MP3 encoding Question when Encoding to Divx

[iparout]

Hi there...

I am making my first attempt to create my first Divx and I am following the (very well organized) step by step guide from UncasMS. I am using Divx Pro 5.02 and latest GordianKnot (2.06)

However, the audio on the DVD I ripped is in Linear PCM format, so when DVD2AVI demuxes it, it creates an avi file instead of an ac3.

What I want to do now is create the .mp3 seperately from Gordianknot and then add it into GK and just mux it with the video (as the guide is suggesting).

I will be using lame encoder manually to create the mp3 and I want to know which are the best parameters for that.

1) I tried --alt-preset 128 (as the guide suggested) but it appears to be an invalid switch for lame... Am I doing something wrong here or is this switch really invalid ?

2) When using the -h -abr 128 switch, the mp3 is created flawlessly, however I don't know if the Average Bitrate mp3 is the best bet for using it with divx. What parameters do you guys use for your mp3s ?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Enchanter]

1. Rip audio to .wav using Graphedit/Vob2audio
2. Convert .wav to .MP3 using an MP3 encoder, such as LAME

The best parameter would depend on what filesize you are aiming. Generally, 128kbps is the standard. You need to go lower if space is a constraint. If you are going for higher bitrate, anything beyond 192kbps is a waste of space.

[iparout]

Thanks for the fast reply...

What I was asking is what this --alt-preset 128 switch does, cause it seems to be invalid when I use it. I will be using -h -abr 128.

Anyways, I may be a DivX newbie but I have been ripping DVDs to SVCD for the laszt couple year so what I will be doing from now on (as far as Audio is concerned) when creating DivX is this :

i) In DVD2AVI I select Dolby Digital --> Decode, MPEG Audio --> Demux

ii) In order to downsample the audio I select 48 KHz --> 44.1 Ultra High (High will also give a good output)

iii) Finally, I select Normalize --> 75 % to avoid getting any low volume output.

By taking these three steps, DVD2AVI creats a WAV file which is downsampled to 44 KHz and normalized. This way, I skip all the steps that UncasMS suggests in his AUDIO article (i.e. using VOB2Audio, increasing the volume by 3dB, downsampling using an Audio editor).

Then I encode the WAV to mp3 with lame.

I have been using these DVD2AVI settigns for the last year when creating SVCDs and the sound was very very loud and clear.

Hope this helps someone...

[Erci]

First: Don't downsample. It just takes longer no meaning to do that if you don't want to create a (S)VCD.

My program of choice would be BeSweet.
If you don't know how it works you can check it out in my guide.

//Erci

[iparout]

I took a look at your guide and, to my surprise, although you said there's no need to downsample, your guide is downsampling at 44 KHz as well...

Anyways, I will be following the method I described cause the output is really satisfactory and I will also use ABR in Lame (not VBR) cause VBR yields completely unpredictable (in size) mp3s and I don't like that.

Thanks for your input anyways.

[Erci]

Apperantly the picture is wrong, haven't noticed that

But this is what it says:

"Also if you want 44.1 kHz sound instead of 48 kHz check "Sampling Frequency of Output File".There are a
few settings that this is good for and that is: if you want to create a (S)VCD and some old soundcards can't handle 48 kHz.
It also have some disadvantages: the quality will get a little bit worse (not much barely noticible) and it'll take longer.
So it's up to you, personally I go with 48 kHz."

//Erci

[techno]

You can also use Wavelab or goldweave or cooledit to downsample

Techno

[UncasMS]

the command

+++

--alt-preset 128

+++

is fine and should normally work

have you tried to use a different version of LAME or even besweet or besweet gui to run lame through it?

[iparout]

I have been using the version of lame that came with Gordian Knot.

I type lame --alt-preset 128 (input file) [output file] but lame gives me an error saying that this is not a valid parameter. It's funny cause this command appears in lame FAQ as well, but it isn't working when I try to use it... And I haven't tried Besweet

Anyways, I am using -h --abr 128 command which yields very good results.

Can someone briefly explain the encoding parameters that are enforced when I type --alt-preset 128 ? What does this switch do ?

Thanks.