Settings – Encoder
Video
Valid for: Output to TV, Mobile, PS3 and Xbox
DVD-Ranger uses predefined profiles which will suit most encoding scenarios. In order to better suit your specific needs you are given the possibility to adapt each profile in a specified way. For Video you can change:
| 1. Video Codec |
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DVD-Ranger will show you the video codecs you can use. Most popular codec’s are:
MPEG-4 AVC (h.264), MPEG-4 ASP, WMV, and MJPEG…
Not all codec’s are available for all devices or video containers (avi, mp4, mkv, dpg…), so you will only see the usable subset of codecs for the selected profile.
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| 2. Frame Width |
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This is the frame width (size) in pixel. DVD-Ranger will select the height of the video according to the aspect ratio and/or device capabilities. DVD-Ranger will show you a selection of sizes that are possible for the selected profile and device.
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| 3. Frame Rate |
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Frame rate, or frame frequency, is the frequency (rate) at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. In most profiles you can change the frame rate. DVD-Ranger usually uses the original frame rate. But you can select your own. Like for small mobile copies you can select “15 fps” because on small screens you will not be able to see the difference. For the sizes bigger than 428 pixels we recommend using the original frame rate.
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| 4. Bitrate |
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The bitrate is directly related to the quality of the movie. Higher values produce better quality. Note: file size will also increase with higher bitrate settings.
You will have to play a little with these settings in order to find a configuration suiting your taste and needs. The preselected bitrates are thoroughly tested on huge test equipment in our lab, so they already represent a good tradeoff between quality and size.
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| 5. Max. Bitrate |
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| Mobile devices have an upper limit on the bitrate in the movie which may not be exceeded, because DVD-Ranger uses a variable bitrate, an unrestrained bitrate can explode. With this setting, you can set the upper limit (max. bitrate) that DVD-Ranger will not exceed.
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Audio
Valid for: Output to TV, Mobile, PS3 and Xbox
DVD-Ranger uses predefined profiles which will suit most encoding scenarios. In order to better suit your specific needs you are given the possibility to adapt each profile in a specified way. For Audio you can change:
| 6. Audio Codec |
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DVD-Ranger will show you the video codecs you can use. Most popular codec’s are:
MPEG-4 AVC (h.264), MPEG-4 ASP, WMV, and MJPEG…
Not all codec’s are available for all devices or video containers (avi, mp4, mkv, dpg…), so you will only see the usable subset of codecs for the selected profile.
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| 7. Sample Rate |
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The highest frequency which can be reproduced by an audio stream is half the sample rate of that stream. The native sample rate of the DVD is 48000 Hz which will reproduce sounds up to 24000 Hz. For lower quality encodings you can choose lower sample rates. Not all devices support all standard sample rates so you will see only those supported by your device. It is recommended to keep the original 48000 Hz sample rate for encodings with bitrates of 128K or higher.
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| 8. Bitrate |
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The bitrate is directly related to the quality of the movie. Higher values produce better quality. Note: file size will also increase with higher bitrate settings. You will have to play a little with these settings in order to find a configuration suiting your taste and needs. The preselected bitrates are tested on in our lab, so they already represent a good tradeoff between quality and size.
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| 9. Channels |
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You can choose between stereo (2 channels) and mono (1 channel). It is recommended to leave the stereo setting. Mono should only be used for very low bitrate (and thus low quality) encodings or for mobile devices having a single speaker or which do not have the possibility to attach headphones.
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| 10. Volume |
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| With this option you can increase or decrease the audio volume of the current movie. Sometimes increasing it may help while traveling; you can change between 74% of the original volume (decrease) up to 150% (increase).
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GPU Acceleration
Valid for: Output to TV, Mobile, PS3 and Xbox.
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit that is capable of rendering graphics much more quickly than a central (micro-) processor. Currently only NVIDIA CUDA is supported.
| 11. Encoding Engine |
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If GPU acceleration is available you will see a green checkmark next to the image. If GPU acceleration is not available, the image is grayed and you see a red cross instead. To activate GPU acceleration (If available) select the “Fast Cuda” option. Please note that the software encoder usually offers a higher quality (for the same bitrate) at the expense of some speed.
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Additional
Valid: Output to TV, Mobile, PS3 and Xbox
Additional settings DVD-Ranger offers you.
| 12. Performance |
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Compared to our competitors we optimize the profiles inside DVD-Ranger very professionally. All normally available profiles were hand-optimized in thousands of work hours to bring you the best results. In consequence we added an additional parameter called “Performance” to our settings, which lets you select the tradeoff between quality and speed. You may wish to do a slow conversion with a high quality or encode something quickly with a somewhat lower quality.
We highly recommend checking out some values of that performance setting in order to find out your favorite one.
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| 13. Zoom |
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Most movies have a small active area with some black bars above and below, the so called “letterboxes”. For devices with a small display it might be annoying to forfeit the valuable space occupied by the letterboxes and having to look at a very small movie. Therefore we have implemented the zoom (1) setting where you are given the possibility to choose the original aspect ratio. Doing so will zoom in the film and thereby remove the black letterboxes. But due to the zoom some information on the sides will also be cut out.
Usually the Cinemascope zoom will remove the letterboxes from most films. You may try out your settings by clicking “Start Now!” and then “Cancel” after some seconds without deleting what has been encoded so far. You can then view the encoded video in an external player to see whether the actual zoom setting really suits your needs.
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| 14. Deinterlacer |
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What is a Deinterlacer? If the generated video displays lines during playback, the original video was “interlaced” (see Fig. 1). In this case, select the “Deinterlace” option.
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| 15. Change FourCC |
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This option is only available with XviD MPEG4 inside an AVI container (*.avi) video file. Some old fashioned players do not support all DivX/Xvid versions so it is possible that you have to opt for another FourCC. Available FourCCs are “DX50”, “XVID”, and “DIVX” where “DX50” is selected by default. If you want to change the FourCC we recommend checking this with your player manual.
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| 16. MediaCenter Compatible |
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| If you activate this option, DVD-Ranger will create a folder for each movie with the same Name as the target video file. Sample: You Save as “C:DVDRangerMyVideo.avi”, DVD-Ranger will save it to: “C:DVDRangerMyVideoMyVideo.avi”.
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Save Settings
Valid for: All
Only available after you select an ISO or HDD target. This option will disappear if you select a target recording device instead.
| 17. Save As |
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This is the path where you want to save your copy to. DVD-Ranger will recommend a path, mostly the path used before in combination with the actual DVD name. Click inside this field and you will see a button to open a file/directory selection dialog.
If the settings panel is closed or this field is blank, DVD-Ranger will automatically ask for a target path/file before it starts copying.
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