mwrublew

Fibrizo,

I down loaded your Lord of the Rings test.avi file and was astounded by the quality. However, when I followed your instructions and fed Virtual Dub a MPEG2 quality source file the result was very poor - no where near your test file.

Background:
I use Pinnacle Studio 8 to edit my home movies. The DV codec used by Pinnacle (and my Sony camera for that matter) isn't recognized by Virtual Dub. So I have to output my video using a different codec.

For my first attempt I used the MPEG2 (SVCD) codec, reducing the size and audio during the file creation process. I then processed the file in Virtual Dub using your instructions (skipping the audio and resizing since both were done prior to feeding Virtual Dub and I also left the FPS at 29.97). The resulting file was small, but very poor in quality.

I tried several other codecs (Indeo, CinePak) which produced larger files with much better quality (as seen on my PC), but PocketMVP won't read them - it also won't read the raw MPG.

Tonight I plan to try using the Divx codec from within the Pinnacle software and use exactly the same settings you recommend for the first past. I'll then load that file into Virtual dub for the second pass and rotation and see what happens.

I will also try to create a file using the Pinnacle DVD codec and again processing it through Virtual Dub with the divx codec using your recommended settings.

But my main question at this time was where did you get the source file for your test.avi? And if possible, what codec was used to create it. I may be able to get Pinnacle to recognize that codec so I can feed Virtual Dub with the proper quality file to get the great results seen in your test file.

P.S. Sorry for the long post, but I'm really interested in porting my home movies to the Ax!

mwrublew

Sitting here in the office (it's lunchtime ) playing with various AVI files I brought to work. I'm finding that dropping the frame rates as recommended really improves the quality of the image.

I'll post my findings, but I suspect that when I start with a DVD quality MPG and follow the instructions (though I may up the bit rate), I might end up with a file of decent quality.

geezer

In PMVP you can look at the file details - (media info)

Virtualdub works best with raw, uncompressed AVI files. Going from one compressed file and trying to compress it further will not produce good results.

Check out another example here of a test file. Capture and compression details at the page.

I now have a Canopus ADVC-100 and hope to post more examples and rework the example. I have many, many hours of Hi8 tape to review!

Hope this helps,
Jeff

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mwrublew

Geezer,

Thanks for the reply. I agree that VirtualDub needs an uncompressed file for best results and that's where I'm running into trouble.

I tried sending a DV Codec (Digital Video - used by most Digital Video Cameras) encoded AVI (about as close to raw as you can get) and Virtual Dub couldn't read the file.

I then tried sending a MPEG2 encoded file, which is also pretty high quality and it couldn't read it either.

I was forced to output my file in either AVI format using the Indeo codec or MPEG1, both are lossy (i.e., they discard data to reduce file size). The resulting Axim file - processed through Virtual Dub using the DivX codec produced OK results, but I think I could do better if I could find a high quality AVI codec that VirtualDub can read.

Do you know what AVI codec your VideoWave software is using?

fibrizo

With size and quality concerns in mind, I usually output my files to high bitrate DIVX files... I use about 2000kbit one pass quality based with quality all the way up for my source files... then I reencode for the axim from that... Uncompressed takes too much space... Since the axim is not that great of a display device anyways... although if you are a sticker for not losing anything, you could use huffyuv and use a lossless compression.

mwrublew

Fibrizo,

Thanks for the feedback. I have some ability to control the DivX codec from within Pinnacle, with the exception of running the 2-pass compression.

I'll try your settings and see if it improves the output over MPEG1 and the Indeo Codec.

Thanks again!

geezer

@mwrublew

I believe the Dazzle 80 was using the VFW protocols. Laptop not available for definitive answer right now.

I've learned much with the Canopus box, mainly to use the "type 2 DV-avi" file format for capture. Much more compatible with other programs. Vdub has no problems seeing/reading/editing the captured files of massive size (12gigs!) I use Scenalyzer Live for DV capture, well worth the low registration fee.

If you haven't been to DVDrhelp, try it! Especially the "tools" section. Another good site for info is Afterdawn.

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mwrublew

As I continue to tinker, here's what I've found.

- Using the DivX settings to output my movie from Pinnacle Studio 8 to an AVI file (per Fibrizo's suggestions) and then using VirtualDub to process it for the Axim, produced the best results (creating the original output file using Indeo Codec was a very close second, with the MPEG1 Codec third). Note: The DivX compressed file was 40% smaller than either of the Indeo or MPEG1 files, so DivX appears to be a win-win codec.

- For my next go round, I'll try converting my Pinnacle created AVI (built using the DV codec - which I assume is type I) to type II per Geezer's instructions and then running it through VirtualDub to process it for the Ax. Thanks Geezer for the site recommendation. I'll play around with these tools as well and let everyone know how things go.

I also give the huffyuv codec a whirl if the DV conversion fails. My only concern here is that while the Pinnacle software is pretty flexible in processing edit movies, not all codecs work.

Thanks again to both of you for your suggestions. I continuing to learn.

mwrublew

I think I'm finally done tinkering with the output formats.

I could not get the DV encoded file (encoded by the Pinnacle Software into a FourCC Code of dvsd) into Virtual Dub. It apparently is not a Type I or II DV file.

I was able to output the file using the huffyuv codec which produced a mammoth file (450 Meg., for 30 sec. of video). Virtual Dub was able to process this file and the results on the Ax (after processing the raw file with the DivX codec) were just a tiny bit better than processing the file with DivX codec, using the 1-pass, high quality setting.

Bottomline. If you wish to move your home movies to the AX use the DivX codec to create the AVI file and then process that AVI file again through Virtual Dub using the DivX codec as described by Fibrizo's instructions.

Thanks again for everyone's help.