 3000k "%(tempvideofile)"
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Tested audio encoders
LAME (MP3) - Homepage / Binary
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).mp3
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -V6 - "%(tempaudiofile)" |
neroaacenc (AAC) - Homepage (requires email registration)
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).mp4
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -q 0.35 -ignorelength -if - -of "%(tempaudiofile)" |
FAAC (AAC) - Homepage / Binary
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).aac
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -b 128 -o "%(tempaudiofile)" - |
Oggenc (Vorbis) - Homepage / Binary
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).ogg
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -q2 - -o "%(tempaudiofile)" |
TwoLAME (MP2) - Homepage / Binary
Audio input format: Raw audio
Output filename: %(outputname).mp2
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -r --samplerate %(samplingrate) --samplesize %(audioprecision) --channels %(channels) -b 224 - "%(tempaudiofile)" |
Aften (AC3) - Homepage / Binary
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).ac3
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -b 192 - "%(tempaudiofile)" |
FLAC (Flac Lossless Audio) - Homepage
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).flac
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -5 -o "%(tempaudiofile)" - |
Tested muxers
MP4Box (MP4) - Homepage / Binary
Extension for Encoder set: mp4
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -add "%(tempvideofile)" -add "%(tempaudiofile)" "%(outputname)" -fps %(fps) |
Important: "Delete output file before starting" must be enabled in the encoder profile
MKVToolnix (Matroska) - Homepage
Extension for Encoder set: mkv
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -o "%(outputname)" --default-duration 0:%(fpsnum)/%(fpsden)fps "%(tempvideofile)" "%(tempaudiofile)" |
For those who want to avoid header compression for compatibility with some hardware devices (mkvtoolnix 4.1.0 or later)
| QUOTE | | -o "%(outputname)" --compression 0:none --default-duration 0:%(fpsnum)/%(fpsden)fps "%(tempvideofile)" --compression 0:none "%(tempaudiofile)" |
ffmpeg (multiple formats) - Homepage / Binary
Extension for Encoder set: depends on output format
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -i "%(tempvideofile)" -i "%(tempaudiofile)" -vcodec copy -acodec copy "%(outputname)" |
A final note:
All commandline arguments are examples. No guarantee for filesize, quality or compatibility is given. It was also not the intention to give a complete rundown of every commandline option of each CLI tool. For that please check the tool's documentation, or run the tool from the command prompt to get a printout of all its options.
Codec settings discussions are allowed in this forum, but for video encoding settings other forums like Doom9 (or Doom10 for x264 specifically) and Hydrogenaudio for audio encoders are excellent resources. Please read the rules of each forum before participating in them.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 7 2010, 03:07 PM |
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2-pass encoding with x264
Update:
Please read the comment on x264 in the previous post if you are using revision 1688 or later.
This will explain how to setup a 2-pass encoding with x264 using encoder sets. It requires the basic knowledge that is explained above.
First a 1st pass encoder profile should be created. Here's an example command argument:
| QUOTE | | --bitrate 1000 --pass 1 --stats %(hostdir)\tools\stats.log --preset medium --tune film -o NUL --stdin yuv - %(width)x%(height) --fps %(fpsnum)/%(fpsden) |
One thing that requires special attention is the --stats option. This is an x264 option that tells it where to put the statistics file created by the first pass. It is important to have it point to the same location for the second pass.
Something else that is different from normal here is that the %(tempvideofile) macro is not used, but output is directed to NUL. This is a Windows specific device that discards all data that is written to it. Since the video file created by the 1st pass is not needed at all (only the statistics are needed), it's a nice way of preventing writing unnecessary data to the hard drive.
From this single encoder profile create an encoder set without audio encoder and multiplexer, and check the "Replace temp video/audio paths with output path" option. A description can be given, but an extension is not necessary as this encoder set will never write an actual video file (again, it doesn't need to).
Now for the 2nd pass a new encoder profile needs to be created. Here's an example command argument again:
| QUOTE | | --bitrate 1000 --pass 2 --stats %(hostdir)\tools\stats.log --preset medium --tune film -o "%(tempvideofile)" --stdin yuv - %(width)x%(height) --fps %(fpsnum)/%(fpsden) |
The stats file location should be the same as in the first pass here. Also, this time the %(tempvideofile) macro is used because now the video data is wanted.
From this second encoder profile a second encoder set can be created with an audio encoder and multiplexer if needed. Then via File > Queue batch operation > Export using external encoder the passes can be setup and run from the jobs list (F4).
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 10 2010, 09:12 PM |
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Room for an extra section...
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jun 11 2010, 08:34 AM |
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Spam killer ;)
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Direct passthrough of AC3/MP3 audio
It is possible to pass AC3 and MP3 audio through the external encoder feature without having to recompress it. It might work for other audio formats too, but this is not tested. A precondition is that VirtualDub must have direct acces to the compressed audio. If you are using for example the DirectShow plugin to open files this method will not work.
This is actually very simple to set up. First, create an audio encoder profile using ffmpeg with this command argument:
| QUOTE |
-i - -acodec copy "%(tempaudiofile)"
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Then change the extension of the output filename to .ac3 or .mp3 (whatever is needed). In the 'Audio'-tab set the input format to Raw and keep the 'Bypass compression'-option unchecked.
This profile can be used as audio encoder in an encoder set, and when Audio is set to Direct Stream Copy (important!) the original compressed audio will be used for the new file.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| sifuchar |
| Posted: Aug 11 2010, 06:45 PM |
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Thank you for the excellent guide, but I am having a problem with step 1. My version of Virtualdub does not have an option for "external encoders"! I'm not sure how to post the screen-cap here, but it looks exactly the same as the screen cap in this sticky:
http://forums.virtualdub.org/index.php?act...=ST&f=5&t=18789
except that it is missing the line that has the option for External encoders.
I re-downloaded it today to make sure I am using the most current version. I am using the 32-bit verision 1.9.9, build 32817 on Windows 7-64 bit. Is there something I must do to enable this option?
Thank you
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Aug 11 2010, 06:52 PM |
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The feature is still experimental and not ported to the main version yet. You can find the latest experimental build in the stickies of the of the bug report forum or just click here. 
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| totya |
| Posted: Jan 2 2011, 11:44 PM |
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Hi!
| QUOTE (stephanV @ Jun 4 2010, 06:00 PM) | | Tested configurations |
Thx for this detailed post. But my problem, FLAC (and wavpack, two lossless packer) don't work with VDub ver. 1.10.0x64 on Win64 OS, and 1.10.0x86 on Win32 OS too, with muxer ffmpeg (avi) or mkvmerge (mkv).
Lame, AC3, AAC works... (but avi file with AAC VBR audio, not seekable says MPC HC). |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jan 4 2011, 09:17 AM |
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I'm just back from holidays so I'll have to update everything first. Can you indicate something more specific than "doesn't work"?
EDIT:
Works fine with mkvmerge here. I have not tested it with ffmpeg.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| totya |
| Posted: Jan 4 2011, 12:15 PM |
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Hi!
| QUOTE (stephanV @ Jan 4 2011, 10:17 AM) | | Can you indicate something more specific than "doesn't work"? |
| QUOTE (stephanV @ Jun 4 2010, 06:00 PM) | FLAC (Flac Lossless Audio) - Homepage
Audio input format: WAV
Output filename: %(outputname).flac
Example command argument:
| QUOTE | | -5 -o %(tempaudiofile) - |
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With ur example command argument I get this log:
| QUOTE | Beginning dub operation.
[i] AudioEnc: Type "flac" for a usage summary or "flac --help" for all options
[i] AudioEnc: ERROR: -o/--output-name cannot be used with multiple files
[E] Error: Write error occurred on file "<anonymous pipe>": A pipe bezárása
folyamatban van. |
This is simple error in ur lines, I correct this:
| QUOTE | -5 -o %(tempaudiofile) -
-5 -o "%(tempaudiofile)" - |
For correct error checking, I create audio only encoder sets:
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/1260402773en...ltoltes.hu_.png
Encoder now run, but the result is not perfect:
| QUOTE | Beginning dub operation.
[i] AudioEnc: flac 1.2.0, Copyright ©
2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007 Josh Coalson
(...)
[i] AudioEnc: -: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk 'JUNK'
[i] AudioEnc: -: WARNING: skipping unknown sub-chunk '
* this lines repeat many-many times, after I kill flac.exe with taskmanager:
[E] Error: CLI: The audio encoding process failed with error code 1
(00000001). Check the log for possible error messages.
Ending operation. |
If I uncheck "redirect standard error to log" checkbox, I get this:
| QUOTE | Beginning dub operation.
[E] Error: CLI: The audio encoding process failed with error code 1
(00000001). Check the log for possible error messages.
Ending operation. |
Result file is none. In raw mode, the result is too bad:
| QUOTE | | --best --force-raw-format --endian=little --sign=signed --channels=%(channels) --bps=%(audioprecision) --sample-rate=%(samplingrate) -o "%(tempaudiofile)" - |
| QUOTE | (...)
[i] AudioEnc: (No runtime statistics possible; please wait for encoding to
finish...)
[i] AudioEnc: -: ERROR: got partial sample
[E] Error: CLI: The audio encoding process failed with error code 1
(00000001). Check the log for possible error messages.
Ending operation. |
But, .flac file is created, and playable, but not perfect, length is sligthly lower than original (data loss), and not seekable with foobar audio player.
VirtulDub bug, if I run this convert(audio only):
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/enc_set3_www...ltoltes.hu_.png
I got error messages http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/enc_error_ww...ltoltes.hu_.png
but with full convert (audio+video+muxer):
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/enc_set2_www...ltoltes.hu_.png
Error messages is none!
Well, the result flac file is not perfect, I see... and I found, FFmpeg too create flac file. Let me see (wav mode):
| QUOTE | | -i - -acodec flac "%(tempaudiofile)" |
Error is none, but in the log I see this:
| QUOTE | [i] AudioEnc: [pcm_s16le @ 015d2190] invalid PCM packet
[i] AudioEnc: Error while decoding stream #0.0 |
Flac file is playable, and seekable with foobar2000, but length is slightly bigger than original (different is only many additional 0 byte in the file end)
Well, If I want flac audio, ffmpeg is my way.
wavpack http://www.wavpack.com/ is too works with this settings (wav mode):
| QUOTE | | -hx3 -i - "%(tempaudiofile)" |
My VirtualDub version is 1.10.0 x64. (x86 version works equally, and source type is not important (avisytnh/avi direct open/codecs...)) |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jan 4 2011, 01:35 PM |
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Spam killer ;)
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I fixed the quotes. Thank you.
I can recreate the problem you are seeing but as I'm not sure what is wrong, I'll link to it in the test thread. Thanks for reporting.
--------------------
useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| totya |
| Posted: Jan 4 2011, 03:51 PM |
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Newbie
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| QUOTE (stephanV @ Jan 4 2011, 02:35 PM) | I fixed the quotes. Thank you.
I can recreate the problem you are seeing but as I'm not sure what is wrong, I'll link to it in the test thread. Thanks for reporting. |
Hi!
Thanks for answer.
The problem is simple, if we get different output, we use different flac.exe.
Download link this:
http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html
Two downloads available for windows:
1, FLAC for Windows with installer
2, NOTE FOR VISTA USERS: if the installer is getting stuck, try this workaround
My flac version is from second method. Now I download with first method, and I see, the two flac.exe is different. Different only 1 (one) day. But with new flac.exe, your command line is working.
But all other problem is stay, produced flac file is not seekable with foobar/mpc hc, and slightly shorter than original (I see more converted files), and no error messages from VDub.
First VDub error: with flac.exe, foobar audio player can convert to flac, with these parameters: -s --ignore-chunk-sizes -8 - -o %d
Produced file is seekable, and length is correct. Uses stdin method too I think (see '-' parameters).
With these paramteres, VDub can't create seekable flac file.
" --ignore-chunk-sizes": http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....ndpost&p=506557
Second VDub error, I wrote this before, please try this, run audio convert alone:
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/1260402773en...ltoltes.hu_.png
U get error messages. I'm sure.
Now try convert with full (video/audio/muxer):
http://kepfeltoltes.hu/110104/enc_set4_www...ltoltes.hu_.png
And no error messages! This is VirtualDub bug too I'm sure.
I recommend, add my .flac convert method with ffmpeg (see my previos message) to your post (Jun 4 2010, 06:00 PM), I think this is works better than original flac.exe (with VirtualDUB). |
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| phaeron |
| Posted: Jan 12 2011, 06:49 AM |
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Virtualdub Developer
Group: Administrator
Posts: 7773
Member No.: 61
Joined: 30-July 02
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I figured out what was causing the errors with the FLAC encoder. It's a bug in VirtualDub with the way that the audio stream is flushed. This version has a fix and works with the latest stable FLAC from SourceForge:
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-....10.1-test1.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-...test1-AMD64.zip
http://www.virtualdub.org/beta/VirtualDub-....1-test1-src.7z
For some strange reason, FLAC issues odd warnings about JUNK chunks, which are standard RIFF padding chunks. They didn't need to be there for the pipe case, though -- they're only needed when writing a WAV file that may need to become WAVE64 -- so I went ahead and turned that off to fix the warnings.
BTW, I would recommend adding the -f flag to the command line, so that FLAC automatically overwrites the output.
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| totya |
| Posted: Jan 14 2011, 10:22 AM |
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Newbie
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Joined: 2-January 11
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Hi, this version works much better than before version. (I see x86 version) Resulted flac file length is now correct, seekable, and wav compare test is OK. OGG encoder is too works with this version (in wav mode). Thank you.
Small quest if possible, now I'm uses virtualdub 4 versions (x86, x86 exp, x64, x64 exp). The problem, ex. avi file, windows explorer or file manager, right click, open with... and all (four) VirtualDub version name is equally, I don't see wich version is.
The solution is simple, in "StringFileInfo/FileDescription" set these:
x86 version: "VirtualDub x86"
x86 experimental version: "VirtualDub x86 exp"
x64 version: "VirtualDub x64"
x64 experimental version: "VirtualDub x64 exp"
Thanks! |
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