DVD to VC1 w/ Windows Media Encoder 9 - problems

[pot-pie]

I'm trying to encode a ripped DVD to VC1 so I can watch it on my PS3 (yes i know that I could just put the DVD in).

Anyways, I've tried loading .vobs, .mpg (vob demuxed to .ac3 & .m2v then recombined using ImagoMPEG), and .vobs renamed as .mpg, but WME9 crashes out every time I try to apply the transcode settings. It takes a long time to load up the file once I select it in the wizard when WME starts up, then after I select all my settings (I've used custom and standard settings/profiles) and try to apply them the "Windows Media Encoder has encountered a problem and needs to close" box pops up. Unfortunately WME doesn't seem to create an error log.

I've tried this on two different computers (specs below), and using different DVD rips. I did a test run on a large (6GB) AVI file and it transcoded no problem. Any ideas what I can do?

computer 1/2:
both XP SP2
RAM: 1GB/2GB
CPU: P4 2.8/Core 2 Duo E6400

Thanks.

[Baldrick]

Yep, use AutoMKV. WME and mpeg2 decoding is way too buggy.

[poisondeathray]

I find WME and automkv (0.93) crash encoding mpg/vob to VC-1.

From my own experiences, wmvmuxer and wmnicenc (outdated and accepts avisynth scripts only) are the only 2 that I find reliable for encoding VC-1

Just curious, why VC-1? I find x264 with megui better 100% of the time at any equivalent bitrate

[pot-pie]

Thanks guys. I'll give automkv a try. I'm having a look at the new Microsoft Expression Encoder as well. It's technically not free, but you get a 180 day trial w/ no restrictions. Looks a lot more promising than WME, though I can't figure out how to add subtitles yet.

Just curious, why VC-1? I find x264 with megui better 100% of the time at any equivalent bitrate

I'm just starting to experiment w/ the new codecs so I thought I'd give it a try. I'd like to get comfortable w/ VC-1 and x264 and see which one works best for me. For now I just want to get near-perfect quality backups of DVDs w/ the smallest possible file size, so I can stream them to my PS3.