Seeking Advise On Regularly Maintained Programs

[ConsciousEffect]

hi ive been messing around with encoding/video editing/indexing software for like a week now, ive been searching youtube for guides, reading the avisynth wiki and reading beginners guides here on doom9, after reading this post by kypec
"GordianKnot is very outdated, you better try to use some maintained and regularly updated tools, like RipBot264 or MeGUI. I'm sure you'll get nicer results with any of them"
im now worried that any further time i spend trying to educate myself may end up being a complete waste of time if im not learning about the right programs!

My goal is to be able to convert my dvd collection into the highest possible quality rips with a bit-rate limitation of about 140kb/s (that works out to 1gb/2hrs) and an encoding speed ratio of 4:1 (4 hrs of encoding for 1 hour of video) I also need the ability to store (non hard-coded) subtitles and an extra audio track for foreign films, i need to be able to take my finished product and cut out the credits/introductions/intermissions, occasionally i will need to boost the audio. Im thinking my best codec option is definitely going to be H264, Matroska seems to be my best container option though i am currently lacking the software needed to edit .mkvs, im reading about MKVToolNix.

(CURRENT SOFTWARE LINEUP)
DVDDecrypter, GordianKnot, DGIndex and X264

I think that does it, I am now in seeking information on what regularly maintained tools are available for each task, which tools you prefer, and why.

and thanks ahead of time, doom9 always delivers!

[MatLz]

Well, X264 for video; AAC for audio; idx/sub, srt, ass for subtitles, MKV for container.....are good choice.
But if you want 500Mb/hour, it's a total bitrate (video+audio, without subs) of 1160kbps, not 140!
So...Avisynth with plugins, X264.exe, Neroaacenc.exe, LameXP, Mp3dc, VirtualDubMod, DVDShrink, DGIndex, MKVToolnix, Vobsub, Calc.exe and Notepad...are my favorite tools...

[rtjnyoface]

Definitely read the megui guide. I second MatlZ's suggestions of using x264 for video, aac for audio, srt for subs, and mkv container.

Read the guide. If you have any issues, whatever they are, there is a forum or someone around here who'll answer it. Just make sure you search the forum prior to posting a new thread that could possibly be answered already. PM me if you'd like as well.

The only program you'll need (besides dvddecrypter) is megui. You'll definitely need more than one week to define what you'd really like your encode(s) to be like though.

[ConsciousEffect]

first of all thanks for the suggestions guys ill start looking into these right away

you have no idea how many times i did this math over and over and it just kept fing with me because i made an encode with handbrake and set it to 1000kb/s and it returned pretty close to the 500mb/hr ratio, this confused me a little so i opened up calculator and went 500mb/h => 1111kb/s => 1.11mb/s, if a movie is 2 hours long thats 2x60x60=7200seconds, (1.11mb/s)*(7200s) equals 8000mb or 8gb leaving me to assume a ratio of 4000mb/hr, i feel so dumb but this is bothering me so badly im willing to accept looking like a fool, help me doom9 before my brain explodes

also isnt virtualdubmod WAY out of date?

i think you are basically right except ill need a nonlinear editor, is avisynth really the best choice for editing mkv as the name implies it seems to be avi focused.
im assuming from your post that megui has its own indexer

[Astrophizz]

Avisynth is for any kind of video and I believe it's possible to do non-linear editing with it.

Also, megui combines a lot of tools, including dgindex and a bitrate calculator :)

[kypec]

(1.11mb/s)*(7200s) equals 8000mb or 8gb leaving me to assume a ratio of 4000mb/hr, i feel so dumb but this is bothering me so badly im willing to accept looking like a fool, help me doom9 before my brain explodes
You forgot to divide 8000mb (megabits) by 8 in order to get result in bytes which is what you're looking for (~1000 MB per hour of video) ;)

[MatLz]

Well, VirtualDubMod is outdated...it's a fact. :(
I just use it for previewing and editing Avisynth scripts. Open multiple Vdubmod windows, to compare filtering results with different scripts and editing each, is very fast and easy. I prefer, for these simple tasks, Vdubmod to Avsp which is outdated too.

[Dr.Khron]

Avsp which is outdated too.

What? I still use AVSP, what replaced it?

[MatLz]

What? I still use AVSP, what replaced it?

NotePad?:)
No, I said that because avsp and vdubmod are not developed since approximately the same date...
Don't be afraid to use it!
Me I don't, too many bugs and too many non essential things...just my opinion.