I've been planning on doing this for a while, and since ebc did a guide for Gordian Knot I did one for Virtualdub.
TOOLS
VirtualdubMPG2VirtualdubMODLAME mp3 codec (Rightclick on LameACM.inf and select "Install". If it asks you for a disc, select the folder that you just unzipped.)
Subtitler filter for virtualdub (All you need to do is copy subtitler.vdf into the PLUGINS\ directory in the VirtualDub program directory)
First of all you need a version of Virtualdub.
I use plain Virtualdub for most things, and VirtualdubMPG2 for mpg2.
There's also VirtualdubMOD which has a different menu layout for it's audio streams so I try and stick with the first 2.
Virtualdub can handle most types of avi and mpg1.
VirtualdubMPG2 is the same but can also handle mpg2 and vob.
VirtualdubMOD can handle everything the first 2 can as well as the more weird filetypes like .mkv(matroska).
None of them will do wmv. There's an older version of Virtualdub that people say will do wmv, but I've tried it and it doesn't.
It's also advisable to have the LAME mp3 codec if you're planning on encoding any mpg files, otherwise you can only use the crappy windows codec which will only allow a crappy 56kbps.
BASIC (RE-)ENCODING.
Open virtualdub, and open the file you wish to encode (file-open video file, and select the file). A shortcut to using the file menu is simply to drag and drop the file onto Virtualdub.
VIDEO MENU
Make sure 'full processing mode' is selected, then select 'compression' and select your encoding type. I assume most people will want to encode to divX/xvid. I use divX. Xvid doesn't seem to have any noticeable benefits over divX and uses more processor power - not a problem to me now but with my old pc I was forever re-encoding xvid to divx so I could watch it and there's still people who's pc's struggle with xvid.
![](http://uranus.jphip.net/dan/vdub1.jpg)
In mine, I choose "DivXR 6.0 Codec", other people may have it listed as 5.0 not 6.0. I also have an entry for "DivXR 6.0 YV12 Codec". Don't choose that by mistake or you'll maybe find people don't have the codec to play it!
When you've selected that, click "configure" and then enter the bitrate.
CHOOSING A BITRATE
A performance would need a higher bitrate than something less lively like a talk.
A bitrate of 1200 would give you approx 10mb per minute, good enough for a talk.
A bitrate of 2400 would give you approx 20mb per minute and for a 3 min performance would give a file of around 60mb.
A bitrate of 3600 would give a file of around 90mb for a 3 min performance.
(bitrates based on the assumption that you're encoding at 640x480. For higher/lower screen resolution you can raise/lower the bitrate accordingly.)
Choose your bitrate depending on the contents of the video. To stay good quality anything with fast movements need a higher bitrate. Something with less movement like a video with a fixed camera (like some of the flets or a dance shot pv) where the background doesnt move and so has less movement won't need such a high bitrate.)
![](http://uranus.jphip.net/dan/vdub2.jpg)
AUDIO MENU
If you're re-encoding an avi you can select 'direct stream copy' and 'source audio' and you don't have to choose a bitrate. This will use the original audio with no re-encoding. This is fine for all avi's except for maybe something you capped yourself that might have wav audio which would need re-encoding.
For mpg files or avi's that need the audio re-encoding, select 'source' audio', 'full processing mode' and 'compression' to get to the compression menu. Select Lame MP3. If you don't have it then install it!
Select a bitrate.
For music I recommend 192kbps. Actually you can use 192 for everything, but if you're trying to keep filesize down then you can use something lower for mainly speech-based or longer files, I'd recommend 128. Using lower bitrates, for example 56kbps can sometimes result in the video getting out of sync.
In the picture you can see I've selected 192kbps. You'll see that to the right it says 24KB/s. When I was using win98 it would only display the KB/s and not the kbps. If this happens for you then just remember that 24KB/s = 192, etc..., or refer to the pic.
![](http://uranus.jphip.net/dan/vdub3.jpg)
At this stage, for a basic encode you can now select "save as avi" in the file menu and Virtualdub will start to re-encode your file.
Unticking 'show input video' and 'show output video' speeds things up a bit. If it's using too much of your processor you can lower the priority. Lowering it from 'normal' to the next lowest setting makes little or no difference to the time it takes to encode.
While you're encoding it'd a very good idea not to have winamp, media player, or any other audio/video players running. Unless you have a very fast pc the progs might freeze.
HOWEVER, WAIT A MOMENT, before you save the file you probably might want to do other stuff first such as resize, crop, change the aspect ratio of an incorrectly encoded file, deinterlace, encode a video with subtitles or whatever, so before you save the file you'll want to add some filters... I'll deal with filters in the next post.