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.

From 200+ MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4 karaoke video files I want to author karaoke DVD's containing approximately 30 songs each.

1. Will all of these file formats work with TAW4 or is conversion necessary?

2. Please describe with some detail how I can create a menu in TAW4 that will contain a listing of all 30 songs on one page.

Thank you.

TAW4 will be able to import your files. TAW4 will convert video that isn't DVD-Video compliant, so your MPEG-4 files will be converted to MPEG-2. If the resolution, framerate, or anything else is not DVD compliant, it will also be converted by TAW4.

In the Menu Wizard, there is an option to create a custom menu and set how many tracks are listed on a page. You can have up to 32 tracks per page displayed as thumbnails or text links. Just select the option for 30 thumbnails.

Thank you for your response tkrave. After making several unsuccessful attempts to author DVD's using TAW4, I realized that I had several questions and needed serious help. Therefore, I posted the following Support Request to Tmpgenc:

I recently purchased TAW4 and I am inexperienced in using this type of software. After consulting “Help” and the “Tutorials” numerous times without success, I am turning to you for support with this product.

I have approximately 400 MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4 karaoke video files (songs) and I would like to author DVD’s containing between 25 and 50 songs per 4.7 GB NTSC DVD.

1. Do I need to create a clip proxy editing files? I don’t believe that any editing is necessary -- just menu creation.

2. Should I create a separate track for each song (50 tracks?), or if not, how many tracks and chapters/track should I create for a DVD with 50 songs?

3. Is MPEG4 compatible with TAW4 or is conversion necessary?

4. If I put 50 songs on a DVD, I need your help in explaining how to compress the files, if necessary, in order that they fit on the DVD.

5. I would like to fit the menu on one page or as few pages as possible. For a DVD with 50 songs, a paper hard copy will associate a number with each of the 50 song titles. The menu selection will contain the numbers 1 through 50 -- To choose a particular song title, select the number associated with the song title.

6. I get the message “Track 1 does not contain an audio stream that conforms to the DVD-Video standard requirements.” Since the DVD will be played on a variety of Karaoke DVD Players, I want to maximize the compatibility of the DVD. The Help instructions state the following: “When authoring a NTSC DVD-Video, each track should contain at least one Dolby Digital or Linear PCM audio stream.” The Stream Format of Track 1 is “MPEG-1 audio layer II” and it is greyed out (cannot change). How do I change it to Dolby Digital or Linear PCM, if necessary?

I will really appreciate your help in providing step-by-step instructions to author a 4.7 GB NTSC DVD based on the above listed criteria.

>Thank you for your response tkrave. After making several unsuccessful attempts to author DVD's using TAW4, I realized that I had several questions and needed serious help. Therefore, I posted the following Support Request to Tmpgenc:
>
>I recently purchased TAW4 and I am inexperienced in using this type of software. After consulting “Help” and the “Tutorials” numerous times without success, I am turning to you for support with this product.
>
>I have approximately 400 MPEG1, MPEG2 and MPEG4 karaoke video files (songs) and I would like to author DVD’s containing between 25 and 50 songs per 4.7 GB NTSC DVD.
>
>1. Do I need to create a clip proxy editing files? I don’t believe that any editing is necessary -- just menu creation.

No, proxy files are more for HD video, but even then it's not necessary to create them, especially if you have a fast computer.

>
>2. Should I create a separate track for each song (50 tracks?), or if not, how many tracks and chapters/track should I create for a DVD with 50 songs?

Yes. Put each song in its own track. If they are in the same track, they will play one after the other as if they were one long movie.
How many tracks you should have is up to you, but there is a limit of 99 tracks per DVD. You'd also want to consider the quality of the video. The more tracks you have, the more you might need to compress the video to make them all fit on one disc. You can see how much room you have on the disc by looking at the remaining space display at the bottom of the window. Once you go over, you'll have to reduce the quality to get it all to fit. This can be done easily with the transcoding settings in the Output stage. More on that below.

>
>3. Is MPEG4 compatible with TAW4 or is conversion necessary?

MPEG4 can be imported by TAW4, but MPEG-4 is not a DVD compliant file type, so TAW4 will re-encode it as MPEG-2 when you output your DVD. So yes, conversion is necessary, but TAW4 will take care of that for you.

>
>4. If I put 50 songs on a DVD, I need your help in explaining how to compress the files, if necessary, in order that they fit on the DVD.

There are two ways to do this.
The easiest way is to use the Transcoding settings in the Output Stage. Simply select the size of your target media (4.7 DVD in your case) and TAW4 will adjust the quality of your videos so it will all fit on the disc.

The other, and more time-consuming method is to lower the bitrate for each track via the track settings. If you have 50 tracks, that will take a while.

>
>5. I would like to fit the menu on one page or as few pages as possible. For a DVD with 50 songs, a paper hard copy will associate a number with each of the 50 song titles. The menu selection will contain the numbers 1 through 50 -- To choose a particular song title, select the number associated with the song title.

I made a mistake telling you that 32 tracks can be displayed per page; that's only true for Blu-ray menus. For DVD menus, up to 15 tracks can be displayed per page, so you'll have to have multiple pages if you have 50 tracks. The track names are editable so you can number them.

>
>6. I get the message “Track 1 does not contain an audio stream that conforms to the DVD-Video standard requirements.” Since the DVD will be played on a variety of Karaoke DVD Players, I want to maximize the compatibility of the DVD. The Help instructions state the following: “When authoring a NTSC DVD-Video, each track should contain at least one Dolby Digital or Linear PCM audio stream.” The Stream Format of Track 1 is “MPEG-1 audio layer II” and it is greyed out (cannot change). How do I change it to Dolby Digital or Linear PCM, if necessary?

In the Source Stage, click on the "Settings" button for the track. A tracks settings window will open.
Click on the "Audio" tab to see the audio output settings.
Here, you can change the output audio to Dolby Digital. I don't suggest using Linear PCM since that will require more disc space.

Fantastic response -- Thanks

tkrave -- thanks for your previous detailed help, everything is fine now except that I am still having a problem with menus, and I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

To keep it simple, let's say that I am authoring a DVD with 14 videos, which are MPEG Karaoke songs (files). When I insert the completed DVD into the DVD Player, the first thing I want to see is a menu with 14 song selections on ONE page. I can't seem to make this happen. Instead, I get a menu page with ONE song.

Can you please walk me through the menu creation process one more time, so that the first thing I see when I load the DVD into the DVD Player is a menu listing the 14 songs that I can select from on one page. If I happen to author a DVD with more songs than will fit on the first page displayed, then I want to be able to click an arrow that will take me to the next page, which will provide me with more song selections.

While I am waiting for your response, I will keep trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. Thanks

tkrave -- I got it working! The solution for me was to put all of the files in one clip. Thanks.

I should have said that the solution for me was to put all of the clips in one track.

Does the next song play when the selected song is finished in your current setup (all in one track)?

I was going to suggest keeping them in separate tracks; that way it can go back to the top menu once a song is finished.
Then, for the menu, I would choose the "Top menu only" option and select a layout for the top menu that has 14 thumbnails.

Basically my requirement is multi mode which i've found in this software.
Currently using trial version and it fulfill all my requirements except in multi mode there is no next/previous fame button on the right/left video. By placing this button help me to sync the video easily. It is difficult to sync video using seek bar. I hope in future developers include this feature in upcoming versions.

NOTE: Kinovea is a nice freeware software which support multi mode. The Drawback is it's performance. Anyhow it is an excellent software.


thanks...

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 ?)

Hi

after starting the program the error:


"Application error: EAccessViolation occurred TMPGEncVMW5.exe-module / 689E99E9. 689EA9E9 At address, Loading error occurred against 689EA9E9 address."

And then:

"FastMM has detected a GetMem FastMM call you after you uninstalled FastMM"

In the task manager process occurs TMPGEncVMW5.exe and its CPU load is almost 100%. Let me add that I have uninstalled and then re-installed the program but it did not help.

Please help.

Hello

what your processor model and RAM ?

I am also seeing the error "FastMM has detected a GetMem call after FastMM was uninstalled." After upgrading to Windows 7 64bit, I was running find with version 4 of DVD Author. Then, about a week or so ago, I tried to launch the program and got this FastMM error. When I went to the web page, I found that version 4 was no longer supported, so I upgraded to version 5. I have tried an upgrade installation and a full uninstall / registry clean / full installation of the program and still get this error. Any idea what is going on?

I forgot to specify my system configuration.. Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. Intel Core I7-920 CPU. 6 GB RAM. 3 TB disk. AMD 6970 video card.

The quality of a divx is not as good as the older version of express or authoring works. I am using the same settings but when I play the movie it is blocky. i am using 2500, insane quality and still not a clean conversion. What am I doing wrong?

What are the settings you used before and what are the settings you are using now? Are you using the same source file for both conversions?

SAME OPTIONS BUT WIT HVIDEO 5, I WACH THE VIDEO AND ITS NOT SMOOTH. ALMOST LIKE IF THERE ARE SHUTTERS WHILE I AM WATCHING VIDEO

I was wondering what the max size of a divx file. SOme of my movies are being broken down into two files if they are bigger than 2.0g

I believe it was an old AVI restriction (which is what DivX is based on). Newer versions of the DivX codec can have larger files I think. Try downloading the latest DivX codec and use the AVI output format and select the DivX codec (i.e. don't use 4.0 XPress' preinstalled DivX output format). That should work.

Hello,
I want to ask a question.
I want to make as an AVI video ,but there are so many encode options.
What do i choose for video(cinepack,intel 5....) and audio (56kb 22000hz....)settings?
Also is this sharp filter really works?If my video is blur will it make it clear?

Thanks

It's really up to you which one you choose. What is the intended use of the video? That can help inform what codec you should use. If you're not sure, you may just want to use the DivX codec.
Does it have to be AVI? MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 output might be another format to take a look at.

Settings are also up to you and should really depend on the intended use of the video and the quality/format of the source file.
What are you going to use the video for (portable device, viewing on computer, etc.)? Is file size an issue (does it need to be small, or does it not matter)?
What is the source file's characteristics? Use a program like MediaInfo or GSpot to check the file.
Are you changing anything about the video? Resizing it? Changing framerate? Etc.