Encoding a DVD

[UtwigMU]

I would like to encode DVD to something I can burn on CD.

The main purpose of this would be learning experience.

So what would be best semi-pro approach towards encoding DVD files to 2-CDs.

What's the deal with virtual dub, is it good enough or would i yield better results with something more pro.

Basically:
Rip
Encode
Split
Burn

Which video codec, which audio codec.

I know that there are online guides, which I read, but I'd like you to share some personal experience.

[Debbie]

If you want to experiment at almost no software cost try:

1)DVD Ripper eg. Smart Ripper (Freeware)
2)DVD2AVI (Freeware)
3)TMPGEnc (Freeware version)
CD Burner eg. Nero (Perhaps bundled with your HW)

1)http://www.afterdawn.com/software/vi...martripper.cfm

2)http://arbor.ee.ntu.edu.tw/~jackei/dvd2avi/

3)http://www.tmpgenc.net/

No extra codecs are required.
You will have to experiment with the video bit rate in TMPGEnc. For standard vcd it is 1150 but
you can push it a bit higher and still be readable in most home DVD players.

Debbie

[Brian Ellis]

You can re-encode the ripped code to SVCD or VCD formats (~30 or 60 mins/CD respectively) with almost any authoring software, some of which will do the ripping, as well. XSVCD and XVCD, which offer more encoding variants, seem to be disappearing from the market, probably because of some compatibility problems with many set-top DVD players.

[arciervo]

Re: Encoding a DVD

Originally posted by UtwigMU
I would like to encode DVD to something I can burn on CD.

The main purpose of this would be learning experience.

So what would be best semi-pro approach towards encoding DVD files to 2-CDs.

What's the deal with virtual dub, is it good enough or would i yield better results with something more pro.

Basically:
Rip
Encode
SplitCD-
Burn

Which video codec, which audio codec.

I know that there are online guides, which I read, but I'd like you to share some personal experience.

You might want to check out DVD2SVCD (http://www.dvd2dvd.org/) which includes everything but the video encoder (the free TMPGenc will work fine).

This package basically does everything for you including ripping and handling of subtitles. It will optimize the the bit rate to fit the movie on one or more CDs and do the splitting (with a slight overlap) automatically. (You can also force it to use standard VCD/SVCD bit rates.) The result is several sets of bin/cue files that can be burned with software such as Nero.

For the price (free), it's worth looking into.

Tony