Sony DV files will not play

[sorin]

Hi all,

I browsed through the forum looking for an answer however couldn't find one...

I just imported my DV tapes into avi files, however PBO doesn't seem to like them (message unknown file format).

Any idea if the Sony DV format (this is what MediaInfo indicates) is or will be supported by PBO?

Below are the specs for the files, as specified by MediaInfo; if this format is not supported (and it's not in the works for the near future), which format should I use to preserve initial quality?

Thank you for your time!

Sorin

*****************************************
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Format_Commercial_IfAny : DV
Format profile : OpenDML
File size : 12.9 GiB
Duration : 1h 0mn
Overall bit rate : 30.4 Mbps

Video
ID : 0
Format : DV
Codec ID : dvsd
Codec ID/Hint : Sony
Duration : 1h 0mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:1:1
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 2.357
Stream size : 12.2 GiB (94%)
Encoding settings : wb mode= / white balance= / fcm=auto focus

Audio
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Unsigned
Codec ID : 1
Codec ID/Hint : Microsoft
Duration : 1h 0mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 666 MiB (5%)
Interleave, duration : 33 ms (1.00 video frame)
Interleave, preload duration : 33 ms

[aasoror]

Welcome to the PBO forum ..

24.4 Mbps is way too much for SD contents (720x480).
This is raw DV ? Direct dump from the miniDV cam ?

IMHO the problem is less likely to be with the Sony using a proprietary codec (because the codec is dvsd .. Digital Video Standard Def).

I think the problem is with the PBO not being able to playback raw DV. (I have some raw ones that I am going to try and report back).

Any way, being SD I would highly recommend encoding them into xvid or divx, you will be able to get a smaller file with comparable quality and it will be compatible with the PBO.

Check the free pocketdivxencoder

[sorin]

Thank you, aasoror!

The file is as imported by Pinnacle - modified by dvdate to hardcode the date and time, but I don't believe this has modified the encoding...True, 24.4 is more than my HS100 outputs...

I tried different other encodings and sure enough the file is much smaller, however there's a difference in quality...either that or I'm just a little too demanding for a 7 year-old Canon XR90...

I'll try PocketDivX, sometimes free works better than $250...

Thank you again for your time!

Sorin

[aasoror]

I have just tested a direct DV dump from my JVC mini DV (using Ulead VideoStudio)

Video
Format                           : Digital Video
Duration                         : 13mn 59s
Bit rate                         : 28.8 Mbps
Width                            : 720 pixels
Height                           : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 1.500
Original display aspect ratio    : 4/3
Frame rate mode                  : Constant
Frame rate                       : 29.970 fps
Standard                         : NTSC
Colorimetry                      : 4:1:1
Scan type                        : Interlaced
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 2.776
Stream size                      : 2.81 GiB (100%)

I don't get a "invalid format", I get a black screen (the PBO is able to detect the video/audio prop correctly as well as the file size/duration but thats it).

I can also confirm that the encoded DV files (in xvid using PocketDivxEncoder are working fine on the PBO).

Hope that helps

[sorin]

Excellent, thank you!

May I ask, are you happy with the encoded results? If so, could you please share the settings you used with PocketDivX...

I'm trying to get the best out of the DV tapes (best quality, but playable) for the movies I made with my kids...I will most likely keep the capture file (even at their unbelievable sizes), however I just bought a PBO for my parents and I'd like to fill it up with something in good quality before I deliver it...


Thank you again for your time, aasoror!

Sorin

[aasoror]

May I ask, are you happy with the encoded results? If so, could you please share the settings you used with PocketDivX...

Sorry for the late reply sorin.

Find here my SD Template (720x480) + my encoding setting file (just place in wherever you got the .exe extracted ... you will need the one that supports templates though).

The quality for these settings is fair, I use that to re-encode my daughters TV shows (~220 MB per 20 min in about 20 minutes encoding time), that said if I am to archive my home made videos I would increase the bit rate for both audio and video (the two slides on the left side of the GUI).

Test on small portions and see which bit rates will do the job for you.

Hope that helps,