[b]How do hardware based encoders work?[/b]

[StefanB]

Thanks to Bob Somers' fantastic tutorial I have succesfully converted a number of our most frequently played DVDs to AVIs and stored them on my media server. The only hassle is that it takes so long to render (up to 8 hours per disk). I am wondering how much could be gained by acquiring a hardware based encoder such as the Plextor ConvertX PVR PX-TV402U? How does the software make use of the hardware? Will all software packages be able to use the hardware equally and to good effect? How much more quickly is the rendering process likely to take?

Any advice and assistance will be most appreciated.

[mikiem]

AVI files are just containers that can hold all sorts of files &/or content. Assuming I googled on the right tutorial, you're going with xvid compression. Any of the codecs that use comparable compresiion will take longer -- the doom9 shootout listed on the front page here at videohelp might give you a decent means of comparison, or go to doom9.org directly.

If time is an issue, then I'd humbly suggest something like this: http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&item=SWW12281

Assuming a DVD on your hard drive, Recode can give you a comparable mp4 file in your choice of frame size, retaining subs etc., in about 1/2 an hour, depending on your CPU, single pass, dual pass and so on.