Use MediaInfo to look at the properties of your m2v video files. If you don't want to mess with the quality, create a conversion profile that mimics the details of the m2v formats (bitrate, resolution, codec) in a container that is suitable for PD editing.

m2v is not listed as a format the PD10 supports.

Jeff

Quote: Use MediaInfo to look at the properties of your m2v video files. If you don't want to mess with the quality, create a conversion profile that mimics the details of the m2v formats (bitrate, resolution, codec) in a container that is suitable for PD editing.

m2v is not listed as a format the PD10 supports.

Jeff

Thanks much for your reply, Jeff -

It looks like I can't use Media Espresso to create that profile, because the bitrate of the original files is 25 megs, and ME only goes up to 13.

When you say "in a container"--you just mean using a converter, or --?

The MP4 test copy took over an hour to make, but it's the best one so far. It's 4 gigs, the largest of these converted copies, but that's still half the size of the original. That makes sense, since its bitrate is about 1/2 that of the original.

There must be a converter I can get that can handle higher bitrates, so I'll look for one--Unless there's something I'm not getting here..

Randy

My first try would be to use TSmuxer (free download). It changes the container only and does not reencode. Import your M2V and output to M2TS, which PD accepts. You should be able to add your audio file too and it will mux it into the M2TS file so in PD you will have combined audio/video file.

MT2S is a container, not a real video format as in a given codec. A container describes the structure of the file, how stored, how they are made (interleaved), and which codecs are used (video stream of MPEG2 or H.264) audio stream of (AC3, LPCM) or others. It is something that carries all of the information that tells the file reader how to process the file. AVI, MOV, MP4, M2TS ... are container formats.

Jeff

Hi Randy -

I just grabbed a sample .m2v file (which is like an MPEG-2 with no audio stream) & used FormatFactory to convert it to MPEG-2.

Using Jeff's suggestion I replicated the profile of the "original". The converted file imported into PD eithout a hitch, unlike the .m2v file!

The two MediaInfo reports are attached.

Cheers - Tony


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Nice! Thank you both, Tony and Jeff with more info and advice - Off I go to wrestle this down to something I'm happy with. Much appreciate your posts.

Randy B.

Well, unfortunately none of that worked.

It's taking time to test things, because each vid is 45 minutes long. Over 8 gigs each in their original form.

TSmuxer won't accept these m2vs, unsupported format, even if I re-write the extension as mpg.

I've done four tests with FormatFactory, and they're all the same tiny size - 400 megs--compared to 8 gigs. They're totally unacceptable. I made a custom profile, but it has a similar limitation as Media Espresso does - it's highest bitrate is 16000, and these are 25000. When I set it to default, I'm not sure what it's doing--but the results, as I said, are these small 400 meg files.

So - I need to find yet another converter for m2vs. Darn it.

Thanks for the help, guys, even though the ideas didn't work for me.

Randy B.

My 'first stop' for conversion is SUPER or alternatively HANDBRAKE. One of them might do what you need.

Quote:
It's taking time to test things, because each vid is 45 minutes long. Over 8 gigs each in their original form.

.

When testing, is it necessary to convert the whole video? Would it save time to try a short clip of the video? But now that I've typed this, I'm thinking that maybe you don't have the means to make a short clip. Good luck. WINDOWS 7 PRO 64 BIT [SP1]
ASUS P8P67LE MB
Intel Ci7 2600K 3.40 Ghz
2X 8GB 1600Mhz Dual BL
2X EVGA GTX460 1GB SC
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
2X 1TB WD10000 SRTL Caviar Black
PD 9 Ultra 64
LG-12X Blu-Ray
Cameras: Canon 7D, Canon HF S21

Quote: ...When testing, is it necessary to convert the whole video? Would it save time to try a short clip of the video? But now that I've typed this, I'm thinking that maybe you don't have the means to make a short clip. Good luck.

Thanks for the post, TexasCityDave - Yes, it would be nice to test just a few minutes, but you guessed it, I don't have a way to slice up one of these files and keep it at its original full resolution.

Update: I kept trying different programs all day yesterday and nothing did the job.

--"Super" apparently seemed suspicious to my computer - Avast tried to block it, then when I ran it after installation, I had the first honest-to-goodness BSOD that I've ever had on this computer. ----grrrrr.

--Handbrake couldn't maintain the high bitrate.

--"EM Total vid converter" made tiny copies of the vids, total garbage. I tried that one several times, am positive all the settings were right.

--I installed and tried Aura Video, a free video editor, but it couldn't import m2vs.

--I tried Muvee Reveal X - it CAN import m2vs--but that program only has one video track!--I need three for this project.

--I BOUGHT another full video editing program that looked promising, because the site said it can import m2vs--and it indeed it can--BUT, it only has ONE video track also!-- How the heck are people supposed to do any real work with just one video track? They may as well use the free Microsoft Movie Maker. -- Very bummed that I paid money (the cost of PD9) only to discover that it's just meant for jumbling up snapshots and home video into "instant vacation" videos.

I've been trying so hard to keep the full resolution of these 8 gig m2v files because they are of a stage show I wrote which is running in Moscow, Russia. But, I have to get on with the project, so I'm settling for mp4 files done with Media Espresso. The bitrate is half of the original, so they're 4 gig files, and they look pretty good- just not as beautiful and sharp as the original. Oh well!

Frustrating - But at least I've now started to edit the 3 camera coverage of the show.

Thanks, everyone, for trying to help me out.

Randy B.

I copied this from another site. You may have already read it. I have a GoPro camera and think Cineform is some software that is free from them.

Chris- actually, I just got the word from David Newman that Cineform Aspect HD Link will convert 480i .m2v into Cineform 480i 4:2:2 .avi.
This is the way to go.
Using Cineform, I should be able to go from .m2v to .avi and back to .m2v without resampling the color to a different matrix each time, which was my main concern.
I had actually tried this, but HD Link wouldn't process the .m2v. David gave me the "file selection" procedure that works.
Thanks all.

WINDOWS 7 PRO 64 BIT [SP1]
ASUS P8P67LE MB
Intel Ci7 2600K 3.40 Ghz
2X 8GB 1600Mhz Dual BL
2X EVGA GTX460 1GB SC
120GB Corsair Force 3 SSD
2X 1TB WD10000 SRTL Caviar Black
PD 9 Ultra 64
LG-12X Blu-Ray
Cameras: Canon 7D, Canon HF S21

Randy,

You might take a look at this following topic it's about a year old. Thanks to JL(Jeff) who found it for me, it is possible to create a custom profile in Media Espresso or Media Show that will have a higher bit rate that you desire, more than the default 13Mbps. Take a look and see if it works for you, it worked for me and I tested it a year ago. You can make custom changes to frame rate (60fps) and specify a custom video bit rate, higher than the default maximum of 13Mbps. Try matching the parameters of your original m2v video files and see what happens!!

Just follow the instructions. I thought that since you had Media Espresso that this would be a fairly easy method to try. I remembered the year old thread today during a ferry crossing this morning....it's where I do my best problem solving!!!

But thanks to Jeff for finding the year old topic that I responded to over a year ago. THANKS JEFF!! You tha Man! I tried to find it, but couldn't, so I reached out to someone who could help me!

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/14009.page

The custom.prf file can be located here if using Media Espresso:C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Cyberlink\MediaShow Espresso

and if using Media Show can be found here:C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Cyberlink\MediaShow

Good luck,

Kevin
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Texas - Thanks for that. I saw it, but haven't wanted to deal with the proprietary Cineform format - I'm just not sure about all that.

But Kevin--I looked at the thread, thanks for posting it. And hey now then there, that looks like the ticket. I've never done anything quite like that, but the instructions seem clear. I'll try it out!--and if I can get files at the bitrate of 25MB I'm looking for, then I'll swap the vid clips out in my project.

Thanks, both of you!
Randy B.

Hey Randy,

I have been fiddling around with Media Espresso. Have you tried to create a new custom profile and then select mpg-2, then select 1920x1080? It converted a mov video file very respectably. The original file size of the mov file was 107.2 MB and the resulting mpg-2 file was 102 MB. So there was a little drop, but not that much. The quality looked great to me!

See the attached picture of the setup in Media Espresso.

So my question is: Did you try this setup yet in Media Espresso?

Kevin
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Quote: Hey Randy,

I have been fiddling around with Media Espresso. Have you tried to create a new custom profile and then select mpg-2, then select 1920x1080? It converted a mov video file very respectably. The original file size of the mov file was 107.2 MB and the resulting mpg-2 file was 102 MB. So there was a little drop, but not that much. The quality looked great to me!

See the attached picture of the setup in Media Espresso.

So my question is: Did you try this setup yet in Media Espresso?

Kevin

Well, I'm just not having any luck. Following the instructions for the Espresso "hack," the custom profile text I get is very long - I have 3 custom profiles, and can't figure out what to edit. All the profiles are in that one text file, but with no differentiation that's clear to me. Like the original post said, this fix is easier if you have only one custom file. I do see a figure in the list, "I130000"--but it's not listed under bitrate. Must be it, but--?

I looked at your screen shot, Kevin. That's a different version of Espresso than I have. Yours is called "MediaShow Espresso - Video Converter" and mine's called "MediaEspresso - Media Converter." I don't know which is newer, or if they're maybe totally different products. But when I try to do a custom profile for mpeg-2, 1920X1080, 16:9 - the highest bitrate available is still just 13.

So. Hmmm.

Randy B.

Hi Randy,

I downloaded Media Espresso 6.5 to test and created a custom profile and then edited the parameters in notepad. I converted a mov file with a 24Mbps bit rate and the resulting video file converted in Media Espresso 6.5 maintained the same bit rate!! Yea!!

Details coming as soon as I can post them. I just want to confirm some things before I post the results. I will have it posted by tonight.

Still driving the ferry.

Kevin
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Randy, Kevin & Dave -

Using MediaEspresso, as Kevin has suggested, does allow you to convert an m2v file with a bitrate of 25MBps to mpeg-2 with the same bitrate.

MediaEspresso will not import the m2v file as is. I had to change the file extension to .mpg for it to be imported.

Following the steps in http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/14009.page#66168 & modifying the custom.prf file works.

Randy - the two entries you need are:
sg22
Ixxxxxxx (xxxxxxx being the bitrate previously selected)

Just change them to:
sg22
I25000000

Attached, please find (a) MediaInfo report of a converted .m2v & (b) a copy of the custom.prf I modified. (If you want you could simply drop it in your C:\Users\UserID\AppData\Local\Cyberlink\MediaEspresso\6.5 folder to replace the original - keep a copy, of course).

*** Hmmm - just noticed the bitrate data in MediaInfo states maximum BR as 25MBps, but average BR of 23.5 - might need to look at that again.

Cheers - Tony
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Thank you Tony!! I knew you would cover me!! You did the confirmation steps I was looking to do.

Many thanks!

I think the max is set to 25Mbps combined audio and video bitrate, and since there is no audio value in his video clips the resulting video clip will be a lower number than the max 25Mbps. Do you that is right?

Kevin
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Quote: Randy, Kevin & Dave -

Using MediaEspresso, as Kevin has suggested, does allow you to convert an m2v file with a bitrate of 25MBps to mpeg-2 with the same bitrate.

MediaEspresso will not import the m2v file as is. I had to change the file extension to .mpg for it to be imported.

Following the steps in http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/14009.page#66168 & modifying the custom.prf file works.

Randy - the two entries you need are:
sg22
Ixxxxxxx (xxxxxxx being the bitrate previously selected)

Just change them to:
sg22
I25000000

Attached, please find (a) MediaInfo report of a converted .m2v & (b) a copy of the custom.prf I modified. (If you want you could simply drop it in your C:\Users\UserID\AppData\Local\Cyberlink\MediaEspresso\6.5 folder to replace the original - keep a copy, of course).

*** Hmmm - just noticed the bitrate data in MediaInfo states maximum BR as 25MBps, but average BR of 23.5 - might need to look at that again.

Cheers - Tony

Tony--Maybe there are some typos and/or errors in your post, and in the custom.prf file you posted?

I looked through my custom.prf line by line five times over, and there's only one line called "sg22," definitely not two, and it just says "I3."

I tried replacing my custom with the one you posted, but it didn't work. When I tried to use it, 13 was still the maximum bitrate available. -- I looked at your text, and instead of "I25000000" as you said in your message, the file has "I288000"-- ?---

I put my original custom back, and so I have my pre-sets again - but nothing's changed.

I don't know! Except I do know that you guys, Kevin and Tony have gone way beyond the call of duty. Thank you-- I'm being very careful as I try things, but they just aren't working for me. I'm going ahead with the MP4 files - I made those in Espresso, changing the original m2v extensions to mpg so I could import, then I cooked up the highest Mp4's available--half the size, but very decent looking. I'm moving on--I have to!

Thanks again.

Randy B.

Hi Randy -

You'll have to forgive my errors/typos or whatever they were. My apologies. You're right... one of the entries did say "I288000".

My blunder was that when I read the post by Lachbuster that Kevin linked it said:
This trick also works for customizing bitrates btw, much like with fps....you have to make two similar changes in the custom.prf file....if you saved the profile as 3 mbps, for example, you'll find 'I3xxxxxx' (where x corresponds to the saved audio bitrate), and 'I3000000' (the saved video bitrate). If you wanted 5.25mbps instead, substitute 5250000 (+ audio bitrate, ie 256000) for the first and 5250000 for the one that was 'I3000000'. Save and voila.

In checking out the mistake you pointed out, I found there were in fact three (3) occurrences of sg22 Ixxxxxxxx. Once I'd changed the 2 I found, I thought I was done. Apparently, not so.

So you can see what I mean, I've copied the text from the prf file into a Word doc & highlighted those entries in red. (attached)

Randy - I don't pretend to understand all the gobbledygook in those files. Just following instructions & trying to work out a possible solution.

I do know that I produced a profile that generated a video with a high bitrate, which is what you were after.

Anyway - it's a good day when I can learn something, even if it's because I've made errors.

Glad you're getting places with your production.

Cheers - Tony

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