Divx to XVID Problems

[TenaciousJP]

Hi. Not sure where to post this, so I am posting this here.

I have a video clip that is encoded in Divx format. It's a bit bulky, and I want to send it to a friend. I figure that converting it to XVID will help lower the filesize while keeping decent quality.

I read some guides, and I have a problem. I am trying to use Virtualdub to convert the clip, and when I try to select the video compression, I see that XVID is not in the list of available codecs. I have the XVID codec installed, and I am able to play XVID files. However, the codec won't show up in Virtualdub, so I can't complete my task.

What can I do? Thanks.

[ozymango]

I have the XVID codec installed, and I am able to play XVID files. However, the codec won't show up in Virtualdub, so I can't complete my task.

What can I do? Thanks.

What version of Vdub are you using? I just checked my own PC and I don't have the latest version but I do have VirtualDubMod (1.5.10.1, probably needs an update) and my Xvid codec shows up as a compression option. So if you might try installing VirtualDubMod and see if that'll do it for ya.

That being said, I have no idea of the quality you're gonna end up with by converting DivX to XVID, or if it'll really save you any space ... but if it works, let us know!

[TenaciousJP]

I have several versions (1.3, 1.4, 1.5, and Mod). I tried my conversion with 1.5. Haven't tried Mod, though, so I'll try that. I'll be sure to let you know about the results.

[TenaciousJP]

XVID doesn't show up in VirtualDubMod. Odd, because I can play XVID files and load them into VirtualDub, but I can't convert or encode with XVID. Frustrating...

[ozymango]

XVID doesn't show up in VirtualDubMod. Odd, because I can play XVID files and load them into VirtualDub, but I can't convert or encode with XVID. Frustrating...

Well, maybe we can get lucky here and just uninstall the Xvid codec and reinstall (download the latest version, or if you already have the latest version downloaded, download it again just for the heck of it), and it'll start working? Sometimes that helps!

Seriously, sometimes around here (I work tech support at a university) some darn programs just behave weirdly and an uninstall/reinstall does fix things (not that I let the end user know that's all I did!)

BUT I would try it in steps, carefully, like this:

1) Shut down all programs
2) Uninstall Xvid codec
3) Restart the computer
4) Reinstall Xvid Codec
5) Restart computer
6) Try Vdub now and see if it shows up

Hopefully that'll fix it. If not, let us know and we'll try phase two!

[TenaciousJP]

Thanks for your help.

I have just uninstalled XVID, and am now downloading it from the link in the tools section. Seems like the latest version is 1.0.3. I'll see what happens...

[TenaciousJP]

Something's weird...

I uninstalled XVID and rebooted my computer... yet I am still able to view XVID files. How is that possible?

Well, I'll go ahead and install XVID to see what happens.

[jtoolman2000]

Hi. Not sure where to post this, so I am posting this here.

I have a video clip that is encoded in Divx format. It's a bit bulky, and I want to send it to a friend. I figure that converting it to XVID will help lower the filesize while keeping decent quality.

Burn as data and mail it to your friend. Why go through all this agony if that is your only goal.
Now if you want to learn about the process then I guess I'd say go ahead and convert. Nothing wrong with wanting to learn.

[TenaciousJP]

Burn as data and mail it to your friend. Why go through all this agony if that is your only goal.
Now if you want to learn about the process then I guess I'd say go ahead and convert. Nothing wrong with wanting to learn.

Well, I don't have my friend's address, and I kinda do want to learn how to make XVID files. So, it is kind of a learning experience.

Well, I didn't even have to reboot my computer. XVID is now showing up as a compression choice in VirtualDub! And I can play my files fine, so everything seems to be working. Sweet!

Thanks ozymango and jtoolman2000. I'll let you all know if the compression makes a dent in the filesize.

[TenaciousJP]

Problem #2: I have no idea how to make an XVID.

Here's the specs of the original file. What could I do to cut the filesize significantly, so I don't have to take so long to upload the file to send it to my friend?

Original file:

391 MB
1 hour 3 minutes 22 seconds
352 x 240 @ 29.97 fps
Video: DivX 5 @ 795 Kbps
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 @ 24000Hz stereo 56 Kbps

I'm guessing that the audio is in CBR format, since VirtualDub doesn't display the VBR warning message when I load the file. I'm not sure about that, though.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[TenaciousJP]

Well, I just picked Fast Recompress with default settings in VirtualDub, and Direct Stream Copy for the audio. So, only the video was changed.

The new clip came out to 264 MB. Here's some specs on it:

XVID @ 29.97fps @ 515Kbps.

Any way to compress it even more and keep decent quality?

[ozymango]

Any way to compress it even more and keep decent quality?

Boy, the "decent quality" thing is gonna be the sticking point ... ... but you can try some experiments to see how this might work.

When you go to your compression options in Vdub, after you've selected the the Xvid codec, click on the button "Configure."

You'll get a pop-up window and the options at the top should be "Profile@level", you can leave this alone, then "Encoding Type," and you can choose single pass (fastest) or twopass (possibly better quality); for testing purposes I'd chose single pass.

Then, under the "target quantizer" button, there's a sliding scale from 1 (maximum quality) to 31 (smallest file). Here's where the experimentation comes in -- you've gotta find a spot on that slider where the video still looks okay but the file output is small enough to make it worth converting. And the only way to find out what works for you, is to try converting a minute or so of video at some setting and then see how it looks.

I'd probably try about the midpoint, then select "OK" and when saving the file as an AVI, use the "full recompress" option, and when you save, you'll get a window that'll pop up and after a few seconds, should give you the estimated target file size of your end product. If it's really close to your original file size, I'd stop the process and move the slider and try again. But maybe shoot for half the file size? Again, this is the experiment part to see how it looks.

Then I'd just cancel the process after a few minutes and view the clip that got partially generated (or you could cut a smaller clip and convert that section only, but I'm lazy so I just end the process after some length of time). And if it looks good, and the estimated file size is reasonable, go ahead and convert the entire thing. But if it looks like it was shot through a window screen with huge blocks everywhere , then try again.

Hope this helps!

[TenaciousJP]

Thank you for the help.

I tried moving the slider to the halfway point (15.50) and it did suffer from blockiness. Never thought about just doing a minute or so. The quality should be the same throughout...

I'll keep trying and tell you what worked.

[TenaciousJP]

Found something where the quality is decent (tiny bit of occasional blockiness, but mostly it looks like the original file) and the filesize is reasonable:

Set the slider to 6, and the file came out to 174 MB. 317Kbps XVID.

Everyone, thanks for your help!