The complete HD (Blu-ray/HD-DVD) back-up thread.

Ryu77, could you please add the link to the AVCHD-ME download to the beginning of this thread, I do consider it to be a valuable tool in the recoding process. I mainly use it to verify subtitle position, I also use it to watch full length features sometimes.

I can't count how many times I have referred people to it as well, and I never remember where it is.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywt2wysnzb1

Thanks man.

 

Hello everybody,

First I would like to congratulate everybody about the great work you are doing in this thread!

I hope you could help me. I think my problem is simple for you.

I want to gain space on my HDD converting a video file (H264) from 28 GB to 22 GB (keeping H.264 codec) and burn it on BD-25.

H264 movie file :
Size on HDD : app. 28 GB
resolution 1920*1080p
Duration 2h11min.

I just want to :
- Keep x.264 codec (to be able to use the video on Blue-ray)
- downsize to 22 GB

If I well understood :
- Using Avisynth and megui, I can change the bitrate, keep the resolution. I've got a file of 22GB BUT the quality result was not so good... I would say average+ (I have a 55" TV and I see the difference). And in comparison to the time the computer spent on this (23h) it is not interesting...

So I am thinking on decreasing the resolution to 1280x720p (My TV is 55" but HD ready only).
So my question is what is the simpliest way to get 23 GB and 1280x720p:

I'm thinking about 3 methods :

1- TOTAL REENCODING : Usual method, using as before Avisynth and megui... and re-encode entirely the video... I'm asking that because I already have a H264 file and I want to keep the same codec, do I need to totally re-encode?

2- JUST ADJUST BITRATE AND DECREASE RESOLUTION OF H264
Is there a way, and maybe some options on Megui or other software to do that without the whole re-encoding (24 hours +) knowing that I use the same codec in destination file? Something that will take maximum 10hours...
N.B : If I well understood the only way to decrease the file size is changing the bitrate (for example from 30000 Kbps to 20000 Kbps) and changing the resolution only will not reduce the file size...

3- MAYBE THERE IS ANOTHER MORE EFFECTIVE CODEC THAN H.264 AT 1280x720p.
For example VC-1. I do not know it very well... It was used in HDDVD format, and as this format had less disk space, I think that maybe there is an unknown (for me) opportunity here... AND compatible with Blue-ray.

So the final question is :
Which do you think is the best option?
Maybe there is a way to do I do not mentioned?

Thank you in advance for your help !!!

 

Hi all,

I'm french so i'll do my best to be clear.

First I have taken the new bluray conversion kit and the guide manual and i must tell it's a best guide i ever read!! Thanks a lot!!
BUT
yes i have follow the guide and when i input my video vc-1 in megui the software freeze... (Or it's very very very long...).
So the question is : is it possible to import video vc-1 in megui???(For history i have demux a hd dvd with tsmuxer and check pulldown to convert 29 to 24 fps).

Thanks a lot for you help and if someone have already do this kind of job ( vc-1 from HDDVD to h264 for burn in a bluray) he can says how he does.

See you

 

Can someone please help me? I restored my computer back a week. I then uninstalled and reinstalled MEGUI 0.3.0.3002 on my computer. The program is working however I can not get Ryu77 back as a selection to use again. Does anyone know how to import the profile? Thank you.

 

If you need the profile, click here to download it from Ryu77. Once you have it, just put it in the appropriate folder, which is D:\Program Files\MeGUI v0.3.0.3001\allprofiles\x264. Note that Ryu77's profile is configured to use a D: drive. If you don't have a D: drive, or don't want to use it for program files, you'll have to modify the file.

If you really want to make it simple, you can download Part 1 of my collective software package by clicking here. Find the MeGUI folder and simply drop it into your C:\Program Files folder. Everything will be already configured with the latest MeGUI, latest x264, and latest Ryu77 profile all in place. This would result in you downloading other components that you may already have, but MeGUI is the bulk of the download, anyway. Just an option for simplicity's sake...

 

Hi all,

I have success import my vc-1 in megui. Just convert vc1 to m2ts and import in megui and it's ok!!
So now i have to synchronize my sound 25fps to 23.976.

A question, who have made this guide manual please? Because i would ask him something .

Thanks

 

How bizarre....

I was just thinking the same thing as I didn't realise that I hadn't posted a link for AVCHD-Me yet, so I thought I better do it, then I see your post...

I have also updated the front page to include Str8Pryd's Conversion Kit & Guide.

I have also removed Blu-ray disc ripper and posted a link to AnyDVD-HD instead as I feel that this is a far more superior application.

PS: @Str8Pryd, I still need to take more time to look into your guide in finer detail. I have been busy as always. Please excuse me for that. I will try to get onto it as soon as I can.

 

I agree, when AnyDVD can decrypt the disc. Sometimes I am stuck for about a week waiting for an update, this sucks when I rent a movie and it is due the next day. So finally I got fed up and actually learned how to use aacskeys and Blu-ray disc ripper. I applied a patch (from Doom9) to my BD drive's firmware that allow's me to skip the dumpvid step and go straight to the aacskey step... it's too easy. aacskeys can now decrypt up to MKBv8 (or 9).

 

That would be me. I will be happy to try and answer any questions you may have, but keep in mind that I don't know all that much about this. I simply compiled some information I've read in this thread that was specific to Blu-ray discs, my personal interest.

Thank you for your confidence in my instructing abilities. Take your time reviewing the guide; we're all busy people, here. I am honored that you consider it worth your valuable time to even look at it at all. Please note that I have separated it from the software on the download to simplify updating. I have also added a date to the file name to indicate when it was updated so that people can tell whether or not it is something they already have.

Ryu77, I know this is your thread, but you might also consider adding a link to DVDFab HD Decrypter on the front page. It's the "ripper only" portion of DVDFab, is updated regularly, and is free. It is very similar to AnyDVD-HD and, although it can't be used as a background driver, it can, occasionally, decrypt what AnyDVD cannot. Just a thought in keeping with the freeware approach; I, personally, have AnyDVD-HD and use it.

Do tell! Glad to see you still checking in around here, odin24! I don't know how much I would use this knowledge, but if you get opportunity, I would consider it a privilege to learn a thing or two about this process. I could even add it to the guide, if it's relatively straightforward. I am taking the "Blu-ray for Dummies" approach with the guide; too much detailed information would beget a manual too large for me to maintain, if you know what I mean.

BTW, if you have AnyDVD-HD, you can access the beta versions from the forum section of the SlySoft website. This often fixes the AACS keys for new releases and is updated all day, every day, or so it seems.

 

Yeah, it's all command based and involves patching your BD drive's firmware, not really recommended for for the beginner/novice PC user. If you like I could put something together that could help, but aquiring the information needed to decrypt the BD is performed in DOS... once you actually understand it's quite easy.

Yup, I have access to all of the beta versions too.

 

Str8Pryd,

The encoding failed. What is the folder path you have named for the log file? I think this is where the problem happened. TY

 

The folder I named is C:\Program Files\MeGUI v0.3.0.3001\logs, which is an existing folder in the MeGUI setup. It has not caused me any trouble, though. You can click on the configure button and choose a new location, if you think that will help. This is, by the way, for the x264 log. I made no changes to the MeGUI log location, which is also in the same location listed above.

As I've stated before, I'm no expert in all of this and am learning right along with most of you. I am just trying to pay back the learning experience with a little compilation work. In other words, if anyone else wants to chime in with any potential solutions, I would welcome the input!

 

Hi

So ok Str8Pryd, i have to tell congratulations for this fantastic guide!

Otherwise, i'm looking for someone who can explain me the problem of the 23,24,25 and 29.97 in the audio files... No problem for the image for exemple, when i convert a hddvd video 29.97 to 23.97 i just remove the pulldown and the video is good. In the guide, there is that
so a track from HDTV, DVD, r HD‐DVD at 29.97 FPS (Frames per Second) should require no alteration to be paired with video at 23.976 FPS. The length of the track should be the same.
How is it possible???

Thanks for the one can help me.

Bye

 

Thank you very much for the compliment; I do appreciate that! As for the frame rate issue, here is the way I understand it:

Here in the United States, our electrical grid operates at ~60Hz, or ~60 cycles per second alternating current, so television was created here to "paint" half a picture per cycle on the screen, resulting in ~30 FPS (I'm rounding off the actual number). Video cameras here film at that rate, also, causing no issues with television. This is the NTSC standard, used in North America and Japan, also known as Region 1 for DVD (Region A for Blu-ray).

However, a standard motion picture, as it would appear in a theater, is filmed at ~24 FPS (again, rounding off the actual number), which doesn't translate directly to television or DVD. The trick that is used is to add some frames to the video stream so that the picture timing matches the frame rate for television, but it doesn't actually change the length of the video in terms of time. Therefore, the audio is unmodified as the time length does not change.

Blu-ray uses a new disc manufacturing procedure and new standards that match motion picture film at ~24 FPS. HD-DVD is, essentially, just a standard DVD, except that it uses a blue laser instead of a red laser to read/write. Because blue light has a much tighter wavelength than red, it allows more data to be written to the same space. HD-DVD continues to use the NTSC standard of ~30 FPS.

Now, having said all of that, you may know that in Europe (you're in France, right?), the grid operates at 50Hz, making television 25 FPS, the PAL standard. Since 25 FPS is only 4% different than 24 FPS, motion pictures converted to PAL are simply sped up 4%, since most people wouldn't notice this minor difference. In the case of a PAL HDTV source, you will have to slow the audio down, as well, by using E-AC3to PAL slowdown, or equivalent.

With the exception of a PAL source, your audio should still match up. You might think of audio, in this case, as working similar to subtitles, in that changing video frame rate doesn't affect at what time the proper subtitle should show up. Even if you alter your video, the subtitles and audio stream should still match up. Let me put it this way:

If your source material is 23.976 FPS, you will need to re-time none of the streams.
If your source material is 25.000 FPS, you will need to re-time all of the streams (PAL slowdown).
If your source material is 29.970 FPS, you will need to re-time the video only (inverse telecine/inverse 3:2 pulldown).

I know that English is not your primary language (though it seems good to me), so I hope this makes sense to you. I am no stranger to standard DVD, but HD is still fairly new to me, so I may not be so good at explaining all of this, either. I encourage anyone else who has a better explanation, or any corrections, to please chime in. I strongly dislike incorrect information getting spread around!

 

Hi Str8Pryd

First thanks a lot for having take time to answer me
I have to say after reading your post, it's clear for me. I understand the difference between the formats. So i have already tried to do a job with a video in HD (already coded at 23.976) and sound at 25fps on my dvd's. I use besweet and convert 25=>23.976 and adjust a little bit after with a delay and it's good!!
After tsmuxer and imgburn, the dvd plays well but there are no chapters(i have read something about that so depend of the hardware so it is maybe normal).

Now my next job is to convert my HDDVD's to dvd9.

Thanks and bye

 

Ok, pure blu-ray/hd noob here.

Basically, my goal is to rip a BRDVD to my HD, and just playback using VLC or something of that nature.

What i followed was to rip the dvd using ANYDVD, then use txmuxer to open the 000000.m2ts file or whatever, then mux.

only part i'm confused on, is that the STREAM folder has like, 30 .m2ts files and the output file tsmuxer makes is only 600megs...and is ONLY the intro screen (menu) of the movie.

what am i missing? thx for those who can help..

 

You know, I have the same problem with tsMuxeR. If I select "Insert chapter every xx minutes", it works fine, but when I insert a custom chapter list, only a few of the chapter points work. I hope this issue is either resolved, or at least explained to me, at some point, but it is such a minor issue to me that I don't worry much about it.

 

It sounds like you've got one of those discs where the main feature is broken up across several files. They could be split by chapters, by time intervals, or by whatever strange standard the manufacturer decided on. This can be done simply to confuse people like us by having the pieces in a random, non-sequential order.

There is a program called BDInfo that is supposed to give you all of the information you could ever want about the structure of any given Blu-ray disc/folder. Among its features is the ability to analyze the structure of the playlist file. In other words, it will tell you which order the files are to be played in to recreate the main feature. With that information, you can then use something like tsMuxeR to append these files into one seamless stream.

Click on the link above to download this program free from AfterDawn but please understand that I have never actually used it, so you will have to search around if you have any questions regarding its actual use. From the looks of it, though, it appears fairly straightforward.

I hope that answers your question or, at least, points you in the right direction. Good luck!

BDInfo Home Page

 

Custom chapters have always worked fine for me. They must be in the following format. hh:mm:ss.000

 

Perhaps it is a hardware issue, then. After having no luck with the hh:mm:ss.xxx format, I rounded off the decimals to the nearest full second, giving me hh:mm:ss.000, as you said, but it still acts up on me. I can skip forward, or backward, and sometimes it will work, while other times, it will skip 20 chapters, or more. It's not exactly a major headache for me, by any means, but I don't know why it works that way for me.

You know what, though? When I set chapters on a thumb drive for testing, it seems to work fine, though I've never dumped more than 15 minutes on a USB drive. Still, this is why I suspect a possible hardware issue with the actual burnt disc.