m2ts problem

[Mammam]

Hi, so I've been having trouble with a m2ts file for days
I'm working with Premiere Pro CS6
I've been working with several BluRays basd on ThrowgnCpr's guide in the past and all of it worked so far
I could just import the raw m2ts file into Premiere and start editing, even without converting it first. I'm working on a 16GM Ram, i5 processor computer, it can handle it.
I would import the file into Adobe and then create a sequence based on the file
if the project gets too large I could always just export the original file into a lossless mpeg via Premiere

now I'm having a problem with the Amadeus BluRay I'm working with
I ripped the movie withut problems via DVDFab 8 and I can also import the m2ts into premiere but once I create a sequence it only adds the audio track, not the video
I tried converting the m2ts into mkv but that didn't help either

I tried converting the file into an .avi via the avisynth script, but the script would't work
maybe there are some avisynth basics I don't know about, I've never worked with kind of script before
simply opening the m2ts via virtualdub without a script wouldn't work as well (unknown or unsupported file type)

any ideas?
as I said, it worked without problems for sveral other BluRay, this is the first time I've encountered this problem
I can also play the m2ts on vlc and PowerDVD without any issues
am I missing a codec, is there some other way for a lossless conversion, why did it work on all the other m2ts files?

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

There could be a few things going on. First, you may not have successfully removed all the copy protection, which can sometimes cause problems. DVDFab usually works, but not always. You could try to rip via a different tool.

I don't know how old that release is, but many early blu-rays encoded with the MPEG2 codec, not the standard AVC codec, that is currently most common. Check your video file with MediaInfo to get some more details.

As an aside, VLC has it's own built-in codecs, so it should play any file, regardless if it works in other software. I don't know what PowerDVD does. I note in my guide, that I have often had problems opening M2TS via a script, but for some reason, changing the container to MKV works. If the avs script is written properly, and the MKV still won't open in virtualdub, you may have a codec issue. Install the K-lite codec pack.

 

[Mammam]

Thanks for the quick reply

K-Lite was installed, as was ffdshow and avisynth

however ... you're welcome to throw rocks at me now ... I only tried it on 64bit VirtualDub

32bit worked perfectly....

I'll check back in a little while, once the .avi is done

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

however ... you're welcome to throw rocks at me now ... I only tried it on 64bit VirtualDub. 32bit worked perfectly....

LOL, don't worry, I've done that myself by mistake. all the referencing libraries apparently need to be installed on the same setup (32 or 64). oof.

 

[Mammam]

Ok, since is my first time working with the avs script:
the outpout .avi (it's a three hour BluRay movie) will appaerently be ~230GB
the original m2ts (and all the mpegs I exported with Adobe on other projects) are 20-25GB
I assume this is normal..?

If it is, it is obviously a huge burden on my hard drive
so while I can work with this for now, in the long run it would of course be a lot easier if I coul figure out a way to work with the m2ts in adobe. I'm still not sure why this particular m2ts won't open properly

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

Ok, since is my first time working with the avs script:
the outpout .avi (it's a three hour BluRay movie) will appaerently be ~230GB
the original m2ts (and all the mpegs I exported with Adobe on other projects) are 20-25GB
I assume this is normal..?

Yes, that's normal (assuming you are keeping it 1080p). the AVI is lossless, while M2TS is a lossy compression format. Most NLEs have problems of some sort when handling compressed formats. I've heard that Premiere mostly plays nicely with M2TS, but I'm not a premiere user, so I can't comment too specifically.

Depending on your system, you may also notice some big preview lags when working with lossless files. It's pretty taxing on your system.

 

[TM2YC]

After the best part of a year (I think?) working with raw m2ts files in Vegas with 100% ease and sucess. I've recently had a few issues from recent Blu-Ray purchases.

These have all been down to the audio in some way or another. Ripping the m2ts video stream without the audio stream and then adding it seperately into Vegas does the trick. This might not be the same issue you are experiencing but I thought I'd mention it.

 

[Mammam]

This is what MediaInfo tells me about my Amadeus m2ts

General
ID/String : 0 (0x0)
CompleteName : I:\Amadeus\MainMovie\AMADEUS\BDMV\STREAM\00000.m2ts
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
FileSize/String : 26.7 GiB
Duration/String : 3h 0mn
OverallBitRate_Mode/String : Variable
OverallBitRate/String : 21.2 Mbps
OverallBitRate_Maximum/String : 48.0 Mbps


Video
ID/String : 4113 (0x1011)
MenuID/String : 1 (0x1)
Format : VC-1
Format_Profile : Advanced@L3
CodecID : 234
Duration/String : 3h 0mn
BitRate/String : 19.1 Mbps
Width/String : 1 920 pixels
Height/String : 1 080 pixels
DisplayAspectRatio/String : 16:9
FrameRate/String : 23.976 fps
ColorSpace : YUV
ChromaSubsampling : 4:2:0
BitDepth/String : 8 bits
ScanType/String : Progressive
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
Bits-(Pixel*Frame) : 0.384
StreamSize/String : 24.0 GiB (90%)



in comparison, this is the Hobbit AUJ EE m2ts, which worked like a charm

General
ID/String : 0 (0x0)
CompleteName : I:\Hobbit_AUJ\MainMovie\HOBBBIT_PART1_EXTENDED\BDMV\STREAM\00000.m2ts
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
FileSize/String : 35.2 GiB
Duration/String : 3h 2mn
OverallBitRate_Mode/String : VBR
OverallBitRate/String : 27.6 Mbps
OverallBitRate_Maximum/String : 48.0 Mbps


Video
ID/String : 4113 (0x1011)
MenuID/String : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format_Profile : [email protected]
Format_Settings_CABAC/String : Yes
Format_Settings_RefFrames/String : 2 frame2
CodecID : 27
Duration/String : 3h 2mn
BitRate_Mode/String : VBR
Width/String : 1920 pixel3
Height/String : 1080 pixel3
DisplayAspectRatio/String : 16:9
FrameRate/String : 23.976 fps2
ColorSpace : YUV
ChromaSubsampling : 4:2:0
BitDepth/String : 8 bit3
ScanType/String : Progressive

 

[ThrowgnCpr]

ok, so there is a codec difference. I forgot to mention VC-1 in addtion to AVC and MPEG2 above. It could be that Premiere doesn't like VC-1, but that seems weird. Anyway, that could be causing the problem.

 

[Mammam]

Ok, so this is the workaround I used:

I exported the first part of the movie (about 1.20h) as a 130GB lagarith file to go easy in my hard drive. (I had about 300Gb of free space)
Then I imported the .avi in Premiere, created a sequence based on the lagarith .avi and exported said sequence as an .mpeg
I now have a 13GB .mpeg without any visible quality loss, file size and quality is basically identical to the original .m2ts, as far as I can tell.
I then deleted the lagarith .avi to make room on my hard drive and am now exporting the second half of the movie (about 1.40h, supposedly about 150-200GB) as a lagarith .avi to repeat the .mpeg encoding via premiere.
I should then be able to edit the .mpeg as planned

in the future, if possible, I'll try to avoid VC-1 encoded files, as this workaround is rather time consuming but at least it works!


From what I read on different forums, VC-1 seems to be licensed and very restrictive, so I doubt there is an "official" way to edit VC-1 files


for comparison, this is new .mpeg

General
Complete name : I:\Amadeus\amadeus1.mpeg
Format : MPEG-PS
File size : 13.4 GiB
Duration : 1h 15mn
Overall bit rate : 25.3 Mbps


Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : High@High
Format settings, BVOP : No
Format settings, Matrix : Default
Format settings, GOP : N=3
Duration : 1h 15mn
Bit rate : 24.4 Mbps
Maximum bit rate : 24.9 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.491
Time code of first frame : 00:00:00:00
Time code source : Group of pictures header
GOP, Open/Closed : Closed
Stream size : 12.9 GiB (96%)
Color primaries : BT.709

 

[Captain Khajiit]

VC-1 is indeed a pain; however, my guide outlines a free way to decode it that avoids needless lossy recompressions.