Best dvd to divx/xvid guide?

[X-treme]

I'm going to back some of my dvd's onto divx, but would like to first know two things.

1: Which format is best to back-up in? Divx and xvid? My stand-alone player can hanlde both formats

2: Which guide is best to use when converting a movie? I've seen a couple, but would like to know from first hand experience which is the best to use.

Thank you!

[Grimey]

Both formats are fine, the quality depends on the bitrate. I've used AutoGK, it's really simple heres a guide: http://www.divx-digest.com/articles/autogk.html

Gordian Knot is more complex, theres some guides on the left, they're all good ones.

[X-treme]

Thanks for your help.

I always here 'bitrate' being #1, and of course I would like good qaulity. I understand it will not be dvd quality. What bitrate do you use? (does it very from movie to movie?)

I'm thinking of making each movie roughly 1gig max in size, so I am able to fit 4 movies onto one dvd. Whether I should use xvid or divx? is my only dilema.

I just finished reading Gordian Knot, and it seems some-what complex for my likings, but i'm sure once you try it out it's not all that bad to work with.


Thanks!

[Grimey]

Heres a bitrate calculator you can use to determine what the bitrate would be for the file size you want: https://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm

I personally would use Xvid, it's just easier.

[X-treme]

I'm currently using AutoGK, and I will compare results with both guides that you posted.

Anyone else mind suggesting any successful guides?

What's the average size I should make each movie? I've seen some of my friends, and he states that he compresses most movies on one cd (700mb). I'm assuming the length of the movie plays a big role as well.
Any thoughts?

[X-treme]

bump

[X-treme]

I just finished using Guardian Knot, following each command to the tee, and the video still came out crappy. I also used autogk, and the same thing.

I set the resultion 1/4 less than it should be so it would be in the 'okay' range to view on a tv (says the guide), and it was still blurry.

I wonder if because I'm only allowing 700mb for the movie, that is why it looks like crap? It's odd though, because my friends full length movies always look perfect on 700mb cd.

Any thoughts?