XviD guides
XviD is an open source MPEG-4 codec offering both great speed and quality while being completely free. The first stable release (1.0) has been out for a while, and the 2nd release (1.1) is imminent. Check the XviD forum for the latest codec releases. As XviD is MPEG-4 compatible you should be able to play back your XviD rips on any MPEG-4 compatible device including MPEG-4 compatible standalone DVD players for your living room.
There are three guides here, one using a fully automated tool called AutoGK, another one using semi-automated encoding using GKnot and one guiding you through GKnot and VirtualDub. The 3rd is more detailed and explains codec settings in more details.
+: high quality, designed specifically for beginners
-: If you want to play with every switch XviD has to offer, this tool is obviously
not for you
Gordian Knot - XviD 1.x
+: High quality, rather easy to use unless you want to configure every parameter
-: Not quite a one click solution as AutoGK
+: High quality, detailed explanation of each codec setting
-: relatively complicated
This document was last udpated on August 10, 2005