\video.pass - stat file question

[NotSoEasy]

So I am following the intructions listed in this tutorial Encoding DVDs to High Quality Movie Files with XviD and AC3
I do everything it says and believe to be on my way to a nice encode.But I get this error asking for this stat file.I know where it is in the XviD setup, but what file do I put there? I have not made any stat file during this whole process and have no idea what I am to put in there.
Did I miss something? What is this 'stat file' that Vdub is looking for?
I did a quick encode in AGK to see what it put there ( opened the XviD encoding settings ) and low and behold, some .log file is there.It appears that while it encoded, it made this file to put in the XviD setting.Now when I follow those instructions on the link above, I make no .log 'stat file' to put there.
I am very confused by this

Can i get some help on this please

[manono]

Hi-

The .pass file is what used to be called a .stats file. It's looking for the .pass file, assuming you have a version of XviD installed more recent than 4 or 5 years old. And I'd make the path explicit by using the Browse button, like, C:\Hula\Movie\Movie.pass.

That guide is only 5 weeks old and he's recommending the use of a VFAPI? That's the best guide you could find? Why didn't you stick with AutoGK? The log file is something created for AutoGK only, not XviD.

[NotSoEasy]

I figured out what was going on.I didnt need to 'input' a file, just where to save it.
As for the software issue, what would you recommend in place of VFAPI ?
The guide is more than 5 weeks old.It was just added back into his newly designed blog/site.The guide can be found through here as well but through his old link.

[jimmalenko]

IIRC you need to put a . before the \ (which means "use current directory").

[manono]

Hi-

Oh, it's older than the May 2006 date I saw? That makes more sense, since the VFAPI method was obsolete 5 years ago. What would I use? AviSynth, of course. You can use Fast Recompress in VDub, and not Full Processing. The encoding will be of better quality, and will go something like 30% faster. AviSynth has a full range of filters which, in many cases (IVTC and deinterlacing, for example) are better than anything in VDub.

[jagabo]

2-pass encoding is for getting the best quality for a fixed file size (bitrate). You know the exact file size but you don't really know what the quality will be. This is very useful if you're putting a 90 minute movie on a 700MB CD and want to have the best possible picture quality. Picking 1500 kbps was an arbitrary choice on the part of the author of that guide. It will usually give good quality results but it may be more or less than is really necessary for any particular video.

If you don't care about the exact file size use use single pass, constant quantizer (constant quality) mode. This gives you the requested picture quality with the smallest possible file size to maintain that quality. It will save you a lot of time and guesswork (figuring out what bitrate is best for a video).

Set the Quantizer to 2 or 3 (you can use decimal values like 2.5 too) and encode in a single pass. The lower the quantizer, the higher the quality (and the larger the file). At Q=2 there will be almost no visible difference between the input and output, even if you look at enlarged still frames. At Q=3 there will be a little macroblocking if you look at enlarged still frames but they're not visible at normal playback speeds. Most video you download from the web is at far higher quantizers (lower quality) than this.

[NotSoEasy]

manono,
Do you happen to have a link to a tutorial that explains how to do as you are telling me? When do I start using avisynth and how.
I had good results with the way I did it last night, but if I can do it 30% faster and have better results, then please do tell.

jagabo,
I will have a go at that as well.

[manono]

Hi-

If you wish to do it manually as much as possible, and not go with a 1-click app such as the AutoGK I suggested earlier, then there's a bit of a learning curve. To lessen it, I usually suggest letting the more fully featured Gordian Knot do at least some of the work, especially AviSynth script generation with IVTC/deinterlacing, cropping, resizing, as well as bitrate calculation, until you learn to do these things yourself. At the point you've gotten the AviSynth script (.avs) saved, you can then leave GKnot and open the .avs in VDub(Mod), just as if it were a VFAPI or an AVI, to set it up for encoding (XviD or DivX). Remember though, there about as many ways to do this as there are encoders doing it, and not everyone follows or even approves of the methods outlined in these guides. However, I've been making AVI since before Nandub SBC, have used GKnot from its beginnings as a simple bitrate calc, have used AviSynth almost since its beginning, once it started to get a decent IVTC and I could switch from using VFAPI and the TMPGEnc IVTC, am a mod on the subject at another video site, and have taught many people over the years how to make AVI:

http://www.doom9.org/gknot-basics-xvid.htm
http://www.rita.lt/guides/GKnot_DVDtoAVI.htm

Doom9's guide is concise and, at the places you might get stuck, it's not much help. I'd also not recommend decrypting and making the D2V using Robot4Rip (although you may if you like), but do them both directly in DVD Decrypter and DGIndex. Rita's guide is better with the fine details for both. Rita's guide continues to use GKnot as a front end for the encoding, although after getting the AviSynth script you can leave the guide and set up XviD (if that's the codec you choose) in VDub(Mod) yourself.

You seem already to have the encoding basics down, and may not need either guide for much except maybe getting the AviSynth script. One thing about the GKnot generated AviSynth script is that it's so unwieldy and large that it's hard to figure out what's going on. After you've saved it, I might suggest stripping out all the lines beginning with "#", as they don't do anything. What's left are the active lines in the script. For much more information on AviSynth, go to the official website:

www.avisynth.org

In the YV12 FAQ at that site, you'll find the reasons to use AviSynth as the frameserver to your encoder:

What will be the main advantages?
speed increase:
That depends entirely on the external plugins whether they will have YV12 support or not. Speed increases like 25-35 percent are expected. Of course there will only be a large speed increase if both your source and target are in YV12, for example in DVD to DivX/Xvid conversions.
no color conversions:
The colour information doesn't get interpolated (so often) and thus stays more realistic.

http://www.avisynth.org/mediawiki/wiki/YV12_FAQ#What_is_YV12.3F

Good luck.

[NotSoEasy]

Thanks for all that info!