Experiencing Difficulty Using DVD RB and CCE? If So, Then Ask Your Questions Here.

i try to keep both audio tracks....

if the last try with the filters I used, doesn't bring
a good quality then I will give it up and stay
with my Shrink copy

 

First of all I wonder about the use of the filters. Is there a problem with the original source? The filters are for removing video "noise". If, as you say, the compression is causing the errors, then filtering the original isn't going to help.

To date yours is the only instance I've heard of where Shrink has done a better job than RB/CCE. It's been a while since I revisited Costner's "Dances With Wolves", this will be a good time to do it and conduct a little test as well. Too bad I can't get my hands on a PAL region 2 version. With my software collection, it doesn't matter where the DVD originated. Apps like AnyDVD and Region Free take care of the conversions automatically.

Good luck with your encoding. BTW, dropping one of the audio tracks might help a little. Even with Shrink, dropping added tracks improves the end product. Every bit of space saved improves the video output to some degree.

 

I really know nothing about filters and how to use,
but I have read in another thread were somebody has
had a quality problem with standard values in
RB using CCE on large episodic disks

Somebody has recommended there to use uNdot.dll and deen.dll
as filters, this is why I have tested this too

It took 10 1/2 hours to do the job now...but this time
the result is the best, i would say almost same quality like
done with shrink but with shrink I have kept only one
audio track this time both

I guess the real problem is caused by the low bitrate of
the original DVD, now the copy is at most time short under
or short over 1000, guess I cant expect a better result
then...

 

Glad to see it's coming around. I don't know about your results, but if the video has cleared up and no macroblocking as you noted earlier, then the output would just about have to be superior to Shrink. If for no other reason, the Shrink output has the inherent "softening" which is part of that transcoding process. RB/CCE has always given a more crisp and true video output for the encodes I've done. Shrink's output is viewable and a decent picture often, but I just don't like the way it "softens" or adds that slightly blurred appearance. I guess technically one might say the change in contrast.

 

I try to upload some pics of some scenes somewhere
so you can see the difference

 

Anyone have this problem before:

[08:07:40] One Click encoding activated...
-----------------
[08:07:41] Phase I, PREPARATION started.
- CCE SP 2.70.1.5 encoder selected.
- VTS_01: 3,020,362 sectors.
-- Scanning and writing .D2V & .AVS files
-- Processed 210,863 frames.
-- Building .AVS and .ECL files
- Reduction Level for DVD-5: 70.7%
- Overall Bitrate : 4,521/3,617Kbs
- Space for Video : 3,882,932KB
- HIGH/LOW/TYPICAL Bitrates: 3,801/600/3,617 Kbs
[08:10:51] Phase I, PREPARATION completed in 3 minutes.
[08:10:51] Phase II ENCODING started
- Creating M2V for VTS_01 segment 0
- Creating M2V for VTS_01 segment 1
[bold] -- Encoding resulted in no .M2V, retrying.[/bold]
- Creating M2V for VTS_01 segment 1
[bold] -- Encoding resulted in no .M2V, retrying.[/bold]
- Creating M2V for VTS_01 segment 1
Aborted.

 

That means the encoder is crashing... this is almost always caused by a system that is not stable (usually overclocked).

 

Nope, stable as a rock. No overclocking. I even encoded a project w/CCE for over 5 hours after this one, so I don't think stability is the problem. I even rebooted the system and ran it again this morning to make sure.

These files were pre-processed with DVDRemake prior to running them through DVD-RB, but I have not had any problems before this one. I just took out the deleted scenes section, which was a separate entry altogether.

 

Just got home and I am running DVDRB again using the same files in the working path directory. CCE seems to stay up and running now, no error messages. I did not make any changes to any files. Maybe it was temp related? That has got me stumped.

 

Calibum

Let us know how it works out, and copy the status log and write down any warning or other info that might help. BTW jdobbs is right over clocking can cause errors and a bad CPU cooling system can result in overheating which can also give over clocking type errors.

 

Calibum
Glad to see some of your problems clearing up. Hope it stays that way. On a previous post I noticed you didn't get a reply to one of your questions, or I missed it.

I didn't see this one addressed, I'm curious, what is the problem? You have 3 files the same size, the 4th is smallest and the fifth is between. File sizes vary. The question is, does it play well? For comparison sake, try running the same source through an older version of RB and see if the sizing is similar. You'll notice size differences in original videos and the encoded versions are different due to the encoding process itself.

I guess I've been one of the lucky ones. I had a bit of problems getting RB to work on my system, back in the early days when you installed the setup manually. Whatever, the problem, it was resolved with a later version of RB or some changes I made on my PC. Everything was happening about the same time. After that, RB has worked exceptionally well and as long as I feed it a good source, I get good output. (File sizes vary.) I normally do the entire disc and let RB delete languages and additional audio tracks. I let RB work with a clean source, no editing, and go the full disc.

I hear there have been problems with everything from edited sources to cracked encoders. Most often when RB is used the way it is supposed to be, the results are good. Much of what jdobbs is doing is to eliminate problems that affect certain aspects of the program, or problems related to conflicts in certain situations and certain hardware configurations. Overall, the product given to us for testing has been a very usable piece of software all the way down the line. At least the part of the line I was involved with, which has been a while now.

 

Yeah, a lot of those questions still stand. Rockas mentioned that you can not play a single VOB file using PowerDVD, you need to use the 'Play Folder' option. That is true, it worked better after that, but playing single VOB files before never caused any problems. I still have problems when I jump forward using the progress bar, instead of using the chapter skips. It also is still a mystery why the last VOB file has this single playback problem and why the file size structure is so different than anything else I have come across. And why is the foreign material even still present when I play the last VOB?

There have been a lot of fixes related to interleaving on these recent versions of DVDRB, so it was my assumption that it still had something to do with that problem. But I really don't know much about it at all. Right after I read your post, I tried running the final output of Whitesquall through DVD Shrink for kicks and sure enough it gave me an error.

"DVD Shrink encountered and error and cannot continue. Invalid data in file O:\blah...\blah...\blah...\VTS_01_5.VOB"

and this is all clean output direct from ISO to DVDRB. Hmmm, yet another mystery.

DVDRB is a great product, and I am not venting by any means. I would be happy to try anything to help out, but I did not keep old versions of DVDRB for trial and error.

 

First of all, I'm assuming you put the Video_TS folder in Shrink to use the viewer. Good inexpensive way to view, though when you open the Shrink viewer, it doesn't give you the structure the way is looks in a folder. You get Titles instead of the individual files and they're not numbered, or named, the same. I good file would play though.

Playback varies from viewer to viewer. I open the PowerDVD or WinDVD6 to play the DVD on hard drive and then I use the navigation to go to different scenes. Try burning the output to an RW, that way no wasted media. You can view it on the PC and a lot of standalones now support the RW format. Playing the DVD is the test, not trying to view sample segments of it. I've played with viewers and selected files in a folder. I've had a range of results, the entire movie would start to play, I'd get the start menu with no function off the cursor, some flashing text, the list goes on. The point being, trying to play a single file from the video_ts folder with a player isn't a good test of the video playability. Also, if it doesn't work, that doesn't mean a problem. To double check, I just ran the last VOB of a movie and it wouldn't play the movie, and I only got a flash, small file. The video backup on DVD plays excellent. I played the same file in the Shrink viewer and it was a foreign language, title. I played another as I did in PowerDVD and it showed me a menu that wasn't functional. I've noticed RealPlayer will allow you to watch individual files, but without audio. Without having access to your files, I can't tell for sure if you have a problem or not. I'm thinking you may not have a problem where this is concerned. I think I'd worry about some of the more serious problems, like the crashing.

 

That Shrink error occurs just as you try to load the whole folder (I am not trying to load just a VOB file in Shrink). It may say I am a Newbie but I have done about 60 of these so far with DVDRB and Shrink as just an analysis tool for prep. I am pretty clear on the playback structure inside Shrink.

I also understand that the software video players are not the best method for checkout. I am just trying to state the difference I've found on these two projects compared to all the rest. When I played the last VOB file, just by chance, not by choice, I see the french credits flipping back and forth with the same english credits. I thought that was pretty strange and my orginal question was, Why is the foreign part of the film even still there?

And still there is the quesion on the file sizes. I am more curious about this interleaving process now.

 

I can assure you that ANY ILVU segment (even on the original disc) will switch back-and-forth between angles when played directly. The IFO file contains the information needed to identify where angles start and end.

 

Calibum,
You misunderstood what I said. The Video_TS folder is the one containing all the files for a DVD video. In other words I was saying you load the movie. Once loaded as you know you can look at individual titles, as you say, do an analysis. I just noted I assumed that was what you were using Shrink for and you said I was correct in the assumption. If you have a segment, file, title or whatever that has different languages jumping in and out, then there may be a flaw that has worked it's way in. In a similar situation I would check the source against the output. But you can't go by file locations and sizes. There's more to it than that. If it were me, I'd start over with a new rip of the original DVD, check that and then encode.

I may have edited a DVD or 2 before using Rebuilder, but I quit doing it. I've never felt the need for doing an analysis prior to an RB job. If I have a good source, then the rip is the next step. If that is successful, the DVD Decrypter log will show if there was a problem. No problems it's on to RB/CCE. If the encode succeeds and the file size is near what it's supposed to be, then it's on to the burn. Then if I have a failure, I'll analyze the files to see if the problem was there. To date, I've been very successful and haven't had to put a lot of time into analysis.

The problem you're describing sounds like corrupted files, I'd suspect a problem with the rip of the original source; more so than the RB output. Did you compare the same part of the video in the ripped source to the segment in the output?

As for interleaving, you should ask sophocles to talk about Daredevil. As jdobbs mentioned, the playability lies in the IFO files. The problem you're having doesn't really sound like anything to do with interleaving. You mentioned different languages conflicting. That would indicate the language option isn't working properly and that means a corrupted video output. But that is assuming this happens when it plays from the video and not just something that happens trying to play individual files. One thing about Shrink, if it says there's a problem with the files being loaded and they won't play, then you have a problem. Good luck with finding it. As I said though, I'd start looking at the source before blaming RB for anything. It does an excellent job of encoding what is fed into it.

 

Would it be possible to add support for copying JACKET_P folders when re-encoding? It would be nice to use one-click encoding to create the ISO file, rather than having to manually copying the JACKET_P folder and then create the ISO.

Also, why is the 'Create ISO from Project folder" greyed out when the project encoding is completed? I've been using ImageTool to create my ISOs and only recently figured out that closing and re-starting DVD-RB re-enables the menu option.

 

I'll add copying the JACKET_P folder if it exists. I haven't experienced (or at least noticed) the greyed-out option, I'll take a look at it.

 

Thanks for the clarification. That is the kind of thing I was beginnning to assume after reading more about this interleaving. I don't beleve these movies have the standard multi-angle playback like you might find in a concert DVD. They do have certain parts and segments (e.g. End Credits) displayed in foreign languages and such. I was under the assumption that these parts can be stripped out, similiar to Shrink. That is why I was surprised to see it in the output when using DVDRB.

 

Thanks.

I just completed two movies since my last post, and the menu option was working OK when both movies completed. I will try to keep track of when it happens it and see if there is something I do (maybe in the other menu settings; I switch one-click-encoding on and off depending on if I need to stop an encode, like to burn a disc or reboot) that causes it to happen.