Updated DVDfab9 and Handbrake Question.

[prezzacc]

Hi all,

Does anyone know, does DVDfab9 get updated alot? I bought a film about a year ago, tried to backup and convert to mp4 and i assume it was an error due to protection? Is there a way to know how often this updates?

Secondly Handbrake, im still playing with different settings, gettin better quality now. On the program it says pick higher numbers on quality, ie 20-23 for HD. However people here mention lowering for better quality?

Thanks all for any advice.

[hech54]

Hi all,

Does anyone know, does DVDfab9 get updated alot? I bought a film about a year ago, tried to backup and convert to mp4 and i assume it was an error due to protection? Is there a way to know how often this updates?

Don't use DVDFab to convert....just rip it to your HDD then use something like HandBrake. Also try to remove any unwanted languages and subtitles(during the rip, if DVDFab still allows that in the free version) to make HandBrake's job easier.

[prezzacc]

Thanks for the response, I don't use it for everything. I do as you suggest, rip with DVDfab then convert with Handbrake. But this one film doesn't seem to work so i wonder how often there is an update and if that would help to do this one DVD.

You can only do full rip with the free section of DVDfab.

Do you know about the handbrake settings?

Thanks

[hello_hello]

The lower the CRF value (Handbrake calls it RF), the higher the quality. Moving the slider to the right increases quality. At full right, it's CRF 0 which is lossless. CRF 18 is roughly (it depends on the source video) where the x264 encoder is considered to be "transparent". Some people use slightly lower CRF values, but the lower you go the more the file sizes increase. As a rule of thumb, higher definition video can get away with slightly higher CRF values. I use CRF 18 for standard definition and 720p and CRF 20 for 1080p, but it's all personal choice.

Unless you know you need to encode for a specific device, it probably pays to stick to Handbrake's High Profile preset. It uses x264's default settings, but you can still select which x264 speed preset you use (the default is medium) and also select an appropriate x264 tuning (film, grain, animation etc).

[jman98]

prezzacc - You're not specific about whether your problem is the ripping or the converting. You do need to understand that bad sector copy protection that some studios use (mostly in the USA but it has been seen elsewhere) has almost infinite variations. So it is theoretically possible that if you buy something like some DVD only put out in Croatia (for example) of some Communist era Yugoslavian movie that DVDFab has no idea how to defeat this particular implementation of bad sector copy protection because they've never heard of the DVD and sure don't have a copy of it to test with.

If you have the "free" version of DVDFab note that it trails the commercial release by 6 months. If it works at all for you, consider yourself lucky. Most of us who've tried to install the free DVDFab recently have failed to get it work longer than 30 days and nobody here has any idea why their old copies are still free and still work and why we can no longer install the free version and have it last more than 1 month.

[prezzacc]

Thanks hello hello. I think that makes sense now! I can apply it from now on. I think i may stick to high profile, its just quite large file sizes sometimes.

Jman98 - thanks its the ripping i was having trouble with, your explantion makes sense.

Sounds like im lucky really then with DVDfab, maybe ill stick to the copy i have, mine has gone past 30 days and still works fine (well it says i can use HD Decryter, then loads and lets me select full disc copy only. I was about to install the latest but you might have changed my mind!

[jman98]

For what it's worth, Baldrick (one of the moderators here) and others have reported being able to upgrade their free versions of DVDFab and they continue to work. I figure it's one of two things going on, but NOBODY has ever provided any answer despite many posts begging for information on the subject, so it's pure speculation on my part.

1) At some time in the past, it is known that DVDFab did have a free version that everybody could easily install and get to work for free forever and update. It may be that Baldrick and others installed one of those versions and they are allowed to update them forever, but those of us who try to install DVDFab now can't ever get it to work beyond 30 days because there is some change in how it works and new installers aren't allowed to run it for free forever.
2) The current DVDFab really can be installed for free and run longer than 30 days, but the way to do it is non-intuitive and those who get it to work beyond 30 days are either very lucky and just stumbled into it by accident (and maybe they aren't even aware of how they did it) or there is a secret that they know to make it work but they are deliberately not sharing it.