dvd to video file for vista mce?

[Arctirus]

Basically I'm trying to compress a dvd down to around 1gb at as good of a quality as can be expected and be able to play it in vista mce.

I tried using nero recode and maxing out the quality settings and while it looks great playing from media player classic, mce won't play the mp4 it creates. I'm a network admin so I'm not pc stupid but I don't know much about video.

Is there a way, basically just as easy recode is that will give me a wmv of about the same quality per size as mp4? I'm assuming going from dvd to mp4 to wmv would be a horrible idea in terms of quality.

[redwudz]

What might work better for you is a format like Divx or Xvid. I don't use MCE with Vista, but I would think it could use those formats.

A couple of easy programs for DVD to Divx/Xvid conversion are FairUse Wizard and AutoGK. FUW has a freeware version on the FUW tool page and AutoGK is freeware. You could make a Xvid/Divx 700 - 1500MB with the 1500 for better quality. WMV may work also, but you would need to go through a few more steps to rip the DVD, convert to MPEG, then encode with WMV.

[Arctirus]

Same problem, I used auto gk to create an xvid avi. It plays in media player classic, show up in media center but will not play. I've only gotten wmv's to play in mce.

[redwudz]

Well, I just tried Media Center on my Vista Home Premium PC for the first time. I directed it to my folder of Divx and Xvid movies and it cataloged them and is playing one at present with no problem. I do have the Xvid and Divx codecs installed and I put in the Vista Codec Pack when I first installed the OS.

I don't generally recommend codec packs, especially K-lite, but this one works fine for me: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=66826 But read their directions before installing that or any codec. If you install a second codec over your original same type, you may have problems. That's why K-lite or similar often messes up a system.

I'm not sure what your problem is, but you might run Gspot to see if you have all the needed codecs. Try using 'Proposed Codec Solutions and Tests' to see how the computer is using the codecs to render the file. It looks like mine is using ffdshow from the aforementioned codec pack.

[Arctirus]

I forgot to post that it's vista x64 if that makes any difference. It's also k-lite standard, not full.

[redwudz]

Vista 64 might behave different, but I would still check the render in Gspot.

[Arctirus]

The problem was x64. I ran gspot which saw everything as installed properly so without many other solutions in sight I tried installing x86. I use that box only as a media center so it's no big deal for me to wipe out the os. Problem solved!

[Danno100]

I use Nero Recode and Vista. You have to install the latest tryout of ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter. You may also have to add "mp4" as a video file type to the registry. Once done, Nero files (use QT compatibility) can be played with 5.1 audio.

In their wisdom, M$ failed to configure mp4 as a default. Of course, once setup, MP4's will play in both WMP and MCE. Picture quality is excellent.