GUI Offline Help

[Cuddly Squid]

Help is currently available only on line. How can I get off-line help? (My Win7 system does not have access to the Internet.)

Also, the current off-line help for version 9 doesn't match version 9.1.5.9. Where can I find up-to-date help?

Also, 'a-user-guide-of-dvdfab9.pdf' lists the ripper settings, but doesn't explain them. For example, there is an H.264 "Encoding Method" called "CRF". What does that mean? What does it do?

So far:
MPEG4 rips play on my computer (MPC-HC), but not on my Panasonic Home Theater.
H.624 rips have no sound or subtitles on my Panasonic Home Theater even though I have sound & subtitles set in the rip.
I have attached the MPEG4 settings files 'MP4.Default.fabpf ...H264.txt' &
'MP4.Default.fabpf ...MPEG4.txt' (the 'txt' extensions were added to keep the forum uploader happy).

Thank you.

[Wilson.Wang]

CRF info:



Check your profile settings, you are converting to mp4.audiocopy.

Would you please convert to mp4.h264.aac and playback again?

For the subtitle issue, please select "Direct render to video" mode in Advanced Settings.

Wilson

[Cuddly Squid]

Thank you, Wilson,

Check your profile settings, you are converting to mp4.audiocopy.

My "profile settings"? What are those? Where? Do you mean "Common Settings"?

What is an "mp4.audiocopy"? I don't think I could have set that because,
1, I don't know what it is, and
2, I don't know where it is set.

Would you please convert to mp4.h264.aac and playback again?

I've attached a screen-shot of the Advanced Settings.

The mp4 does not play on my Panasonic home theater. The face of the player just says "0:00.00" and the TV screen is black.

[signals]

The Profile Settings are basically the page that comes up when you click on the Advanced Settings button. I think the problem you are having is that the settings you are choosing produce a file that your Panasonic TV can't cope with (the "audiocopy" part of it) and you also seem to trying to match the frame size of the encode to something other than what DVDFab recommends for a reason that is not clear to me from your posts.

There is a checkbox just above the audio settings that says Copy Audio; uncheck this and try making another conversion using Stereo AAC audio encoding at 128 kbps, the TV may like this better. To see if there is really anything wrong with the files, download DVDFab Media Player which is free for playing back MP4 files and most other content other than Blu-ray discs.

As to your "Why?" questions, the answer to many of them is that they are done that way to produce good results for most users with most source content without the need to do extensive research on using codec tweaks. The controls on the Edit page in DVDFab allow unmatched flexibility for users that need or want to change the size and or aspect ratio of the output. I note that the only image capture where the compass rose on the chart actually appears round (as it should) is #3, but it is unclear what settings created it.

I do not have the disc you are using but I tested discs with both anamorphic and flat transfers with what for me are good results (no black bars encoded, round things appear round). Forget the math, trust your eyes .

[Cuddly Squid]

Thank you, signals,

The Profile Settings are basically the page that comes up when you click on the Advanced Settings button.

Actually, as you can see from the screen-shot I attached to my last message, that windows' title is "Advanced Settings".

I think the problem you are having is that the settings you are choosing produce a file that your Panasonic TV can't cope with (the "audiocopy" part of it)...

I don't know what the "'audiocopy' part of it" is about, but I did choose "AAC" as Wilson Wang suggested. Kindly see the screen-shot I attached to my last message.

...and you also seem to trying to match the frame size of the encode to something other than what DVDFab recommends...

You are in error. I'm choosing the 1st choice that DVDFab gives me. Kindly see the screen-shot I attached to my last message.

There is a checkbox just above the audio settings that says Copy Audio; uncheck this and try making another conversion using Stereo AAC audio encoding at 128 kbps...

Okay.

...the TV may like this better.

Not a TV. A Panasonic home theater system. The home theater feeds a Vizio TV, but of course that doesn't have any relevance.

To see if there is really anything wrong with the files, download DVDFab Media Player...

Every MP4 plays fine in my computer using MPC-HC. The problems are only with the home theater. None of them play properly. Most lock up the home theater so that I have to (soft) cycle power to free it.

I note that the only image capture where the compass rose on the chart actually appears round (as it should) is #3, but it is unclear what settings created it.

You must be referring to this thread: http://forum.dvdfab.cn/showthread.php?t=25589. I will clarify.
#1 is the raw capture (so is at 720x480 of course). I made the capture in MPC-HC and then pasted it into MS Photo Editor (part of MS Office).
#2 has the black masking cropped off (so is 705x367). I manually cropped the capture in MS Photo Editor.
#3 is what the movie viewer sees (836x367), also in MS Photo Editor. I calculated the horizontal expansion: int(705*32/27) = 836 using MS Calc, then expanded the capture's horizontal dimension in MS Photo Editor.
(Note the frame dimensions on the right-side of the MS Photo Editor status bar in each screen-shot.) The home theater then upconverts the 836x367 to 1920x842, soft masks it to 1920x1080, and sends it on to the TV, but of course I have no way to capture that.

I will repeat my last conversion (the attachment of the prior message), but will decrease audio to 128 kbps as you suggest. Note that "448 kps" shown in the previous attachment is the default supplied by DVDFab.

Thank you so much. I will be back after the next conversion.

[Cuddly Squid]

The attachment shows the "Advanced Settings" window.

The Panasonic home theater system would not play the MP4. But rather than finding that it locked up, I could "STOP" and get back the video file listing. That's an improvement.

On ">PLAY", the home theater just sits there at counter = 0:00.00 and the TV screen is black.

Would you like me to try something else, or should I give up on DVDFab?

Thank You.

[Cuddly Squid]

Ah! You wrote "stereo at 128 kbps". Sorry. I'll try that next. Stay tuned, please

[signals]

CS
Read the manual for your playback device, I suppose the Panasonic. The files may be too large, it may not tolerate multichannel audio, the bitrate may be too high, etc etc.

I am confidant DVDFab can produce a file that will play correctly on your device, but it can only do what you tell it to do. If the Panasonic is not a versatile or tolerant player, you will have to have some patience with it or ask someone else that has one what settings they use. Or perhaps check their website for a list of the decoder requirements.

[Cuddly Squid]

I appreciate the try...

Read the manual for your playback device, I suppose the Panasonic.

The manuals for commercial players and home theaters are so dumbed down that they are practically useless. It does not display even the most elemental stream status.

No, the files are not too large. I can play MP4 files that I've downloaded on the home theater. I just can't play MP4s that I've made with DVDFab.

Do you have some basic settings that everything should be able to play? I will try them, then progress from there to more complex stuff. In other words: What are the most stripped down settings?

My latest attempt (128 kbps, stereo) is chugging away. I will post the results when I have them.

Thank You.

[signals]

Additional suggestions: if you find a file that it WILL play, analyze it with MediaInfo (free).

To produce a really plain vanilla MP4, try the following:
1) Uncheck the "Preserve Chapters" box
2) Change the quality setting from Customized to High or Normal
3) Set the frame size to 720xXXX or smaller
4) Set Crop to Automatic
5) use the earlier audio recommendations: Uncheck Copy Audio, select Stereo AAC, it should default to 128 kbps.

I agree with you about the manuals, essentially useless.

[Cuddly Squid]

Hi signals,

The attached screen shot shows how I set up the rip. It would not play on my Panasonic home theater.

Aside: I've noticed that DVDFab occasionally changes itself to "Video Quality: Customized". I had to fight it to save the MP4.Default settings with "Video Quality: Normal", as shown in the attachment. That surely is a bug.

Note that of the 6 or 7 attempts I've made, 1 or 2 did play, but without sound.

What next? Anything? Give up?

[signals]

Try decreasing the "Video Encoding method" also. Analyze the file that will play with MediaInfo, do the same for one that will not play, you can then determine the differences and avoid the settings that produce them.

[Cuddly Squid]

Hi signals,

I've attached the latest settings. The resulting MP4 would not play on my Panasonic home theater.

I have dozens of MP4s that do play. Here is one of them:

General
Complete name : F:\Media\Videos\Radiolab Live - Apocalyptical .mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 1.33 GiB
Duration : 2h 1mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 560 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-12-12 13:06:09
Tagged date : UTC 2013-12-12 13:06:09
gsst : 0
gstd : 7315330
gssd : B4A7D09E5HH1396698272221535
gshh : r17---sn-vgqsen7r.googlevideo.com

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 2h 1mn
Bit rate : 1 366 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 8 297 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.062
Stream size : 1.16 GiB (88%)
Tagged date : UTC 2013-12-12 13:10:37

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 2h 1mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 202 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 167 MiB (12%)
Title : IsoMedia File Produced by Google, 5-11-2011
Encoded date : UTC 2013-12-12 13:08:58
Tagged date : UTC 2013-12-12 13:10:37

What do you make of this?

Thank you.

PS: I'm trying CFR right now... stay tuned (probably tomorrow as it's 2AM here).

[Ella]

Hi:
I noticed from your posted log that your player does play mp-4 if the Codec ID : is mp42 This is a old format that was never a standard but used in early development of the current standard.

I looked up 3 manuals for your brand of player and they clearly say what they can play i think you should refer to it most are on line these days.

Their is a chance you can use a converter built in the VLC media player a free player you can get on the web that also has a built in convertor to change your format to maybe something your player can handle.
Hope this helps.

[Cuddly Squid]

Hi Ella,

...I looked up 3 manuals for your brand of player and they clearly say what they can play i think you should refer to it most are on line these days.

Got a URL for those? The printed manual and the manual I downloaded from Panasonic don't say the home theater will even play MP4, but it does for the most part. I like this entry for MKV: "Some MKV files may not play back, depending on the video resolution and frame rate condition." =(Well, duh? Ya mean I can't feed it 65536x36864@27962Mbps?)= That's right up there with "Your mileage may vary" and "As much as 100% whiter teeth."

Their is a chance you can use a converter built in the VLC media player a free player you can get on the web that also has a built in convertor to change your format to maybe something your player can handle.
Hope this helps.

I didn't know that. Thanks. What do you suggest. ...Doesn't the picture degrade every time you 'convert' it?

I've attached a table of my findings. I'll let it speak for itself. In the mean time, I've given up on DVDfab.

See ya!