FFAStrans forum

I'm posting this here, just in case someone else might benefit from it, or even provide me with the answers I'm looking for.

I’ve been struggling with getting FFAStrans to work for the last couple of days, and I feel like I’m missing something. If I get it to transcode, it won’t put the proxies in a folder structure that matches the original. But most of the time I get an error “Invalid File. Could not process.” I went through the forum and tried some of the suggestions that were posted, but maybe I’m missing something?

Would it be possible to walk me through the steps to get FFAStrans to function in the following workflow?

1. Video is ingested as ProRes 422 files in 720x480 to a “capture” folder on a SAN.
2. After the ingest session is over, a unique folder with the time and date is created in a “session” folder, and the ProRes files are moved to that folder.
3. When these ProRes videos begin to appear in their respective session folders, the transcoder (FFAStrans) will see them and automatically begin to create WMV proxy videos in a lower resolution to upload online, while keeping the originals to use for video editing. It doesn’t rename the files, but adds “proxy_” to the beginning of the file name.
4. When the transcoder (FFAStrans) begins to create the proxies, it looks at the embedded time code and creates a matching time code stamp on the video.
5. The transcoder (FFAtrans) also places a watermark on the video.
6. The final transcoded WMV is created in a “proxies” folder, while retaining the folder structure from its ProRes equivalent.

I love the software, I’m just having a tough time getting it to do what I need it to do. That may also be equated to my lack of sleep lately.

Thank you for FFAStrans, and for taking the time to help me out with this,
Conrad

Hi ConradF,

I need to know a little bit more about your workflow:

* Are the ProRes-files growing files?
* What processor cause the error-message: “<processor>:Invalid File. Could not process.”?
* Have you tried simplifying your workflow in order to eliminate possible pit-holes?

Also, you write that "most of the time" you get an error but not all the time? If that's the case then your workflow basically works but a) it needs tweaking, b) some of your ProRes files are "faulty" or c) it's a FFAStrans-bug.

Thank you for putting FFAStrans through a hard time

-steipal

1. The ProRes files are not growing files. They grow in the "capture" folder, and when they're done they're moved to the "sessions" folder.
2. The two processor errors I'm getting are:
.....a. "Watermark@TRANSCODE : ShowSMPTE: offset should be of the form "00:00:00:00""
.....b. "Windows Media@TRANSCODE: Invalid file! Could not process."
3. I have not tried to simplify my workflow, but I will now, and I'll get back to you. I'l start by turning off the Timecode and Watermark options.
.
Here are the processes I have running right now:
1. MONITORS
.....a. Folder
........i. Folder: "E:\sessions
........ii. Accept Files: *.mov
........iii. Deny Files:
........iv. Deny Attributes: checked "System" "Hidden"
........v. checked - "Create Folder, Recurse, and Localize File"
........vi. Limit File Size: "None"
2. DECODERS
.....a. A/V Media
........i. checked - "Use Audio, and Use Video"
........ii. Preparing: "Intelligent" on both
3. FILTERS
.....a. ChannelMapper
........ i. Channel Layout: "2 (stereo)"
.....b. Resize
........i. Presets: "Custom"
........ii. Quality: "Lanczos"
........iii. Width: "640"
........iv. Height: "480"
........v. unchecked - "Interlaced source"
.....c. Timecode
........i. checked - "Use original media start timecode"
........ii. Force FPS: "Default"
........iii. TC Size: "Medium"
........iv. Position: bottom center
........v. Foreground Opacity: "257"
........vi. Background Opacity: "100"
.....d. Watermark
........i. Image File: "Watermark.png"
........ii. Opacity: "166"
........iii. Fade In and Fade Out: "0"
4. ENCODERS
.....a. Windows Media
........i. File Format: "WMV"
........ii. Audio Only: unchecked
........iii. both Audio and Video Codec: "Windows Media Audio 8"
........iv. Audio Sample Rate: "44100"
........v. Audio Bitrate: "96"
........vi. Video Bitrate: "250"
........vii. both Audio and Video: "VBS"
6. DELIVERIES
..... a. Destination: Folder
........i. Folder: "E:\proxies"
........ii. unchecked - "Use Originals"
........iii. Suffix: "%original_path~1% proxy_"
........iv. Prefix:
........v. Nothing else is checked
........vi. Case: "None"
........vii. Preview: "%original_path~1% proxy_filename.ext"

I have been able to reproduce the issue and subsequently discovered a bug in FFAStrans which caused it to detect drop-frame video incorrectly. Can you please confirm whether you're using NTSC drop-frame in your ProRes media files?

-steipal

Yes, I will confirm that it is drop frame NTSC. I'm using drop frame so the time code is exact with the recording.

A new release will be out tomorrow that should resolve the issue. Please try it when it's available and report back.

-steipal

I definitely will. Thank you so much!

Okay, 0.5.0b2 is now installed and running smoothly. I'm using the same exact settings as listed in my previous reply.

One thing, how do I get FFAStrans to create the same folder structure as the original files?
In the "Suffix:" option, I typed %original_path~1%proxy_, but that didn't even add proxy_ to the beginning of my file.
I think I'm either putting that command in the wrong place, or I typed it in wrong.

This transcoder is fantastic. What makes it even better is that you're supporting it and continue to work on it. Thank you, again.

Thanks for nice feedback, ConradF It means a lot!

I've tried your suffix input and it work exactly as i should in my test setup. In your setup the files should really come out as "sessionsproxy_<filename>" if the originals are located in E:\sessions. Are you using folder or FTP destination? Are you able to add the "proxy_" suffix without "%original_path~1%"?

-steipal

There are sub-folders in the E:\sessions folder, and it's the sub-folder structure that I'd like to keep intact within the E:\proxies folder.
For example:
E:\sessions\testedit01abc\video3.mov would transcode into E:\proxies\testedit01abc\proxy_video3.wmv
E:\sessions\testedit02def\video1.mov would transcode into E:\proxies\testedit02def\proxy_video1.wmv
and so on...

I'm using folder destination, not FTP.

When I only enter "proxy_" in the suffix input, it renames the files correctly.