Anyone know a good scripting/automation program?

[Nelson37]

I am looking for a way to automate some elements of my encoding process, as in DVD2SVCD, although not that complex.
Example - open test.mpg in TMPGenc, MPG tools, demultiplex video, wait for finish, open M2V in DVD2AVI, save project, etc.
I just burned a 4-disk SVCD of the 3-hour version of DAS BOOT, deleted all the original files, and then realised I forgot to apply Pulldown.exe to the video stream. VERY frustrating. Yes I could demux and then apply pulldown and re-burn, but whenever I have tried this I have experienced a variety of problems.
Also DVD2SVCD won't work for me as I run my AVIsynth script through Vdub to edit commercials before encoding.
Any Suggestions? (preferably freeware)

[jeex]

i've been playing around with a maro program lately called "macromaker".. its freeware, some of the best freeware i've downloaded.. you'd just have to know the time intevals.. becauase if you set the commands too early, yer screwed.. you can find marcromaker on cnet.com

[gonz0]

I'd be intererested in other's responses, but here's what I do. I've created a simple windows batch file that launches all the programs I need in order. For example, when I close SmartRipper, it automatically launches DVD2AVI. But also in the batch file, I've added reminders as comments. ...Like "don't forget to change the aspect ratio in TMPGEnc." I even have a really loud wave file that goes off if TMPGEnc crashes in the middle of the night. That has saved me from a few frustrating "MPEG-less" mornings. I'd like to be able to set up something more automated (and more sophisticated than this), but I haven't figured out how to do that.

[Nelson37]

Update
I tried WINCRON, now am using AUTOPILOT from Acrasoft. It can use either time delays or take action on window closing, which solves about 60-80% of my problem.
I have noticed that both of these programs use nearly identical scripts, which leads me to believe they are just front-ends for Visual Basic or some such. I would like to be able to distribute these scripts, does anyone know a generic or freeware program that will play them?
example : DELAY{500}
Run Program "c:\video\virtualdub\vdub.exe"
SendKeys %f etc,etc,