WMV not retaining same quality after conversion

[Ignite]

So I'm trying to convert my WMV media to divx, or avi, or xvid.. but none of them seem to come out looking as good as the original wmv file. i'm using river past video cleaner.. is there another alternative that will retain the same quality as the original file? thanks.

[greymalkin]

no.

you are converting a lossy format to an equally lossy or even lossier format. If you want a quality divx file then compress from a high quality source.

[Ignite]

I figured, thanks.

[redwudz]

Every time you re-encode, you lose quality. You can use a higher bitrate with your encoder and that can minimize the lose. A higher bitrate will also increase the filesize.

Most programs such as River Past are just 'front ends' for the encoder codec you are using, Xvid or Divx or similar. The codec adjustments are where you can preserve the quality. Bitrate adjustment is the main one. Multiple encoder passes, some selective filtering, may help also. But as greymalkin said, you need to start with a higher quality source as there is only so much you can do to keep the encoding loses down.

But give it a try.

[OmegaSupreme]

Try Divx Converter http://www.divx.com/divx/create/?hp3createmoreinfo
It analyzes the video and automatically selects the best settings. In practice, it works very well with little loss.