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MPEG1, 2 & WMV to DivX or Xvid - best program?

Discussion in 'DivX / XviD' started by mikeeagle, Mar 15, 2005.

  1. mikeeagle

    mikeeagle Member

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    Hi there,

    I tried out Dr. DivX to convert MPEG 1, 2 and Windows Media Video (.wmv) to DivX. Now the trial period is over and now I'm looking for an alternative. A program that can also use the Xvid codec would be great. Since I'm a newbie with this, what is the best program to use?

    Thanks!
     
  2. shiroh

    shiroh Guest

    virtualdub and xvid 1.1 beta1
     
  3. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Shiroh I feel your answer (though doubtless well-intentioned) is inappropriate :)
    Surely the answer is GordianKnot, or perhaps AutoGKnot
    http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_tools/autoGK.cfm
    for our ex-Dr.DivX newbie friend!
    To convert MPEG1 (VCD) or WMV, I dunno... (does Dr.DivX do that?) but there's no way I'm gonna backup DVDs manually, using VirtualDub, anymore these days.
    But I did in the old days (and got real good at synchronizing the audio & video, too ;-)
    Don't remind me, LoL.
    Anyway, to encode XviD or DivX you can't beat these programs - but I wouldn't describe GKnot as a converter exactly; it's an encoding tool (or actually suite of tools).
    Beats Dr.DivX though...
    Regards
     
  4. shiroh

    shiroh Guest

    my bad,
    virtualdub won't accept mpeg2 and wmv, only if the wmv is in avi container.

    so, i think GordianKnot or AutoGKnot is the best choice here. ecspecially AGK, with its automated process.

    wonder why i posted something like that.
     
  5. collarme

    collarme Regular member

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    For Mpeg1 & 2 you should give Mpeg Mediator a go. Fast and gives excellent results. I use it with the Microsost Mpeg4 codec installed and it converts Mpeg in just about real time.
     
  6. shiroh

    shiroh Guest

  7. mikeeagle

    mikeeagle Member

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    Dr. DivX was easy to use. Just had to tell the Doctor how large the file should be.
    I'm not planning to do complicated stuff with the audio. It should work easy.

    Dr. DivX converted WMV Files directly.
     
  8. HALTRON

    HALTRON Member

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    VirtualDubMod is solution, will accept vob and m2v,ac3 files. Converting to DivX or XVID is reasonably straight forward and best of all the tool is free.
     
  9. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    @ MikeEagle
    Did you try GK? Most things won't open WMV because it is a proprietary format; that's why I was surprised Dr.DivX did that...
    Maybe you should purchase Dr.DivX if you have a regular need for this conversion - or is it a 1-time or unusual need?
    @Haltron
    GordianKnot is a GUI-based suite of tools to help make a perfect backup of a specific size (693MB for me). It uses DGIndex and AviSynth to serve frames to VirtualDubMod utilizing advanced error-correction capabilities and an integrated bitrate calculator.
    Since it is free and works so well, you wouldn't really want to use VDub to encode manually if you could help it.
    Also there is the issue of Audio - if using VDub manually you must therefore 'do' your own audio, manually too.
    Sooner or later (if using AC3 or VBR MP3) you will need NanDub, and you will need everything to synch perfectly, with a predictable allowance for the AVI interleave 'frame-overhead' (4-10MB).
    In short, you will need GordianKnot for guaranteed perfect results, every time ;^)
    L8R
     
  10. HALTRON

    HALTRON Member

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    True, i hear what your saying although i only ever encode to AC3 which involves a simple demux. XVID encoding the video is dead simple. I try whenever i can to use the matroska container, use MKVmerge to multiplex audio, video, subtitles etc.. So far i have never had audio-video sync problems. If working the other way around i use TMPGenc whenever possible.
     
  11. mikeeagle

    mikeeagle Member

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    @ The OGS:
    WMV conversion is seldom, but I needed it then and there. Some files are just in that format. So it could happen again.
    I tried VirtalDub now to cut DivX and XviD files (and keep the original quality). It worked great. Two files had VBR audio and I had to use VirtualDubMod to get the right synchro. I read about the audio problem in the forum. It also worked nice (the cutting). But VirtualDubMod seems to be a bit buggy. Don't press the wrong buttons or it says good-bye...

    I downloaded the two Gordian Knot versions (normal and auto) and will try them out. Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2005
  12. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Even if you don't use GK a lot, the most useful component it contains might be NanDub.
    (This is VirtualDub, customized to work with VBR MP3 and AC3 audio :^)
    I myself always do my audio manually, though I don't recommend it for nOObies, and I find NanDub priceless.
    Haltron, I too like to use AC3 (2-channel) directly in my AVI, but many times only 5.1 is available.
    I will transcode this to LAME VBR MP3 - what do you do?
    Regards
     
  13. HALTRON

    HALTRON Member

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    If i am encoding from 5.1 to 2.0 AC3. I use the TMPGEnc AC3 tool, very hassle free.
     
  14. The_OGS

    The_OGS Active member

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    Ahhh, you are converting AC3 from 5.1 to 2.0 ?
    This did not occur to me...
    Is your bitrate then the 192k of an original AC3 2.0, with the resulting smaller filesize?
    Interesting...
    If I convert 5.1 to MP3 I get quite small filesize plus broad playback compatibility (no AC3Filter reqd) but it is some work - 2-pass BeSweet (Azid) to WAV, then LAME VBR encode.
    But I must investigate this AC3 tool, LoL ;^)
    I have been using MP3 for backups for YEARS and have only recently used the AC3 2.0 if available, because it is convenient & I am lazy.
    But I must say I never thought of converting 5.1 to 2.0 - one could then generate 100% AC3 backups, regardless...
    Shoot us a direct link to this converter if you have one.
    L8R
     
  15. HALTRON

    HALTRON Member

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    Yes direct one stage convertion.

    here's the link: http://www.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/tsp_ac3.html

    As for bitrate you can make that whatever you like, its configurable. I use it for converting wav files to ac3 for dvd, never had 1 compatibilty problem yet. Worth noting that in my version of the release you can convert ac3, ogg vorbis and wav to ac3 (any bitrate), but thats all, no mp3. It can be funny accepting wav files aswell they must be encoded to 16bit (CD quality), it will not accept 24bit dvd quality.
     

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