How to Use Auto Gordian Knot
The unfortunate truth is that DVD discs are fragile and can be easily be damaged by dust by storing them outside of their cases, or even by removing them from the cases incorrectly. A good way to ensure that you will always have a good copy of your favorite movie is to make a backup copy, and then store it on your computer or on CDs. An entire DVD, however, would take an enormous amount of space on the average computer. By using the instructions below, you will learn how to use Auto Gordian Knot, a freeware program, to convert your DVDs into the much more compact DiVx AVI format.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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Using Auto Gordian Knot
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1
Download the latest stable release of Auto Gordian Knot from the program’s official site.
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2
Run the install program. It will give you several options to customize the installation, by selecting or removing certain aspects of the package, such as video and audio codecs. For most people, allowing the installation to run with the default options is the best choice, to ensure that the program has all of the accessories it needs.
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3
Start Auto Gordian knot. A window will open that allows you to start the conversion process.
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4
Insert a DVD movie into the DVD-ROM Drive.
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5
Click the folder icon next to the “Input File” section to browse to the file on the DVD that you would like to convert. It should be in the “Video_TS” directory.
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6
Select the IFO or VOB file that you would like to convert and press the “Open” button. The correct file to use will depend on the particular DVD you are using, but it should be one of the low numbers in the sequence of files, such as “VTS_01_0.IFO.”
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7
Click the folder icon next to the “Output File” section. Type a name for the output file that will be created, and select the directory to save it into.
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8
Select the options you would like in the “Audio” and the “Subtitle” sections. For instance, if the file will be played on a surround sound system, select the “AC3 6CH” option when the movie has a surround sound track.
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9
Choose the size of the file or files to be created in the “Select Output Size” section. A larger file will have better quality video and audio, while smaller files will compress the file more, creating a loss in video and audio quality. If you plan to burn the movie to a CD afterwards, Auto Gordian Knot offers easy options to select the number of CD’s you would like the movie to span.
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10
Press the button labeled “Add Job” in the lower right of the screen. If you would like to convert more than one movie at a time, you could repeat the previous steps, and add another job to the queue.
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11
Click the “Start” button to begin the conversion process. Due to the complexity of trans-coding video, it may anywhere from a few hours, to more than a day for Auto Gordian Knot to finish the conversion, and this will depend highly on the performance of your computer. Fortunately, the creators of Auto Gordian Knot have added a small checkbox to the interface, near the log window, that will shut the computer down when the process is completed. This allows you to start the conversion and go about your business while the computer processes the file.
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1
Tips & Warnings
By clicking the "Advanced Options" button before adding a job to the queue, you can customize the converted file by selecting the audio type, video type, and the codecs used for processing the film.
Auto Gordian Knot can also be used to convert other video files into the DiVx AVI format.
