Best Quality Video Spanning 2 CDs

[vendiddy]

I am relatively new to video encoding. I would like to know the best program and settings for encoding a DVD to XVID format spanning two CDs. Currently I'm using Vidomi with decent quality but I don't know if there's better options out there. Any recommendations for programs to use?
Currently I use the XVID codec with 2 pass - 1st pass. Motion Search Precision is the highest possible (don't know what that means though). I don't calculate any birate for the file, only set the file size and I guess it calculates the birate on its own somehow.
Also, I'm not a newbie to computers, just to video encoding, so if the program is sort of complex I should be able to figure it out as long as there are clear guides out there.

Thanks for the help. :)

[killingspree]

hi and welcome to the forum,

unfortunately, as so often in live, there is no simple 'best'. best is, whatever works best for you, and only you can decide on that!

anyway, if you want to test other programs i would suggest AutoGK, DVX and especially GordianKnot (in the order of complexity). all three of them can be found around here and are completely free. DVX requires you to have the .NET Framework installed though (iirc).

here's a couple of Xvid guides:
http://www.doom9.org/xvid-guides.htm

cheers
steVe

[vendiddy]

Which program, from your experience produces the best quality results? From what I hear, Vidomi produces decent quality video but doesn't give enough control and the quality isn't as high as possible. Is this true? All of the guides under the XVID section say "+: High quality" but I'm not sure which one produces the highest quality.

[Axed]

In theory, you can produce the best results with plain Gordian Knot because of the ability to tweak it. In reality, AutoGK will usually give just as good, if not better results as an encode you've done by hand in GK because of the time len0x has put into optimising AutoGK for quality.

If you have the time to learn, learn to use GK, since it is very rewarding in the quality and customisation to achieve the best results. But, if you dont want to spend a week or two reading and encoding multiple sources to learn to do it all properly, stick with AutoGK because it will give you marvelous quality without a doubt.

[killingspree]

in addition i have to warn you: AutoGK comes with some kind of ad serving software. you can remove it without hurting the performance of the software though...

[vendiddy]

Thanks for all of the help. I have one more question--does AutoGK do whatever is necessary for optimal results? I have installed AutoGK (should I install beta or the stable version?) and followed the guide. It seems that I don't have to adjust many settings at all before I start encoding. Also, what's the easiest way to find the frame number where the credits start?

[killingspree]

Originally posted by vendiddy
Thanks for all of the help. I have one more question--does AutoGK do whatever is necessary for optimal results?
i'd say in most cases yes. of course there's always room for some manual improvement but in most cases this won't even be noticeable, so yes autoGK is pretty close to perfection quality wise...

I have installed AutoGK (should I install beta or the stable version?)
both should be ok... i've had really good experience with autoGK beta releases, but, though unlikely, it might just happen that you encounter a bug in those releases...

Also, what's the easiest way to find the frame number where the credits start?

at what point in the encoding process do you want them??

[vendiddy]

at what point in the encoding process do you want them??
I don't know exactly what you mean by that. Taking a guess at what you mean...I want the credits at the end of the movie. In the XVID codec options there's an area where you can specify the start and end point of the credits and I suppose it reduces the quality or something. I can get the number of minutes into the movie the credits start but I don't know how to get the frame number.
Thanks for the helpful answers. :)

[Axed]

Originally posted by vendiddy
In the XVID codec options there's an area where you can specify the start and end point of the credits and I suppose it reduces the quality or something.

What version of Xvid are you using? The newest builds dont have this option anymore, thats from the old pre-stable days. You should be using the latest stable build from Koepi (http://www.koepi.org/).

[manono]

Hi-

You can still give the credits lower quality in the current XviDs by creating a new Zone at the start frame of the end credits, and then giving it a lower weight or a higher quant.

As for AutoGK, one way to find the start frame for the end credits is to make a Movie.d2v project file in DGIndex, open it in Gordian Knot, and scroll to where the end credits begin. If you're NTSC, you want to make the project file with No ForceFILM (29.97fps).

[vendiddy]

I have one more question. How would I make AutoGK work with a two DVD disc movie if I wanted it to span two CDs (in this case, Gangs of New York)? The movie is unevenly distributed between the discs, more of the movie is on the first disc than the second so I don't think it would be good if I just treated each disc as a separate movie.

[manono]

Hi-

Part of the answer is easy. Rip both parts of the movie to the hard drive into separate folders, and then if, for example, the last Vob from part one is VTS_01_6.VOB, you renumber the vobs from part 2 beginning with VTS_01_7.VOB, and move them into the first folder.

The second part of the answer is harder, and it's been so long since I did that movie that I forget what I did. You're going to have audio asynch if you just join them. The end of part 1 has some black frames with no audio to go with it. You just join part 2 to part 1, and all of part 2 is off by a second or 2 (I forget just how much, maybe more). Check Part 1 in DVD Decrypter, and either the last chapter or the last cell should be of the length of the black part with no audio. So uncheck that last chapter/cell, and with luck it should work out. Please don't blame me if it doesn't. Maybe someone else has done the movie more recently and remembers exactly what has to be done.