Divx Encoding Help

[way2quik]

I have these episodes of a series called Monkey Magic and i really want to encode it...its on dvd and when u watch it its in PAL format and its size on the tv is maximum...there are no borders or anything like that...now i want to encode these episodes (3 on each dvd) to divx format without losing the same aspect ratio..i would like it to be full screen as it was. One episode is 44mins long...so i would like to put on episode per 700MB cd-r. That should be extremely good quality right? and also ive looked at the gurdian knot guides and it its confusing...it says to use first pass method...butisnt Nth pass method better for higher quality..

I would lke to encode these episodes with the best quality possible....im not sure if these guides are just showin u how to get decent quality....could somone help me out...and also i usually go for minimum 192kb when it comes to bitrate for audio in mp3 but ive heard the bitrate should not bemore than 160?...is this true??...thanks alot i really apreiciate the help

[deXtoRious]

If you really want GOOD quality, I'd suggest using WMV9 VCM (instead of divx5) and OGG audio (instead of MP3).

EDIT: Is Monkey Magic an anime?

[temporance]

Originally posted by deXtoRious
If you really want GOOD quality, I'd suggest using WMV9 VCM (instead of divx5) and OGG audio (instead of MP3).

Have to disagree with you, deXtoRious. I've done lots of PSNR, HVS, JND tests and have found WMV9 to be gernerally the same or worse than DivX. The difference is greatest at the higher bitrates that way2quik wants to use - WMV9 seems to shows less detail at these bitrates.

The only time I might use WMV9 is if I wanted no blocking or ringing at very low bitrates. But if that's what I wanted, I'd use RV9 instead (IMHO, it's better than WMV9 at low bitrates). Having said that, I don't like the softening of textures that you get with WMV9 and RV9 so I'd choose an MPEG-4 codec (e.g. DivX) for all bitrates :).

To answer the original question, use DivX Kaukura (sp?), three pass encode, first two passes default settings + B-frames. Enable "slowest" quality and "fast" psychovisual on the final pass. You might want to save a fourth pass to a different AVI file using a touch of preprocessing ("light" settings) to see if that looks better.

OF course, you need to make sure you've got your resolution and resizing algo right first!

[way2quik]

but isnt Gnot thebest for creating divx movies?....and also the easiest apprently...buyt i looked at the guide its confusing like it says to set up the resolution and stuff and i want it to be fullscreen like it should be....and the audio bitrate thing i want 192 orup....but is that bad?

[jggimi]

You need to understand how DVD's work, and how Gknot works, and how AVI players work. DVDs all use the same resolution. PAL DVDs are all 720x576. DVD video streams can have one of two Display Aspect Ratios (DARs), 4:3 or 16:9. Your TV will also be in one of those shapes. During DVD player setup, you tell the player which shape TV you have. The player will adjust output video to match your TV size, and convert, when necessary, from 4:3 to 16:9, or vice versa. The aspect ratio of the DVD contents has little or nothing to do with the DAR. The DVD production company merely adjusts letterboxing within the video stream, depending on the DAR used. Your 4:3 content on your DVD may or may not have a DAR of 4:3. It should have a DAR of 4:3 to minimize letterboxing, but it does not have to.

Your DVD video stream that you give to Gknot will be 720x576. In the square pixels used with PCs, this is 1.25:1. That shape is neither 4:3 (1.33:1) nor is it 16:9 (1.85:1), and will require resizing. If the DAR is 4:3 and the content is 4:3, there should be little or no letterboxing to remove. But you will still need to resize the contents in order to produce 4:3 output in square pixels. PC monitors are usually 4:3, and with square pixels, common PC resolutions are 640x480, 1024x768... and these values all have that 4:3 relationship.

Gknot users primarily work with fixed bitrates, in order to produce fixed file sizes. The adjustments they make are usually to resolution, in order to produce the highest possible quality at a fixed bitrate. Gknot provides a tool called a compressibility test to assist with this process, and the calculations use the standard metric bits / pixels X frames to account for both bitrate and resolution.

Your finished AVI will likely have a resolution smaller than 640x480. Merely set your AVI player to present the finished video in fullscreen mode, and it will resize the video to fit your screen.
Edit: I just noticed a typo in my description of PC monitors, and corrected one of the examples of square pixels on a 4:3 monitor to 1024x768.

[SeeMoreDigital]

I agree with temporance.

There's nothing wrong at all with using an Mpeg4 codec, such as DivX to store your episodes of Monkey Magic.

A 45min encode with Mp3 audio at 128kbps would mean your DivX video codec can be set to over 2000kbps (2030kbps to be exact). Which will certainly look very good if you use the 2pass VBR method.

If you're intending to store your episodes on CD-R for future playback via a stand alone DVD/Mpeg4 player (such as those manufactured by Kiss), then you will need to generate your Mpeg4 encodes to an 'image pixel frame size' of no more than 720x480 (for NTSC) or 720x576 (for PAL). If larger frame sizes than this are used, you will only ever be able to view your encodes on a PC!

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions if you can't find the answers yuor looking for under the 'search' key!

Cheers

EDIT

One of the easiest peices of DivX creation software to use at the moment is Dr DivX (v1.02) And because it's made by DivX it's designed to be very easy to use. If you're interested, it's aviailable here: - http://www.divx.com/divx/drdivx/

[Slash1976]

When i rip DVD to Divx, i start by using DVDDecryptor to rip the vob files to a folder on your hard drive. Then use a program called DVDX 2.0 to convert to SVCD, VCD or DivX, you can change the screen resolution or change picture ratio, email me for more advice.
Slash