I`m starting a mega-project - I`m going to convert all 600+ DVDs I have to .avi format. It`s going to take months, and I want to do it properly. I`ve settled on Slysoft CloneDVD - but my questions is : QUALITY !! Standard 700Mb is crap. If I select "PAL" DVD quality with a "20" setting (about midway on quality setting), then a typical 100min movie comes out at about 2Gb. I was hoping to stick to less than that, but I`m wondering what those of you who want VERY GOOD quality - what do you prefer, what sort of file size, resolution etc. What are your experiences and thoughts ?
You're about to do what I did. I converted ALL my DVD's to save space PLUS 'ease of use'. I started out using DivX/XviD, and converted over 100 DVDs, then tried the h.264 codec, and loved it. You can get a smaller file size, and better picture using h.264. IMO You might want to look into it before taking on a job this big. I went back and trashed the Divx/Xvid encodes, and re-encoded everything with h.264...lol (I know, a LOT of work), but now it's done. Watching on a large TV (I had a 65'), the divx looked blurry, but the h.264 looks great. On smaller TV sets, I couldn't tell much difference (but still had a smaller file size). happy encoding!
depends on what your goals are. If you're using divx/xvid and want stereo sound, then the 'avi' container should work fine. Just setup the video quality to your taste. I have even used the divx/xvid codec and kept the original AC3 sound track in an 'avi' container and it worked fine. But if you use the h.264 codec, I would NOT use the 'avi' container. Use either the "mp4 or mkv". About the settings for the encode itself, you need to just play around with them until you get "picture and sound" to your satisfaction on the equipment that you use. As for me, what I do is encode a DVD "movie only (no audio)" to h.264 @2mb in a .mp4 container, and mux the AC3 sound track into a .mkv container. I then play this file through a 1080p upscaler (not using a PC, but a HD media player) on my HDTV. You would almost swear you are watching a High def movie. It really looks good.
I just did a movie using the h.264 codec & in avi format. It actually looks not too bad. I used a bitrate of 1000 kbps & I tried the same movie with xvid & what a difference in quality. I'm trying another one using the h.264 codec with avi, the only thing is the time is longer to recompress the mpeg1 file. I'm hoping that it turns out well too.
