Creating a DVD library on my hard disk?

[UberDan]

After purchasing a 500gb hard disk I have decided now that I want to create a library of all of my DVD's on my hard disk to play straight from there.

There are a lot of reasons I want to do this A) to stop my 2yr old destroying my disks. B) I have around 200 DVD's and they are taking up room in my small living room. C) so I can get easy access to my movies in the same way i do my music i.e. using Media Centre. D) What else am I supposed to do with 500gb of storage.

Here is where I have been struggling and I would be very grateful if anybody reading this has experience in doing this and wouldn't mind helping me out with my questions.

I want to get each film down to around 1.5gb each and still have a good picture and retain the same sound i.e. keep the sound as dolby digital or DTS depending on the DVD. I also want to have each film represented by an Icon I can just double click to play the movie. i.e. I dont want to have to open up each folder and find the right .VOB file to play. Also when I load up Media Centre from Vista I want them to just appear there in my Videos.

I have some Roxio software that can convert my DVD's to DIVX with but it does not do the compression I need. It did have an option to convert my DVD to a 1.5gb DIVX but after it did it and I played it back it was in a small window so I guess this is used for creating vidoes for PSPs and mobile devices etc. I also tried compressing a DVD down to 1.5gb using DVD Shrink but the quality was too poor.

So in a nutshell how can I compress my DVD disks keeping a good enough image quality and the original sound quality to around 1.5GB and play it from my hard disk from a single icon in media centre.

I hope I have given enough information but if you need to know anything else to help me of course I will tell you whatever you need to know.

Thanks!

[pelle412]

If you want a simple solution where you don't have to do alot of research use AutoGK with the XviD codec (check out the Gordian Knot forum for information on this tool). On the other hand, if you want more control over the whole process and get a better result, find the XviD presets thread in this forum section and get ready to spend many hours of reading.

[writersblock29]

Essentially, then, you'd like to build a HTPC (Home Entertainment Personal Computer)--or at least convert your system into one. It's very possible, but there's tons of stuff to consider while doing so.

(Mods? I understand if you want to move this thread.)

1.5GB per movie is fine, providing that: 1) You don't have HDTV playback equipment or your eyes aren't what they used to be, and 2) You're not going to get rid of your originals... time'll come when you might decide your 1.5Giggers aren't up to par and want to redo them.

Divx, Xvid, and the ASP MPEG4 containers probably aren't your best choice for compressing your films down this small if you're aiming to archive on a media PC. By resizing--which is probably what Roxio did and why the playback window was so small--you can reduce the resolution to the point that many of your compression artifacts aren't apparent for playback on smaller monitors or portible devices. But for viewing on your television? In my opinion, no. At least, not at that filesize.

I'm a huge fan of Nero Recode's AVC encoder... but even then most of my files are in the 3GB-3.5GB range. And I still notice differences between my copies and originals if viewed on my 50" High Def. Not huge differences--MPEG4 tends to smooth out fine details, but unless you compare it to the originals it's not anything that's readilly apparent. The only other thing is that the surround sound source for Nero's AVC (AAC, Advanced Audio enCoding) doesn't play in surround sound on a reciever that only decodes AC3 right "out of the box." At least, not through a digital coax (SPDIF). It takes some tweaking. (There's sound cards out there now that have something called "Dolby Digital Live," which converts all sound sources to AC3 for this very reason.)

There's SOOO much material behind what it takes to do what you're asking... but it IS possible. Here's a link that will get you started.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTPC

[R3Z]

The problem is that recompressing an already compressed sourcewill always lose detail. As good as h264 or mpeg4 asp are, they arent miracle workers.

It doesnt sound like that will be a problem for you though, 1.5gb to be honest is way too small to keep any sort of quality imo.

My recomendation would be just to aim for a 50% reduction in filsesize from the original and use xvid as its really quick.

[writersblock29]

@R3Z

Qoute: "As good as H264 or Mpeg4 ASP are, they aren't miracle workers."

Agreed and saluted. The claims of various marketing departments would have one believe that an entire two-hour movie can be shrunk down to 700MB (CD size) without any quality loss. I'm afraid that just isn't true in the slightest. Sure, maybe if your playback equipment consists of a 12" television, you won't know the original from the copy. But with today's HD equipment, even a DVD9 MPEG2-to-DVD5 conversion can be painfully obvious at times--and that's allowing a full 4.37GB, not 1.5GB.

Not, understand, that it's my intention to diss DIVX, XVID, or any other codec; they have their uses, and I'm all for technology pushing ahead. But I do think that *certain* advertizing execs blow consumer expectation well beyond realistic limitations--and by the time the consumer figures that out, their money's spent.

The real quest is in finding what you, the user, is happy with. UberDan may profit from trying a variety of settings on a complicated source (my personal favorite for testing is the Tai stick fight scene of Rambo III, since every frame is full of motion and color contrasts) to see what he likes best, and leave the rest to the various advertizing departments. In the case of H.264 and XVID, you can't beat free! And if Roxio already installed the Divx codec in a useable area, he's free to dork with its capabilities using any number of front ends (AutoGK, Gordian Knot, ect) to try and squeeze as much as he can from a codec he's purchased. It's all about choice.