How to reduce ripped dvd video size?

[looloo]

Hey guys, i know this might be noob to ask here, but i just have headache reading all different articles saying different things, so i'm thinking might just get ppl focus on my issue. Ok, now i got my dvd video ripped to my HD using DVD shrink, but would like to further reduce the dvd video size to keep it in my HD. So, what format is best to convert to (rmvb, aiv, etc ..) that will reduce the size of the video and still has reasonable good quality? Please give advice and helps, Thanks.

[G)-(OST]

Xvid in my opinion and here is a guide http://www.bobsomers.com/articles/encoding-dvds-to-high-quality-movie-files-with-xvid-and-ac3-1/ plus there is more guides in the "how to" "convert" to the right [EDIT] sorry left

[guns1inger]

AutoGK or avi.NET are both good packages for simple Xvid conversion

[mats.hogberg]

AutoGK or avi.NET are both good packages for simple Xvid conversion

I'd say you'd have to be very well versed in configuring the codec (or have very special demands) if you'd be able to beat these apps at all, for a DVD to DivX/XviD AVI conversion.
Also, you should rip with DVDDecrypter or DVDFab Decrypter, not DVDShrink (at least not if you're shrinking with DVDShrink), to get the best possible source for your conversion to AVI.

/Mats

[looloo]

Xvid in my opinion and here is a guide http://www.bobsomers.com/articles/encoding-dvds-to-high-quality-movie-files-with-xvid-and-ac3-1/ plus there is more guides in the "how to" "convert" to the right

Thanks for this. This should be the right stuff i'm looking for, but dam it's so complicated. Btw, whats the dif between DVD shrink and dvd DVD Decrypter?

[mats.hogberg]

whats the dif between DVD shrink and dvd DVD Decrypter?

DVDDecrypter creates a 1:1 copy (sans CSS protection) on your HDD. DVDShrink squeezes whatever size the original is, down to fit on a DVD5. First compresing with DVDShrink, then further with XviD is not as optimal as taking the uncompressed (used in a loose sense) output from DVDDecrypter and use that as source material for your XviD AVI.

/Mats

[kush]

Unless you set DVD Shrink to no compression of course, which is unlikely that you would have done, nor known it is possible.. But with all the newer "protections" that Sony (and others) have put onto discs since Shrink's demise, DVD Fab/DVD Fab Decrypter (as well as other tools like AnyDVD) are better tools to use to get around the issues.

It's still possible to use DVD Decrypter (not to be confused w/ DVD Fab Decrypter) with these newer discs, but it requires alot more effort to obtain a 'clean' rip - and not something you really need to worry yourself with at this point, esp since like DVD Fab/AnyDVD take care of the problems automatically.

[edit] Oh, and for the size reduction issue of the OP, I would go for autoGK..I can't speak for other similar tools, but I've used AutoGK (as the front end for Gordian Knot, which is in turn a front end for the various tools used in the 'shrink'/conversion process)) in the past, and it's easy to use, works well, and is best of all *free*. One bit of info though, autoGK is technically abandoned/no longer in development, but there was just a new beta update in recent days to address some issues. No matter though, it does all it really needs to, including HDTV stream conversions, so there's not really any more features I can think of that it *needs*, and the author has already said he will keep up the bugfix part of the program (at least for the foreseeable future).

[edit 2 @ mats reply below] Yes,, I realize that. Seeming by the original message, I assume he is using a bog standard CSS discs, without the bad sector crap introduced by ARRCoS, et al..I just thought I'd point out an issue he may come into contact with if he tries to rip/convert some of the newer discs, esp ones ptu out by Sony/Tristar.

[mats.hogberg]

That's true, but as the OP has used DVDShrink without problems, DVDDecrypter will work too.
But DVDFab Decrypter may be an even better option. Like DVDDecrypter, it just creates a 1:1 copy (sans CSS and other backup counter measures) of the DVD.

/Mats

[G)-(OST]

Xvid in my opinion and here is a guide http://www.bobsomers.com/articles/encoding-dvds-to-high-quality-movie-files-with-xvid-and-ac3-1/ plus there is more guides in the "how to" "convert" to the right

Thanks for this. This should be the right stuff i'm looking for, but dam it's so complicated. Btw, whats the dif between DVD shrink and dvd DVD Decrypter?

ripit4me is a great new program thats easy to use has a 1 click backup mode or a more tweakable mode, and it uses both DVD shrink & DVD decrypter.