General queries

[mistermickster]

Hi all,

I am new to all this DVD backup stuff, but have read a lot of the guides and countless number of forum posts, so I think I have a good understanding of what to do. I am not in a position to start yet, as I need to upgrade my PC, but have already downloaded the software ready!

I do have however, a number of questions that may sound quite basic, (remember, I am a newbie ).

Subtitles:
At present, I have no wish to include subtitles in my backups. Are they something that I need to purposely exclude, or are they ignored anyway unless required?

Audio:
I have read that TMPGEnc is not the best audio encoder in the world and that audio should be encoded separately from video and then joined together at authoring time. How is this done? Would that not create possible sync errors?

Menus/Chapters:
Is it possible to have a menu on each disc for a movie? For example, if the movie contains 28 chapters and you have 14 chapters per disc, could you have a menu on the second disc which would point to chapters 15-28?

Picture Quality:
I have read several guides that dissagree on the length of movie that can fit on a VCD/SVCD. Is it possible to have a full 80mins of SVCD? Or would that only make the movie = VCD quality? I obviously would prefer a better quality picture whereever possible, but not if I can only fit 35-40mins per disc!

I have in my armoury:
SmartRipper
DVD Decrypter
ChapterXtractor
DVD2AVI
DVDx
TMPGEnc
VirtualDub
VCDEasy
TSCV

Are there any other programs that can be recommended?

I think that's it for now. I will no doubt post more questions later when I actually start backing up my DVD's/Video's. But until then...

...bye for now, and thanks in advance.

[mkelley]

Umm, I leave it to others to help you about VCDs, but here's just a general note. Your questions about audio/menus seem to indicate you're going to be doing authoring rather than simply backing up your DVDs. If so, you need to get an authoring program in your arsenal of stuff, most likely one you'll pay for. I would advise you to shop around and choose carefully -- like the old joke says, choose your ruts carefully, as you'll be in them awhile.

Most of the authoring programs have demos so you can try them out. I would do this and not jump to hasty conclusions until you try them all.

[mistermickster]

I am not planning on getting a DVD burner just yet, so a straight forward backup DVD to DVD is not on, and I assumed that with conversion to VCD/SVCD/CVD etc. that a certain amount of Authoring needs to be done. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

As for needing an authoring tool, have I not got one with VCDEasy or TSCV?

Cheers

[mkelley]

Ummm, to paraphrase the line from Gone with the Wind, I don't know nothin' about birthin' VCDs, so I really can't help you -- I'm strictly a DVD man myself.

Good luck, though.

[Gazorgan]

VCD's have no options, it's a fixed format.

SVCD's have options, but there are limits.

CVD's are in 1/2 D1 resolution, but not as compatable as SVCD.

There is no guarantee that any of the 3 formats will play in your DVD player.

Now, xVCD, xSVCD, and mutant CVD can have DVD quality, or fit long movies on 1 CDR (but not both, duh). However, you are exceeding standard bitrates in some cases, so there's no guarantee a disk will work from one DVD player to another.

VCD/xVCD can be done in all freeware. No 'Authoring' is needed.

SVCD/xSVCD could be done in all freeware, but that would be a LOT of work, and very time consuming. Cough up some $$$ for CCE or TMPG and you will recoup your investment after about 2 backups. DVD2SVCD can produce spectacular results with some tuning. No 'Authoring' is needed.

CVD can be done all in freeware, but that would be a lot of work. Again, get CCE or TMPG. The main difference (other than resolution) is the audio is 48 Khz instead of 44. This means you can put your CVD's onto DVDR with less work than you can SVCD's. No 'Authoring' is needed.

DVDR could be done with all freeware. If you are just backing up DVD5's or DVD9's then there are a number of options that require no authoring. You also have few options (1 disk or 2) and menus can be a problem. However, universally you usually want an Authoring application. When you cut out the garbage you don't want (say, the italian AC5.1 audio track) along with some of the 'extras', then an Authoring application will save you a LOT of headaches burning the disk. Try all the demo's....as 'Authoring' will cause your more problems than encoding!!!

[txpharoah]

Subtitles:
At present, I have no wish to include subtitles in my backups. Are they something that I need to purposely exclude, or are they ignored anyway unless required?

Only there if you put them there.

Audio:
I have read that TMPGEnc is not the best audio encoder in the world and that audio should be encoded separately from video and then joined together at authoring time. How is this done? Would that not create possible sync errors?

TMPGenc sucks at audio. As long as you don't change the length, sync should be fine.

Menus/Chapters:
Is it possible to have a menu on each disc for a movie? For example, if the movie contains 28 chapters and you have 14 chapters per disc, could you have a menu on the second disc which would point to chapters 15-28?

Yes.

Are there any other programs that can be recommended?

Those should be fine. Maybe pick up VOBedit and Nero.

CVD's are in 1/2 D1 resolution, but not as compatable as SVCD....mutant CVD can have DVD quality...CVD can be done all in freeware, but that would be a lot of work... Again, get CCE or TMPG. The main difference (other than resolution) is the audio is 48 Khz instead of 44.

No. CVD is a DVD-compliant spec, although it has a max bitrate of 2520k like SVCD. The only real difference from SVCD is the true-DVD (Half-D1) resolution of 352x480. If you plan to later dumpo to DVD, a higher-than-allowed CVD bitrate of 3000-4000k should be fine. I find CVD to be a lot more compatible on players than SVCD these days, at least from my tests. In any case, it'll play on your computer in PowerDVD or WinDVD just fine. VCD can be dumped to DVD too, but stay at CBR 1150-1856k bitrates.

[mistermickster]

Audio:
I have read that TMPGEnc is not the best audio encoder in the world and that audio should be encoded separately from video and then joined together at authoring time. How is this done? Would that not create possible sync errors?

TMPGenc sucks at audio. As long as you don't change the length, sync should be fine.

What would you suggest for encoding audio then?