LiDiC WizFX data format

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Tue Jun 24, 2008 19:40

After buying a LiDiC and then after trying to read the output files on my PC (after much wasted time and effort - no product info on this), I learnt via this forum that it is H.264 format.

After buying Nero 8 which supposedly reads H.264 I have now found out that the output from the LiDiC when copied to PC by WizFX or WizDR is not standard H.264 format. (Although I have since found that MediaCoder can convert, but the quality is still not real good, and this just adds another stage in the conversion process).

Why did Beyonwiz came up with something that is rather impractical and so difficult to use ( ie as advertised - copy external inputs to your S1 or P1 and then to your PC- eg convert old analogue video recordings).

I am not impressed with this machine. It also keeps locking up my P1, often resulting in the need for a HDD check as well.

IanSav · Post by **IanSav** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:22

Hi BP3,

The specs of the LiDiC are clearly shown on the product specifications page on the website:

Video & Audio Format
Digital Video Format: H.264 MP@L3.0 (576i)
Digital Audio Output: AAC-LC (Stereo)

Are the recordings from your LiDiC viewable on the Beyonwiz? If so this indicates that your problems are with the codecs available on your PC and not the LiDiC and/or Beyonwiz.

Regards,
Ian.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 13:27

If you are seeing the files on the BW/TV combo and not on your PC/MAC then as Ian has said the problem is with the lack of suitable codecs installed on your PC or MAC. This can be solved by downloading at http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm or one of the codec packs available. Codecs need to be updated from time to time to accommodate the new formats coming on to the market that are not natively supported by the operating systems, simply because they were published before the new formats were developed and this has nothing to do with Beyonwiz or Topfield etc etc.

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 19:50

IanSav wrote:Hi BP3,

The specs of the LiDiC are clearly shown on the product specifications page on the website:
Video & Audio Format
Digital Video Format: H.264 MP@L3.0 (576i)
Digital Audio Output: AAC-LC (Stereo)
Are the recordings from your LiDiC viewable on the Beyonwiz? If so this indicates that your problems are with the codecs available on your PC and not the LiDiC and/or Beyonwiz.

Regards,
Ian.

Apart from locking up my P1 whenever I stop the VCR to change tapes (it either locks up my P1 or I lose all sound (even if I changing changes). So I have to restart the P1. That usually when I have to do the HDD check - so its rater annoying. Is this a bug in the LiDiC or the P1. I've got the May firmware, and the P1 has been very stable (ever since I bought it in October) until I started plugging in the LiDiC.
Anyway the recordings play ok on the Beyonwiz.

But Nero 8 specifies H.264 format but it can only read the video, but no sound. I've checked with Nero and they say "it seems that those files uses a codec that is not supported by Nero". Either Nero doesn't support H.264 or the Beyonwiz is some different standard of H.264.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 21:03

When you say Nero 8 are you referring to the component NeroVisionExpress?
The only DVD authoring program I have found that will handle LiDiC files directly is VSO ConvertXtoDVD version 2.2.3.258 and later (there may be others but Nero8 clearly is not one of them and it is full of problems compared to say version 6 which is still the most stable version IMO).

What I do is convert theLiDIC file to a DVD conforming MPEG file using TMPGenc Express 4. This gives me the opportunity to fix the incorrect aspect ratio and tidy up the file a bit. The resulting file should then go through NeroVisionExpress or any other authoring program without any problems.

On a similar note the files from my Sanyo HD1000 camera also need to be converted to a more convenient format like AVI or MPEG to be able to easily edit and manipulate the files prior to making a DVD. The reality is that the software to edit and author MP4 files is still being developed. Just go to any of the digital video camera forums to see that the technology is ahead of the software at the moment. I can remember when it was impossible or very difficult to edit mpeg files. So I don't blame BeyonWiz for using MP4 and AAC audio as a file format - frankly I would have preferred mpeg2, but it has the advantage of making a relative small file to handle. What Beyonwiz should have done is use a video proof reader or video editor to check out all the p's and q's so that they avoided the 5:4 aspect ratio trap

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 21:28

netmask wrote: The only DVD authoring program I have found that will handle LiDiC files directly is VSO ConvertXtoDVD version 2.2.3.258 and later (there may be others but Nero8 clearly is not one of them and it is full of problems compared to say version 6 which is still the most stable version IMO).

What I do is convert theLiDIC file to a DVD conforming MPEG file using TMPGenc Express 4. This gives me the opportunity to fix the incorrect aspect ratio and tidy up the file a bit. The resulting file should then go through NeroVisionExpress or any other authoring program without any problems.

Netmask - Thanks for that feedback.

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 20:01

BP3 wrote:
IanSav wrote:Hi BP3,

The specs of the LiDiC are clearly shown on the product specifications page on the website:
Video & Audio Format
Digital Video Format: H.264 MP@L3.0 (576i)
Digital Audio Output: AAC-LC (Stereo)
Regards,
Ian.
.

I need some help to understand what is going on here.

Nero technical support have advise the following.

"Nero 8 (Nero Vision 5) supports

Digital Video Format: H.264 MP@L3.0 (576i)
Digital Audio Output: AAC-LC (Stereo)"

I purchased Nero 8 including Nero Vision 5 because I was told it supported H.264. They've looked at file I copied copied from the LiDiC and tell me its a different codec.
I am confused.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 21:55

I would hazard a guess that the LiDiC uses a different profile to the LC version Nero decodes. So Nero was not a good choice to decode these files. Earlier posts by me and others listed the programs that do work with this version of AAC encoding. So basically I would ditch Nero and go for TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress as the best program to convert these files into something that can be edited and made into a DVD. Clearly Nero8 doesn't work with these files.

extract from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding
Modular encoding

AAC takes a modular approach to encoding. Depending on the complexity of the bitstream to be encoded, the desired performance and the acceptable output, implementers may create profiles to define which of a specific set of tools they want to use for a particular application. The standard offers four default profiles:

* Low Complexity (LC) - the simplest and most widely used and supported;
* Main Profile (MAIN) - like the LC profile, with the addition of backwards prediction;
* Sample-Rate Scalable (SRS), a.k.a. Scalable Sample Rate (MPEG-4 AAC-SSR);
* Long Term Prediction (LTP); added in the MPEG-4 standard ? an improvement of the MAIN profile using a forward predictor with lower computational complexity.

Depending on the AAC profile and the MP3 encoder, 96 kbit/s AAC can give nearly the same or better perceptual quality as 128 kbit/s MP3.[7]

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 06:41

netmask wrote:

What I do is convert theLiDIC file to a DVD conforming MPEG file using TMPGenc Express 4.

Thansk Netmask. But I have tried the trial version of TMPGenc Express 4. I get video but no sound. However, I do get video and audio using MediaCoder. It shows the audio format as ACC/AAC+
Bitrate 128kbps
Sample rate 48000hz
Channel 2

Is there some setting in TMPGenc I should set to get the audio..

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 09:30

Sorry I should have mentioned you need FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 2008-06-22 on your computer available at http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm

It might even interact with Nero 8 and make it work for you but I'm not sure as I don't use Nero except for burning DVD's

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:06

I just did an experiment with NeroVisionExpress 3 and found if I renamed the suffix of the LiDiC file from TS to .MP4 and with FFDShow installed NeroVisionExpress was quite happy with video and audio present.

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 22:24

netmask wrote:I just did an experiment with NeroVisionExpress 3 and found if I renamed the suffix of the LiDiC file from TS to .MP4 and with FFDShow installed NeroVisionExpress was quite happy with video and audio present.

I loaded and installed FFDShow MPEG-4 Video Decoder 2008-06-22 but still get no sound.

I get the question to use FFDshow when adding the file but still have no audio.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 23:08

Does the FFDShow icon show up in the startup group when you play a file? Do you have mediaplayer classic installed if you use this to open the LiDiC file the FFDShow icons will appear - if they don't maybe you didn't reboot your computer after installing them? Actually even Windows Media Player 11 will use FFDshow. Not sure if I asked you - I assume you are running XP with service pack 2 installed?

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 17:30

netmask wrote:Does the FFDShow icon show up in the startup group when you play a file? Do you have mediaplayer classic installed if you use this to open the LiDiC file the FFDShow icons will appear - if they don't maybe you didn't reboot your computer after installing them? Actually even Windows Media Player 11 will use FFDshow. Not sure if I asked you - I assume you are running XP with service pack 2 installed?

I've rebooted and running Vista. Mediaplayer classic plays ok but FFDShow icon does not display for any application.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sun Jun 29, 2008 20:51

Maybe it's a Vista thing - there are a number of programs including shareware and freeware that currently have problems with Vista i beleive. I'll make a few enquires from my private guru

In the meantime anyone out there using Vista with FFDShow?

checkout
http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net/p ... hlight=aac

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 18:47

netmask wrote:Maybe it's a Vista thing - there are a number of programs including shareware and freeware that currently have problems with Vista i beleive. I'll make a few enquires from my private guru In the meantime anyone out there using Vista with FFDShow?

checkout
http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net/p ... hlight=aac

Hi netmask,

Were you able to get any comments whether my problem with FFDShow is Vista related.

I've still dad no success. I bought the LiDiC to digitise my old 8mm analogue videos. I may have to look an an alternative way of doing it.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 19:15

I've asked a friend who runs Vista and has FFDShow with no problems - in a search I did I found this link that might be useful
http://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog/ ... 55586.html

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 19:18

PS Are you connecting the LiDiC to the BW or to your PC? There is software available to allow it to be connected directly to your PC so it might be worth a try.

BP3 · Post by **BP3** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 21:55

netmask wrote:PS Are you connecting the LiDiC to the BW or to your PC? There is software available to allow it to be connected directly to your PC so it might be worth a try.

I've done both. WizDR with my PC. But I have the same codec problem. Video but no sound.

netmask · Post by **netmask** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 22:20

Can you copy a file on to a DVD as data and try it on a friends computer? I'm running out of ideas

If it plays ok wiith sound on the BW then it has to be something with your computer. VLC plays LiDiC files OK and it only uses it's own codecs as does MPlayer I believe. It would be good if you could find someone with Vista installed with VLC and try it out and then someone with XP.

LiDiC WizFX data format

LiDiC WizFX data format

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