General questions about x264 and playback

[mistik69]

I have been using autogk for sometime now and i find it very user friendly. I travel alot and can compress movies to divx or xvid and take them with me on my laptop. I can play them back in divx player or windows media player with no problem. As many of you know autogk is no longer supported, especially with the faster divx 6. That has sparked my interest in other options such as Staxrip. While the learning curve for staxrip might be a little higher I think the program has a lot of promise. I would like to convert a dvd to x264 codec but Im not sure how to play that type of file. I like to convert dvds to around 700 mb like i do in autogk. My question is , Is there an easy way to convert to x264 without downloading a bunch of different filters,etc,etc. I dont care about subtitles,quantizisers and all that stuff if you know what i mean. I just want a simple program like autogk for the H.264.

[UncasMS]

i tried recent versions of staxrip lately and i must say it is a childplay creating mp4/using h264

did you give staxrip a try already?

if not: do so
it will download all necessary files and create marvellous divx, xvid or h264 files

[mistik69]

what do you use for playback of your mp4/x264 files?

[UncasMS]

ffdshow (the best universal playback filter) + mpc (media player classic - not to be confused with ms media player)

[ajp]

I use the vlc player to play everything.

[mistik69]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. What do you guys like better? Divx,xvid, or h.264? I appreciate any feedback. Elaborate if you will. Which container do you like ,etc. Do you get into any conflict with codecs with ffdshow or vlc player? It seems like you have to dl a codec for this player or a filter for this player. It gets confusing sometimes.

[ajp]

vlc requires no codecs, it will play anything without installing the codec on your machine. I actually prefer xvid, but I am just starting to check out x264.

[UncasMS]

well xvid seems the ideal codec for me if i wanted to create avi because it is slightly better than divx6, it is freeware and my dvd player will play it

mp4/h264 may be the better container/format but i have no intention playing files from my pcs thus it is of no use for me

[mistik69]

Are you guys using Staxrip or sticking with trusty autogk? Or is there something else out there that is better for converting dvds to mpeg4?

[UncasMS]

i have never liked autogk

i either used the bigger tool: gordianknot

or DVX (the predecessor of staxrip from the same author), which was the most powerful tool for my taste while still making it fairly easy for users to achieve their goals

nowadays StaxRip

[anonymez]

i love x264, far sexier than xvid, but only encode/decode if your pc has the power. otherwise use xvid.

ffdshow is great for playback, but if you're looking for performance over features/quality, go with coreAVC to decode. as always, MPC to play the files.

gordian knot (NOT auto) supports x264, but not the mp4 container. great for xvid, not for x264

the mp4 container is ideal, my only beef is its inability to hold ac3/dts (but 5.1 he aac is more than enough ;) )

as for easiest way to encode, i'd have to say staxrip as well. but for highest quality, most definitely meGUI, or alternativly learn over 100 cli switches :P. in this case you'll also need basic avisynth.

[mistik69]

wow, awesome response. Thank-you. Im starting to get alot of stuff cleared up. If you get a chance could you maybe give me some of your thoughts on matroska container(pros and cons) as well?

p.s. I agree with the x264 being sexier.lol Its always fun to be using the lasted stuff out there.