Quickest mpeg2 -> DivX conversion?

mercer · #1 02-27-2004, 09:20 AM

I was wondering what you guys think is the best way to compress a mpeg2 file to avi (especially DivX)? I use virtualdub for just about everything, but I tried virtualdubmod to convert a file & it was going 2 - 4 fps...WAY too slow. Anyone know of any good (quick) progs to do this, or a way to convert the file to an avi then use virtualdub?
Thanks!

gplasky · #2 02-27-2004, 10:14 AM

I had used Dr.Divx before which worked well.

Gerry

falchulk · #3 02-27-2004, 10:55 AM

What are your system specs? Virtual dub should be much faster then that depending on what effects you are applying. Mine generally runs at 39 to 60fps.
As far as encoding apps, look at these:

http://www.divx.com/software/browse.php?cid=14

mercer · #4 02-27-2004, 01:36 PM

I've got a dual 3.06 xeon setup with a gig of ddr memory, so it's pretty safe to say that's not the issue...

encoding from mjpeg or any other avi input i'm getting good speeds, even though divx will only use one processor (unless I encode 2 videos at the same time!) .That's why I figured it was because I was going from a .mpg file, I've never tried to edit one of them before.

My assumption was it shouldn't take any longer just because it's a mpeg2 file, or is there something I'm missing?

falchulk · #5 02-27-2004, 02:39 PM

My system definitely does mjpeg to divx faster then mpeg2 to divx. I dont do it mjpeg much anymore since I stopped using showshifter but it was like 120 fps and higher to my recollection. What divx settings are you using(deinterlace,keyframes,etc)? Are you changing res during recompression? It may also have to do with what mpeg2 recording profile you are using.

mercer · #6 02-27-2004, 03:45 PM

I don't remember the mpeg2 settings I used, i made the file a while ago & was just using it to test compression...i can tell you it's 640x480, and the 5 minute clip is 260mb (works out to around 3gig an hour).
I'm going to a pretty default divx (ver 5.1.1) profile...1200 kbps 1-pass with just deinterlacing turned on (no crop, psycho-whatever, pre processing...) and the default 300 max keyframe interval & 50% scene change threshold. I did try going to "standard'" on the perf/quality slider & that bumped me up to 7 - 8 fps, still really slow though.
i can usually compress a 5 minute mjpeg file (same divx settings) in 5 minutes, but this is taking almost 15.
I just tried xmpeg & it wasn't any faster, i'm gonna give flask a shot next...

JelloMold · #7 03-01-2004, 04:06 PM

Dr. Divx is well worth the money! No fuss! I've also played a bit with the Windows Media Encoder. Now, I'm no digital video expert or a fan of Microsoft, but it works great! In my experience, it's been faster and better looking than Divx. And it's free. Free is always in my budget.

falchulk · #8 03-02-2004, 07:18 AM

Windows Media encoder is noce but you cannot play the files in sage. I would not personally pay a dime for Dr. Divx.

Cayars · #9 03-02-2004, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JelloMold
Dr. Divx is well worth the money! No fuss! I've also played a bit with the Windows Media Encoder. Now, I'm no digital video expert or a fan of Microsoft, but it works great! In my experience, it's been faster and better looking than Divx. And it's free. Free is always in my budget.

Yea, I agree, there is no comparison IMHO between WMV and DivX files. I've spent numerious hours trying to work the DivX/XviD codecs trying to get something close to MPG2 and just can't do it. Even a simple one pass Media Encoded files looks pretty damn close to the original MPG file only 1/8 the size (or smaller) and there is lots of room for improvement with filters and multipass encoding to get even better looking and smaller files.

It's really a "sin" that SageTV doesn't support WMV as it's one of the easiest video files to stream with tons of sample code to work with. Of course if it doesn't fit into the architecture then it can't easily be done.

It's funny that this topic came up since I've just spent the last few days getting my systems ready to change over from BTV to SageTV as my main system (SageTV 2.x is growing on me), until this morning when I tried playing back a few WMV files.

Now I've got yet another hurdle to get past before migrating.

This is not a gripe against SageTV at all, as this was "my" error. No where does Frey ever say WMV is a supported file type. I just "assumed" it would work and "assuming" is a bad thing to do! With that said, I really wish Frey would reconsider supporting the WMV file type as it can free up so much storage space and bandwidth (to the client), that IMHO, I think it's really worth the coding effort.

Carlo

mlbdude · #10 03-02-2004, 08:09 AM

Not that I don't think Sage should support the MS codecs, but just for some info here is a great comparison between them.

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/codecs-103-2.htm

Cayars · #11 03-02-2004, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mlbdude
Not that I don't think Sage should support the MS codecs, but just for some info here is a great comparison between them.

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/codecs-103-2.htm

Actually, IMHO it's a pretty bad comparison for "our" use. This test uses very low bitrate encodings. You could just about stream these files over the Internet. What really amazes me about this test is that WME actually hung with the DivX at all and was considered to be about as good at those low bitrates. WME actually comes into it's own at higher bit rates.

Carlo

mlbdude · #12 03-02-2004, 01:34 PM

Most of us that compress our MPEG2 do so to fit them to a CD. Basically 2 hours of MPEG2 to to 1 or 2 CD's - as was used in the comparison. If you are encoding to targets bigger than that I would question the need to do so in the first place. Also, comparing codecs at low compression levels would be pointless.

Cayars · #13 03-02-2004, 02:34 PM

Not really, it depends on "why" you want to compress the file. For example I've been "thinking outside the box" and what I've been messing around with the last couple of days is to capture at 12Mb CBR with a hardware encoder and then run a multiple pass encode on it. The quality of the WMV file is better then a standard 3.25GB capture and the final product is usually between 1/8 to 1/10 the size of the 3.25GB "DVD" capture.

I realize this is extreme, but I like trying different things. I'll be the first to say it does take a while to encode the file in WME9 but I can't even get Dr. DivX to finish one encode without crashing at this capture rate. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can't get a DivX or XviD encoded file to look anywhere near DVD quality.

My intention of doing the encode was for movies that I wanted to keep for ever and not every file captured. I'm sure I can live without encoding the files or I'll eventually find a DivX encode setting(s) that work for me.

Carlo

mlbdude · #14 03-02-2004, 02:54 PM

That is interesting. I also don't have much luck with Dr. Divx either. I am old school and use VirtualDub with its supporting tools. Generally in the DVD to MPEG4 scene, DivX and Xvid are the codecs being used now. However, I have found making DVD backups of movies is defiantly an art at times. So if WMV comes that easy that is a really nice. Just the fact that the encoder comes with Windows is cool.

mlbdude · #15 03-02-2004, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mercer
I was wondering what you guys think is the best way to compress a mpeg2 file to avi (especially DivX)? I use virtualdub for just about everything, but I tried virtualdubmod to convert a file & it was going 2 - 4 fps...WAY too slow. Anyone know of any good (quick) progs to do this, or a way to convert the file to an avi then use virtualdub?
Thanks!

To open the MPEG2 in VirtualDub use a tool called MPEG2AVI and the VFAPI filter. It allows MPEG2AVI to frameserve the MPEG2 to VirtualDub as a raw AVI instead of MPEG2. www.dooom9.org has lots of tutorials on this.

falchulk · #16 03-02-2004, 03:06 PM

mlbdude, I convert to my recorded movies to divx but keep them on the harddrive. All my DVD's are also reencoded to divx so they can be accessed anytime. Thats the beauty of smaller files, you dont have to move them to offline storage.

mlbdude · #17 03-02-2004, 03:11 PM

Yeah that is what I do. My entire video library is the "what do I want to watch this month" copy of my DVD collection. Storing 1.4 GB per DVD is better than 4-6

.

falchulk · #18 03-02-2004, 07:31 PM

1.4 gig? I have mine down to 700 meg! On my 55 inch TV at 15 feet away no one can tell the diffrence.

mlbdude · #19 03-02-2004, 07:36 PM

700 is fine for most, but I usually include the AC3 audio. Otherwise 700 usually cuts it

.

phenixdragon · #20 03-03-2004, 04:59 PM

I still can not find a consistant program to rip DVDs to DviX with AC3 and have it timed correctly. I thought I had it with XMPEG and then use Nandub to merge the audio and video files together after being ripped but it can have diffrent results each time.

I did like Supper DVD Ripper but if I changed the bit rate at all it coudln't play the file.

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