happyg video -- FAQs -- MPGvsDivX

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Capturing video to AVI using:
VirtualDub

Encoding AVI to MPEG using:
Panasonic Encoder
TMPGEnc

Encoding ASF to AVI using:
Graphedit

Encoding MPEG-2 to AVI using:
FlaskMPEG
GraphEdit

Muxing/Demuxing video using:
VirtualDub
DVMPEG

Editing video using:
MyFlix
M-2 Edit Professional
I-Film Edit

Editing audio using:
Cool Edit 2000

Miscellaneous:
Choosing the right AVI codec.
Should I use MPEG-1 or MPEG-2?
Should I use MPEG or DivX ;-) ?

MPEG vs. DivX

I hear many people say "Why don't you rip in DivX format?!?! It is so much BETTER than MPEG1 and just as GOOD as MPEG2!!!" Well, the easiest way to clear this up is for me to say that you'd better read some good info regarding MPEG and/or DivX. Let me give you just a few reasons why MPEG is far better than DivX.

1) If you know anything about multimedia (i.e. video/audio), you would know that the DivX codec is PROPRIETARY!! That means that you can only play a video encoded with DivX if the computer has the codec installed....leaving some people out of luck. However, you might say, "A lot people already have the DivX codec installed you moron!" That is true, which leads me to my next FACT...

2) The DivX codec is NO WHERE NEAR MPEG-2 Quality and Flexibility!
a. Can you burn a VCD/SVCD/DVD with DivX? NO
b. Are more than 2 audio channels supported by DivX? NO
c. Is the quality/compression ratio REALLY better than MPEG-2?
NO, not when you include all the advanced features and compatabilites of MPEG-2....

3) DivX CANNOT be played on a standalone DVD player, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 can be.

4) Although DivX CAN be better than MPEG-1, most people are comparing a 704x640 DivX rip to a 352x240 MPEG-1 rip!!!!! You can't compare apples to oranges people!! Come on! If you take 2 videos, encode one with MPEG-1 and one with DivX at the SAME resolution and bitrate, you will easily find that MPEG-1 and DivX are nearly the same, with the file size of the DivX rip being *slightly* smaller. (Considering the person who encoded the videos knew what they were doing.)

5) The ONLY advantage of using the DivX codec is when you are compressing LARGE (20GB+ AVI) video files and want to keep the resolution at a high quality. These codecs will drastically cut down the file size to around 50% of the original file size. On small videos however, there is little use for saving about 100KB of space(which is how much DivX will save you....)

So, as you can see, prorietary codecs like DivX were a good effort in improving video methods, but obviously lack the features of MPEG. Now that you know the facts, STOP BOTHERING PEOPLE WHO RIP IN MPEG!!! Don't ask them to rip in DivX because you *think* it is better! You must not have all the facts. Just because you want "quality DivX rips" doesn't mean you know quality or that you even know what you are talking about. It just means you are another one of the mindless sheep...

Now I'm not saying DivX is a bad codec, I'm just giving you the cold hard facts between MPEG and DivX. Anyone wanting to produce High Quality, Compatible, LEGAL video will choose MPEG. Anyone who wants to distribute video using an ILLEGALLY HACKED CODEC, such as DivX, may do so. Just don't say I didn't warn you...