is there a benefit to converting your dvd folder into an .iso file before burning? i read in this guide that this guy does that before burning with dvd decrypter. i can see it's very easy and takes no time at all so i'm just curious if there's a reason for it rather than just go stragiht to the burning process from the dvd folder. if this method and/or dvd decrypter is generally regarded as better than imgburn i'll go ahead and make the change.
I can't remember if movies are quite as usable as ISO's as they are as VIDEO_TS files so I'll let Loco and others comment in more detail if they wish but i personally don't bother with ISO mode; i'm perfectly happy with the VIDEO_TS files, i can watch the movie on pc's (and old style) xboxes fine. Imgburn and other programs can burn either type..
For me the only advantage to making ISOs as compared to dvd folders would be at keeping your computer tidy if you were saving them on your HDD. But they also require a little extra effort to view if made into ISOs such as mounting to a virtual drive. Like creaky, I usually keep mine as folders. As far as burners, IMHO, ImgBurn is the way to go. It is kept updated and very user friendly. A far as settings go, I run mine in two pass mode (normal) and one click. I think that I read somewhere that the author of the program himself could not tell the difference between normal and best on the settings.
thanks for the info. so again just for ocd/clarification's sake, there's no difference in quality between one click mode and normal? i just question it because the guide i read over referred to it as: "the entire rebuild process is performed with the click of one Transcode button" and started to wonder.
One click mode just means the program will run the entire process (all three steps) with one click of the button "Backup DVD". As opposed to stopping after each individual step. The "normal" you are referring to is the quality setting of HC Encoder. All the options: Best, Normal, and Fast, can be run in "One Click Mode". Once that option is selected that is where it will stay unless changed. As I stated before I have my quality set to Normal (default) and then I run it in one click mode. Hope this helps clear things up a little.
oh i just wanted to clarify that there wasn't a difference in quality when using "one click mode" over the normal 3 click mode (prepare-encode-rebuild). also in imgburn, should i specify a "volume label"? imgburn picks one for me, should i just go with that? i'm not really sure what it is.
The 3 click mode is more advanced. You need not know about that now. I use it when I'm doing bitrate distribution. After prepare, I use the segment viewer to make some bitrate changes. Just get used to normal operations. After a while, when you are comfortable with the program, you can go deeper into it. There's also a 2 click operation.
Glad dialysis is here to clear up a few of the details that I left out. As well as add details that are beyond my level of knowledge. Thank you sir.
An ISO will be just as compatible as a VIDEO_TS folder. An ISO is just a container that, like ferguj1 stated, keeps everything nice and tidy in one place. It contains all the VOBS, IFO's, BUP's etc. that the VIDEO_TS folder does. You can open the ISO with your favorite zip/rar program and look inside of it if you want. I personally will output to ISO over a VIDEO_TS folder everytime if the program I'm using gives me that choice for the simple reason that I can use the queue feature in Imgburn to burn them when I'm ready. Otherwise I don't bother converting my VIDEO_TS into an ISO as it's just an extra step that isn't necessary.