Cucusoft converter confusion

[billy1]

Is there anybody using Cucusoft Video Converter Pro who could explain how the figure you enter in the Maximum(kbps) field in advanced settings, and the level you choose (Conversion Speed & Output Quality Level) after you press the convert button relate to each other.

The choices given for Output Quality & Conversion Speed don't include values, just expressions like lower,medium, higher, etc, which isn't very helpful.

[LT. Columbo]

"The choices given for Output Quality & Conversion Speed don't include values, just expressions like lower,medium, higher, etc, which isn't very helpful."

i'll say! any program that doesn't allow you to enter a # bitrate value isn't good to me. i haven't used that program, i use tmpgenc to do video encoding.
basicly the higher(kbps) you choose, the larger the file should be and the higher quality and the longer it will take to process. when i encode say a 90 min file, to fit on a dvd-5 i usually use a video bitrate of 5500-6000 kbps. the final product is excellent quality.

[billy1]

Yeah. I think I'll try that program. I did think of one possible solution, which is to encode a minute of video at each setting then divide the resulting file sizes by 60. This should give me the figures i am after - though of course i'd have to set a constant bit rate when encoding.

What I'm trying to do is to re-encode 76 min of divx to mpeg 2 and maximise the bit rate so it fills a 4.7 G DVD. It seems impossible to predict file sizes when using variable bit rate, so I'll probably use constant.

I know there are programs that will make a file fit on one DVD, but this would involve another re-encoding and would further reduce the quality of the output, plus I'd rather learn to do it myself anyway.

[LT. Columbo]

"What I'm trying to do is to re-encode 76 min of divx to mpeg 2 and maximise the bit rate so it fills a 4.7 G DVD. It seems impossible to predict file sizes when using variable bit rate, so I'll probably use constant."

this is one of the beauties of tmpgenc. you don't need a bitrate calculator. a trick is to use the video wizard template as the video bitrate calculator. just load your file and hit "next" twice. on this screen you will see a blue bar at the bottom that fills right to the end of a dvd-5 disc, and the bitrate is listed above. to lower the disc capacity (conviently listed in % values) to say 96% like i do, the bitrate window will adjust with it (up or down). it's so simple. if you heed my advice you will see how easy it really is.

you can encode with or without the wizard.

[billy1]

Yeah, thanks, I'm definitely going to try it.

By the way a few programs will display a file size in this format 1.62 (1.51) GB. What does the figure in brackets mean?