MPG to DIVX

[Cyberian-ZH]

Hi,

Which codec is best used to convert MPG to DIVX so I would get the most out of the quality?

I understand some quality will be lost, that is why I said 'most out of it'.

[winifreid]

divx is a codec. Maybe you mean program. You might consider autogk

[Baldrick]

or dr.divx or virtualdub-mpeg2 or vidomi.

[redwudz]

I use DIVX Pro 5.2.0. But it's not so much the codec as the encoding settings. It has to do with bitrate and number of passes. Look in the configuration dialog of the codec.

[Cyberian-ZH]

OKay, I am a newbie at this. That is why I posted in Newbie Conversion.

Can someone tell me what the best bitrate and number of passes for the best results?

[redwudz]

Go to 'Convert' to the left. <<<<<<< Under 'Format Conversion' select MPG to DIVX and you will have several tutorials that will guide you.

[junkmalle]

OKay, I am a newbie at this. That is why I posted in Newbie Conversion.

Can someone tell me what the best bitrate and number of passes for the best results?

I use the XVID codec with VirtualDubMPEG2. It's an open source, completely free, MPEG 4 codec just like DIVX. If you use XVID, unless you care about the exact size of the file, don't even bother with bit rates and multiple passes. Use Quantization mode instead -- single pass, constant quality. Set the quality you want, convert. Every frame will have the desired quality and it only takes one pass.

The higher the Quantization value the lower the quality. A value of 2 will be pretty much indistinguishable from a DVD source. 3 will show very little degredation -- you pretty much have to look at still frames to see any difference. I usually use 3 and the overall average bitrate comes out anywhere from 800 to 3000 kbps depending on the source material.

[Cyberian-ZH]

Where is this quantization setting? I cannot find it anymore.

By the way, what is the difference between Virtual Dub, Virtual Dub Mod, and Virtual Dub MPG2?

[junkmalle]

Quantization: go to the XVID configuration dialog, select Single Pass in the Encoding Type pulldown. Right below that is a button that changes state from Target Bitrate to Quantization. Press it to make it say Quantization then fill in the value next to it.

VirtualDub -- original version only handles AVI.

VirtualDubMPEG2 -- added ability to read MPEG1 and MPEG 2 files.

VirtualDubMod -- added the ability to read MPEG1/2, Real Media, and, uh, other stuff. <edit> Oh yeah, OGM files. </edit>