02-23-2004, 11:33 PM
Hey guys, just wanted to give a heads up on using OGG audio as well. Granted for a while I really liked using OGG since I could get much smaller file sizes, however, the problem I've encountered was that the playback filters for OGG are still a little buggy. It doesn't seem to like to play at the same time as other audio files (if you pause a movie for a second, the computer will buzz at you). Ogg has also been known to just plain have problems with other computers. A friend of mine can't even use OGG on her computer with it restarting (using WMP that is. she can use winamp, however, we had to rename the file to *.avi)
Also, simple thing to keep in mind concerning conversion from OGM to the mpeg-2 format, using VDUB Mod, you can extract each individual audio file as a wav, then use your video stream in your DVD program (so long as the program can accept DivX/Xvid/whatever) and load each individual audio file seperately.
I also don't care much for the softsubs in OGM, they are rather hard to work with and make just right and I don't like the inability to make different colors. Granted, you don't have to worry about the inferior quality of the encode due to the sharp lines of text (a few of my encodes have come up rather bleh becaues the subtitles were too weird a color or the font made everything in that area look all screwy), it's just that soft subs are always just a tad finnicky (DVD subs included). Maybe I haven't seen them done right (only downloaded one encode with them, and haven't had much success myself).
However, when it comes down to it, I'm the type of guy who has been making 2 CD encodes of movies I really like (I only encode movies I like, and I've made very few 1 CD encodes in the last 4 years). To the respect, I've found little need for using the OGM on a continual basis compared to the more easily useable avi. I think the main drawback is that so few people have heard of OGG or OGM (let alone installed the plaback drivers) which can be a major crimp when trying to watch movies on other people's computer. i remember a while ago when I was trying to get my prisitne Raiders of the Lost Ark Encodes to work on someone's computer and it was just really hard to get it to eventually play. Unless I have a reason to use it (soft subs or really small audio file or mulitple small audio files) I'l stick with AVI until it becomes more of a norm, much like Xvid and every new iteration of DivX back in the earlier days of their development, I wouldn't touch them until they would become a bit more proven in the field as I don't have the time or patience (let alone computing power :p) to test each codec beta. Granted afterwards, I could go ahead and encode until my heart's content (my first encodes were Eva R1s a long time ago, and it took about 2-3 weeks worth of testing to get some Nandub settings I really got good quality out of). So in the end, if you plan to encode in OGM for your own consumption, go right ahead, however, if you plan on sharing with your friends or distroing it online, beware that many people won't have the proper codecs and may prove to be a pain (so far, I think I only know one person whom has installed OGM/OGG with me, and that's only because both of us have been encoding movies together and working with each other for the past 3-4 years), otherwise, it's up to you.
Also, simple thing to keep in mind concerning conversion from OGM to the mpeg-2 format, using VDUB Mod, you can extract each individual audio file as a wav, then use your video stream in your DVD program (so long as the program can accept DivX/Xvid/whatever) and load each individual audio file seperately.
I also don't care much for the softsubs in OGM, they are rather hard to work with and make just right and I don't like the inability to make different colors. Granted, you don't have to worry about the inferior quality of the encode due to the sharp lines of text (a few of my encodes have come up rather bleh becaues the subtitles were too weird a color or the font made everything in that area look all screwy), it's just that soft subs are always just a tad finnicky (DVD subs included). Maybe I haven't seen them done right (only downloaded one encode with them, and haven't had much success myself).
However, when it comes down to it, I'm the type of guy who has been making 2 CD encodes of movies I really like (I only encode movies I like, and I've made very few 1 CD encodes in the last 4 years). To the respect, I've found little need for using the OGM on a continual basis compared to the more easily useable avi. I think the main drawback is that so few people have heard of OGG or OGM (let alone installed the plaback drivers) which can be a major crimp when trying to watch movies on other people's computer. i remember a while ago when I was trying to get my prisitne Raiders of the Lost Ark Encodes to work on someone's computer and it was just really hard to get it to eventually play. Unless I have a reason to use it (soft subs or really small audio file or mulitple small audio files) I'l stick with AVI until it becomes more of a norm, much like Xvid and every new iteration of DivX back in the earlier days of their development, I wouldn't touch them until they would become a bit more proven in the field as I don't have the time or patience (let alone computing power :p) to test each codec beta. Granted afterwards, I could go ahead and encode until my heart's content (my first encodes were Eva R1s a long time ago, and it took about 2-3 weeks worth of testing to get some Nandub settings I really got good quality out of). So in the end, if you plan to encode in OGM for your own consumption, go right ahead, however, if you plan on sharing with your friends or distroing it online, beware that many people won't have the proper codecs and may prove to be a pain (so far, I think I only know one person whom has installed OGM/OGG with me, and that's only because both of us have been encoding movies together and working with each other for the past 3-4 years), otherwise, it's up to you.