DivX: What is the best option?

[castellanos]

Hi there. I am kind of new in Divx encodig and I have a few questions about it.
First of all, I've made a few tests with differents encoders: XviD MPEG-4 Codec and DivX 5.1.1 Codec. The thing is that the quality differs from each other, using the same bitrate on both of course, but also it seems to be that depends from the player too. I used Media Player, WinDVD, Nero Media Player and DivX Player.
Making the decoding with Divx 5.1.1 Codec and then playing with DivX Player, it seems to be the best option (but not with the other players!), not the case of XviD MPEG-4 that for instance, Nero Media Player can not play it at all. The question is, What is the best combination Encoder-Player?
In all the players (except DivX Player, choosing the option: Set aspect ratio TV 4:3 an then full screen) I couldn't see the movie in full screen mode, when I choose this option, the only thing I get is a little image in the middle of the screen. Can somebody tell me why?
The procces I use to convert the DVD into an AVI file was through DVDx, and then choosing the encoders.
My computer is quick enough: Pentium 4 2.66 Ghz, ATI RADEON Grafik chip IGP 345M.
Any answers?
Thanks.

[bond]

xvid and divx5 are all mpeg-4 compliant encoders, therefore every mpeg-4 decoder/player should be able to play them (outputting exactly the same quality!)...

i say "should" because there are problems which are caused by the outdated avi container which most people still use

still some decoders/players offer workarounds solving such problems, from which the best imho is ffdshow atm. it can be used in any dshow based player (eg bsplayer, media player classic, zoomplayer, wmp9 aso...)

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi castellanos,

I'm curious as to why Nero's Media Player can't play XviD files. Their ShowTime Player has no such problems. And with the correct NeVideo.ax file installed, it can even correctly display XviD and 3ivX streams which have been encoded with anamorphic signalling!

BS player makes it very easy for the user to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio, quite a bit easier than Media Player Classic.

For me, the new beta versions of XviD generate great looking encodes, with or without b-frames. So I have to say that I'm no longer using DivX at the moment... It also helps that XviD is free

Cheers

[castellanos]

Thanks for you answer, anyway, it is still not clear for me, What I have to do if I want to see the movie in full screen mode, if use the Windows Media Player, for example?
Actually, The Nero Media Player was able to play only the sound... not the video and I don't know why.
May be I have an old version of XviD?
Anyway I use a free version of DivX pro.
Any help?

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by castellanos
Thanks for you answer, anyway, it is still not clear for me, What I have to do if I want to see the movie in full screen mode, if use the Windows Media Player, for example!

I guess to answer this question we would first have to know how you've generated your encodes. For instance, if you crop and resize what was the PAR of your source.

Many people here on the forum crop and resize DVD sources that have an PAR of 2.35:1. When doing so, it's vital such encodes are encoded using the correct ratio of horizontal and vertical pixels. Say 640x272, 672x288 or 720x304 for example.

Cheers

[bond]

if you used xvid to encode the stream, than you need to install the latest xvid OR divx5 OR ffdshow OR 3ivx codec

each of them should be able to decode xvid in any dshow based player, like wmp (in some decoders you need to tick "xvid" to make them decode xvid first)

if they dont play the file than it is not a mpeg-4 stream or br0ken

[castellanos]

Thanks all you guys for the answers! Now the question is: I've got the DivX encoder together with the player (free version) and I wanted to re-size the avi file, in order to have a bigger screen... but it was no possible, the option was block out. Is it because the free version? or something in the settings?
Thanks!

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by castellanos
...I wanted to re-size the avi file, in order to have a bigger screen... but it was no possible, the option was block out. Is it because the free version? or something in the settings?
Thanks!

Please confirm which media player are you using now. Is it still DivX's media player?

Cheers

[castellanos]

Well, actually with DivX it is possible to see tha avi file in full screen mode, changing the aspect ratio to 4:3 TV, but not in the others madia players.
I would like to play the avi with WinDVD or Win Media Player XP (The original one, not the Media Player Classics).

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by castellanos
Well, actually with DivX it is possible to see tha avi file in full screen mode, changing the aspect ratio to 4:3 TV, but not in the others madia players.
I would like to play the avi with WinDVD or Win Media Player XP (The original one, not the Media Player Classics).

What do you mean by full screen? It's easy to get confused as some movie images are not meant to completely fill a 4:3 screen. Most movies today have picture aspect ratios of either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. Meaning that at around 39% or 76% (respectively) of the frame when shown on an 4:3 display is black (matte) bars!

[castellanos]

Well, I've made a test with DivX or Xdiv, whatever, and talking about the players I have (Win Media Player XP, WinDVD and Nero media player) when I try to get full screen I only get an image in the middle of the screen (not big enough... or at least, not as you see, when you play with DivX player in TV 4:3 mode). That's why I wanted to re-size the avi file.
In the case of Win. Media Player XP or Nero MP, it is right mouse click and select full screen, in Win DVD is just making the window bigger...but, as I said above, just a square in the middle of the screen.
I would really like to have widescreen.

[SeeMoreDigital]

So are you saying that the image does not fill your 4:3 screen from left to right?

I guess you understand that your 1.77:1, 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 encodes will not fill your 4:3 screen from top to bottom!

Cheers

[Soulhunter]

Capture a sample frame of your video to make the confusion an end !!!

Here you find some free hosting...


Bye

[castellanos]

SeeMoreDigital:
Well, How can I explain you... What I get is more or less like that:

I-------------------I
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIII--------IIIIIIIII
IIIIIIII--------IIIIIIIII
IIIIIIII--------IIIIIIIII
IIIIIIII--------IIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I-------------------I


The big square is my TFT display 15'', and the little square is what I get any time I want to see the avi file with Win. Media Player, Win DVD or Nero Media Player, even if I select full screen mode.
What I would like is to see the avi file exactly as the original DVD, widescreen, that's mean full from left to right and two black bars: Top and bottom.
Sorry about my ignorance but those numbers you told me... I have no idea what they mean.

Soulhunter:
I am sorry, but I don't know what is that link for.

[Soulhunter]

Originally posted by castellanos
I am sorry, but I don't know what is that link for.

There you can upload a screenshot/capture of your video to post/show it here...


Also open the file in VDub and tell us it's framesize !!!

- VDub -> File -> File information -> Frame size


Bye

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by castellanos
What I would like is to see the avi file exactly as the original DVD, widescreen, that's mean full from left to right and two black bars: Top and bottom.
Sorry about my ignorance but those numbers you told me... I have no idea what they mean.

I think you need to do a bit of reading up about aspect ratios along with how images are stored on DVD's.

For example, if you encoded an DVD with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, this is how it will appear on an 4:3 TV/PC monitor.
Note, how big the black bands (mattes) are: -




And this is how an 2.35:1 image appears on an 16:9 TV/PC monitor. Note again, how big the black bands (mattes) are: -




Can you see the differences between the 4:3 and 16:9 images?

Cheers

[castellanos]

Sorry, I have enough experiance doing DVD back ups, and of course I know about the aspect ratios 16:9 and 4:3, what I did not know is that 2.35:1 is the same as 4:3... sorry about that.
Anyway, I am going to make a few tests more, I realize already that if I want to re-size the avi file, I have to choose 460x576, in order to have the full screen (Widescreen), and not 420x576 as the original DVD is.
I will make more tests.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by castellanos
...what I did not know is that 2.35:1 is the same as 4:3... sorry about that.

It's not! 2.35:1 is the Picture Aspect Ratio (PAR). 4:3 is the Display Aspect Ratio (DAR).

It's quite vital that you understand about PAR, especially when generating cropped and resized encodes otherwise you will have problems when playing them back.

Originally posted by castellanos
...Anyway, I am going to make a few tests more, I realize already that if I want to re-size the avi file, I have to choose 460x576, in order to have the full screen (Widescreen), and not 420x576 as the original DVD is..

No this is not so either! A PAL DVD always has a Frame Aspect Ratio of 720x576 and an NTSC DVD always has a Frame Aspect Ratio of 720x480. This is regardless of the PAR of the image you see on your monitor.

Where you may be getting confused is understanding that all images are stored on an DVD 'anamorphicly' ie: the picture is 'squashed' up!

Below is an example of how an 2.35:1 image appears when it's stored on an 720x480 NTSC DVD: -



The only reason why you see the source DVD image correctly on your PC monitor is because your software player knows the DAR of your monitor and makes the necessary adjustments. This is also why you have to program a DVD stand-alone player, to let it know what size TV screen it's connected too ie: 4:3 or 16:9.

Cheers

[Soulhunter]

To make the confusion complete, here are some links...

- Link 1

- Link 2

- Link 3


Bye

[castellanos]

Well, I am really sorry about my ignorance... I was reading a few articles and I'm getting the idea more or less. (Thanks for the links "Soulhunter").
In order to get more information, but certainly not bothering anyone... specially "SeeMoreDigital" (I really apreciate your help). The idea is to get a DivX, to be played in a computer, and why not in a standard DVD player (I personally don't have one, my tests are only in the computer!). But if I want to create that, and play it anywhere, I would like to know the right settings.
I've got a DVD 16:9 (720x576), when I make the encoding to an avi, should I keep that resolution and aspect ratio? I mean, if I want to play it after on a standard DVD player?
On DVDx I have many options:
Letter box 4:3
Medium 4:3
Pan Scan 4:3
Full 16:9 or 4:3 input
I've tried with "Letter box 4:3", the result is good, but being the original 16:9 I am not sure if I can play it after on a standard DVD player.