Quality of Downsampling

[Vassago]

I have a newbie question on dvd backups.

When using these tools and the guide located on the mainpage here:

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/scenaid.htm

If you still have to downsample the video to make it fit, how will it compare to reencoding using xvid or divx? Can you really tell it's been downsampled without looking carefully for it? Thanks!

[MLS]

Depends on many different factors, compressability of source, if you resize, bitrate (mainly), etc.. If you just want to view on the computer then mpeg4 (DivX/XviD) is your best option, if you want to view in a standalone DVD player then you have to use an MPEG2 encoder (CCE/TMPG/QuEnc/Canopus Procoder/Mainconcept Encoder).

/MLS