I'm trying to get DVD Styler to produce an SD NTSC-compliant DVD from an MPEG file I encoded outside the application using HcEnc, without re-encoding it again. The source file is HD and according to MediaInfo is NTSC progressive 23.976 fps, and I am under the impression that DVD Styler can produce an NTSC-compliant DVD for a progressive film source of 23.976 fps without re-encoding.
Could someone let me know why DVD Styler is identifying the m2v file as PAL, and therefore preventing the video from being copied over without re-encoding?
================================================== =========
Here is the Media Info file from the source file:
Complete name : C:\Video.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 994 MiB
Duration : 2h 18mn
Overall bit rate : 1 003 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-03-21 15:39:04
Writing application : mkvmerge v6.1.0 ('Old Devil') built on Mar 2 2013 14:32:37
Writing library : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.0
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 9 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 18mn
Bit rate : 809 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 536 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
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) : 0.049
Stream size : 784 MiB (79%)
Writing library : x264 core 129 r2230 1cffe9f
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=10 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=8 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=2 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=809 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 18mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 190 MiB (19%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
================================================== ==========================
My goal is to convert the file to full-D1 SD NTSC progressive 23.976 without pulldown. I am using HcEnc v0.25 as the video encoder. The audio file was identified as NTSC-compliant by DVD Styler. Test AVS script for the video encode was initially simple and looked like this:
DirectShowSource("C:\Video.mkv",fps=23.976,convert fps=true)
#convertfps to prevent audio synch issues if source is vfr
LanczosResize(720,480)
For purposes of testing (first 3000 frames, the encoder was set for auto GOP 14 max, DC 10, 16:9 aspect, min bitrate 3000 and max bitrate 6000). The encode finished successfully, and here is its Media Info file:
General
Complete name : C:\Test1.m2v
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
File size : 44.0 MiB
Duration : 2mn 5s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 2 953 Kbps
Video
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Custom
Format settings, GOP : Variable
Duration : 2mn 5s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 2 953 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 6 000 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Scan order : Top Field First
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.356
Time code of first frame : 00:00:00:00
Stream size : 44.0 MiB (100%)
================================================== ============================
Media Info file says the output is still NTSC, but DVD Styler says it is PAL.
I had previously tried a different approach, demuxing the raw video to AVC and then running it through DGAVCIndex to produce a .dga project. File info from the indexing confirmed fps was 23.976 but indicated Colorimetry standard 709 so I ran a second AVS script including the ColorMatrix filter to change from 709 to 601 standard, still producing a PAL-identified file to DVD Styler. Also added ConvertToYUY2() to the script for a final test, and still identified by DVD Styler as PAL.
I'm relatively new to using DVD Styler (mildly experienced with Avisynth / HcEnc usage) and I am confused as to why it says the source is PAL. Do I need different format settings in HcEnc (Profile/GOP/BVOP/Matrix), or a modification of the AVS script, to get the video to true NTSC-compliance? Is MediaInfo mis-identifying the file as NTSC? Or is pulldown (23.976 > 29.970) absolutely necessary for DVD Styler to skip re-encoding?
Could someone let me know why DVD Styler is identifying the m2v file as PAL, and therefore preventing the video from being copied over without re-encoding?
================================================== =========
Here is the Media Info file from the source file:
Complete name : C:\Video.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 994 MiB
Duration : 2h 18mn
Overall bit rate : 1 003 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2013-03-21 15:39:04
Writing application : mkvmerge v6.1.0 ('Old Devil') built on Mar 2 2013 14:32:37
Writing library : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.0
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 9 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 18mn
Bit rate : 809 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 536 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
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) : 0.049
Stream size : 784 MiB (79%)
Writing library : x264 core 129 r2230 1cffe9f
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=10 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=8 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=2 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=809 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 18mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 190 MiB (19%)
Default : Yes
Forced : No
================================================== ==========================
My goal is to convert the file to full-D1 SD NTSC progressive 23.976 without pulldown. I am using HcEnc v0.25 as the video encoder. The audio file was identified as NTSC-compliant by DVD Styler. Test AVS script for the video encode was initially simple and looked like this:
DirectShowSource("C:\Video.mkv",fps=23.976,convert fps=true)
#convertfps to prevent audio synch issues if source is vfr
LanczosResize(720,480)
For purposes of testing (first 3000 frames, the encoder was set for auto GOP 14 max, DC 10, 16:9 aspect, min bitrate 3000 and max bitrate 6000). The encode finished successfully, and here is its Media Info file:
General
Complete name : C:\Test1.m2v
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
File size : 44.0 MiB
Duration : 2mn 5s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 2 953 Kbps
Video
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Custom
Format settings, GOP : Variable
Duration : 2mn 5s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 2 953 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 6 000 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Scan order : Top Field First
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.356
Time code of first frame : 00:00:00:00
Stream size : 44.0 MiB (100%)
================================================== ============================
Media Info file says the output is still NTSC, but DVD Styler says it is PAL.
I had previously tried a different approach, demuxing the raw video to AVC and then running it through DGAVCIndex to produce a .dga project. File info from the indexing confirmed fps was 23.976 but indicated Colorimetry standard 709 so I ran a second AVS script including the ColorMatrix filter to change from 709 to 601 standard, still producing a PAL-identified file to DVD Styler. Also added ConvertToYUY2() to the script for a final test, and still identified by DVD Styler as PAL.
I'm relatively new to using DVD Styler (mildly experienced with Avisynth / HcEnc usage) and I am confused as to why it says the source is PAL. Do I need different format settings in HcEnc (Profile/GOP/BVOP/Matrix), or a modification of the AVS script, to get the video to true NTSC-compliance? Is MediaInfo mis-identifying the file as NTSC? Or is pulldown (23.976 > 29.970) absolutely necessary for DVD Styler to skip re-encoding?