GKnot Xvid prob. & need guidance 4 upgrading

[doomed@ripping]

I have been using GKnot (0.28.6.1) to make my DivX movies.

I use Robot4rip to prepare the necessary dvd2avi file and process the audio. After opening the .d2v file in GKnot I follow the steps from the GKnot guide on Doom9. DivX3 works just gr8 with good results but Xvid & DivX5 won't work properly.

Xvid:
When encoding in Xvid, the Gordian Knot: DivX Encoding control panel comes up where I press the button for "Add Job to encoding que" Here I get an error message saying "Second pass settings are not set and defaults not present" So under Xvid Codec Settings I open the second pass settings and in the Xvid config window I select encoding mode as "2 pass: 2nd pass Ext." After pressing ok I click "Add Job to encoding que" and a Virtual Dub mod window opens up with the title "2097151% [good_bad_ugly.avs] virtualdubmod 1.5.4.1" Nothing is displayed upon clicking this window but the activity lights keep blinking suggesting activity. I was expecting a status window or some way of turning it on but no luck. After a few minutes even the activity stops and leaving the system on overnight also did not get any results. I checked the folder where the frameserver file was saved but the avi file is just 10k. The other files usually generated like 1stpass.settings etc are there. What can I do to get this right?

divX5:
Under DivX5 in Gknot I get the same error for "Second pass settings are not set and defaults not present", I open the nth pass settings config window and change the settings under bitrate to "multi pass: nth pass" & click ok. Everything works fine and the virtualdub window opens in a while and I get a status window too and the processing goes on but always the file size is smaller by about 50-80mb and GKnot Encoder window log displays that the deviation in size happened. Like the guide says I keep the Bits/(Pixel*Frame) near about .200 and so I shouldnt be getting a smaller file size for a movie which is 120mins+. I can understand if this happened in one DvD but this is the case in all the rips, the file size is always smaller. What am I doing wrong?

FlaskMPEG doesn't have problems creating Xvid or DivX5. In Flask using Miha's Fast iDCT or DVD2Avi SSEMMX iDCT a DivX3 2-pass encoding will give me approx 20-25 fps per pass but GKnot never goes above 14-15 fps in either pass. I am using a desktop, PIII 700 with 256mb Ram on WinXP. Is the performance on par with what my system is capable of? I have a p4 Laptop but I don't have a DVD-Rom on it, only a burner. Would the hard disk speed of my laptop which is 4600 rpm hinder the speed of encoding?

I can either get an external DvD for my laptop or buy a new Desktop for gaming which I've been planning on doing for a long time. What sort of fps can I expect in encoding on a p4 2.8 with 512mb Ram?

[Mac Sidewinder]

Under DivX5 in Gknot I get the same error for "Second pass settings are not set and defaults not present", I open the nth pass settings config window and change the settings under bitrate to "multi pass: nth pass" & click ok

If you are having to set the settings for each movie then you need to go to the options tab and set your default settings there. This will keep you from having to select them for each movie you do

[doomed@ripping]

If you are having to set the settings for each movie then you need to go to the options tab and set your default settings there. This will keep you from having to select them for each movie you do

But won't the settings differ for each movie? I mean settings like bitrate & Stuff?

In the usual procedure shouldn't Gknot configure the second pass settings by default?

[Mac Sidewinder]

I think you are getting confused by what the divx codec is asking for each time you go to encode. If you set the divx defaults in gnot (on the options page) you are setting the global defaults for divx (such as using qpel, psychovisual enchancements, etc). If you pull up each default for each pass and the credits, and save them, you won't be prompted to select these for each movie you encode. You use the rest of gnot to set the individual settings for each movie (bitrate, resolution, etc). You have to do this last part for each movie but you only have to do the first part once.

Mac

[doomed@ripping]

Mac Sidewinder,

I followed ur advice, but GKnot still asks for the default settings. I went to the options page in GKnot and set the 2nd pass settings for both DivX5 & Xvid but no luck. I am trying another encode in Xvid and it's throwing up the size problem again. Everything starts of correct but somewhere in the second pass the deviation occurs and the movie ends up 50 mb short.

I would be glad if someone could help me with this, I can paste the logs on here but don't know which ones to paste.

TIA

d@r

[killingspree]

hey doomed@ripping,
have you considered trying gordianknotitfast4u? it's way easier to use, but only supports xvid atm. this should change in a couple of weeks though (no exact date fixed). the good thing about gkif4u is, that it does all those settings for you. the only thing you'll have to do, is set the desired output size and off you'll go :)

if this is not an option, please try reinstalling gordianknot from scratch. it might help :)

some more hints:
please stay away from flask, it does the job quickly, but dirty and doesn't really have a good name around here :P

with your current computer ~15 fps in gordianknot is more than ok :)

generally 2.8 ghz and 512 mb ram is by far not enough information to give a save bet tip on expected encoding speeds.
also it ultimately depends on quite a few factors starting from avisynth filters used to ram speeds, hd speeds etc. one bottleneck in your whole system setup can significantly decrease the encoding speed!

hth
steVe
PS: as a moderator i have to ask you to change your signature as this forum only supports the creation of backup copies under the fair use rights! thanks for understanding...

[doomed@ripping]

Hey Killingspree,

Done boss, the signature's gone... Sorry, didn't realize about the signature... I guess living in the "free world" that my country is where everything is free, one seems to forget such things :)

I'll take ur advice and do the needful for GKnot, My OS installation is crawling along anyway, and my Lilo boot doesn't work properly anymore so tonite I'm backing up, reformatting & re-installing the OS. This time I will only load the bare essentials like GKnot & Rip Packs + update and do away with everything from Flask to DvDx.

My other PC doesn't have a problem with GKnot so I guess something's wrong with my installation. Been trying out encoding on Linux and I am not going to ever try it again... seems easy but just lacks the functionability. Learning, Learning, my DVD backups looking good now. All thanks to Doom9.

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

[killingspree]

Originally posted by doomed@ripping
Hey Killingspree,

Done boss, the signature's gone... Sorry, didn't realize about the signature... I guess living in the "free world" that my country is where everything is free, one seems to forget such things :)


thanks a lot :)

oh and i'm not the boss :P ... that's doom9 himself :D

steVe