VBR divx file, suggest bitratesettings for me .. appreciated

[divi2323]

Found alot of answers in these forums the past couple of days. Lots of goodies lately, thought I'd throw this one out there

I've recently started using DVDx for DVD to DivX 5.1 encoding. I'm using AC3 sound from the movie track and I would like to know what the reccommended settings for Bitrate are. Currently when I do movies, I use 1000 bitrate to encode, and this tends to produce great results for me, but i'm getting greedy. I'm wanting to experiment with VBR and DivX and wondered what I should start with for settings.

With replies can I request suggestions for minimum, maximum, and average bitrates? I Know that with higher motion movies you should use more bitrate, but that only applies to CBR encoding. Can someone explain the differences in bitrate needs for "chick flicks" vs "action" movies?

Thanks in advance.

[Suntan]

As far as bitrate settings for Divx I normally encode at 1600 as a rule of thumb for me. That way they still look great on the monitor while sitting at it (not just a regular TV) Of course if you are piping it to a regular TV (not HiDef) you can get away with much lower settings (less than 1000) as for other settings I normally use these to get the best results:

Slowest setting
GMC On
B-frames On
Qpel Off
PychoVis Slow
(haven't played around with Pre-processing so i can't say)
I use MV for speed, but your milage may vary
2 pass

As far as Chick flick vs Action the main difference is the audio. For CFs I normally convert the AC3 to 2 channel Ogg (I have no entention of playing my DivX encodes on anything other than my computer so I am not worried about format compatability) with a very high compression, 2.5 to 3 (she can't tell the difference). Just remember, most CFs are full screen (vs widescreen for most action films) if you are showing them on a regular 4:3 TV then the CFs actually need more bits to look as good as action films (because they are using the full screen and not just the center 1/3 of it) but normally this can be more than made up by compressing the audio to Ogg.

FYI DivX 5.1.1 is in Beta right now so it should be out in 1 to 2 weeks and is supposed to be MUCH faster than 5.1 (I am holding off on a few encodes until then)

[g_shocker182]

1150 for vcd and just normal computer viewing / a lot more for dvd

[RabidDog]

is that 1600 for full hires 720x562? or a lower resolution? eg 640x

[Suntan]

1600 for native 720x480 minus croping the black bars for wide screen stuff (720x380ish) It is so that I can watch movies fullscreen on the second monitor while working on monitor 1. I hate blocks and blurs. As I don't backup the copies to CD I don't really care about the final size. I normally convert audio to 2ch surround Ogg @ qualty of 4 to save some space (sounds just as good as original AC3 on my 5.1 computer speakers) Picked up a 160 gig hd for $99 about a month ago so it has space for at least 80 movies.

Most movies are not worth watching more than once so I rent those. The few that are I buy for the home theater and add a DivX copy for up in the computer room so it should last me long enough.

If my hardrive craps I will just have to reencode... ...With all the benefits of the newer codecs.

[DJRumpy]

You should be able to reach Kbps as low as 700Kbps, using multipass, with 640 horizontal resolutions. I would start at 1000, until your well tuned to your settings, and then lower from there. Resolution will play an important part. Try sticking in the 640 - 720 horizontal range for your resolution. Vertical will of course, depend on your source. The higher the resolution, the more bitrate will become a factor.

g_shocker182, DivX can't be compared apples to apples to VCD bitrates. MPEG-4, used in DivX, can produce hi-res streams at less the VCD bitrates. MPEG-1, used in VCD, looks pale by comparison

[Gazorgan]

Use a bitrate calculator (site has a good java one). Drop in your AC5.1 for the audio and the movie length. Use 2 CDr's as a base size and see your aveerage bitrate. I like a max in the 2500's range. I generally like 640x??? depending on resolution, although sometimes I'll drop down to 576x (432 or 324 depending on 4:3 or 16:9). 23.97 fps only.