AUTO GORDIAN KNOT ILLUSTRATED GUIDE 4 dummies
DVD to AVI
by dap & js

If you are looking for our AutoGK guide on MPEG2 to AVI, get it from www.rita.LT 

     Introduction:  This guide is very basic, we wrote it so that beginners could follow the steps easily (even though the program itself is very easy, we still get questions) - we do not go into any of the advanced or hidden options.  If you would like to know more about how to “tweak” AutoGK or use advanced options, you should read the information in the Tutorial included with full versions of AutoGK, or visit the FAQ on Auto GK at the home site:  http://autogk.net .  If you find AutoGK limiting and would like a more advanced app, we recommend using Gordian Knot.  You can get Gordian Knot and our guide on it at www.rita.LT

     We would, however, like to congratulate the developer of Gordian Knot, Lenox, on releasing AutoGK, which still encodes to great quality and, in the words of Lenox:  “is designed mainly for people who know very little (or nothing) about video conversion and want to create videos for their standalones or PC in a few clicks of a mouse.”

WARNING:  Some versions of AutoGK contain adware/spyware, and below we will show you how to remove it easily. 

To remove adware:

1. Go to Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel and remove DAE

2. Open Windows Explorer (My Computer), go to C:\WINDOWS\system32 and delete dae.dll if you find this file (may disappear if you reboot after doing step 1)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1)  Auto Gordian Knot RipPack (check which is the latest on www.rita.LT)
2)  Auto Gordian Knot latest beta update (optional)
(since updates are released regularly it is difficut to post a version number here, you can always find the latest updates at www.rita.LT or www.sourceforge.net )

3) The latest version of DVD Decrypter (www.rita.LT in the Tools section or www.doom9.org)
You can also try DVDFabDecrypter or other ripping software.
4)  XviD 1.0.1 – 1.1 (included with AutoGK depending on the version of AutoGK you’re using)
5)  DivX 5.2.x Pro (recommended) or the standard DivX 5.2.x ( www.divx.com or www.rita.LT ).  AutoGK will also work with Divx 6, but we prefer DivX 5.2.1.
6) A DVDRom, a computer with at least an 800 MHz processor (but the faster the better) and 6-10 gigabytes of free space on your hard drive for one movie.

Before installing AutoGK…
More and more people have been complaining that some avi’s, usually those encoded with XviD, do not play on their standalone MPEG4 players.  This problem usually occurs for three reasons, only one of which is pertinent to AutoGK if you leave the default settings.  The first two problems stem from those who encode video using Qpel (Quarterpel) or GMC (Global Motion Compensation) when encoding, options often used in XviD settings.  AutoGK does not use these by default.  What is important when installing AutoGK if you have an avi-compatible stand-alone dvd player (commonly known as a divx player), however, is knowing whether your player has an ESS chipset or not.  If it does, it will not work with the matrices that AutoGK uses with the XviD Codec by default.  During installation of AutoGK there is an option to turn on support for ESS chipsets,  So if you have a stand-alone avi-compatible (mpeg4) dvd player and are planning to use the XviD codec to encode your video, please look up whether your player has an ESS chipset or not.

INSTALLATION

--- FIRST – install the latest full RipPack, leave the installation settings as they are by default.

--- NEXT – install the latest update, but you might need to change some installation settings so follow the steps below.  (Since AutoGK updates regularly be sure to look for the latest update version on the sites listed above)

Note that some versions of AutoGK may have slightly different options, but the installation should be clear even if your options are just a bit different.

--- When you get to “Choose components”…
If you have an avi-compatible (mpeg4) stand-alone dvd player that has an ESS chipset and you plan to use XviD, check the box marked “Support for ESS-based standalone”, or your XviD encoded avis will not play on your player.  If your player does not have an ESS chipset, do not check this option.
--- Newer versions of AutoGK give you a Bitrate spikes control option.   This is what the developers’ guide says about this option, read it and decide for yourself whether to checkmark it or not: 

Bitrate spikes control. (note not all AutoGK versions have this option, if yours doesn’t, just don’t worry about it.)  Most standalones have issues with high bitrate spikes that cause internal memory of the player to be full and do not accept more data for a short period of time. This causes pauses, skips and and shuttering. Both DivX 5.x (in the form of Home Theatre Profile) and XviD 1.1+ (in the form of VBV buffer control/profiles) support intelligent control of output buffer overflows so that this problem can be eliminated. Make sure to turn this option on if you experiencing such symptoms during playback on your standalone. Note that its not the only possible reason for having pauses and skips – users reported that by burning movies onto DVDRs instead of CDRs playback can be dramatically improved. Also quality of DVD reader in standalone players varies a lot and cheap reader can be a reason behind your problems as well (check out Doom9’s hardware forum for related discussions)

--- Continue with the installation, after the AutoGK components are installed you are given the option to install the XviD codec.  It is highly recommended to install the XviD codec that is included with AutoGK.  The automated functions of a particular version of AutoGK are designed to work with specific versions of codecs and apps.  (You should have Divx 5.1.1, DivX 5.2.x or DivX 6 installed already, if you don’t, get it from www.divx.com )

--- When you get to the part about additional tasks, we recommend that you
DO NOT check the “Decode All Supported 4CCs…” box, as it is better to have DivX decode DivX, Xvid to decode XviD, etc.

--- Complete the installation of AutoGK

--- Install the latest DVD Decrypter if you have not already done so

--- Install DivX if you have not already done so (unless you never plan on encoding with the DivX codec)

SETTING UP DVD DECRYPTER

In order to rip the dvd format files you need from your dvd to your hard drive you will use DVD Decrypter. 
(You can get it in the Tools section at www.rita.LT )

If you are using DVD Decrypter for the first time you must set it up, next time it should remember the settings.

 ---  Start DVD Decrypter

 ---  Go to Mode at the top and select IFO from the drop-down menu

 

---  Go to Tools and select Settings

---  In the Settings window click on the IFO Mode tab

---  Make sure Stream information is checked
(should be checked by default)


---  Check “Include PGC Number”

---  Check Include Angle Number

---  Click OK

Now DVD Decrypter is set and you’re ready to rip (excuse the pun).  Next time you can start straight from the yellow section on “RIPPING” below.

RIPPING

---  If you haven’t already done so, insert the dvd you’re going to rip into your DVDRom, start DVD Decrypter.

--- DVD Decrypter will usually choose the main movie for you

Under Input at the top right DVD Decrypter will have automatically chosen the longest PGC (Program Chain) for you. 

option a)  If you are ripping a movie
Except for very rare occurrences, the longest chain will be the main movie (what you will usually want).  The other PGC chains will be trailers, interviews, etc.  If you are interested in ripping any of these you will either have to view the dvd and take note of the length of the segment you want to rip, then find the PGC that matches the length of that segment among the other PGC chains and select it manually, or use a program like IFOEdit (free) to find the right one.   

option b)  If you are ripping a dvd with several episodes on it, i.e. a TV series
Again, DVD Decrypter will choose the longest one. Usually the actual episodes will be around the same length, so you can pick them out among any trailers or other miscellaneous files.  You can choose the episodes one by one, and save each PGC chain in separate destination folders (below).  If you need to find a particular episode, the best bet is to use IFOEdit. 

Choose a Destination folder
(Click the folder icon and browse to a folder you want your vobs saved to.  It is best to create a separate folder for each project you will be ripping).

 Click the green arrow to begin decrypting
 
This will take you from 10 minutes to half an hour for a standard-length movie, depending on the speed of your DVD-ROM and some other factors. 

When it is finished, you will get a popup menu informing you that DVD Decrypter has completed (you might even jump if you have your speaker volume turned up).

Close DVD Decrypter when complete

ENCODING

Now that you have the dvd format files on your hard drive, you will need to encode them from dvd format to avi.

This section of AutoGK has changed slightly, if you are using an older version of AutoGK you will still have to Select DVD input to the left.  If you are using a newer version (which does not give you an option to choose DVD input or File input to the left), skip this green section and continue below.

FOR OLDER VERSIONS:

--- Open AutoGK

--- Select DVD input at the left

---  Select the Input Directory (the directory that you ripped the VOB files to with DVD Decrypter)

---  Select the Output Directory (the directory you would like the project files and completed avi to be saved to, usually the same as the InputDirectory) and write in a filename for your final avi  (don’t use any non-standard symbols or foreign letters in the filename, you can always rename it later)

(copied from AutoGK’s official guide)

---  Select the Audio track you would like to use from the drop-down menu.
 
You will probably have audio tracks in different languages. There may also be a 6 channel AC3 (Dolby Digital 5.1), a 2 channel AC3 (DD 2.0), for older, classic films, a 1 channel AC3 (DD 1.0) and/or a

Director’s Commentary track. AutoGK cannot use DTS tracks, so ignore that if there is one. If you plan on using MP3 audio, it might be better to choose the 2 track DD 2.0 if there is one. If you’re going for 2 CDs and want the best quality audio, then choose the 6 track DD 5.1 if available.  

---  If you want subtitles with your .avi, choose one of the languages. These will be “burnt in” by default (encoded into the video), unless you choose external subtitles in the Advanced Settings.  You might also want to only include “forced subtitles,”  for instance, if your movie is English audio and it is a WWII film, you may want English subtitles when German soldiers speak, etc.  As we noted in the beginning, this guide is very basic, for external subtitles and forced subtitles please see the Tutorial included with AutoGK.

---  Select your output size

The default is set to make an avi for 2 CDs and AC3 audio (DD 5.1, or 2.0 if no 5.1 is available). If you want to put the movie onto 1 CD (somewhat lower quality, of course), then choose 1 CD, and AutoGK will make the audio as MP3 instead by default.  If you want to change these audio defaults you will need to do so in the Advanced Settings tab.   You can make a 2 CD encode for better quality or a 1 CD encode to save space, it’s your choice. 

But this is our recommendation as a guide: any video that is longer than about 1 hour 50 minutes to two hours should be 2 CD.  Never choose AC3 audio in the Advanced settings for a 1 CD standard-length movie, as it simply takes up too much space and will result in high video quality loss.  Some movies are long and/or difficult to compress, 3 CD encodes are rarely necessary

   You can also select Target quality if size is not an issue, we recommend leaving it at the default 75%, however we prefer to choose by target size and make our files convenient for burning to cd.

NOTE: "Target Quality" mode does 1-pass encoding, "Target Size" does 2-passes.

---  Click on Advanced Settings to select codec and audio options

---  If you prefer DivX then select DivX under “Codec”
(The default is set on XviD)

The choice of whether to use DivX or XviD is yours and yours alone, AutoGK will do great with both.  We use both but tend to lean toward DivX, as we backup many old movies where the source is noisy, as well and black and whites, and DivX seems to do better on those kinds of sources, XviD can be a bit strong for them and look grainy.  On the other hand XviD is known for

its crisp clear images, so if the source is nice and clear, XviD can give a sharper picture than DivX, which has a softening tendency.  We have found DivX is has fewer compatibility issues with standalone MPEG4 dvd players.  As mentioned in the note at the start of this guide, if we choose not to install the ESS support patch that comes with AutoGK because our player does not have an ESS chipset, our avis encoded with XviD will play fine on our standalone avi-player.  But when we bring them over to a friend’s house they won’t play, because his player has an ESS chipset.  But again, it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

(We recommend that beginners leave the rest of the  settings in the Advanced Options tab alone.)

If you leave the Audio on Auto, the app will choose the bitrate for you (the following is a quote from the developer’s tutorial):  If you go for more than 1 CD encode it will be included unchanged (not converted to MP3) with the video. However, if you are doing 1CD or less encode then it will be automatically converted to ABR MP3 (which is a form of VBR MP3) at 128 kbps.

---  Click OK

 ---  Click Add Job
(you should then see the title of your future avi(s) below)

(if you want to encode more than one video file without having to load it again, you can batch encode with AutoGK – make sure you have each set of vobs for each video ripped to a different folder than the first one, go back to the file input, select it and continue on and add as many jobs as you like before clicking Start)

---  Click the Start button

---  Now wait

---  And wait

---  And wait… 

(because that’s it, you’re encoding!)

How long are you going to have to wait?  Well it depends very much on the speed of your computer processor and whether you are doing anything else while encoding.  We have several computers and the 2.8 GHz cpu usually does a two-pass encode of a standard-length one-cd movie in 2-3 hours, whereas our 1 Ghz can take 6-8 hours.  We don’t recommend doing anything else on your computer while encoding, best is to set it up before going to sleep and just let it run.

Note:  AutoGK also has hidden options which you can get to by using the Ctrl-F9 shortcut on your keyboard, but this guide was meant for new users so we won’t cover them.  If you would like to learn more about the hidden options go to the AutoGK site http://autogk.net/ or to really get involved, take the plunge and use Gordian Knot J