Batch-encoding many DVD's to Cinema AVC - why so difficult?

[odditory]

I dunno why this (seems) so complicated, but I've been reading up again on the state of batch/gui H.264 encoding for days now (I do so every few months hoping for some easier method) and there's either lots of outdated info or thousand-page-threads on tinkering with tiny features in freeware/opensource junk which gets tiring to wade through.

All I want to do is:

1) Convert my several hundred DVD's to as-CLOSE-to-lossless an H.264 profile as I can, using a batch process.

2) Play them back on my MCE2005 HTPC.

You'd think that were simple. I already have all the movies ripped to my 5Tb SAN in VIDEO_TS folders. Nero Digital MP4's encoded to Cinema AVC look decent and FINALLY play back on MCE2005 without reghacking now that Nero pulled their head out a few months back and allows playback outside of showtime, but stepping thru a Nero wizard per movie isn't going to work and its crash-prone during the encode anyway. I've tried fairuse wizard but its buggy too.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I would appreciate it! :)

-Odditory

[Sharktooth]

MeGUI, StaxRip, RealAnime...

[Gehenna]

It`s real simple to batch process files on StaxRip, as i tried to explain on this very similar thread (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?p=853486#post853486)

[frodeste]

I think that the Opensource community still has a long way to go to simplify the process. I am not scared of scripts and programming. I even wrote some code for MPEG around 1991, but I still find that using the tools has a high learning curve.

Problem is that the number of choices are so many to choose from. Hence we get the "what is the best" questions. (with answers only valid for about 2 days)

I think Nero has created a great tool, but the errors regarding sound level beeing so low, stops me from purchasing the tool.

Furthermore, the fact that AC3/DTS soundtracks can't (by standard) be used in the .mp4 container, forces a encode of DTS to AAC. (Hence more complicated process.)

I will look in to the other threads, but I think this topic is a great candidate for a Doom9 guide.

[Blue_MiSfit]

It's really quite simple. Get the .NET runtimes, download a MeGUI installer, and AviSynth. Use whatever app you want to rip the VOBs from your DVD.

MeGUI's auto update function is absurdly simple. The ONLY component you have to add manually is the Nero AAC encoder if you want to use it.

Then, use MeGUI's D2V creator and AviSynth Script generator. Set up a gigantic weeklong batch and go...

Mux to MKV for ultimate flexibility and automatic DAR correction.

Can't ask for much more than that.

~MiSfit

[foxyshadis]

MeGUI isn't really there for batch encoding yet. It's on the radar, but even one click requires some manual intervention each time. My idea of a batch encoder is one that, once set up, prompts you for a new dvd every few hours and otherwise requires no interaction. (Aside from catastrophic failure, like disk full.)

Obviously everyone has different needs though, so different packages end up supporting different workflows.

[odditory]

I think that the Opensource community still has a long way to go to simplify the process. I am not scared of scripts and programming. I even wrote some code for MPEG around 1991, but I still find that using the tools has a high learning curve.

Problem is that the number of choices are so many to choose from. Hence we get the "what is the best" questions. (with answers only valid for about 2 days). <snip> I will look in to the other threads, but I think this topic is a great candidate for a Doom9 guide.

I think *frodeste* made some great points here and mirror my feelings exactly. The opensource community would appear (on the surface) to be by the community for the community; hence tinkerers discussing tinkering amongst mostly themselves almost for the sport of it like putting endless puzzles together. As such, much in the way linux continues to be point-zero-something of the marketshare for desktops o/s's worldwide, the uptake of current opensource offerings for video tools I'd assume will continue to be minimal given even technically savvy people such as myself have great interest in this area yet don't have the time to "count every grain of rice" of command line options in every tool's jar.

I can understand veteran posters' frustration in other threads when n00bs come in and ask 'what's best' (i've been on the receiving end too) but perhaps it signifies the absence of an effective sticky for "best practices" when it comes to H.264 encoding and that doesn't go on for a mind-numbing amount pages.

I'd pay good money for a stable GUI that handles batching as well as perhaps harnesses the extensive knowledge and trial/error of the community into effective 'presets' or workflows for encoding.

[GodofaGap]

The opensource community would appear (on the surface) to be by the community for the community; hence tinkerers discussing tinkering amongst mostly themselves almost for the sport of it like putting endless puzzles together. As such, much in the way linux continues to be point-zero-something of the marketshare for desktops o/s's worldwide, the uptake of current opensource offerings for video tools I'd assume will continue to be minimal given even technically savvy people such as myself have great interest in this area yet don't have the time to "count every grain of rice" of command line options in every tool's jar.
I don't understand what you are saying. No one is demanding you to use OSS. If you can find a commercial product that is better for your needs, you are free to buy and use it. You said you'd pay good money for it, so go ahead and look for commercial alternatives instead. If you cannot find one, the problem is not OSS at all then, is it?

I think the task of fully automating the encoding process from ripped DVD to DivX/XviD/x264/etc. is too complicated to do. I have never seen any tool (commercial or opensource) do that in predictable and useable manner. In the end, I just resorted to writing a simple batchscript and doing 3 or 4 steps manually. It doesn't take me more than 10 minutes to do and I am not tech savvy, at all. But at least I get the job done how I want it, which is worth 10 minutes of my time.

I can understand veteran posters' frustration in other threads when n00bs come in and ask 'what's best' (i've been on the receiving end too) but perhaps it signifies the absence of an effective sticky for "best practices" when it comes to H.264 encoding and that doesn't go on for a mind-numbing amount pages.
Such a sticky won't help you getting better automated tools and would be against forum rules...

[frodeste]

Such a sticky won't help you getting better automated tools and would be against forum rules...

Ahh. a delemma here :)

Such a "best practice" guide would be great to have, and *could* be written without breaking the rules. All though I most certainly can see how it could.

I think this boils down to the simple fact that there are noe "complete" tools - comercial or opensource, that do what we want. I think this has more to do with the age of a H.264 codec then anything else. "People" have yet to realize what this is about. Example: Microsoft does not support, nor will they in Vista, H.264 in the operating system without 3.party addons. (I work on the betatesting of Vista.)

The surge for more wide spread use of H.264 is just starting, as more countries are introducing DVB-* using this codec.

Given this situation, the "home" marked for commercial tools is not all that large.

As for my self, I have started using the Megui software with the hope that although I might not be able to batch convert DVDs, I will be able to create high quality H.264 backups. (And understand what parameters that will ensure just that)

Might I suggest that we join forces to create an uptodate guide on this, covering the encoding of

DTS tracks to AAC
MPEG to H.264

including batch scripts and so on?

I would help on this if anyone cares.