Transcoding and audio synch...

[zehd]

No, even if you choose to not use the gbpvr emulation mode, gbpvr does have it own tftp server. Just select the dongle in config, power cycel the MVP and you're off

[lajams]

No, even if you choose to not use the gbpvr emulation mode, gbpvr does have it own tftp server. Just select the dongle in config, power cycel the MVP and you're off

Cool, I'll give this a shot tonight. Thanks much.

[zehd]

But PBS, I'd say the real issue isn't the copy protection IMHO. I really think that the output files for MVP MPG are just not transcoded well enough. Supposedly the dts and pts get messed with. Thuis happens with VLC, MEncoder and FFmpeg. The messed 'sync track' causes trouble on the MVP

What I just can't pinpoint is: why is it that some files work better than others. Why some systems perform better than others, users, codecs etc...

I know that you seem to be happy with your settings (discussed many times elsewhere) But in the end, I'm still not really sure what a person can do to stabilize these transcoders for all or most systems...

You know how I've ( and other, you) been trying to get this solved... It's getting old that the only answer is, 'yes, it exists, not much we can do...'

[lajams]

Cool, I'll give this a shot tonight. Thanks much.

Well crap, I did the research on MVPMC, and looks like a cool dongle...but would require digital out on my MVPs to play VOBs. My MVPs are both first-gen. and I'd rather not hack them. And if I buy new ones, I may as well get new extenders that support ac3/xvid/avi natively. Arg!

[lajams]

But PBS, I'd say the real issue isn't the copy protection IMHO. I really think that the output files for MVP MPG are just not transcoded well enough. Supposedly the dts and pts get messed with. Thuis happens with VLC, MEncoder and FFmpeg. The messed 'sync track' causes trouble on the MVP

What I just can't pinpoint is: why is it that some files work better than others. Why some systems perform better than others, users, codecs etc...

I know that you seem to be happy with your settings (discussed many times elsewhere) But in the end, I'm still not really sure what a person can do to stabilize these transcoders for all or most systems...

You know how I've ( and other, you) been trying to get this solved... It's getting old that the only answer is, 'yes, it exists, not much we can do...'

This is indeed troubling. People using PCs in their home theaters probably won't care. But people who opt to use "extenders" will. I don't like to point fingers, but to me this seems like a Hauppage issue (at least from a 27,000 foot level). My recorded stuff plays great, but that is created using a Hauppage product too, so I don't know if thats valid. And EVERYTHING plays fine when streamed to my PCs.

Guess until I have another vendor's extender to try out I won't know.

[mvallevand]

I posted some more info on this on the mvpmc forum

http://forums.nextpvr.com/showthread.php?t=25510

Martin

[pBS]

hmm,wel if its a sync issue, try setting 'sync on audio track' in vlc and see if that works..
i know vlc has this option, and possibly ffmpeg, not sure about mencoder..

even in graphedit graphs, there's a sync clock option...

also, i'm in NTSC land so if users are doing pal stuff i'm not of much help..
[a whole other set of issues, or rather lack of them really]

i have a feeling if it's a good rip, then it's probably the intrlacing/framerate/film/video issues...so much stuff nowdays is mixed film and video, and almost all special effect/cgi stuff is video fps [29.97] even in films[24.97fps]

if you've ripped the dvd's to hard drive, then mencoder should be able to transcode them...or even mplayer has a 'dump' function that might be used as well..

i've come across several movies that just wouldn't rip properly unless i used anydvd...and i have Fab as well...i think fab just isn't as on top of the new schemes as anydvd...
[oh and anydvd has a ripper in it as well, but i just use dvd shrink for less steps]

as always YMMV...

[lajams]

hmm,wel if its a sync issue, try setting 'sync on audio track' in vlc and see if that works..
i know vlc has this option, and possibly ffmpeg, not sure about mencoder..

even in graphedit graphs, there's a sync clock option...

also, i'm in NTSC land so if users are doing pal stuff i'm not of much help..
[a whole other set of issues, or rather lack of them really]

i have a feeling if it's a good rip, then it's probably the intrlacing/framerate/film/video issues...so much stuff nowdays is mixed film and video, and almost all special effect/cgi stuff is video fps [29.97] even in films[24.97fps]

if you've ripped the dvd's to hard drive, then mencoder should be able to transcode them...or even mplayer has a 'dump' function that might be used as well..

i've come across several movies that just wouldn't rip properly unless i used anydvd...and i have Fab as well...i think fab just isn't as on top of the new schemes as anydvd...
[oh and anydvd has a ripper in it as well, but i just use dvd shrink for less steps]

as always YMMV...

Yea, I agree. There are a lot of factors to consider. I'll give AnyDVD another try to see if that proves itself out. And yea, I use Shrink as well for the main-movie rip. Haven't found anything better (yet).

I know there aren't as many people using DGIndex to demux the audio/video...mostly old-timers such as myself. But I don't think that particular step would have much of an impact at all in the final outcome. I have a feeling that the recoding process probably plays into it a bit. Hell, when I used AutoGK, it was a totally different process to create the XVid file, save for the actual rip of the DVD with Fab. Of course, I had to use GBPVR to play the XVid, as there was still an AC3 stream embedded in there. But the exact same issue as the mpeg2 files....hmmmmm....

I still feel that the MVP must play a role in this as well since my computers don't show any signs of the sync issue when shuttling/skipping back and forth. Maybe its simply CPU power, I don't know. Hell, could be the "NIC on the MVP running at half-duplex" issue compounding the problem too, just can't tell.

I'm still game though. I'll give Anydvd a shot to see if that helps me out, keeping all else the same. In addition, I'll try using a few new tools down the road to see if anything else helps things out. Thus far, I've been demuxing the audio to WAV, and using DGIndex to feed that and the VOBs to TMPEG-Enc to remux everything together. I really don't want to give up my remuxer....TMPEG-Enc is one of the best IMHO next to the Cinemacraft coder.

I'll let you know the outcome of my hackings as I proceed.

[zehd]

This is indeed troubling. People using PCs in their home theaters probably won't care. But people who opt to use "extenders" will. I don't like to point fingers, but to me this seems like a Hauppage issue (at least from a 27,000 foot level). My recorded stuff plays great, but that is created using a Hauppage product too, so I don't know if thats valid. And EVERYTHING plays fine when streamed to my PCs.

Guess until I have another vendor's extender to try out I won't know.

At the moment the MVP is the only GB-PVR interface 'extender'. Other clients are more file viewers, where they will offer a directory on the network that GB-PVR may have saved files..

Martin's project may very well lend itself to other hardware, but what we were discussing is using his dongle on the MVP... So the hardware limitations still exist, including you AC3 issue...

Just wanted to say, that taking VOBs with AC3 and transcoding it to play on the MVP is super easy, so easy, that shouldn't be the focus. It's secondary. The primary problem is the sync...

[zehd]

I may be wrong, but for the moment, let's assume that the sync issue is NOT related to ripping...

I believe that the source file is not a major concern, as many many files, from different sources, play fine, transcode fine, but an MVP MPG loses sync while viewing on MVP...

So let's actually nail this once and for all. Some have different problems than others, but the underlying problem is the command line options for the three major command line driven transcoders -- VLC, MEncoder, FFmpeg -- create MPGs that do not have the required DTS and PTS 'time sync tracks'...

As we discuss this, let's talk with specific command line examples, so we can test the settings on our own systems and see if it works for us too...

hmm,wel if its a sync issue, try setting 'sync on audio track' in vlc and see if that works..
i know VLC has this option, and possibly FFmpeg, not sure about MEncoder..

For example, what would be your full command line in VLC to drive the 'sync on audio track' option... I'd like to try that. I have researched it and it seems that GB-PVR users seem to be privy to more info and experience than publicly available on the net.

also, i'm in NTSC land so if users are doing pal stuff i'm not of much help..
[a whole other set of issues, or rather lack of them really]

I'm also in NTSC land. I hope that whatever we come up with will solve problems for PAL too.. And there's so much stuff available for download from the different regions, the compatibility would be quite necessary...

...intrlacing/framerate/film/video issues...so much stuff nowdays is mixed film and video, and almost all special effect/cgi stuff is video fps [29.97] even in films[24.97fps]

So let's start form the assumption that it's not mixed media... Let's provide full command line examples of transcoders that work for one of us, and we can test them...

We've been thrashing this issue for a very long time. If there are people with good experience and no sync issues, it's time to here how you're doing it. Like what system specs, codecs, source video GSpot info, Transcoder used, commandline... I'm sure that the ability to resolve this issue is within our grasp...