My first DivX!

[Indigo]

Hi everyone.
As a newbie I've some questions that I hoped you could help me with.

I've just ripped and converted my first DivX movie, and I must say that I'm rather pleased with the result.

I used CladDVD XP, DVD2AVI, VFAPIConv-EN and VirtualDub.

My questions are:

1. When choosing the codec in Vdub, there is only DivX 4.12. No LOW or HIGH codec. Why is that?
2. Should I use DivX 5?
3. Some say that Nandub is a better decoder. True?
4. The higher the bitrate the better. I used 1400, is that good? And since there wasn't any choice of High or Low, I would guess that the bitrate applied to the whole movie. Am I right?

That's all I have for now.

Thanks!

[Erci]

Firstr I answer your third question. Yeah it's better, absolutely. You can only use divx 3.11 but it gives you a realy good result, near DVD!
If you use nandub you don't have to care about low or high motion because it's using SBC. Don't have the time to explain what it is right now.
Try it out with GordianKnot or do it the hard way with vfapi and nandub SBC. You can barely notice the different since it's booth nandub. You can read my guide at http://hem.fyristorg.com/dvdriping and see if you finds it interesting.
If you want to use Vdub instead it's up to you if you want to use 4x or 5x. But I would go with 5.

//Erci

[Enchanter]

1. When choosing the codec in Vdub, there is only DivX 4.12. No LOW or HIGH codec. Why is that?

The low- or fast--motion options only apply to 3.11. With the advent of quantisisers (4.x or 5) and DRF (3.11-nandub), these terminology are no longer of much importance.

2. Should I use DivX 5?

That's entirely up to you. The new codec sports new features that boosts quality, although, I do not know how it compares to 3.11 (I am not using it).

3. Some say that Nandub is a better decoder. True?

Most of us find that 3.11 gives better results to 4.x, when it comes to two-pass. 4.x can do 2-pass encoding in almost any encoders. However, to do two-pass encoding with 3.11, you can only use nandub. Hence, the need and popularity of nandub.

4. The higher the bitrate the better. I used 1400, is that good? And since there wasn't any choice of High or Low, I would guess that the bitrate applied to the whole movie. Am I right?

You're right on that. However, the bigger the size of the movie will be too. It depends on how you want to fit the movie into (You're working on a full-length movie, aren't you?). A bitrate calculator will help you get an estimate on what bitrate to use.

@Erci:

If you use nandub you don't have to care about low or high motion because it's using SBC.

SBC (Smart Bitrate Control) is basically 2-pass encoding. It still relies on either the low- or fast-motion parts of 3.11. Most people, though, choose to use primarily the low-motion because it preserves details compared to fast-motion.

[Erci]

@Enchanter

I know how it works... I just didn't have time to say much so I simplified it a lot. Maybe not so god though And I'm not very good to explain stuff like that without using a lot of words

//Erci

[Indigo]

Thanks for all the info!

Do you know where I can find a good Nandub guide?

[Erci]

If you want to use nandub and do all the cropping with filters and all that shit you can go to www.doom9.org/sbc_main.htm and if you want to use GordianKnot with nandub you can check out my guide at http://hem.fyristorg.com/dvdriping

//Erci