What are the best DIVX/FlaskMPEG settings to fit a movie on a 256MB CF?

[Boxster S]

I'm trying to rip Batman (my favorite movie in the whole world) into a smaller size to watch on my iPAQ (240x160). I've gone through all the guides and everything, but I can't seem to get the file size down enough. I read all the DIVX guides on the web, but I still can't seem to get it right.

What DIVX settings do you guys use (bit rate, min/max, audio, etc.) do you use when converting DVD's to watch on your PDA?

[DrRotmos]

Use a bitrate calculator, like Ampex Bitrate Calculator

[CR]

1)For better quality ( with your resolution... 240x160 ):

DivX 4.02 Codec-
-204 kbps ( keep it divisible by 16 and your clips will be smaler )
-2 pass encoding
-decimate the framerate by 2

mp3 codec for sound-
-convert to 11025hz
-compress @ 22kbps/11025hz
-mono sounds just as good as stereo

2)For better size ( same resolution ):

Same codec-
-80 kbps
-2 pass encoding
-decimate by 2 ( if the frame rate is 30+ fps, you can decimate by 3 and it will still look OK )

same sound codec and settings

3)For best size/quality ( but in grayscale ):

use the settings from #2, but use a grayscale filter and drop the video bitrate to 64


Those are about the settings that I use. If you keep everything video divisible by 16, the overall size will be smaller and the quality better. For example, I have saved about .3 MB on a 1.5MB clip before just by changing the resolution from 240x168 to 240x176 ( wierd eh? ). Same goes for the bitrate.

Decimating higher framerates usually doesn't have any visible effect on the clip other than speeding it up while playing ( i.e. no skips, not fast forward ). It usually makes the clip a little over half the size of the original.

I can easily fit 20 min tv shows ( no commercials ) in 10-12 MB, so you should be able to get a 2 hr movie in under 100MB ( using the #2 settings ). The quality is not the best, but it is very watchable and fairly small. Using mpeg-1, the same clips are usually 25-40% larger.

One more thing, be sure to use bicubic filter mode on the resize filter. It is much better quality. If you plan on watching clips in landscape, go ahead and use a rotate filter ( right by 90 dgrees, so you can use the rotate option and it won't be upside-down ).

HTH

[Boxster S]

Originally posted by CR
1)For better quality ( with your resolution... 240x160 ):

DivX 4.02 Codec-
-204 kbps ( keep it divisible by 16 and your clips will be smaler )
-2 pass encoding
-decimate the framerate by 2

mp3 codec for sound-
-convert to 11025hz
-compress @ 22kbps/11025hz
-mono sounds just as good as stereo

2)For better size ( same resolution ):

Same codec-
-80 kbps
-2 pass encoding
-decimate by 2 ( if the frame rate is 30+ fps, you can decimate by 3 and it will still look OK )

same sound codec and settings

3)For best size/quality ( but in grayscale ):

use the settings from #2, but use a grayscale filter and drop the video bitrate to 64


Those are about the settings that I use. If you keep everything video divisible by 16, the overall size will be smaller and the quality better. For example, I have saved about .3 MB on a 1.5MB clip before just by changing the resolution from 240x168 to 240x176 ( wierd eh? ). Same goes for the bitrate.

Decimating higher framerates usually doesn't have any visible effect on the clip other than speeding it up while playing ( i.e. no skips, not fast forward ). It usually makes the clip a little over half the size of the original.

I can easily fit 20 min tv shows ( no commercials ) in 10-12 MB, so you should be able to get a 2 hr movie in under 100MB ( using the #2 settings ). The quality is not the best, but it is very watchable and fairly small. Using mpeg-1, the same clips are usually 25-40% larger.

One more thing, be sure to use bicubic filter mode on the resize filter. It is much better quality. If you plan on watching clips in landscape, go ahead and use a rotate filter ( right by 90 dgrees, so you can use the rotate option and it won't be upside-down ).

HTH

Thanks a bunch

[eugchen]

boxster, batman rules! did you have any luck fitting the movie in?

[Boxster S]

Originally posted by eugchen
boxster, batman rules! did you have any luck fitting the movie in?

Yepp!!! Got it at 240x160 with mono sound in 239MB

Looks great too

[eugchen]

good job...