To talk about transcoding video files in an accessible way, you need to deal with some important terms in this matter. Especially mention the codecs. Surely everyone at least once heard this definition, but not many can explain its essence. What are codecs? If you do not go into highly specialized terms, then we can say that the essence of the work of such programs is to encode and decode information. We can talk about both video and audio files. In fact, each such codec is a special algorithm used for encryption. Each format has its own algorithm.
Codecs and Players
In order to watch the video, we also need the appropriate codecs. In an effort to ease the task for users, most developers release players where they are already built. An example is Media Player Classic, which can recognize and play almost any format. In rare cases, most often after a complete (or incorrectly performed) reinstallation of the OS, an error may appear when playing a particular file. Its content, as a rule, refers to the absence of the necessary codecs in the system. You can solve this problem by downloading them additionally. By a search query on the Internet, you can find not only individual programs of this kind, but also entire packages containing a set of the most popular codecs.
How to transcode a video and why do it?
There are times when the user needs one specific video file format. There may be various reasons for this. One of them is the need to reduce the size due to transcoding. This is due to the fact that legacy codecs have an imperfect encryption algorithm. And the video made using them takes up much more space than it could. And you can inadvertently download a file on the Web with an extension inconvenient for viewing. Not so long ago, many did not know how to play VLC video, which not every media player can figure out. And although this problem is now irrelevant, it explains the desire of people to learn how to transcode a video.
Easy conversion with AutoGK
At the moment, MPEG-2 can be considered obsolete encoding. A utility called AutoGordianKnot (AutoGK) will help turn such a video into an easy and modern XviD format. The program takes a little more than 11MB on the hard drive, is free and fairly easy to use. The interface is in English, but almost intuitive, so basic knowledge of the language is enough for work. During installation, it is recommended to leave all the default settings with the exception of one: when a window appears with a choice of chipsets, you need to select ESS.
Now the main thing remains - to learn how to transcode a video using this utility. We assume that it is already installed on the computer. So, firstly, we’ll launch our AutoGK video transcoder. Note that here you can immediately select the directories (two columns at the top), where the source file is taken from and where its final version is saved after conversion. Fill these lines manually, or click on the button next to each and specify the finished folder. Just below the left you need to select the preferred size for the final file. If it is a movie, then it needs a minimum of 1.4 GB. There are also additional options on the right that can be used to improve picture quality.
Detailed example
Now step by step we will learn how to transcode a video using an example of a DVD movie disc. Select the top column to indicate where the source file comes from. In the case of this format, you need to look for it in the VIDEO_TS folder. Usually it contains several files with the extension .IFO. Some may contain advertising, other menus, but you need to choose the one that takes up the most space. This is probably the film itself. If there are several films, then when you open the file, this will be shown as a list. In this case, you will have to convert each separately. After the video file is opened, its characteristics will be shown to us: audio tracks and their number, presence or absence of subtitles, duration, aspect ratio.
In the event that there are several audio tracks, tick only the opposite of those of interest. This will improve the quality of the future film. Now we write the name for the final file and select the directory for its location (second column above). After that, it will be possible to set the desired size. For example, to make a film in two parts at once, so that it would be easier in the future to burn it to a CD. In the advanced settings, select the XviD codec. The rest can be left by default, but for better quality it is better to set the sound to Original or CBR. Next, press the key combination Ctrl + F9 to open another additional menu. The only thing to check here is the presence of a checkmark at the bottom opposite the ESS.
Apply the changes made and click Add Job. After that, you can do the same with other films on the disc. Then several tasks will appear in the list. At the moment there is only one. You can start its execution using the adjacent Start button. That's all, now it remains only to wait until the long process comes to an end.