a few simple questions

[patrickthebuff]

I am kind of new at this. I have converted dvd to vcd, but never to divx. If i rip and convert by using flaskmpeg and the tutorial on this site, most movies will fit onto 1 disk, right? I'm not sure what audio settings to use. Should I use MP3 or something else? will this affect my file size drastically? Also, if using a 2-pass method, do I wait for the entire first pass to finish before initializing the second, or do I start them both at the same time? Will 2 pass help the quality a lot? I am using divx 5.x codec.

[khp]

Re: a few simple questions

Originally posted by patrickthebuff
If i rip and convert by using flaskmpeg and the tutorial on this site, most movies will fit onto 1 disk, right?

Are we talking about divx ?. If so, yes any movie can be compressed enough to fit it on one CD. But the quality will often leave something to be desired, I mostly do 2 CD rips, but not all movies will fill 2 CDs even at maximum quality.

Originally posted by patrickthebuff

I'm not sure what audio settings to use. Should I use MP3 or something else? will this affect my file size drastically?

mp3 is what most people use. And yes your choise will have a big impact on the output size, 90minutes of uncompressed stereo audio won't fit on a single CD.

Originally posted by patrickthebuff

Also, if using a 2-pass method, do I wait for the entire first pass to finish before initializing the second,

Yes, the two passes must be done sequentially. Finish the first pass first, then do the second pass.

Originally posted by patrickthebuff

Will 2 pass help the quality a lot? I am using divx 5.x codec.

Yes, imho two pass encoding is worth the extra time it takes.
The average quality won't improve (you can only fit so much on a CD) but the bitrate will be distributed better, to make it look better, in the places where quality issues are most noticeable. And filesize prediction also tends to be a lot better with 2 pass encoding.

[Batman]

I would recommend you take a look at the doom9.org and UncasMS's encoding guides. GKNOT or DVX can help create good divx 5.02 rips.

A similar codec to divx, but also quite different, is xvid. A 2-pass xvid encode is also a good choice.

[T-Cube]

Mp3 encoding in a divx .avi results in a few cases in audio out of sync.

T-Cube

[UncasMS]

in addition to using a two pass routine with either divx or xvid i strongly recommend to use OGG VORBIS instead of mp3 for audio:

it is much smaller (in terms of file size) and thus gives you more bitrate for the video stream especially for 1cd rips!

take a look at my ogg guide:

http://www.atlandide.net/~uncasms/images/ogg/ogg_e.htm