What is the best setting in the Picture resize filter when upscaling and encoding video from smaller resolution to larger resolution? Is it Lanczos-3 or bicubic or something else? I read in help that Lanczos can create ringing effect but not sure what that means. It does not say what effect for bicubic.

What about when downscaling video from larger resolution to smaller resolution as such when encoding HD video to dvd-compiant mpeg. Do I also set to Lanczos or bicubic?

Thanks

For upscaling, bicubic is better.

For downscaling, lanczos is better. Although some people use lanczos for upscaling and downscaling.

In the end, it's up to you and what you think looks better.

Ringing is also known as a halo effect.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringing_artifacts

I have happily used 3 and 4 Xpress for years but would like to upgrade to VMW5 sometime. I tried the trial version when it first came out but it was clearly unstable.

Do users now feel that it's a stable improvement on 4 Xpress ?

As the first version was so unstable (there have been many corrections), it would be good to be allowed another trial for free.

Thanks.

I can't speak for everyone, but I've had very little problems with TVMW5. The worst thing is that it crashes on my XP machine; I'm not sure why. Then again, Google Chrome crashes that machine, so it could just be the machine getting old.

On my Win7 machine it's been good. Keep in mind I typically only output to h.264 so my usage is a bit narrow.

Do you remember what issues you had when you tried the trial?

You may want to look at the user discount option instead of upgrading; it's a little more expensive than upgrading ($79 i think) but you get to keep your 4.0 XPress license in case you want to keep using it.

I haven't used 5 extensively yet, but at least in Normal mode 5 seems much more stable and smooth operating than 4 was for me. No trouble so far.

Hi,

I always get 100% CPU usage and 0% CUDA during encoding.

This is not a problem except when it is encoding my CPU temp go to 100 C. I notice that when it is upscaling the video as well while encoding, the CPU temps are at its highest.

I do have my CPU watercooled and this is the only app that makes it go so high so my watercooling is working good.

I read somewhere in the help that even if you check CUDA, the app may decide not to use it. Is this true?

I have Enable NVIDIA CUDA and Use CUDA for filtering checked in Preferences and did the CUDA Optimization. My video card is GTX 560. I am also only using one filter while encoding but CUDA is 0% still.

1. Under MPEG Video Decoder in Preferences, do I also need to change MPEG-1 video decoder, MPEG-2 video decoder and MPEG-4 AVC video decoder from Standard decoder to NVIDA CUDA as well? or do I leave as Standard decoder for them?


2. How do I force the app the offload or share some of the work to the CUDA so that the CPU does not have to work that hard and thus lower my CPU temps?

Thank you

What kind of CPU do you have? I think if TVMW5 thinks that your CPU will be more efficient, it will use it instead of CUDA.

What types of filters are you using? I may be wrong, but I think CUDA is better at certain filters.

You can force it to use CUDA for decoding MPEG in the preferences, but that won't effect filter processing.

I have Intel Quad Core i930 overclocked to 4.2 Ghz with water cooling. I am using Contour filter.

Can you actually force the app to use CUDA? I tried CUDA for decoding MPEG in the preferences but it seems to still use CPU.

I think when I choose Contour and Smart Sharpness, it would use CUDA also. But that is the only combo I know that would activate CUDA.

1. Do you know of any other filter combo that would activate CUDA?

2. I actually don't want to use Smart Sharpness but the Smart Sharpness and Contour filter combo does activate CUDA.
So if I wanted CUDA activated, what setting do I have to put for Smart Sharpness in order minimize the Smart Sharpness effect (without any distortion by this filter to the image quality) and at the same time have CUDA activated?

Thanks

I don't think decoding is very intensive, so any CUDA usage might be negligible.

I don't know if adding filters just to trigger CUDA will help either; does the CPU usage go down? Remember that 100% CPU usage in TVMW5 doesn't necessarily mean your CPU is being used 100%; it only means that the output process is 100% CPU operated. So TVMW5 could say 80% CPU and still be using 100% of your cores. Confirm the actual CPU usage with a widget or something.

What format are you outputting? If you output to MPEG-4 AVC, you can choose the CUDA encoder instead of x264 (default). That way, it should use CUDA 100%.

Another suggestion is lowering the CPU priority for TVMW5 (or the TVMW5 batch encoder) and then run it in the background when encoding.

I use app called Core Temp and it shows the load of each CPU which is close to 100% load so I know it is using close to 100% of the CPU cores.

The temps from Core Temp show 2 of the cores reaching 100 C and the other two cores reaching 98 C which is two high for me.

I also note this high temp is when it is upscaling video when encoding.

1. Sorry for the dumb question but what is difference between decoding and encoding? I thought they are the same or at least both used in the process when converting video with this app.

2. "If you output to MPEG-4 AVC, you can choose the CUDA encoder instead of x264 (default). That way, it should use CUDA 100%."
So if I am not outputting to MPEG-4 AVC, I should leave it as Standard Decoder in for decoding MPEG in the preferences? Or should it still be changed to CUDA?

What I am doing is basicly converting video to be authored in Authoring Works 4 for Blu-ray. If I output to MPEG-4 AVC, my understanding is Authoring Works will fully render the video once again so there is no point doing it twice.
I would like Authoring Works to Smart Render so I chose Blu-ray Template in Video Mastering Works 5.

3. Is there a better way to encode video to Blu-ray than this so that Authoring Works can Smart Render and have the highest video quality?

4. Is there any image quality difference using CUDA encoder instead of x264 ?

5. I see the where you can lower CPU priority for TVMW5 batch encoder tool options -> task priority
but where do you do it in TVM5 itself ?

>1. Sorry for the dumb question but what is difference between decoding and encoding? I thought they are the same or at least both used in the process when converting video with this app.
>
Decoding is the opposite of encoding. Think of it as unpacking a .zip file; it's taking a compressed file and decoding it into usable data. Whenever you play a video, it has to be decoded so the decoding process for video files is usually pretty fast/unnoticeable.
Both processes are used in conversion but encoding is the more intensive process.

>2. "If you output to MPEG-4 AVC, you can choose the CUDA encoder instead of x264 (default). That way, it should use CUDA 100%."
>So if I am not outputting to MPEG-4 AVC, I should leave it as Standard Decoder in for decoding MPEG in the preferences? Or should it still be changed to CUDA?
>
I think you can leave it as CUDA if you want; the decoder used shouldn't matter too much. The encoder is the important part, but for MPEG-2, you won't really have a choice but to use the Standard Encdoer.
It's interesting that you are getting 100% CPU usage with the standard encoder. On my machine, I only get around 40% CPU usage (that's actual usage; in TVMW5 it says 100%) so I always thought the standard encoder was less efficient than the x264 encoder. When I output with x264, I always get in the 90-100% CPU usage range.

>What I am doing is basicly converting video to be authored in Authoring Works 4 for Blu-ray. If I output to MPEG-4 AVC, my understanding is Authoring Works will fully render the video once again so there is no point doing it twice.
>I would like Authoring Works to Smart Render so I chose Blu-ray Template in Video Mastering Works 5.
>
>3. Is there a better way to encode video to Blu-ray than this so that Authoring Works can Smart Render and have the highest video quality?

You are correct, encoding to h.264 would be a waste of time if you are using TAW4 to make a blu-ray. There really isn't a better way in this case.

>
>4. Is there any image quality difference using CUDA encoder instead of x264 ?

Since they are two different encoders, there will be some differences in how they encode video. I don't know exactly how noticeable those differences will be though; I always use x264. Maybe I'll try and do a 1:1 comparison if I have time.

>
>5. I see the where you can lower CPU priority for TVMW5 batch encoder tool options -> task priority
>but where do you do it in TVM5 itself ?

It's not as intuitive, but in the Encode stage, right-click the preview area and there's an option for task priority.

I want to replace the audio track of a video I'm editing with a better audio source. Does TMPGEnc allow for this?

I've been using Mac software (iMovie and Final Cut Pro) to do sound upgrades, but am interested in switching to PC so I can have better options for blu-ray production

Yes, you can just select a different audio source in the clip properties after you import a clip.

Thanks for the response. I might have to try out TMPGEnc.

we have footage of 16 audio tracks (8 stereo pair).Can TMPGEnc encode and export to quicktime at the same time? We need 16 audio tracks quicktime output.

Are you saying you want one quicktime video with 8 stereo audio streams where the user can select between the 8 streams? Or do you just want the audio tracks to play one after the other?

In any case, Video Mastering Works can't encode Quicktime video with multiple audio streams. If you want to just have audio one after the other, it can do that.

I have a DVD that I am converting to an MPG1. There are a couple of spots on the DVD where the audio is extremely low. I want to increase the volume in those two spots, only. How do I do that without increasing the volume on the entire disc?

Use the timeline editor and create keypoints at the areas where the volume should be higher.

To do this, check the "Animate" box in the Properties tab for your selected timeline. This will make the animation and volume timelines appear. (or you can click on the Display/Hide Items button on your layer.)

Navigate to the spot where you want to increase the volume, then right-click in the volume timeline and add a key point.

You can then drag that keypoint upwards to increase the volume level.

You will probably need to create two keypoints per volume change. The area between each pair of keypoints is where the volume changes. See the screenshot below as an example.
http://i52.tinypic.com/2e3zlu0.png
Notice there are four keypoints total for two volume changes.
The area between keypoint 1 and keypoint 2 is where the volume is actually increasing.

HI,

I am converting h.264 MKVs to DVD compliant for use in TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4.

I heard the order matters so the filters I have are as follows:
Filters:
color correction
color phase correction
smart sharpness
contour - wide instead of normal
smart sharpness
contour - wide instead of normal
smart sharpness
contour - wide instead of normal
Anti-flickering strength 256
Picture resize bicubic
Everything is set as default except where noted above.

Format:
VBR
Soften block noise
10-bit
Progressive
performance: slow

TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 smart renders video.

I ALWAYS get flickering on fast moving scene changes when played on DVD player hooked to TV. Or maybe it is ghosting? I can't tell but it looks like flickering to me.

1. Is there a fix for this problem?

2. I also notice flickering sometimes when I just directly encode TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 (full rendering) and not use Video Mastering Works 5.

Please help and thank you so much,
Tiff

What is the framerate of the source video? Interlaced or progressive?

HI tkrave,

I got info below for MKV file:

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 16 frames
Format settings, GOP : M=5, N=59
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 24mn 11s
Width : 1280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Title : H.264
Writing library : x264 core 118 r2085+614 d1cc25d

I think it is originally source 23.976fps progressive MKV.

I also tried setting to Interlace, Progressive, 3:2 pulldown playback an dinverse 3:2 pulldown in Format but did not help.

I am not sure if it would be flickering or maybe even ghosting. What I am actually seeing is choppy video on fast moving scene changes (and sometimes but not as much on normal scenes) when played on DVD player hooked to TV. I

Do you know what problem is? I am using the DVD-video standard mpeg file template in Format because I want it to Smart Render in TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 (and it does with choppy video).

Thank you for your help, tiff

Are you outputting it as PAL DVD? If you output as NTSC, and keep the framerate at 23.976, I don't think there should be a problem. Choppy video can occur when you are changing the framerate.
Most DVD players can display either framerate, regardless of where you live (PAL vs NTSC territory).

Other things it could be:
What type of media are you burning to? DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW? Some players can't read certain media well.

How fast are you burning your disc? Try the slowest speed to make sure there are no errors when burning.

Oops, brain fart; 23.976 is not a compliant framerate for DVD-Video so it would have to be converted to 25fps or 29.97fps.

Try outputting it as interlaced and not progressive since DVD-Video has to be interlaced (unless it's VCD quality).

HI tkrave,

Thank you for taking time to answer my questions.

I am outputing NTSC DVD always and I don't think it is burning or media problem as I tried all at very low speed on different dvd players also.

1. Video Mastering Works 5 always selects 3:2 Pulldown playback when I first enter Format. Does the framerate and (progressive or interlace) in Format ALWAYS have to match the original source MKV (to prevent choppy video)?

I used another encoder software before and they always do all the settings automaticly for me so I never had to worry about it.


2. Do you recommend I choose DVD-video standard mpeg file template or select the MPEG File output template in Format?



3. Also, does adding the maximum number of filters recommended? Can you look at my filters above so far and make any recommendations on improving image quality?

What filters you think I should add or remove? Note I have 3 instances of Contour and Smart sharpness and then Anti-flickering set to maximum afterwards. I also set: VBR, Soften block noise, 10-bit and performance: slow in Format.
Can you give me your best advice of best image quality settings as regards to filters?


My goal is to have it smart render TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 as well while having the best image quality settings.

Thank you again, Tiff

3:2 pulldown should be correct since that is for converting 23.976 to 29.97 fps, which is what is necessary for DVD compliance.
In general you should keep the same framerate UNLESS your target purpose requires otherwise. In this case, DVD-Video requires a different framerate, so you don't have a choice here.

I would just stick with DVD-Video output format template.

As for filters, I'm not sure if adding all of those are necessary. I don't know what the source video looks like, so I can't discern what filters are needed.
I don't think you need 3 instances of contour and smart sharpness-- that seems like overkill. Plus, you are going from a HD source to a SD output, so the output is probably already preserving as much detail as it can (as opposed to going from an SD source to HD output, where it cannot "create" more detail). Try an output without any of those extra filters enabled.
The filters also make output time longer, so you should really only apply filters if you have to. Is this seriously degraded video?

Another thing you might want to try is bypassing TVMW5 and importing the file directly into TAW4. You might need some directshow codecs to allow TAW4 to import your MKV though.

HI tkrave,

I tried everything you have suggested including all settings for (interlace, progressive, 3:2 pulldown, inverse 3:2) and all framerates (23.976 and 29.97).

I also tried different MKV files to see if the particular MKV is the problem and they all do the same thing. The similarity between all of them is that they were all originally encoded with x264. This is the same whether I feed the MKV directly into TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 or use Video Mastering Works 5.

Do you think TMPEG standard encoder can not properly encode x264 source MKV files?

I looked closely at what I am getting. It looks like choppy video but only for about an instant then it disappears for awhile. It could also be considered flickering as it looks almost the same. There is vertical disalignment of the picture at a few horizontal lines on the TV and then it disappears is proabably the best way to describe it.

Do you have any other advice I can try?

Thank you again, Tiff

What is your output video bitrate?

What kind of DVD media is it exactly? DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW?

After installing update 51152 Norton antivirus blocked TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5.exe considering it as a virus. Not able to use the software bacause of it.

Just unblock it in Norton.

Unblocking did not help the situation.

Norton is considering the TVMwr5r.exe a Trojan_H. I uninstalled Mastering works 5 and then it considered MPEG edit 3.exe a trojan_H. Uninstalled that and then it considered another tpmgenc program a trogen. It like auithoring works 4 though.

I completely uninstalled the norton softwere and reinstalled. Will see what happens. could be a false positive.

The issue was a false positive. Therefore excluded the installer folder and exe from scanning.

I have been having the same problem with Norton 2012 and the latest release of Masterworks 5. I have tried excluding the Pegasys folder from scanning but it still deletes the Masterworks Program. Very frustrating. I've gone back to the previous release of Masterworks 5, but it would be nice if the new release and Norton could live together.
Any ideas?

Go to:
https://submit.symantec.com/false_positive/
and fill out the form.
Hopefully they will include it in the next update. Few hours or so if they are awake.

I filled oue out but I could not provide specifics as I do not use Norton.

Thanks for the suggestion. I submitted a false positive report as well, but I could not provided full details either. Hopefully they will fix this.

Norton has responded that they will fix this issue in their next product update.
Thanks everybody
gordoncanada

HI tkrave and anyone else who can help,

I have been sucessful is converting MKV with .h264 video USING the x264 Encoder by selecting MPEG-4 AVC format profile and then selecting MPEG Output.

But when I goto TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4, it always shows as full rendering instead of smart rendering.

1. How do you get TMPGEnc Video Mastering Works 5 to convert MKV with .h264 video stream to compliant DVD MPEG USING the x264 Encoder (not the stadard TMPEG encoder) so that TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 can have Smart rendering enabled instead of full rendering? The output is MPEG-2 Program file but always shows full rendering.

I would just like to use the x264 encoder instead of the standard encoder to encode to compliant DVD output for TMPGEnc Authoring Works 4 (smart rendering). Is this possible or is x264 encoder only reserved for Blu-ray and not DVD?

2. Is the x264 encoder that much better than the standard encoder as far as image quality?

Thank you for your help, mike23

x264 is only for MPEG-4 AVC video output and that is not DVD compliant.

All you're doing is putting it in a MPEG-2 Program container, but the actual video is still MPEG-4 AVC which is why TAW4 is not smart rendering the video.

To make it DVD compliant, you have to change the stream format to MPEG-2, thereby not using the x264 encoding engine.

x264 should be able to make a Blu-ray compliant MPEG-4 AVC stream, but note that TAW4 can't output MPEG-4 Blu-rays, so even if you do have a compliant H.264 stream, it will re-encode it to MPEG-2.

I am receiving an error message when trying to install the latest version of Video Mastering Works (version 5.1.1.52). I receive the following error message:

Windows cannot find
'C:\Users\(user name)\AppData\Local\Temp\tmp00000000\check.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Note: I uninstalled Video Mastering Works and was able to install an older version?

Try re-downloading the file; might've been a bad download.

HI,
I am unable to install under Windows Server 2003.

It gives error cannot install in Windows Server 2003 after I click on setup program.

Please HELP!!! and thank you, James

Windows Server 2003 is not a supported OS.
Supported OS: Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP SP3.

5.1.1.52 update is a problem here as well.when I started the program a pop up appeared with the following--the executable is different from the original.I couldn't go back to an older version,its probably the update itself,I'll get back to you all when I get answers.

I resolved the issue by downloading
Update for Root Certificates [October 2011] (KB931125)

LS,

We've got multiple licenses here at our university but we can't use them with multiple accounts. The machines that have VMW5 installed authenticate against our AD and we'd like every domain user to be able to work with the software. We are using Windows 7 and we've tried a lot of options like copying the key to the default profile, login scripts to copy the license file etc. It just doesn't work. Anyone in a similar situation that might has a solution?

Thanks in advance,

Jeremy

Can I bump this request? We still have this problem.

Thank you for the DNxHD fix!

Hi George !
(we met already on the Liquid & MC forums...)

I'm not sure what this fix exactly does ...I had the following problem:

"TVMW5 is compressing the luma range when converting DNxHD to MPEG2 (SD > PAL),i.e. when the input video Y range is within the broadcast limits (RGB > 16-235) in the MOV(DNxHD) file, the MPEG-2 (PAL) output generated by TVMW5 is constrained between approx. IRE 10 and 90 (RGB 24-220).
It looks like TVMW5 is assuming that the input video uses the full RGB gamut (0-255), and hence, converts to ''legal'' video (RGB 16-235)."

Do you believe this is the problem addressed by this fix, or is it another issue, like a gamma problem ?

Hmmm, after a quick test, unless I did something wrong, my problem (described above) is NOT addressed by 5.1.1.52...
I currently have 2 issues about luma expansion/clipping with TVMW5 and mov(DNxHD), one at import and one at export, both of which require me to use other products to do my job :-(

Actually, things are WORSE than what I originally though:

For me, the "DnxHD fix" in 5.1.1.52 introduced a regression bug !

In both 5.1.1.52 and 5.0.5.32, MOV(DNxHD120) clips converted to mpeg-2 (or any other format apparently) exhibit reduced luma range.
In 5.0.5.32, applying a color correction filter with Luminance = +2 and Contrast = +42 would exactly compensate for this problem.
But in 5.1.1.52, this is no longer the case; it appears that 5.1.1.52 DNxHD conversion introduces some luma compression (different than with 5.0.5.32 !) but also some chroma distortion (apparently enhanced saturation for SOME colors, apparently in the green-magenta axis).

(George, are you seeing this as well ?)