vlc no longer transcodes, gives "Segmentation fault"

Trying with mencoder seems to also produce a segmentation fault. Maybe this is a problem in x264 ?

$ mencoder -o Goldman\ Sachs\ -\ Eine\ Bank\ lenkt\ die\ Welt\ -\ arte\ -\ Sa\ 28\ Sep\ 20
13\ 10\:50\:00\ CEST.mp4 -ovc x264 -x264encopts crf=29 -oac mp3lame Goldman\ Sachs\ -\ Eine\ Bank\ lenkt\ die\ Welt\ -\ arte\ -\ Sa\ 2
8\ Sep\ 2013\ 10\:50\:00\ CEST.mpeg
MEncoder svn r34540 (Ubuntu), built with gcc-4.7 (C) 2000-2012 MPlayer Team

WARNING: OUTPUT FILE FORMAT IS _AVI_. See -of help.
success: format: 0 data: 0x0 - 0x7b67d7c8
libavformat version 53.21.1 (external)
Mismatching header version 53.19.0
TS file format detected.
VIDEO MPEG2(pid=4913) AUDIO MPA(pid=4915) NO SUBS (yet)! PROGRAM N. 1000
VIDEO: MPEG2 720x576 (aspect 3) 25.000 fps 15000.0 kbps (1875.0 kbyte/s)
[V] filefmt:29 fourcc:0x10000002 size:720x576 fps:25.000 ftime:=0.0400
==========================================================================
Requested audio codec family [mpg123] (afm=mpg123) not available.
Enable it at compilation.
Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders
libavcodec version 53.35.0 (external)
Mismatching header version 53.32.2
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, floatle, 192.0 kbit/6.25% (ratio: 24000->384000)
Selected audio codec: [ffmp2float] afm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg MPEG layer-1 and layer-2 audio)
==========================================================================
Opening video filter: [expand osd=1]
Expand: -1 x -1, -1 ; -1, osd: 1, aspect: 0.000000, round: 1
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg's libavcodec codec family
Selected video codec: [ffmpeg2] vfm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg MPEG-2)
==========================================================================
MP3 audio selected.
Unsupported PixelFormat 61
Unsupported PixelFormat 53
Unsupported PixelFormat 81
Movie-Aspect is 1.78:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
x264 [info]: using SAR=64/45
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

Are you trying to convert mpeg to mp4? Is that what the aim is?

Thanks

Yes, though I also get a segmentation fault when I try to put everything in an mpg container:

$ cvlc Goldman\ Sachs\ -\ Eine\ Bank\ lenkt\ die\ Welt\ -\ arte\ -\ Sa\ 28\ Sep\ 2013\ 10\:50\:00\ CEST.mpeg --sout-all --sout='#transcode{vcodec=h264,qp=29,acodec=mp4a,ab=192,channels=2,deinterlace,audio-sync}:standard{access=file,mux=ts,dst=output.LosdzozZPHL4UmG7.mpg}' vlc://quit
VLC media player 2.0.8 Twoflower (revision 2.0.8a-0-g68cf50b)
[0x770f98] dummy interface: using the dummy interface module...
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

Actually, my aim is not really any particular container, or any particular codec, I just want my TV recordings ( recorded from a DVB-T reciever ) compressed to something smaller than the original mpeg, so that I can fit 4 recordings onto a DVD+R rather than just one.

I tried transcoding with Transmageddon, but it also seems to crash with a segmentation fault.

ffmpeg -i Goldman\ Sachs\ -\ Eine\ Bank\ lenkt\ die\ Welt\ -\ arte\ -\ Sa\ 28\ Sep\ 2013\ 10\:50\:00\ CEST.mpeg -vcodec libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 -threads 0 -acodec copy ~/Desktop/Output.mp4

Source: ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1767559

ffmpeg and avconv also give segmentation faults:

$ ffmpeg -i Goldman\ Sachs\ -\ Eine\ Bank\ lenkt\ die\ Welt\ -\ arte\ -\ Sa\ 28\ Sep\ 2013\ 10\:50\:00\ CEST.mpeg -vcodec libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 -threads 0 -acodec copy output.mp4
ffmpeg version 0.8.7-6:0.8.7-1ubuntu2, Copyright (c) 2000-2013 the Libav developers
  built on Oct 11 2013 08:39:40 with gcc 4.8.1
*** THIS PROGRAM IS DEPRECATED ***
This program is only provided for compatibility and will be removed in a future release. Please use avconv instead.
[mpeg2video @ 0x70af20] mpeg_decode_postinit() failure
    Last message repeated 7 times
[mpegts @ 0x7059e0] max_analyze_duration reached
[mpegts @ 0x7059e0] PES packet size mismatch
    Last message repeated 1 times
Input #0, mpegts, from 'Goldman Sachs - Eine Bank lenkt die Welt - arte - Sa 28 Sep 2013 10:50:00 CEST.mpeg':
  Duration: 01:30:00.30, start: 22137.875778, bitrate: 3067 kb/s
  Program 1000
    Stream #0.0[0x1331]: Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p, 720x576 [PAR 64:45 DAR 16:9], 15000 kb/s, 26.26 fps, 25 tbr, 90k tbn, 50 tbc
    Stream #0.1[0x1332](deu): Audio: mp2, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
    Stream #0.2[0x1333](fra): Audio: mp2, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
[buffer @ 0x70d420] w:720 h:576 pixfmt:yuv420p
[libx264 @ 0x70c080] using SAR=64/45
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

I think that I have discovered a factor that might mean a lot: Handbrake still encodes fine, but it did not get updated to saucy along with the rest of my system.

I completely reinstalled my system ( refraining from installing handbrake ), but this problem persists.

Is the segfault crash happening with one specific file only, or at all attempts to convert a file with similar encoding?
Do you have a chance to test converting that specific file on another system?

I have tried various files of similar encodings ( as they all come from my dvb-t usb dongle ).

I found that installing libx264-123/saucy-proposed just now seems to fix this problem.

Maybe I am experiencing the following bug ?

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/x264/+bug/1241772

I don't know for sure whether the linked bug is the one I was experiencing, but since its proposed solution fixed my problem, that is good enough for me. Thusly, I am closing this question. Thanks to everyone who helped !!