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Request: Edits and Xvids - file size limits help

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 (Edited)

Hi all

With all the worthy editing being undertaken lately, I was wondering if I could put out a call/request to all the budding editors on this forum.

I notice on Myspleen that most of the torrents for completed SW edits are full DVD files (4 gig files). I was wondering if it would be possible for someone (possibly Rikter, as he seems to be the guru! ) to convert them to more manageable/downloadable Xvid files for those of us who would prefer to d/l smaller (ie 600mb) files?

I don’t have the best connection here and I know others will probably be in the same boat. Smaller files would definitely be a way to get your excellent edits out to more people and I know I for one, would be able to d/l them much more easily than their 4 gig counterparts.

So for those near to finishing their work, would you be kind enough to make Xvid versions of your work when hosting them on Myspleen? And for existing edits, can anyone convert them now to get the ball rolling?

I feel like I’m missing out on a tonne of good editing because the files are simply too big.

Thanks

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get a friend to download them for you.

you could just have them burn it for you.

burners are like 25 bucks now. not that big a deal.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v167/bgiffen/bigbluerig.jpg
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I agree. There are so many edits out there that many of us want to give a chance, but there are only so many torrenting hours in a day.
Most we probably won't see more than once.

I think everyone should release an Xvid version that people can sample and decide if they want to commit to a version 6x larger.

Dr. M

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Originally posted by: BigBlueRig
get a friend to download them for you.

you could just have them burn it for you.

burners are like 25 bucks now. not that big a deal.


Burning it isn't a problem. I have a d/l burner. The problem is the torrents take like 2 weeks to d/l. I don't know whether not enough people are seeding it or what, but when I downloaded ADM's ANH, it took way too long for me to try and do it again.

Xvid technology is better suited to file transfer and it isn't that hard to encode edits into avi's for ease of d/l.

I guess I'm just looking to make things easier for people (including myself) and not exclude them from the awesome work being undertaken by many editors on this forum......

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That's pretty funny as I have seen sooooooooo many ppl whining for the opposite, anyone who puts up an xvid nowadays is usually barraged with a billion requests for a DVD version so that there is no loss in quality. And to be honest I agree with those people, I download edits to add to my permanent collection not just to "give them a chance"! Regardless of the editing quality I want the video quality to be top notch when watching in my DVD player, as movies are meant to be seen, not on my pc, not on my hdd, but in my collection with a case and cover!
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I'm a quality-whore so I love all the DVD versions that get released. However, I rarely use torrents to get them as they do take forever for me (512k does not equal broadband). All of the edits/fan-preservations that I have on DVD-Rs are either freebies from generous people or trades/PiF chains.

I can understand where you're coming from about wanting a smaller file to see if it's worth comitting to downloading a DVD version. I have been thinking lately that MP4's might be a good way to go. Instead of Xvid there could be an MP4 version (which would be around the same size as an Xvid or less) and then two criteria would be fulfilled:
1. There is a smaller version of an edit to sample before trying to get a DVD-R version
2. That smaller version would be in iPod/PSP format and would allow people to watch the video on the go.

Is that such a bad idea? I think a few of OCP's projects have versions like this ("Return of the Ewok" and "The Thief and the Cobbler: Recobbled Cut" spring to mind).

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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I think many here are mistaken.
I don't think editors are being asked to discontinue releasing DVD format. I wouldn't want that either.
We're only asking that they make a smaller format available as well.

Dr. M

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I have used the XviD format before (check here and here). My reasoning in these cases is that capturing a low quality or VHS source, you gain little or no benefit from the higher bitrates used for DVD-spec MPEG-2 (basically, you are encoding the noise more accurately!).

Darth Editous did a DivX version of his ANH edit. DivX conversions of DVDs from Cowclops and ADigitalMan have appeared on Demonoid. Deleted Magic and Building Empire are available as XviD files on the eDonkey P2P network.

The beauty of Xvid is that I can download a 700MB file from Usenet in under 10 minutes, whack it on a rewritable disc and watch it on my DVD player (that supports MPEG-4 playback). Because my upload is much slower, if I was to download a full DVD off a torrent site, I would need to keep seeding for at least 24 hours to get a 1:1 ratio. The casual downloader is therefore much more likely to check out an edit if it's a smaller format.

Many think that DivX or XviD = crap quality. In fact, when encoded properly, with due care taken with resolution and DRF values, the result can be near-DVD quality.

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Originally posted by: klokwerk
I have been thinking lately that MP4's might be a good way to go. Instead of Xvid there could be an MP4 version (which would be around the same size as an Xvid or less) and then two criteria would be fulfilled:
1. There is a smaller version of an edit to sample before trying to get a DVD-R version
2. That smaller version would be in iPod/PSP format and would allow people to watch the video on the go.
You have your terminology slightly confused. MP4 is just a container format, like AVI. Xvid is an MPEG-4 video codec.

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Oops. I'm not good with all the latest codec stuff. I get everything muddled.

To contact me outside the forum, for trades and such my email address is my OT.com username @gmail.com

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Not to worry. I've just found out that Xvid no longer has a capital D at the end!

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I think you were referring to x264/H.264/AVC (which is all about the same thing). The quality of which can be fan-frickin'-tastic done correctly.
Ask the HD/BluRay people who made it part of the new standards (and anime buffs).
Bundled with 5.1 HE-AAC audio in an mkv container (mp4 as a container really isn't as nice), you can keep a manageable file size for a beautiful looking/sounding movie.

The downside is people ALWAY bitch about it not being divx/xvid/playable on their Xbox/Standalone divx-DVD player. It can also be a slow encoding comparatively if you don't have dual 64bit cores and Niagara Falls channeled across your CPU.

That said, given a choice I'll always lean toward an x264 over Xvid because it IS the future of compressed video and is very very very nearly ready for primetime.

Dr. M

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Originally posted by: Doctor M
I think many here are mistaken.
I don't think editors are being asked to discontinue releasing DVD format. I wouldn't want that either.
We're only asking that they make a smaller format available as well.


Exactly.

Its only a small request.
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I agree about the xvid thing. I really wish more edits were released this way. Especially after I have painstakingly downloaded a few that turned out to be awful edits. If they were in xvid format I would put a lot more effort to download them. Then they could be watched and deleted if they are not worth hanging onto, or they could be downloaded in a higher quality format if they are worth keeping.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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agreed. there should definitely be xvid versions of edits distributed as well. we've all downloaded one or the other edit for 2 weeks, just to find out that the editor messed up.

this would not happen, if there were previews.


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Ok, I am a hypocrite. I'll admit that now.

As a result I put some determination into fixing some technical problems (as discussed in my Matrix Hacked thread) and successfully produced an .avi version of v2 of Matrix Reloaded Hacked.

I know it's an old edit (6-7 months) but if there IS interest I will find a torrent place for it (followed afterwards with Matrix Revolutions Hacked).

Dr. M

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Well I think it might be taxing on the editors but I have been swayed a small version would be nice in conjunction with the full dvd version.
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Originally posted by: DarthBalls1138
Well I think it might be taxing on the editors...


Not really. It only takes a few inputs into a program like Gordian Knot and over night, vwa la, you have a nice (and high quality) 600mb version of your edit.
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Originally posted by: Dantha Fodder
vwa la

You can tell who's not Canadian...

The sound is right, but it's spelled "voila" (probably with an A-grave that I can't manage here). Please, oh please evangelize those poor bastards who say and/or spell it "wallah" or "wala" or "viola"!!

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I've taken to saying "viola."
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Originally posted by: Karyudo
Originally posted by: Dantha Fodder
vwa la

You can tell who's not Canadian...


Bloody oathe I'm not Canadian.

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Uh, yeah... So this xvid thing could be really good for those of us with pathetic internet speeds. I wish fanedited would use this for their new rapidshared method. Those would go together excellently. The worst thing for us slow speed people is dual-layer, which seems to be getting more and more common. When you complain about it everybody just says to dl it and shrink it yourself, it is not shrinking that is the trouble, it is the downloading.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape