Basic
Half of the File page is devoted to either the Basic or Advanced options window. Use the tabs at the top of the window to flip between the two. If you ask the doctor to perform the same job every time, you can usually create a custom profile that is easily invoked from the Basic window. That should spare you from having to venture into the Advanced options very often.
Input File(s) Open
You can drag and drop a file almost anywhere near the Input file list box. You can also click on the Open button or press Ctrl-O on your keyboard to browse for the input file you want.
Despite the way it looks, the doctor only works on one file at a time except for multipart VOB files (see below). Just drop one file at a time into Dr. DivX, choose your options, press the Encode button, and only then move on to the next patient.
Every time you open an input file, Dr. DivX will setup the default encoding settings that you selected on the Preferences page. If you have a favorite recipe of encoding settings, use the Save Encode Settings feature to save yourself some typing.
Input Multiple VOB
Sometimes video files are broken into multiple parts. This is often the case with VOB files (Video Object files) that you find on DVDs. Dr. DivX is trained to handle multi-part VOBs. All you need do is select all the parts. Use the Open button, browse for the VOB files, and then select all of them. The doctor will put them in the right order based on the file names. Usually the names are something like VTS_01_1.VOB followed by VTS_01_2.VOB and so on.
There's no need to throw in other files like VTS_01_0.IFO. The doctor only knows how to deal with VOB files.
Audio Track(s)
Some video files, like VOBs, can include multiple audio tracks. Just like snazzy DVDs, DivX also allows for multiple audio tracks, so the doctor lets you choose which audio tracks should be included in the output file. If you are not bilingual or you are space conscious then you probably only want one audio track. Either way, just check off the tracks you want included in the output file.
Audio Track Playback
To help you figure out what language option to set for each audio track, Dr. DivX provides some playback controls you can use to preview the selected audio. Simply press the play button to hear some of the track. You can also jump forward or backward a few seconds if you need to skip around a bit.
Audio Track Selection
Next to the Audio Track(s) list, there is a Select button which allows you to specify the order which the audio tracks will be included in the output file.
As you check off each track on the Select Tracks list, you can also specify the track language and caption code from the drop down lists near the bottom of the window. Your choices here don't really matter as far as the doctor is concerned, but when later decide to playback your DivX file, you'll be able to tell which track you want to listen to based on the choices you make here.
Subtitle Track(s)
[This might sound familiar.]
Some video files, like VOBs, can include multiple subtitle tracks. DivX also allows for multiple subtitle tracks, so the doctor lets you choose which subtitle tracks should be included in the output file. If you are space conscious then you probably don't want any subtitles. Either way, just check off the tracks you want included in the output file.
Subtitle Track Playback Controls
The rewind, play, stop and fast forward buttons on the Subtitle Track Selection page are always grayed out. They don't do anything. They are decorative.
Subtitle Track Selection
Next to the Subtitle Track(s) list, there is a Select button which allows you to specify the order which the subtitle tracks will be included in the output file.
As you check off each track on the Select Tracks list, you can also specify the track language and caption code from the drop down lists near the bottom of the window. Just like the audio tracks, your choices for the subtitle tracks don't really matter, but when you later decide to playback your DivX file, you'll be able to tell which subtitles you want to read based on the choices you make here.
DivX Certified Profiles
As the DivX codec grew into a popular standard, hardware manufactures realized its potential in the consumer market and developed devices claiming to be DivX Compatible.
In truth, these players would typically support only some versions of DivX and even then only limited features from those versions. The capabilities of hardware devices claiming DivX compatibility varied so widely that it became a hit-and-miss affair attempting to encode DivX video that could be played consistently well on all of them. That's why DivXNetworks designed a system of profiles for DivX Certified devices.
By selecting one of the four available profile modes, you instruct Dr. DivX to constrain to the minimum capabilities of devices certified for that profile. Encoder features unsupported by any given profile will be automatically disabled and the encoder will produce only video streams suitable for the certified device.
If you are particularly interested in the technical differences between the minimum requirements of the standard profiles, you'll find all the gory details in the following four sub-sections.
Handheld
- 176 x 144 at 15 fps
- 1485 macroblocks per second
- 200 kbps average
- 800 kbps peak
- 32 KB buffer
High Definition
- 1280 x 720 at 30 fps
- 108000 macroblocks per second
- 8000 kbps average
- 32000 kbps peak
- 768 KB buffer
- Bi-directional encoding
- Optional interlaced video
Home Theater
- 720 x 480 at 30 fps
- 40500 macroblocks per second
- 4000 kbps average
- 8000 kbps peak
- 384 KB buffer
- Bi-directional encoding
- Optional interlaced video
Portable
- 352 x 240 at 30 fps or 352 x 288 at 25 fps
- 9900 macroblocks per second
- 768 kbps average
- 4000 kbps peak
- 138 KB buffer
- Bi-directional encoding
Quality
The Quality setting provides an easy pick for rushed users. Save yourself a bunch of reading by simply choosing Balanced quality and press the Encode button. Now you can skip ahead to chapter 3.
Still here? You may have noticed that Dr. DivX chose a set of advanced encoding options that produced a decent quality video in a reasonable amount of time. It's not the best that DivX can do, but you won't lament about wasting your youth watching a progress bar labeled, encoding.
Would you rather get the best possible picture and you don't care about how long it takes? Move all the way down the options to the Insane Quality setting. On the other hand, if you are really pressed for time, set the quality to Fastest and Dr. DivX will work as quickly as possible. The resulting video may not look stellar, but you'll get it quick.
With 6 levels of quality to choose from, you can test exactly how patient you are. If you want it bad, you'll get it bad and the worse you want it, the worse you'll get it.
Constrain to Fixed Size
You may have realized by now that most video files are not small. Movies are huge chunks of data compared to almost everything else on your computer. In fact, this user guide is about a thousand times smaller than your typical film.
Storing lots of DivX files may be a challenge for you, so Dr. DivX provides the file size constraint to help you out. Just tell the doctor the maximum size you can tolerate and Dr. DivX will choose the right mix of settings to get the best quality video possible without exceeding your size limit. This is particularly handy if you are trying to squeeze a movie on to a 128 Meg memory card or if you'd like to burn a two hour film onto a 700 Meg CD.
Someday, Dr. DivX will allow you to split your videos into multiple files. You see, some folks would like to store long movies on CDs but they find the quality is a tad disappointing if the entire film is limited to 700 Meg. Output file splitting is just what they need. For example, most feature length movies can be divided into 2 files of less than 700 Meg which can then be burned onto two CDs. Unfortunately, this feature is not currently implemented in Dr. DivX so the file count is always 1 and you can't change it.
Custom Profile
If you fancy yourself a video connoisseur, then simply picking from a pile of default options will never suffice. That's why Dr. DivX features custom profiles. Whip up your favorite recipe of advanced settings and then use the Save Encode Settings button to create your own custom profile. The doctor will store your settings in the Profile Folder. Then you can apply them over and over again with just a few mouse clicks