Do I really need to use these programs? I rip with DVDFab. I don't really understand the benefit of these two. Thanks so much.
No ripping software is perfect and that includes DVDFab. To just rip and burn is not a good idea for those who are serious about their backups. Cleaning out useless junk and making sure that all IFO's are correct is important. The more tools you have in your toolbox the better. Another tool that should be in your toolbox is PgcEdit. Using these tools correctly will give you the so called perfect backup.
So you got to run it through First: DVDfab Second: FixVTS Third: VOBblanker Fourth: PGCedit Fifth: DVDShrink Sixth: IMGburn Man... Can I use the standard settings?
Using PgcEdit takes quite a bit of learning but there is a function called Remove Useless Stuff that works quite nicely. Standard settings should suffice. As far as using DVD Shrink for compression, that's a user preference. I never use Shrink to compress. I always use DVD Rebuilder to re-encode.
The exact list of programs that you use depends a lot upon your end goals. What do want to have when the process is done? Movie only, movie only + menus, full disk. If you are not wanting to blank extras, then simply run the files through FixVTS, then continue to DVD Shrink (or DVD Rebuilder in my case). There is no need to use both FixVTS and VobBlanker on the same files. If you could let us know what your desired outcome is, perhaps we could give more detailed advice.
Too many steps there, if you just want to get movies done and aren't too fussed with chopping bits and pieces out of movies/episodics. I'm a simple man, here's how i do movies - 1/ Rip with DVDFab - main movie mode for films, full disc mode for episodic discs 2/ Clean DVDFab's potential dirty rips - run the main movie or episodic files thru vobblanker - it's a complex looking program but for cleaning up after DVDFab it's dead easy - point input folder towards the files ripped by DVDFab, choose an output folder, check everything says 'Process' then hit proceed. Once done the files are ready for burning or for input to DVD Rebuilder or a.n.other program 3/ I used to use DVD Shrink for the longest time and i have DVDFab Platinum but very rarely use either as i now use DVD Rebuilder Professional (with the awesome and free, multi-core aware HC Encoder) for everything that's under say 95% video compression, for anything above that i just use DVD Shrink. 4/ burn with imgburn if only 1 copy of movie required, if 2 or more copies are needed i use Nero Burning Rom's "Multiple Recorder" feature (FixVTS can be used as an alternative to vobblanker for cleaning up after DVDFab). I don't chop out other bits and pieces like some of the other regulars, as i use DVD Rebuilder i don't have to bother with removing extra bits to improve quality as Rebuilder produces outstanding results. As to DVDFab's rips, despite the DVDFab guys improving the cleanliness of rips now and then, i've been caught out badly by dirty rips, for instance there was a severe case back when Pirate's of the Caribbean's World's End was released - http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_jump.cfm/589662/3566757 On the fastest pc i had back then (Athlon 2800XP) DVD Rebuilder would run for 4 hours before failing due to dirty rips. I have a Quad Core Q6600 now but that still means Rebuilder could be processing for up to an hour before failing due to dirty rips. or producing a disc that burns perfectly but doesn't play correctly. By using vobblanker after ALL rips i have (so far) eridicated all encoding & playback problems.
Normally I only want kist the main movie. No menus or other crap like special features commentary blah, blah, blah. I do backup some episodes DVDs like Andy Griffith. One of the discs was like 9gb. I think the compression was like 55%. That stunk. I did want the menus on those. I ripped full disk. Thanks for the help. I'm using a dual core Dell laptop with 2gb ram and a liteon USB burner. Running vista.
This is why i use DVD Rebuilder, it works miracles with compression as low as 44% - my favourite example is that Rebuilder (with HC Encoder) can produce outstanding results even with predominately dark-scened episodics such as Battlestar Galactica. No other program comes close..
so I should use DVD rebuilder to compress instead of shrink? Do you have to have it in a ISO format to burn it to DVD?
Just as Creaky previously stated, DVD Rebuilder (an encoder) is capable of producing much better quality back-ups with higher compression movies than DVD Shrink (a transcoder). I pretty well follow what Creaky said: Anything much greater than a 90-95% compression ratio is processed with DVD Rebuilder Pro. You do not have to have your files in ISO format for burning if using ImgBurn as opposed to DVD Decrypter which requires ISO files to write.
Ok, I installed DVD Rebuilder Pro, cause of course, "I want to be a pro". Yeah right. It said I didnt need to encode cause it already fits on a dvd5 whatever. So I don't need it then huh? It's used just to compress? Thanks
If you used DVDFab to rip just the movie only, then the majority of the time it will not require any compression. Just run the files through FixVTS or VobBlanker and then burn with Imgburn.
Just to toss my two cents around, my normal process is the same as Creaky's and Dialysis' (minus PgcEdit, which i only use once in a while)...although Creaky's rig is faster. And Ferg is right on. If you do Movie Only rips, sometimes no compression is necessary. Just clean everything up a little bit and burn with Imgburn.
Kewl. I used DVD Rebuilder Pro last night for the first time. The movie did not need a whole lot of compression. It took about 27 mins. Thanks for all the help. Can DVD Rebuilder Pro be used to encode to an AVI(divx or xvid)?
Ok, I tried the movie that I burned with DVD Rebuilder. It looks like it compressed it down to about 850MB for the whole thing. The movie when played has a blue box that says "Cinema Craft Encoder". I guess I am using a trial version of the CCE. I didn't notice that when I downloaded it, I was rushing it a bit. Does CCE cost money? Thats probably a dumb question. Did I have settings wrong in DVD Rebuilder and thats why it compressed it so much or is that just because I was probably using a trial version of CCE? Stupid me... Back to the drawing board. Thanks CB
Not sure I know how to do that. This is what I have set now. I don't see how to turn off the CCE. Thanks
