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Low Volume on XVID

Discussion in 'DivX / XviD' started by dankelly, Sep 24, 2004.

  1. dankelly

    dankelly Member

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    Ive got the video encoding side of DVD to XVID down pat finally but im having a small problem with the audio. When i play the XVID file on my PC i have to turn the speaker up quite a lot to hear the sound. Being new to this I know there is a way to increase the volume but im not sure how or what the actual term for it is. Does anyone know any good guides for doing this or what software is the best to use?
    \
    Thanks
     
  2. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Hi buddy,
    Don't know what you're using to do your backups, so difficult to give specific answer.
    Audio needs to be 'normalized' to 100%
    This is referenced to 0dB - for the very loudest place in your program to just touch 0dB, the audio 'gain' needs to be adjusted.
    If you are using the AC3 audio in your backups, AC3Filter will playback volume softly (as you describe).
    Open Ac3Filter config; there is a preset called 'loud' which will gain the playback audio up to normal volume. Save the preset before you exit.
    If you have your video and need to do MP3 sound manually, you could de-mux the audio (suppose it is AC3 5.1) to a separate file, using SmartRipper.
    You enable stream processing, select only the audio you require, and de-mux to separate file.
    Then you use BeSweet (Azid function) to decompress the AC3 to WAV.
    Azid will do a two-pass audio rip, and normalize the WAV to 100%, if you tick the box.
    It will commonly increase the gain by some 15dB-18dB to achieve this.
    You can then create a compressed audio file (MP3) from this WAV, in whatever way pleases you.
    I make VBR MP3 using CDex (LAME 3.96.1 codec).
    Then you interleave the MP3 with your video using NanDub, and you're there :)
    If this info raises specific questions for you, get back to us - help is always available (and easier to give with specific questions).
    Regards
    _X_X_X_X_X_[small][​IMG]

    ABIT AN7 nForce2 Ultra 400
    XP2500+ Barton @ 3200+
    2 x 512MB PC3200[/small]
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2004
  3. dankelly

    dankelly Member

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    Sorry for the lack of details, but here they are now

    Im ripping the DVD with SmartRipper
    The running it through DVD2AVI to demux the AC3 Track
    Then through VFAPI Reader COdec and into Virtual Dub
    Finally into Nandub to mux the video and AC3 back together.

    When i set the AC3 filter to loud is that for playback of the file. What i mean is do i have to redo the xvid files that i have currently got encoded that have low volume??

    Thanks,
    Daniel
     
  4. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    No, that's just the volume of the AC3 - you can simply boost it for playback, as I described.
    And SmartRipper will easily demux the AC3 for you...
    So are you making 1.4GB AVIs (2 CDs) then?
    My AVIs are 700MB only.
    I will use 2-channel AC3 if it is available, but otherwise it's MP3 audio for me :)
    1400MB is just too big for harddisk storage.
    If I wanted a backup on optical disk, I would use Shrink and burn a DVD.
    L8R
     
  5. sbv3

    sbv3 Member

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    I have a similar problem as dankelly.
    I rip my DVD with SmartRipper - all into a single VOB incl. the ac3. I then use Dr. Divx 1.0.6.
    I downloaded and installed the AC3Filter ver 0.70b and since then the options in Dr.Divx are gone - so I guess the thing is active. All works fine, except volume is low. I use Divx-Player/WMP9 to playback.

    I use this process, because I do not want to de-mux, re-mux, shuffle and ruffle the data back and forth - my intellectual capacities are only geared for making it nice and simple ;-))

    Here are my questions:
    1) Are the tools I use OK?
    2) Should I (attempt to) boost audio before/during encoding or during playback? (I'd prefer the first one)
    3) How do I boost audio?

    Cheers!
     
  6. Kingd

    Kingd Guest

    dankelly: Use Besweet to rip to MP3 from the vobs. Mp3 sound usually sounds louder on 2 speaker setups. Check out doom9 for besweet details.
     
  7. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Hi sbv3,
    To answer your questions
    1) Doctor DivX works OK I guess, I am a DivX user myself.
    But I prefer Gordian Knot for top-quality backups.
    There is a very straightforward version, called AutoGK
    http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/dvd_rippers/autoGK.cfm
    It is nice, similar to Dr.DivX, but open-source.
    2) That is part of the reason I use GKnot, and do the audio manually. It's not that hard, and all the software is free :)
    3) I understand AutoGK will offer to do your audio for you - so look for settings like 'normalize audio'
    Also, if they offer Compression on the audio (ie. Light; Normal; or Heavy) I will use these options on Music/Concert; Drama/Comedy; or Action/Adventure, respectively.
    The heavy compression is great for the sirens/explosions/gunshots etc. It will allow you to hear peoples' conversations, during quiet times, without turning up the volume, or leaning forward and lip-reading ;)

    So, try the AutoGK
    It works as a front-end for BeSweet, anyway (makes it all easy).
    If you want more control, you can do like us and use BeSweet tools manually.
    Regards
     
  8. Adavis

    Adavis Member

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    http://nic.dnsalias.com/MPEG-4_XviD_Koepi_24062003-1_Encoder_Guide_ver20030702.pdf

    I found this Xvid guide very helpful and well layed out. But still having probs with AC3 boost(pg10 of the guide) using:

    Robot4Rip or
    AC3Machine(Besweet/Azid)

    OGS is spot on about smartripper and also DVDdecryptors scream processing will get the 6ch AC3 extracted(usually about 350mb - which compared to mp3/2 leaves less space for video)

    However i get the message "Missing vob file" under R4R so the command line options in the guide, which i assume are passed to Besweet don't boost the audio by +25db, which i'd like to try. Personally i find that even with AC3Filter on Loud preset its still not quite enough for my abused ears.
     
  9. Kingd

    Kingd Guest

    Adavis: That pdf you provide really helped me as well, but there are a couple of things you need to know:

    1. That guide is a year old and based on older versions of XViD. The new version of XViD looks completely different but the settings are similar except some things have changed.

    2. It mentions nothing about robot4rip. There is a guide on doom9 about setting up robot4rip that should allow you to get everything correct. I've never had a problem with R4Rip after going through that setup guide. I can't link to it because it's buried in doom9 site somewhere. Check the guides section, xvid, gordian knot section, how to set up gknot, and in that page there is the link to robot4rip setup. That audio boost works great when encoding to mp3.
     
  10. nuclear81

    nuclear81 Member

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    If you are still getting low sound you can always try turning your speakers up.
     
  11. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Good point, Nuke :)
    It is, however, a particularly unsatisfying solution (especially when you do something else, or shutdown or whatever, and you get blasted by 120dB Windows music).
    I find the AC3Filter, on loud, matches the volume of my gained-up-to-100% AC3s pretty closely.
    It is also somewhat important if you are decoding ProLogic surround - the surround sound becomes sabotaged if the gain is too low...
     

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