Am i doing this right?

[dinogucci]

I am following the GKNOT guide a step by step for DIVX 5. Then i got to the part to setup the AUDIO. so i already made an AC3 File for the audio, so i checked 1xAC3 off and then i went to AUDIO A and clicked on SIZE then i selected the AC3 file. And thats it for audio is that correct?
Then i did all the crop thing and resize stuff then i went to set the resolution so i see i have 640 X 480 and the aspet error is 0.0 but the bits/pixel*frame is 0.194 but its recommended for 1 CD i should be around 0.21 bits/pixel*frame. So i move the bar over and
i went to 0.242 with 320W and 240H and that the closest i can do since the guide said stay close to .21 bits. And the Aspect Error is 0.0 so thats good right?

i forgot to mention that when i look at the picture in the background screen i see the a picture will all white around it. is it suppose to be like that?


thanks all

[jggimi]

1) If you want your audio in Dolby Digital, then you'd use the ac3 file. If not, follow the guide where Doom9 recommends you transcode the ac3 (Dolby Digital format) into vbr mp3 at 128kpbs. To get the value from ac3 files, you need a pc-audio system that can take advantage of Dolby Digital surround sound -- with 4 speakers or more.

2) You may have noticed that 5.1ch Dolby Digital are typically 448kpbs. That takes up a lot of room on a single cd-sized encoding. That's why most people who make single cd sized encodings do so with mp3 or other highly compressed formats.

3) Those who have surround sound systems and keep ac3 intact typically encode 2-3 cd sized, because of the large size of ac3 files.

4) In the guide, you'll notice Doom9 recommends compressability tests. Use the bits/pixel*frame value only as a general guide. Once you've done a compressability test, you may ignore the b/p*f value entirely.

[jggimi]

To encode with mp3 audio, as shown in the guide, you start by estimating the size of the mp3 file by using, typically "128" in the kbp/s field in the "Audio A" box on the lower left side of the Bitrate tab. You also need to check "1x vbr-mp3" in the "Interleaving and AVI-Overhead" box on the same tab.

Then, during your final setup for batch encoding, ensure you select the "Audio 1" tab as the guide shows.

If you're following the guide, Gknot will correct the estimated bitrate and produce an accurately sized video file.

Be sure to follow the guide, step by step.

[dinogucci]

ok i kinda did. but not exactly the way you mentioned about the audio. i also resized the bar after the compression test. which is wrong :(. i wind up encoding for almost 2 hours and i got a file thats 82MB that looks realy bad with no sound :( so i guess i gotta do this one more time by using the MP3 option and not sliding the bar over after the compression test. i hope that works. thanks for your reply.

[jggimi]

You can move the resolution bar after the compression test. However, you stop paying attention to b/p*f, and start paying attention to the loading factor.

If you follow Doom9's guide -- which you have diverted from:

You will have called SmartRipper and DVD2AVI, and GKnot would have called Virtual Dub to run an encoding in single-pass mode for 5% of your content for the compressability test.

Then you would have set up audio transcoding and video encoding, and GKnot would have executed the following steps:[list=1] Called BeSweet to transcode ac3 to vbr mp3
Recalcuated your video bitrate, based on the actual mp3 file size
(Optional) Single pass of Virtual Dub, with low quality for the end credits, then recalculate video bitrate based on file size
Two passes with Virtual Dub for your video content
(Optionally) Using Nandub, append your end credits video with your main video, then...
Interleave your vbr mp3 audio with your video in Nandub.
[/list=1]

[dinogucci]

Alright so i started everything from the beginning. i cread a d2v file for the movie. then i loaded it. then i choose 1 CD for 690MB and i clicked 128kBit/s and then i clicked on 1x VBR-MP3. Then i went to the resolution tab and i chose NTSC (4:3) thats how my movie is and then i clicked AUTO Crop and then SMALL CROP ALL , then i went to the preview window and i resized. Bits/P*F showed 0.093. so whatever i clicked on save & Encode, checked Neurtal Bicubic and everything else is the same accordin to the manual. then i clicked on 5% and hit now. The Stats log didnt pop up and i got an error saying COULD NOT count encoded frames. then it said ERROR could not open blahblah640x464.log. Then it said
Audio 1 disabled no recalc - you probably want to add this track later
Audio 1 Calc 109234kb.

then it says unkown error compressibility check failed
compressiblity check : DivX 4.


where did divx 4 come from?? i clicked on Divx5.

[jggimi]

From your description, it seems that you're going through the steps correctly, though I'm concerned about the failure of the compressability check. Are you using GKnot 0.26 or 0.25 ? There have benn known issues with the compressability check -- but not causing what appears to be a failure of Virtual Dub.

You should have a .log file produced that shows the error. If you could copy and paste the text in that log here, it might help the community diagnose the problem. You can always run the compression check .avs file through Vdub manually to recreate the problem in more detail, if need be.

-->> Unrelated to the compression check failure: You have a low b/p*f number because your 4:3 content is fullscreen rather than widescreen. There are many more pixels in a frame than in widescreen images -- those "letterbox" areas get cropped out. Based on your b/p*f value, you'll probably see low load% values once we figure out what's causing your compression test to fail.

Oh, and you see "divx4" in the log because divx5 was a recent addition to Gknot (releases 0.25 and above), and not all "divx4" messages were updated.

[dinogucci]

i am using 0.26

here is the LastCompCheck log:

-------------------------------------------------
6/18/2002 11:42:38 AM: Job "MetalJackets" started.


Gordian Knot 0.26.0.6
Encoding Job Data:

Type: EncD5_First
Number: 262664
Name: MetalJackets
Platform: Win2000 (5.0.2195).2

Files:
VirtualDubExe: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\virtualdub\Virtualdub.exe
NandubExe: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\nandub\Nandub.exe
AviFinal: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\_.avi
AviMovie: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\__Movie.avi
AviCredits: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\__Credits.avi
MovieFS: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\LastCompCheck.avs
CreditsFS:
Log : I:\FullMetalJacket\Vobs\MetalJacketDVD2AVI_5_perc_D5_NeutralBicubic_640x464.log
Stats:
Ecf :
This is a Compressibility Check:
DivX5BiDirect: 0
DivX5GMC: 0
DivX5QuartPel: 0
DivX5PsyVis: 0
Resolution: 640 x 464

11:42:38 AM: Audio 1, calc: 109234 kb
11:42:38 AM: Audio 1, disabled, no recalc. - you probably want to add this track later.

Adding this script to E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\virtualdub\VirtualDub.jobs:

// $job "DivX4 First Pass"
// $input "E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\LastCompCheck.avs"
// $output "E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\_.avi"
// $state 0
// $start_time 0 0
// $end_time 0 0
// $script

VirtualDub.Open("E:\\PROGRA~1\\GORDIA~1\\LastCompCheck.avs",0,0);
VirtualDub.audio.SetSource(0);
VirtualDub.audio.SetMode(0);
VirtualDub.audio.SetInterleave(1,0,0,0,0);
VirtualDub.audio.SetClipMode(1,1);
VirtualDub.audio.SetConversion(0,0,0,0,0);
VirtualDub.audio.SetVolume();
VirtualDub.audio.SetCompression();
VirtualDub.video.SetDepth(24,24);
VirtualDub.video.SetMode(1);
VirtualDub.video.SetFrameRate(0,1);
VirtualDub.video.SetIVTC(0,0,-1,0);
VirtualDub.video.SetRange(0,0);
VirtualDub.video.SetCompression(0x78766964,0,10000,0);
VirtualDub.video.SetCompData(452,"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");
VirtualDub.video.filters.Clear();
VirtualDub.subset.Delete();
VirtualDub.SaveAVI("E:\\PROGRA~1\\GORDIA~1\\_.avi");
VirtualDub.Close();

// $endjob
//
//--------------------------------------------------
// $done

11:42:38 AM: Started DivX5-First Pass: E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\LastCompCheck.avs
11:48:37 AM: Finished DivX5-First Pass. Duration: 5 minutes, 58 seconds.
11:48:37 AM: Trying to open Log-file.
11:48:37 AM: Error: Could not open I:\FullMetalJacket\Vobs\MetalJacketDVD2AVI_5_perc_D5_NeutralBicubic_640x464.log
11:48:37 AM: Error: Could not count encoded Frames.
11:48:37 AM: Speed: 0.000 Frames per Second.

11:48:37 AM: Done.
11:48:37 AM: Log File = I:\FullMetalJacket\Vobs\MetalJacketDVD2AVI_5_perc_D5_NeutralBicubic_640x464.log
Total Encoding Time: 5 minutes, 58 seconds.
6/18/2002 11:48:37 AM: Job "MetalJackets" finished.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


I didnt find that I:\FullMetalJacket\Vobs\MetalJacketDVD2AVI_5_perc_D5_NeutralBicubic_640x464.log file. i dont know why.

[dinogucci]

And this is the AVS file

#
# Created with Gordian Knot
#
# http://thewef.nav.to
#
# PLUGINS
# get them from http://users.win.be/dividee
LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\mpeg2dec.dll")
#LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\decomb.dll")
#LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\InverseTelecine.dll")
#LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\Avisynth_Spatial.dll")
#LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\GreedyHMA.dll")
#LoadPlugin("C:\WINNT\System32\vobsub.dll")
#LoadPlugin("E:\PROGRA~1\GORDIA~1\SimpleResize.dll")
#
# SOURCE
mpeg2source("I:\FullMetalJacket\Vobs\MetalJacketDVD2AVI.d2v")
#
# TRIM
#trim(startframe,endframe)
#
# IVTC
#Telecide()
#Decimate(cycle=5)
# or use
#InverseTelecine(40,10,15)
#GreedyHMA(1,0,4,0,0,0,0,0)
#
# DEINTERLACING
#FieldDeinterlace()
# or use
#VerticalReduceBy2
# or maybe
#GreedyHMA(1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
#
# CROPPING
crop(0,0,717,478)
#
# SUBTITLES
#VobSub("FileName")
#
# RESIZING
BicubicResize(640,464,0,0.5)
#
# DENOISING: choose one combination (or none)
# 1) little noise (fast)
#TemporalSmoother(2,1)
#
# 2) medium noise (slow)
#SpatialSoftenMMX(1,4,6,false,false,4,4,6,8)
#TemporalSmoother(2)
#
# 3) heavy noise (very slow, you have been warned)
#SpatialSoftenMMX(2,4,6,false,false,4,4,6,8)
#TemporalSmoother(3)
#SpatialSoftenMMX(1,4,6,false,false,4,4,6,8)
#
# BORDERS
#AddBorders(left,top,right,bottom)
#
# COMPRESSIBILITY CHECK
# !!!!Snip Size now has to be 14 for use in GKnot!
SelectRangeEvery(280,14)
#
# FOOL CCEnc
#ResampleAudio(44100)

[jggimi]

I don't know why it failed, either.

If it were me, I'd try the following things -- probably in the following order.

1) I'd open the lastcompcheck.avs file in Virtual dub, set a fast recompress with divx5 as my compression, do a "save as.." xxx.avi, and see what happens.

2) I'd change my file name from "MetalJacketDVD2AVI.d2v" to something else, and re-open it in GKnot, under the assumption that this name is confusing things.

3) Wait for smarter, more intelligent assistance from someone with more knowledge, and better advice.

[spookytay]

I'm getting the same thing happening to me. I'm not a newbie, and I've been making divx for a few years now, but I took a break for awhile and started to try using the new gknot.

With the compressibility check, I'm getting the same problems, it runs the check but after it's done, it says there were errors in the log window and the compressiblity values aren't getting loaded into gknot. For some reason it looks like it runs a check, but for some reason it's having a problem somewhere.

Also, when I do try to make a movie (after 5 attempts) the movie comes out to only being about 300mb with really crappy video. So I tried to double the size of the CD to two, to try and create an .avi that would be double in file size, and that doesn't work and the video still comes out to be only about 300mb. I know this isn't a drive space issue or anything.

If anyone is having similar problems or has figures out why this is doing this, please let me know. Thanks.

[dinogucci]

i know right? i am not sure why is it doing this. i dont even see the stats file in the dir that said it would be...
I dunno what i am missing but this is just odd. help if you can, thanks!

[jggimi]

Have you tried running the avs through vdub? What was the result?

[dinogucci]

I tried to do it but i realy dont know how to run the avs thru vdub.

[jggimi]

Here's a step-by-step guide.

1) Start vdub: Start...Programs...Gordian Knot...Apps...Virtual Dub
2) Open the .avs file: ctrl-o
3) Set video to fast recompress: Alt...Video...Fast recompress
4) Set the compression to DivX 5: Alt...Video...Compression, then select the Divx5 codec you installed. Whatever Divx5 configuration settings were in there for the compression check should still be in place, so click on OK
5) Save a test avi: F7

Watch what happens.

[dinogucci]

its encoding i guess

the avs file i just posted right?
lastcomp.avs

its going..

[dinogucci]

it created an avi file and its got video

[jggimi]

Does the log file exist?

If so, you can load it into Gknot.

If not ... go back into vdub, select the divx compression again (alt..video...compression) and this time, instead of clicking OK, click on Configure. See if the name of the log file is in the configuration GUI.

My guess, since vdub went well, is that it's a file-name parsing problem. Your long filename has "avi" in the middle of it, and that's what's probably confusing Gknot.

If so, if you rename your .d2v file to something simple, and re-open it, everything should go smoothly. Or, if you were able to load the .log file into Gknot, proceed ahead.

[dinogucci]

ok i ran it again and it worked this time. i passed the compressibility test with the same file. The only thing i did is reinstall divx 5.0 ... but now i passed the test and i see it says 19% of 0.490. what i do next from here? is that good or bad 19% of 0.49?

[jggimi]

Now, following the guide, change your resolution until you reach a range of 50%-80%, 40-80% if you're using DivX5 Pro with B-frames. My guess is that you'll want to expand to 2-cds for this movie, as I mentioned earlier. Why? Because by the time you've got a good loading factor, your resolution will be too small. If your codec is Divx5 standard, you might want to switch over; B-frames allow for much greater compressability.

If that's too much effort, switch to encoding something easier for your first time.

I've had very good luck with 60-70%, using B-frames.

Remember, your initial b/p*f factor was a relatively lousy 0.093, attempting to cram a lot of pixels into a single cd at 640x464, remember? That initial value is based on the size of each frame, and the number of frames you have. While b/p*f is a rough guide, 0.093 is very poor to begin with.

What you've done with your compressibility test is examine 5% of the movie to determine, more closely, just how compressable it is. Apparently, not as compressable as you need.

The guide you've been following has an example, where: b/p*f = 0.141
compressibility test = 0.338
load factor = 41.7%
Here's what the guide says:
The compressibility check gives you a rough indication of how good a movie can be compressed. The 3 values shown above are related as follows: the 0.338 is the value that the compressibility check returned. If the Bits/(Pixel*Frame) the first value, right above the Load button matches this value you have perfect quality, going for a higher value would be overkill as the movie wouldn't look any better.. The limit of the codec has been reached. The 41.7% value tells you the relationship between the optimal case and what you're going to get at the currently selected resolution. 60% or higher will pretty much guarantee that you'll get pretty good looking results. Going over 80% is a serious overkill and you should rather increase the resolution. Values in the range of 50-60% still look pretty good and 40-50 is still OK, especially when you activate B-frames. The darker a movie gets and the cleaner the source the more you can compress a movie. Using B-frames certain movies will look good even at a 0.12 Bits/(Pixel*Frame value). Once the value is in the acceptable range set the trim option to Both (enc. credits separately).

[dinogucci]

ok sweet i am gonna try it the first thing in the morning. And i will get back to you with results. thanks for your great help.

[dinogucci]

ok here what i did i changed the res like you said and i got a 512X384 and i wound up with 65.6% with b/p*f of 0.322 and 0.490 CT.

But i am not sure about the B frames... i dont know if i have B frames or not. i do have DIVX 5. And i made for 2 CDs. I got 2 files. One file with a sound and one file with out sound. i am not sure why 2 files but thats what happend. And the movie with sound was about 1,400 MB which basically 2 CDs. The Quality is amazing. It realy came out good. i was so impressed. but i have a few questions.

why did i have 2 movies one with sound and the other without?
when i maximize the movie, it goes full screen and not wide screen, how can i fix that?
Finally some part of the movie where the it was dark, i saw some fog effect. like wavy stuff as a fog type a thing. is that normal? Other than that the pic is realy crisp no blocks and no shadows. i am realy happy. tons of thanks for your help jggimi.

[CaPPyD]

not knowing anything about DivX 5 i cant comment on the fog you are descibing. But you have two files because GKnot parses the audio after it builds the video file. If you click on delete intermediate files when are adding the job to the encoding queue, this will remove the video file that has no sound.

In terms of the movie being full screen and not wide screen, you have encoded it full screen. 512x384 is the same as 800x600 or 1024x768 or 1280x1024.

[jggimi]

Originally posted by dinogucci
But i am not sure about the B frames... B-frames are an encoding option available with DivX5 Pro. Gknot automates the use of several DivX Pro features, such as B-Frames.

You can read up all about the different encoding options, starting with Doom9's guide -- his suggestions for turning on B-frames is listed as "bi-directional encoding." The guide also has a pointer to a list of all encoding and decoding options at the DivX website. It's on the first page of the DivX5 guide.

Once you're through with that, come back and browse through the DivX5 Encoding forum. You'll find lots of useful information there, too.

Your "moving fog" can be caused by many things -- the most common is insufficient bitrate. As I'd mentioned, fullscreen encodings are often the most difficult, due to the large number of pixels per frame. You might try a 3-cd rip just to see the difference. There are noise reduction filters also available through Gknot that can improve compressability and may reduce some of that effect. If you turn on a noise reduction -- a temporal smoother or softener is what is actually used -- you'll want to re-run a compressability check.

Congratulations on your first encoding. Mine didn't look as good as I'd liked, either, though I was impressed that I was able to do it at all.

[dinogucci]

Originally posted by CaPPyD
not knowing anything about DivX 5 i cant comment on the fog you are descibing. But you have two files because GKnot parses the audio after it builds the video file. If you click on delete intermediate files when are adding the job to the encoding queue, this will remove the video file that has no sound.

In terms of the movie being full screen and not wide screen, you have encoded it full screen. 512x384 is the same as 800x600 or 1024x768 or 1280x1024.

hey cappyd, thanks for your reply.
do i encode 2 files? is that why it takes so much time to finish the process? i have a P4 2.6GIG processor and it took me about 3 hours or so. so i was thinking , is the file that comes out with sounds gets encoded also? so it encodes 2 files or it just pops out like that as a process of encoding? i mean is there a way i can encode it for just one file and cut down on the encoding process time?

[dinogucci]

Jggimi, how can i have a wide screen movie and not a full screen movie when i maximize? i realy dont care much for a full screen movie. I prefere the wide ones. thanks

[jggimi]

Dino, go back to page 1 in this thread, and read again the steps that Gknot takes you through. Please. Then open up your .log file in notepad and read it to see what it says about each step.

Please.

xxx_Movie.avi contains video only (Virtual Dub output)
xxx_with_millesecond_delay_or_advance_timing.mp3 contains audio only (BeSweet output)

and xxx.avi is the combined result (Nandub output)

[jggimi]

Originally posted by dinogucci
Jggimi, how can i have a wide screen movie and not a full screen movie when i maximize? i realy dont care much for a full screen movie. I prefere the wide ones. thanks You told me you ripped a 4:3 dvd, Dino. Your screen size, after cropping, was 640xnearly480, right? Just about 4:3.

It's what I've been trying to tell you, for several days, and multiple times. It's also why there are still problems with a 2-cd rip. -- You are working with fullscreen content.

It is high time for you to do a little reading. Why? Because, you either ripped from a fullscreen dvd or ripped a fullscreen program chain from the vobs.

I recommend Doom9's "DVD Basics" link. Left hand side in the grey bar of www.doom9.org. There's a good bit on DVD aspect ratios and formats that you need to read. Plus, read Doom9's discussion of the layout of files on the dvd, as you may have selected the wrong program chain in SmartRipper. It wouldn't have stopped you from doing it, but if that is the reason for fullscreen content, you could have discovered and corrected it before creating your dvd2avi project.

[dinogucci]

yah i am reading the log file it makes sense. i understand how things work now but i have a question. whats the first pass for and whas the second pass for? is the second pass complete what the first pass couldnt do?
And thanks for guiding to the right spots to read about. i dont mind reading at all. i just didnt know where to start from.

[jggimi]

2-pass is used to create what is effectively a "variable bitrate" video -- allowing you to get the maximum possible quality for a specific file size.

Think of it this way:

Pass 1 examines each frame
Pass 2 does the encoding

Now, spend some quality time in the Doom9 lending library... most of your questions, if not all of them, will be answered there.

[dinogucci]

ahhh my head is gonna explode from reading. this is tiring heh.
so for me to make widescreen i gotta rip the wide screen version off the DVD itself? whatif it doesnt got a widescreen version, how can i set it manually?

[jggimi]

When the pounding in your head begins to subside, re-read your question, then go back to the aspect ratio's section on fullscreen or "pan&scan" transfers in DVD Basics again, and you'll then ... and only then ... understand why the answer is, "you can't."

[manono]

Hi-

Well, you have enough sense to prefer the wide screen version. So you know there's a wide screen version of the movie? In that case, some movies will come in a wide screen DVD and a separate full screen DVD, and it will say which is which on the cover. For some reason, Blockbuster seems to prefer stocking just the full screen version of movies. In other cases, the full screen version will be on one side of the DVD and the wide screen on the other, or one on one disk of a 2 disk set, and the other on the other disk. In a third case, they'll both be on the same side of the DVD, but the one picked by default by Smart Ripper will be the full screen version. Why? Because its file size will be slightly larger, and Smart Ripper always goes with the largest file size. So if this is true in your case, go back and pick the other movie listed in Smart Ripper, and it will be the wide screen version.

No one ever said this would be easy.

[dinogucci]

Ok i have 2 different DVD movies. I poped the one i am working with so i can check to see if it got a wide screen or no. Well first i realized that when power DVD plays the movie, it plays it in full screen. so anyways, in smart ripper i found 5 program chains and there is only one movie with a lenght of 1:45:23. which is on PC1 which is NTSC 4:3 720X480 and its not letterboxed. I guess there is only one (full screen). There are no other movies which could be less in size or lenght. so am i stuck with the fullscreen movie?


Now i poped the second one in and i found that its got the same configs. NTSC 4:3 and its 720X480 and its not letterboxed. Just like the first one but its a widescreen. I ripped it and i only got a widescreen movie. there are no other movies.

so some dvds come full screen others dont just like stated earlier. and there is no way you can make a full screen dvd a wide screen. just like pan&scan theory stated. am i getting this right?

[dinogucci]

man i encoded good fellas which gets played in wide screen but after i encoded it wasnt as thin as i wanted it. how do can you encode the movie realy thin and wide like the movies i downlaoded? also that foggy thingie is still showin the most in outdoors scenes. damn i am going crazy.

[jggimi]

I have not dealt with that dvd; however the listing at www.amazon.com says that the region 1 dvd is in widescreen format.

I'm going to guess at your difficulty, dino. It's only a guess, because I haven't dealt with that dvd, nor have I stood over your shoulder and watched you.

Please understand that this is just a guess.

A guess.

You're setting the aspect ratio to 4:3. I'll bet heads don't look quite right, do they. Things look a little e l o n g a t e d.

The aspect ratio should be 16:9.

Sigh...

One possibility as to why you're doing this....

You are using the data from the .txt file produced by SmartRipper and assuming that it is correct, and have missed the aspect ratio produced in the information window in dvd2avi.

SmartRipper produces text from the .ifo file, while dvd2avi uses the mpeg2 metadata. Human beings build the .ifo file.

I always vote with the video stream. So does your dvd player.

I think you've been missing, or passing over, valuable tidbits in the guide. It says, "... Then set the DAR according to what the value you wrote down in the DVD2AVI step. That is either NTSC anamorphic (16:9) for a 16:9 value in DVD2AVI or NTSC non anamorphic (4:3) for a 4:3. In case of a PAL source it will of course say PAL anamorphic (16:9) or PAL non anamorphic (4:3)."

Calm down, relax, take a deep breath, and re-read the Divx5 guide. Carefully. See if you've missed something else of value, too.

[dinogucci]

actually i was quite carefull when i set the ratio. it did say 4:3 in DVD2AVI. and i did set it to 4:3 NTSC non amorphic. I was careful about following the guide. And nope it wasnt elongated at all. I just checked the movie. I did get the same vertical length the movie is. So i guess i cant make it thinner. alright so i guess thats it. oh well. I like Gknot. Its pretty kool. THe only thing that i would worry about is the rainbow foggy effect that you get outdoors sometimes. well thanks Jggimi for all your help. bro you were so helpful i appreciate it.