Video & Audio Help Index & FAQ (Not sure where to start? Check here!)

[l33tmeatwad]

Video & Audio Help Index & FAQ

Not sure where to start when asking for help? Chances are, you can find the answer here.
Note: To maintain consistency, this thread will be locked, and only moderators will be able to post and update the list.

Getting Started
What software and tools do I need to get started?
Are there any guides to help me get started?
How do I install AviSynth and/or VapourSynth?

Preparing Source for Editing
What is the best method to prepare source videos for editing?
What is 10-bit color and how can I find out the color depth of my source?
What is recontainering and how do I do it?
What are AviSynth and VapourSynth and how are they different?

Fixing Visual Defects in Source
DirectShowSource is not working correctly, how do I fix this?
What do I do when I open MP4/MKV files in VirtualDub and I see visual blocking/artifacts or the screen is gray/green?
My source video has aliasing/banding/grain/interlacing/mosquito noise/etc, how do I fix it?

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What software and tools do I need to get started?

To decrypt your own Blu-ray/DVD discs you will need ripping software. To process source videos you will need to either recontainer or convert based on the their format and what your editing software supports. For editing you will need some type of non-linear video editing software. Once you are finished editing you will need software for encoding and playback.

AMVpack is a collection of tools for recontainering, converting, encoding, and playback. Individual installers for the tools in AMVpack as well as alternative tools can be found in the Source Prep Tools List.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: Are there any guides to help me get started?

There are a few recommended guides you can follow:

A&E's Technical Guides to All Things Audio and Video (v3)
This is an extensive guide that contains a lot of technical information about audio & video, processing footage, how to setup project files, and even post production encoding. While this is one of the more thorough guides out there, it is slightly out of date as it contains no information about high definition standards and the software for the ripping is no longer available.

Anime Music Videos 101
This guide contains an introduction to audio & video as well as basic step by step instructions of how to process footage based on the source. While it does show what steps need to be taken, it does not go into full detail and explain how AviSynth works or give additional options to help troubleshoot rare video flaws.

AMVlog
This YouTube channel was created by editors for editors to provide video tutorials. It does not contain much on source prep, however it contains a lot of tips and tricks for popular non-linear editing software used by AMV editors.

AviSynth 101
This is an extensive guide that explains the basics of how AviSynth functions and explains how certain filters work with examples. AviSynth is the current recommendation for those unexperienced with using scripting to clean up video footage.

VapourSynth 101
This is an extensive guide that explains the basics of how VapourSynth functions and explains how certain filters work with examples. VapourSynth is more complicated than AviSynth and is currently only recommended for advanced users.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: How do I install AviSynth and/or VapourSynth?

The AviSynth Install Guide and VapourSynth Install Guide threads on this forum give instructions of how to install them and related tools on Linux, Mac, and Windows.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What is the best method to prepare source videos for editing?

Creating lossless files (Ut Video AVI or ProRes MOV) is still the recommended method for preparing your source footage to edit with. This will guarantee frame accuracy while maintaining the quality and allows for the opportunity to filter the footage using AviSynth or VapourSynth. Unfortunately, lossless files are very large and will require lots of space. Additionally, if you are filtering the source it may also take lots of time.

Alternatively, if your source material does not require any filtering and is 8-bit h.264 it may be useable without converting. Most editing software support using MP4 files with video encoded this way. If the video is in a MKV or M2TS container, they can be recontainered to MP4. Videos with 10-bit color may need to be converted to lossless unless you are using one of the few editing programs that support it.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What is 10-bit color and how can I find out the color depth of my source?

Color depth is what defines the amount of possible colors a video stream can have. Almost all consumer distributed videos will be 8-bit color, which allows for 256 color shades per color channel. With 10-bit each color channel will be able to produce 1024 shades, creating more realistic looking color and helps to reduce visual artifacts like banding. While many editing programs allow for 10-bit video, most do not support decoding of h.264 video that is 10-bit (HI10P).

There are several ways to find out the color depth of a video and one of the easiest is by checking with an application called MediaInfo.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What is recontainering and do I do it?

Recontainering is the process of extracting the video and/or audio streams from one container and multiplexing it in another. Editors often use this process to recontainer video in a MKV container into a MP4 because most non-linear editing programs will import MP4 files but not MKV. Some FFMPEG GUIs, such as AMVtool, allow the codec setting to be set to copy so that the video will be copied instead of re-encoding it when placing it in the output container.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What are AviSynth and VapourSynth and how are they different?

Both AviSynth and VapourSynth are software that process videos by using a script written by the user. These scripts allow the video to be processed through plugins and built in filters. Neither provides a graphical interface, however they can be previewed and processed using other software that supports them.

VapourSynth was inspired by AviSynth and was built from the ground up with support for modern video specifications. It is also multi-platform and not limited to just Windows like AviSynth. Unlike AviSynth it does not have its own scripting language and is run as a Python module so it uses that language for writing scripts.

While AviSynth may not natively do everything VapourSynth can, it has existed much longer and has more plugins available for it. It also supports audio, something VapourSynth does not. AviSynth scripting is also slightly easier, so it is the recommended option for new users who are not familiar with programming. While it is not multi-platform, it can be run in other operation systems by using WINE.

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: DirectShowSource is not working correctly, how do I fix this?

By not using DirectShowSource! Try one of these alternate input plugins:

AviSynth/VapourSynth Plugins for opening MP4/MKV files:
FFMpegSource (FFMS2)
LSMASHSource (L-SMASH-Works)

[l33tmeatwad]

Q: What do I do when I open MP4/MKV files in VirtualDub and I see visual blocking/artifacts or the screen is gray/green?

The plugin decoding the video is out of date, download the latest version and try again.