I’ve noticed that alot of members of the DVXuser forums will constantly ask how to get an HD video into a file that is small enough to be downloadable from a web site, but still large enough that most of the quality is retained. Also, I see alot of poorly encoded videos out there using Quicktime 7 Pro as the encoder, and it just doesn’t deliver the results that you would expect.

In this tutorial I’m going to show you a free way to encode Quicktime 7 compatible Mpeg-4s that are also compatible with any other media player that has mpeg-4 decoding. These files, once you are done could be used on PSP, iPod, Quicktime 7, and eventually HD-DVD.

This tutorial is going to assume that you are familiar with your non-linear editor and have a basic understanding of video and interlacing, and that you have a basic knowledge of the Windows XP operating system. Sorry Mac guys, you’ll just have to pay for some software somewhere else, or dual boot into Windows XP if you are lucky enough to own an Intel Mac.

For this you’re going to need to download the following programs

StaxRip

.Net Framework 2.0

Nero Digital audio suite (This has a 30-day free trial, however if you own Nero 6+ you can download this for free))

Once you have all three programs installed (StaxRip doesn’t have an installer, which is great so you can just unzip and run) you’ll be greeted by Staxrip’s main screen.

Okay, Now its time to get started! Depending on what kind of file you have been handed, weather it’s a Quicktime MOV, Mpeg file, or AVI, Staxrip can take them all!

In the top left box, labeled SOURCE, click the drop down arrow and select “OPEN FILE”. Select the file that you want to be encoded. This will be your source that you export out of the editor, like Final Cut or any other NLE that you are using.

Since this is your first time using StaxRip, it will prompt you to download the applications that are needed to run the encoding job. Since every encoding job is different You’ll just have to trust StaxRip that it will notify you when you need to download a new utility.

In this example, these three utilities are needed. More than likely you’ll have to do this download procedure 5 or 6 times. However once you’ve downloaded the applications required for decoding/encoding, you will not have to download them again.

Now at this point the StaxRip program can look like its totally stopped/locked-up while its scanning a file, espically if its a large 1080i Mpeg-2 file. Give it time, and watch (or listen) to your hard drive fly as staxrip seeks through the file. (Note, if you have the Haaili Splitter installed, you may have some problems importing mpeg-2 TS files. The only fix I could find was un-installing Haaili splitter)

Okay, You’re halfway there! Now to the important part, changing the settings to encode your video to Mpeg-4

Go to PROFILES —> CONTAINER –> Mp4

Now go to PROFILES —> ENCODER —> XviD —> Exact File Size

Once you’ve completed this, you can set the resolution for the file. For most video files you will be working with will be Anamorphic (Remember DV 720×480 resolution is Anamorphic, and all output from HDV is 1440×1080, which is also an anamorphic format) However, you will need to change the output resolution to produce square pixels.

Huh?

Okay, i’ll save the square/non-square pixel debate for another page. To make your file more compatible, and require less resources to decode, just use this table to determine what resolution you should be using. Keep in mind that more resolution gives a sharper picture, but also increases the file size. Explaning why the pixels should be square are outside the scope of this tutorial. Oh, and the 1920×1088 isn’t a typo.

Original Resolution	Full Resolution output	1/2 resolution Output	1/4 resolution	1/8 Resolution
720×480 (4:3)	640×480	320×240	160×120	Don’t Go there!
720×480 (16:9 Anamorphic)	864×480	432×240	216×120	Don’t Go there!
1440×1080 (HDV Anamorphic)	1920×1088	960×544	480×272	240×136
1280×720 (JVC HD)	1280×720	640×360	320×180	160×90

Okay! For the rest of this tutorial, I’m going to convert my 1440×1080 Anamorphic Mpeg-2 TS captured straight out of my HDV camera to be converted to 960×544 resolution. Manually input the two dimensions in the center RESIZE box for the desired output.

Now you can use the assistant at the bottom of Staxrip to guide you through all the rest of the tweaking settings. Staxrip will reccomend what to do next for each step. Clicking on the blue text is like clicking a hyperlink and will take you to the appropriate function.

So the first thing you’ll see is that StaxRip reccomends that I should open up the cropper. If you have done some strange black bars on top and bottom (shame on you for not encoding anamorphic!) then you can trim the top and bottom portions of the video. Keep in mind, if you do crop, you’ll need to resize your video accordingly. Staxrip will still make the file the size that you encoded.

Click Next in the very bottom right hand side of the screen to continue to the next step.

Now Staxrip will cry at you that the aspect ratio is wrong! This is normal! Staxrip will assume that your input file has square pixels. DV, HDV1080i, and 1080i DVCProHD are all non square-pixel formats. This warning can be ignored. Click next to go to the next step

StaxRip will now tell you to Verify the filter setup. Don’t worry about this for now unless it asks you to add a YUV filter. Click Next.

Now it asks you if you wish to cut the file. Click the blue text when it asks for cutting if you wish to use the Cut tool. This is a nice utility if you wish to trim the ends off the file (Espically good if you encoded your file with color bars and tone, or want to remove the slate) Follow the instructions for cutting. Avid, premiere, and Final cut editors will find this familiar to set an in and out point for the encoding while in the cutting window.

Okay, now its going to run the compressibility check. This helps you to answer the question “what bitrate and file size should the file be?” Upon running the compressibility check, you’ll see the Main window dissapear and Staxrip will run the Bitrate calculator in the background (VirtualDub). Be paitent, since this step can take a while if your file is huge, or you are trying to compress a large HD file.

Okay, here is where you’ll have to do some number guessing on your part. Staxrip will inform you with a quality percentage. This quality percentage is relative to the final file size, and bit rate. For example if your set the file size parameter to 300mb, and it says that the quality is 100%, that means that There should be no visibal deterioration from the original source once it’s compressed.

However you don’t want to do that. 300mb is a large file. Not suitable for a download.

In fact, you’ll find that setting your file size to make the quality percentage equal 30% will yield a very good encode.

Even if, StaxRip yells at you and says this is too low of quality. We’re trying to create a file that could be streamed! Not a perfect copy! (However you could create an archive copy approaching 80% and above)

***WARNING***Staxrip program likes to change the resolution after you run the Bitrate quality calculator. Just set it back to whatever size we determined in the above table.

I used 26MB for the final file output size. This will produce an encode, that is half resolution of 1080i, and still streamable.

Clicking next says that you are Ready to go! But hold the horses, we have two more steps to do.

First, was your file interlaced? If it was, you’ll need to tick the “De-interlace” option on the left hand side labeled FILTERS. If you were shooting 24P, but its encoded in a 29.97 file (With cannon’s 24f, or the DVX 24pa), you can add the filter “IVTC” (Inverse Telecine) so that it will encode 23.976. However you can save yourself a lot of headache by exporting a 23.976 fps file straight out of your non linear editor. I’ve never tried doing IVTC with StaxRip, but it should work.

And, audio (Lets not forget).

To be totally Quicktime compliant, your mp4 file must consist of an Mpeg-4 video track (You’ve already set this up with Xvid), and must contain one AAC audio track.

Go to the audio portion (Track 1) Click the dropdown box on the right hand side and select

AAC—> LC VBR 110-150 kbps

Finally, at this point it would be a good time to Save this seession, in case something crashes, goes wrong, or the power goes out.

FILE —> SAVE PROJECT

A dialog box will pop up asking you where you want to save the RIP file. At any time do you need to perform this encoding again, you can just open up the rip file, and click go.

You’re ready to encode!

Just click the final Next, and the encoder will kick off. Depending on your machine speed, and settings, it could take as short as a couple of minutes, to a whole day (if you decide to encode a full 90 minute movie).

Here is a 50mb sample of 1080i being downconverted to 720P

Now, you can upload these files any way you please, and they are totally quicktime compatible. Not only that, most Linux and Windows users will love you, because you wont have to install Quicktime to view your work.

Here are a list of players and decoders that are compatible with your newly created Mp4 file.

foobar2000

iTunes

KSP Sound Player

Media Player Classic

Mplayer

Nero Media Player

QuickTime Player

RealPlayer

VLC media player

Winamp

Alex Mejia is an award-winning graphic artist with over 7 years professional expierence. He currently runs his own freelance company called TAV Productions with a full production crew.

Posted by Alex Mejia on Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 8:27 pm.