[MEncoder-users] Problems with dshow codec (possibly)

[Ross Clement]

Hi all.

I'm having difficulties with some .dv files. When I try to view them
with mplayer or encode them with mencoder, everything seems to work
OK, but the movie I see (or encode to) has no actual (visual) video. I
hear the sound, and the screen is the correct size (I presume) but
there is just a black screen.

Here's an example of the encoding I'm doing:

#!/bin/bash

CRF=18
THREADS=auto
DEBLOCK=-3,-3

mencoder -frames 1000 -vf scale -nosound -oac pcm -lavdopts threads=2
-x264encopts \
crf=$CRF:threads=$THREADS:cqm=m4g_hrm_v2.cfg:deblock=$DEBLOCK:bframes=3:b_pyramid:bime:weight_b:brdo:me=umh:frameref=5:mixed_refs:subq=7:trellis=1:8x8dct:nofast_pskip:nopsnr:nossim:direct_pred=auto
\
-ovc x264 -of rawvideo -o $1.264 $1

Here's the output I get from that bash file:

 ./264.bash robin_hood.dv
MEncoder dev-SVN-r26936-4.1.2 (C) 2000-2008 MPlayer Team
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     T7700  @ 2.40GHz (Family: 6,
Model: 15, Stepping: 11)
CPUflags: Type: 6 MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with runtime CPU detection.
success: format: 0  data: 0x0 - 0x653e5444
AVI file format detected.
[aviheader] Video stream found, -vid 0
[aviheader] Audio stream found, -aid 1
AVI: ODML: Building ODML index (2 superindexchunks).
VIDEO:  [dvsd]  720x576  24bpp  25.000 fps  28800.0 kbps (3515.6 kbyte/s)
[V] filefmt:3  fourcc:0x64737664  size:720x576  fps:25.000  ftime:=0.0400
Opening video filter: [expand osd=1]
Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1, osd: 1, aspect: 0.000000, round: 1
Opening video filter: [scale]
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [dshow] DirectShow video codecs
Decoder supports the following YUV formats: YUY2 UYVY
Decoder is capable of YUV output (flags 0x9)
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 576 (preferred colorspace: Packed YUY2)
[PP] Using codec's postprocessing, max q = 4.
VDec: using Packed YUY2 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is undefined - no prescaling applied.
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 1 -> 4
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 1 -> 4
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 1 -> 1
SwScaler: reducing / aligning filtersize 9 -> 8
[swscaler @ 0x85f8738]BICUBIC scaler, from yuyv422 to yuv420p using MMX2
[swscaler @ 0x85f8738]using 4-tap MMX scaler for horizontal luminance scaling
[swscaler @ 0x85f8738]using 4-tap MMX scaler for horizontal chrominance scaling
[swscaler @ 0x85f8738]using 1-tap MMX "scaler" for vertical scaling (YV12 like)
[swscaler @ 0x85f8738]720x576 -> 720x576
x264 [info]: using SAR=1/1
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2
Selected video codec: [qdv] vfm: dshow (Sony Digital Video (DV))
==========================================================================
New_Face failed. Maybe the font path is wrong.
Please supply the text font file (~/.mplayer/subfont.ttf).
subtitle font: load_sub_face failed.
New_Face failed. Maybe the font path is wrong.
Please supply the text font file (~/.mplayer/subfont.ttf).
subtitle font: load_sub_face failed.
Pos:  39.8s   1000f ( 1%) 47.71fps Trem:  23min   1mb  A-V:0.000 [5:0]]
Flushing video frames.

Video stream:    5.303 kbit/s  (662 B/s)  size: 26516 bytes  40.000
secs  1000 frames
x264 [info]: slice I:4     Avg QP:17.50  size:   106
x264 [info]: slice P:252   Avg QP:19.50  size:    25
x264 [info]: slice B:744   Avg QP:21.24  size:    20
x264 [info]: mb I  I16..4: 100.0%  0.0%  0.0%
x264 [info]: mb P  I16..4:  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  P16..4:  0.0%  0.0%
0.0%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: mb B  I16..4:  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  B16..8:  0.0%  0.0%
0.0%  direct: 0.0%  skip:100.0%
x264 [info]: 8x8 transform  intra:0.0%  inter:nan%
x264 [info]: direct mvs  spatial:0.0%  temporal:100.0%
x264 [info]: kb/s:4.4

I don't think it's the 264 encoding that is at fault, as I get the
same black screen with mplayer.

Here's the output I get from a plain mplayer -frames 1000 robin_hood.dv

$ mplayer -frames 1000 robin_hood.dv
MPlayer dev-SVN-r26936-4.1.2 (C) 2000-2008 MPlayer Team
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     T7700  @ 2.40GHz (Family: 6,
Model: 15, Stepping: 11)
CPUflags:  MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with runtime CPU detection.
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support. You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing robin_hood.dv.
AVI file format detected.
[aviheader] Video stream found, -vid 0
[aviheader] Audio stream found, -aid 1
AVI: ODML: Building ODML index (2 superindexchunks).
VIDEO:  [dvsd]  720x576  24bpp  25.000 fps  28800.0 kbps (3515.6 kbyte/s)
Clip info:
 Software: MEncoder dev-SVN-r24712-4.0.2
[VO_XV] Using Xv Adaptor #0 (Intel(R) Textured Video)
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [dshow] DirectShow video codecs
Decoder supports the following YUV formats: YUY2 UYVY
Decoder is capable of YUV output (flags 0x9)
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 576 (preferred colorspace: Packed YUY2)
[PP] Using codec's postprocessing, max q = 4.
VDec: using Packed YUY2 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is undefined - no prescaling applied.
VO: [xv] 720x576 => 720x576 Packed YUY2
Selected video codec: [qdv] vfm: dshow (Sony Digital Video (DV))
==========================================================================
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [pcm] Uncompressed PCM audio decoder
AUDIO: 32000 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 1024.0 kbit/100.00% (ratio: 128000->128000)
Selected audio codec: [pcm] afm: pcm (Uncompressed PCM)
==========================================================================
AO: [pulse] Init failed: Connection refused
AO: [alsa] 44100Hz 2ch s16le (2 bytes per sample)
Starting playback...
A:  40.0 V:  40.0 A-V: -0.001 ct:  0.000 1000/1000 11%  1%  0.5% 0 0

Exiting... (End of file)

Here I hear the sound, but just get a black screen for images.

I'm confident that these dv files used to work with mplayer/mencoder.
So I believe that it is some recent update to some application or more
likley library that has caused these problems.

I'd noted that I'd had some problems exporting to dv with kino, but
assumed that it was a kino problem. But given that I'm getting similar
black screen problems with mplayer and mencoder, I presume that the
problem is something more fundamental.

Can anyone advise what the problem might be?