How to tell a VOBs bit rate?

[BurnBabyBurn]

Hello,
I have many dvds that i need to rip into mpegs by chapter and save for later composting then authoring. Mostly porn.
So Im exporting vobs into mpgs on my HD.
I use Nero 7 and it allows me to choose 5073 or 8000bit rates and also a 2-pass option.
It also has an auto mode.

Does it waste my time and space to always use the highest settings?
Other than just comparing the output can i tell before i rip what is overkill?
Can you tell the bitrate of the native vob and if so is it a waste to rip into anything higher?
They all seem to play ok on my dvd player.

thanks.

[yoda313]

Try the latest version of gspot. It can read mpeg type files now.

Or play them in a software dvd player in dvd mode and select "information" to view the bitrate as the movie plays.

EDIT - Yes the max bitrate isn't always necessary. Though trial and error will tell you what "acceptable" is. You can't make more quality magically. Why waste the space??

[BurnBabyBurn]

My question on space is:
I exported to mpg using "smartencode" (nero 7)
result is 359mb
again forcing 5073 bitrate
result is 574mb
then again forcing 8000 bitrate and two pass
result is 701mb

i can detect any differance when i play the vid on my computer either on the monitor or in overlay to the tv (dont know if i would after the burn on a big tv)

also as you can guess it took much less time for the first two. Id like to get the best quality for the least space in the least time (as we all would always!)

so if i play the source dvd in and the bitrate is say for example 5000 am i wasteing time/space if i rip it at 8000?

There by using more time and disk space for no quality improvement?

[BurnBabyBurn]

oh another hint, the native file is 345mb

[yoda313]

Your best bet is to always keep the bitrate the same as the original source. That way your not introducing any problems. Since its that small you want have any problems at all.

Don't add more to it - it really doesn't make a difference.

[BurnBabyBurn]

Cool thanks for the help!

[jimmalenko]

If you're just "converting" VOBs to MPEGs, bitrate should not be a problem or concern at all, and shouldn't even enter the equation, since VOBs are just MPEGs with extras and can be extracted without re-encoding.

VOB2MPG and TMPGEnc DVD Author are just two programs that can extract the MPEG(s) from the VOB(s). Or you can rip with DVDDecrypter or smartripper with file-splitting set to "By chapter", then demux the VOB(s) with VOBEdit then remux to form your MPEG files. Either way, re-encoding is a waste IMHO.

[BurnBabyBurn]

Well since I have your ear-
Im "copying" the vobs to my HD off the DVDs, then I use Nero Vision 4 to edit the vobs into their correct chapters. then i export the chapters to my HD for later authoring into DVDs.

Is there a better way?

Thanks

[ZippyP.]

TDA accepts the DVD video as an input, you can do simple editting, set chapters where ever you wish, setup new menus and then burn to disk. It's what I use.