For the past few months I've been using ConvertXToDVD, and been mostly satisified. However I noticed that the DVD didn't look as good as the .avi and there was some slightly noticable loss in quality. My encoding settings are set to the highest, so I was wondering whether there were other software that had a better quality encoder with ease of use like ConvertXToDVD. Time is not a factor here, only quality!
Best is a very relative term. On some forums even asking for the best whatever will get you a warning. Depending on the source there can be many ways to skin a cat. High action, low action, many dark scenes, long running times, there is no one best. HCenc does a nice job with lower bitrates (longer running times). You'll find many opinions and discussions concerning what is the best matrix, but again this depends on the source. If you are talking about downloaded Xvid movies just leave it at the default mpeg. Just try it and see if you like the results.
I also like AVStoDVD (no menus or subs). It works in a similar manner, but with it you can tweak the script to change the AR, crop etc. Nice for adding borders if you are dealing with burned in subs or if you are losing too much of your vid to overscan. It will also accept mpegs and VOBs.
