Bitrates: ProCalc ASPA, Available Space Proportional Allocator
 

ProCalc ASPA

Updated NOV/19/2005:
- ProCalc ASPA 1.5.0.0b
- Added audio processing through a program manager to obtain an ac3 or mp2 audio file for each stream included.
- Added 25 to 29.97 or 23.976 to 29.97 pulldown with VMesquitas's DGPulldown compilation.
- Help file updated, including how to use these functions. Press F1 to obtain help.

Updated NOV/10/2005:
- ProCalc ASPA 1.4.0.1b
- Minor bug fixed.
- Changed name to ProCalc ASPA to avoid confussions (and maybe licences issues) as another ProCalc programs can be found in the net.

Updated OCT/22/2005:
- ProCalc 1.4.0.0b.
- You can encode using Cinema Craft Encoder 2.6x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
- You can encode using Cinema Craft Encoder 2.7x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
- You can encode using AutoQMatEnc in 2 pass VBR or AutoQMat mode through EclCreate manager.
- Help file updated, including how to use CCE and AutQMatEnc.

Updated OCT/15/2005:
- ProCalc 1.3.0.2b.
- You can call now PARanoia from within ProCalc.
- You can encode using HC Encoder in multi pass VBR.

Updated SET/03/2005:
- Now completely coded in VB6.
- You can encode using BDCQ Calc and NuEnc in CQ mode.

ProCalc ASPA 1.5.0.0b

ProCalc ASPA (Available Space Proportional Allocator) is a tool that permits you to calculate the space required for your movies backups.
You can calculate it in a classic way, media size (minus audio size, overhead and extras) divided by streams number, or you can do ASPA, a proportional space allocation regarding each stream complexity.
Also permits you to encode final streams with several encoders (This function makes it different of its llittle brother ProCalc Lite):

1 - NuEnc in CQ mode through BDCQ Calc manager.
2 - HC Encoder in 2 pass VBR mode.
3 - Cinema Craft Encoder 2.6x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
4 - Cinema Craft Encoder 2.7x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
5 - AutoQMatEnc in 2 pass VBR or AutoQMat mode through EclCreate manager.

It can load until 10 avs scripts, then executes ASPA routines and give you the data required. It is to say, total calculated target size, video calculated final size, audio calculated final size, avgbtr to obtain such final video size, movie time in minutes and seconds and total frames of each movie.

You can do calculations in 2 way:
1 - ASPA complexity mode: Just opposite to time mode, it analizy complexity, but regardless movie length.
2 - ASPA time mode: ProCalc do calculations taking in account movie time (or length), but not complexity. No sample will be encode.

The recommended one is ASPA complexity mode.

The calculation engine will encode with HC Encoder in CQ mode, slicer samples (THX Incredible) with the "One Pass Ping Pong Prediction" (OPPPP) routine designed by me (a 2% OPPPP routine is the same than Incredible 2% ping routine as discussed in another thread).
Once it runs, calculations are performed and results will be showed in a listbox.
With this you can:
1 - Load CQMatic with avg bitrate obtained (calculated to fill a proportional space related with movietime and motion).* Other settings as usual. Run a full encode with CQMatic for each project file.
2 - Load any xPass VBR encoder with avg bitrate (calculated to fill a proportional space related with movietime and motion), max bitrate, passes, video size (proportional result related with movietime and motion) and all switches that you need. Run a full encode for each project file.
3 - If you selected previously in ProCalc "Full encode when calculation ends" and choiced between 2 mods:
a - HC Encoder 2 pass VBR: It will encode all your projects files using avg bitrate (calculated to fill a proportional space related with movietime and motion) to obtain a video size (proportional result related with movietime and motion).
b - Cinema Craft Encoder 2.6x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
c - Cinema Craft Encoder 2.7x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
d - AutoQMatEnc in 2 pass VBR or AutoQMat mode through EclCreate manager.
e - NuEnc Quality mode: It will encode all your projects files using the video size (proportional result related with movietime and motion) as target, doing before a Quality value prediction . The engines are NuEnc through BDCQ Calc GUI (does prediction passes before call NuEnc to encode).
You will obtain all your video streams in a straight way.

Before doing any calculation, you must to check your avs scripts. You can do it from within ProCalc.
Before doing any calculation you must to edit HC Encoder HC.ini general template. Then it will be used to create each individual movie.ini file. You can edit also those individual files of each loaded avs script from within ProCalc.

When task ended, you can view the html log pressing a button.

Before calculations you can check "Full encode when calculation ends" checkbox, so, after calculation, full encode will be acomplished with any of the supported encoders regarding your preferences.

CCE is known as the best mpeg2 encoder.
With HC Encoder in 2 pass VBR you will obtain almost perfects streams final size wise, and quality is near CCE.
AutoQMatEnc is a very promisory program.
NuEnc is very fast encoder but be aware that NuEnc undersize when it can't reach the final size required at CQ 100, so this encoder only is recommended to do 3 DVD to 1 DVD backups or targeting (S)VCD.

There are another tools that can be called from ProCalc Lite:
*********1 - Your DVD Decrypter.
*********2 - DVD2AVI or DGIndex.
*********3 - PARanoia.
*********4 - AC3 Delay Corrector..
*********5 - You can do massive AC3 Delay Correction.
*********6 - Special audio conversion (test yourself)
*********7 - BeSweet.
*********8 - SubRip.
*********9 - DGPulldown.

You need to set the paths to these programs pressing "Set Paths" button.

Some tips:
1 - Before load any avs script, edit HC.ini template file. BE SURE THAT* " *cq* * * * * * 1.5 "* BE ENABLED withdrawing space betwen the margin and * (Refer to HC doc).
2 - Default values are for DVD settings. Target size is a safe size, you can play with it doing encodings. Take in account that you don't need to calculate overhead as it is did already.
3 - GOP size must to be same as your final encoding. 12 as a general best value, 15 for PAL and 18 for NTSC systems. When using CCE remember that it only supports gop 12 and 15.
4 - You can copy any of the values just highlighting an avs script name in AVS listbox and left double clicking it. A popup menu will be shown. Select the option, go to your encoding application and paste info in the correct box.
5 - When full encode selected, all files will be encoded as in a batch list.
6 - All help is given by the tooltips and by the help file that comes with the program.

Downloads

ProCalc ASPA 1.5.0.0b
AC3 Delay Corrector.
You need VB6 runtime routines. (Only if you have not it yet).

http://www.digitalfaq.com/archives/i.../2005/07/1.gif

http://www.digitalfaq.com/archives/error.gif

Please, download it again.
Added movie playing time info.

Thanks for this tool Luis, I shall do some tests when time permits.

I am pleased that you have used calc methods based on Inc's Slicer and also Boulder's spreadsheet I can't wait to see the results.

I read all the posts that were made about ASPA method and look forward to seeing the results.

Great work Pro. :D

Updated:
ProCalc 0.3b: When you want to encode, not only calculate proportional spaces, NuEnc sometimes can't reach the desired size (it is an own NuEnc bug). In those cases ProCalc will switch automatically to HC Encoder 2 Pass VBR mode. It take some more time but final size is almost perfect.
vbs log files changed by html enhanced log files.

Maybe you want to see the logs first:
ProCalc/NuQmatic project 1 log
ProCalc/NuQmatic project 2 log

Thanks for the update Pro, im happy the results are near perfect for you this is a neat tool.

Updated:

http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=119077#119077

Thanks for the update Luis. :D I am happy that this tool is now coded with VB6 it should cause me less problems than the previous version. I shall do some testing for you when time permits. ;)

Great work.

Updated OCT/15/2005:
- ProCalc 1.3.0.2b.
- You can call now PARanoia from within ProCalc.
- You can encode using HC Encoder in multi pass VBR.

http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=119077#119077

Updated OCT/22/2005:
- ProCalc 1.4.0.0b.
You can encode using Cinema Craft Encoder 2.6x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
You can encode using Cinema Craft Encoder 2.7x in 2 pass VBR mode through EclCreate manager.
You can encode using AutoQMatEnc in 2 pass VBR or AutoQMat mode through EclCreate manager.
Help file updated, including how to use CCE and AutQMatEnc.

http://www.kvcd.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=119077#119077

Updated NOV/10/2005:
- ProCalc ASPA 1.4.0.1b
- Minor bug fixed.
- Changed name to ProCalc ASPA to avoid confussions (and maybe licences issues) as another ProCalc programs can be found in the net.

Updated NOV/19/2005:
- ProCalc ASPA 1.5.0.0b
- Added audio processing through a program manager to obtain an ac3 or mp2 audio file for each stream included.
- Added 25 to 29.97 or 23.976 to 29.97 pulldown with VMesquitas's DGPulldown compilation.
- Help file updated, including how to use these functions. Press F1 to obtain help.

Tried this out for the first time last night and I have to say it's pretty useful when doing kdvd with multiple streams. Excellent job

One thing though.. any chance of allowing drag and dropping avs files into it one at a time and build the list rather than replacing the first one? I say this because I usually have each stream in it's own sub directory, especially if i'm putting multiple episodes of a series onto the dvd.

Sorry, but not.
The way it works is with all avss at same time.
Depite that, you can have your sources in its own folder and only the avs files in a "working folder". There you will have also temp files (trash) at end of task. If once ended you close ProCalc it will delete most of trash, but not all.
If you want more that 10 episodes, you can do it in several waves, just adjust the media size (don't forget to substract the overhead, lets say 20 episodes 2150 MB for media size in each 10 stream wave ).