dvd shrink help

[PeterTheMaster]

how come when in dvd shrink 3.0b5 i click "help topics" an error windows "failed to launch help" comes up? is there an additional help file i have to download somewhere, if so: where?

for now i ask my question i was trying to use the help for here:
there is a analyse and a backup button. i know what the backup button does: analyze, then compress. so what does the analyze button do? under what circumstances would i use it?

and another one: i read in another thread that there are problems with layer breaks in dvd shrink. what exactly are those problems? how can i overcome them?

[Kedirekin]

There is indeed no help file for DVDShrink 3.0b5. It is a beta after all.

The deep analysis button has limited functionality. You might use it if you were going to compress a DVD multiple times using different settings. More importantly, you'd use it to get better size predictability in the settings panel if you were selecting ratios for all titles on the DVD (but I can't think of a situation where you'd want to do that).

Put another way, after quick analysis, the sizes in the settings panel are just good estimates. After deep analysis, the sizes are very good (better) estimates.

The issue with layer breaks is that DVDShrink doesn't remove them. The result is that playback on some (many?) stand-alone DVD players might pause breifly at the layer break (which supposedly is no longer necessary, as there can be no physical layer break on a single layer DVDR). I think this is a completely over-blown issue - the pause is present on the original; how much should we complain when the pause is present on the backup copy? My advice is don't worry about it; a quarter-second pause in the movie isn't going to hurt you.

[PeterTheMaster]

thank you very much. i think i can live with that quarter second. and i thought there was a real problem...

[ddlooping]

PeterTheMaster, I'd like to add that Deep Analysis does much more than just giving a better estimate of your backups final size.
It also increases their quality.
Whether it is noticeable or not depends on multiple factors, including the amount of compression required, your viewing equipment, the quality of the original, etc etc.
For a technical explanation as to what Deep Analysis does, and how it does it, please read dvdshrink's post in the following thread. ;)

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26603

[Kedirekin]

Just to clarify, I think his question was not so much about deep analysis, but about the uses for the deep analysis button - in other words, what is the point of doing deep analysis before starting a backup.

Of course, I could be wrong.

[ddlooping]

...i know what the backup button does: analyze, then compress
PeterTheMaster, "Backup!" does not analyse, unless you "check" the "Perform Deep Analysis" box.
Leaving this box un-checked, or not using the "Analysis" button before clicking "Backup!" means DVD Shrink will base its compression and size estimate on the automatic "quick" analysis performed when you use "Open Disk" or "Open Files".

Kedirekin, it is PeterTheMaster's quoted statement that made me reply the way I did. ;)

[PeterTheMaster]

kiderekin got me right.
more information is always good, so thanks especially for that link, ddlooping.
of course i always check the deep analysis button.

[ddlooping]

"more information is always good, so thanks especially for that link, ddlooping."
You're welcome. ;)