Macross Frontier Episode 19 Talkback Thread *READ 1st Post*

[Heron]

Just get Media player classic and ffdshow like everyone else and enjoy those beautiful softsubs

Exactly. Still don't see the problem myself.

[MisaForever]

Exactly. Still don't see the problem myself.

Ummm, I HAVE Media Player Classic and it's still choppy. Plus the slower the system, the worse it is, no matter what the player or the codec is. That's my point. We don't all have top of the line computes like some of you. There's no reason to even use this MKV format when AVI and MP4 works perfectly fine.

Edited August 17, 2008 by MisaForever

[sharky]

So, Ranka and Brera are related, perhaps brother and sister. Or, at least they have a shared past. Isn't that a young Brera standing with his back to Ranka in the very beginning. Where Ranka is a small child and crying because she misses her mother. And, I assume that she is part of some sort of experiment/project involving the Vajra due to the compound eye reference in her dream.

I think the love triangle does parallel Hikaru, Misa, and Minmay. I think that Alto will go for Sheryl, while Ranka will have to be give up and focus on her singing career much in the same way Minmay did. I also agree with some on this thread that you could make a case that Ranka=Guld, Sheryl=Isamu, and Alto=Myung in which case you could conclude again that Alto will end up with Sheryl. Does that mean that Ranka will die perhaps while trying to defend the Frontier fleet with her singing? Will she die to trying to save everyone? Can't wait to see the story unfold.

I think Alto does want to choose Sheryl due to a few references in ep. 19. He seems to be genuinely interested in Sheryl more than Ranka because he is compelled to go back to his home to see her even though he swore never to go back. He seems to defend Ranka more out of a moral obligation and the fact that he gave his word to Ozma to protect her. I think he is jealous of Brera more out of his competitive nature and not so much because he loves Ranka. Again, every time Ranka and Alto are together it is more of a coincidence or some other necessary reason. Sheryl and Alto seem to get together because they like each other. Either Sheryl seeks out Alto, or Alto seeks out Sheryl at various times. I think he wanted Sheryl to see him do his aerial stunt to impress her.

I think Sheryl and Alto where finally expressing their feelings for each other when Ranka walked in on them. Much in the same way as DYRL, perhaps Alto will need to convince Ranka to sing out of the greater good when the upcoming battle starts.

[UN Spacy]

Is there a final word on how many episodes Frontier will run?

[Ork_dreadnought]

Ummm, I HAVE Media Player Classic and it's still choppy. Plus the slower the system, the worse it is, no matter what the player or the codec is. That's my point. We don't all have top of the line computes like some of you. There's no reason to even use this MKV format when AVI and MP4 works perfectly fine.

Ditto. The gg release was notably choppy for this episode.

On a lighter note, I really liked the episode. It nice for see someone force the Alto/Sheryl/Ranka issue, and Leon showing his colours. It still felt a lot a transistional episode though.

[DarkReaper]

Ummm, I HAVE Media Player Classic and it's still choppy. Plus the slower the system, the worse it is, no matter what the player or the codec is. That's my point. We don't all have top of the line computes like some of you. There's no reason to even use this MKV format when AVI and MP4 works perfectly fine.

You are mistaken, MKV isn't a format it's just a container. Think of it being like an uncompressed zip file that has the subs bundled in them.

What makes it so choppy is that the new releases are using the H264 codec bundled with high resolution captures. While H264 may provide a far better compression quality than Mpeg4, it's also very slow to decode without hardware support.

For reference I regularly combine my avi files with the .sub files using mkvmerge, with no performance loss.

[MisaForever]

You are mistaken, MKV isn't a format it's just a container. Think of it being like an uncompressed zip file that has the subs bundled in them.

What makes it so choppy is that the new releases are using the H264 codec bundled with high resolution captures. While H264 may provide a far better compression quality than Mpeg4, it's also very slow to decode without hardware support.

For reference I regularly combine my avi files with the .sub files using mkvmerge, with no performance loss.

Ok, what I meant was... I know it's a container, but fansubbers coming out with only MKV files is very inconvenient for some of us. While they may think it's faster and easier, it's not helping some of us because of the problems you just mentioned. AVI's ALWAYS work and they should stick with them IMO.

I have yet to successfully merge AVI and .sub files but I'll give it a try sometime again.

[DarkReaper]

Merging Avi and .sub files is really easy.

1. Get MKVtoolnix here :http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/win32/mkvtoolnix-unicode-2.2.0-setup.exe

2. Install it and open mmg.exe

3. Drag and drop both the Avi and .sub into the input files window

4. ?

5. Click start muxing

6. Instant softsubs!

Edited August 17, 2008 by DarkReaper

[Master Dex]

Merging Avi and .sub files is really easy.

1. Get MKVtoolnix here :http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/win32/mkvtoolnix-unicode-2.2.0-setup.exe

2. Install it and open mmg.exe

3. Drag and drop both the Avi and .sub into the input files window

4. ?

5. Click start muxing

6. Instant softsubs!

You forgot the part where you collect the underpants...

[MisaForever]

You forgot the part where you collect the underpants...

Oi!! Klan's panties are mine!!! Err.... >.> Ok, anyways thanks for the instructions DR. Now what if they're .ass files instead?

[Xeros]

the same with *.ass files, the point is you must check the timing of the *.ass file with the avi

[lososaurus]

Anyone else notice the strong allusion to the Kennedy assassination too?

Also, what is with the hate for .mkv files? Just get the CCCP and you can play pretty much everything http://www.cccp-project.net/

[MisaForever]

Anyone else notice the strong allusion to the Kennedy assassination too?

Also, what is with the hate for .mkv files? Just get the CCCP and you can play pretty much everything http://www.cccp-project.net/

*sigh* I've done that Loso, trust me. Some computers just aren't fast enough to process the file container. I won't argue the point anymore, I just prefer AVI files ok? And thanks Xeros, I'll give it a try.

[Mellow Yellow]

Ok, what I meant was... I know it's a container, but fansubbers coming out with only MKV files is very inconvenient for some of us. While they may think it's faster and easier, it's not helping some of us because of the problems you just mentioned. AVI's ALWAYS work and they should stick with them IMO.

I have yet to successfully merge AVI and .sub files but I'll give it a try sometime again.

Word. I don't know how some people can run the gg releases magically smooth in MPC without any configuring, but I still can't get it to run without sync issues, both on my 2GHz single core pc and my 2GHZ dual core laptop. I even disabled the ffdshow h264 video decoder in cccp and installed CoreAVC 1.7, which greatly improves the sync in normal scenes, but once it gets to action scenes with lots of motion, everything starts getting out of sync.

I just watch the gg releases with VLC now, granted the subs get jumbled and overlapped whenever there is singing and talking at the same time, but at least there aren't any sync issues like with MPC.

[Xeros]

Also, what is with the hate for .mkv files? Just get the CCCP and you can play pretty much everything http://www.cccp-project.net/

none of us are mkv haters though, in my case at least some times the gg release is really choppy and others works fine.

Also CCCP codec pack blows the DVD audio on my system 2 times and no solution was found, so I preffer packages that no alter the system in a way that only benefits their product performance

Edited August 17, 2008 by Xeros

[Master Dex]

I have never had any trouble with .mkv at all. Also I play all the stuff on simple Windows Media Player, not Media Player Classic, but the standard Windows Media Player. Granted I do have the k-lite codec pack which has ffdshow and all those thing to make it play smoothly but it still works fine. I have had trouble with .ass file subs like overlapping and such though. I just named the .ass file the same as the video file and both WMP and WMC play them with the subs and they seem to work. The method of attaching the subs to the file that DarkReaper just outlined is interesting because I've never heard of that, I may do that now to solve the overlapping issue. Since GG's subs require a raw without the sponser bits I just edit them out using basic video editing software.

[MisaForever]

Word. I don't know how some people can run the gg releases magically smooth in MPC without any configuring, but I still can't get it to run without sync issues, both on my 2GHz single core pc and my 2GHZ dual core laptop. I even disabled the ffdshow h264 video decoder in cccp and installed CoreAVC 1.7, which greatly improves the sync in normal scenes, but once it gets to action scenes with lots of motion, everything starts getting out of sync.

I just watch the gg releases with VLC now, granted the subs get jumbled and overlapped whenever there is singing and talking at the same time, but at least there aren't any sync issues like with MPC.

Well good, at least I'm not the only one having problems. These people who have never had issues spend tons of money on nice systems whereas some of us only have Athlon 2100+ systems and aren't quite that rich. Understand we're not all computer geeks here.

[MisaForever]

I have never had any trouble with .mkv at all. Also I play all the stuff on simple Windows Media Player, not Media Player Classic, but the standard Windows Media Player. Granted I do have the k-lite codec pack which has ffdshow and all those thing to make it play smoothly but it still works fine. I have had trouble with .ass file subs like overlapping and such though. I just named the .ass file the same as the video file and both WMP and WMC play them with the subs and they seem to work. The method of attaching the subs to the file that DarkReaper just outlined is interesting because I've never heard of that, I may do that now to solve the overlapping issue. Since GG's subs require a raw without the sponser bits I just edit them out using basic video editing software.

You guys sure do go through a lot just to watch an episode. This is why AVI is superior. It's all together in one file, no need to be using other programs and doing stuff to the files. Why make it difficult?

[Xeros]

men, I have a 3200+ system with 2 GB of ram and I have problems, not always but I have it

[lososaurus]

men, I have a 3200+ system with 2 GB of ram and I have problems, not always but I have it

That's odd that you guys have problems, I used to use a 3.2 P4, 1GB RAM and the only thing it would ever really choke on was 1080p content.

[MisaForever]

men, I have a 3200+ system with 2 GB of ram and I have problems, not always but I have it

Ok, I feel better now. My system is nothing like that.

[Xeros]

That's odd that you guys have problems, I used to use a 3.2 P4, 1GB RAM and the only thing it would ever really choke on was 1080p content.

I don't wanna enter on the geek stuff but the problem on my case the video card

My home PC is also my Work PC so I have 2 17'' CRT monitors plugged, and my video card is a ATI AGP 256MB radeon 9300 that only supports Directx 8.1 though, so the real problem in my case are the new codecs. As you can see I'm pretty aware of the issue but I don't mind because I like to watch movies or anime DVD with a data show and my Hi Fi audio system in my living room xD

[VF-19]

I've never had any problems playing Mkv files. They just work for me. And they never stutter, or skip at all. It's real pretty.

Now, if they were released on Divx formatted AVIs, then I could pop them on a DVD and watch them on my TV (Divx compatible DVD players are great), but it's not a big deal for me.

Overall, on this ep, I liked it, and of course, they have to have the cliffhanger at the end... Gotta keep us hooked...

[Master Dex]

Actually MisaForethought I prefer .avi over everything myself. I only get the .mkv when it is the only one available since I never have had any problems with it. I don't do anything special just to view it. I only download the .ass sub files so I don't have to redownload the whole episode just to see it with subs, I have to think about conserving hard disk space. My computer set up is actually not expensive at all, it is rather cheap. I am running a laptop with a dual core 1.6 GHz processor, 2 GB of Ram, and my video card isn't worth s***. I actually started out with only 1 GB of ram, I upgraded. I want to max my laptop out to 4 GB (I believe that is the most it will take) but I can't afford that right now. It is actually only a year and a half old computer but when I bought it I was trying to cost price so the performance of the machine suffers as a result. I can barely play any games on it so I'm not much of a PC gamer. My hard drive is actually 140 GB but almost 2/3 of it is used up due to the amount of stuff I've downloaded which is why I don't want to redownload episodes every time just for subs. My plan to get an external hard drive at some point to put my library of video files in so I can open up my hard drive for anything I may need it for.

Truthfully, I'm surprised that given all this I seem to have no problem at all playing MKV files and such in standard Windows Media Player no less when the word around here is that is the last thing people seem to try. True I downloaded a pretty complete codec pack that supposedly has everything I need to play anything but that was just a simple download that anyone can do, before that everything was choppy, even AVI files.

So basically, I only did one thing to allow myself to watch these episodes, and I am running what most people would consider to be a sub par system compared to the powerful machines out there today.

Edited August 17, 2008 by Master Dex

[-Snowblind-]

I've never had a problem with .mkv files. I don't own any high end systems, either, just a 2.0 single core Turion with 2gb of ram and integrated video and a 3500+ with 1gb of ram and a 7300. I also use MPC with k-lite. No trouble to play files, no choppiness, no timing issues. O.o

[Morpheus]

Can we talk about the subs and its mambo jumbo to the fansub thread?

[DeeBot]

I like MKVs because I can turn the subtitles off. Can't do that with AVI (unless you're using soft subs there, too, and then you have the inconvenience of an extra sub file). MKVs can also have multiple audio and subtitle tracks (video, too, but who really needs that?). In short, MKVs are much better containers for anything with DVD-like features. I've also been pretty impressed with the visual quality of ASS format subs.

My Macross F viewing computer is a 1.7 Ghz Athlon laptop with GeForce 6100 integrated video, and it plays perfectly smoothly. Granted, I can't do anything else at the same time... but it does play smoothly.

Really, I'm pretty sure most of these complaints have almost nothing to do with the MKV format itself, and are almost entirely due to trying to watch high definition H.264 video. Other codecs like XviD/DivX (which are much more common in AVI hard sub encodes, from what I've seen) are easier to decode, and lower resolution encodes also help. Overlaying the soft subs has some overhead, but it's really pretty insignificant compared to the rest of the decoding process.

Edited August 17, 2008 by DeeBot

[Duke Togo]

I like MKVs because I can turn the subtitles off. Can't do that with AVI (unless you're using soft subs there, too, and then you have the inconvenience of an extra sub file). MKVs can also have multiple audio and subtitle tracks (video, too, but who really needs that?). In short, MKVs are much better containers for anything with DVD-like features.

All of which are pretty useless for our purposes. Almost all of us download the RAWs the day its broadcast, then then the subtitled release the following week. There aren't multiple subtitle or audio tracks. For us its just a pain in the butt.

[Gubaba]

Since we're so far off-topic, I guess I can talk about something slightly off-topic, and seem like I'm bringing the thread back home...relatively, of course.

Anyway, as we near the end of the show, the speculation seems to be going into overdrive, and I'm wondering if there's anyone else out there who simply doesn't want to read it.

I guess I'm just worried that someone's going to hit on the right theory and unknowingly give away the ending. Which is not technically a spoiler, but has much the same effect...you're watching the last episode, suddenly Basara appears, singing at the Vajra, the lobster shells crack, and you think, "Aw, man...VFTF-1 was right...here come the Vajras' Inner Beauty Men," and indeed, that's what happens.

In any case, it sems there are fewer and fewer Frontier threads that I actually feel comfortable reading, especially after the first couple of pages. And yet I want to keep up with what's happening here. What's a boy to do, huh?

Oh, and add me to the list of people who can't play H.264 stuff. My computer is too old for the codecs. Plus, I use VLC because I have a mac, so softsubs generally look awful. Give me hardsubbed XviD (or DivX or whatever it is) any day.

[Holocause]

I generally like .mkv's as well. Its just a bummer they can't be played on an Xbox360 or a PS3. My gripe is that so far the only subbed release is in 1080 resolution and my workhorse PC can't handle it. Now my 360 can handle HiDef content better than my PC but alas it won't play .mkv. So I'm stuck right now waiting for a release in 704x400 or Lunar's avi.

Oh I got my hands on gg's .ass file. Anyone know the timing to adjust the subs so it can match with the Zero-raw release?

[broody]

Oh I got my hands on gg's .ass file. Anyone know the timing to adjust the subs so it can match with the Zero-raw release?

I got the same problem and found an answer courtesy of Xeros, use aegisub to edit the .ass file...

[MisaForever]

So yes, I loved this episode, regardless of the choppiness that I had to endure. The subs were great and the story is really progressing. I agree that there is a turning point here.

[RedWolf]

We are beginning to see the applications of fold quartz and how the factions on the background intend to use them.

Bilrer wants to use fold quartz to better improve transportation and communication.

It would be nice if the Vajra wasn't treated like poached Space Whale made into fold engine parts.

Grace and Galaxy Anonymous creates DE bomb and MDE rounds and they intended to use Fairy 9 and Q1 to control the Vajra.

It seems though Grace has collected enough data to control Vajra without an idol next episode. Probably a system similar to Sharon Apple.

[wolfx]

guys...if you have problems with MKV files lagging your pc its because the mkv files are 1280 x 780 which are HD files and your pc is too old to play them. Its nothing to do with it being an MKV file. The same result will happen if you played a RAW .avi HD file. So either get the SD .avi files or upgrade your pc. I just upgraded mine and the HD files work fine now.

Now back to the topic.

[Morpheus]

We are beginning to see the applications of fold quartz and how the factions on the background intend to use them.

Bilrer wants to use fold quartz to better improve transportation and communication.

It would be nice if the Vajra wasn't treated like poached Space Whale made into fold engine parts.

Grace and Galaxy Anonymous creates DE bomb and MDE rounds and they intended to use Fairy 9 and Q1 to control the Vajra.

It seems though Grace has collected enough data to control Vajra without an idol next episode. Probably a system similar to Sharon Apple.

What's MDE? Mini Dimension Eater? I haven't watch the subs yet, but is there any reason why Leon would stage a coup, does it related with Galaxy?