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.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

Before copying the download links given in www.foriegnmoviesddl.com/ , spend a few seconds to read the comments made by the users. It becomes important because some responsible user might have reported broken links or problems of extraction of downloaded .RAR files. You can avoid those links to save time and energy.

Tip 2:

While installing K-lite codec pack, try CUSTOM installation if you want to learn. Otherwise just go for STANDARD installation. Custom Installation (for any software) gives you an option to omit unnecessary functionalities.

Tip 3:

If you want to reverse any of your custom settings any time after installation of K-lite codec pack, open the installation file again. You will find that it starts with your customised settings. Now, it's easy for you to change the one or two settings you want. But, if you open the Codec Tweak Tool in the Start Menu Folder, it starts with default settings and you need set everything again!

Tip 4:

K-lite codec pack has some other useful tools also like GSpot Codec Information Appliance (only for AVI files), Media Info (all video files), Bitrate Calculator (useful for video-editing applications) and Vobsub Strip (to strip the zipped IDX subtitle packs which frequently accompany downloaded movie folders and select the subtitle of your favourite language).

Tip 5:

There is also a K-lite Mega codec pack available. It contains Quick Time and Real Player alternatives along with regular features of K-lite codec pack. But I prefer to install Quick Time and Real Player seperately (free versions available).

What is a Codec?

Question Of The Week

What is a Codec?

The most common file types of movies downloaded from the web are AVI, MKV and WMV. They mean Audio Video Interleaved, Matraska Video and Windows Media Video (formerly ASF) respectively. They are nothing but containers in which the movie data is filled with. The movie data has to be encoded first to create such compressed movie files. To play those compressed movie files, a media player performs decoding. Both these processes require compression protocols for video and audio data seperately.

Thus, a CODEC is a compression protocol used for COding and DECoding. Some codecs consist of both components - an encoder and a decoder, while other codecs include a decoder only. AVI files usually contain XVID and DIVX as video codecs and MP3 and AC3 as audio codecs. MKV and MP4 files use Advanced Video Codec (AVC/H.264) and Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) which belong to MPEG-4 standard. Windows Media Video files use their own codecs.

K-lite Codec Pack

Program Of The Week

K-lite Codec Pack

Most of the movies downloaded from internet will be in a compressed format. To decode and read the movie file, you have to install that particular codec in which the movie has been compressed. Quite a number of video and audio codecs have been developed.

This codec pack contains all the essential codecs, so that any movie file can be played in your PC. This pack will also enable you to compress movie files and convert the codec types using video editing applications. Compressing movie files helps save disk space and easy uploading. Converting the codec type enables playback of video files in your TV through Standalone DVD player (only if it is DIVX certified).