aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiffhomepage
path: root/DOCS/encoding.html
blob: c4c4f79fe8046eb34e0b8cda3aa8df7a8eb06721 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
<HTML>
<BODY BGCOLOR=white>

<FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>

<P><B><A NAME=2.4>2.4.  Encoding with MEncoder</A></B></P>

<A NAME=2.4.1><P><B><I>Overview</I></B>
<P><B>MEncoder</B> (<B>MPlayer</B>'s Movie Encoder) is a simple movie encoder,
designed to encode MPlayer-playable movies
(<B>AVI/DVD/VCD/VOB/MPG/MOV/VIV/NET</B>) to other MPlayer-playable formats (see
below). Currently it's in beta stage, and encodes only to <B>DivX4</B> (1 or 2
passes) video, <B>PCM</B>/<B>MP3</B>/<B>VBRMP3</B> audio. Also has stream
copying abilities. In the future, there will be cropping, resizing filters, and
other interesting stuff.</P>

<A NAME=2.4.2><P><B><I>Compiling</I></B>
  <UL>
    <LI>read <B>MPlayer</B>'s compilation instructions, it contains info about
      how to install <I>libdvdread</I> for <B>DVD</B> support, etc.</LI>
    <LI>download the newest <B>DivX4linux</B> libs
      from <A HREF="http://avifile.sourceforge.net/download.htm">avifile.sourceforge.net</A>,
      and have them PROPERLY installed. This is needed for DivX4 (1/2 pass)
      encoding. And since this is mandatory (now), MEncoder is Linux-only.</LI>
    <LI>download and compile <B>libmp3lame</B> (from lame 3.89beta or lame CVS).<BR>
      <B>WARNING : DO NOT COMPILE LAME WITH <U>GCC 2.96</U> ! It won't
      work properly !</B><BR>
      This
      is needed for CBR/VBR MP3 audio encoding ability. Note that a single
      <CODE>lame</CODE> binary isn't sufficient. BTW: the less optimization
      you use for lame, the better the quality will be. You can test
      quality by running <CODE>make test</CODE> after lame's compiling process
      is over. The resulting number should be less than <B>30</B>. Don't
      panic if it's <B>400</B> or so, you shouldn't heard any audible
      quality decrease. Oh, and if your compiler doesn't even run <CODE>make test</CODE> ...
      Well, delete that <B>GCC 2.96</B>.</LI>
    <LI>use <CODE>./configure</CODE> with optional parameters as usual
      (use <CODE>--enable-tv</CODE> to include V4L tuner grabbing code), and
      type : <CODE>make mencoder</CODE> , then <CODE>make install</CODE>.</LI>
  </UL>
</P>

<P>You are ready. As you probably know, other encoding tools need the
<I>avifile</I> library installed. <B>MEncoder</B> doesn't need it at all.</P>

<A NAME=2.4.3><P><B><I>MEncoder features</I></B> :
  <UL>
    <LI>encoding from the wide range of fileformats and decoders of <B>MPlayer</B></LI>
    <LI>encoding from <B>V4L compatible TV tuners</B></LI>
    <LI>encoding/multiplexing to interleaved AVI files with proper index</LI>
    <LI>1 or 2 pass <B>DivX4</B> video</LI>
    <LI><B>VBR</B> MP3 audio</LI>
    <LI>PCM audio</LI>
    <LI>stream copying (CBR audio only)</LI>
    <LI>input A/V synchronizing (PTS-based, can be disabled with -mc 0 option)</LI>
    <LI>FPS correction with <CODE>-ofps</CODE> option (useful when encoding
    29.97fps VOB to 24fps AVI)</LI>
    <LI>movie rescaling</LI>
  </UL>
</P>

<P><B><I>Planned features</I></B> :
  <UL>
    <LI>using audio from separate file (AC3, MP3, OGG)</LI>
    <LI>VBR audio stream copy</LI>
    <LI>even wider variety of available en/decoding formats/codecs
    (creating VOB files with DivX4/Indeo5/VIVO streams :)</LI>
  </UL>
</P>

<A NAME=2.4.3.1><P><B><I>Encoding 2-pass DivX4</I></B></P>

<P>The name comes from the fact that this method encodes the file <I>twice</I>.
The first encoding (dubbed <I>pass</I>) creates some temporary files (*.log) with a
size of few megabytes, do not delete them yet (you can delete the AVI). In the second pass, the
2-pass output file is created, using the bitrate data from the temporary files. The resulting
file will have much better image quality. If this is the first time you heard
about this, you should consult some guides available on the Net.</P>

<P>This example shows how to encode a DVD to a 2-pass DivX4 AVI. Just two
commands are needed :<BR>
<CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder -dvd 2 -ovc divx4 -oac mp3lame -divx4opts br=1100
-o movie.avi -pass 1<BR>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder -dvd 2 -ovc divx4 -oac mp3lame -divx4opts br=1100 -o movie.avi -pass 2</CODE></P>

<A NAME=2.4.3.2><P><B><I>Rescaling movies</I></B></P>

<P>Often the need to resize movie images' size emerges. Its reasons can be many,
  examples are decreasing output file size, encoding SVCDs to DivX. Ripped DVDs
  are mostly rescaled, for example a 4:3 DVD should be 640x480, especially
  when you want it to fit to 1 CD, and have good quality at the same time.
  SVCDs have 480x480 size, and their header contains the aspect ratio the
  player should use (Ex.: 480x480 + 4:3 = 640x480). However when encoding to
  AVI (DivX) files, you have be aware that AVI headers don't store this
  value. Thus, the only solution is rescaling.</P>

<P>The output size is specified with the <CODE>-x</CODE>, and <CODE>-y</CODE>
  options.  Furthermore, there are 3 rescaling filters in <B>MEncoder</B>, <I>0
  : fast 1 : bilinear</I>, <I>2 : bilinear</I>, <I>bicubic</I> (best quality).
  They can be specified with the <CODE>-sws</CODE> option. If not specified,
  <B>MEncoder</B> will use 0 : fast bilinear.</P>

<P>Rescaling is very simple :<BR>
<CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder sample-svcd.mpg -divx4opts br=1300 -x 640 -y 480 -sws 2 -o output.avi</CODE></P>

<A NAME=2.4.3.3><P><B><I>Stream copying</I></B></P>

<P><B>MEncoder</B> can handle input streams in two ways : <B>encode</B> or
  <B>copy</B> them. This section is about <B>copying</B>.</P>

<P>
<UL>
  <LI><B>Video stream</B> (option <CODE>-ovc copy</CODE>) : nice stuff can be done :)<BR>
  Like, putting (not converting!) FLI or VIVO or MPEG1 video into an AVI file !
  Of course only <B>MPlayer</B> can play such files :) And it probably has no
  real life value at all. Rationally : video stream copying can be useful for
  example when only the audio stream has to be encoded (like, uncompressed PCM
  to MP3).</LI>

  <LI><B>Audio stream</B> (option <CODE>-oac copy</CODE>) : straightforward.</LI>
</UL>
</P>

<A NAME=2.4.3.4><P><B><I>Fixing AVIs with broken index</I></B></P>

<P>Easiest thing. We simply copy the video and audio streams, and
<B>MEncoder</B> generates the index. Of course this cannot fix possible bugs in
the video and/or audio streams.</P>

<P>Command : <CODE>mencoder input.avi -ovc copy -oac copy -o output.avi</CODE></P>

<A NAME=2.4.4><P><B><I>Syntax</I></B></P>

<P>&nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>mencoder [options] [input file] [options] ...</P>

<A NAME=2.4.5><P><B><I>Available options</I></B></P>

<P>NOTE : for all available options, <B>read the manpage !</B></P>

<TABLE BORDER=0>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-o</I> filename</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    specify output filename
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-x</I> width in pixels</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    rescale output video to given pixels width
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-y</I> height in pixels</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    rescale output video to given pixels height
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-sws</I> 0-2</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    type of scaling method<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;0 - fast bilinear<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;1 - bilinear<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;2 - bicubic (best quality)<BR>
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-ovc</I> codecname</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    Encode  with  the given codec (codec names are from codecs.conf). Examples:<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>help</B> - get list of available codecs<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>copy</B> - no encoding, just copy the stream (only from AVI/ASF now)<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>divx4</B> - encode to DivX4<BR>
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-oac</I> codecname</TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    Encode  with  the given codec (codec names are from codecs.conf). Examples:<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>help</B> - get list of available codecs<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>copy</B> - no encoding, just copy the stream (only from AVI/ASF now)<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>pcm</B> - encode to uncompressed PCM<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>mp3lame</B> - encode to MP3 (using Lame)<BR>
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-divx4opts</I></TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    If encoding to DivX4, you can specify its parameters here, like:<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>-divx4opts br=1800:deinterlace:key=250</CODE><BR>
    Common options: <B>(for full list, check the manpage!)</B><BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>help</B> - get help<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>br</B>=XXX - specify bitrate in kbit &lt;4-16000&gt; or bit &lt;16001-24000000&gt;<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>q</B>=XXXX - quality (1-fastest, 5-best - default 5)<BR>
  </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    <I>-lameopts</I></TD>
  <TD>&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
  <TD><FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=2>
    If encoding to MP3 with libmp3lame, you can specify its parameters here, like:<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>-lameopts q=3</CODE><BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<CODE>-lameopts br=192:cbr</CODE><BR>
    Common options: <B>(for full list, check the manpage!)</B><BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>help</B> - get help<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>cbr</B> - select <B>CBR</B> MP3 (default is <B>VBR</B>)<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>br</B>=XXX - specify bitrate in kbit &lt;0-1024&gt; (this is for <B>CBR</B> only!)<BR>
    &nbsp;&nbsp;<B>q</B>=XXXX - quality (0-highest, 9-fastest - default 0) (this is for <B>VBR</B> only!)<BR>
  </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>

<A NAME=2.4.6><P><B><I>Examples</I></B></P>

<P>Using <B>MEncoder</B> is the easiest thing on Earth. See the following :</P>

<P>Encoding from DVD, title 2 :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder -dvd 2 -o title2.avi</CODE></P>

<P>Encoding from DVD, title 2, with rescaling :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder -dvd 2 -x 640 -y 480 -sws 2 -o title2.avi</CODE></P>

<P>Encoding from HTTP :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder http://mplayer.hq/example.avi  -o  example.avi</CODE></P>

<P>Encoding from a pipe :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;rar p test-SVCD.rar | mencoder -divx4opts br=800 -ofps 24 -pass 1 -- -</CODE></P>

<P>Encoding multiple *.vob files :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;cat *.vob | mencoder &lt;options&gt; -</CODE></P>

<P>Encoding from tuner (for tuner options <A HREF="documentation.html#2.5">see the TV input section !</A>) :<BR>
  <CODE>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;mencoder -tv on:driver=v4l:width=640:height=480 &lt;options&gt;</CODE></P>

<P>For all available options, <B><I>check the MEncoder man page !</I></B>
<P>
</FONT>
</BODY>
</HTML>