need recommendation for decent video format.

[savvyguy]

what is the most suitable format that exhibits the best balance between quality and size? is it Xvid/DivX?

i need to convert my RMVB / SCM / MJPEG / MPEG1 videos to DivX for storage purposes. what program would you recommend then? is TMPGenc good?

as for the SCM format, i've downloaded the scm codec @ supermv.net, but it doesn't seem to work ( i can't play the .scm videos ).

for the MJPEG format, it comes from my camera, ixus 800is. what settings should i put for a safe recoding such that there's no/minimal quality loss to divX?

Video resolution 640 x 480 pixels, 30 fps, 4 min. 9sec. 1920kB/sec.

I'm also experiencing a problem with .mkv files. using the k-lite FULL codec pack now, but it seems that when i play mkv files, it kind of freezes when i try to fast forward the video. what's the problem here? i'm sure it's not the computer speed, cos' i just built a fairly decent computer for myself recently.

thanks for the advice in advance!

[redwudz]

1. H.264 seems the present leader for quality vs size.

2. For Divx, it doesn't matter much which program as they all use the same codec. Use the one that works best for you.

3. Not familiar with SCM.

4. In the Divx codec, you can use a single pass quality based encode with a setting of two. That should give you about the same quality as the original.

5a. What player are you using for MKV files? K-Lite is known to cause problems and I would not recommend it for any use.JMO.
5b. I use VLC most times for playback as it doesn't need external codecs.

And welcome to our forums.

[savvyguy]

1.hmm, but h.264 doesn't seem to be compatible on commercial dvd players right? cos it'd be best if there's an universal format ( like divX), so that i can watch the videos anywhere i want to.

2. what do you recommend? i tried tmpgenc and there seems to be some bug in the latest version.

4. i thought settings should be done in the encoder itself and not the codec?

5. oh, so i assume i do not need to install extra codecs if i use VLC player right? like rmvb/divx/wmv/scm and etc..

[poisondeathray]

1.hmm, but h.264 doesn't seem to be compatible on commercial dvd players right? cos it'd be best if there's an universal format ( like divX), so that i can watch the videos anywhere i want to.

2. what do you recommend? i tried tmpgenc and there seems to be some bug in the latest version.

4. i thought settings should be done in the encoder itself and not the codec?

5. oh, so i assume i do not need to install extra codecs if i use VLC player right? like rmvb/divx/wmv/scm and etc..

1) Correct. Most commerical players don't support h.264. If one of you goals is compatibility with DivX certified standalone players, you should use DivX or XviD.

2) I would learn how to use avisynth and frameserve into virtualdub. You will find .rmvb not supported by quite a few programs. This method will convert just about everything.

4) There are settings for both encoder and codec that you can adjust. Quality settings, bitrate are usually done through the codec

5) VLC will play most media files. rmvb is one that it won't play. If you have real alternative (as you have k-lite), you can play them with MPC+real alternative.

[Krispy Kritter]

For storage, I would leave the files in their current format. ANY conversion will reduce quality. You should always try to leave your original files in their current format. This allows you to have the files available in their highest quality for conversion to use on any current OR future technologies.

All of your other questions only apply to playing the files back on a standalone dvd player, in which case you options are conversion to mpeg2 for use in all dvd players or conversion to divx (with some restrictions) for playback on Divx certified DVD players.

[PuzZLeR]

Best Compatibility<----------------------Mid<-------------------------Weakest Compatibility
Weakest Compression---------------->Mid------------------------->Best Compression
MPEG-2---------------------------------DivX/Xvid----------------------H.264

With H.264 the compatibility issues are only short term. Soon it will be the best to compress to AND one of the most compatible, especially since it's a big part of Apple wares and blu-ray.

With Real Media, you're pretty much out of luck with either side, although RV10 is quite good as a codec (but unstable).

[savvyguy]

hmm, okay.

i'm currently using SUPER to convert my RMVB videos to DIVX. however, i'm facing some problems.

1. How do I get the program to go on a 2-pass encoding?

2. How do I utilize 2 cores at 1 go? the program is obviously encoding with 1 core only, @ 50% cpu usage.

3. Which do i choose, DivX or DX50 for fourCC? intending to play it on computer and my standalone divx compliant player.

[guns1inger]

1. Don't use SUPER

2. Don't use SUPER

3. Doesn't matter for your computer, shouldn't matter for your player, but it varies form player to player.

[redwudz]

I don't think SUPER will give you much control of the encode. That's a problem with simple programs.

2. Same as 1. But you might want to check your Task Manager>Performance to see if it is using both cores. Just because it only uses 50% of the CPU capacity doesn't necessarily mean it's not using both, just that the codec it's using may not be able to with it's present settings or version.

3. DX50.

If you really want more control, try using VirtualDub Mod and this method: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic289872.html

[savvyguy]

okay guys, chill!

saw in one of the local forums that the program was quite popular, so decided to give it a try.

alright, i'll use your method then

got questions though - do i set all rmvb files @ 29.97 fps regardless of the source fps? read that if i use the convertfps parameter, it would be okay. will i see skips in frames ?

how about videos from my camera? mjpeg/mpeg1. can i use exactly the same method to convert them too?

oh yah.. actually it's using both cores, but not at 100% usage. now i know why after using virtualdubmod. i have to use the DivX6.8 codec to utilise both cores effectively. however the fourCC is divX. will that codec be a safe one to play on standalone divX players/computers?

as for Rate Control, what does multipass,1st pass mean? i'm going for 1. best quality preservation (travel videos), OR 2. significant quality preservation with regards to speed (movies).

virtualdubmod is a rather old application, anything bad with it?

dang! i got an error while trying out one of my rmvb videos. the same happened to another video of mine. how do i resolve this ?

Video Compression Error : An unknown error occurred (may be corrupt data) (error code -100 )


yup, need a little more control, like in tmpgenc, for e.g. variable bitrate/2pass encoding etc..

thanks for the reply!

[redwudz]

If you are meaning using VD Mod and Avisynth:

do i set all rmvb files @ 29.97 fps regardless of the source fps?

Depends on what you want to play them back on. If it's a computer, I would set them the same as the native (Original) FPS. Changing the framerate will introduce sync errors unless you convert the audio also. Going from PAL to NTSC will generally just add frames and make your video jumpy. But give it a try. Comes down to what you want the final output format to be.

For PAL to NTSC conversions, you might want to convert in VD Mod to a less lossy format like DV, then run that through a program that can do the PAL to NTSC conversions a bit better, or at least easier. ConvertX can handle PAL to NTSC from a DV file fairly well. FAVC may work for this also, but I haven't tried it for that.

mjpeg/mpeg1. can i use exactly the same method to convert them too?

With MPEG, you wouldn't need to use VD Mod. If you were making DVDs from them, you would just need to make sure they are DVD compliant or you would need to re-encode them so they were. See 'WHAT IS' DVD to the upper left on this page to see the DVD specifications, format and structure.

You can use MJPEG with VDM. Then frameserve that out to TMPGEnc or other encoders. VDM should open them directly. But your MPEG encoder may be able to open and encode them also. RM or RMVB is different as it's a very proprietary format, not designed to be converted. With Real, you have to use 'special' measures to convert them to more common format. Frameserving with VDM: https://www.videohelp.com/virtualdubframeserve.htm

* Just a note: Virtual Dub or VD Mod are well worth learning. They are sort of the 'Swiss army knife' for AVI type files. They can filter, edit, frameserve and encode, along with a few other things. If you look to the bottom of the VD toolpage, you can see quite a few guides.

I know, more study.

[poisondeathray]

Regarding CPU usage, DivX usually won't tax 100% cpu usage (even if you use high bitrate and quality settings), but make sure you have "enhanced multhreading" checked off in the options.

The default "encoding mode" is "balanced", but you can choose others like better, even insane for quality levels

You should learn the different settings between quality based, and multipass and how to queue them up in virtualdub (you can tweak quality or speed of encoding to your preferences once you know). There are many guides around just search.

Regarding your error, do you have avisynth 2.5.7 or greater installed? real alternative (you said earlier you had k-lite)

Open up your .avs script in MPC, does it play correctly or give you error message?

Post your .avs script here

[savvyguy]

my .avs script -

DirectShowSource("G:\2\1.RMVB", fps=29.97, convertfps=true)

it works correctly.

i just downloaded the latest version from sourceforge, shouldn't be a problem. i have real alternative too, if not i can't even play rmvb files, is that right?

my country's using PAL. so do i need to go through any extra steps? think i'll restate my preferences, so it wouldn't be confusing.

1. Personal MJPEG/MPEG1 (personal travel videos in PAL) converted to divX for highest quality preservation and compatability with divX standalone players and normal PCs.

2. Movies ( in RMVB format ) converted to divX with quality but taking into account encoding speed as well, most importantly must be able to play on the standalone player, that's all.

from the guide, it says rmvb-s aren't constant in fps, so what do i set?

yes, realise there's really a lot to learn. so sad that there's no one single GUI that's simplified enough to give users a good experience.

[halsboss]

1.hmm, but h.264 doesn't seem to be compatible on commercial dvd players right? cos it'd be best if there's an universal format ( like divX), so that i can watch the videos anywhere i want to.

Whoah. You stated one requirement initially (storage), and then jumped in with another later on (play anywhere). They're different needs. Be clear with what you really want.

For storage, I would leave the files in their current format. ANY conversion will reduce quality. You should always try to leave your original files in their current format. This allows you to have the files available in their highest quality for conversion to use on any current OR future technologies.

Yes, for storage, don't muck with your original source. Blank DVD's to store "data" are quite cheap. Do that.

For

so that i can watch the videos anywhere i want to.

a real universal play anywhere format (like on DVD players) is ... DVD format ! Do it properly with a high bitrate, don't skimp and try to be fancy, you'll waste your time and others.

[Midzuki]

savvyguy wrote:

yes, realise there's really a lot to learn. so sad that there's no one single GUI that's simplified enough to give users a good experience.

Computers, operating systems and applications are NOT household appliances.
Sad but true. Let's not be fooled by the advertising people anymore.

[redwudz]

You have it easy in PAL land, only one FPS= 25. So I would use that in the AVS script.

If your source is PAL and that's your local format, I believe it would be: DirectShowSource("G:\2\1.RMVB", fps=25, convertfps=true)

I'm not that familiar with Aviisynth, so others should be able to give you more advice about scripts.

from the guide, it says rmvb-s aren't constant in fps, so what do i set?

MediaInfo can read the RMVB framerate, just use that to sst your AVS FPS.

.....divX for highest quality preservation and compatability with divX standalone players and normal PCs.

I think starting with the default setting for Divx will do that. Divx compatibility is mostly independant of the bitrate and the encode mode, so those you can usually adjust as you like. Some Divx compatibility info here on settings to avoid. Thanks, jman98.

jman98[/b]]1) GMC (Global Motion Compensation). Some support it up to 1 warp point. Some don't support it at all. If it's used during encoding, it probably has 3 warp points and no standalone DVD player at this time appears to support that. Despite some claims to support it, I've seen reviews where 3 warp point GMC was tested and it always failed.
2) QPel (Quarter Pixel)
3) Packed bitstream.
4) Resolutions greater than 720x576.
5) Video bit rates higher than 2000 Kbps. With some Divx playback chips, if your audio is anything other than MP3, you may have to drop the video bit rate as low as 1400 Kbps or you may have audio playback problems.

That should give you enough to work on for a while.

[savvyguy]

hmm, actually it's not that i don't want to store it in the original format. the thing's that there's few hundred gigs of videos to store, imagine how many cake boxes of dvds i have to burn right? furthermore, it'd be easier to make a 2nd backup if i have lesser discs to work with.

i'm set with divX anyway, perhaps when h.264 becomes an universal standard next time, i'd change.

anyway, i just checked my rmvb with mediainfo. it says 23fps, but when i put the value into avs, and opened it with VDM, it crashed.

i viewed properties from MPC and it says 23.98fps to be exact. tried that value too, but VDM crashed again. why is that so?

[halsboss]

You haven't considered lossiness in your choice. you'll be sorry.

[redwudz]

anyway, i just checked my rmvb with mediainfo. it says 23fps, but when i put the value into avs, and opened it with VDM, it crashed.

Then it appears to be a NTSC video. Two NTSC FPS are 29.97 fps and 23.976 fps, so your file must have the latter.

[savvyguy]

oh.. so to view the video on my player, do i need to convert from ntsc to pal?

halsboss : what about lossiness?

[halsboss]

gentle advice to google and consider the merits of divx vs high bitrate h.264 etc etc.

[savvyguy]

i briefly scoured the net for answers, and all i found was that divx offers much faster encoding, and the quality is a little less inferior ( more artifacts only) ..

[halsboss]

up to you. divx is comparatively old technology (and not free, as is xvid) as compared to h.264 which is built for higher quality at same bitrates or much higher quality at higher bitrates... mpeg4-asp vs mpeg4-avc etc.

[Krispy Kritter]

Just curious, but most of the rmvb files that I have, are actually larger when converted to another format. For instance, I'll come across a movie in two formats, say rmvb and avi. The rmvb file will be 300MB and the avi will be 700MB.

So while it may be necessary to convert the file types that won't play on your Divx standalone player to make them compatible. It won't save you storage space all of the time. Again, we are back to the issue of what exactly are you wanting to do, storage or playback. And I would recommend planning for both. For storage, you should be looking at HDD's. After everything is safe stored, then create/convert/burn DVD's of the files you want/need for standalone playback.

And as noted above, for best results, store in the original formats. Also, it is best to have duplicate copies of everything you don't want to lose.

[savvyguy]

got another question here. what would be the ideal settings if i wish to achieve maximum quality for a certain filesize, without any regard to encoding time? ( i.e. encoding time can be as long as possible )

[Krispy Kritter]

The settings will vary from file to file. Filesize is mainly determined by bitrate, but other factors, such as resolution and audio type also come into play. There aren't any magic settings that will work for all files. And everyone has their own opinion on what level of quality is acceptable to them.

[savvyguy]

no, i think you got me wrong. i was referring to settings such as 2-pass, variable bitrate to maximize quality of the file for a certain size. what other settings are there to take note other than that? audio will definitely be in mp3 though.