vob to divx/xvid

[Reiss]

hey guys
want to back up my imax dvd collection & save them compressed on my hard drive (my comp is hooked up to TV)
to save disk space, i want to make my vob files into either xvid or divx avi's
1. which is the better compression format.
2. how do i easily convert them.

getting some weird errors trying different software that i have.
a: making vobs into mpeg through TMPG DVD author, then mpeg to divx/xvid using TMPG yeilds a few errors ie garbled playback, no sound. movie length reports half its time but plays past the time reading.

also have vdub & mpeg mediator but havent tried using them yet

any help would be appreciated

thanks

[anonymez]

If you want a really easy way, i suggest you download a program called "FlaskMPEG"... it is easy to set up, so is perfect for beginners, but lacks many features and is very slow. On the other hand, if you want a fast encode, and features and maximum quality, you cannot go wrong with "Gordian Knot"... guides to using these programs and the programs themselves are ofcourse on www.divx-digest.com
xvid and divx are very similar... i believe that xvid has better quality, but is slightly harder to use.

good luck

[Reiss]

thanks for the tips.
ended up getting DVD2AVI.
does a very nice job of turning a 3gig vob into a 800mb xvid.

[hans_h_b]

Hi Reiss
I've also tried DVD2AVI from vob files, but I got no sound at all. How did you manage that?
\hans

[Reiss]

hi
the sound is actually saved seperately which i found annoying, i had to use vdub to remux the audio and video.

here is a guide for the whole process

http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/dvd2divx_anamorphic.cfm

good luck