Hi! Thanks for your time and tips :-) Unfortunatelly when using VDub thru GKnot, I cannot handle the DivX codec options directly. I have tested DVDx and it works fine and I get to manipulate DivX directly. Guess I will stick with that. Cannot spend years trying to figure out what's wrong. Anyway the problem is intriguing. I have just encoded a movie without a problem. Then I tried to encode other .VOBs on the disk and the described error showed up. When I try to encode .VOB that was ripped from a .VOB using VOBrator, the described error is back with vengeance ;-) I have written to the VDub author. If I learn what's wrong I'll try to write to GKnot authors to have the problem solution described in an official FAQ. No need for others to have the same problem. BTW have you seen the log created during the error (see above)? It seems like VDub starts the 1-st pass and then dies on the first frame. Wonder if there is the source of the problem? Guess I won;t solve it right now. If you or anybody else has any idea, I will be glad to test it. Would be nice to catch this bug :-) Best, Rich or Tau or... heck, who cares? People call me worse names ;-))