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View Full Version : Demuxing - when and how?


Elzar
10th April 2006, 20:34
I am the newest of newbies when it comes to video encoding, and have become quite overwhelmed by the dizzying array of options and considerations. Just like any topic, I have tried fo immerse myself in the many guides, FAQs, etc, but this time I tend to find myself more confused after I read them. I have tons of questions at the moment, but I don't think any are relevant until I get these addressed.

Essentially, I am looking to do two separate things, and I realize each probably has it's own unique set of instructions...

1) I want to take my .vob files and re-encode them into x264 to (hopefully drastically) decrease file size on the HTPC I am building.

2) I want to take my miniDV home movies (which have audio and video in a single .avi) and convert them to something I can burn to a DVD I can send to relatives (will use either HC or QuEnc).

Despite the two tasks, the primary question is the same for both: do I need to demux these files in order to do what I want? After reading some of the guides, it seems that I do, but I just want to make sure...especially since it seems like it would be alot quicker to NOT have to do this (and very common, for example, I can't be the only one who would love to convert .vob straight to an x264 with minimal fuss).

If I do need to demux, what is the simplest and most straightforward way to do this? Is there a GUI based approach?

Thanks alot for any responses. I like to think that I am very knowledgable about computers, but this video encoding stuff has been a truly humbling experience.

chromium
11th April 2006, 14:25
Two different things require indeed two different approaches, and there are various possibilities to accomplish a taks, each with particular advantages/disadvantages such as differences in complexity, quality, time, ... Whether you need to dumux or not depends on the tool, depends on whether you can keep the original audio/video or need to transcode to a different format, etc... Briefly, there is no straightforward answer to your question.