Best TMPGEnc settings for Tivo Playback?

AlanAuerbach · 12-26-2006, 04:41 PM

I'm trying to encode some home videos for playback on Series 2 Tivo boxes (a 240 box and a 540 box). I'm using TMPGEnc 3.0. My problem is that I'm getting some visual jitter even at relatively low bit rates (2Mbps).

I'm guessing (based on already adjusting just about everything else

) that I should adjust the "video mode" setting. My options here are:

1. 3:2 pulldown playback
2. Progressive
3. Interlaced
4. Inverse 3:2 pulldown

Which of these work best for Tivo playback?

thanks.

AlanAuerbach · 12-26-2006, 11:03 PM

I should add that up until now, I've been using the 3:2 pulldown setting. I'll start experimenting more tonight with some short clips.

Also wondering if it's framerate related. TMPGEnc seems to want to encode at 24fps, when I would expect video to run at 30fps.

SMWinnie · 12-27-2006, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlanAuerbach

I'm trying to encode some home videos for playback on Series 2 Tivo boxes (a 240 box and a 540 box). I'm using TMPGEnc 3.0. My problem is that I'm getting some visual jitter even at relatively low bit rates (2Mbps).

I'm guessing (based on already adjusting just about everything else

) that I should adjust the "video mode" setting. My options here are:

1. 3:2 pulldown playback
2. Progressive
3. Interlaced
4. Inverse 3:2 pulldown

Which of these work best for Tivo playback?

thanks.

My apologies if this is too basic. Both your TiVos will be playing the resulting file back in NTSC, which is an interlaced format. Interlaced formats "paint" every other line and then go back to fill in the lines that were skipped on the first pass.

Pulldown (or "inverse pulldown") refer to the process of changing video content between different frame rates. Film tends to be shot at 24fps (24 frames per second) while TV runs at 30fps. To play 24fps material on a 30fps device, extra frames need to be synthesized.

Long story short, I would guess you would pick "Interlaced" from that menu so long as you have already pegged the Tsunami encoder at 30 (actually 29.97) frames per second. You will also want to make sure the resolution is TTG-legal and the audio codec is supported.

AlanAuerbach · 12-27-2006, 06:20 PM

Don't worry about being too basic. TMPGEnc exposes a lot of settings, and in this age of video where players and sets are being advertised as "XXX progressive", I can be misled into thinking that the old NTSC interlacing rules no longer apply.

As it turns out however, it seems my problem is closer to the source. What I neglected to mention was that these home videos are the output of Windows Movie Maker in WMV format. TMPGEnc seems to do a really nice job of encoding into the TTG compatible format, but it doesn't seem to do as good a job of decoding the WMV source. TMPGEnc's source preview windows show the same choppy/jerky/jittery video as what results in the output (even though the same WMVs through Media Player are gorgeous and smooth).

I tried running the WMVs through Videora Converter, but am experiencing a failure that I'm still working on diagnosing. Videora Converter appears to build an AviSynth script that references the WMV file as a DirectShowSource, and then pipe that through ffmpeg. As far as I can tell, this should work, if for no other reason than I installed the WM9 VMC package.

So for now, the higher order question is: what's the best way to convert *from* WMV into a TTG-compatible format? I can go back to the backed up WMM project files (and, I realize that for ideal quality, I should), but I'm not looking for perfect -- just good enough -- and the choppiness/jerkiness is not yet good enough.

Dan203 · 12-28-2006, 12:15 PM

TiVo requires the video to be 29.97fps. If you give it a video encoded at 24fps it will still play, but will play the first 24 frames, then pause for what would be the next 5 frames, then continue. This creates a really bad jerkiness.

What you want to do is set TMPGEnc to force 29.97fps, and not use the "29.97fps (24fps internally)" selection. That should create a smoother playback experience.

Dan

AlanAuerbach · 12-28-2006, 02:15 PM

The critical setting seems to be "Soften block noise". When I check this, I get the result I want: smoother motion at the expense of picture sharpness.

Chew · 03-29-2007, 06:54 AM

I wanted to bump this thread for a TMPGEnc Xpress question.

There are an increasing number of video podcasts available in 16X9. I have a 16X9 TV. When I use Videora TiVo Converter on .avi files, the resulting output plays without issues and completely fills the screen on my television. When I use Xpress on a 16X9 setting, I get white lines all over the place making the picture unwatchable. When I use Xpress on a 4X3 setting, the picture is actually letterboxed within 4X3.

Since Videora doesn't handle nearly all the formats you'll see in a video podcast, I'm wondering what setting in Xpress I need to mirror the output I'd see from Videora?

I completely copied the settings from the profile I use in Videora and that didn't help.

On a related note: the Videora team is awful quick to release an AppleTV encoder and still seems pretty active on PSP, Xbox 360, and iPod encoders. Why no Tivo update in a year and a half?

sschwar2 · 12-21-2008, 10:52 AM

Does anyone happen to know why MPEGs that are encoded using TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress cannot be fast forwarded on a S3? The total duration of the video is not recognized either, the only 'tivo' function available from uploaded MPGs is pause. Once you leave the video and go back, Tivo does not resume where it stopped.