I WANT to use xvid but...

[pdottz]

I'm totally for xvid as it's an totally free solution when compared to divx. especially the newer rc4 which is easier to configure than earlier versions..
however the only thing holding me back is speed.

double passing an 11minute mjpeg captured clip with 128cbr stereo audio.

xvid 1stpass - 40 - 45minutes
xvid 2ndpass - 60 - 70minutes

divx 1stpass - 19 - 23minutes
divx 2ndpass - 19 - 23minutes

Im using an xphome box. 2.2ghz with 128megs of ram.

is there some settings that arent right in xvid.?
I tried not discarding the 1st pass and it still takes forever to encode.
btw all my captures are just of cartoon at 512x384res. I have the cartoon mode option checked.

everything has been checked and double checked. can someone help me with this as I would really like to use xvid.

[Teegedeck]

In DivX as well as in XviD, speed depends on your choice of settings. Quality-improving features like VHQ and quarterpel will eat a lot of computing time. It is up to you to make your personal compromise between speed and quality. Perhaps you can find an XviD setting that still surpasses DivX in speed while looking better. Personally I don't make compromises when it comes to quality... ;)

[ObiKenobi]

What exactly are the settings you are using for xvid. Without knowing what settings you are using no one can really help you.

[SoonUDie]

I don't think you should be encoding that slowly. You might need more ram.

[pdottz]

all settings in xvid are set to default except that cartoon mode is checked and I have both passes set to 1000 bitrate.

divx is also set to default except that I have the bitrate set to 1000 also.

[ObiKenobi]

Originally posted by pdottz
all settings in xvid are set to default except that cartoon mode is checked and I have both passes set to 1000 bitrate.

divx is also set to default except that I have the bitrate set to 1000 also.

Then something is wrong, cause I can do a 25 minute episode at like 20/40 with my XP2000+ with 512 megs of RAM at default settings.

[pdottz]

also, I set both passes to a bitrate of 1000 and gspot information says that the file is at a bitrate of 899 - 900. those lost 100bits really do make a difference when encoding toons. I tested this with lots of different clips and it never gives me the 1000 bitrate I told it.

and as for speed. I tried a few clips using all the settings I did before. except this time I changed the vhq mode from 4 to 0 "none"

in both clips the visual quality was almost identical and the 2nd encoding time was cut from 40 minutes to 20 minutes using vhq mode 0. Im willing to live with that as long as I can get the bitrate to STAY at 1000.

[ObiKenobi]

Originally posted by pdottz
also, I set both passes to a bitrate of 1000 and gspot information says that the file is at a bitrate of 899 - 900. those lost 100bits really do make a difference when encoding toons. I tested this with lots of different clips and it never gives me the 1000 bitrate I told it.

That usually means that the file is a bit more compressable than you think. And the difference between in quality between 900 and 1000 kbit really isnt all that much.

[pdottz]

thats the thing though. with bitrate set to 1000 in divx you can see the difference in highcolor toons. when set to 900 you see more artifacts around lines and edges. I can see the difference in highcolor toons as opposed to anime which is usually darker and the difference between 900-1000 isn't much. if I could get xvid to stay at the set rate of 1000 then I would totally ditch divx in favor of xvid.

[maciek_m]

When I encode in VirtualDub and forget to disable the audio stream, the process becomes about 2 times as long.

[yaz]

Originally posted by pdottz
also, I set both passes to a bitrate of 1000 and gspot information says that the file is at a bitrate of 899 - 900. those lost 100bits really do make a difference when encoding toons. I tested this with lots of different clips and it never gives me the 1000 bitrate I told it.
xvid's willing to undersize slightly but not as much. try to increase resolution. quant=1 may also help.
the bests
y

[ObiKenobi]

Originally posted by pdottz
thats the thing though. with bitrate set to 1000 in divx you can see the difference in highcolor toons. when set to 900 you see more artifacts around lines and edges. I can see the difference in highcolor toons as opposed to anime which is usually darker and the difference between 900-1000 isn't much. if I could get xvid to stay at the set rate of 1000 then I would totally ditch divx in favor of xvid.

If xvid is giving you undersize files you can do a number of things: 1) less b-frames, 2) increase resolution, 3) or bump the min quantizer to 1 as this will help if you get undersize.

[pdottz]

It's not an issue of undersized files. it's an issue with the bit rate staying at what I set it to. all my encodes of are of cartoons, usually 11 minutes each. all my divx encodes come out to anywhere from 92-95megs with 128 cbr stereo audio.when set to 1000bitrate in divx, that bitrate stays the same. I encoded one episode with divx bitrate set at 1000
both passes where set to this. gspot states the file as 1005 and the encode looks really crispy and nice.

I then did this same episode using the newest xvid build rc4. I set both passes to 1000. after encoding gspot said my bitrate on the file was 899 and there's lots of noticeable noise around edges.

[ObiKenobi]

Originally posted by pdottz
It's not an issue of undersized files. it's an issue with the bit rate staying at what I set it to. all my encodes of are of cartoons, usually 11 minutes each. all my divx encodes come out to anywhere from 92-95megs with 128 cbr stereo audio.when set to 1000bitrate in divx, that bitrate stays the same. I encoded one episode with divx bitrate set at 1000
both passes where set to this. gspot states the file as 1005 and the encode looks really crispy and nice.

I then did this same episode using the newest xvid build rc4. I set both passes to 1000. after encoding gspot said my bitrate on the file was 899 and there's lots of noticeable noise around edges.

Okay well then try setting a filesize rather than bitrate to see if it comes out how you want. You might also want to try using settings like qpl, gmc or cartoon mode to see if this helps any as well.

[pdottz]

I'll set a specific filesize instead like you said Obikenobi.
I also do have cartoon mode checked.

I appreciate your help Obi and everyone else. :) I know my questions are probably wearing on everyones nerves by now.

[ObiKenobi]

Hey, no problem. :)

[Pen-Pen]

I may be wrong, but what's the point in setting a fixed bitrate in the first pass, then complain about filesize being unpredictable ?

Instead, try :

Pass 1 : You create one zone - Weight : 1.00 - from frame 0
Pass 2 : You leave your zone where it is, and choose "target bitrate" : 1000 (leave quants as they are, and check "trellis quant" if you like (I do :p))

If your encode doesn't get to 1000kbps, it means, as others have already said, that XViD couldn't reach that bitrate with your options, even with fixed Q2, (which, by the way, you could have noticed at the end of the first pass by looking at your "XViD Status Screen" ;))

If then, as others already have said again, remove b-f, change your quantizer matrix (good idea :)), increase res etc...

I might be wrong, but, at fixed res, if you cannot reach 1000 kbps, without any "compression option" like B-F, GMC, lumi... I would be HIGHLY surprised that DViX delivers you better quality ;)

[pdottz]

Pen-Pen,
I'm not complaining about unpredictable filesize. what Im having trouble with is that xvid won't stay at my target bitrate of 1000. after a 2pass it's always 899 or below. all defaults settings with cartoon mode checked. I don't have this problem with divx at all. after 2 pass my divx files are at the target bitrate or above by 5. ie. 1000 comes out to 1005 in my divx encodes. xvid drops the bitrate to 899 0r below which does make a big difference when encoding highcolor toons/anime as compared to darker toons/anime. I'll try some of those settings you mentioned.

[maciek_m]

How about setting the target to 1100? You are going to get 1000 as a result :)

[Didée]

pdottz:

Would you please, at least one time for testing, follow the sugestions of Pen-Pen, exactly, and down to the letter!

Something must be wrong in your workflow.

And: you stated (several times!), that you have set *both* passes to 1000 kbit/s. This is not possible : for the 1st-pass, you cannot specify a bitrate!

Sorry, but I really must conclude you are doing something wrong.

BTW, my last some dozens of encodings came out mostly in the range of +/- 20 kB of the filesize I told XviD to encode to. One or two might have been off by 50 kB or so ...

- Didée

[pdottz]

Didee.
Im trying out Pen-Pens settings out right now. I set single pass to 1000 then selected two-pass 1st pass. for some reason I though that would set the bitrate for the 1st pass. but the 2ndpass is set to 1000.

I unchecked the Global Motion Compensation option and the bitrate jumped up to 957 on the final encoded file. where can I remove b-f ? I can't seem to find it in the rc4 settings.

[maciek_m]

pdotzz
Forget the single pass. It has nothing to do with the 2-pass encoding you want to do.

Set advanced options and Profile@Level options first. Then configure the first pass. Then run it. Then configure the second pass (WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING IN THE PROFILE AND ADVANCED MENUS!!! and don't change zones in between too) and run it.

Good luck

[kadajawi]

just a small note. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU WORKING WITH 128 MB?

I mean... you use Windows XP Home. Just after booting my XP Pro takes around 120-150 MB (ok, with virus scanner, MBM and a few other things... but still). XviD is quite heavy on RAM too. If you're using AviSynth...
The 512 MB I have are pretty often full... just running Mozilla, VirtualDubMod, XviD and AviSynth.
You should really think about upgrading... how much RAM do you use?

[pdottz]

kada.
my encoding speeds are good. using gknot a full dvd backup takes about 3 hrs with 2pass.