MPEG-1 to divx

[zaki]

Hi,
I already know how to convert mpeg-1 to divx but I am unsure the best bitrate to choose. I wanted to convert to divx in order to transfer the movie on the internet, and the person receiving it can reconvert back to mpeg-1 and burn into a vcd. what bitrate to choose so that no quality is loss and the filesize is smaller? choosing a bitrate too high would be pointless as it does not improve the mpeg-1 quality.

Thanks.

[SaSi]

I have converted some MPEG-1 files into DivX in the past. Experiments have shown that DivX can keep the same quality with a much smaller file size.

I have not used constant bitrate but constant quality. This option allows the file to become even smaller by reducing bitrare in portions of the file that don't need it.

I have been compressing MPEG1 files at a Quality index of 2.8 ~ 3.2, depending on the quality of the MPEG-1 file itself. If the MPEG1 file is an episode compressed into a VCD, then Q=2.8 is good. If it's a movie (1.5hours), then I use Q=3.2 as more quality was already lost in making it an MPEG1.

The above settings make a 45min episode file that is 350~400MB long into 150Mb~200Mb.