best program to convert avi to mpeg?

[Lady Taz]

Can anyone tell me which program is the BEST for converting an avi to mpeg.
I would like to keep the ac3 audio and picture quality as close to the original quality as possible.
There are many programs out there, so which gives the best quality?
I'd appreciate hearing your advice.
Thank you

[jmet]

I would recommend TMPGEnc. - http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_main.html

[Lady Taz]

I have TMPGEnc and I tried the main concept. The problem is, that I also want to be able to keep my ac3 audio as well.
What converter will convert avi to mpeg, be fast, have great quality, and keep my ac3 audio?
Is there one out there?

[tigerman8u]

de-mux the audio and the video. Use mainconcept to convert the video only. mux the ac-3 audio and converted video. I check the converted audio/video to make sure the length is the same and correct if need be before muxing the two together.