What video converter should I use to encode?

[alegator]

I'm puzzled with all the array of software tools to convert a video form one format to another. You can do this with Adobe Premiere Pro, Canopus Procoder, DivX Converter, etc etc. Which is the best tool? For example, to convert a DV-AVI to DivX I can use DivX converter, but Adobe Premiere Pro lets you customize the encoding with much more options. Which tool achieves the best encoding quality? Thanks.

[guns1inger]

You are right, there are many tools that claim to be able to convert video. How well they do it depends on a number of factors.

Personally, I believe in use the best tool for each job (within financial reason, of course). Most editors can also output a variety of video formats, and can sometimes do it well. Other times, they are best used only to edit.

In the end though, the best results are achieved by understanding how best to use the tools you have, as even the best tools, in the hands of someone too lazy to learn how to use them, will produce crap.

In the example you gave - DV avi to Divx - virtualdub is a very good tool. It is free, small, and gives you access to all the configuration you need to produce high quality output. You can resize, deinterlace, and output to Divx/Xvid.

My main advice to you - stay away from cheap and cheerful one-click-wonders that claim to do everyting. This includes, but is not limited to, WinAVI, DVD Santa, NeriVision and the likes.

If you have money, ProCoder is a great choice. It can encode in a number of formats, and have a high quality mpeg2 encoder built in.

[kschang]

Gun* has a great answer, but it requires a little... prefix.

Basically, conversion, or "transcoding", is often a multi-stage process, and often there are different tools available for each stage. While you *could* get a one-click-wonder as you don't want to know about the details, those don't give you optimum control.

If you've ever built models, it's like the difference between one of those glue-less snap-together models, vs. a scratch-built resin model. They are both models, but the difference is night and day. A glue-less can be finished in a matter of minutes once you got the parts out. A "real" plastic model requires carefully disassembly (and perhaps, a bit of paint first), then cut them off the plastic "tree", then assemble, paint if needed, further assemble, add filler to gaps, assemble, smooth, paint, add decal, add clearcoat... It takes hour and hours. And it takes professional tools, not just your hands.

A one-click wonder converter is like those glue-less models. Sure it'll give you some results fast, but the results aren't optimal, and you may not know enough to know the difference.

With that being said, conversion is a complicated process as well, as conversion can involve a simple repackaging of a container (say, from AVI, to MKV) without changing the codec, or it can involve a full transcoding process (like XVID AVI to MPEG2). And since audio and video usually have different codecs, often those are converted separately as well. Then we get into frame sizes, borders, aspect ratios, and frame rates, and how each container/codec deals with them. MPEG have aspect ratio flags, but many other formats (such as AVI) do not.

So with all that said, there is no such thing as "the best" tool. Each tool has their own specialties (why else would it be created?) and it is through knowing which to use for what occasion is where one gets the optimum output in the end.

And that's why there is this forum: so you can ask questions for your specific occasion!

[alegator]

Thanks so much guys, this forum is amazing, a pleasure to read from knowledgeable and smart people . The answer is what I guessed, no "best" tool. I find Adobe Premiere Pro 2 a very good tool in that it offers a wide selection of formats to convert together with a deep level of customized options to tweak the transcoding. Am I wrong??

[guns1inger]

For simple format conversions is it probably overkill, and something like virtualdub (or one of the varients) is better suited. I also find that the NLEs often have issues with some file types because not all formats lend themselves to being editied, so the editors don't perform as well with them. Mpeg4 variations such as Divx and Xvid often fall into this category, as do things like VBR MP3 audio.