florinandrei
19th July 2008, 01:07
I've a bunch of very old, mostly copyright-free movies, poorly encoded with an old DivX. They're about 640MB each.
nu.avi: RIFF (little-endian) data, AVI, 384 x 288, ~25 fps, video: DivX 3 Fast-Motion, audio: uncompressed PCM (mono, 11025 Hz)
They are sitting on a bunch of old crappy CDs. It's time to move them somewhere else or I may lose them.
The thing is, DivX 3 is ancient and few things will play it (other than computers). So I thought I should re-encode the movies while I move them.
I want the new format to be future-proof. Naturally, AVC seems like a good candidate. Also, these movies must be playable on any device: computer, PS3, Blu-Ray player. (note: I own a PS3)
I have two main options:
1. Encode them as a bunch of separate AVC files
A computer will definitely play them. A PS3 maybe will play them. A Blu-Ray player will probably not (?) play them.
If I use x264 to encode, I should keep the same resolution and frame rate, and probably the same file size too like the DivX3 originals - due to the superior compression of AVC, the quality loss will be negligible. The quality of the originals is pretty bad, but that's exactly why I don't want to lose any quality.
I am not sure what profile and quality settings to use with x264, so that the files are compatible with as many devices as possible (PS3 mostly).
2. Make AVCHD disks (poor man's Blu-Ray)
PS3 and most Blu-Ray players will definitely play them. Computers too, with a software player. I could make nice menus with titles and icons and stuff.
But the original resolution is tiny and likely I will have to scale them to the smallest resolution supported by AVCHD. I don't know what that resolution is. The frame rate seems to be PAL, I live in a NTSC zone, yet I don't want to change the framerate because it rarely looks good unless it's done with very good tools.
EDIT: Whatever I end up using as target format, it must be pretty standard, as that will guarantee a wide compatibility.
I want to carefully weigh all the pros and cons, make a decision, convert all the movies once, get rid of the originals, and be done with it. I'm listening to any suggestions and advice. Thanks.
nu.avi: RIFF (little-endian) data, AVI, 384 x 288, ~25 fps, video: DivX 3 Fast-Motion, audio: uncompressed PCM (mono, 11025 Hz)
They are sitting on a bunch of old crappy CDs. It's time to move them somewhere else or I may lose them.
The thing is, DivX 3 is ancient and few things will play it (other than computers). So I thought I should re-encode the movies while I move them.
I want the new format to be future-proof. Naturally, AVC seems like a good candidate. Also, these movies must be playable on any device: computer, PS3, Blu-Ray player. (note: I own a PS3)
I have two main options:
1. Encode them as a bunch of separate AVC files
A computer will definitely play them. A PS3 maybe will play them. A Blu-Ray player will probably not (?) play them.
If I use x264 to encode, I should keep the same resolution and frame rate, and probably the same file size too like the DivX3 originals - due to the superior compression of AVC, the quality loss will be negligible. The quality of the originals is pretty bad, but that's exactly why I don't want to lose any quality.
I am not sure what profile and quality settings to use with x264, so that the files are compatible with as many devices as possible (PS3 mostly).
2. Make AVCHD disks (poor man's Blu-Ray)
PS3 and most Blu-Ray players will definitely play them. Computers too, with a software player. I could make nice menus with titles and icons and stuff.
But the original resolution is tiny and likely I will have to scale them to the smallest resolution supported by AVCHD. I don't know what that resolution is. The frame rate seems to be PAL, I live in a NTSC zone, yet I don't want to change the framerate because it rarely looks good unless it's done with very good tools.
EDIT: Whatever I end up using as target format, it must be pretty standard, as that will guarantee a wide compatibility.
I want to carefully weigh all the pros and cons, make a decision, convert all the movies once, get rid of the originals, and be done with it. I'm listening to any suggestions and advice. Thanks.