Hello, To cut a long story short I am about to backup my 200+ DVD collection. My problem however is my eyesight isn't that great, so when I was testing various encoders etc it was hard for me to tell the difference, but when my friends come over I don't want them to complain. From reading I see CCE is the best but my question is basically, is it it worth the time to use CCE if the compression is say above 80%?, 90%? Also what if I'm copying my Simpsons DVD's, they don't have much details so should shrink be ok or still use CCE? If you could share some thoughts and ideas it would be appreciated. I have 2 TV's both 42inch+, one plasma, one LCD if that helps. Original Shrink 80% + Sharp CCE 80% + 3 Pass CCE 50% + 3 Pass Shrink 50% + Sharp
I don't use DVD-RB unless the compression reaches 30-35% or more. I typically just use DVD Shrink, Recode or DVD2One for the rest and I really don't see a degredation in quality.
If you edit out the extras and the special features, most movies out have almost no compression to them, roughly 85-100% range from my experience mostly with kids movies. Try a few different programs and have some 20 year olds look at them and see if they notice. From my observations, the first effect to show up is in large areas of the same color, you may see square blocks in the area, specifically in the darker colors. Hope that this helps. I can't tell the difference on my 32 inch TV, but you have the bomb when it comes to video,,,
I agree that DVD-RB works best for full disc backups or Lord of the Rings length main movies. For me, my cutoff point is like blivetNC said. Use shrink or Recode from 85-100% with quality settings on. I change to DVD-RB for the rest.
Thanks for the help everyone. So for a general rule if it below 80%-85% I should use CCE. What about my Simpson's and Family Guy DVD's, do you think they can go lower because there isn't much detail in the picture? Do you think it will be easier for me too see the difference if I burn them on to DVD and try watching them on my TV? So far I've only compared on the computer, full screen (23inch widescreen lcd).
Definitely give it a real world, worst case scenario test. Copy an entire disk, one whose compression is like 45%, then compare it with just the movie, and then compare it with the original, let your eyes be the deciding factor.
To all who may know---Isnt there a general rule about not using CCE for cartoons and other discs with low bitrates? I know its something along those lines, and was about to give information saying use Procoder or Hanks with DVD-RB for those cartoons of gambit01. Could someone correct me/ clarify that general rule please? TIA
Never used CCE, but highly recommend Slysoft's ANYDVD and Elby's CloneDVD2 for everything, only takes 35 minutes to process and entire disk, even one with high compression.
@Deadrum33 - i don't know about cartoons exactly, but animated movies/cgi etc come out fine for me, but i'll definitely concur that CCE can't work wonders with low bitrates. I believe one of the other encoders is better for low bitrates, Hank's Encoder or something ? - i always just use CCE and appreciate anything it comes out with personally
Thanks Creaky. gambit01---I wasnt totally off target Let us all know if you have questions or problems.
Im going to go with blivetNC on this one, I used to use DVD Shrink when it came out and the quality it rips that at isnt all that great, and then i stumbled accross a guy who did a comparison on DVD transcoders, and InterVideo DVDCopy5 came out #1 in quality CloneDVD2 came out #2 or #3 and Shrink was below #7 And with CloneDVD2 you have more hands on the dvd. you can cut/snip sutff you dont want, but with Shrink your only left with Either movie only or Movie with extra. Dont take my word for it downlaod the Trail/Demo of CloneDVD2 and give it a try youll love what it does.
I have a 36 inch TV, and i have never seen any difference between RB/encoder and shrink, recode2,dvd2one and intervideo; even at high levels of compression.
well i've just done a few FULL discs (like 8GB or whatever) of the latest Battlestar Galatica series 3 in DVD Rebuilder with CCE SP2 (4 passes), the results are amazing (especially with so many dark scenes for Rebuilder to deal with) Space for Video : 3,446,432KB Reduction Level for DVD-5: 48.9% Bitrate: 2,780 Kbs on any of my dvd encoding machines, the average for a full disc such as the above is about 4/5 hours, well worth the wait when you see the results - there is no way on earth Shrink, Recode or anything can come even partially close to that...