TV recordings to Divx

[elektrik]

Hi guys... I'm sure this question has been asked like 20 ways to sunday, but I'm a newbie and I have an old laptop (which has no DVD drive) I'd like to play my TV tuner recordings (I watch alot of "Friends" ) on my laptop. I don't like the quality of Video CD or SVCD, but I don't know how to convert the files (mpeg2 and/or avi) to Divx. I haven't even seen any guides like this....

Could anyone offer me some suggestions?

Thanks!

[johns0]

Your not going to get any better quality out of converting the mpg/avi to divx,garbage in garbage out,if you really like divx then record your programs in divx to start with,svcd quality is just as good as divx albeit larger file sizes as long as you record that with a good bitrate.

[elektrik]

Hmm...maybe I didn't get the format right....When I go full screen with the recording that the TV tuner makes, the quality is...well...TV qualtity. However, when I record it to VCD, the quality is choppy....Are you telling me that the Divx format isn't any better, because I've seen sample files and they're pretty good....

[johns0]

Notice i said svcd and not vcd.

[elektrik]

yes, I saw that. and as much as I appreciate the help, I'm not interested in recording in SVCD, hence *my* posting. I don't want to have to swap out a SVCD for a one hour show, which is why I want to encode in Divx. Do you know any resources where I can do that? I'm really only interested in encoding to Divx, which is why i posted this message thanks.

[johns0]

I also said to record in divx,have you tried that?

[elektrik]

I also said to record in divx,have you tried that?

How do I record from a TV Tuner card into Divx?

[johns0]

Depends on what program you use to capture the video,see if it has a setting to use divx as your compression for caoture,if not you might be able to use virtualdub to capture in divx codecs.

[hoola_loop]

yes you can capture in divx with vdub. hope you have a fast pc and use fasted mode and no extra divx feature turned on. if you really want to encode your tv caps to divx use a lossless codec such as huffyuv (i use mjpeg at quality 19 it allows almost lossless captures at 640/480 and can get sometimes 2 to 4x more video than huffy in the same drive space) then encode to divx using vdub or mod version. if you capture from tv alot you may want to learn to use avisynth. it has amazing filters that can make even a crappy tv antenna capture look great. yes this takes some extra time but if you are archiving why not make it look the best you can . if you have more questions please reply back i would love to help more if i can and if i cant there are tons here that know way more than i that can. peace and have fun. after all it is a hobby. isnt it?

[elektrik]

ok great....I'll try the Virtualdub...

I definitely have a powerful enough system (AthlonXP 2000+, etc.)...

Only thing I'm concerned about is the TV Tuner card...didn't see a list of cards they support (I have an ATI TV card)...

[hoola_loop]

i have a ati tv wonder ve. the drivers that came with the card would not allow me to capture in vdub above a res of xxx/240. i downloaded and installed the generic btwincap drivers from sourceforge and can capture 768/576 if i wish.
url for generic drivers http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/

you may not need the drivers though test vdub out first. if it does not capture above xxx/240 you can go here to see if your card is supported by the drivers http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/supportedcards.html

i may add seeing you have an ati card. once i install the generic drivers you may have conflicts with certain programs such as ati mmc. i never used the program so it didnt bother me. i just uninstalled mmc and was done with that situation all together. if vdub dont work at first you can always try other programs to see which one suits your card. that may be best before running and installing a different driver that may or may not cause problems for you and i would not want that. i have heard reports of the btwincap drivers causing havoc for some people. you can always find horror reports about any program out there though. have fun! this hobby should be relaxing not stressfull. hehe starting out can cause headaches though. :P