need help from experienced dvd "backer-uppers"

[azuberi80]

ive been studying this forum for a long time and i think im ready to jump into ripping dvds.

right now my funds are limited, so i cant put together an entirely new computer system but i can upgrade piece by piece.

first things first, im hearing a lot of good things about the new sony dvd burner that handles all dvd formats......IF i wasnt able to get this one, what is the next best burner to get that will not make coasters of my dvd backups and home videos that i will be burning onto dvds.

currently i have:

Athlon 800mhz thunderbird
384mb sdram pc133
2 20gb 7200rpm hard drives
agp video card
32x tdv velocd cdrw

now what do i HAVE to have right now to make this ripping experience a little easier?

im more worried about quality then speed. i know it wont go faster until i get a new processor but if i do that off the top i have to put new memory, new mother board and all that.

what is your guys experiences because everyone had one of these setups a few years ago.

[twodogs]

From what I see of your system, you have sufficient to get going (with exception of DVD Player/Burner).

In a nutshell, quality will come from the software you choose to use - DVD2DVDr, TMPGEnc, etc & speed will come from your processor.

im more worried about quality then speed

Since you are more concerned with quality, your 800 will still do the job with the quality of a faster machine, albeit a bit slower than some of the lastest 2+Ghz machines.

Since funds are limited, go get your burner, have a play, then get a faster processor if you still think it's necessary.

Most people are favouring the Sony or Pioneer (/Cendyne) burners at the moment.

[azuberi80]

ok, thats cool.

im gonna hold off on this computer thing but i got another question.

what would be an ideal system to rip dvds and do vhs to dvd conversion?

processor speed and type
memory
hard drive
video card
os

[musher70]

they got those cendyne on sale all the time, really pioneer 104/105's
for $169 after rebates, they are the -r/rw's, got one in november
havent had no trouble with it....i too started with a 800mhz, now
im at 2.4gz, start with something simple, and then just add-on...
Oh, by the way, you dont really have to reencode all the time,
just sometimes....

[twodogs]

azuberi80,

How fat is your wallet?

For starters, get a DVD Player/burner to rip from DVDs - you do not need to upgrade anything else on your PC.

Then get a Canopus ADVC-100 and a firewire card to capture from VHS or any other analogue source, including TV, etc.
Read the write-ups in the Capture Cards section to the left.
Again, no PC upgrade would be required (to begin with!).

With this solution, you can take the DVD burner, AVDC-100 and firewire to a new & faster PC when you can afford one.

[azuberi80]

azuberi80,

How fat is your wallet?

For starters, get a DVD Player/burner to rip from DVDs - you do not need to upgrade anything else on your PC.

Then get a Canopus ADVC-100 and a firewire card to capture from VHS or any other analogue source, including TV, etc.
Read the write-ups in the Capture Cards section to the left.
Again, no PC upgrade would be required (to begin with!).

With this solution, you can take the DVD burner, AVDC-100 and firewire to a new & faster PC when you can afford one.

thanks for the advice. that capture card is exactly the one ive been looking at because i heard its the best quality one for the price.

im running windows me, should i go to windows xp?
ive heard a lot of programs i need to rip dvds dont work on win me

[Tiribulus]

im running windows me, should i go to windows xp? ive heard a lot of programs i need to rip dvds dont work on win me

Windows barely works in Windows ME Whatever else you do. IMHO, an OS upgrade is definitely in order.
Tiribulus

[robboughton]

lol @ win ME i use it 2 but i also got xp on a dual boot system 1.4 amd t bird its ideal.i got pioneer burner lg dvd/cdrw i find alot of progs crash on either system so i guess u can get away wiv ME i blagged it 4 a bit but i found when rippin a movie into 1 file it din work wiv fat32 file sys on ur h/d i alos use a p3 750mhz even slower than ur amd it does the job also so dun worry bout spenin loads of cash yet just get a dvd burner cus ya need it

[freebee22]

I do agree with Tiribulus..you need to upgrade to an OS that support NTFS system ....in this case win xp is the way to go....win 2000 I really don't have any experience with it, with respect to software compatibility...but win xp works great for me... I read it somewhere that fat32 got the 4gig limitation and NTFS doesn't.....

just my 2 cents

[JasonK]

I read it somewhere that fat32 got the 4gig limitation and NTFS doesn't.....

It's true that FAT32 has a 4 gig FILE SIZE limitation (not partition) and NTFS does NOT, BUT.... Win98/ME also has a 4 gig file size access limit regardless of file system. Therefore, when using 3rd party NTFS access utilities or accessing large files via a network, Win98/ME is still limited to 4 gig FILES. So it's not just the file system. Windows 2000 also fully supports NTFS and large files, and it's been rock solid and compatibile with everything decent I've thrown at it in the last 2 1/2 years.

[azuberi80]

coo.

im bout to load this win xp when i get home.

[baker]

using tmpegenc to encode with a 800mhz, compared to a 2ghz

You know you coul just use CCE on your 800mhz and you will think when compared to tmpegenc that you will have a 2ghz computer

Baker

[Tiribulus]

[quote="JasonK"]

Windows 2000 also fully supports NTFS and large files, and it's been rock solid and compatibile with everything decent I've thrown at it in the last 2 1/2 years.

Windows 2000 is very solid and mature now. It's also the OS I use in my beloved Frankenbox http://www.geocities.com/gsmit1/frankenbox.html?1033149672756]The Frankenbox . I could be wrong on this as I'm stll new at these things, but XP SEEMS to do capturing better at least for me. I do my editing on wife's machine which also is running 2000. ME is the hideous inbred offspring of an attempt to run a 2000 interface on a 9x kernel minus 16 bit support and all the "Kooky" behavior that that means. Aside from the obvious benefits of NTFS a change to either 2K or XP will have azuberi80 wondering why he waited so long. Good move.
Tiribulus

[JasonK]

I do all my capturing with firewire, so the results are perfect digital copies with no dropped frames. For analog, I use external analog to DV converter.

[dc91gt]

buy the following:

If your motherboard supports XP processors (and it should since it'll run a duron - you might need a bios upgrade).

Get an XP1800 - they can be had for $75 shipped. Check www.pricewatch.com.

This will cut you encoding times down dramatically.

Then get a Pioneer A04 or Cendyne A04/105 burner. They can be had
for $169 if you look around. It's a better burner then that sony pos.

Those two upgrades are all you need really and it won't break the bank.

You might want to add another stick of memory - a 256 PC133 can be had for like $20 bucks.



-d

[azuberi80]

buy the following:

If your motherboard supports XP processors (and it should since it'll run a duron - you might need a bios upgrade).

Get an XP1800 - they can be had for $75 shipped. Check www.pricewatch.com.

This will cut you encoding times down dramatically.

Then get a Pioneer A04 or Cendyne A04/105 burner. They can be had
for $169 if you look around. It's a better burner then that sony pos.

Those two upgrades are all you need really and it won't break the bank.

You might want to add another stick of memory - a 256 PC133 can be had for like $20 bucks.



-d

ok thanks, ive been looking at that processor, and im happy with my motherboard, its running a 800mhz athlon thunderbird.

im looking for my motherboard manual so i can get the model number and look up if it supports xp processors....if it does im probably gonna do what you said above.

whats wrong with the sony drive? its expensive but everyone on here says its the best. Whats the difference between that dvd+r and -r format? is it that big a deal?

[jarvis1781]

@ Tribulus..

FRANKENBOX totally RULES!
I like the refrigerator as part of the cooling system.
Very nice.

how cold does it keep your CPU?

[Tiribulus]

@ Tribulus..

FRANKENBOX totally RULES!
I like the refrigerator as part of the cooling system.
Very nice.
how cold does it keep your CPU?

Thanks man, she aint pretty, but sports plenty of muscle.
Under full extended load it goes to around 20 degrees celcius and idles around 14. That's an XP2400+ @ 2406/2.1 volts core.
Tiribulus

[jarvis1781]

That is just amazing! even cooler than my P4 system

[jarvis1781]

if I am not mistaken that is a Klipsch subwoofer there at the foot of that desk!

that must be VERY nice. Klipsch RULES!

how does your system sound?

[Tiribulus]

You are correct, that is indeed the subwoofer from the Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Speaker set. You are also correct in that they are not only loud enough to structurally damage your house, but sound better than most people's actual stereo. Nothin like a game of UT 2003 or the opening invasion sequence from Saving Private Ryan at 110 pristine decibels
Tiribulus

[jarvis1781]

simply amazing!

I was thinking about getting those myself, and with your vote I think I will head out and get them.

[dc91gt]

ok thanks, ive been looking at that processor, and im happy with my motherboard, its running a 800mhz athlon thunderbird.

im looking for my motherboard manual so i can get the model number and look up if it supports xp processors....if it does im probably gonna do what you said above.

whats wrong with the sony drive? its expensive but everyone on here says its the best. Whats the difference between that dvd+r and -r format? is it that big a deal?

Check the motherboard makers website, generally XP support was a bios update and won't be in the manual. Or you can list the make/model here and I can check for you.

The sony drive is just hype. It's no better then the tried and true pioneer and is picky on media.

Get an A04 and you can use .83 cents a pop ritek G3 media - which burns at 2X and has absolutely great compatibility with set-top dvd players.

I have yet to run into a set top tv player that won't play the Riteks (unless it doesn't support DVD-R at all).

-d

[Tiribulus]

simply amazing!
I was thinking about getting those myself, and with your vote I think I will head out and get them.

You won't be sorry, but make sure you have a good sound card to go with them. That will directly effect how they sound obviously. If you're going to spend 400 dollars on computer speakers. might as well have that too. Sorry to azuberi80 we didn't mean to get off track here.
Tiribulus