MakeMKV a good choice for preserving DVD content?

[Impaler]

Hi, I have ~30 DVDs of invaluable personal videos converted from VHS tapes.

In 2009 I have came to this community to ask what's the best way to copy them to PC.

I was given advice to rip DVDs with dvd decrypter to ISO then use VideoReDo TVSuite to make a single mpeg file.

But now I stumbled upon MakeMKV. Should I re-export my DVD discs to MKV format instead? Is there any downsides to that? I want to do so my TV could read those mkv files.

And would MakeMKV introduce any lag between audio and video? Or is it taken exactly just as it is on DVD disc? Thanks.

[jagabo]

In both cases you are simply copying the data from the DVD to your hard drive, then remuxing it into MPG or MKV containers. There is no change in the audio or video quality. Neither should introduce A/V sync problems -- though sometimes problematic discs might cause them to screw up.

If your TV doesn't play MPG or MKV files you'll need a media player.

[sneaker]

MakeMKV copies as is, i.e. there is not quality loss. The original MPEG2 video data is just put into the mkv container. Can your TV play MPEG2-in-mkv? You have to test that. The Video/Audio Sync is preserved by MakeMKV.

Personal opinion: if those DVDs are really invaluable I'd also keep the ISOs done using DVD Decrypter (and store them additionally in a bank safe and in the cloud). Every conversion - even if it is just muxing streams into a different container without quality loss - involves some risk of corruption. Just use the mkvs for convenient playback.

[Impaler]

Thanks for reassuring me.

and yes, I store original DVDs in a box in a dry dark place. and mkvs are just for playback. since these discs were only used twice after being burned (video from vhs tapes) their condition is top-notch.

and lets say I were to do some video editing on these files which format should I convert it to from a DVD AND which software would you recommend to do that? video redo still any good?:

scenario 1 - I'd like only to split and joint files
scenario 2 - split, joing, add sfx and effects.