Bug#737171: ff_rate_estimate_qscale: Assertion `picture_number<rcc->num_entries' failed

[Juergen Pfennig]

Package: libav-tools
Version: 6:0.8.9-1
Severity: normal

Dear Maintainer,

--- The mission

I am converting a lot of old PAL MPEG2 TS files to something else. The
files occasionally have invalid data packages, as is to be expected for
data being received via PB Sat. All these files get happily played by
mplayer. I know little about avlib (except that debian has choosen it
above ffmpeg and I know even less about ffmpeg).

I have seen more bugs and crashes in avconv than you have bug reports on
Debian. Unfortunately all seem to be upstream bugs. Probably you are not
interested in collecting bugs for upstream?

--- The bug of the day

Here a bug example (output of a batch job generated by a shell script):

COMMAND :> avconv -loglevel error -i /data/alpha/vol1/Filme/SciFi/Star
Wars EpisodeVI-Die Rückkehr der Jedi Ritter.mpg -pass 1 -an -passlogfile
/tmp/user/1000/9234 -vf crop=720:341:0:118,yadif -c:v mpeg4 -async 1000
-threads 2 -strict 1 -b:a 192k -b:v 3M -bt 18M -f mp4 -y /dev/null
[mpeg2video @ 0xd78440] ac-tex damaged at 7 18
[mpeg2video @ 0xd78440] Warning MVs not available
STATUS  := 0
COMMAND :> avconv -loglevel error -i /data/alpha/vol1/Filme/SciFi/Star
Wars EpisodeVI-Die Rückkehr der Jedi Ritter.mpg -pass 2 -passlogfile
/tmp/user/1000/9234 -vf crop=720:341:0:118,yadif -c:a libmp3lame -c:v
mpeg4 -async 1000 -threads 2 -strict 1 -b:a 192k -b:v 3M -bt 18M -f mp4
-y Star Wars EpisodeVI-Die Rückkehr der Jedi Ritter.mp4
[mp2 @ 0x209f000] Header missing
Error while decoding stream #0:1
[mp2 @ 0x209f000] Header missing
Error while decoding stream #0:1
avconv: /build/libav-NImQwo/libav-0.8.9/libavcodec/ratecontrol.c:693:
ff_rate_estimate_qscale: Assertion `picture_number<rcc->num_entries'
failed.
/usr/local/bin/centaurirecode: Zeile 298: 10173 Abgebrochen
"${opts[@]}"
STATUS  := 134

--- Analysis

As can be seen it's a 2 pass conversion bug. Using -an and /dev/null in
pass 1 is recommended in the documentation.

The error happens at the very end of the conversion. Unfortunately no
moov atom gets written.

A 1 pass conversion works as expected.

There is an an old (2006) Bug report for this on ffmpeg, but it was closed
by the maintainer. But it's still these and hurts.

--- Newer Versions

The version of avconv that is in backports is unusable, avconv seems to
pass parameter values to the codecs that are not acepted, no idea how to
handle this via avconv. Installing from SID is not an option for me.

Anyhow, thanks to all Debian and upstream people for their work!
Jürgen

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 7.3
  APT prefers stable
  APT policy: (500, 'stable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 3.2.0-4-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=de_DE.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages libav-tools depends on:
ii  dpkg                 1.16.12
ii  libavcodec-extra-53  6:0.8.9-1
ii  libavdevice53        6:0.8.9-1
ii  libavfilter2         6:0.8.9-1
ii  libavformat53        6:0.8.9-1
ii  libavutil51          6:0.8.9-1
ii  libc6                2.13-38
ii  libpostproc52        6:0.8.9-1
ii  libsdl1.2debian      1.2.15-5
ii  libswscale2          6:9.10-1~bpo70+1

libav-tools recommends no packages.

libav-tools suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information