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**GregiBoy** · 02-08-2011, 08:51 AM

I suspect that you are doing things incorrectly in the first place. You should not be processing the VOB Passthrough files but rather the DVD structure or ISO.

Have a read of my best practice thread referring to DVD's (Link below) and the same basic principles apply to BR.

I have litterally thousands of encodes done this way and they all work great on a variety of media players.

That said, you should expect the resolution & cropping and this is explained also in that thread.

Hope this helps...

Also, check out the "New Profile" thread as there may be a profile there already that meets your requirements.

Hope this helps!!

**climberguy** · 02-08-2011, 10:26 AM

I may not have been clear in my original post. I already have mpeg-2 files that came from the VOB passthru which more often than not came from a DVD structure on the HDD. I've always been doing it that way as it is faster and cleaner. Like your "Best Practices" post recommends... I just don't have the DVD structures anymore...
But even if I did, it wouldn't solve the resolution degradation and cropping issue.

But I'm not finding anything in the New Profiles thread except fancy encoding for the new mobile phones... I can't believe that I'm trying something new...

I have followed your posts and threads and respect your experience. Have you always had cropping and resolution reduction to below standard DVD levels and quality? Have they upconverted without degradation? I mean, I can get a VOB/Mpg at 720x480, why not an AVI?

To follow up on another post, where is all of the documentation on Profiles? It should be easy to write a profile that doesn't force resolution changes or cropping... The Vob passthru doesn't... I should be able to do the same into an AVI... The question is how to code it.. I prefer to keep my work within the same utility but without a solution and more support for profile development, I may have to go with an opensource conversion solution...

I'm sorry, but I'm beginning to believe the AVI coming out of DVDFab is meant for mobile devices and toys. Just frustrated with a tool I have been very loyal to.

**GregiBoy** · 02-08-2011, 10:57 AM

Your presumption that the AVI encodes are for toys only is totally incorrect.

I, and other Media Player owners on this forum. have use Fab to great success to produce XVID AVI files that play on 50" to 60" screens.

Have a closer look at the "New Profiles" thread. I am absolutely certain that I have posted profiles for such players and even the inbuilt player in a Samsung 52" television which a lot of others are using, again with great success with other devices.

I suggest also that you do some research on "Anamorphic Encoding" which explains a lot about what you perceive as a problem.

In very simplistic terms, DVDs do not have square pixels but are squeezed, whilst AVI's have a square pixel structure.

If you want handholding, I am NOT prepared to assist.
If you want assistance and help getting pointed in the right direction, I am.

**GregiBoy** · 02-08-2011, 11:00 AM

PS: If you no longer have the DVD sources, you are basically up SH1T Creek without a paddle as all the detail that you need to encode correctly is held within the IFO's of the DVD structure, not the VOB's.

**climberguy** · 02-08-2011, 11:39 AM

Up the creek

I know the "up the creek" bit. that's why I'm asking the experts for their expert advice.

Never in my 15 years as a software engineer have I asked for hand holding. It doesn't help but solve the immediate problem and it entirely avoids promoting learning, accumulation of knowledge and ongoing sharing of that knowledge. I am a "pay it forward" type of person...

I have been spending many many late nights prowling the online forums for a hint towards a solution. So much that the wife is getting ready to revert back too DVDs and throw the streaming idea out the door... I can take a hint, small code sample, etc and go a long way with it... I used to carry a stack of DVDs full of such code samples that I have expanded on into every contract job I have worked on... And have shared nearly everyone of them...

The players I am using are an XBox 360 and a Samsung BD-c5500 bluray player. The Xbox doesn't support Mpeg-2 except through Win Media Center. Otherwise, TVersity has to transpose it in real time. Unfortunately, I do not own an 6-core processor. :-) But, the BD-C5500 does. BUT, it won't fast forward/rewind/etc... And I don't have a gigabyte network installed so thee are hiccups in the stream that shuts it down.. Wireless sucks but it is all I have... Starting over at the beginning of the stream takes away the value of streaming.

So, my research and experimentation to date has shown that AVI will allow us to fast forward/reverse etc on both the XBox and C5500. And it will carry the Ac-3/5.1 stream. XBox supports Mp4 as does the C5500 but only with 2 channel audio.

So I have done a bit of research on that part... I've even put in a global request to the developers for XML documentation. I've even found opensource tools that will do the conversion I "believe" I need. Again, I am left with a crumb of advice to spend nights researching... But no one wants to rip DVDs to HDD via DVDFab then startup an entirely different toolbox to encode to AVI. Especially when DVDFab can do it all.

But if I am missing the boat in that an AVI (at 426x480) that was created from an Mpeg-2 (at 720x480) with no difference on the "big screen" then I'm jumping up and down with excitement to know WHY. Seriously... If you're willing too impart a bit of of your expertise soo that I may develop my own expertise to impart onto others, then I'm buying the beer!!!

But this whole streaming idea is new to a lot of people and many I know would love to do part of what I am learning to do. And they've offered to pay for implementation of such technologies. I'm a hardware and software guy who's breaking into the A/V streaming scene. Being in my middle years and returning to grad school for a new career because my software jobs are being performed on a barge somewhere, a couple of bucks here and there help. Plus having it work will make the wife happier and end the "what the helll is wrong with the server" calls I get from downstairs. I'm not sure which benefit (of having this work) is better but it will result in a happier wife, a complete entertainment system, a little smaller school loan and put me back onto the sleep schedule my Dr yells at me for not following. :-)

I'm just really tired from the long nights and posted my question in hopes that one of the experts would open up a door and am sorry if it sounded like i wanted a handout. If that's what I wanted, I would have asked for one many many days ago at an hour much more appealing that 3:30 AM... :-)

**GregiBoy** · 02-08-2011, 07:35 PM

Thanks for letting us know the full scenario so that I can comment more fully.

I would like to think that I am one of the most knowledgable on this forum and it's predecessor on what you are trying to achieve.

I know it is possible because I have been doing just that for a considerable number of years and am currently running 4 NAS's (8Tb of content) to sometimes up to 10 different classes of media players attached to a wide range of displays ranging from a 60" HD LG Plasma to an 18" 4:3 CRT.

I will make the following points and you can use them as you wish to assist you in your quest for the Holy Grail:-

You are starting off behind the 8 Ball because of the devices that you are using at the playing end. For minimal cost, ($100), invest in a true Media Player that is designed to do that job ONLY and is not subjected to the marketing hype selling a game machine that will "play video" or a "networkable" BR Player.

This will then cut also cut the other problem area that you have which is TVersity.

Most modern Media Players as indicated above will allow direct access to SMB shares on either NAS's or PC's on the network and hence the DNLA Streaming server is no longer necessary.

This will then also free up the sometimes wrongly perceived quality perceptions as most Media Players will play a DVD Folder structure, a DVD ISO image file (Both with full menus) or a simple BR ISO structure.

Besides this they will play full HD MKV's and nearly all permutations and combinations of AVI, MP4, MP3, etc, etc...

For your information, I went along the route that you have started navigating about 7 years ago and and have evolved into the scenario that I have outlined above.

Only too willing to provide more info along this circuitous route.

**GregiBoy** · 02-08-2011, 08:29 PM

PS: I have added you to my contacts/friends so that you can PM me.

**CBR929** · 02-09-2011, 02:11 AM

@ climberguy
You are in the best hands here on this forum with GregiBoy,if anyone can help you, he is the one

and soon you will be able to be watching movies with the wife, if that is what you choose to do, and none of this "what the hell is wrong with the server"

CBR929

**GregiBoy** · 02-09-2011, 03:33 AM

Thanks for the vote of confidence, CBR

Originally posted by CBR929 View Post

@ climberguy
You are in the best hands here on this forum with GregiBoy,if anyone can help you, he is the one

and soon you will be able to be watching movies with the wife, if that is what you choose to do, and none of this "what the hell is wrong with the server"
CBR929

**GregiBoy** · 02-09-2011, 04:18 AM

Here is the link to the Samsung profile:-

And here's one for GENERIC media players

**climberguy** · 02-09-2011, 06:56 AM

Problem

I think part of my problem with my research is that I have a Samsung bluray player... And I've been seeing threads for Samsung TVs... Not thinking that they may use the same media engine in the background.

It may just be that I have to drop the Xbox as a player and use the C5500 BD player as my media player until I can migrate to a dedicated player. This will open up options.

Much of what I've read on other forums, such as Videohelp, touches on people needing to manually modify the aspect ratio in an MKV file. But no real mention of the DAR flag carried into the actual container... Looks like MKV does have a DAR flag and can solve my problem...

A great short thread on anamorphic encoding of MKV can be found here:

Using Anamorphic encoding with WD TV Live Plus - HandBrake

https://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19888

See... All I needed was someone to open the right door and I will be head over heals in researching my own goals... But as you said, a dedicated player is looking like the solution. Will start reviewing them so when the $$$ are available, I can jump on them...

Would love to have done direct network share or a DLNA-compliant NAS.. But the streaming server was put together slowly and I rely on external HDDs... I know, ugh!!!! So i may be looking for a new media server package. Windows will share to XBox via Win Media Player...

but all in all, the other need of ffwd/rewnd functionality appears to be only available to me right now in AVI and I'm not converting everything to AVI due to DAR flag limitations... A media player and MKV sounds like the way to go... right?

**GregiBoy** · 02-09-2011, 09:00 AM

You are totally correct...

But I do still do not frack around with the A/R & anamorphism as most dedicated players seem to have problems with that & also compressed headers on audio streams. Just encode with square pixels and be done with it. Not worth the headaches trying to get player manufacturers to comply.

To be honest, most are too stupid to understand what you are talking about.

This is now what I do but it is not all available in Fab so I utilise a variety of software.

I encode to MKV, H264 video with multiple audio streams ( eg Dolby & DTS 5.1), multiple subtitles, Album Art, Title details & Chapter marks with descriptors in english.

These are stored on the main player which also acts as a NAS and the files are available via SMB shares to all other networked players.

I am very anal about the filing structure that I use and it has paid off in the long run.

All of my old AVI encodes are still stored on multiple NAs's all available as SMB shares.

BTW... A dedicated media player will only cost you around $100 (excluding storage cost) and some of my good friends on this forum have had good things to say about Argosy players in the US.

Be realistic here, are three nights of buggerising around with sub-optimal equipment with little or no result worth $100?

**CBR929** · 02-09-2011, 09:36 PM

Originally posted by GregiBoy View Post

Thanks for the vote of confidence, CBR

Your welcome, And I am sure that there are other members here that would also agree with me on this.
CBR929

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