[MEncoder-users] Mencoder adding AVI file header to MPEG2 capture from V4L device?

[Brian Keener]

I'm trying to capture home movies from a bt848 device to hard disk, in 
preperation for creating a DVD using TMPGENC dvd author in Windows.

I'm running under Mandrake 10.1 for the captures.

I tried initially to use FFMPEG, but experienced some really poor 
performance, so I'm trying mencoder now.

Here's my command line:

mencoder -fps 30000/1001 -endpos 00:00:05 -oac mp3lame -ovc lavc 
-lameopts mode=1:vbr=1:q=4 -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg2video:vbitrate=6000 -tv 
driver=v4l2:norm=ntsc:input=2:adevice=/dev/dsp1:width=720:height=480 -vf 
harddup -af volume=-1 -o tv.mpg tv://

I'm ATTEMPTING to capture directly to MPEG2 video file.

Here's the output from that command:

MEncoder 1.0pre7-3.4.1 (C) 2000-2005 MPlayer Team
CPU: Advanced Micro Devices Athlon MP/XP Thoroughbred (Family: 6, 
Stepping: 1)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
CPUflags: Type: 6 MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 1 3DNow2: 1 SSE: 1 SSE2: 0
Compiled with runtime CPU detection - WARNING - this is not optimal!
To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with 
--disable-runtime-cpudetection.
85 audio & 196 video codecs
File not found: 'frameno.avi'
Failed to open frameno.avi
success: format: 9  data: 0x0 - 0x0
TV detected! ;-)
Selected driver: v4l2
 name: Video 4 Linux 2 input
 author: Martin Olschewski <olschewski at zpr.uni-koeln.de>
 comment: first try, more to come ;-)
Selected device: BT878 video (Hauppauge (bt878))
 Tuner cap:
 Tuner rxs: MONO STEREO
 Capabilites:  video capture  video overlay  VBI capture device  tuner  
read/write  streaming
 supported norms: 0 = PAL; 1 = NTSC; 2 = SECAM; 3 = PAL-Nc; 4 = PAL-M; 5 
= PAL-N; 6 = NTSC-JP; 7 = PAL-60;
 inputs: 0 = Television; 1 = Composite1; 2 = S-Video; 3 = Composite3;
 Current input: 2
 Current format: YUV420
v4l2: current audio mode is : STEREO
audio block size too low, setting to 16384!
[V] filefmt:9  fourcc:0x32315659  size:720x480  fps:29.00  ftime:=0.0345
input fps will be interpreted as 29.97 instead
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [pcm] Uncompressed PCM audio decoder
AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 1411.2 kbit/100.00% (ratio: 176400->176400)
Selected audio codec: [pcm] afm:pcm (Uncompressed PCM)
==========================================================================
Opening video filter: [expand osd=1]
Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1  (-1=autodetect) osd: 1
Opening video filter: [harddup]
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [raw] RAW Uncompressed Video
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is undefined - no prescaling applied.
videocodec: libavcodec (720x480 fourcc=3267706d [mpg2])
Selected video codec: [rawyv12] vfm:raw (RAW YV12)
==========================================================================
MP3 audio selected
Building audio filter chain for 44100Hz/2ch/s16le -> 44100Hz/2ch/s16le...
Writing AVI header...
ODML: Aspect information not (yet?) available or unspecified, not 
writing vprp header.
Forcing audio preload to 0, max pts correction to 0
New_Face failed. Maybe the font path is wrong.
Please supply the text font file (~/.mplayer/subfont.ttf).
subtitle font: load_sub_face failed.
ODML: Aspect information not (yet?) available or unspecified, not 
writing vprp header.
Pos:   5.0s    150f ( 0%)  24fps Trem:   0min   0mb  A-V:0.000 [5334:156]
Flushing video frames

Writing AVI index...
Fixing AVI header...
ODML: Aspect information not (yet?) available or unspecified, not 
writing vprp header.

Video stream: 5334.039 kbit/s  (666754 bps)  size: 3337108 bytes  5.005 
secs  150 frames

Audio stream:  156.943 kbit/s  (19617 bps)  size: 97881 bytes  4.989 secs
v4l2: 183 frames successfully processed, 0 frames dropped.

It says "writing AVI index/Fixing AVI header", and I can't figure out 
what I'm doing wrong.

If I open the file using a hex editor, I definitely see the RIFF/etc. 
AVI header.

man mencoder hasn't been much help either...

Thanks for any assistance.

Brian K