Best Transcoding Software: My Results

[cybertlc]

I was trying to back up the new Star Trek Voyager DVDs to DVD+R and had some issues.

First of all, the rip went fine with DVD Decrypter. Then I used DVD SHRINK (latest version) to compress the full DVD, including menus, bonus content, etc. to a DVD 4.7. I was going from a 7.73GB to a 4.7GB disc, so I planned on some quality loss, but I wanted it to be the best quality possible.

Now, DVDSHRINK gave me some interesting BUGS. First of all, after I burned the new disc with DVDSHRINK, I played it and noticed that about 45 mins into the DVD, at one scene, the video started to pixelate for about 3 seconds.

So, I checked my ripped DVD (still on my hard drive) to see if it had errors, and it was 100% fine. So I figured "Hey, maybe it was a bad transcode." So I did it again, burned it, and at the SAME SCENE it pixelated. Apparently there's a bug in the software, who knows.

So then I moved on to DVD2ONE (latest version). Very fast, but the quality in the end was NOT GOOD. DVD SHRINK had good quality, but I didn't want to deal with the pixelating problems it gave me. I also noticed that DVD2ONE jumped between 2 chapters at one point.

So finally, I tried Pinnacle Instant Copy 8. I was disappointed because it took so long compared to the others, but in the end, I GOT MY PERFECT BACKUP, NO PIXELATING, and the BEST QUALITY out of any of the 3.

So, if any of you have problems, I'd suggest using Pinnacle Instant Copy 8. Great quality and no pixelating. It takes about double the time as compared to the other encoders, but it is WORTH IT!!!

Just passing my little encounter on to others Good luck!

[BJ_M]

if you wanted best quality -- why not just split it to 2 disks?

[cybertlc]

Best quality one ONE DISC. The quality now is actually still very good using Instant Copy. I find it rather dumb to backup a DVD to two discs, kinda defeats the purpose if you ask me. After backing up my DVD9 to DVD5 with Instant Copy the quality still looks as good as my satellite TV feed, so I'm happy.

[hech54]

Your views and comments are certainly welcome here but I'll still take any version of DVDShrink anytime....except maybe that "double window" one....never took a liking to that one..

[cybertlc]

I loved DVDShrink until I noticed the pixelating. That's unacceptable to me, or I'd still be using it!

[BJ_M]

there is a great compare of all popular products for shrinking/backup listed on the front page of this web site ...

http://dvd.box.sk/articles8.php?stranka=9 is the conclusion and the winner is Intervideo DVD Copy .. and it's a pretty convincing win ....


i was supprised how bad dvdshrink compared to the rest ...

[hech54]

I loved DVDShrink until I noticed the pixelating. That's unacceptable to me, or I'd still be using it!

Yea but one DVD that happens to show up poorly on the DVDR doesn't justify paying $50 for slower software. If you want slower and better....you could have easily saved some money and used deep analysis on DVDShrink. I myself have used deep analysis once just for shits and giggles. Turned out nice...but not MUCH nicer than without it. I simply have never noticed and visible defects in my back-ups using DVDShrink with or without deep analysis.
You must have a television the size of a small country.

[ricky1756]

i wonder if the slower time in pinnacle, is basically what you would get with dvdshrink using deep analysis. while pinnacle does it for every dvd. dvdshrink just does it when you tell it to

[northcat_8]

I've noticed that Instant Copy 7 does a better job on larger movies that DVDshrink does also.

Now I can't tell a difference with movies around the 90 minute mark but for movies like Scarface or Pulp Fiction...IC7 is far better quality wise. But does take a lot longer.

[cybertlc]

No, I did deep analysis EVERY TIME on DVDSHRINK. The pixelating problem was still there on the same scene. How can you justify using a program that gives you pixelation, even if it is only 'sometimes'? I prefer using a program that doesn't give pixelation at any point on any disc.....and if I have to give up a bit of time for that to happen, then I'm more than willing.

And my TV is a 32'' Sony WEGA......but the thing is this pixelating problem happens when I view the final output video from DVDSHRINK on my computer, AND the output DVD on my TV. That's how I knew it wasn't a media problem.

Also, Intervideo DVD Copy gave me little SKIPS (like frame was dropped or something) in certain spots on the final video. No thanks to that either!

And no, the slower time in Pinnacle is not what you'd get using DVDSHRINK, as I used Deep Analysis every time. Pinnacle is still slower than DVDSHRINK even using Deep Analysis......but it gives no pixelation issues.

[cybertlc]

And yes, this was a longer movie (2 hours, 45 mins), but that's still no reason why DVDSHRINK should give pixelation at ONE specific spot in the video, nor is it a reason why Intervideo DVD Copy should give me what appears to be a dropped frame here and there (looks like it happened between chapters.....don't know why though).

[nickelzy]

Is there a trial available for Pinnacle Instant Copy 8? I clicked on the link and there is a trial link but it doesn't take me anywhere that I can download it on a demo basis. Anyone know how I can try this out? I certainly won't buy it unless I can try it out first. I want to make sure the extra time is worth it (that is, will I actually be able to see a noticeable difference in quality?) and is the time too long? I already think DVD Shrink with deep analysis takes a long time. However, if it really is better quality, I might go with it. BUT I NEED A TRIAL!!

[cybertlc]

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/docloader_n.asp?templ=10&doclink=/WebVideo/instantcddvdversion8/English(UK)/doc/download_UK.htm&Product_ID=1431&Langue_ID=2&loc=do c173&division_id=


Try that. 189MB though.......better have high speed

After I have my DVD ripped, it takes about 40 mins or so for Pinnacle Instant Copy 8 to finish.....it's not a HORRIBLE wait, but it's about double the length of some other transcoders.

[BJ_M]

Is there a trial available for Pinnacle Instant Copy 8? I clicked on the link and there is a trial link but it doesn't take me anywhere that I can download it on a demo basis. Anyone know how I can try this out? I certainly won't buy it unless I can try it out first. I want to make sure the extra time is worth it (that is, will I actually be able to see a noticeable difference in quality?) and is the time too long? I already think DVD Shrink with deep analysis takes a long time. However, if it really is better quality, I might go with it. BUT I NEED A TRIAL!!

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/WebVideo/instantcopy/English(UK)/doc/InstantCopy_Trial.zip

ftp://ftp.pinnaclesys.de/demo/InstantCopy7_trial/InstantCopy_Trial.zip

full version - 15 meg size - 15 day trial

[cybertlc]

ftp://ftp.pinnaclesys.de/demo/InstantCopy8_trial/InstantCopy8.0.3_TryandBuy.exe

That is for the version 8 trial.......which is the latest version. The FTP link posted by BJ is for version 7.

[BJ_M]

ftp://ftp.pinnaclesys.de/demo/InstantCopy8_trial/InstantCopy8.0.3_TryandBuy.exe

That is for the version 8 trial.......which is the latest version. The FTP link posted by BJ is for version 7.

sorry -- didnt see that one ..

[northcat_8]

How can you justify using a program that gives you pixelation, even if it is only 'sometimes'?

Because I've never had that problem with it.

I always do a deep analysis with DVDshrink also. Why it pixelates on you I don't know. When the quality drops for me, there are little artifacts around the edges in part of the video.

IC7 gets tiresome because I calculate file size by hand and that gets old after a while. Don't get me wrong, I like IC7 and it always works for me, I am a long time user of IC7. I recently gave shrink another try and all I'm saying is that with smaller movies there is no difference in the quality.

I do not like IC8 though. I think it to be a purple version of the same thing that just incorporates some of the hidden settings into the GUI. I won't upgrade to IC8...I personally think it is a downgrade from IC7.

[cybertlc]

I never used IC7, but IC8 doesn't give me any issues with calculating output size.....and it always fits on a DVD without any problems. Don't know if that's a fix or a new feature between 7 and 8?

All I can say is watch your copies once, if it happened to one disc I'm sure it will happen to others. Any anyone who is skeptical, go rent the Star Trek Voyager season 1 and try copying the second disc.....first episode will pixelate right towards the end, and every re-transcode pixelates at the SAME spot.

[DiablosuX102]

i've used dvdshrink a lotta time and never had any problems...and just to clear this up if some1 doesn't understand, there's no point to do a deep analysis enless u are going to compress it, otherwise, helps quality a lot. (especially in high motion scenes)

josh

[nickelzy]

What about Intervideo? There is a thread below that some people have commented on it being the best for quality. Any opinions on Intervideo vs. Instant Copy 8?

[cybertlc]

I used Intervideo DVD Copy 1.2 and the quality was great...........but in between chapters (scenes).....I noticed that it dropped a frame (or skipped), so I didn't use that anymore either.

[Vanderlow]

C't magazine also thought IC8 was tops in the s/w they testing as I went into here in this thread (below). Did you also use IC8 to burn to DVDr? Did Shrink look just as good as IC8 in all other aspects other then that one scene?


https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=846515#846515

[cybertlc]

I actually viewed the output file on my PC rather than burn it to DVD to make sure it wasn't a media issue. IC8 and DVD Copy were both superb in quality.....except DVD Copy, as I said, gave a little 'skip' between a chapter that I wasn't pleased with, similar to a dropped frame.

I used the same source and IC8 handled it fine.

[proxyx99]

I remember looking once at Intervideo DVD Copy but as I recall main difference with Pinnacle IC7/8 is that it does not reencode. If I'm not mistaken (this info cannot be easily found on Intervideo site) the difference lies here: if you have dual layer >4.7 Gig DVD it will copy only to 2 disks whereas Pinnacle will reencode and fit on 1. In any case Pinnacle is smart enough to know when to reencode and when not to (<4.7 Gig). Since no other software can reencode at this high quality level IC7/8 is my choice. I did about 40 DVD (don't bother with crap) and quality is just superb. Disk features selection is excellent and there are no issues with menus and disk structure. I look no further. This is exactly what I was looking for

[northcat_8]

but IC8 doesn't give me any issues with calculating output size.....and it always fits on a DVD without any problems. Don't know if that's a fix or a new feature between 7 and 8?

No it doesn't.

That's not a fix between 7 & 8. Most of the time your DVD will be much smaller than the 4.3 GB and occasionally it will be over.

Hopefully you have downloaded Hiddensettings editor from mrbass.org

I do not have IC8, I have IC7. A friend of mine bought IC8 and I have used it on his PC.
My list of dislikes with IC8:

The file size slider is still not accurate.
You get to choose between high speed, high quality, disc default and original (or something like that...it's been a while)
No profile abilities under the details button, so I have to set everything up everytime.
And lets not forget the virtual drive it puts on your PC. I already have Daemon Tools, I don't need 2 virtual drives on my PC. They should at least have an option to either install it or to not install it.

I can't really see why the file size slider is not accurate yet but maybe that's a programming issue that is necessary.
Choosing between high speed, high quality.....well, since it doesn't do any good to be fast if you can't see the video....I guess high quality would be a common sense selection. The high speed option...it is not "wow, that was much faster"...it is only barely faster. Another reason to stick with high quality.

Basically there are no big improvements over IC7. With the hidden settings editor and really you will still want the hidden settings editor even if you are going to use IC8 anyway. To do things like remove the layer break, to always allow the OK button, "DVDmagic" lets you select individual titles and compress seperately.

The program itself is exactly like IC7 with a few more options that I already had or are pointless. So in my view, they basically took IC7 painted it purple, threw in the high speed option (which isn't much faster), took away my profile ability and called it version 8.

Also, if you are burning with IC7 or 8....you might want to becareful doing that, IC7 and 8 has messed up some structures before and burning before checking will eventually land you with some coasters.

[nickelzy]

I remember looking once at Intervideo DVD Copy but as I recall main difference with Pinnacle IC7/8 is that it does not reencode. If I'm not mistaken (this info cannot be easily found on Intervideo site) the difference lies here: if you have dual layer >4.7 Gig DVD it will copy only to 2 disks whereas Pinnacle will reencode and fit on 1. In any case Pinnacle is smart enough to know when to reencode and when not to (<4.7 Gig). Since no other software can reencode at this high quality level IC7/8 is my choice

I have no idea what dual layer is, but I find this hard to believe (about having to copy onto 2 discs). I just don't think you're right here. Anyone using or who has used Intervideo have any comment on this?

I'm going to try it out when I get back home next week. From all of the reviews that I've read lately, Intervideo seems to get the most praise for quality, followed by Pinnacle Instant copy, and down on the list appears to be DVD Shrink (which I have been using for a month now). And besides quality, a big advantage of Intervideo's software over Pinnacle is SPEED!

[cybertlc]

The virtual drive can be installed or uninstalled. If you do a custom install, you can select that it not be installed.

I've never had any size issues with IC8 at all. The smallest output it has given was 4.27......but the quality it puts out is superb so it doesn't even bother me that it's not taking up the 100% space limit.

IC8 removes the layer break by default, you don't need a the hidden tools for that unless you wish to DISABLE it.

Question: Does Intervideo DVD Copy2 use the full DVD space EVERY TIME??? I have only used it the one time and stopped due to the frame skip that I noticed.

[cybertlc]

I just tested DVDCopy2. It DOES NOT fill up the full disc, either! The disc that I copied with IC8 turned out to be 4.27GB......while the one I copied with DVDCopy2 turned out to be a whopping 4.28GB. Guess I answered my own question there!!!! As for the speed difference between the two, IC8 & DVDCopy2......I'd say for a 7.78GB movie, InstantCopy takes about 10 minutes longer is all. It's not as drastic as it seems.

[Chip718]

How come no one ever mentions DVDFab? Don't they claim to give perfect 1:1 Copies?

[northcat_8]

IC8 removes the layer break by default, you don't need a the hidden tools for that unless you wish to DISABLE it.

Like I said "Basically there are no big improvements over IC7. With the hidden settings editor."

I know I don't have to install the virtual drive, but it doesn't matter...I won't "upgrade" to IC8.

I've never had any size issues with IC8 at all.

But your output file size does not match the size given on the file size slider....