DVD -> XVID question

[Slick5150]

I'm backing up a bunch of DVDs and want to convert them to xvid. I've been using AutoGK and getting good results by leaving the audio alone (as DD or DTS) and having the video set at "Quality: 100%"

Diskspace isn't a HUGE concern, but is this overkill? Is there a target bitrate I should be aiming for, or is 100% quality mode a good method to get good results?

Thanks

 

[BlueWeasel]

What kind of average bitrate are you getting using the 100% quality method?

 

[Lonyo]

I find 700MB film rips (90min film) are pretty acceptable quality.
If you want better quality, then you set the space you want the fim to take up (in MB) higher, and it will automatically adjust it.
I don't do it by bitrate when using AutoGK, I just set it to take up a certain amount of space and leave it to do its thing.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
What kind of average bitrate are you getting using the 100% quality method?

I'd have to check when I get home, but it varies from film to film. The final sizes are ranging anywhere between 1.3gb, and 3.5gb, depending on the length, aspect ratio, etc of the movie (if it has a DTS track, that obviously is going to make the final file larger than a DD track as well)

 

[imported_toot]

Do the AVI files over 2Gb really work? I thought it was limited to 2Gb..

I've encoded a few films, and set the output size to 1.45Gb, so 3 films fit nicely on a DVD.. they've all looked really good so far.

 

[Budman]

Originally posted by: toot
Do the AVI files over 2Gb really work? I thought it was limited to 2Gb..

I've encoded a few films, and set the output size to 1.45Gb, so 3 films fit nicely on a DVD.. they've all looked really good so far.

you're only limited by the file system you use. try formatting your HD to NTFS & you will not have that limitation.

 

[Traire]

I get by fine using ~70% compression with VBR MP3 audio. Above 75%, I cant really tell much difference. In fact, I can rarely see much quality loss until it gets below 40%.

 

[rh71]

still no bitrates really mentioned here... I find anywhere between 1000kbps and 1500kbps to be nice enough quality.

You can GSpot your favorite XVIDs and see what bitrate they're done at.

 

[Traire]

Well, the OP was stating that AGK was the program he was using, which doesnt really go by bit rates, but by final file size and by a subjective "quality" scale.

Based on his file sizes, id say his bit rate for 100% is between 1500 and 4000.

My bit rate using ~70% compression tends to vary between 750-1500.

 

[OCedHrt]

Get a nice bright LCD and all the "loss" becomes apparent

 

[febuld]

I guess it depends on what you think is acceptable. I like to use about 85 percent quality or so... Just ask yourself how important that extra bit of quality is to you. If file size is of no concern, then feel free to keep 100%. It can't do you any harm.

 

[Jeff7]

I encode at 2000kbps with XviD 2-pass mode, full res, and it gives decent results. There is some artifacting, but nothing severe. With 160kbps LAME MP3 audio, I get maybe 2GB for each Star Wars movie, or for the longer Lord of the Rings movies (extended edition, per disc). I'm considering re-ripping and going for full quality though, as I have space to spare.

One thing I'm not clear on though - is there a difference between 1-pass 8000kbps and 2-pass 8000kbps? At that high a bitrate, XviD just uses whatever it needs. I'd assume that 2-pass mode would be marginally better, as it can more precisely analyze the video.
In either case, the resulting filesize is about half the original MPEG2 stream from the DVD.

Note too, if you encode at full resolution, you'll probably want a 2GHz CPU to watch the video. My 2GHz P4 laptop sits around 85% CPU utilization when playing a full res XviD movie.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Budman

Originally posted by: toot
Do the AVI files over 2Gb really work? I thought it was limited to 2Gb..

I've encoded a few films, and set the output size to 1.45Gb, so 3 films fit nicely on a DVD.. they've all looked really good so far.

you're only limited by the file system you use. try formatting your HD to NTFS & you will not have that limitation.

Also applies to other storage, to wit: DVD. ISO 9660 and likewise Micro UDF aka Bridge UDF used for the DVD standard are also limited in filesize (2GB and 1GB respectively). So, to overcome any size limitation when storing on disc, use UDF 1.02 or higher -however, then the player must be able to read UDF and the specific version and not all stand-alones do (2.00 should be okay if it does at all). So for universal compatability (at least amongst MPEG-4 capable players as standard ones shan't play your XviD's regardless), you may want to limit or otherwise split them up to 2GB and use 9660.