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Do you use XVID

Yes: 6
No: 0
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03/09/2010 10:01:38

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		XVID is probably going to be the easiest and most accessible codec to use with Muvizu - in fact its the one that we use in house as it does produce good quality, reliable results with a small file size. However the main reason that XVID is recommended is that it is a completly free codec and since it is open source it is available for all the major platforms (Windows, MacOS, Unix, Linux).

I won't bog you down with the technical details of XVID that dosn't really matter to much, and there is a lot of good information already available else where online (see links below). Instead I would like to cover some basic usage tips, tricks and confirgurations to help you use XVID and then, if people are interested and ask questions, deal with the technical details.

--
Direct, don't animate!
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03/09/2010 10:01:57

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		1. How do I install and use XVID?
There are a few ways that you can install XVID. The first is to install XVID only, which can be downloaded from http://www.koepi.info/xvid.html or you can do a google search for a codec pack, K-Lite Codec pack is probably one of the best but we'd recommend you use the "Full" version as this will give you the best compatibility with a wide range of codecs (including XVID). Once you have installed XVID and made sure it is configured properly (the default should work fine, but double checking does not hurt - see question #4 for configuration help with this) then all you need to do is open Muvizu (or open a previously save set file) and after you have recorded some events to the timeline (to test it out create a second camera and just record 2 or 3 cuts between camera one and two) you can then go to "Video -> Make Movie". At this point you will need to click on the "Options" button and then select "XVID MPEG-4 Codec" from the drop down list. Thats it. All you then need to do is click on "Make Movie" enter a file name and let Muvizu render out the final video.

2. How to access XVID encoding config?
This is easy. Just go to Start -> Programs -> XVID -> XVID encoder. This will open up a configuration window.

3. How do I hide the "Encoding status" window?
This window can be pretty annoying, especially if you are rendering out serveral clips in a row. To turn this off just follow the steps in question #2 and then click on the "other options" button. This will open a dialog box with a check box that is labelled "Display encoding status". Uncheck this box and the status window will not be shown again. If you want to see this then just do the opposit and make sure it is checked.

4. XVID crashes Muvizu or won't render out an AVI file
This is usually caused by the configuration of the codec being set to the wrong values. The standard configuration works the best. If you do have any problems (crashes, AVIs won't render or playback) you just need to follow the steps listed in question 1 to open the config window and the click on "Load Defaults" if you have any problems with this here are the defaults (as they appear on my system).

Profile @ Level : Unrestricted
Encoding Type: Single Pass
Target Quantizer : 4.0
Target bitrate: 700kbps
Frame #: 0
Weight Quant: W 1.00
Quality preset: General Purpose

5. The final AVI rendered by Muvizu has glitches and artifacts when I skip forwards or backwords during playback.
This problem is not directly caused by Muvizu but rather by the Video For Windows library that Muvizu uses to create AVI files. The technical reasons behind this are not really that important as the work around is pretty easy. All you need to do is re-encode the final output AVI from Muvizu, using the same codec. The easiest way to do this is to use a free piece of kit called "Virtual Dub" see http://www.virtualdub.org Once you have installed this free and open source video editor all you need to do is drag and drop the AVI outputted from Muvizu (or use File -> Open if your prefer) and then go to the "Video" menu clicking on the "Compression" option. This is similiar to clicking on the "Options" button on the "Make Video" dialog of Muvizu and will let you pick from a list of codecs install on your system. On this "Compression" dialog in Virtual Dub you will want to select XVID from the list and say OK. All you then need to do is to go to the "File" menu and select "Save AVI as.." and enter a new file name (the way virtual dub works it will not allow you to overwrite the file it is currently reading from) and then let it do its rendering thing. Once this has completed you can skip forwards and backwords in a Media player with no glitches or artifacts at all.

--
Direct, don't animate!
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03/09/2010 10:02:22

JamieMuvizu staff
Jamie
(Account inactive)
Posts: 609 		Useful Links

Background infomation, history and some technical details:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xvid

Codec download:-
http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html or http://www.koepi.info/xvid.html

--
Direct, don't animate!
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03/09/2010 10:13:26

freakmoomin
freakmoomin
Posts: 272 		Xvid is great for a straight output from muvizu and its the one i would defo recommend aswell.

but if your wanting to do post work on your movies then id prob steer clear, its not very edit friendly....im still yet to find the best codec for this
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03/09/2010 18:59:00

MattHawkins
MattHawkins
Posts: 1 		For getting stuff onto Youtube then XVID is fine but I 'm also interested in the best option for doing post work.

If anyone has got any thoughts then let us know!

I'm planning on using Muvizu to generate characters for a stop motion animation. It will be a blend of stop motion, Bryce landscapes and Muvizu.
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03/09/2010 23:11:23

barrys
barrys
Posts: 102 		Matt - avoid XVID for post work. Your best bet is Motion-JPEG for post-work.



http://www.muvizu.com/Forum/topic492-motion-jpeg-dont-overlook-it.aspx




Barry
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