Is xvid good for archive movies?

[Bear]

Hello all,

I used to use wmv9 to archive my dvd (1600k). But I found the encoding speed of wmv9 is too slow (I am using a dual amd 2600). And then I test Divx, the speed is better than wmv9. And then I test xvid. I was suprise that the encoding speed of xvid is much faster than wmv9 and divx and the quality is really good as well.

But I have a question, since xvid is still in developement stage, there are so many updates from time to time. In their web site, there is even no binaries for windows to download (I know I can download it from other sites). So don't you think it's safe to archive all my dvds to xvid format? I just afraid there might be too many changes in the near future.

Also, what's the best bitrate to archive a dvd by using xvid code? Is 1600k enough?

[sysKin]

XviD is not a format, it's an encoder. Format used is mpeg-4 so there will be no "changes in the future", standard has been frozen for years.

If mpeg-4 suits you, then use XviD - we've never had big compatibility problems, so in fact xvid is one of the safest encoders for long-term archives.

Radek

[Bear]

Thanks a lot. That would be good.

But does anyone know why the encoding speed is much faster for xvid compare with wmv9 or divx?

[Tuning]

@Syskin
Originally posted by Bear
And then I test xvid. I was suprise that the encoding speed of xvid is much faster than wmv9 and divx and the quality is really good as well
Most of AMD users are saying XviD is faster than DivX.But intel users say DivX is faster.Is there a fact in this opinion.

@Bear
Originally posted by Bear
.....Also, what's the best bitrate to archive a dvd by using xvid code? Is 1600k enough?[/B]
For getting optimum bitrate and resolution try a compresibility test.On the result you can chnge the resolution/final size.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by Bear
Hello all,

I used to use wmv9 to archive my dvd (1600k). But I found the encoding speed of wmv9 is too slow (I am using a dual amd 2600). And then I test Divx, the speed is better than wmv9. And then I test xvid. I was suprise that the encoding speed of xvid is much faster than wmv9 and divx and the quality is really good as well.

Have you tried ffvfw? In my experience it is a bit faster than even Xvid for me and the quality is quite excelent. I am kinda torn between using ffvwf and Xvid as my main work codec ATM. But you really have little or nothing to worry about with Xvid. As syskin said the few major bugs that occured were rather minor. I have been using Xvid for almost 2 years now IIRC and I have never had any catastrophic issues. Dev-API-4 builds cause explorer to crash when I hilight them. But the video plays fine. :D

Originally posted by Bear
But I have a question, since xvid is still in developement stage, there are so many updates from time to time.

As was said MPEG4 has been finalised for quite some time now. Updates to Xvid generally indicate such things as bugfixes to increase stability or addition of new features. Never is compatability broken. Breaking compatability is against the whole idea behind Xvid. Kludge may be a different matter. And incompatability is definatly the idea behind Windows Media.


Originally posted by Bear
In their web site, there is even no binaries for windows to download (I know I can download it from other sites). So don't you think it's safe to archive all my dvds to xvid format? I just afraid there might be too many changes in the near future.

They offer no binaries for legal reasons. And any changes in the near future will be for the better and never break playback compatability. Divx can play Xvid. FFMPEG can play Xvid. 3ivx can play Xvid. Heck even Quicktime can play Xvid. *And vice versa*

Originally posted by Bear
Also, what's the best bitrate to archive a dvd by using xvid code? Is 1600k enough?

Carefull. Asking what is best is seen by some as a strikeable offense. :p There are plenty of posts in the Xvid and Divx forums addressing such things. But the fact of the matter is that it depends. It depends on the resolution you use and how you percieve quality. So you are the only one who can truly answer that question for yourself.

[Assault]

@ Neo Neko

I'd like to try ffvfw but I'm a little bit confused which build I should use because I've often read posts about bugs in the different ffvfw builds. Do you know any build which is quite stable? My main concern is that I can safely encode with b-frames and q-pel.

Thanks,
Assault

[Bear]

Thanks for the details answer. I got more confidence to backup my dvd to xvid.

But after I backup my first dvd, I found the wmp seek bar can't seek the movie to a specific section. The problem also posted at:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64182

Is ffvfw better than xvid? I mean the quality, encoding speed and file size? I will search around for ffvfw to see what it is. Thanks.

[Neo Neko]

Originally posted by Assault
@ Neo Neko

I'd like to try ffvfw but I'm a little confused which build I should use because I've often read posts about bugs in the different ffvfw build. Do you know any build which is quite stable? My main concern is that I can safely encode with b-frames and q-pel.

Thanks,
Assault

The october 28 build I have seems to be just fine. As was the build from the month before.

Originally posted by Bear
Thanks for the details answer. I got more confidence to backup my dvd to xvid.

But after I backup my first dvd, I found the wmp seek bar can't seek the movie to a specific section. The problem also posted at:

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=64182


That is only a decoding bug. And not broken compatability. Things like this can happen from time to time in active projects. But it does not threaten the long term viability of your Xvid encodes. ;)

Originally posted by Bear
Is ffvfw better than xvid? I mean the quality, encoding speed and file size? I will search around for ffvfw to see what it is. Thanks.

Is it better? Hmmmm. Well it is better than Dev-API-3. Dev-API-4 looks to be a slightly different issue. I would say it is every bit as good so far as what I have seen from Dev-API-4.

There is a trend I have noticed between the two. Alot of one time SBC users are now using Xvid. But there are still a few holdouts. When the bitrate dips below a specific point Xvid's and Divx's ME starts to create a slightly swimmy effect in areas. It does not really look that bad. But some people just abhore it and preffer the more static ME you get in SBC encodes even when it means you get smeared textures etc. This is where ffvfw comes in. It behaves much like MSMPEG4v3 does with SBC in terms of it's ME. Save for the smearing textures problem. I suppose it should though as it can output MSMPEG4v3&v1 compatable streams as well. And that is the other point of interest for ffvfw and ffmpeg in general. The number of different formats that can be output. ;)

[amango]

Originally posted by Bear
Hello all,

I used to use wmv9 to archive my dvd (1600k). But I found the encoding speed of wmv9 is too slow (I am using a dual amd 2600). And then I test Divx, the speed is better than wmv9. And then I test xvid. I was suprise that the encoding speed of xvid is much faster than wmv9 and divx and the quality is really good as well.

But I have a question, since xvid is still in developement stage, there are so many updates from time to time. In their web site, there is even no binaries for windows to download (I know I can download it from other sites). So don't you think it's safe to archive all my dvds to xvid format? I just afraid there might be too many changes in the near future.

Also, what's the best bitrate to archive a dvd by using xvid code? Is 1600k enough?

It's fine to use XVID, as new MPEG4-DVD Players supports XVID and DIVX. So forget all the other codecs, as they don't follow any standards and are not useful for movie archiving. :devil:

[Assault]

@ Neo Neko

Thanks for your answer. I think I'll test the october 28 build tomorrow as I don't know how to compile an xvid devapi4 build. :rolleyes:

[BoNz1]

Originally posted by Neo Neko
There is a trend I have noticed between the two. Alot of one time SBC users are now using Xvid. But there are still a few holdouts. When the bitrate dips below a specific point Xvid's and Divx's ME starts to create a slightly swimmy effect in areas. It does not really look that bad. But some people just abhore it and preffer the more static ME you get in SBC encodes even when it means you get smeared textures etc.

I am one of those people who absolutely hate this swimmy effect. In fact, it is near impossible to get rid of even at quant 2. Of course in DivX is isn't too bad b/c looks pretty smeary and not as much details get preserved. But in XviD more details are preserved but at the expense of this bad swimmy effect. It is not only in static scenes where the walls appear to come alive but it is present almost everywhere, dev-api-4 is better in this respect but still not prefect. ffmpeg by contrast preserves just as much if not more details without this effect, I wonder if this could be improved in XviD since ffmpeg is diffcult to use as many things don't work properly in windows environment, ie cat *.vob. This as you might imagine makes using it difficult. I am paranoid using ffvfw too so it really isn't a option for me.

[chilledinsanity]

thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52806&highlight=conspiracy)


As was said MPEG4 has been finalised for quite some time now. Updates to Xvid generally indicate such things as bugfixes to increase stability or addition of new features. Never is compatability broken.
Okay, I'm sorry, but this is not true. It may be rare and perhaps no longer an issue for recent builds, but I got burned in encoding an assload of DVD's in Nic's 1/11/02 build, which no recent decoder that I've come across will play correctly. I have to login/out, uninstall my current Xvid codec, then reinstall the old one if I want to watch one of the older movies. See this thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52806&highlight=conspiracy) for the full story. To Xvid's credit though, this was an isolated build, I never took the source and compiled it myself since I know jack about programming. Maybe if I had done that these would still play fine.

A lot of one time SBC users are now using Xvid.
Yeah, I'm one of those.