StaxRip mastered...

[The.King]

Hi,

I've been trying my hand at a lot of different programs after using DVD Decryptor to rip material. (Basically looking to obtain standard 350MB files from DVD's for TV programs that I have purchased in a shop.)

I tried Handbreak a good while ago and really liked the friendly interface and ease of use. Only problem was that there was no avi option (as far as I can remember.) I then tried AVS and while it seemed to offer much more in terms of options - it was a lot harder to operate and there was no decent instructions. It just seemed like too much time and work to encode a file.

Finally I tried StaxRip (on a recommendation from here) and it's preety good, does everything and is relatively just a few clicks to set up anything. I've tried all different containers/encoders and got some pretty good results. The only issue I have is...it's not exactly the best quality avi file (for 350MB) when I rip something from DVD. (i.e. the quality is almost on a par with a TVrip available online and obviously - it should be a little better.)

So the question is.....(and without getting into the whole 'everyone has their own favoutire programme to use, colours they like', blah, blah, blah) I'm not asking which is better between XYZ, I'm asking anyone with end-user experience what program they used to obtain really good DVDRips at approx. 350MB - or - out of all the programmes they tried (like me), what one they found to be best? I've seen one or two TVRips and I've love to know what program is being used to obtain such quality from TV as opposed to my DVD course.

Apologies for the long post - just wanted to explain where I was coming from.

Thanks.

[Baldrick]

Use an older version of handbrake to get avi support, like https://www.videohelp.com/download/HandBrake-0.9.3-Win_GUI.exe


But for best quality you need to learn how to use megui and configure it correctly or avisynth with virtualdub.

[The.King]

Thanks Baldrick,

I just read up on megui and honestly thought I was reading another language for a split second. This is an encoder right? But is it some over complicated super duper encoder?

I'm using both avisynth and virtualdubmod (they both come with StaxRip), so I don't know what else I can do with them?

I might try the older version of Handbreak and see how that pans out. Can I ask what you normally use for your own stuff as I'm sure your encodes are as good as the actual source. Or then again - if it's super technical maybe you'll blow my mind?

[leghorn]

Some years ago, when x264 was far from being useful or even available, I used AutoGK for conversion to Xvid Avi. Afaik, its development has been halted, but still I consider it a very useful tool.

With the evolution of x264 I let Xvid behind. For conversion I normally use meGUI with a HQ preset for x264. It's time-consuming alright, but defintitely worth it.

[The.King]

Cheers for that, now I just need a 'laymans' terms version of how to operate megui to give it a whirl...