DVD Rebuilder and CCE vs DVD Shrink

I was wondering if anyone had done a direct comparison between these two programs to determine what the dropoff is between DVD-RB and DVD Shrink in terms of quality. I normally do a 3-pass with DVD-RB and that takes about 6-8 hours. With DVD Shrink, it takes considerably less time, albeit with a supposed loss in quality. My question is, how much of an improvement does DVD-RB offer and is it worth the extra few hours?

I'm mostly backing up TV shows (Star Trek TNG and Firefly to be exact) and on my old TV and computer, I can't tell the difference between discs backed up using both programs. However, when I upgrade to a better set, will artifacts become noticeable?

If someone had screens of the differences in quality between the two programs, that would really help too. Thanks in advance!

 

to that question you'll probably get the following answer; "zoom on it and you will see the difference" to what you will said;"who watches movies zooming?

Nick, there is hardly any difference(none, nada)between shrink and RB. oh yes there is one, about 4.5 hours.

 

WRONG!! It depends on the size of your TV, whether or not it's HDTV, and also how deep you look into the movie (I'm somewhat of a perfectionist so I look for flaws to try to improve upon). Try to do the Matrix or one of the Lord of the Rings movies. There's a huge difference. Oh and if you do use the quality enhancements in Shrink it gets a bit closer to the quality of CCE, and the time it takes is in the same neighborhood.

 

RIGHT! i have a 42 inch tv and unlike you, i don't look for flaws, i just watch a movie done by whichever of the programs, nice picture quality, nice sound. if you start to look for flaws, you'll find it even going to the movies.

 

beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone I ask says they like the CCE copy better.

 

oh yes, you know who, those that have been told again and again that RB/cce is the best thing ever and those who watch thier entire movies zoomed.

i'm not saying that RB/cce doesn't have the best output of them all, but that is either when you ZOOM(who watch movies zooming) or when you have a very, very large TV.

 

just a newb here but I thought I would just add watching an old 27-inch tv I can notice a definite crispness and sharpness to the picture (that is the true difference)oh yeah picture quality does not matter to some folks but the vast majority are out purchasing home theatre systems some costing more than my car. this is the reason why every body is going to go get the new x-box or ps3 the whole thing is about grafix you go to block buster turn over the case and look at the pictures now don't you this my friend is to see what the movie looks like. but I guess it's different strokes

peace

 

I've got to go with squizzle on this one. I don't use CCE/RB, though. I mostly use Recode2, and I just got Intervideo DVDCopy 3. I started out with Shrink. I have a 52 inch HDTV. I recently upgraded my DVD player from one with composite and S video to one with component outputs and progressive scan. If you look closely (no zooming!), artifacts are there in my Shrink-authored copy of Matrix Revolutions. I've yet to re-burn to see the difference using Recode2 or DVD Copy 3. Most people probably wouldn't even notice, but I do! That being said: Use the programs that give YOU satisfying results in an acceptable amount of time for YOU.

 

and I can notice a quality difference on my 27" TV, so can my friends. Even people that don't know that we're watching a burn say, "Why does it look choppy like that?" with a DVD Shrink made copy.

 

There is no comparison, like apples and oranges. I have a 52" HDTV and noticed long ago that on some scenes dvd shrink makes the background jittery (even set at no compression). I discovered this when I used to use shrink as a ripper (set at no compression) but now I use dvdd exclusively for ripping and all scenes are perfect. When you use the quality settings in dvd shrink to achieve the closest possible backup comparable to DVD-RB/CCE there isn't that much difference in time between the two. Dvd shrink is a great free program for beginners but doesn't even come close to DVD-RB/CCE or even DVDCopy3 quality wise.

I don't look for imperfections either but rather watch the movie but there are obvious flaws on backups made with shrink that take away from enjoying the movie and can't be overlooked. Anybody that disagrees is just plain WRONG.

Mort

 

Just burned with Recode2 and DVDCopy3. I let both programs rip with DVD43 and set the target as DVD-R rather than HD. Video quality is indiscernible between the two to me in comparison with each other (once again, no zooming). Both are great! And CCE/RB does better? Tempting...

 

DVDC3 is a close 2nd to DVD-RB/CCE and you probably won't notice much quality difference except where a lot of compression is required or as long as the quality in DVDC3 is 4 or above. DVDC3 has the best of both worlds quality and speed it just doesn't have the features to let you reauthor or edit but I use DVDRemake for that.

Mort

 

Huge difference in quality between DVD R-B and Shrink. You don't have to zoom in to see it. If you're not compressing the movie much then there may not be much difference, but if you're compressing below what Shrink may call 70% then you loose a lot of quality imo. The best way to find out which is better for you is to try both of them and see for yourself. Most people who use both will tell you R-B is better but I suppose it's all up to the eye of the beholder.

 

You don't compare a transcoder to the quality of an encoder such as CCE. One's free and only compresses video as it is and the other's based on a slightly tamed version of a $2000 reference encoder that effectively reallocates the use of space across the entire movie.

 

Mort81, you implied that DVDShrink can actually degrade the quality of a movie even with with no compression selected. Wow! That is a major blow to my understanding of that program. Can you explain this a little more or perhaps provide some more detail?

 

Calibum


I'm curious, exactly what is your understanding of the program? DVD Shrink alters (processes) files even under no compression and it does have an effect on the resulting video. Try this! Rip a movie using DVD Decrypter and then run the ripped DVD trough DVD Shrink using no compression to another folder and then make a comparison of the files between the two folders. Look for size.

 

I don't know how or why but I know it does on some scenes. I first thought it was my media verbatum BTW, then thought it was maybe dvdremake or my encoder DVD-RB/CCE so what I did is first played the scenes where I noticed the problem from my hdd on my pc after it was encoded prior to burn. Problem was there so I knew it wasn't media. Second played problem scenes from my hdd on pc from the folder after it was edited with dvdremake. Problem was still there so I knew it wasn't DVD-RB/CCE. Next I played the problem scenes from my hdd on my pc from the original folder I made useing dvd shrink to rip set at no compression. Problem was still there SO I knew it was either from dvd shrink ripping the dvd or problem was on the original dvd. I played the problem scenes from the original dvd. There was NO problem on the original dvd. I ripped the original dvd with dvd decrypter and played problem scenes from my hdd on my pc. Problem was NOT there. Ripped original dvd with dvd shrink again set at no compression and played problem scenes from my hdd on my pc. Once again the problem WAS there.

To make a long story short the problem was due to dvd shrink ripping engine all along and if it's there set at no compression, then it's also there when useing shrink to compress and probably even worse. Because of this I no longer use shrink period but only keep it around to refresh my memory when somebody needs help or has a problem.

Mort

 

Thanks Soph,

Very nice explanation, short n sweet. Much easier and shorter than my explanation. You da man.

I quoted you from your post above in this thread. http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/210174 Hope you don't mind. This guy is unconvinced that shrink set at no compression alters the files.

Mort

 

Wow (more like crap!), true ignorance on my part. I appreciate the explanation. It's not that I am unconvinced, I believe you. DVDShrink has been used as my primary method of stripping extraz and misc stuff before running it through a true MPG2 encoder like CCE. This is done with a setting of "No Compression" which I always understood to do no harm. Were talking mucho disc usage here.

What are your suggestions for alternatives to DVDShrink in this process?

 

I use dvdd to rip and DVDRemake to edit my folder prior to encoding with RB/CCE. Good as it gets other than DL media.

Don't feel alone, I also assumed dvd shrink set at no compression wouldn't affect the quality of my backups when I was learning, but it can and does.

Mort