Good Encoding Tools For Beginners?

[Dark-Acid]

Im new to the encoding thing and just wanted to know if anyone knew any good encoding tools for n00bs basicly i want to encode anime at 576p or 576i so my ps3 can understand the format and play it although i want the size of the file to be at about 175mb for 25 minutes of play and about 275mb for 40 minutes i have encoded mpeg2 stuff before but the quality is quite poor i use mediacoder 0.6.2 but if i encode in xvid the file format always goes to a mp4 and my ps3 will not play the file :( i have used autogk but i cannot control the overall size of the frame i want 720x576 can anyone help me?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

HandBrake, MeGUI, StaxRip, RipBot264, Avidemux, MediaCoder, just to name a few...

[Dark-Acid]

Keep in mind i want my ps3 to be able to play the content i think ill give handbrake a go any more suggestions

[Dark-Acid]

i would like a good Xivd encoder if anyone knows any

[linyx]

LoRd_MuldeR just named 4 in post #2. If that is not enough, here (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=129748) are a few more.:)

[CWR03]

AutoGK can control the size of the frame to what you desire, if you're starting out with PAL DVD material. Select 720 as width, then under hidden options (Ctrl + F9) select to keep original AR.

Squeezing 20 minutes of 576i material into 175 mb is not going to look very good, and forcing original AR may distort the video.