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DVDx 2.20: code improvement, MPEG-2 and WMV encoding, SSE2 optimizations, new audio Lame MP3 encoder

We've published the new DVDx 2.20 release, likely the latest big 2.x release before upcoming DVDx 4.

We"ve made a lot of code improvement (fix memory leaks), and improved MPEG-2 encoding (new China CVD and DVD profiles), WMV encoding (fix crashes), GUI fixes, SIMD (SSE2) optimizations, new audio Lame MP3 encoder, Microsoft VC9 compilation, debug builds, added sponsored Ask toolbar, uninstall instructions.

What's new in 2.20

Code improvement:

• fix 698 memory leaks due to multilang error strings which weren't unallocated and 10 others due to skin objects, 12 others due to heap allocations (new), 62 others due to DVD IFO data structure. And 100s of strings in debug console.

MPEG-2 encoding:

• added 2 new profiles: CVD (China Video Disc) and DVD (default DVD-LP, 6000Kbps) both with audio 48kHz which must be set in Input Settings dialog.
• set CVD/DVD GOP to 18 frames for NTSC (15 for PAL), so compliant with DVD authoring applications.

WMV encoding:

• fix crashes due to pointer bugs in handling IWM inyterfaces.

GUI:

• fixed bug in About dialog box which caused DVDx to crash in Debug/DebugP4 and unpredictable effects in all versions (Release/Release_RipperFree/NoOptim)

SIMD (SSE2) optimizations:

• replaced MOVQ xmm,m64 (rejected by VC9 compiler) with MOVQ xmm,qword ptr m64 and MOVQ m64,xmm with MOVQ qword ptr m64,xmm

Audio MP3 encoder:

• nLame.dll 3.98.2 (Intel 10.1 compile)
• libmmd.dll 10.1 (Intel 10.1 compile)

Compilation and Debug builds::

• moved to complete Microsoft Platform (no more Intel compiler required) with Visual Studio 2008 Professional and Microsoft C++ Compiler VC9, and WMFSDK is from Platform SDK 6.0A
• set Microsoft VC9 compiler speed optimization flags
• thanks to the new compilation platform, both Debug and DebugP4 configurations can be build again (all available in Ultra Edition installer).
• removed useless configurations: DebugP4 and NoOptim.

Setup and user's documentation:

• added sponsored Ask bar with required EULA and uninstall instructions in the application (uninstall icon in DVDx start program menu).
• added uninstall instructions in the FAQ.

Download:

• DVDx standard version "ripper free" (and sources) available from Source Forge
• DVDx Ultra Edition (and all versions and sources) available from labDV.com for VIP members only.

100% FREE award granted by Softpedia to DVDx

This product was last tested in the Softpedia Labs on the 28th of December 2008 by Raluca Burlacu

Softpedia guarantees that DVDx 2.10 is 100% Free, which means it does not contain any form of malware, including but not limited to: spyware, viruses, trojans and backdoors.

This software product was tested thoroughly and was found absolutely clean; therefore, it can be installed with no concern by any computer user.

Testers are impressed with the quality of DVDx software and encourage labDV team to keep these high standards in the future. At labDV we ensure that any DVDx release downloaded from labDV.com is 100% FREE and does not contain any form of malware.

DVDx 3 First Experiment (for Vista Users)

Starbuck has uploaded a very first build DVDx 3.0 called First Experiment which should solve a lot of issues running on Windows Vista.

This release provides better reliability on Windows Vista, fixing most crashes.

What’s in this DVDx 3.0 First Experiment:

• GUI: removed all skin stuff for better reliability on multiple monitors PC and Windows Vista
• Code: GPL'd libraries are re-organized for better readability, reliability and openness, providing more ease and happiness to developers in order to provide a better software to users
• The Debug works and can help to understand DVD I/O issues.
• Code compilation hasn't been optimized at all so it might be slower than DVDx 2.10 release, but WMV encoding is as fast (45fps). A new optimized build will be available soon (92fps vs 34fps for Xvid encoding).
• It has been tested on Vista Ultimate 32-bits SP 1: successful to encode all formats (AVI, VCD, SVCD, WMV).

 

DVDx 3 is discontinued, DVDx 4 (for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux) is coming soon...

DVDx InfoTool : a new companion for DVDx

Starbuck has released a very first pre-version of DVDx InfoTool which displays DVD-Video IFO data and Title data in a window (code from ifo_dump in libdvdread) running on Windows, Mac OS.X and Linux!

Thus it's our brand new contribution from labDV to open-source community, preceding a lot more!

What’s in this DVDx InfoTool pre-release:

• Video attributes of VTSM_VOBS
• All PGC
• Playback time
• Prohibited user operations
• Program Entry Cell
• STC_discontinuty
• Time Search table (VTS_TMAPS)
• Menu Cell Address table
• VTS VOBU address map

The DVDx tutorials

Two new tutorials have been published in the Marc and May newsletters, they've been completed and partly rewritten before being published in labDV guides:

DVDx starter guide:

New DVDx users frequently ask how to use DVDx for the first time and quickly encode a DVD movie on their PC.

So this guide is for the very beginners, you just have to follow on step by step instructions and screenshots.

The first part is to copy a DVD to a DivX movie, because most of you burn DivX movies. The other parts just differ by the Output settings which are defined to output different formats: VCD, SVCD and WMV.

DVDx splitting guide:

This has been asked several times in the DVDx forum, how to copy only a part of the movie ?

So this guide explains how to split a movie with DVDx in a simple manner, you just have to follow on step by step instructions and screenshots.

The first part is to copy some chapters in separate files, the simplest splitting option offered by DVDx. The two other parts explain the other splitting options offered by DVDx: split several chapters in several volumes (say in several files) or extract a part of the movie defined from the timeline preview.

DVDx : the most complete DVD ripping solution ever !

What can DVDx do ?

• DVDx copies DVD movie to VCD, SVCD, DivX, AVI or WMV in one step.
• DVDx has been designed as a simple and intuitive program especially for unexperimented users.
• DVDx produces high quality MPEG and AVI movies and advanced features provides smart settings for experimented users.

Why DVDx is the fastest DVD backup solution out there ?

• DVDx is likely the fastest solution ever to copy a DVD into a DivX file because the DVD reading (and decrypting) is done while encoding to DivX.
• Alternative solutions require to copy the DVD to the hard drive with DVD Decrypter (or SmartRipper or any other DVD ripping software) which takes about 30 minutes, and then the encoding time is added. So with a 75FPS encoding speed for a 1:30 PAL (25FPS) movie, the total ripping time of alternative software is 1 hour. While DVDx will take less than 32 minutes (at 72FPS).
• We encourage you to upgrade your DivX codec to latest version which takes benefit from latest compiler enhancement for new Intel/AMD processors. On a $1,000 consumer HP Pavilion with a Intel Pentium 830D, the encoding DVDx frame rate is 72FPS with DivX Pro 6.1.1 and later.
• To encode to MPEG VCD/SVCD with the internal encoder or to encode to Windows Media, DVDx is also the fastest solution for the same reason.

Thanks to the "ripper free" version, now DVDx can comply with any country DMCA (or DRM) regulation and can continue to live with full decrypting support in authorized countries.

DVDx standard version is available from Source Forge and DVDx Ultra Edition is available from labDV.com for VIP users.

DVD Shrink 3.2 a smart toy!

With DVD Shrink, you can recompress a large DVD movie into a reasonable size to fit in a 4.7GB recordable DVD. It's very fast and pretty good quality, a good solution to backup your preferred movies keeping parts of menus and bonuses. The latest DVD Shrink 3.2.0.15 is available in labDV software downloads:

• Added Quality Settings tab in the backup dialog, with option to enable AEC "adaptive error compensation" algorithms.
• Updated to NeroSDK 1.05, which includes support for burning DVD-9 dual-layer media. Added DVD-9 target size in preferences window.
• Removed "burn with DVD Decrypter" checkbox and replaced with a selectable backup target.
• Added burn with CopyToDVD as a backup target, this appears if CopyToDVD is installed.
• Added automatic support for splitting ISO files if they are saved to a FAT32 partition.
• Added support for replacing a title with a custom image. A default image from Guy Incognito is installed.
• Added "InstallPath", "InstallApp" and "InstallHelp" keys to the DVD Shrink registry.
• Added "March by ZeF69" toolbar.
• Fixed bug where Panscan and Letterbox subpicture streams could be erroneously discarded in some circumstances.
• Fixed bug if volume label exceeded 32 characters.

Current labDV guide for DVD Shrink isn't obsolete and may be helpful.

Guide: TMPGenc DVD Author

Pegasys, well known for their MPEG encoding software TMPGEnc, tries now DVD authoring with TMPGenc DVD Author v 1.5 (TDA).

DVD Authoring is very easy with TMPGEnc DVD Author.

Create your own DVD's with motion menus in only a few minutes following our guide, in french.

Welcome to labDV !

Founded in April 2001, labDV is publishing valuable information to Digital Video enthusiasts as well as beginners. This exciting project has helped to build a team on benevolent contributors who continuously publish new articles, new reviews and new guides (all reachable from the left navigation tree).

Most of our helpful documents are available from the library index.

We have setup one of the most relevant software database, including DivX and MPEG encoders as well as authoring tools, DVD rippers, codecs and more (see the software database). Registered VIP members can download the software from labDV servers, which are very fast, providing more than 1,024Kbits/sec per user.

Thanks to revenues from the VIP subscription we've sponsored and hosted several open source projects such as the world most popular DVD ripper DVDx.

We're also hosting:

• Leon's Lab, personal Leon's pages with analog capture and SVCD techniques,
• Sefy's DVD Backup Guide, a lot of guides and help ripping DVD with different tools,
• VCDwizard, a cool freeware (VCD-Imager GUI) to make (S)VCD with play-back control (chapters).