Converting videos

[rawbee]

I'm relatively new to converting video. I am trying to learn about Divx. I'm using Dr. Divx and I was wondering about the mpeg4 tools. What are Bidirectional and Psychovisual Enhancements? Are they worth messing with? Should I use H.263 Quantization or H.263 Optimized Quantization? Optimized would be better right? Should I run one pass or two passes? What is the difference between one pass and two passes? What codec profile should i use? Should I run the "Insane Quality" profile if I got the time? Or is it only for people who are insanely patient? What about bit-rate? All I want want is a DVD quality video file at a 640x480 resolution that is as compacted as possible and doesn't take several days to convert.

Any suggestions or advice?
Thanks.

[anonymez]

settings to get best quality (IMO):

bidirectional encoding:yes
psychovisual enhancements:yes
Quantization:H.263 optimized
No. of passes: 2(you can go 3, but IMO waste of time)
codec profile:whichever matches your use. if you don't know/care, go unrestricted
quality:insane, if you have a fast PC. if not, lower
bitrate: use bitrate calculator, should be at least say 1000kbps

feel free to ask more questions, or go http://www.divx.com ,guides & answers to most questions there