dvd-->Msu, worthwhile?

[hello_all_humans]

hi i am a complete n00b when it comes to video conversion.

Would converting to Msu make a dvd smaller? I'm just talking about the main film, not the extras or menu. I'm guessing it doesn't work, as i've been looking online for awhile now and can't seem to find anything on the subject, but i'm still hoping. I suppose my lack of knowledge on vobs is to blame.

If Msu (or any lossless codec i just assume Msu compresses better) does indeed make dvd files (vob) smaller, can you please help me work out how to do it?

Please dont slant me for not knowing what im talking about, that's why im asking :)

Thanks

[Skelsgard]

A 2 hours VOB might be around 5 to 7 GBs big (with DVD-video quality, that is). A 2 hours MSU Lossless might be around 70 to 80 GBs depending on the type of video.
In general, no lossless is as small as lossy formats.

Cheers.

[hello_all_humans]

ah i see. thankyou Skelsgard you are a very nice person :)

I was expecting the internet version of a slap round the head im pretty relieved lol

[Skelsgard]

If you are interested in DVD backup, yo can either go with DVD to MPEG-4 to achieve max compression or DVD to compressed DVD for playing compatibility with standalone devices.
There are excellent guides to start with in the MPEG-4 & Co. and the DVD & (S)VCD forums.

Cheers.

[hello_all_humans]

Cheers. I have been playing with Xvid for some time, but nothing remotely technical (at all) so this is the site to find out how :)

Nice one.

[CWR03]

More than likely you couldn't find the information you were looking for was because you were looking to use MSU as a compression method.

What exactly are you looking to do with your compressed material? As mentioned, XviD is a good example of a compression method if you're making viceo files from DVD material. If you're trying for something different, certainly let us know and you might get mre helpful suggestions.

[hello_all_humans]

I was just curious as to backing up without losing quality, and i thought if a lossless codec would give smaller results than straight ripped vobs, that that would be the best way to go. It didn't click that vobs were compressed, which i know is stupid in retrospect considering the enormous size of uncompressed video.

Archival is what i'm aiming for, so for now i'll just stick with ripping and leaving the vobs as they are. I don't really want to lose any quality, i've been a bit fussy since switching to FLAC for audio.

Saying that I would be grateful on your opinion of the best quality lossy format, size doesnt matter (as long as it's smaller than the source file), but quality definately does. My thoughts tend to go with XviD seeing as it is the most widely used but hey what do i know? this morning i thought lossless files were a tenth the size they really are :)

Cheers

[setarip_old]

You might want to look into something called "RatDVD"...

[S¡nTë£]

The most advanced lossy would be AVC/H.264 based codecs (like x264). Given enough bitrate it should be practically indiscernable from the original.

Size will be anywhere between 1 and 2gb depending on length. I'd assume you'd keep the AC3 track.

If you've got lots of time to spare and a whole lot of processing grunt, you can even make the encodes look crisper than the original by denoising/sharpening and doing any advanced upsizing; but bitrate will need to rise accordingly.

Even so, it is a lengthy process, especially if you still need to learn about all the steps, so in your case it is probably not worth it and better to use either an all in one tool like ratdvd or just keeping the vobs.

[hello_all_humans]

Thanks for the input. I think i'll stick with the vobs for now. As you say i don't know much except how to use basic things and it seems such a steep learning curve from there so i'll pass lol.

I've heard bad things about ratdvd but i will look it up all the same cheers :) I've seen screens of x264 encodes and that looks the business. Thanks for your help.