How to convert a multi-feature DVD to DivX/XviD with ease using freeware

[manono]

There could be several reasons that's happening, Ghost_rider. To help diagnose the problem, can you post the log from one of those undersized encodes?

[Ghost_rider]

Here's a log from a recent convertion

Thanks for the quick response

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[04/02/2008 10:57:45] AutoGK 2.47b
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] OS: WinXP (5.1.2600).2
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Job started.
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Input file: C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\VTS_02_0.IFO
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Output file: C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\Episode 2.avi
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Output codec: XviD
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Audio 1: English AC3 6ch
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Subtitles: none
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Format: AVI
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Target size: 349Mb
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Custom resolution settings: fixed width of 640 pixels
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Audio 1 settings: Original
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Standalone support enabled: ESS
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Started encoding.
[04/02/2008 10:57:45] Demuxing and indexing.
[04/02/2008 10:59:02] Processing file: ..\VTS_02_PGC_01_1.VOB
[04/02/2008 10:59:03] Source resolution: 720x576
[04/02/2008 10:59:03] Found PAL source.
[04/02/2008 10:59:03] Source aspect ratio: 16:9
[04/02/2008 10:59:03] Color correction enabled.
[04/02/2008 10:59:03] Analyzing source.
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Source has percentage of interlacing in motion areas: 0.00
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Source is considered to be progressive.
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Output will contain 57974 frames
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Audio1 size: 111,286,272 bytes (106.13 Mb)
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Overhead: 688,384 bytes (0.66 Mb)
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Video size: 253,978,368 bytes (242.21 Mb)
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Running compressibility test.
[04/02/2008 11:00:25] Writing the following script to C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\agk_tmp\Episode 2_comptest.avs
================================================== =========
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\DGMPGDec\DGDecode.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\autocrop.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\ColorMatrix.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\RemoveGrainSSE3.dll")

movie = mpeg2source("C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\agk_tmp\Episode 2.d2v")
cropclip = autocrop(movie,mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples= 10,aspect=0,threshold=34,samplestartframe=0,leftad d=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
fixed_aspect = 1.42222222222222
c_width = width(cropclip)
c_height = round(height(cropclip) / fixed_aspect)
input_par = float(c_width)/float(c_height)
input_par = (input_par > 1.4) || (input_par < 1.25) ? input_par : (4.0/3.0)
out_width = 640
out_height = round(float(out_width) / input_par)
hmod = out_height - (floor(out_height / 16 ) * 16)
out_height = (hmod > 4) ? (out_height + (16 - hmod)) : (out_height - hmod)
new_aspect = (float(out_width) / float(out_height)) / fixed_aspect
autocrop(movie,mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples= 10,aspect=new_aspect,threshold=34,samplestartframe =0,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
LanczosResize(out_width,out_height)
RemoveGrain(mode=2)
ColorMatrix("Rec.709->Rec.601",opt=0,hints=false,threads=0)
SelectRangeEvery(300,15)
================================================== =========
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Duration was: 1 minute, 56 seconds
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Speed was: 24.93 fps.
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Compressibility percentage is: 35.81
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Using softer resizer.
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Chosen resolution is: 640x368 ( AR: 1.74 )
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Predicted comptest value is: 37.82%
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Running first pass.
[04/02/2008 11:02:22] Writing the following script to C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\agk_tmp\Episode 2_movie.avs
================================================== =========
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\DGMPGDec\DGDecode.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\autocrop.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\ColorMatrix.dll")
LoadPlugin("C:\PROGRA~1\AutoGK\filters\RemoveGrainSSE3.dll")

movie = mpeg2source("C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\Films\Lost\S1\2\agk_tmp\Episode 2.d2v")
cropclip = autocrop(movie,mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples= 10,aspect=0,threshold=34,samplestartframe=0,leftad d=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
fixed_aspect = 1.42222222222222
c_width = width(cropclip)
c_height = round(height(cropclip) / fixed_aspect)
input_par = float(c_width)/float(c_height)
input_par = (input_par > 1.4) || (input_par < 1.25) ? input_par : (4.0/3.0)
out_width = 640
out_height = round(float(out_width) / input_par)
hmod = out_height - (floor(out_height / 16 ) * 16)
out_height = (hmod > 4) ? (out_height + (16 - hmod)) : (out_height - hmod)
new_aspect = (float(out_width) / float(out_height)) / fixed_aspect
autocrop(movie,mode=0,wmultof=4,hmultof=4,samples= 10,aspect=new_aspect,threshold=34,samplestartframe =0,leftadd=0,rightadd=0,topadd=0,bottomadd=0)
BicubicResize(out_width,out_height,0,0.5)
RemoveGrain(mode=2)
ColorMatrix("Rec.709->Rec.601",opt=0,hints=false,threads=0)
================================================== =========
[04/02/2008 11:27:40] Duration was: 25 minutes 17 seconds
[04/02/2008 11:27:40] Speed was: 38.19 fps.
[04/02/2008 11:27:40] Expected quality of first pass size: 34.43%
[04/02/2008 11:27:40] Running second pass.
[04/02/2008 12:01:29] Duration was: 33 minutes 49 seconds
[04/02/2008 12:01:29] Speed was: 28.57 fps.
[04/02/2008 12:01:29] Job finished. Total time: 1 hour, 3 minutes 43 seconds

[manono]

OK, thanks. That rules out a couple of possibilities. The problem may be the version of XviD included with version 2.47 and you should probably upgrade to 2.48. Have you installed any newer version of XviD without first completely uninstalling any older versions of XviD? The reason I ask is that can be a cause for not getting the size you want as well. My suggestion is to go through Add/Remove Programs to uninstall XviD followed by the installation of version 2.48 which uses a different XviD build:

http://www.autogk.me.uk/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=4

Also, your log shows you setting a fixed width of 640 and getting a lousy compression test result. Lost is hard to compress. I might suggest letting AutoGK choose the width, choosing a smaller width yourself, choosing a larger final size, using lower quality audio (MP3 instead of the original AC3) to free up more space for the video, or some combination of the above. And since you're getting sizes much smaller then requested, those episodes probably don't look very good.

[Ghost_rider]

Cheers manono,

I'll do what you suggest and let you know how I get on....

[Ghost_rider]

Updating Auto GK and Xvid seems to have worked. I'm now getting a more consistant file size of around 357MB. Thanks again for the advice...

[manono]

Good, I'm glad to have been able to help.

By the way, if you're asking for 349 MB as in the log you provided and you're getting 357 MB, then that's still not close enough. But I'll take a wild guess and say you're really getting 357,xxx KB, which is 349 MB and right on the money.

[denverd]

I've tried this guide on two different computers, and although I end up with the .IFO and .VOB files in the correct folders, none of the vobs have any audio. Of course I can't even begin autoGK...since the vobs have no audio...any clues as to the settings that could be wrong, or something obvious I'm missing. When I open the VOB in any software (NeroShowtime, VLC...) they inform me there is no AUDIO present in the file.

[manono]

Hi-

If all you did to get the DVD onto the hard drive was to use DVD Decrypter or somesuch, without purposely removing the audio, then you can bet there's audio in there. Open a VOB in GSpot to confirm (or disprove) the presence of audio. If you can't figure it out, post a screen pic from GSpot here.

If there really is no audio, then decrypt using DVDDecrypter without going into Stream Processing.

The solution to your problem could be as simple as installing the AC3Filter.

[darkuni]

I've got a question.

I've been basically doing the equivalent of this guide for awhile, but I'm not getting the results I've seen others get when creating Xvids.

Basically, I have a LOT of TV DVDs I want to compress. "The Scene" DVD rips clock in at:

175MB (for~ 21:30 shows)
350MB (for~ 42.30 shows)

I'm currently ripping my THAT 70'S SHOW DVDs, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot get a 175MB encode from ANY episode - and I've played around with the settings.

I know the goal of this guide is to go "free", but I'm not above paying for software if I can achieve the above numbers with the same quality "the scene" is doing.

Any thoughts or assistance would be GREAT!

[manono]

Hi-

Any thoughts or assistance would be GREAT!

Post your log. There could be several reasons why you're not reaching your desired file size.

[hartjo1]

Thanks for the guide. It's been very useful. I'm curious as to why you've pegged the width at 640. What if the original width is greater than 640 lines? Wouldn't it be better to use Auto Width? Thanks for the help!

[hartjo1]

OK, bigger problem. When I run DVD Decrypt foe the first time, it works great. When I go to run it again, I get the following:

I 18:34:13 DVD Decrypter Version 3.5.4.0 started!
I 18:34:13 Microsoft Windows Code Name "Longhorn" Home Edition (6.0, Build 6000)
I 18:34:13 Initialising SPTI...
I 18:34:13 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...
E 18:34:13 CreateFile Failed! - Device: '\\.\Cdrom0'
E 18:34:13 Reason: Access is denied.
E 18:34:13 CreateFile Failed! - Device: '\\.\Cdrom1'
E 18:34:13 Reason: Access is denied.
E 18:34:13 You need Administrative privileges to use SPTI.
W 18:34:13 No devices detected!

If I reboot, no joy. If I uninstall and reinstall DVD Decrypter it works just fine. Until I shut it down again and try to restart DVD Decrypter. Then I get the above error log again. Uninstall, reinstall, it works. Rinse and repeat. I did a good deal of research and the common answer seems to be "make sure you have admin rights." I do.

Unfortunately DVD Decrypter is no longer developed as far as I can tell. Their site and forums appear to be offline.

If there's no good fix for this, is there an alternate software that you would recommend for ripping? I use AnyDVD but don't really have the same level of control that I seem to have with DVD Decrypter. Any help would be appreciated.

[Cheekie_Moonkie]

Thanks for the guide. It's been very useful. I'm curious as to why you've pegged the width at 640. What if the original width is greater than 640 lines? Wouldn't it be better to use Auto Width? Thanks for the help!

No worries. 640 was chosen purely for legacy reasons. I.e. in the good old days a lot of screens would run at 640x480. To be honest, though, you can choose any resolution you like, within reason.

As for the issue your having with DVD Decrypter, I'm afraid I've not come across that one before. There are alternatives to it, but as you say, DVD Decrypter is usually about the best. Plus, DDMFRip.bat will only work with DVD Decrypter.

Just so that you can be sure it's a DVD Decrypter issue, it might be worth trying another ripper (e.g. SmartRipper) to see how that behaves in comparison. I'd also try disabling any 'region free' software you may be running, and any CD/DVD emulation software as well, as either of those can cause odd problems.

Also, as it's moaning about "Administrative privileges", and you say you are using an admin account, it could be your firewall (or other security software) which is preventing the application from having the access it needs.

[hartjo1]

Thanks, CM. I disabled user access control in Vista and it seems to have solved the problem. Though it was not prompting UAC when attempting to run, I gather that the program was not "authorized" to be using the DVD drive. When I would do a fresh install, it would prompt UAC. That's why it worked only on the first new install. After that it seems that it needed UAC to allow access but was not prompting. Who could have foreseen the brilliance that I Vista? Anyway, it works now, so thanks for a great guide!

[otherbyrd]

I just have to say thank you Cheekie_Moonkie, it worked more or less perfectly.

The reason I wanted to do this is because the only DVD player in my room is my Xbox360 and on occasion I've borrowed DVDs off friends before (Mostly TV shows) and they wouldn't play because said friend had ordered them off Amazon or somewhere else so they were a different region.

Aside from DVD Decrypter not working (Well, I set it all up but the start ripping button was greyed out) so I used SmartRipper (Worked perfectly), not really being able to decide on a size (I settled on 290MB, the episodes are roughly 24mins) and having to figure out what chapters were what episode (31 chapters and it ended up being 6 per episode and 31 being some warnings/credits), it was fine. Also, I just tested the first one I ripped/converted and it looks absolutely fine on my 360.

Stupid region codes. :/ I'm on Vista too and I used DVD Region+CSS Free as well. It took about 40 minutes for the first episode which isn't too bad, I guess, I imagined it being a little faster for some reason (I have a decent computer). Now I need to figure out automating it (With the batch files provided) and it'll be incredibly easy (Add in streaming to my 360 and it's a good set up ).

[Gillies]

CM
thanks for the awesome guide.
Only thing required now is a way to automate autogk so you dont have to do all the clicks to add jobs to the queue.

[Cheekie_Moonkie]

CM
thanks for the awesome guide.
Only thing required now is a way to automate autogk so you dont have to do all the clicks to add jobs to the queue.

Gillies,
Glad you've found it useful. Totally agree on your point about the automation of AutoGK. That's something I've hoped for for some time. If something comes up, I'll be sure to add it to the guide.

[impala454]

This is an excellent guide, thank you very much for posting it!

I am having a strange issue and was hoping someone might be able to help. I have ripped nearly all of my Star Trek TNG episodes (~151 so far). I have one particular episode that's really giving me trouble. It's the 1st disc, 1st episode of the 5th season. There are four episodes per disc, and the other three episodes on that disc ripped perfectly. This one episode though, no matter what I do, rips to a "squeezed" aspect ratio. They are 4:3 episodes, but this one rips to 16:9. It is in the actual rip too, not the encode. I tried SmartRipper as suggested but it does the same thing. The actual VOB file it rips is in 16:9 when it should be 4:3. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and thanks again for the awesome guide!

[impala454]

Just an update, it does rip properly with CloneDVD Mobile, but I hate to have all these episdoes in XVID with just a couple in Divx.

[manono]

You can change the aspect ratio that GKnot uses by going into the Hidden Options (CTRL-F9) and checking "Override Input AR" and setting it for what you want.

[impala454]

Thanks! That worked perfectly!

[Jettto]

i have a dvd of 2 episodes (1hrs each) 1pgc 2 chapters

first episodes rips fine with subtitle..
second episode rips fine but doesnt include subtitle....!?!?!?



thanks

[manono]

Each episode is one of the chapters within the same PGC? If so, then probably the 2nd episode begins where the first one finishes off, and the subs do the same. That is, if each episode is an hour long, then the subs for the 2nd episode will begin after the one hour mark, after the 2nd episode finishes when reencoded, so you get no subs. You can confirm (or disprove) by opening the IDX in Notepad and having a look at the timestamps.

The solution is to insert a negative delay into the 2nd IDX/SUB file equal to the exact length of the first episode. This will make the subs move up/forward in time. You can do this using SubtitleCreator, among other ways.

[dan85au]

Please Help

Get The following error when I start AutoGK

Avisynth Open Failure:
MPEG2Source: Could not open one of the input files.
(M:\American Dad\Season 3\AD301 Bush Comes to Dinner\agk_tmp\_.avs, line 7)

This is what Auto GK has:

================================================== ==
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] AutoGK 2.45
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] OS: Windows Vista (6.0.6001).2
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Job started.
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Input file: M:\American Dad\Season 3\AD301 Bush Comes to Dinner\VTS_01_0.IFO
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Output file: M:\American Dad\Season 3\AD301 Bush Comes to Dinner\AD301 Bush Comes to Dinner.avi
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Output codec: XviD
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Audio 1: English AC3 6ch
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Subtitles: none
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Format: AVI
[2008/09/24 01:07:46] Target size: 225Mb
[2008/09/24 01:07:47] Custom resolution settings: fixed width of 720 pixels
[2008/09/24 01:07:47] Audio 1 settings: VBR MP3 with average bitrate: 128Kbps
[2008/09/24 01:07:47] Started encoding.
[2008/09/24 01:07:47] Demuxing and indexing.
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Processing file: VTS_01_PGC_02_1.VOB
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Source resolution: 720x576
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Found PAL source.
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Source aspect ratio: 4:3
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Color correction enabled.
[2008/09/24 01:09:20] Analyzing source.
*************************************
EXCEPTION: Cannot open file "M:\American Dad\Season 3\AD301 Bush Comes to Dinner\agk_tmp\interlace.log". The system cannot find the file specified
*************************************
[2008/09/24 01:09:40] Job finished. Total time: 1 minute, 53 seconds
================================================== ==


Please Help.

Thanks,
Daniel

[manono]

I don't know. However, many AutoGK problems are solved by uninstalling and reinstalling. Uninstall XviD first (Add/Remove Programs), before removing the main app. This will also give you the opportunity to upgrade to the more recent ver 2.48

[traye]

have been doing great until i got to one disc and all of a sudden its in french. is there any way of changing the language in dvd decrypter so it rips as english?
all the rest worked fine just not the second last disc.
thanks for any help.
trayde

[manono]

DVD Decrypter decrypts whatever's on the DVD. What makes you think you got only the French? Just playing the VOBs? Well, don't. Open the IFO in AutoGK and choose the English track.

Also, if you're going into the Stream Processing of DVD Decrypter, don't. Decrypt the entire thing in IFO Mode without touching the Stream Processing.

[Bahndit]

Cheekie Moonkie,

Thank you for the great guide. Your DDMFR program is a great time saver. I have a question for you though. I am trying to use your just the first half of your guide for ripping purposes only. I realize that not recompressing the files will take up a lot of space but I am not that concerned about storage space. I am more interested in ripping my big collection of TV series in as little time as possible with no quality loss. I have successfully ripped the entire first season of Lost. DDMFR worked perfectly and I now have a Lost Series 1 folder with sub folders for each episode containing the correct .ifo and .vob. My question is after that long intro is how to make use of the .ifo file that has been included. As is right now the .vob files play well except that playback software has no idea how long the file is and the chapters are unavailable. I know that the .ifo files contain that info but none of my playback software seem to recognize the .ifo's as usable files. What do I need to do?

-Will

[manono]

What do I need to do?

Play them as DVDs and not as individual VOB files.

[bshanc]

Hi, thanks for the tutorial but I am getting an error when using AGK. Very new to this so forigve the silly questions if it is....

I start the job and it goes through up to Analyzing source.

Then I get a VirtualDub Error "Cannot determine file type of " and list the relevant .avs file....

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks