a dummy asks: how to set file size?

[JimmyTheSaint]

I'm one of those occasional users who doesn't fully understand Gordian Knot, but by tweaking a few of the defaults I've always been able to get a result that's usable for me. One problem I can't figure out is how to limit the file size of the final product. For example, I have 5 vob files totalling to about 4.3GB. Under the "Bitrate" tab, I set Average Bitrate higher and lower (it's now 3000), and the amount in the Total File Size box changes accordingly. For my current project, however, no matter how I set Average Bitrate, the final avi file is 6.6GB. Is this a desired result? I mean, if the original is 4.3GB, then a 6.6GB avi must be wasting a lot of space, right?

In the past, if I recall correctly, tweaking Average Bitrate was the way I controlled the file size, but I must be misunderstanding something that I've been unable to find using site search. On the Resolution tab, it says width=736, height=544. Any suggestions that a dummy can understand?

[CWR03]

You may just have the wrong (or too new) codec installed. Gordian Knot will only work properly with VfW builds, and the latest x264 or Xvid will often cause over- or undersized output.

[JimmyTheSaint]

Thanks for the hint. After researching around (starting with the string "VfW"), I see half the links google found lead back to doom9's web site. It's still too complicated for me, but I'm going to try RipBot to make an mkv/x264 version.

My only need is that sometimes I can only get DVD versions of stuff, so a few times a year I need to be able to convert VOB's.

[netmask]

Why not use AutoGK instead of the full Gordian Knot. You can preset the file size in AutoGK