"Same Quality" Option in Replay Converter (the same as in Replay Media Catcher)
Hey everyone,
I've been using Replay Media Catcher for just over a month and I absolutely love it. Unfortunately after a month the FLV files I've downloaded drop off the list in Replay Media Catcher and I can't find an option to import them back in from my hard drive, so I can't convert them anymore to other formats without having to download/record them again.
So I bought Replay Converter expecting to have the same options/presets as Replay Media Catcher for conversion.
Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case as I can't find any 'same quality' options like there is in Media Catcher and it would appear I have to specify a bitrate and quality.
This is causing me a real problem because I have been editing clips together in Adobe Premiere Pro that I have converted in Media Catcher using the 'DVD MPEG2 Same Quality' preset and then building a DVD in Adobe Encore and it has been working perfectly.
Replay Media Catcher is able to convert the FLV files without altering the frame size, frame rate or aspect ratio. It only alters the Video and Audio Codecs.
But now, when I convert files in Replay Converter, I have to specify a bitrate which may or may not be the same, better or worse than the original, but more importantly, I have to specify PAL or NTSC in the DVD MPEG2 presets which affects the frame size and frame rate. The major problem this is causing me is that it stretches the image vertically trying to fit it into a specific DVD Frame Size. FLV's are usually cropped with the blank bands (black matte) removed from the top and bottom of the image and instead of re-adding black bands the image is being stretched to fill the frame. This distortion can vary a lot and be quite extreme depending on how wide the original FLV image is.
Is there any way of choosing a 'same quality' preset in Replay Converter like in Replay Media Catcher so I can simply convert the file type/codec without affecting the image size, frame rate and aspect ratio or are there plans to add this option in a future update?
At this moment in time I feel like I've wasted my money on Replay Converter because I thought I was buying a standalone version of the converter in Replay Media Catcher but this doesn't seem to be the case.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.
Re: "Same Quality" Option in Replay Converter (the same as in Replay Media Catcher)
I've contacted the developer of Replay Convert and asked whether the same conversion presets/profiles can be added.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
snubnog
Unfortunately after a month the FLV files I've downloaded drop off the list in Replay Media Catcher and I can't find an option to import them back in from my hard drive, so I can't convert them anymore to other formats without having to download/record them again.
Choose the recording settings, then go to Tools -> Convert and select the file(s) that you want to convert. You don't need to re-download/re-capture anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
snubnog
Replay Media Catcher is able to convert the FLV files without altering the frame size, frame rate or aspect ratio. It only alters the Video and Audio Codecs.
Moreover, Replay Media Catcher has lossless presets allowing to convert FLV files to Mp4, MKV and AVI without changing audio and video codecs. The only thing that changes is a container (FLV to Mp4, FLV to MKV, FLV to AVI)
But you can edit conversion settings in Replay Converter (just click the Edit button on the right of the "Choose a target format" combobox and check
"Use source file's video codec" and/or "Use source file's audio codec":
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3...sionformat.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by
snubnog
At this moment in time I feel like I've wasted my money on Replay Converter because I thought I was buying a standalone version of the converter in Replay Media Catcher but this doesn't seem to be the case.
Replay Converter has many features that Replay Media Catcher lacks. For example, it can create and burn a DVD-Video disc for you.
If you think you don't need Replay Converter, Applian offers a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee.
Re: "Same Quality" Option in Replay Converter (the same as in Replay Media Catcher)
Thanks so much for such a super quick and detailed response! You totally solved my problem (and improved my method) so I really appreciate it!
First off, I was sure I'd tried Tools -> Convert in Replay Media Catcher to convert files stored on my hard drive because I remember seeing it, but I must've gone wrong somewhere because it works just like you said, so thanks for that. I should've just asked this question in the first place and I wouldn't have needed to buy Replay Converter.
Secondly, the AVI Same Quality preset in Replay Media Catcher was actually my preferred choice because like you say, it doesn't change the Video and Audio Codecs and simply changes the container, which is all I actually needed to do in order to import it into Premiere. Now I did try this before and for some reason Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 wouldn't import the AVI's, which is why I'd settled for the MPEG2 Same Quality option which it would import. However, I've tried the AVI Same Quality option again today and it's now working with most of my FLV's and the AVI's are importing into Premiere no problem. All I can think is there was either a bug in the first version of Replay Media Catcher I installed (I've updated twice since I first installed it) or there was a bug in Premiere which has been solved with the last update or I had only tried it on FLV's recorded from Brightcove with the On2 VP6 Video Codec at 25fps, which I'm still having problems with today. I just get an error as soon as conversion starts and it stops. FLV's with the On2 VP6 Video Codec at 30fps convert no problem, as do FLV's with the H264/avc1 Video Codec at 25 or 30fps.
Finally, thanks for the info on Replay Converter. Again, I totally missed the edit symbol button for the presets. I'm glad it's got the option to use the same Video and Audio Codecs as the original, but there's still no option to simply carry the bitrates/data rates across, so correct me if I'm wrong, but without checking each FLV's audio and video bit rates before conversion they will probably change and I could end up reducing the quality or pointlessly increasing the file size which obviously isn't going to improve quality with Lossy formats. Obviously it would be really time consuming to check each and every FLV before conversion so from a workflow point of view, it's not the option for me. It think it'd be far quicker to record a load of FLV's in Media Catcher with the 'Do Not Convert' option and then queue them up for batch conversion to AVI Same Quality overnight with the peace of mind that I'm just changing the container and they're all going to be same quality as the originals.
Thanks again for all your help!
Re: "Same Quality" Option in Replay Converter (the same as in Replay Media Catcher)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
snubnog
Secondly, the AVI Same Quality preset in Replay Media Catcher was actually my preferred choice because like you say, it doesn't change the Video and Audio Codecs and simply changes the container, which is all I actually needed to do in order to import it into Premiere. Now I did try this before and for some reason Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 wouldn't import the AVI's, which is why I'd settled for the MPEG2 Same Quality option which it would import.
May be I'm wrong, but AFAIK the "AVI Lossless Extraction" preset changes the container to AVI, while
the "AVI Same Quality" preset just uses the same bitrate and framerate. So the first preset is lossless, while the second one is not (some people say it is almost lossless).
Quote:
Originally Posted by
snubnog
I had only tried it on FLV's recorded from Brightcove with the On2 VP6 Video Codec at 25fps, which I'm still having problems with today. I just get an error as soon as conversion starts and it stops. FLV's with the On2 VP6 Video Codec at 30fps convert no problem, as do FLV's with the H264/avc1 Video Codec at 25 or 30fps.
Please post the exact error that you have. Otherwise it is hard to help. Or just post a link to the web-page with a problematic video.
Since DVD-Video discs use MPEG-2 video, I would just convert to MPEG-2 format with DVD-Video resolution (do you use PAL or NTSC?) using RMC or Replay Converter. Then you can split your video with freeware VirtualDub, AviDemux (may be Replay Video Splitter will support MPEG-2 files as well). Then create a DVD using software that allows to avoid re-compressing MPEG-2 files.
An easier solution will be editing your files with freeware AviDemux and then burning them directly to DVD-Video using Replay Converter.
