[mythtv-users] Transcoding my recordings down to AVI (DIVX?) format?

[Johnny]

> Saw another thread here earlier and made me realize I should be converting
> my recordings. I just checked the Transcoding page on the Wiki and I see
> that it only transcodes to MPEG2 (unless I read it wrong). I am very noob
> with mencoder/ffmpeg/etc. CLI conversion tools, I'm hoping someone could
> give me a basic idea of how to take my recordings (all are analog/2ch/mpeg2,
> no HD or nuffin) and convert them down to ~350mb/43m and ~175m/21m sizes,
> preferrably using the xvid codec and avi format? Sure would save me having
> to grab a new hd for a while, hehe.
>
> I suppose I'm a bit confused as to whether to go CLI (and if so, what cmd(s)
> to use), or set up some profiles in FE.

Why do you think you "should be converting" your recordings? Is your
goal just to save some space? Or are you under the impression that it
is necessary for some reason? Most people don't recommend transcoding
everything. It generally a waste of energy and time, if you are just
going to delete the recordings later. If you are interested in long
term storage then it may be worth it.

Why do you want to go with xvid and avi? Using h264 will give you
higher quality at a given bitrate than xvid, and with VDPAU and other
hardware acceleration coming available you don't need to worry about
cpu, especially for SD recordings. Also MKV is quickly becoming a
standard as far as containers go. It has a lot of advantages over AVI,
is open source/spec, and is much more future proof.

Having said that, I would look into Nuvexport and Mythnuv2mkv on the
wiki. They both can be setup to run as a user job in mythtv.