conversion tool

[matt_h]

what is the best tool to convert avi,divx,xvid movies to dvd compatible mpeg i use tmpgenc but its extremly slow and the video produced often stammers when playing with 2pass vbr i would prefer best quality and hopefully faster speed

[Cole]

Hi Matt

It is widely held that TMPGenc is the best encoder about.
The speed at which it runs obvioulsy runs better the higher the PC spec. processor speed etc, but bear in mind the quantity of work that an encoder does to convert esp. when using 2pass vbr.

There may be some alternatives out there, but I don't think that TMPGenc can be beaten.

[XoMartel]

i just tried tmpgenc few days ago and it took literally 1 and half day to convert a movie.
i was like... wth... can't there be faster way to convert to dvd frame?

[Forum Troll]

A personal observation: if you are trying to convert a divx/xvid in TMPGENC, and it has VBR mp3 audio, it will take 4 times as long to convert. I found that if you open the file in Virtualdubmod, then extract the audio and save it as a 48 Khz PCM .WAV, then use that as the audio source in TMPGENC, the encoding time is reduced drastically.

[thor300]

I dont think tmpgenc is good, just a bunch of filters wrapped into a gui so you would hardly know what filter does its job in which order. Thats why i love avisynth, you know exactly what happens in which order. And for the encoding part, CCE is much better, just try any encode at low bitrate (for example SVCD), tmpgenc sucks at low bitrates and it cant use low VBR values for minimum bitrate well, it looks more like a CBR. For speed AND quality CCE with avisynth is the greatest.

[XoMartel]

A personal observation: if you are trying to convert a divx/xvid in TMPGENC, and it has VBR mp3 audio, it will take 4 times as long to convert. I found that if you open the file in Virtualdubmod, then extract the audio and save it as a 48 Khz PCM .WAV, then use that as the audio source in TMPGENC, the encoding time is reduced drastically.

if you extract the audio seperately, doesn't mean more time for extra work?
how about chance of miscuing the audio and video?

how much time reduced are you talking about? (let's say 5gb file)

[proxyx99]

Mainconcept encoder 1.4 = easily the fastest, great output (better then TMPGEnc).

[jimmalenko]

It is really a case of different strokes for different folks I think.

TMPGEnc is good for your new to average user because everything is pretty much spelt out but you are still able to customise it to do almost anything. The GUI means that you don't have to know any codes.

Scripting is for the average to more advanced user, generally people who enjoy/know progamming of some sort. It allows you to customise absolutely everything, but isn't as user friendly as TMPGEnc because it is code-based.

I haven't used CCE or Mainconcept but they come highly recommended by many users here. I personally use a mix of AVISynth scripting in combination with VirtualDubMod (editing) and TMPGEnc Plus. Works well for me.

[sacajaweeda]

Aye.... CCE & AviSynth are the dynamic duo! VirtualDubMod, AviSynth, CCE, BeSweet, DVD-Lab, Nero and a handful of codecs like PicVideo & Huffyuv are a must in my toolbox. With those you can take on just about anything.

[SITH]

Mainconcept encoder 1.4 = easily the fastest, great output (better then TMPGEnc).

my problem with mainconcepts encoder is the ending file size. it is a great program except the file is always to big for a dvd. do you know how to control that?

[proxyx99]

You can customize the size by putting (in advanced settings) a lower avarage bitrate like 4200 lower max bitrate like 6000 etc. 2 hr DVD would need about 4200 avg rate with 6000 max. Also pay attention to the audio format Layer 2 mpeg vs LCPM (huge - less space for video). Many use bitrate calc. to determine max size. I try to stay within 4300 - 4400 Megs.

[SITH]

thx for the tip, ill give it a shot.