Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

While compressing a DVD in AutoGK or AutoMKV, how will you choose the target file size? There is a simple rule of thumb. Choose 700 MB if the movie is in 16:9 aspect ratio and its duration is around 100 minutes only. If the movie is in 4:3 aspect ratio and its duration is around 150 minutes or more, then 1400 MB will be better. You can apply some intermediate size (around 1 GB) for mixed situations.

Tip 2:

While compressing a DVD with 6 channel sound (DTS) in AutoGK, if you want 5.1 Audio in the output, select AUTO for Audio in the Advanced Settings. It will produce 5.1 Audio in 224 KBps quality for 1 CD (700 MB) output which sounds quite good. For 2 CD (1400 MB) output, it will produce 5.1 Audio in 448 KBps quality. If you specify a file size manually between 701 to 1399 MB, it still produces 5.1 Audio in 448 KBps quality. In such instances, the lesser the file size the lower will be the video quality.

CAUTION

If you select ORIGINAL for 5.1 Audio in the Advanced Settings of AutoGK while compressing a DVD, you might end up with a BitRate around 752 KBps for audio itself which will severely compromise the video quality.

Tip 3:

AutoMKV gives a general tip whenever you open the program. It also shows you the description of a particular functionality when the mouse cursor points over an icon.

Tip 4:

When you install AutoGK, select ESS based Standalone. That will help you to play the output AVI file in your TV through DIVX certified standalone DVD players.

Tip 5:

When you install AutoGK, unselect AVIsynth, VobSub and XVID because VobSub and XVID are available in K-Lite Codec Pack itself. Download and install AVIsynth seperately because it will be required by other programs like AutoMKV and VirtualDubMod.

CBR Vs VBR

Question Of The Week

CBR Vs VBR
Which is better?

Mp3 files are made up from 100s of small audio chunks. While encoding an MP3 file or compresssing a movie, we have to specify the BitRate of the audio (e.g. 128 KBps) which will determine the file size. We can also specify whether the BitRate should be Constant or Variable.

In CBR (Constant BitRate), the same BitRate is used to encode the entire file. So it can be done in just one pass. Whilst encoding in VBR (Variable BitRate), the encoder first decides how many bits are needed to encode each chunk. The BitRate can drop down to the lowest value when it is permissible (if there is not much audio going on), and switches up to a higher value when required. That's why VBR requires at least two passes for encoding.

At 320 KBps, which is the maximum BitRate for MP3 files, CBR matches VBR in terms of quality of sound. At lower BitRates, VBR sounds better.

AutoGK and AutoMKV

Programs Of The Week

AutoGK

AutoMKV

Do you want to compress a DVD (either for uploading or just to store a borrowed/rented DVD)? Do you want to change a file format or codec of a downloaded movie file? Then you should have both these programs in your PC. They are available for free download. Both these programs can be nominated for the Best Video Compression Tool award (if there is any) !! Even though they are comparable, they differ considerably in their functionalities.
AutoGK (AutoGordian Knot) will accept only VOB (DVD) and AVI file formats as input and its output is AVI only. Of course, this is a serious limitation but it does a nice job. AutoMKV will accept any video as input and gives many options for output (AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV) and that is its big advantage.
AutoGK compresses the video always in two passes at a constant pace. AutoMKV gives you many options at that.
In AutoGK, all you have to do are given in just four steps (including Advanced Settings !!). Even the Advanced Settings are very simple. But there is no need to change the default Advanced Settings (AUTO for both video and audio, XVID for codec and NO subtitles). If at all you want to set them by yourself, use Fixed Width 640 for Video, CBR-MP3 128 KBps for audio, DIVX for codec and External Subtitles.
In AutoMKV, you need to set many a things before going to Advanced Settings. I would strongly recommend/caution you not to touch AutoMKV's Advanced Settings at all because they are really advanced !!
Both programs have AutoCrop function (if your input video has some black borders constantly throughout the entire length, that will not be encoded). But if your input video is in a wrong aspect ratio (many a downloaded files are so !!), you can't correct it in AutoGK. Here, AutoMKV scores again by giving that option in Advanced Settings (it is the only reason I enter into the Advanced Settings of AutoMKV).
Overall, the word AUTO suits mostly to AutoGK. If you want to compress a DVD to AVI file, AutoGK is the best choice. If you want to compress a DVD to MKV/MP4 file or if you want to change a downloaded file format (MKV to AVI, MP4 to AVI etc.,) or codec (H-264 to XVID/DIVX) then, of course, use AutoMKV.

Moviefone

Website Of The Week

www.moviefone.com/dvd

Moviefone gives you a lot of information about Hollywoood. Movie information is divided into three categories: those in production, those in theaters, and those released in DVDs. The last one is what I refer to (Information on DVD releases available in Amazon.com too).

After clicking "On DVDs" to see the thumbnails of DVDs, you can either browse them by Popularity or Genre. I prefer "DVD Releases by Month" to view them in chronological order from latest to the old ones because low quality Cam prints are being sold in some countries before the release of original DVDs.

If are you planning to download a new movie from Torrentz.com, you have to ensure first if original DVD of that movie has been released or not. Check the release date of the torrent displayed along with the file name and size in Torrentz.com search results. Only if that coincides with the release of original DVD, download that torrent. Otherwise, it is most likely to be a low quality CamRip or a junk file.