STV Import: SageMC Video Tools v3.0

[evilpenguin]

2/12/2008 - v3.0k

• Feature – Added support for attaching subtitle tracks/burning subtitles into videos from embedded closed captions in mpg’s or from smi/srt files.
• Feature – Added Horizontal Scale, Frames Per Second, and Auto Telecine Detection to advanced options.
• Improvement – Auto-Crop adjustments are now evenly distributed between the top/bottom and left/right edges of video. Previously, in the worst case, about 15 lines of resolution were being taken from just the bottom/left. Now it would be evenly distributed to 7 lines from top/right and 8 lines from bottom/left.
• Improvement – Renamed some profiles to remove ambiguity. I highly recommend deleting your current “Encoding Profiles” folder and replacing it entirely with the one in this version.
• Improvement – The Auto Encode profile will use the mkv container if it is using 5.1 AC3 audio as 5.1 AC3 in avi is pretty unstable.
• BugFix – Vertical and Horizontal scale were reversed in mencoderVideoFilters.func.
• BugFix – Added random 2 digit number to qdvd files so that multiple files with the same name won’t over write each other.
• BugFix – Hard coded reference to multiple options theme in STVi to temporarily fix issue where the advanced options pop-up is showing up blank.
• BugFix – Fixed issue where using Auto-Crop with Handbrake/AutoEncode would cause videos to be improperly scaled.
• BugFix – Reversed the slashes in some of the menuGen commands to make it work with UNC paths.

[mickp]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

How does imgBurn work with the UI? Does it pop-up over the SageUI or take focus away from Sage?

As for dvdburn.exe I haven't ready anywhere that its incompatable with vista so I suspect your issue may be hardware/media related. On you're end you can try using a DVD+R and on my side I have a Vista PC I can drop a known working DVD burner in and test.

Hi EP,

imgBurn focus seems okay. It pops up in front does it's thing and returns focus when it exits. I'm not running fsui though so this may be a problem for others.

I don't have any +r discs about the place so will give it a test as soon as I can track some down.

Mick.

[Arioch5]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

2/12/2008 - v3.0k

• Feature – Added support for attaching subtitle tracks/burning subtitles into videos from embedded closed captions in mpg’s or from smi/srt files.
• Feature – Added Horizontal Scale, Frames Per Second, and Auto Telecine Detection to advanced options.
• Improvement – Auto-Crop adjustments are now evenly distributed between the top/bottom and left/right edges of video. Previously, in the worst case, about 15 lines of resolution were being taken from just the bottom/left. Now it would be evenly distributed to 7 lines from top/right and 8 lines from bottom/left.
• Improvement – Renamed some profiles to remove ambiguity. I highly recommend deleting your current “Encoding Profiles” folder and replacing it entirely with the one in this version.
• Improvement – The Auto Encode profile will use the mkv container if it is using 5.1 AC3 audio as 5.1 AC3 in avi is pretty unstable.
• BugFix – Vertical and Horizontal scale were reversed in mencoderVideoFilters.func.
• BugFix – Added random 2 digit number to qdvd files so that multiple files with the same name won’t over write each other.
• BugFix – Hard coded reference to multiple options theme in STVi to temporarily fix issue where the advanced options pop-up is showing up blank.
• BugFix – Fixed issue where using Auto-Crop with Handbrake/AutoEncode would cause videos to be improperly scaled.
• BugFix – Reversed the slashes in some of the menuGen commands to make it work with UNC paths.

I can't wait to get home from work tonight. I've got to try this out before American Idol. I can't wait!
-Faster SD compression (Handbreak should work now)
-Video DVD Support
-Slightly better AutoEncode cropping
-Fixed Advanced Preferences

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

-Slightly better AutoEncode cropping

I think you meant to say...

-Slightly better version of the already awesome AutoEncode cropping

[TechBill]

Thank you for adding subtitle and closed caption support!

It working great!


Bill

[richardcrowther]

Great work on this plugin EP, it's exactly what I've been wanting for Sage. Once you get encoding to ipod format with commercials cut my life will be complete.

I'm struggling to get the output mode to send the file to a different folder though. It always seems to encode in place no matter what I put in the profile file. I've tried adding the following to the autoencode and the mencodercutcomm profiles:

Output Mode ="PATH<:>F:\Sage TV"
Output Mode =PATH<:>F:\Sage TV
Output Mode =F:\Sage TV

The files that get generated in the qdvd folder always have "in place" for the output even though I'm using these profiles. The encoding then overwrites my original mpeg.

I must be missing something really simple, could someone please let me know what the correct syntax should be in this line?

[evilpenguin]

You should set that up from the advanced options inside Sage rather than in the profile files.

[Arioch5]

EP, I got the mod installed last night. I've got a couple of questions, though I haven't had time to properly test the changes yet (hopefully this weekend ).

1 - Is the Handbreak aspect ratio fix in this version?
2 - Do you know what priority the compression threads run at, and is that configurable?

The second is the reason my testing isn't complete, though I'm not convinced it's anything wrong with the mod. I was running a handbreak compression last night which uses a lot more of my dual core than mencoder does (hence the faster completion time). However, I got the first BSOD I've ever seen on this computer while doing that and watching a pre-recorded HD TV stream (and processing one show with Show Analyzer).

I had recently installed the AMD patch from (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30627) which I didn't expect to cause any problems (do you ever expect to cause a problem though lol). I have rolled that driver update back for now to continue testing.

It's quite possible I've just found a driver bug somewhere that I've not really run into since I don't typically run at 100% cpu. Even if that's the case, it would be convenient if handbreak/mencoder could have their priority configured. With me using mencoder almost exclusively (until handbreak aspect is fixed) I've never really had much of a stress test to worry about. Mencoder only uses about 40-50% of my processor even if nothing else is running and Show Analyzer must be set at a low priority b/c it won't steal processing time from anything.

I guess a side question here, and this goes out to anyone that might know, can I alter the priority of the sagetv.exe process? Stress testing last night, though I couldn't ever get another BSOD, showed that if sage can't get it's 6-10% cpu occasionally it's not very happy at all. Considering recording/playing TV is the main function of this computer I would prefer the sage process to be fairly high priority.

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

1 - Is the Handbreak aspect ratio fix in this version?

Looks fixed to me. Why? Is it not working for you?

[Arioch5]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

Looks fixed to me. Why? Is it not working for you?

The BSOD happened mid encode (had 2 or 3 queued), though I think first handbreak was finished. I want to do another one to be sure, but it looks the same to me after downloading the k version as before.

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

The BSOD happened mid encode (had 2 or 3 queued), though I think first handbreak was finished. I want to do another one to be sure, but it looks the same to me after downloading the k version as before.

Hmm... I feel like we might have had a disconnect about what exactly the problem was. A few questions...

1) Are you using Auto Encode?
2) If not, what are the exact encode settings your using?

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

2 - Do you know what priority the compression threads run at, and is that configurable?

The second is the reason my testing isn't complete, though I'm not convinced it's anything wrong with the mod. I was running a handbreak compression last night which uses a lot more of my dual core than mencoder does (hence the faster completion time). However, I got the first BSOD I've ever seen on this computer while doing that and watching a pre-recorded HD TV stream (and processing one show with Show Analyzer).

Sorry, forgot to address this earlier.

The compression thread run at 'below normal' priority so they'll play pretty nice with other processes. But even if it were to move down to 'idle' it'd still try and take up as much process time/power as there was available so that wouldn't solve your problem.

I'm guessing your right and its just a general system stability problem that you're seeing for the first time because this plug-in can really tax your CPU for long periods of time and if your system wasn't rock solid to begin with it can expose some heat + time related issues you wouldn't normally see.

I recommend downloading a program called prime95 and setting up the torture test on your system and seeing how long it will run without errors or crashes. If it doesn't make it to atleast 48 hours (I ran it for a week on my encoding machine) you're prolly going to have to make some system adjustments. Hit up the HardOCP forums for tips, but from experience i'd go in this order:

1) Re-seat your CPU cooler and clean up your cabling to promote better air flow.
2) If possible increase the speed of your CPU fan.
3) Try adding a new fan or replacing existing ones with larger/better fans.
4) Order some Artic Silver Ceramique cpu thermal paste and use it to re-seat your CPU again.
4) Replace your PSU. (hopefully it won't get this far)

[Arioch5]

Thanks for the CPU tips. I'll have to find a few days where I don't have recordings scheduled and try this out.

As for the video with handbreak I was thinking the same thing, so I decided to pull up some pictures. However, to my surprise (I had not tried this before) it looks the same in VLC.

I've attached the files and as far as I can tell the handbreak/mencoder look like they have the same width. VLC reads as: Handbreak 640x480 Mencoder 720x480.
That looks like the 80 pixels you were talking about, but looking at the pictures that I uploaded it doesn't look like one is wider than the other. Am I reading that wrong? Isn't it width x height?

I wish there were a good way to get a sceen shot from sage. Any suggestions on that? I'm telling you you'll see the difference if I can do that. Maybe it's just the difference in stretching these two slight difference out to fit a big TV makes it show up.

[richardcrowther]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

You should set that up from the advanced options inside Sage rather than in the profile files.

Where would I find that in the advanced options? The only thing I can find is Paths - Compression path. I've already set that to F:\Sage TV but I think this path is for the default compression and not your plugin.

I can't find any output path options under the "SageMC Video Tools" options menu. I also tried creating a custom profile from within this menu using custom - create custom profile. With advanced options enabled and selecting the "Auto Encode" profile I get the following options turn up:
Custom Bitrate, Deinterlace, Auto-crop, Cut commercials, Detect Telecine, Vertical scale. There is some kind of bug which means that the screen comes up with just the encode and cancel buttons to begin with. After I press a few buttons the other selection boxes turn up. Is there supposed to be an output path option in here that I'm not seeing?

Thanks,
Richard

[evilpenguin]

That bug should be fixed in 3.0k. Also make sure you're using the latest SageMC (6.3.7).

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

That looks like the 80 pixels you were talking about, but looking at the pictures that I uploaded it doesn't look like one is wider than the other. Am I reading that wrong? Isn't it width x height?

Well, there are two things that go into how a video looks. The actual resolution and the aspect ratio. In the case of the mencoder the video is 720x480 but if you do the math...

720/480 = 1.5 aspect ratio

And for reference 4:3 = 1.33 and 16:9 = 1.77

So that means the videos you record fall somewhere in between, but we all know SDTV is supposed to be 4:3. Why's it different? Well if you were just to display your recordings and ignore the aspect ratio they'd appear to be stretched horizontally. However, when VLC and Sage play the videos there's a flag inside them that says what the aspect ratio is supposed to be and so the players can scale the video (unstrech it, if you will) so that it looks right.

Still with me? Ok, well Handbrake instead of putting in that flag, just scales the video during the encoding so the resolution of the video matches the aspect ratio...

640/480 = 1.3333

And you don't actually lose any of the picture during the scaling, its just like resizing a picture.

Really, its just an artifact of a video standard (NTSC) that was designed a long time ago that was brilliant back in the day but now is just a pain in the ass to continue supporting. I had a nice, long, rant written about why NTSC video sucks and is basically as antiquated as the telegraph because it was designed to work around limitations that no longer exist (), but I decided to spare everyone

(Fun fact: PAL resolution the rest of the world uses is 768/576 and is actually 1.3333)

Now, the question is: what's the best way? I honestly don't know the answer. I'll have to do some research, maybe I should be doing what Handbrake is doing in mencoder?

[Arioch5]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

That bug should be fixed in 3.0k. Also make sure you're using the latest SageMC (6.3.7).

Are you saying that the 640x480 for handbreak should be 720x480 in version k? Reading your second post seems to say that these resolutions are working as intended.

I think I follow what you're saying, but I'm 100% sure the sage player does not play back the 720x480 with 4:3 flag the same as the 640x480 w/o the 4:3 flag.

Either tonight, or this weekend I'm going to see if I can get you a screen shot of what sage looks like. From what I've seen in VLC vs Sage I'm wondering if this isn't an issue with how Sage decides to display the two videos since they are slightly different beast fundamentally.

I understand that the SD TV should be 4:3, what I don't really understand right now that I hope I can show you with a screen shot is that I'm sure the original Mythbusters is displaying slightly more wide screen than that. Mencoder duplicates this, handbreak doesn't. So is it possible for sage to be recognizing that even though it's SD it's not straight 4:3?

I'll get screen shots.

Oh and by the way, I did my first Video DVD last night
The UNC fix straighted that out for me it's great!

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by Arioch5

Are you saying that the 640x480 for handbreak should be 720x480 in version k? Reading your second post seems to say that these resolutions are working as intended.

No, the fix I put in was for Auto Crop, which it looks like you're not using so you shouldn't be seeing any difference.

I need to do some digging to see what I should be doing as far as scaling SDTV, cause i'm honestly not sure which is right. The more I think about it, the more i'm leaning towards Handbrake is handling it correctly and mencoder is doing it wrong. I'll have to generate some test clips and watch them via Sage.

Oh and by the way, I did my first Video DVD last night
The UNC fix straighted that out for me it's great!

Excellent, glad to hear it

[Arioch5]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

The more I think about it, the more i'm leaning towards Handbrake is handling it correctly and mencoder is doing it wrong. I'll have to generate some test clips and watch them via Sage.

Well if that's the case, can I keep my broken mencoder and have an option to break handbreak in the exact same way

[evilpenguin]

Well this is confusing, because the info you're giving me disagrees with the numbers i'm getting. Out of curiosity, what kind of TV do you have and are you sure Sage's aspect ratio (the one where you set it so the circle looks right) is set corrrectly?