[vdr] AIO - DIVX Notes

[emmtee@gmx.de]

As mentioned some days ago the DIVX-record-patch
won't work correctly with complete AIO: the recording will
abort after a random amount of time...

I was able to locate the source of the incompatibility: VCDSUPPORT
it looks to me like some repeating thread interrupts the
pipeline to mencoder.

here the updated makevdr script (VCD disabled by default):

--------------------------------------------------------
#!/bin/sh
# DVD=1         ->              DVD Navigation Support
# AC3=1         ->              AC3 Support for Replays
# VCD=1         ->              VideoCD Support
# LCD=1         ->              LCD Display Support
# MP3=1         ->              MP3 Support
# MPLAYER=1     ->              Divx Replay Support 
# VFAT=1        ->              Windows Partition Support
# CB=1          ->              ColorButtons Support in the Normalmode
# COLOR=1       ->              Elchis Colormanipulation
# PROGBAR=1     ->              Progressbar in the WHATs ON NOW Menu
# FONT=<SIZE>   ->              Build with "SMALL" or "SMALLEST" font size

# ATTENTION:
# IF YOU DISLIKE ONE OF THE PARAMETERS THEN YOU NEED TO REMOVE
# IT COMPLETELY FROM THE LINE BELOW - OR AT LEAST REMOVE ANY
# NUMBER BEHIND THE "=" FOR THE UNWANTED OPTION

# KNOWN PROBLEMS:
# DIVX-Recording won't work if you enable VCD-Support
# (VCD will work normally when used)

echo "setting env-vars, then starting make"
REMOTE=LIRC DVD=1 AC3=1 VCD= LCD=1 MP3=1 MPLAYER=1 VFAT=1 PROGBAR=1 CB=1 COLOR=1 FONT=SMALL make
--------------------------------------------------------



Here the content for README.DIVX:
--------------------------------------------------------

DIVX-Recording-Patch  FAQ 1.0

Q: What does the DIVX-Patch do?
A: Instead of recording the DVB stream to a file it records
   the video by piping it into mEncoder

Q: What is mEncoder ?
A: mEncoder is a part of the mplayer project (www.mplayerhq.hu)
   and can be used to (re-encode) streams or files

Q: Why should i want to record in DIVX when i can record in PES/VDR ?
A: With DIVX you can fit 4-6 times more recorded information on HD.
   The Patch was created in order to have a method for archiving
   regular episodes where no movie-quality is required.

Q: Can i use VDR playback or cutting functions with DIVX ?
A: Cutting DIVX with VDR is not supported (yet) - native playback
   is not supported either, but you should be able to view DIVX
   by using the mplayer patch.
   
Q: Do i need a fast CPU to live-encode in DIVX ?
A: The faster the better, you can save a lot of CPU-Time when you
   scale down the video, lower the bitrate and lower quality.

Q: What will happen if my settings are too demanding for my CPU ?
A: You'll get a DIVX file with repeating skip-errors because the
   data-buffer will overrun - causing a skip in video and audio.
   Your encode-FPS should be 23 FPS or better in order to avoid
   such errors.

Q: My CPU-Usage goes 100% when i record to DIVX - what's wrong ?
A: DIVX-encoding is a very CPU-demanding process and you'll
   quickly end up with 100% CPU load, please keep and eye on
   your encode-framerate if your load is above 95% - otherwise
   it could happen that your encoded movie has frame-skips and
   is rendered quite unuseable.

Q: I get "unknown command" mencoder
A: You need to install mplayer - it's expected location is /usr/local/bin/mencoder
   Usually the mplayer "make install" script does this for you.

Q: I get "-divx4opts unknown option"
A: You did not include divx4linux support in mplayer
   re-configure mplayer and keep an eye on those lines:
   >  Checking for XviD/DivX4linux encore (for mencoder) ... DivX4linux (with libdivxencore.so)
   >  Checking for mencoder ... yes

Q: Where can i find divx4linux ?
A: I successfully used http://avifile.sourceforge.net/divx4linux-20011025.tgz
   The official URL is probably http://cvs.projectmayo.com/cgi-bin/cvsweb/divxcore/encore/

Q: What are the different DIVX-Modes ?
A: Mode 0 is OFF
   Mode 1 is Custrom (uses the other values in menu)
   Mode 2 is br= 600 q=5 -x 268 -y 200
   Mode 3 is br= 800 q=3 -x 400 -y 300
   Mode 4 is br=1200 q=2 -x 400 -y 300
   Please note that those values might change with the DIVX patch evolving

Q: What settings do you use ?
A: With my Athlon 850 i usually use this:
   Mode = 1   x = 268   y = 200   bitrate = 4   quality = 5
   (with bitrates from 4 to 6)

Q: I want to change the hardcoded settings - what do i need to do?
A: Open dvbapi.c and search for "mencoder" - rest should be obvious

Q: Recording aborts after a couple of seconds and VDR dies - what's wrong.
A: You probably compiled VDR with VCD support - there's a yet unresolved
   incompatibility with the current VCD patch which was absent in earlier
   releases - this problem is hopefully going to be solved in one of the
   next releases.

Q: VDR Segfaults after recording ended.
A: Use the runvdr script to restart VDR, the source of this segfault
   isn't located yet, but there isn't any indication that it is caused
   by the DIVX patch.