good ffmpegx settings for dvp642?

[internik]

i'm having the darnedest time trying to encode for my dvp642 using ffmpegx, and more specifically the mpeg4 (avi) ffmpeg codec. no matter what i've tried so far, the file flickers across the top half of the screen, jumping at a faster than normal play rate. the same thing happens if i use mencoder (mpeg4 avi).

however, if i use xvid, the file plays fine. though the dvp642 can be picky about xvid, so i'm trying to avoid it for the most part. the player also doesn't have any problems with files encoded using the divx3 present, toast 7's divx or handbrake's ffmpeg.

but for what i'm trying to do, i'd really like the flexibility of ffmpegx's mpeg4 settings. anyone have any ideas on how to make this work?

much appreciated.

[ThisistheEdge]

In my admittedly limited experience, here's what works best for me. Handbrake with avi chosen for output always plays back on my dvp642. It produces divx 5.0 files using ffmpeg. Using ffmpegx, I get divx 4.1.2 files, which don't always cut it. Of couse Handbrake only works with DVDs or Video_TS folders.

[Case]

Handbrake avi (ffmpeg) ... divx 5.0
ffmpegx avi (ffmpeg) ... divx 4.1.2

Both use MPEG-4 libavc, although the fourcc and default encoding settings may differ. Neither uses DivX® (4.1.2/5.0) from divx.com, as it isn't free (open) software.

[ThisistheEdge]

Thanks for the clarification, Case. The 5.0/4.1.2 numbers are what I see with get info in QT Pro. Don't know why the DVP642 likes one better than the other, but in my case it does.

[internik]

yeah, handbrake pretty much rocks my socks for video_ts encoding. however, i would still like to figure out if it's possible to user the mpeg4 codec to get a dvp642-compatible file, for general reference and because handbrake is giving me some trouble on a particular job (it's encoding a much lower bitrate than i tell it to for some reason).

on my tv, the divx3 preset is not unacceptably bad in quality, but if can get the improvements from the later versions, so much the better.

thanks for the input.

[internik]

i'm going to hijack my own thread to ask about the above mentioned bitrate problem, as it is tangentially related to my original question. i've tried just about everything i can think of, and for some reason, the files i'm working on are being encoded at a lower bit rate than i specify.

whether i use handbrake or ffmpegx, the bitrate drops significantly. for example, i've set the bitrate for all files at 1150kbps, but when finished encoding, the actual bitrate is anywhere from 609-918kbps.

i've even converted the files to .DV before encoding to avi with no effect on the on the final product.

any ideas?