I've setup MCEBuddy to monitor folders but it won't add files/not all files show up in the queue
Cause
The monitor path is invalid/incorrect
The file search pattern for the Monitoring folder does not match the files in the directory
The filters on the Conversion Task Settings page don't match the file metadata
The files are marked readonly or are locked by another process. MCEbuddy needs exclusive access to convert files.
Resolution
Check the monitor location directory configured in the monitor locations tasks
Check the file search pattern (e.g. *.wtv) for the monitoring location task. It may not be setup to accept all video/video files types in the directory being monitored.
Remove the readonly option on the files, right click on the file and select properties. Uncheckthe ReadOnly box.
If the file is locked by another process, you'll have to find out which process and then close the process/release the file.Check the Filename, Showname and Network name Filters on the Conversion Task Settings page
Refer to the MCEBuddy Advanced Commands page for more details on filename and showname pattern matching.
I'm adding files to MCEBuddy but it won't show up in the queue
Cause
The files are marked readonly or are locked by another process. MCEbuddy needs exclusive access to convert files.
The filters in the Conversion Task Settings do not match the Metadata on the file
Resolution
Remove the readonly option on the files, right click on the file and select properties. Uncheckthe ReadOnly box. If the file is locked by another process, you'll have to find out which process and then close the process/release the file.
Check the Filename, Showname and Network name filters in the Conversion Task Settings page. If the filters don't match the metadata on the file, the files will not be added to the queue.
I keep getting MCEBuddy Service is unavailable. Please start from windows control panel or check engine connection.
Cause
Either the service has not been started
OR there is a conflict with another port
OR ShowAnalyzer is causing MCEBuddy to hang
Resolution
Check that the service has been started. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Windows Services -> Select MCEBuddy 2.x -> Right click and click Start
If there is a conflict with another port, MCEBuddy will fail to start, check the Windows Event logs for more information and see the Installation Issues for more details.
If you have ShowAnalyzer installed; there's a bug in ShowAnalyzer which causes it to hang. The MCEBuddy User Application makes a call to check the status of ShowAnalyzer which causes it to hang and it presents itself as not able to connect to service issue.
Uninstallation, rebooting the computer and reinstalling Showanalyzer usually solves the problem. If it persists, try to uninstall ShowAnalyzer and use Comskip instead.
I am unable to access files created by MCEBuddy from a remote computer on my shared drive
Cause
Permissions or owner are set incorrectly on the parent folder which causes the files created by MCEBuddy to inherit permission that don't match the shared folder permissions.
Resolution
Ensure that the destination folder and the files are inheriting the permissions from the parent folder and the parent folder has the permissions you need for others to view the files (e.g. Read/Write/Modify for Guests or any other user). Also ensure that owner for the parent folder is set to you.
I am unable to play back WTV files created by MCEBuddy in Windows Media Play or Media Center
Cause
The correct filters are not setup to decode MPEG2 video in a WTV file.
Resolution
Open FFDShow Video Configuration from the Start Menu -> ffdshow (assuming you let MCEBuddy install FFDShow, if not install it).
Under MPEG-2 and MPEG2 in AVI, set the codec to libavcodec.
Reboot the computer.
MCEBuddy sometimes creates video with no audio
Cause: Some recording have multiple audio tracks, sometimes these audio tracks are earing/visual impaired tracks and often they do no contain any audio. MCEBuddy by default chooses the first audio track, so if the first audio track is an impaired audio track there will be no audio in the converted file.
Resolution: When the file is added to the queue, right click on the file and selectMediaInfo. This will show all the available audio tracks in the file. If the file contains impaired audio tracks then note the language of the audio track which NOT impaired. Open Settings-> Change Conversion Task Settings -> Advanced Settings ->Audio Language. Select the audio language of the non-impaired audio track as determined fromMediaInfo earlier. Do not worry if more than one audio tracks (impaired and non-impaired) have the same language. MCEBuddy will choose the non-impaired audio track when an Audio Language has been selected.
How do I prevent MCEBuddy from reconverting my videos
There are multiple options to prevent MCEBuddy from reconverting video files:
- If you're upgrading from a version before 2.1.7 please save the history file manually (C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\config\history) and restore it after upgrading. (2.1.7 and above save the history file during uninstallation and restore it on installation)
- If you're using 2.1.5 or greater you can use this option to manually add the files not to be converted to the history file in the following manner. In Windows Explorer select all the files you want to add to the history file. Drag and Drop them into MCEBuddy window (MCEBuddy should be started and it should start converting them). Now select all the files in the conversion queue (Click on the 1st file and pressShift + End) and then click Delete. It will stop converting all the files and add them to the History file and they will not be reconverted unless you add them manually.
- Create a folder called MCEBuddyArchive. Put all files you don't want converted into this folder, MCEBuddy will not convert any files inside this folder. Please note, when theArchive Files option is selected in the advanced settings page, MCEBuddy does this automatically.
- Open the Conversion Task you're created. In the Advanced Settings is a File Name Match (read the documentation MCEBuddy Advanced Commands). You can specify a negative filter (with ~) to specify which files NOT to convert OR a regular filter to specify which files to convert.
- If you're using the Monitor Locations option to automatically convert videos by monitoring a folder for new videosAND the Monitor Folder and Destination Folder are the same, change the Monitor LocationSearch Pattern. E.g. all source videos are WTV files, all destination videos are MP4. Open the Monitor Location task and set theSearch Pattern to *.wtv, so now MCEBuddy will only pick up WTV files to convert. Or you can use a -ve filter again like [videos];~*.mp4 or *.*;~*.mp4 to convert all files except .mp4 (the [videos] or *.* is important to specify since there must be atleast one +ve filter to select files)
My audio is out of sync with my video
Cause
There are many reasons for the Audio to be out of sync with Video. It can vary from corrupted frames to country format differences.
Resolution
There are many things can do to resync the Audio with the Video.
- If you're using a FFMPEG profile, trying setting the -ss parameter to-ss 30 to see if that solves the problem.
- Try setting the <encoder>-audiodelay=skip for the profile you're using.
- If point 2 does not work, then you can use the same parameter and replace skip with a +ve or a -ve number. This will advance or retard the audio by that many seconds. This can help bring the Audio back into sync with the Video through trial and error. Make sure you replace <encoder> with the profile encoder you're using. e.g.ffmpeg-audiodelay=1.25
- If you're using MEncoder in your profile and your audio is going out of sync ONLY when commercial removal is enabled then try to use themencoderedlskip=true option to use the MP4Box fallback method to strip out commercials. (again this will only help if commercials removal is causing the desync in audio while using MEncoder).
- If you're using FFMPEG or Handbrake and .mp4 or .m4v outputs then try playing with CutMP4Alternative=true
- Try setting UniversalCommercialRemover=true if the above doesn't work.
Refer to the MCEBuddy Advanced Commands for more details on the above.
The video I'm converting succeeds but has garbled video and audio
Cause
The video is copy protected.
Resolution
Record a non-copy protected video. There is no way to convert copy protected videos. To check for Copy Protection, right click on the video -> click properties. Check the Video properties page and look for the copy protection field.
When I use the MKV profile, I am unable to play it back with Windows Media Player
Cause
There is no MKV Media Splitter for Windows Media Player
Resolution
Download and install a MKV Media Splitter, e.g. Haali Media Splitter
When I use the NoRecode profile, I am unable to play it back with Windows Media Player
Cause
Windows does not have a MPEG-2 video splitter installed
Resolution
Download and install a MPEG-2 video splitter. e.g. FFDSHOW
My video is stuttering/broken after conversion
Cause
- Source video is corrupted or broken
- Check the log files, if the average rate of dropped and/or duplicate frames are high, MCEBuddy is unable to detect the correct video frame rate which leads to stuttering video.
Resolution
For corrupted original video, check the quality of the recording signal. A low quality signal can lead to corrupted recordings.
For incorrect frame rate issues, open mcebuddy.conf. Under the section[FFMpegBackupRemux], replace auto in -r auto with the correct frame rate of the video. (this can be done via trial and error or with the help of 3rd party software)
e.g. -r 25
e.g. -r 30*1000/1001Refer to MCEBuddy Advanced Commands for more details.
My original video has 6 channel/multichannel audio but my converted file only has stereo/2 channel audio
Cause
MCEBuddy by default limits all the output audio to 2 channel audio (stereo) to preserve compatibility with many 3rd party players and Windows Media Player (which doesn't support multichannel audio)
Resolution
In MCEBuddy, in the Conversion Tasks page, under Advanced Settings, enableMultichannel Audio. This will tell MCEBuddy to output multichannel audio if the source video has multichannel audio.
System does not wake up from standy/suspend even though I've enabled the Wake option in the settings page
Cause
Windows (Vista and 7) sometimes by default sets the Operating System to disable Wake Up timers. this is especially true for portable systems and laptops. When the System Wakeup timers are disabled no application can wake up the system from standy/suspend mode.
Resolution
Make sure Wake Timers are enabled in the system. Follow the steps below to enable Wake Timers.
1. Open the Control Panel (start -> Control Panel)
2. Look for Power Options and open it
3. For the active plan (the plan with the dot next to it), click on Change Plan Settings
4. Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
5. Click on the + next to the Sleep option
6. Click on the + next to Allow Wake Timers
7. Set the option to Enable for On Battery and Plugged In
8. Click OK
MCEBuddy does not start and stop at the time entered in the Settings page
Cause
The wake and start time are accidentally set in a 12 hour mode
Resolution
Set the start and stop time in a 24 hour mode. i.e. 01:30 PM should be set as 13:30
All my conversions keeps failing OR files are immediately removed from the queue after starting the conversion OR random files keep failing at random points OR my conversion never finishes (it just hangs)
Cause
MCEBuddy is running out of diskspace and the conversions fail in between at random points when it runs out of disk space. This is aggrevated when multiple conversions are being used.
Antivirus software is interfering with the conversion
Resolution
a) Sometimes Antivirus software such as AVAST are known to interfere with MCEBuddy. These software lock down the file when it is accessed by MCEBuddy and this causes the conversion not to start, hang or randomly fail. Try to disable the Antivirus and see if that solves the problem.
b) MCEBuddy needs 3 TIMES the size of the file being converted as free space on theINSTALLATION DRIVE. i.e. If MCEBuddy is installed on C drive and you're converting a 4GB file then you need 12GB of free space on C drive.
NOTE: MCEBuddy needs 1.5X free space for EACH file being converted simultaneously. i.e. if you have 3 simultaneous conversions and each file is 4GB in size, you need 1.5x3x4 = 18GB of free space on the installation directory!
If you do not have enough space in the installation drive, you have 2 options
1. Reduce the number of simultaneous conversions
2. Set the temp directory to point to a different drive where there is more space. Refer to MCEBuddy Advanced Commands for more details.
I pressed Start, I can see the files in the queue but Conversion task is showing Idle or Paused
Cause
The Start/Stop conversion time scheduler has been set on the settings page and the current time is not within the specified conversion period
The Pause button has been pressed
Resolution
There are the following options:
1. Wait for the conversion time period specified in the settings page and MCEBuddy will start automatically
2. Click settings and change/disable the Start/Stop time period in the settings page
3. Click on the Resume button on the GUI page
I'm not able to use a network path for Monitor Path or Destination Path. It gives an error or nothing happens
Cause
Network path is password protected
Network path is already mapped by Windows
Network path is offline
Resolution
a) Make sure you enter the username and password in the MCEBuddy Credential box next to the Monitor Path or Destination Path text box by clicking on the button.
b) Check if the path has already been mapped by Windows, this can create a conflict.
To check the mappings, open a command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd). Type net use and it should show you the mapped drives. You'll have to disconnect the necessary paths (net /delete <pathname>).
Alternatively, map your path to a drive in window (explorer -> tools -> map network drive) and then don't enter any username and password in mcebuddy instead use the mapped drive.c) Make sure the network drive is connected and accessible.
Windows is VERY FINICKY. You cannot MAP the same COMPUTER 2 times with different logins.
If you've connected to the remote computer using Windows Explorer or the Run command, then you've already logged in with one set of credentials. If MCEBuddy now tries to connect with the configured credentials it will FAIL since Windows will reject it.
1. Either use your own credentials and MAP the remote computer folder using Windows explorer and DO NOT enter any credentials in the Monitor Task or Conversion task pages for that remote computer. In this case MCEBuddy will use the Windows Explorer credentials.
OR
2. Enter the credentials in the MCEBuddy Monitor Task and Conversion Task page and let MCEBuddy connect to the remote computer.
Remember you CANNOT DO BOTH of the above, otherwise MCEBuddy will not be able to access the remote computer.
When I extract Closed Captions (CC) as SubTitles, the subtitles are out of sync from the start by a few seconds
Cause
By default all conversion profiles have a -ss 3 in the video conversion parameters. While this is necessary for a smooth conversion, the-ss 3 causes the conversion to skip the first 3 seconds of the video. This causes the subtitles generated to be out of sync by 3 seconds from the video
Resolution
In the Conversion Task settings page, next to the checkbox labled Extract CC, in the box labledOffset, enter -3. This will cause MCEBuddy to timeshift all the Subtitles back by 3 seconds which will compensate for the-ss 3 shift caused by the profile settings.
How do I use my custom EDL and Closed Caption/Subtitles files while converting the videos
Resolution
Place the .EDL and/or .SRT files along with the source video. MCEBuddy will automatically pick up these files (make sureRemove Ads is set to Comskip or Showanalyzer and/or Extract CC is enabled in the Conversion Task - MCEBuddy will use the custom EDL/SRT files before generating new ones). Also make sure they have the same name as the source video.
e.g. Source video -> MySerial.wtv
EDL File -> MySerial.edl
SRT File -> MySerial.srtRefer to the MCEBuddy Advanced Commands for more details on Custom EDL/SRT Files.
I'm trying to convert my video but after a few minutes the converted file has no audio
Cause
TV shows sometimes change the audio formats between shows/advertisements which causes FFMPEG, Mencoder to fail.
Resolution
Calculate (in seconds) the amount of time the previous show/advertisements are recorded before the start of the main show, add a few seconds to it for safety and put that value in theStart Trim box under Conversion Tasks -> Advanced Settings.
E.g. There is 2 minutes and 30 seconds of video before the main show starts, put155 in the Start Trim box.
Similarly calcuate the number of seconds after the show ends of video that is recorded (next show/advertisements) and put that value in theEnd Trim box.
This will make MCEBuddy trim the start and end of the video and leave just the show for conversions which should solve the problem of changing audio formats.