DVD to DivX ;)- Page 3

Encoding

2nd step: Installing DivX Drivers.

Tools :
DivX ;-)_Drivers v3.11 alpha (Homepage) for PC platform
DivX ;-) Player v1.0 beta 3 (Homepage) for MAC platform

Procedure:
We must install DivX Drivers package in order to be able to play and encode DivX files. After installation you must run "Register_DivX.exe" and after you must reboot. This works in both Win9x and Win2k.

3rd step: Converting VOB(s) to AVI (DivX)

Tools:
FlaskMpeg download page (Homepage)
BitRate Calculator (Homepage or FeZ BitRateCalc (Homepage

Procedure:
This step will take lot of time so relax and let your PC work alone.. We will convert VOB files and

AC3 sound into AVI (DivX). For converting VOB files to AVI we must unzip the FlaskMpeg and run it. We go to " File > Open >", select the folder in which the VOB files rest, select VTS_06_1.VOB and Flask Mpeg automatically selects the rest of the files too. After we press ok the program informs us that there are 4 AC3 Audio Streams (4 different languages) in the VOB files. We select the first one (English). From here you cannot listen to the 4 AC3 streams but with your DVD Player you can understand which language stands for every steam. (In our example the first stream is English, the second is German (2), the third French and forth English 3 (director's comments 1). After choosing our AC3 stream we press on "Flask It!".

Then we go into "Options >> Global Project Options". (Remember to select .avi output from Options >> Select Output Format).

Video Tab

We suggest to use for all the DVD modes (16:9 and 4:3) final resolution 720x576 and bitrate's around 2000kbit/sec. If you use bitrates below 1700kbit/s you might have not good results. This way our final movie will fit in two CDs. If you want to fit your movie in one CD you must use lower resolution and lower bitrate.  for example 640 or 512 (width) (check below table of Post Processing tab).

If you using such a resolution you have have 16:9 (4:3 don't have black border) head over to Post Processing Tab and see what numbers you must fill for doing a perfect crop. Notice that there will be slight differences between output avi size in different resolutions.

If our movie is NTSC we use 29.97fps or if our movie is PAL we use 25fps for output. Notice that if we don't use same original framerate as final one , there will be problem with sync of movie and sound!

Video Structure

Here you can tweak the way FlasKMPEG decodes and handles interlaced and progressive content. Here we have the options available:
- Reconstruct progressive images: This options is only available with 23.976 and 24 fps setting. It's main use is for 24fps progressive encoded MPEG2 material. Check this option if your source is 24fps progressive. This setting is not an IVTC (inverse telecine); it just forces FlasKMPEG to 24fps progressive mode, avoiding potential problems.
If this option is not checked, FlasKMPEG will follow the MPEG sintax for decoding the video structure.
- Deinterlace video: If your source is interlaced you can use the video deinterlacer. Keep in mind that this will slow down encoding process. With the 'threshold' setting you control how much sensitive to motion is the algorithm. A lower setting means more sensibility (0-255). As FlaskMpeg author suggests:

Audio Tab

We select "Decode Audio". Also we choose either 48000hz or 44100hz sampling rate keeping in mind that some soundcards (mostly older ones) do not support 48khz, and that results in distorted noise. Note: If we select to convert sound to 44100 we must know that the final AVI file will loose sync after encoded from FlaskMpeg. If this happen head over to Misc Page and read how we can re-gain sync with VirtualDub.

Post Processing Tab

We leave Resizing quality options tab as default (HQ bicubic- highest quality) and in the crop area we put the following settings (only for 16:9 movies). Also keep aspect ratio selected. As we said we put an final resolution 720*576. If our movie has the following original resolutions and it is 16:9 sized we must put the in Post Processing Crop:

If you want to lower the resolution of final video (lower than 720x576) you must put the following sizes and crop selection. If you had a DVD that had originaly 720*480 you should use Flashmpeg at 720*576 or one of the other resolutions mention below. If you use Flashmpeg at 720*480 resolution you still get a border: