7.1. Encoding 2-pass MPEG-4 ("DivX")
Prev | Chapter 7. Encoding with MEncoder | Next

## 7.1. Encoding 2-pass MPEG-4 ("DivX")

The name comes from the fact that this method encodes the file twice. The first encoding (dubbed pass) creates some temporary files (`*.log`) with a size of few megabytes, do not delete them yet (you can delete the AVI). In the second pass, the 2-pass output file is created, using the bitrate data from the temporary files. The resulting file will have much better image quality. If this is the first time you heard about this, you should consult some guides available on the net.

Example 7.1. copy audio track

2-pass encode of a DVD to an MPEG-4 ("DivX") AVI while copying the audio track.

    mencoder dvd://2 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vpass=1 -oac copy -o movie.avi
    mencoder dvd://2 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vpass=2 -oac copy -o movie.avi

Example 7.2. encode audio track

2-pass encode of a DVD to an MPEG-4 ("DivX") AVI while encoding the audio track to MP3.

    mencoder dvd://2 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vpass=1 -oac mp3lame -lameopts vbr=3 -o movie.avi
    mencoder dvd://2 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vpass=2 -oac mp3lame -lameopts vbr=3 -o movie.avi

Prev | Up | Next
Chapter 7. Encoding with MEncoder | Home | 7.2. Encoding to MPEG format