Hello everyone I have 4 DVDs of a series that I want to back up. Duration of each disc is between 2h30 / 3 hours so DVDShrink is out of the question. I was told about DVD-rebuilder and it's exactly what I need since for once, I want to back up the extras and menus as well. Now, the problem is "which encoder to use"? I've read reviews about the free HC encoder saying it rivals CCE in terms of quality. But the consensus seems to be that CCE is still the best. I want maximum quality for these backups; time is not an issue since the backups will be performed during the night. So which one, in your experience, is better? Have there been comparisons/tests of the quality output by both of these encoders? Any obvious flaws in either? Or are they equivalent and I should just go by gut feeling? Thanks for any input as I'm quite new to this (only used Shrink so far)
They both provide EXCELLENT quality!!! CCE is considerably faster, though. This is based on HC with "Best" quality setting and CCE with 3 passes... CCE is $58 and HC is free... There are loads of tests that have been done. CCE is so customizable that it's really hard to determine what is level ground. Bottom line is: Both are excellent. Do you want to wait 3 hours for your output or 4 (this, of course depends on your system specs)? Free or $58? Personally, I use CCE. I usually do multiple backups, so time saved is important... There IS a batch feature in Rebuilder that enables encoding multiple projects while you are away or asleep. I say use HC, and, if you feel it is worth it to shave around 30% or more from your encode times then get CCE. (Keep in mind, different computer specs will yield different times...)
I'm just getting ready to test out HC as I update my guide, but I think teflonmyk covered just about everything I would have said. Given HC's quality you're really paying the $58 for speed more than anything else. Some people also say HC is better for interlaced video and extremely low bitrates. I'd recommend trying HC first to see if the quality and speed are good enough for you. If they are I wouldn't worry about buying CCE.
Thanks to everyone for the comments What puzzles me is that a free encoder can rival or even outperform CCE, which has a big reputation as the best MPEG-2 encoder. My main concern was there would be a noticeable difference between the 2 but apparently, it isn't the case. As I said, I don't care for the extra time so I guess I'll just go with HC for my back-ups. Thanks again.
@kangiten. don't be puzzle, most(not all) of the freebies are as good or/ better than the $$$ ones, examples: shrink is free and at this point its output quality is as good as any $$$ transcoder out there, as i said, at this point. second, decrypter, when is able to handle a encryption, is better than any ripper out there. third, rebuilder(free, has a $25 version), the best encoder. fourth, IMGburn(free), as good as any burning application out there.
The $58 version is only a two pass encoder. Both as was previously discussed are good. HC enocder is quite good and it is free which is its major advantage but CCE faster and has an edge in quality so which advantage are you interested in?
I see you have plenty of info to go on from a good knowledge base but let me throw my 2 cents in hc and cce are are both quality apps hc is said to be the best the best in situations where bitrate does not reach extreme levels. you can adjust for these higher bitrates by adjusting your dc precision to 10. personally w/ cce in anything less than 3-pass I tend to notice alot of minor pixelation(I forget the tech. term) around high contrast in bright scenes! (I suggest some filtering) but for those important backups I suggest you use rockas matrix editor to enable you to test a small portion of the movie w/ different settings and tweaks so your testing is not done 3/4 hours @ a time!
I did several tests not long ago comparing CCE to HC encoder. I used mostly action scenes which is the opposite of scenes with low bit rate. CCE did the action scenes without any flaws but HC encoder was so macro blocked that in the fire explosions one could make numbers squares that were about a 16th of an inch squared. If HC encoder had risen the level of an expensive commercial syllabication it would have been quickly supported by DVD authoring software companies. It would be much easier to sell software that costs hundreds of dollars if a free encoder would do the job. I use Adobe Premiere and CCE as the encoder plug in.
L8ter Now we all know that he edited his reply. LOL Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah to every one who celebrates them. Restraint can be a troubling burden. LOL
Sophocles, I haven't tried ProCoder and it of course is not free but some swear by it (UncasMS for example). Have you tried ProCoder and if so what is your opinion on it.
