DivX Convertor - Should it take this long?

[Dos_Box]

As I purchased the in-car DVD system for the kids from Aldi last weekend on the feature that it took SD cards, I thought I'd rip a few of the kids DVD's to mpg on my hard drive then convert them to DivX so I could fit about 4 or 5 films to a 4GB SD card. This way I could take a couple of cards on holiday to keep the kids entertained throughout.
I downloaded the trial of DivX convertor and dragged a file into the conversion screen. Once done, a box appears with a percentage bar and the message 'Analyzing: movie.mpg'
The problem I have is that it simply hangs there. There is disk activity, but yesterday I had it runnign for over 3 hours with the percentage bar never going above 0% analized. Should it take this long, or has something gone wrong?

[skell]

Having no experience with the DivX encoder, I couldn't tell you how long it should take. However, just had a look on the Aldi website and the specs say it plays MPEG4. I would use HandBrake to encode the DVD and see if it plays. I would select to encode it with MPEG-4 (FFmpeg) (under the video tab) which uses the older part 2 codec.

[Arthur]

I would try either AutoGK or AVIRecomp since they both have standalone DVD player compatibility modes (which ensures the videos aren't encoded with GMC and Qpel). If you only have a few to do, you could also use the trial version of CloneDVD Mobile which is pretty much fool-proof.

The latest version of Handbrake can't create AVIs, so unless the DVD player supports MP4s (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) this won't work.

[SpuffMonkey]

With my (middling spec) PC - I reckon that conversion takes about half the play time - so a 90 minute film takes around 45-50 minutes. Use DVD DEcryptor to grab the vob files then AviDemux or Super or similar to convert.

[ZeroHour]

The divx encoder has a few issues, I have used it pretty extensively myself and have had this 0% problem. It works with some files and doesnt with others really.
I would def try out handbrake as I have used that quite a bit myself as a replacement.

[Dos_Box]

Having no experience with the DivX encoder, I couldn't tell you how long it should take. However, just had a look on the Aldi website and the specs say it plays MPEG4. I would use HandBrake to encode the DVD and see if it plays. I would select to encode it with MPEG-4 (FFmpeg) (under the video tab) which uses the older part 2 codec.

Didn't work. I was using Handbrake and H264 (didn't work either). It needs to be .AVI t be detected. I shall try Super Convertor.

[ZeroHour]

Didn't work. I was using Handbrake and H264 (didn't work either). It needs to be .AVI t be detected. I shall try Super Convertor.

Rename to .avi? what codecs does the car system support?

[mattx]

AVI.net is my choice - much more control over the quality etc.....

clone.AD

[Dos_Box]

Super Convertor looks like it's doing the job and it also allows you to recode to a specific resolution. Looking good so far.

[Dos_Box]

Thanks Matt. Thats a cracking little utility and does just the job

[Arthur]

Thanks Matt. Thats a cracking little utility and does just the job

If you have problems fast forwarding or rewinding the videos created by AVI.net on your in-car DVD system you will need to use MPEG-4 Modifier to "unpack" the bitstream.

[mattx]

Thanks Matt. Thats a cracking little utility and does just the job

No probs - it's what I use to convert stuff for our video playout content - all sitting on a FreeNAS box.....

[techtopia]

As I purchased the in-car DVD system for the kids from Aldi last weekend on the feature that it took SD cards, I thought I'd rip a few of the kids DVD's

What are you using to rip please? I have quite a collection of DVD's with which I would like to be able to do the same thing.

[Arthur]

I reckon it must be either AnyDVD, DVDFab HD Decrypter or DVDFab Passkey, especially if Dos_Box has any Disney DVDs. These programs are the only ones which will remove the latest copy protections.

[Dos_Box]

I already have AnyDVD HDwith lifetime upgrades (from when Vista Media Centre wouldn't route HDCP signals via an AV amp as it thought it was a pireting device!!). It's DivX I wanted and MattX's solution fitted the bill perfectly. And it's very fast to boot!