Significant changes in four years?

[Inindo]

Hello, I used to not be a Newbie. I used to encode using SmartRipper --> DVD2AVI --> AviSynth --> XviD in Virtualdub --> Mux with Virtualdubmod, with Besweet to encode the audio to ogg, and Vobsub to do the subtitles. That was four years ago. Then Real Life happened.

Now, I come back and, while not everything's changed, there are a lot of differences. DVD2AVI is now called DGIndex, Besweet is no longer updated and I'm having a hard time to get it to work, DVD Decrypter has replaced Smartripper, Vobsub is now VSRip (??) and now XviD is the stable codec while x264 is the new kid on the block. While I'll certainly need to catch up, I have a few questions to ask.

1) If ffdshow still the MPEG-4 decoded of choice? Should I use ffdshow-tryouts instead?
2) Which is recommended, OggMux or Virtualdubmod? While the guide says Oggmux, I had some issues with it back then and so I used Virtualdubmod instead.
3) Does everyone use GordianKnot know? Are people who manually create AVISynth scripts and feed them into Virtualdub considered hopelessly old fashioned?
4) Do people still use BeSweet with BesweetGUI, or is BeLight the new encoder of choice?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Dark Shikari]

Seems you're still stuck 4 years in the past ;)1) If ffdshow still the MPEG-4 decoded of choice? Should I use ffdshow-tryouts instead?FFDshow development stopped years ago; the real work moved to the fork ffdshow-tryouts. You shouldn't be using anything else.2) Which is recommended, OggMux or Virtualdubmod? While the guide says Oggmux, I had some issues with it back then and so I used Virtualdubmod instead.Neither, OGM is a broken hack of a format that nobody uses anymore, and VDubMod is extremely outdated and deprecated.3) Does everyone use GordianKnot know? Are people who manually create AVISynth scripts and feed them into Virtualdub considered hopelessly old fashioned?GK was popular 3 or 4 years ago but its really being phased out now, primarily because it only supports the ancient Video for Windows interface.

Try MeGUI.

[Inindo]

Thanks for the information!! A few more questions though.
Neither, OGM is a broken hack of a format that nobody uses anymore, and VDubMod is extremely outdated and deprecated.Does this include the ogg music format as well? Should I be using "Matroska" instead? Or should I just be using fixed bitrate MP3 on AVI files? Last time I checked, using VBR audio on AVI involved a few ugly hacks, is this still the case?

[mahsah]

OGG is still good, and you can stick it in Matroska fine. MKVtoolnix is handy for doing this.

[Dark Shikari]

Thanks for the information!! A few more questions though.
Does this include the ogg music format as well? Should I be using "Matroska" instead? Or should I just be using fixed bitrate MP3 on AVI files? Last time I checked, using VBR audio on AVI involved a few ugly hacks, is this still the case?Ogg is fine for Vorbis audio--the problem was "OGM", the hack designed to put anything in an Ogg file, not just Vorbis.

You should probably be using Matroska or MP4. AVI is pretty much given up on at this point.

[manono]

You should probably be using Matroska or MP4. AVI is pretty much given up on at this point.
A matter of opinion. My standalone doesn't play Matroska or MP4 and therefore I have no interest in either. AVI is still alive and kicking and I expect it will be for several more years (until displaced by MP4 with more standalone support).

[fibbingbear]

Does this include the ogg music format as well?

While ogg probably offers the best compression/quality ratio, I think AAC is a better choice, particularly Nero's AAC (which is freeware). In many sound tests AAC is very competitive with ogg, and AAC has more hardware support. The biggest advantage ogg has, imo, is that it's royalty free, so if you want to do something commercial, you could distribute the audio in ogg form and not worry about costs.

[stax76]

Depens on what given up means, AVI slowly loses users. It's unlikely that MP4 will be the big format, facts are MKV is much more popular here and DivX 7 will use MKV so there will be great hardware support. It's likely that MP4 and MKV will coexist like DVD+R and DVD-R.

[dat720]

AVI is pretty much given up on at this point.

That's abit of a big call, AVI will be around for many more years, when standalone DVD player start supporting MP4/MKV as a standard then AVI may die off but i doubt it will as it's been around pretty much since Windows has!

[Dark Shikari]

That's abit of a big call, AVI will be around for many more years, when standalone DVD player start supporting MP4/MKV as a standard then AVI may die off but i doubt it will as it's been around pretty much since Windows has!Well I don't see much of anyone using AVI for H.264, AAC, Vorbis, or any other modern format, so I'm pretty sure its safe to say that AVI's days are numbered ;)

[Inindo]

Depens on what given up means, AVI slowly loses users. It's unlikely that MP4 will be the big format, facts are MKV is much more popular here and DivX 7 will use MKV so there will be great hardware support. It's likely that MP4 and MKV will coexist like DVD+R and DVD-R.:eek: There's a DivX 6 now? Man, I'm out of touch.

Thanks for the information everyone! Hopefully it won't take me forever to get started. Now I just have to see how AVISynth has been coming along the past four years.

[prOnorama]

Well I don't see much of anyone using AVI for H.264, AAC, Vorbis, or any other modern format, so I'm pretty sure its safe to say that AVI's days are numbered ;)

AAC or Vorbis (or WMA etc.) are just not important compared to good ol' MP3, even Apple with their proprietary BS formats had to embrace MP3 to sell a lot of music

CD audio has been here for 25 years and it's still by far the dominant format as a physical music carrier, it's "internet equivalent" is MP3

The "internet equivalent" of DVD is still .avi, the equivalent for HD material is H.264 (.mkv/.mp4 mainly x264 codec), but that's still relatively new

I do hope H.264 gets mainstream support ASAP (mainly by standalone devices). Should that happen then the .avi container can go into retirement, so in that sense I agree with you AVI's days are numbered. It will be around for quite some time though I reckon.

[Dark Shikari]

AAC or Vorbis (or WMA etc.) are just not important compared to good ol' MP3, even Apple with their proprietary BS formats had to embrace MP3 to sell a lot of music

CD audio has been here for 25 years and it's still by far the dominant format as a physical music carrier, it's "internet equivalent" is MP3

The "internet equivalent" of DVD is still .avi, the equivalent for HD material is H.264 (.mkv/.mp4 mainly x264 codec), but that's still relatively new

I do hope H.264 gets mainstream support ASAP (mainly by standalone devices). Should that happen then the .avi container can go into retirement, so in that sense I agree with you AVI's days are numbered. It will be around for quite some time though I reckon."Formats used for piracy" is not the same thing as "formats used by everyone else."

You'll never find MP3, for example, used in broadcast, nor will you find MPEG-4 ASP used for broadcast television or internet video. But you'll certainly find H.264 and AAC.

[setarip_old]

@Dark Shikari

Hi!

Who or what are you quoting when you put into quotes?:"Formats used for piracy" is not the same thing as "formats used by everyone else.". Those phrases don't appear in your quote of "prOnorama", nor do they appear in any previous post in this thread...

[Dark Shikari]

@Dark Shikari

Hi!

Who or what are you quoting when you put into quotes?:. Those phrases don't appear in your quote of "prOnorama", nor do they appear in any previous post in this thread... He's talking about "internet formats" being DivX/Xvid AVIs with MP3 audio, and H.264 MKVs made with x264. This is true--if what he means is formats used by the Scene and others for piracy. You'll almost never find such formats used by major websites.

[setarip_old]

He's talking about "internet formats" being DivX/Xvid AVIs with MP3 audioNaah - "prOnorama" speaks of .MP3 separately and refers to the very legal Apple .MP3s - and, with regard to .AVIs, makes no reference to DivX or Xvid.

Additionally, over the years, there have been "tons" of legitimate .AVIs available for download from the 'Net.

Although your supposition may prove to be correct regarding what "prOnorama" may actually mean by "internet formats", perhaps "prOnorama" will be good enough to post his/her definition back here...

[Dark Shikari]

Naah - "prOnorama" speaks of .MP3 separately and refers to the very legal Apple .MP3s - and, with regard to .AVIs, makes no reference to DivX or Xvid.Its easier to deny what I say if you only quote half of my posts, and ignore the rest ;)

[Shinigami-Sama]

AVI is dead
you need to hack it to even get it to support anything relatively decent
MP4 is yeah... no...

MKV is really the only container that makes sense, unless you have to deal with standalones, which honestly should've supported them 5 years ago