Auto Gordian Knot: A Simple Tutorial



Tools needed:

AutoGK


Xvid 1.1


And some patience.


I chose the Xvid 1.1 instead of the 1.2 that comes standard with AutoGK because it gives a much brighter and better looking picture.


Once you have AutoGK and Xvid installed let's find the folder where we have the movie ripped we want to transcode. I've found it's much easier on your PC and your programs if you try to keep your filing structure like this:


Drive Letter\DVD\Movie Name Folder

for tutorial example:

I:\DVD\Men In Black II


Makes searching functions and default functions of AutoGK much faster. Also I have chosen a movie that is less than 1:30:00 minutes long. This is for the purpose of keeping this initial tutorial simple for anyone to follow. Any longer and we would have to do major resizing and severe audio loss to keep it to one disc. Keep this number: 845 in the back of your head throughout this tutorial.


Now that we have the file opened in AutoGK it should look like this:


Click to view attachment


Step 1. is selecting the file. Now for step 2.


Here you will notice that the length and aspect ratio are listed. This particular movie is 1:28:02 and the aspect ratio is 4:3 NTSC. These are important when configuring the Xvid codec. So lets go ahead and goto Step 3. then we will move onto the actual codec.


Step 3. here we are selecting the audio track we wish to re-encode. I will be selecting the default 6 channel as illustrated above. My language is English. So for non-english speaking folks you can select a different language (if available) or you keep the english and slide over and select a subtitle in Step 4. I'm selecting no subtitles because, once again, we're keeping this one simple.

Now it's time for Xvid.

Locate your codec and let's start immediately by changing the Profile @ Level to (unrestricted). This keeps it friendly for folks with no Divx player and different chipset Divx players.


Click to view attachment


Click the "more" button across from where we just selected our profile. Make sure it's still on (unrestricted). Change the Quantization type to "h.263". And make sure you have everything checked I have checked in this pic:


Click to view attachment


Now click on the Aspect Ratio tab. It's time to use what we learned from AutoGK about this movie. This particular movie is 4:3. So let's click the display aspect ratio. Now select 4:3. Like this:


Click to view attachment


Now that we have it selected and hit OK, lets goto "Target Size" and the (calc) button next to it. Here we are able to select the size of video by inputting the length. We are also able to select the audio conversion. This section is also critical in Step 5. Do you want a two disc or one disc encode? Here we have selected a one disc encode. And this is also where the number "845" comes in handy. In this pic:


Click to view attachment


You'll take notice that I have already plugged the length of the movie in and selected a method of re-encoding the audio. Notice above the audio selection is a greyed out box entitled "Average Bitrate". I have 915 for an average. If you go below 845, you run the risk of VHS quality encode. The audio is a good way to raise the average bitrate. You could select MP3 VBR and maybe get it even higher. But as stated earlier, we're keeping this friendly for everyone's prefered method of playback. Rule of thumb! If the movie is over 1:45:00, you may consider a two disc encode. Below 96Kbps, the audio begins to take on a "can" effect. Sounds like you're listening to it in a can. Very flat, very dull, and just bad show. Now back to Step 5. Select "Predefined Size", drop down to "700MB One CD".



Before we hit ok on our codec setup, let's take care of our quantization options. You'll notice that there is an option to use a preset with Xvid. Our's by now should say "User Defined". Next to that option is a button entitled "more". Click that and this is what you see:


Click to view attachment


Make sure we have everything set up like so. Anything else will cause macro blocks so bad the video will look like it was seen through an insects eyes. Now click the "Quantization" tab. Make sure you click the "Trellis Quant" as seen here:


Click to view attachment


Hit ok and lets move back to AutoGK.


Now let's move on to step 6, the final step before we "Add Job" and "Start". This is the advanced options menu where we can setup the auto-crop (if necessary and it's not here), and make sure our output audio is the same. You'll notice I have a size of 528 greyed out in the "max size" option. This is good for reducing the size of 16:9 AR movies. It will also reduce the size and increase the average bitrate. But we needn't worry about that now, auto crop will take care of that for you. Click OK and lets do one last thing before we do our first movie. Here's a pic:


Click to view attachment


In AutoGK, press Control+F9. This is the hidden options menu:


Click to view attachment


Turn off color correction. Xvid can't do this well. Divx can but this is an Xvid tut. :P Click OK, and lets begin our encode with a simple click of "Add Job" and "Start". This is the part where you need patience. But normally around 2 to 3 hours depending on your PC, you'll have your first movie using AutoGK and Xvid.




Please feel free to add any comments or suggestions. Consider this a "living tutorial". Please leave any custom matrices out, that's all I ask. This is a simple beginners tutorial.

Nice tut. I would say everything is there for any n00b

hi newb to xvid ripping, followed the above guide and once i had my brain in gear found it easy to use and have just done my first autogk rip, its perfect quality, thansk evilbrenda for adding this post

by the way i usually learn quickly is there a more complex guide avaliable???

Working on it. Little by little but working on it. Gonna do hybrids and 16x9's. Then maybe, just possibly do one for codecs only. Honestly though the tuts for codecs at AfterDawn are the bomb.

nice to hear

*Cough*

*Cough cough* Exellent tut EVILBRENDA looking forward to the others mentioned.

is it just me or does everyone get a bunch of files and folders when they download Xvid, what do i have to do to get the program running

You have to download a compiled version of the codec. I can very much recommend the builds of Koepi at http://www.koepi.org/xvid.shtml.
Hope that helps.
cheers

thanx xDrJx it helped, but i'm having anotther problem. i assume you are meant to use dvd decrypter before using auto gk but when i open a file in auto gk that i have ripped with dvd decrypter auto gk does not give me any video info, like how long and the video resolution. any advice on that
thanx a lot

Do you have ripped the DVD in IFO Mode?
For a small guide look here
cheers

Thanks ALL of ya
your all, the best there is !

OK, my first dvdrip avi is being made^^ Many will folow, I've got about 200 DVD's I bought the last few months:P

ok just wondering, how to setup xvid if I want to make a 2 cds rip :/

look here and here

cheers.

Thank you sooo much for this guide, i'm a total noob to ripping, this is a great help.

Well they say "The proof of the pudding, is in the eating".

I'll let you know 'EVILBRENDA', how I get on with my first rip

[EDIT] Well I ripped my first movie using AGKnot. I would just like to say 'It was soooo easy'.
Thanks EVILBRENDA.

Thanks this is great...realy helped. When I tried to use the 2 channel audio though it put in the directors comentary. Any suggestions on what I might have done wrong. It did the same thing when I used FairUse wizzrd.

Was there also a 6ch AC3 audio. If so I would use that.

Yes there was and it is what I ended up using. I was just wondering if there was something I could change to stop it from happening.

Unbelievable, Thank you, very much!Unbelievable, I ran into a problem it says " Cannot find video stream" , Can somebody help? Thank you, very much, in advance!

If you have a problem that's not really related to the guide itself, then please post a question in the Technical Help and Discussions forum instead.

Note that AutoGK can only be used after you've ripped the DVD to your harddisk. The DVD's copy-protection might hide the videostream otherwise.

I guess that's my problem I was trying straight from the DVD, thank you for the reply it will probably work now! I will give it a try, again thank you!

Thanks evilbrenda followed your guide and riped two concerts for my frist 2 release one grew 12 sees overnight the other ones doing pretty well too

Thanks for the help on my first rip! Cheers!

Thanks. Im going to try your settings now, see how different they
are from my previous rips.

link does not give any 1.1 - just 1.3 ? thanx 4 the great info though

Thanks a lot, first EVILBRENDA for the tutorial and also ADL for his, then everyone who helps for precisions!
You are the best!
I will try out now ...

Thanks EvilBrenda for the info. Does anyone know about the preview button in AutoGK and while it is working can you get a preview of the output?

It works but it's a system hog. It's best to do this on another computer besides your main machine.

thx for this awsome guide

Excellent guide EVILBRENDA ,thanks

Keep in mind, enabling "Quarter Pixel" will render the resulting avi file standalone INcompatible.

I never rendered that movie and forgot to turn it off. Good catch!

Hello everyone, this is DnG. I am a fairly new person to Darkside. Because of my visual impairment, is it possible to have this tut explained in a more lavished detail, that is, could each picture be explained better. For example: in each of the images/pictures, I am going to assume that they are all dialog boxes, with check boxes, etc. A detailed rundown of what should/should not be checked would help immensely.
DnG

Also, as I read through other forums on the same topic, converting video, I have noticed that most of the processes start with, either a DVD in the player, or a DVD image. If it is worth anything, I use DVD decrypter, no longer available, DVD Shrink, and anyDVD, to rip my DVD's and give me a perfect image. I am however, trying to find a way to compress these images to the best possible copy to put on a CD, and to save hard disk space on my computer. 700MB is a lot better than 4.35GB to 7.6GB for a movie. LOL
My compressings give me videos in the size range of 850MB to 2.1 GB. HELP, if you can. Thanks.

This guide wasn't written for every movie, I explained that in the first few paragraphs. Secondly it was intended to teach you the basic setup of AutoGK and allow you to learn on your own. Hence the hour and a half long movie that was chosen. No it wasn't written for the visually impaired, there are simple tools online to help with that. If I wrote a tutorial meeting your criteria then I would have to write one for the blind, the deaf, quadriplegic's, and so and so forth. If you need more information about encoding a movie I suggest you try VideoHelp or AfterDawn. Those are sites dedicated to video compression. I just took a "mystery" (to some folks) and made it a reality and have had great feed back...until now.

Hi Evil Brenda,
I didn't mean to give you any negative feedback, the tutorial is excellent, its just that I can't see what settings are checked/unchecked in the dialog boxes and stuff. I was just asking if you could report what was checked/unchecked in each of those boxes, as they are pics and not text. But I will go to the other sight you provided me and get the same result, because all of the tutorials that I have tried to work through all use pics, instead of saying what needs to vbe checked/unchecked.

Thanks anyways, DNG

Still confused.

I tell you what, when you get to a point you can't figure out you PM me and I'll walk you through it. We only got so much size to work with here before the Adminions kick me in the keister for bandwidth. I don't care if it takes two or three days to setup we'll get through it and you'll have a HUGE understanding about AutoGK and transcoding in general....or your money back!

Thanks, but I just have one question. As I am new to forums and their lingo, what is PM?

DnG

You sound like me!


Private Message

I just started working with autogk this tutorial has helped alot. Thanks. Does all the changes to the xvid encoder actually make much if any difference. If so, is it possible to hard code those settings or at least make them default so it doesn't have to be done with each encode?

Thanks Much

Hi Evil Brenda, Thanks again, how do you or I initiate PM, do we e-mail each other? or MSN?, I am clueless to internet lingo and procedures. But I would like to get Mr Holland's Opus converted before Christmas!! LOL.

DnG

Hi DnG

To PM EvilBrenda left click his name in red above his avatar (his is a blue sphere) and then 3rd down from drop down menu is "send message"

Once you left click that you are on the road to your first PM

Cheers

nice tute EVILBRENDA thanks.

Many thanks For this nice tutorial EVILBRENDA!

It really helped me find my way

Thank You for the guide I do have one question though My DIVX would not let me calculate Did i get the wrong one or what?

Thank you for the tutorial EvilBrenda, it was really helpful

THANK U SO MUCH EVIL BRENDA

Thanks mate. This is really helpful. At least for the beginners who are clueless about the process. You're a

Thanks for this guide. I did my first rip using this guide. I don't know how to install that xvid, so i used the one that came with AutoGK.