Please Walk Me Through the Steps in Making a Divx DVD

December 7, 2008 8:59 AM

Well, something is wrong...I use Mac the Ripper to rip the DVDs...then I am not sure what to do. I turned them into mp4s in Handbrake and then burnt them in Toast under the Divx tab. I get a lot (maybe 6?) movies to a disc (dual layer)and the picture is decent BUT it takes several days...a day to encode the files through Handbrake and then 2 whole days to burn the disc in Toast. Am I doing things completely wrong? I would appreciate a step by step walkthrough if there is a much easier and more efficient way to make Divx discs primarily because I have a huge spindle of DVD-DLs that I don't want to waste on one movie at a time. Thanks for your help and happy holidays! By the way I am using a brand new IMac running OS 10.5.5
posted by UnholyJudas to computers & internet (31 comments total)

First I'd ask why you do the MacTheRipper step-- are these movies not rippable by Handbrake itself? That'd save some time.

How long does Handbrake take to do one movie on your computer? I have a top-line Mac Pro and it takes about 45 minutes at good quality settings.

Now here's the real problem: Handbrake is probably trying hard to create a Divx compatible file and I bet Toast is then re-encoding it to DiVX again. (There's no way that burning 8GB of data takes multiple days, so it's got to be doing something.) So why not just try dragging the handbrake'd files to the DVD directly and burning with the Finder?
posted by neustile at 9:17 AM on December 7, 2008

Yeah, mp4 is the format you'd want to convert to if you're going to load them into iTunes, not for burning, it's totally a waste of time if you just want to pull the files off one disc and onto another. Encoding video files is one of the most resource-intensive activities you can engage your computer in, and Handbrake can't burn mp4s straight to disc- as neustile points out, the reason Toast takes so long is because it re-encodes them into Divx. You're doing a bunch of encodes that are completely superfluous, and that's what's taking up all that time.

neustile has it...try ripping the DVD's with Handbrake and then straight up burning them with Finder. If you need to keep the mp4s around because you use Front Row, load them onto your iPod, etc. then you can certainly do that after you've finished burning but before you delete the source VIDEO_TS folder.
posted by baphomet at 9:47 AM on December 7, 2008

I burnt the Handbrake mp4s to a disc but the disc doesn't play on my divx player. It doesn't recognize the files.
posted by snap_dragon at 10:38 AM on December 7, 2008

I burnt the Handbrake mp4s to a disc but the disc doesn't play on my divx player. It doesn't recognize the files.

What's your model? Most DivX players only work with a subset of AVI and ".divx" hacked AVI containers and a limited number of stream types within them - e.g., only MPEG-4 ASP with the "DX50" or "XVID" 4CCs, no global motion compensation, <2 B-frames, etc. Very few models support either the MP4 container or MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video encoding, or for that matter AAC audio.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 10:45 AM on December 7, 2008

Snap_dragon: If you've got the same Phillips 642 that I do, there's no way it'll play mp4s. MP4 ≠ AVI.

UnholyJudas: You can skip Mac the Ripper. Handbrake will read DVDs directly. I find that it takes a 3-4 hours to rip a DVD in Handbrake on my decidedly not new G5 iMac (and that's with 2-pass encoding). I'd echo Neustile in general.

If you are trying to create a backup DVD that plays as a regular old DVD, then you're way overcomplicating it. Rip with Mac the Ripper and burn with Disk Utility (I think—I've never done this). If you're trying to compress to a smaller format, rip with Handbrake and burn with Finder.
posted by adamrice at 11:30 AM on December 7, 2008

At work so can't look at exact model number but it was a Toshiba I just bought at Best Buy. Any ideas on making a disc that would work in an efficient manner?
posted by UnholyJudas at 11:34 AM on December 7, 2008

I appreciate all the help but must admit I am really confused. (I think Alzheimer's might be setting in). I will keep checking back today. Thanks for the info so far.
posted by UnholyJudas at 11:35 AM on December 7, 2008

Clearly you're re-encoding. I'd suggest:

Ripping with Handbrake (to a DiVX file.) Buring a DATA dvd with Toast (no video encoding.)

It has to be a DIVX compliant file to work on a 'divx' dvd player.
Toast is re-encoding your files for the DVD. By burning a DATA dvd you're removing the 'two day' encode.
posted by filmgeek at 11:38 AM on December 7, 2008

Okay, I will try it through Toast as a DATA cd when I get home. I will keep you posted. I tried it in a utility from sourceforge.net called "Burn" as a data disc but that did not work. Of course that is not Toast, either...so I will give it a go.
posted by UnholyJudas at 11:58 AM on December 7, 2008

Best method I've found:

- rip using MacTheRipper (this takes about 30 min per disc, depending on size)
- burn using Toast or Popcorn (usually another 30-40 min, often less)

This yields DVD-quality DVDs, unless of course you use compression. But there's no step which involves going to/from mp4, so far as I know.
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:23 PM on December 7, 2008

If you are burning a DivX Video disk in Toast, set the Reencode option to "Never".
posted by cwhitfcd at 3:52 PM on December 7, 2008

- Rip with MacTheRipper
- Convert the VIDEO_TS folder to DivX/XVid with ffmpegx using this guide.
- Burn the resulting .divx/.avi file to a Data DVD using Toast. (Or a DivX video DVD with Reencode=Never)
posted by cwhitfcd at 3:58 PM on December 7, 2008

Am I crazy, or has a poster with a very similar style posted this question before? Twice?

Is this a MetaTalk kind of thing?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 6:13 PM on December 7, 2008

Just to be clear, is this what you are trying to do now?

1) take video dvds
2) "rip" them to files that whatever device you have hooked up to your TV can play
3) burn the files as data to a dvd

For step 1, all you have to do is stick the dvd in your drive. For step 2, Handbrake is a good tool, but you need to know what kind of container formats and codecs your device will play so that you can choose the proper settings. For step 3, don't use any special 'Divx' options in Toast. Simply burn a plain data dvd.
posted by PueExMachina at 6:53 PM on December 7, 2008

PueEXMachina...I am...and I will have to check what particular container formats and such will work as it just says divx. I may try the other suggestion with yours and encode them using ffmpegx...I will keep you posted.
posted by UnholyJudas at 4:39 AM on December 8, 2008

I think I may have found an answer...hereAnd then drop them into toast turning the Divx setting off. I just thought I could drop several Video_TS folders into Toast but it will only do one and then lock up. Ha! I must be cursed! Like before I will keep people here posted in case anyone else is trying to figure this out.
posted by UnholyJudas at 6:25 AM on December 8, 2008

AmbroseChapel...they are similar posts but do not answer my exact question...but thanks for pointing me in their direction as I might be able to glean a bit and no, I don't think this is quite for metatalk yet but maybe if not of the answers pan out...than metatalk. Do you have any input on this question?
posted by UnholyJudas at 6:39 AM on December 8, 2008

> Do you have any input on this question?

Yes, I do. But, to clarify, are you saying those aren't your posts?

Anyway, I don't know what you're doing wrong with Toast because I don't use Toast.

But your problem appears to be based on misunderstanding the technology involved.

• DVDs are a specially-arranged kind of disk, which has to have certain folders and files with certain names all in the right places. The disk is a whole, indivisible thing.
• If you turn them into AVIs, you convert them from that format to a single file. It's not a special, indivisible disk which must follow the rules of The Special Secret Recipe For What A DVD Contains. It's a file like any old GIF or PDF or TXT file. You can do whatever you like with it. Put it on a thumb drive, burn it to a disk watch it off your hard drive, etc.

Your problem is, you're ripping the DVD, which doesn't convert it to an AVI, it just copies all those special folders to your computer.

Then you're doing something else with it to turn it into MP4, then you're doing something else again with Toast, and finally Toast is burning the result as a disk.

So, as you seem to have learned from that link above, you don't need all those steps. You don't need Toast.

Go directly from DVD to AVI with Handbrake, and burn the result, as files, to a blank DVD. Toast doesn't have to be involved, you can just burn from the Finder. The only thing which can go wrong is converting to AVI in a format your player doesn't like. Get back to us on that one. Oh, and tell us the make and model number.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 3:40 PM on December 8, 2008

Thanks, Ambrose. I went home and made avi movies through handbrake using the link I posted before here.....and then maybe I did something wrong. I burned the avi's through Toast with Divx turned to NEVER based on previous post...and then they didn't work. I am at work so do not have the model number of Toshiba with me...I will try Finder. I have a lot of DVD-DLs left (I know it is a waste) but my patience and sanity are on the wane.

Ambrose and you others, I consider your answers kinda like Christmas presents to me. I bought the Divx player as a christmas present to myself...and even if I never figure this out, I really really appreciate everyone trying to help. If I told you everything I tried, you would be amazed at all kinds of good trys and obvious blunders (double encoding and tying my computer up for 3 days) I have committed. So it may not be meant to be but I will keep trying.

Jer
(yeah, I posted this but had metafilter delete my old name so the thread starts with a wrong name...sorry for the confusion)
posted by snap_dragon at 11:27 AM on December 9, 2008

One more time.

Put a Divx file (ANY DIVX file) into toast.

Choose this:

Do not choose video, divx video or the like.

Use handbrake or anything you like to rip the DVDs into a divx file. Put this onto a DVD (PLEASE NOTE it's a DATA DVD, not a DVD that is compliant with the DVD Specification.

On DVD players that can also play divx files - they just see the DATA DVD as a volume - and not as a Video DVD.

The Video tab for toast is for things that need to be encoded; to a compliant DVD (no divx here), Blu ray, etc.

What you're trying to build is a Data disc that happens to have Divx files ripped from a DVD
posted by filmgeek at 2:57 PM on December 9, 2008

Whoops. the image didn't show up...
There's the image for the "CHOOSE THIS" from above.
posted by filmgeek at 2:58 PM on December 9, 2008

I say ignore Toast altogether.

Just put a blank disk in and a dialog should pop up asking what to do with it. Choose "Open Finder". If that doesn't happen and Toast opens automatically, eject the disk then go and change your System Preferences, under CDs and DVDs, to "ask".

Drag a file to the blank DVD.

Click the "burn" icon.

When the disk has burned, put it on your player. Tell us exactly what happens. Tell us exactly what the player does, what messages come up, and so on. Tell us the make and model of the player.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 3:42 PM on December 9, 2008

SD-6100KU Toshiba....

Will drag .avi movies to disc and use Finder. Will let you know tomorrow. Thanks for your support, guys.

Jer
posted by snap_dragon at 6:50 PM on December 9, 2008

An filmgeek, I will try your method again as well.
posted by snap_dragon at 6:51 PM on December 9, 2008

According to this page, your Toshiba should be fine to play DivX-encoded AVI files:

DivX Home Theater Certified:
DivX Home Theater Certification allows playback of DivX (.div/.dvix) AVI and MPEG4 (.ASF) compressed files downloaded from the internet from a personal computer and stored on a CD-R/-RW/Recordable DVD's. The support extends to the full version of DivX 3.11, 4.12 and 5x as well as DivX PRO, with video resolutions of 720 x 480 at 30 fps and 720 x 576 at 25 fps.

So if you rip to an AVI file with Handbrake and it doesn't play in the Toshiba, it could be you need to tweak the settings.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 9:56 PM on December 9, 2008

I tried making both avi and mpeg 4 files in Handbrake, draggin them to disc and burning in finder. The Toshiba did not like either. Are they different then Divx? Handbrake doesn't specifically say divx but I have it set supposedly like i should. Should i try a different converter software?

Here is how the Handbrake window looks: click here on my blog

Thanks
posted by snap_dragon at 4:47 AM on December 10, 2008

On the avi files the player listed the names of the files (menu) but when clicked on particular movie it said "wrong file content")

Other times when burnt as mpeg-4 it said No file found.
posted by snap_dragon at 4:57 AM on December 10, 2008

Filmgeek, I tried two separate times in toast to put avi files in data format using dvd-rom (udf) tab and then also a disc with .mp4 format with dvd-rom (udf) tab.....neither worked...the avi file menu came up but said "wrong file content" and the mp4 menu did not come up at all the message said "not supported file"....

so if anyone has any other suggestions, I am open. Wide open.

thanks
posted by snap_dragon at 2:44 PM on December 10, 2008

I've noticed you're using (based on your screenshot) the mpeg-4 (FFMPEG) setting.

I'm using .93...

Could you switch the encoder to mpeg-4 (Xvid)?
posted by filmgeek at 4:17 PM on December 12, 2008

Will give that a go.
posted by snap_dragon at 12:28 PM on December 15, 2008

Filmgeek: no luck on the Xvid either. If you have any future suggestions feel free to send me an msg via metafilter. I think this thread will close soon.

thanks again for everyone's help, though.
posted by snap_dragon at 5:40 PM on December 16, 2008