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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 11 2014, 05:12 AM |
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Newbie
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hello all!
i have been using virtualdub for a while (since 2 or 3 years ago, so i think my version is 1.9.xx) but not frequently. i used to use vd to make 2 or 3 timelapse videos, and i had divx installed and i had not had problem doing compressions and saved them as .avi, and i was very happy with it.
however, somehow my divx is not there anymore (i guessed a friend of mine uninstalled the codec for me when my machine got infected earlier...) under my "compression" list, only the basic 5 choices are available. i tried all 5, either they don't work, or the output quality is not satisfactory. divx codec (encoding) is not available for downloading anymore. i tried vxid, but the resulting video crashed my windows media player, and i could not play or further edit it via windows movie maker.
my question is: which is a better compression encoder to be installed? where can i get a safe download?
many thanks! |
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| raffriff42 |
| Posted: Aug 11 2014, 01:25 PM |
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Advanced Member
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In short: get the x264vfw x264 encoder:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/
* Mode=Constant Ratefactor, Ratefactor=20 more or less.
(crf 17 = great quality, large file size; crf 26 = fair quality, smaller file)
* Enable the "VirtualDub hack" option.
For audio, get the AC3 compressor:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/fcchandler/files/ - look for "Ac3Acm Codec"
* Set bitrate to 96 kbits/sec more or less.
More advanced users will want to try external encoders, but the method described above is easier, and already much better than the old way, ie divx or xvid + mp3. |
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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 11 2014, 02:15 PM |
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Newbie
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Member No.: 38211
Joined: 11-August 14
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thanks raffriff42 for your swift reply!
what's "* Mode=Constant Ratefactor, Ratefactor=20 more or less.
(crf 17 = great quality, large file size; crf 26 = fair quality, smaller file)" that you mentioned?
where should these be set?
i could only find the "virtualdub hack" option.
i just did a test run, but the .avi file could not be played in windows media player or quicktime or media player classic..... have i set sth wrong, or what should be the best settings?
many thanks again! |
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| Abrazo |
| Posted: Aug 11 2014, 06:43 PM |
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All settings for the "x264vfw configuration" are in one single dialogbox.
First you have the "Basic" zone with Preset:, Tuning: Profile:, ...
Just below this "Basic" zone, you have the "Rate control" zone.
It is here that the default choise is on "Single pass - ratefactor-based (CRF)" and the default Ratefactor is set to "23.0".
I found a little bit more information about CRF here: http://slhck.info/articles/crf
In short: "It least compresses the parts you see the most, and most compresses the parts you see the least."
- - - - -
When you say that you cannot play the resulting AVI in Windows Media Player...
Do you play that AVI on the same computer as where you made it ?
I suppose H264-endoded video can be played on a Windows 7 (or later) without installing the specific x264vfw codec, but in case of Windows XP, I think you should have to install it. |
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| raffriff42 |
| Posted: Aug 11 2014, 07:33 PM |
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Good points, Abrazo.
As for which H.264 DEcoder, I would suggest ffdshow-tryouts. I don't know of another one, except those included in commercial products (Quicktime? not sure)
ffdshow-tryouts lets you open H.264 videos in all DirectShow media players, not just VirtualDub.
As a bonus, it comes with a plugin for VirtualDub that can do a number of things like sharpen, render subtitles, etc. (EDIT be sure to check "Application plugins/VirtualDub" on installation. You can leave everything else at the defaults. NOTE, I'm assuming VirtualDub & ffdshow are both 32 bit)
This post has been edited by raffriff42 on Aug 12 2014, 01:25 AM |
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| -vdub- |
| Posted: Aug 12 2014, 01:03 PM |
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AC3 is similar to AAC but they are not the same. Many AC3 audio you hear or see are using 384 kbits the main reason for that because it sounds better whether it is speech or music in the video. You could use 256 minimum ok but if music and speech is needed to be precise then 384 is better minimum. The difference is only a MB or few for better quality audio
CRF I would say 20 minimum before quality starts to drop. That is with Profile set to High and Level to 4.1
I wonder if use lower values than CRF 20 say CRF 10 could keep the video size lower while not harming video quality by using lower profile and level values ! |
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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 12 2014, 01:14 PM |
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Newbie
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Joined: 11-August 14
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cool! i think i got it fixed, just that the timelapse output not as smooth as i expected...
under "basic", i chose "convert to YUV 4:2:0" -- is this the right one or best one to choose?
thanks again! |
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| raffriff42 |
| Posted: Aug 12 2014, 08:30 PM |
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| QUOTE (larlar @ Aug 12 2014, 01:14 PM) | | under "basic", i chose "convert to YUV 4:2:0" -- is this the right one or best one to choose? |
Short answer - Yes, that's fine. It's very slightly better to use "Keep/Accept only YUV 4:2:0", but fully explaining how that's done would be TL;DR. |
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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 13 2014, 12:56 PM |
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Newbie
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Member No.: 38211
Joined: 11-August 14
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seems all working fine now. thanks! you guys awesome! |
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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 15 2014, 03:23 PM |
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Newbie
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Member No.: 38211
Joined: 11-August 14
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sorry guys, seems i ran into problem again.
i had used .x264vfw a couple of times in the previous days, and all working fine.
but then when i tried again today for making a timelapse, i chose x264vfw under "compression", and the following showed up under the "format" box:
"Couldn't find compatible format.
Possible reasons:
* Codec may only support YUV
* Codec might be locked
* Codec might be decompression-only
i then uninstalled and reinstalled the x264.vfw again. although it showed up alrite under compression again, but when i tried to save to .avi, the following error thing popped up:
"Unable to initialize video compression. Check that the video codec is compatible with the output video frame size and that the settings are correct, or try a different one."
i am using windows 7. i tried both vd1.10.4 and vd1.9.11, and got same error. would it be a recent windows update which blocked it? how can i get around this?
many thanks! |
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| raffriff42 |
| Posted: Aug 15 2014, 06:43 PM |
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Advanced Member
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That kind of error message is usually due to mismatched color space (check that you still have "convert to YUV 4:2:0" selected), or incompatible resolution (height should be evenly divisible by 8, I think, and the same for width; known as "mod-8" for short). If resolution is the problem, use a resize filter at 100% size and "codec-friendly sizing" set to "multiples of 8." |
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| larlar |
| Posted: Aug 18 2014, 12:06 PM |
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Newbie
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Posts: 8
Member No.: 38211
Joined: 11-August 14
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thanks a lot raffriff42. sometimes it works while sometimes it doesn't. am now trying out different color depth settings, etc. and it just crashed when i tried msu_deflick, while when i used deflick, output became all black screen... |
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