dv2mkv: windows installation

Installing python

Python is a programming language. This software is written in it. You can download it from here. I recommend to install version 2.6.x (since that is the version I am using):

• Python 2.6.5 32bits

Tipically it gets installed under:

C:\python26

but if you don't have admin rights you might wish to installed it somewhere else. (I will follow the assumption that it is installed in the standard place when I write paths).

Installing DV2MKV.

There is no installation file. You will have to download next zip file:

• .zip file

You can unzip it into a directory called:

C:\mydir

Extra software in which DV2MKV depend…

Installing AviSynth

Avisynth is a frameserver. The place were code and binaries can be downloaded is here. I downloaded and installed:

• AviSynth v2.5.8

During the installation there is a place where you can select the type of install. I recommend: "Standalone, Unpack Files only". This will enable the use of the software where you don't have admin rigths. I installed the software under:

C:\mydir\exe\avisynth

mplayer

Mplayer is among the best players/encoders. Its windwos version can be downloaded from:

• mplayer.exe: (multithreaded experimental version) this is a player.
• mencoder.exe: (multithreaded experimental version) this is a encoder.

I stored both files under:

C:\mydir\exe

Matroska

Matroska is the container where we will store both audio and video. The extension is: .mkv. The file is downloaded from here. I installed:

• mkvtoolnix 3.3.0: this is a file compressed using 7 zip. As a compresser. You will need to install 7-zip in your system to be able to uncompress this file.

I uncompressed it under:

C:\mydir\exe\mkvtoolnix

X264

Currently, the best place to download it is x264.nl. I have downloaded revision 1564:

• x264 revision1564 32bits

I store it under:

C:\mydir\exe

AVS2YUV

This little piece of software enables you to use avisynth under linux. You can find it here. I installed:

• avs2yuv.exe v0.24: it requires to have next two libraries in the same directory:
  • DLLs: avisynth and devil

I installed them in:

C:\mydir\exe\avs2yuv

Lame and Faac

Both can be found here.

I installed lame:

• Lame 3.98.4

under:

c:/mydir/exe/lame/

I installed faac:

• Faac 1.28

under:

• c:/mydir/exe/faac/

MP4Creator

MP4 is another container (like mkv). The windows version can be downloaded here:

• mp4creator 1.6.1d

I installed the files under:

C:\mydir\exe\mp4creator

Avisynth filters

The filters are stored in next .zip file:

• .zip file

I recommend to unzip this file so that all those .DLL are under:

C:\mydir\avisynth_filters

Configuration file

The configuration file is called .pyavs.json. It is a text file (its format is JSON). It looks like:

.pyavs.json

{
    "__configfile__": true,
    "__type__": "pyavs",
    "__version__": "1.0",
    "avs2yuv": "c:/mydir/exe/avs2yuv/avs2yuv.exe",
    "mencoder": "c:/mydir/exe/mencoder.exe",
    "mplayer": "c:/mydir/exe/mplayer.exe",
    "x264": "c:/mydir/exe/x264.exe",
    "lame": "c:/mydir/exe/lame/lame.exe",
    "faac": "c:/mydir/exe/faac/faac.exe",
    "mp4creator": "c:/mydir/exe/mp4creator/mp4creator.exe",
    "mkvmerge": "c:/mydir/exe/mkvtoolnix/mkvmerge.exe",
    "avisynth_scripts": "./avisynth_scrpts/",
    "virtualdubfilters": "../virtualdub/plugins/",
    "deshaker": {"file": "Deshaker.vdf", "preroll": 0}
 
}

The file is straightforward. It shows the location of the files used during the process (honestly, not all of them are used).