Ripping format...

[Eric Sands]

I am experimenting with various ways of ripping DVD music videos onto hard drive. Which format should I be ripping to? I hear a lot of talk about MPEG4 (DIVX). Or maybe MPG2, since my originals are DVD?

I used the "#1 DVD Ripper" software to create an AVI of a 3 minute music video of Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For"... 76MB total file size. But the result is very pixelated... not sure why.

[bongoman31]

Try ripping with DVD Decryptor, downloaded here for free, in file mode with default settings.

[jggimi]

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

Check out The Basics (http://www.doom9.org/dvd-basics.htm) section at Doom9's website (www.doom9.org). The Basics has 13 links, including both a Newbie guide (http://www.doom9.org/newbie_section.htm) as well as a guide to playback of DVD's decrypted to hard drive (http://www.doom9.org/mpg/hd-playback.htm). The other 11 links are probably helpful, too. ;)

As to transcoding DVDs to other forms, or backing up to DVDs -- like any other opinion on this website -- there is no "best" or even "best method" or "best toolset." In terms of format, what's best for you will depend on your storage media and its capacity or capacities, your playback device, your playback display, and a host of other factors. As to which techniques or tools to use? That's personal preference.

Start with The Basics, then look through Doom9's Guides (http://www.doom9.org/guides.htm). There are lots of 'em, but its well organized.

[Eric Sands]

So you don't reccommend the "#1 DVD Ripper" software?

[echooff]

It is just my opinion, but.....Dvd decrypter is the best out there.

[unskinnyboy]

Originally posted by Eric Sands So you don't reccommend the "#1 DVD Ripper" software? If http://www.dvdtox.com/ is the homepage for "#1 DVD Ripper", it sure looks like a dodgy piece of software. I highly doubt if it can live up to any of the tall claims it makes.

Why do you want to shell out $34.95 for DVD backup software when you can find better ones for free right here in this site?

[Eric Sands]

I installed DVD Decryptor. At first glance, it seems very un-intuitive. I am trying to rip individual chapters of a Promo Only music video DVD. I see no place in the software where I can select individual chapters, output format, output location, bitrate, etc....

Is there a place that explains how to use this?

[smiller667]

There seems to be a slight misunderstanding as to what you meant with "Ripper" - dvddecrypter rips your dvd (or parts thereof) to your harddisk. It is not an encoder where you can encode to any backup format.

Jggimi posted a link to the guide section on doom9 - there is also a dvddecrypter guide which - among other things - explains how to rip certain chapters only etc.

Steve

[Eric Sands]

Well, what's the point of ripping without encoding? My goal is to play these videos at shows as if they were the original DVD, except without using DVD players. That's why other people have pointed me to #1 DVD Ripper... because it does everything in one step.

I can't believe why there are so many different opinions out there on what the best codec is for live performance. I really believe it shouldn't be that difficult. I'm just looking to preserve as much quality as possible. Hard drive space is not really an issue.

???

[ammck55]

Well, if the piece of software you're using actually did "everything in one step", you'd be out of the woods already, wouldn't you? :)

DVD Decrypter strips the copy protection so that you can then encode to the destination format of choice. Different people have different goals in mind, therefore, while the methods are actually pretty straightforward, you have to first decide what's going to best serve your purposes.

Why not tell us exactly what you have in mind, then, you'll possibly receive a little more decipherable help. You say you don't want to serve these files from a DVD player, so do you intend to project them onto a wall with a beamer? View them on your computer's monitor? Rip to MPEG4 and view them on your laptop while taking a nice long plane ride to a vacation destination? SVCD because your kids are hard on movies and you can save a few bucks on discs? See what I mean? Many choices, many goals. I've offered some examples here that certainly don't suit your needs, I'm just trying to illustrate the point.

ammck55

[manono]

I'm just looking to preserve as much quality as possible. Hard drive space is not really an issue.

Set up DVD Decrypter in IFO Mode, and then select the chapter(s) you want. You'll get a Vob (or several) on the hard drive. Play that. Can't get any better quality than the original. Don't convert to MPEG-4 or MPEG-2 or anything else. Not sure how legal it is to play them in public, though.

[Eric Sands]

I am a mobile DJ in Southern California doing VJ/DJ gigs...

I would like to play Promo Only Music Videos (which I subscribe to) out of a laptop SVHS output, using TRICERASOFT video mixing software. Until now, I just have been playing out of 3 DVD sources, and mixing them with live camera feed. I am not interested in doing all kinds of effects on them, as I use the Edirol V4 to mix my numerous video sources. Ultimately, the final mixed product will be projected onto one or two 9x12 rear projection video screens, typically using 3,000+ lumen projectors.

Again, my question remains… what is the best codec to be encoding to for my application? Some people say MPEG1 at a high bitstream rate gives excellent results, without even needing any codec. But on my office monitor, it comes out very pixilated. Some say AVI using the VP6 codec….. others say MPEG2 using the ELECARD codec is best, since I’m starting out with DVD. Any yet others swear by DIVX/MPEG4.

I could go ahead and set up all these tests, and download all sorts of codecs and compare for myself. But I can’t imagine that nobody has already done this. I will try using the Decryptor software to extract the VOB file to see what that looks like. Hard Drive space is not a huge issue, but future-proofing is.

Any thoughts??? Is anyone on this board doing the same type of application as I?

[CWR03]

MPEG-1 can give good video results, but the bitrate has to be so high that the file will be larger than the original. Any computer with a software DVD player can play back the original ripped files (which are MPEG-2), and DVD Decrypter can rip them without re-encoding. There are many free editing programs that can let you take only certain music videos out and save them as individual files - I like Vidomi for its easy editing. Lastly, an XviD or Divx rip has the advantage of a smaller file size and can maintain very good quality. An example: I backed up some 42-minute episodes of a show to fit 13 episodes on a DVD-ROM in 16:9 format. There's virtually no pixellation at all, and the files are 343 mb. The original rips for each ep were 2 gb. Any computer with at least a 1 ghz processor and XviD codec installed can play them smoothly.

[wiak]

Rip it to XviD with 2400 kbps (2.4 mbps)! :D
use SimpleDivX or AutoGK or DVX and :search: