Setup AMVpack and Ut Video on OSX (AviSynth and other tools)

[Anicsi]

'cd' is the 'change directory' command. You use it to enter or exit a folder from the Terminal. Basically, the first thing anyone needs to learn when using the Terminal is how to navigate in and out of folders with it. That's what 'cd' does. The second thing is to know how to find out what files are in the folder you're in at the moment, which is the 'ls' (list) command.

In this case, you'd use it to move into the ffmpeg folder that you said you moved onto the Desktop. I can't remember what OSX's treatment of unzipping stuff is (whether it creates a folder to put the stuff in or whether it just unpacks as-is - if it unpacks as-is, then what you moved probably was the ffmpeg binary, not a folder). One trick is that you can start typing the directory name, and then hit the Tab button - it'll autocomplete the directory name so you don't have to continue typing it out. So hypothetically, if the ffmpeg folder on the Desktop is named 'ffmpeg', you'd do this:

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cd ~/Desktop/ffmpeg

To break the individual pieces of that command down:
cd (change directory, to the destination that follows)
~ (move into your home directory)
Desktop (move into the 'Desktop' directory)
ffmpeg (move into the 'ffmpeg' directory)

and then do step A like above.

Awesome, worked like a charm, thanks for explaining. Gonna try messing with amvpack now, hopefully this time i can get it to run, I installed the windows lagarith and UTvideo codec in the AMVpack environment. *crosses fingers*

[Anicsi]

Aaaaand, I ran into the next problem xD I tried writing a script in AvsPmod with the created lossless .avi file UTvideocodec bla, bla, and the first two lines worked fine, then I tried various filters that should be there because they are plugins included in amvpack. I always get an error message:

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I located the plugin folder, and the plugins I tried using are there. Any ideas why it's giving me the error?

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Also, another question, let's say I want to add another plugin to the folder, and i download it here, i get a folder with not only the plugin, but also various other things. Do I need to keep those, or can I just put the plugin in the folder and delete the rest?

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Thanks in advance!

[l33tmeatwad]

FastLineDarken should be FastLineDarkenMOD(), are any of the others not loading? As for where the plugins go, that is the right location.

[Anicsi]

FastLineDarken should be FastLineDarkenMOD(), are any of the others not loading? As for where the plugins go, that is the right location.

Oh wow, you're right, how could I not see that? Btw why do they have different colors (the names)? And what does the MOD difference mean though? Because there is another one i wanted to use, gradfun2dbmod(), and i cannot find the plugin, only gradfun2db, which has less settings? And, yes, there were other ones, but to be honest I don't remember which and I forgot to take a screencap. But for two i noticed that the plugin was missing after all.

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Two more questions (I'm so sorry, I am really trying to figure out stuff on my own, but sometimes i just don't get it...)
1. zarxgui: Why did the tutorial say not to install it with the amvpack? Does it not work, or is there another reason not to use it with mac?

2. Since I cannot use zarxgui and I have yet to try virtualdub, i wanted to try if i could make a quick encode with amvsimple. So I tried installing the program in the amvpack environment on playonmac, since it needs avisynth to run, right? I get as far as to select a shortcut, but the program doesn't show up in the list, so I cannot create a shortcut. When I close Playonmac, it's like i never even installed it. If i search for it, I only get the application in my download folder, and if i double click, it just goes back wanting to install it again. I also tried manually searching for it in the amvpack folder, no luck.
It DOES open, right before asking to shortcut it, and i can even encode one video in that step. But then i have to close it and it turns out as explained above. What do I do to install it permanently/get a shortcut?

Thanks for all the help!

[l33tmeatwad]

Oh wow, you're right, how could I not see that? Btw why do they have different colors (the names)?

I'm not really sure, you may want to read the AvsP documentation as it might explain that detail.

And what does the MOD difference mean though? Because there is another one i wanted to use, gradfun2dbmod(), and i cannot find the plugin, only gradfun2db, which has less settings? And, yes, there were other ones, but to be honest I don't remember which and I forgot to take a screencap. But for two i noticed that the plugin was missing after all.

MOD means it's a modified version from the original and they are named that way not to conflict with the original function so you don't have to completely replace it if you don't want to. As for gradfun2db & the mod version, I chose not to include that and to include flash3kyuu_deband(), I would recommend using that instead. I have modified the AviSynth documentation to include documentation for the included filters in the pack, you may want to refer to those to see what up to date filters that are included as you may be trying to use outdated and/or less commonly used filters.

1. zarxgui: Why did the tutorial say not to install it with the amvpack? Does it not work, or is there another reason not to use it with mac?

The way the GUI is designed doesn't display well because of how WINE in OSX works and it does not function quite right so it is very inefficient.

2. Since I cannot use zarxgui and I have yet to try virtualdub, i wanted to try if i could make a quick encode with amvsimple. So I tried installing the program in the amvpack environment on playonmac, since it needs avisynth to run, right? I get as far as to select a shortcut, but the program doesn't show up in the list, so I cannot create a shortcut. When I close Playonmac, it's like i never even installed it. If i search for it, I only get the application in my download folder, and if i double click, it just goes back wanting to install it again. I also tried manually searching for it in the amvpack folder, no luck.
It DOES open, right before asking to shortcut it, and i can even encode one video in that step. But then i have to close it and it turns out as explained above. What do I do to install it permanently/get a shortcut?

Thanks for all the help!

I'm still trying to figure out what would be the best to recommend OSX users to encode videos with. At this time exporting from NLE software to MP4 directly may be the best route quality wise as the few native OSX encoding software that I know about do not produce very satisfactory results. As for creating shortcuts, if you place the software in the directory it needs to be in (assuming it doesn't have an installer), in PlayOnMac go to Configured, select AMVpack, then on the right click on "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive" and follow the previous steps you used to create other shortcuts.

[Anicsi]

MOD means it's a modified version from the original and they are named that way not to conflict with the original function so you don't have to completely replace it if you don't want to. As for gradfun2db & the mod version, I chose not to include that and to include flash3kyuu_deband(), I would recommend using that instead. I have modified the AviSynth documentation to include documentation for the included filters in the pack, you may want to refer to those to see what up to date filters that are included as you may be trying to use outdated and/or less commonly used filters.

Cool, thanks. I was following some guides, but they're probably not up to date filter-wise, so I'll definitely read the documentation then.

The way the GUI is designed doesn't display well because of how WINE in OSX works and it does not function quite right so it is very inefficient.

Oh yeah, when i tried to open it, the entire right side of the window was cut off, which made it impossible to use anyway, haha.

I'm still trying to figure out what would be the best to recommend OSX users to encode videos with. At this time exporting from NLE software to MP4 directly may be the best route quality wise as the few native OSX encoding software that I know about do not produce very satisfactory results.

Well, I have literally tried dozens of different ways to export from NLE software since I started editing with my mac 7 years ago. Way back when I was still using Final Cut I experimented and eventually Kionon advised me to install x264Encoder and encode directly to that from FC, because there were troubles opening uncompressed files in avidemux.

Anyway, the results were quite good when using the x264Encoder from Final Cut (even though I had to deal with slight banding), but when i switched to editing with Premiere, I found that all the export settings other than lossless and uncompressed, result in terrible quality, even when using Adobe Media Encoder. The x264Encoder, which had worked just fine in FC, gives me terrible results when using it to encode from Premiere. Pixels all over the place and slightly blurred lines.

So, yeah, my experiences with directly exporting from NLE software on Mac haven't been too good, which is why I wanted a method to use other encoding software which allows me to also use .avs scripts. Would you advise me to use VirtualDub or AmvSimple? I have heard different opinions, many of which preferred zarxGui, which is out of the question, obviously. (And also, I have had issues properly viewing videos on my Mac, which were encoded with zarxgui by others on windows)

As for creating shortcuts, if you place the software in the directory it needs to be in (assuming it doesn't have an installer), in PlayOnMac go to Configured, select AMVpack, then on the right click on "Make a new shortcut from this virtual drive" and follow the previous steps you used to create other shortcuts.

I might not have made myself clear enough. I downloaded the amvsimple app, and the unpacked folder(s) look like this:

Spoiler :

Then i follow your guide instructions to install the app amvsimple.exe in playonmac in the AMVpack environment. No issues, while it installs, the application opens (at that point i can even encode a video, even though the installation is still 'running' in the background)

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As soon as I close the amvsimple window, the shortcut window pops up. However, there is no name that i can associate with the amvsimple.exe i just installed. I only noticed just now, that there is indeed the names 'NeroAacEnc.exe' and 'MP4box.exe', which are both files that were in the ASG35 folder, that included the AMVsimple.exe (just in another folder named CLIs, see first screenshot above)

Could one of those two be used as a shortcut for AMVsimple, or does it have nothing to do with it?

Here is a list of all the options for shortcuts i have:

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Honestly, thank you for your time!

[l33tmeatwad]

AMVSimple does not have an installer, you simply need to place it in the directory you want it in and create a shortcut.

[Anicsi]

AMVSimple does not have an installer, you simply need to place it in the directory you want it in and create a shortcut.

oh wow, i'm sorry, man, I have no idea how to differentiate these with windows files xD Thanks lol

AMVsimple works great with the scripts.

Only got one error when I tried running FFT3DFilter.

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The plugin also has a different name in the error? I don't really get it.

[l33tmeatwad]

That would be because of an error in my scripting that doesn't copy the missing dll to the correct directory, lol...I shall fix that in the next release. Move fftw3.dll from the plugins folder to c\windows\system32

[Anicsi]

Ohh, alright. Well, I tried placing it in the directory you said, but I still get an error message. This time it's

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"Script error: there is no function named FFT3DFilter"

I had set it to FFT3DFilter(sigma=2.0) only, because for the default setting with the many options, I got another error which said:

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I don't know what "bw" means.

(The default setting for that was "bw=48")

xD

Oh yeah, here is where I placed it:

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Thanks!