How can I set file size while encoding in single pass?

[SpOmA]

encoding in xvid 2 passes is probaby too much for my dvd, it shows the movie poorly..
I decided that there are 2 options for me
1. encoding in divx in 2 paases, but divx < xvid
2. encoding in single pass with xvid

but the problem is that when I set it to encode in single pass, I can't decide the size of the reuslting file, just the target quality (in precentages)..

what can I do ?

[jggimi]

encoding in xvid 2 passes is probaby too much for my dvd, it shows the movie poorly..I interpret this to mean that you may be confused about the purpose of multiple passes. Just to level set: The purpose of a multipass encoding is to maximize quality for a particular file size.

If you've chosen too small a size, you'll get poor quality. You might also get poor quality if you choose a poor resolution for that bitrate. With AGK, a poor resolution choice can occur if you use fixed widths that limit AGK's resolution options.

Single pass encodes, on the other hand, either use a constant quality or a constant bitrate. Constant bitrate is not considered best practice. You can get consistant output size, but the image quality will vary widely. Some scenes will be given insufficient bits, while others will be given too many. This is because the scene complexities vary but the bitrate is fixed.

Constant quality encodings, on the other hand, use fixed quantizers but the bitrate is variable. You can predict quality level (the "percentage" you select is directly related to the Quantizer used for encoding). But, you cannot possibly predict file size with this method.Constant quality -- with unpredictable file size -- is the only single pass encoding solution available with AGK....I decided that there are 2 options for me
1. encoding in divx in 2 paases, but divx < xvid
2. encoding in single pass with xvid...I don't understand what you mean by "divx < xvid." Do you mean, using DivX instead of XviD? If so, what problems are you actually having, and why would you come to that conclusion? Post a better description of your problem -- and perhaps include your log file again -- and you'll get better advice.

[SpOmA]

Hi jggimi,

Thanks for your great answer, it is now more clear to me what is actually two passes..
anyway I just wanted to let you know something and then ask another question

So what I explained in the first post didnt include many descriptions of the problem so I'll try to explain it again now (and sorry I just dont know how to describe it very good in english..) anyway, I run the encoded movies on my dvd player (XENNON XN6066), it can reads almost every type of media, but when I run encodes with 2 passes I get a problem that the picture is pretty pixaled and it's spreaded (hope you undertand what I mean by that..)

I usually didnt get this problem when encoding with the xvid codec alone (without using autogk) on single pass.
I do understand that 2 passes is very much better but if my dvd can't read it and show a clean picture that's a problem..
now for the divx, I think that divx is a weaker codec than xvid and I dont like to use it, divx will give clean and sharp picture and it works fine on my dvd but not long ago I encoded the same movie both with xvid and divx and in the divx encode I saw that it's a bit darker than the xvid one.
I dont mind using divx if it's my only choice.. really don't like the idea of using single pass anyway..

now for my other question.. it's about the resolution..
10 minutes ago I started the encode of a movie using divx pro 6.0 and as it started it showed that the chosen resolution is: 640x272 ( AR: 2,35 )
that's lower than the actual dvd resolution (720x576) or the resolution I get when encoding with divx 5 (dont remember but it was higher) or xvid..

why is it happening? is there a way to set a better and higher resolution?
a way not only to change the width from the "advanced" menu but to make sure quality is good ?
and by the way, I didnt check any of the fixed width option in the Advanced menu.. it's still set to Auto Width.

thanks again :)

[jggimi]

....I run the encoded movies on my dvd player (XENNON XN6066), it can reads almost every type of media, but when I run encodes with 2 passes I get a problem that the picture is pretty pixaled and it's spreaded (hope you undertand what I mean by that..)I don't understand exactly what you mean, but it is obvious that your MPEG-4 player has some sort of trouble with the content you've encoded.

Both XviD and DivX are capable of producing encodings which will play just fine on a PC, but not play in a standalone.

There are many possible reasons; here are two of the most common: An unsupported MPEG-4 encoding feature was used. The maximum bitrate capability of the player was exceeded.I don't know anything about this particular player, every page I found when googling was in Hebrew, which I can't read. I noted also that it is not listed at DivX Network's website as a DivX Certified device.

There are a number of MPEG-4 features which most standalones do not support; in addition, there are peak bitrate controls for XviD that can be turned on, and matrices that must be used if the player has an ESS chipset.

Len0x designed AGK to make encodings that are standalone compatible -- but it is possible to still have problems if you don't install the appropriate features, or. if you make changes to default settings, or if the player has problems....I usually didnt get this problem when encoding with the xvid codec alone (without using autogk) on single pass.The number of passes likely has nothing to do with it. Instead, I would think that either max-bitrate was not exceeded, or some incompatible feature just happened to be turned off. But, without knowing exactly what codec settings you were using at the time you made a "successful" manual encoding, or, what your AGK configuration was when you were making "unsucessful" encodings, this is all just conjecture.now for my other question.. it's about the resolution....it started it showed that the chosen resolution is: 640x272 ( AR: 2,35 )
that's lower than the actual dvd resolution (720x576) .... All commercial DVDs have a fixed resolution -- 720x576 PAL, or 720x480 NTSC. That size is called "D1" and is fixed, regardless of the content's AR. The DVD standard allows for some smaller resolutions, but you'll likely never see them on commercial DVDs.

PC monitors have square pixels, and .avi files are expected to use square pixels. DVDs do not use square pixels. Each DVD will have one of two Display Aspect Ratios (DARs): 4:3 or 16:9, which match the two physical ARs of TVs. Neither of these ARs use square pixels like an .avi file.

There are a large number of possible ARs for the content itself, so unless the AR happens to match a DAR, the production companies will add letterboxing or pillarboxing.

AGK will crop away the letterboxing / pillarboxing, acquire the DAR flag from the .VOB set, and resize. But ... there are specific technical limitations on possible heights and widths, so AGK will select a resolution that is close to the expected AR ... but usually never quite exactly the AR. It will be close enough so that round objects (clocks, wheels) look round.

As to differences in resolution -- these are chosen by AGK, not by the codec, so the differences may have to do with advanced or hidden settings, changes in releases of AGK, etc. They'll have nothing to do with the codec you choose.

[seehowyouare]

I run the encoded movies on my dvd player (XENNON XN6066),

Maybe you need to enable Stand alone compatibility in AutoGK hidden options ?
This setting can help with users with standalone DVD players.

This is a global option so it will apply to everything you encode in AutoGK.

Open AutoGK and start to setup an encoding job
Press Ctrl + F9 to access the hidden options
In the bottom right corner tick Enable standalone support and select your player's chipset type - MTK/Sigma or ESS
Click OK and then add job to Job Queue

Also, if you want to test if this setting 9or others) makes a difference, do a small encode of 1 x .ifo file with the Enable Standalone setting on and another small encode with the setting off and compare the differences.

[SpOmA]

jggimi, thanks again and I think the only possible reason for the problem to keep happening, is because of High Bitrate maybe, I'll check this out.
my dvd is probably only sold here in Israel but it never did any problems to me in the past, anyway I think you helped me a bit with your answer and thanks again!

seehowyouare, already checked this option and it's not really helping but thank you.