DivX encoding

[mal]

I'm starting to tool around with making some DivXs of some DVDs (Monkey) and LDs (Star Wars) to play back on the HTPC that I'm building.

I'm basically after some advice about the bitrate to encode at. These DivXs aren't for redistribution in any way, so file size isn't that important, but I don't want to go crazy with them either.

I just encoded an episode of Monkey at 2000kbps and it looks great. The .avi weighs in at 661MB down from a 1.39GB .vob, but I'm concerned that it might be overkill. What do you guys think?

 

[it290]

I use xvid, but I usually go for about 1g-1.4g for a standard two hour movie. Which is about 2.5-3x compression, I believe. Usually I bump the resolution down a tad too, it doesn't seem to make much difference on a standard TV. It's still a clear picture free of any noticable artifacts. Also, if you're doing cartoons you can generally get away with a slightly lower bitrate as there are more re-used frames.

 

[Curtis]

Have a look at the Gordian Knot package. It'll produce divx to the size (both file and screen) and quality you desire.

I would think that 2Mb/sec is a little overkill for one episode of Monkey - I might even go so far as to say any bitrate is too much. 😀

 

[racketboy]

I use AutoGK -- it's great and easy 😀

 

[mal]

Originally posted by Curtis@Mar 31, 2004 @ 08:53 AM

I would think that 2Mb/sec is a little overkill for one episode of Monkey - I might even go so far as to say any bitrate is too much. 😀

😱

I'll pretend you didn't say that. Monkey rocks! 😛

 

[IceDigger]

www.vcdhelp.com

All the info you need.

 

[mal]

While I really appreciate the advice of different apps and web sites to check out, I'm more interested in what settings you guys use yourselves.

I know it's a very subjective thing and I will continue to read up on it and experiement with my own encoding, but I'm really after some first hand advice.

 

[Curtis]

Well I guess you said it yourself - it's very subjective. If you're willing to sacrifice resolution for bitrate, then I'd aim to <s>waste</s> use 300-400 megs of data for 1 hour of Monkey (with a 128-160Kbit audio stream).

Since I guess the display device is your TV, resolution won't be so important. Maybe you'll be able to squeeze a Monkey episode into 100-200Megs, but I think that's way to small to do it..er...justice. 😛

 

[mal]

I must admit that I've only been watching the Monkey DivXs on my main PC so far. I'll have to transfer them to the PC attached to the TV and see how they look there.

I'm not going to bite back on that last part you heathen. :looney

 

[Curtis]

Hehe...I'll admit it - I watched Monkey myself and loved every minute of it. 🙂

I hope the ABC does for Monkey what they did for Dr Who. 😉

 

[mal]

Did you know that "they" (I'm not sure which production company "they" are) recently got their hands on the last 13 eps that were never dubbed into english?

They're getting the original voice cast together and are going to release them on DVD. Yay! :thumbs-up:

 

[Curtis]

Apparently the Monkey series is still going strong in China. I have it on good authority that there are new series with new actors over there.

Yay for China. 🙂

 

[Alexvrb]

For DVD sources, I aim for around 800-1000 kbits/sec and full resolution. With everything maxed, I can get pretty good quality. If its a movie, I can up it if there's extra space for a 700MB rip. I usually use either 128 or 160 kbit mp3 as my audio, depending again on source quality.

For a TV source, resolution is lower anyway, so I can get away with much lower bitrates. Actually, when space is really an issue I have resized anime episodes even if my source is DVD. I generally like to maintain full res, but it can look much better if you lower the res with a bicubic method. If you don't lower it, but still keep bitrate low, it can look ugly.

 

[RitualOfTheTrout]

With my experience with encoding you can get acceptable quality at bit rates as low as 700.

 

[Alexvrb]

I guess it depends on what you consider acceptable, and whether you're attempting to maintain full resolution. Oh, I did remember one more thing. Mal, is the video on the DVDs interlaced? If they are, make sure you go change the settings in the divx codec to interlaced, and then you won't have to use a deinterlace filter.