Movie Looks HORRIBLE!!! Help With Compression!!!

[SlyOne]

Okay, I just got the Terminator collection and my son has already gotten ahold of the T2 one and totally scratched it up!! Ugh. Anyway, I had to repurchase it today and have decided to backup the movies that I'd like to have for a while. Anyway, I have been using Instant Copy 8 (which yields GREAT results even if it does take forever) but the T2 movie is SO huge that there are a TON of artifacts in the copy that I've made. I know that transcoding is kind of the easy way to get out but how can I get the compression rate higher than the now 48% that it is at now due to the size of the file? Wow, that's long. When I used to encode SVCDs I would use TMPGENc to compress areas of the movie such as the credits to a low bitrate so that I could increase the quality of the movie itself. Can this be done with DVDs as well? And if so how? Instant Copy's great but these newer DVDs have everything combined onto the main movie file (ie: extras, previews, commentaries, etc.) and it's annoying because I can't decrease the quality of them without decreasing the quality of the ENTIRE movie. I know this has been long and I appreciate any replies as I don't want to have a horrible copy of such a good movie especially if something where to happen to my main DVD again such as what has already happened. Thanks again.

[noki]

SlyOne
use DVD Shrink to cut out selected parts. It uses this free space to reduce the co mpression on the main movie.

[SlyOne]

Would you mind pointing me in the correct direction to a FAQ on this? Also, by cutting out do you mean of extras and what not? Thanks.

[Donny661]

Put it on 2 DVD-Rs. No transcoding involved. Or wait for dual-layer dvd-burners next year .

[ZippyP.]

Shrink guides.

[MysticE]

Although Shrink is a good program, IC 8 will always provide better video. There's nothing Shrink does that IC 8 can't do.

Every so often you will run into a problem DVD, looks like T2 is one.

[DiablosuX102]

what exactly is IC 8? could u gimmy a link please, i'm curious

thx, josh

[BobK]

There's nothing Shrink does that IC 8 can't do.

Shrink creates files that you can burn with other applications. IC 8 creates .pdi files that I can only attempt to burn with IC 8. After upgrading from IC 7 I tried to shrink and burn 4 different sets of files with IC 8. I ended up with four coasters that each had 32 Kbytes burned before the program hung up.

So unless I'm wrong, Shrink does something IC 8 can't. (If I'm wrong let me know how to create a new set of files with IC 8- vob, ifo and bup- not .pdi).

Not only that, but Pinnacle's customer service sucks- thier web site gives no way to contact them for support. I've sent 4 emails to the customer service address that was given when I upgraded and had no reply.

I'm now waiting for my next credit card bill to arrive so I can disput the charge and get a refund from my credit card company- then they can worry about getting the money back from Pinnacle.

[MysticE]

It's too bad that you are having problems with InstantCopy 8 on your computer.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/ProductPage_n.asp?Product_ID=1394&Langue_ID=7
But as with all software one has has to find products that play nice with your specific hardware/software configuration. Whether it be Anti-Virus, Firewalls or burning apps etc., what works for one may not work for someone else.

I see no reason to worry about using another app to burn PDI files ( DVD Decrypter will burn them directly if you so desire) as I burn directly to disc (something Shrink cannot do) anyway. And if you were to go to PDI/hardrive first what's wrong with using IC 8 to burn anyway? If for some odd reason you need an official ISO, InstantCopy Hidden Settings (a very good tweaking tool) will convert PDI to ISO.

Rip with DVD Decrypter (if < 4.35G just read and write ISO with it) and burn to disc with IC 8 (movie only or custom resize if you want to selectively remove logos, previews, retain a fancy menu etc., seemlessly without any static images inserted) and you have a DVD. Use Shrink, Nero and IC 8 on the same 8G DVD and burn the complete DVD and you will see a significant difference in video quality. IC 8 is the only app out there that produces decent video quailty if you have to drop below 60%.

[BobK]

>But as with all software one has has to find products that play nice with your specific hardware/software configuration. Whether it be Anti-Virus, Firewalls or burning apps etc., what works for one may not work for someone else.

True. But when I pay for a product and it doesn't work correctly I expect some service from the seller or manufacturer to either help me make it work or give me a refund.

> if you were to go to PDI/hardrive first what's wrong with using IC 8 to burn anyway?

That is the problem- when I try to burn with IC8 (either directly to disk from from a pdi) it burns enough to ruin the disk and then hangs up.

> Rip with DVD Decrypter

Can't- I'm burning DVDs with video I'm capturing from video tape. Nothing to rip.

I'll try to burn a pdi with Nero or Decrypter. But the fact remains that Pinnacle apparently doesn't care whether or not their product works and does nothing to help with problems. I have looked at the web site and message board and it's very easy to find people having problems with Pinnalce products. Sometimes other people with the same product offer suggestions but rarely does Pinnacle offer help.

[FulciLives]

Put it on 2 DVD-Rs. No transcoding involved. Or wait for dual-layer dvd-burners next year .

I agree here that with some movie the transcoding just does not work well (i.e., too many artifacts).

There is a program called DVDFab that will split a dual layer DVD disc into two parts keeping 100% quality. The downside is you have to use two DVD recordable discs for the back-up but at least you get 100% quality.

At one time DVDFab was freeware but now you have to pay to use it. I still have what I think is the last of the freeware releases. I still use it from time to time. I don't know if that freeware version is still available or not.

The other option ... as has been stated ... is to make a back-up on to a single DVD but JUST back-up the movie and maybe one of the audio tracks. DVDShrink can do this but DVD2ONE does a better job if you ask me but then again it is a program you must purchase (but is well worth it).

The last option is to manually re-encode the movie. I did this with MATRIX RELOADED using CCE and did a 3 pass VBR with an AVG of something like 3800 and I only used the 5.1 AC-3 audio track. It turned out looking better than my MOVIE ONLY DVD2ONE back-up. But that takes a lot of time and if you need to use multiple audio tracks and/or selectable subtitles ... well that's just too hard and you are better off just splitting it to 2 DVD discs with DVDFab.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[ddlooping]

Hi all.

SlyOne, you could try DVD Shrink v3.0b5 to do a "movie-only" backup, using its "Deep analysis" feature (it adds about 40 minutes to the process but yelds better results when a fairly high level of compression is required).
It's free, so if you don't like the results you can always try something else.

If you're not familiar with it, I'd suggest you view the user-friendly guides at:
http://www.dvdshrink.info/guides.php

[MysticE]

But the fact remains that Pinnacle apparently doesn't care whether or not their product works and does nothing to help with problems. I have looked at the web site and message board and it's very easy to find people having problems with Pinnalce products.

That is a drag, that's why it's best to go with companies that offer a free trial.

If perchance you are stuck with version .251, that could explain part of your problems. The IC 8 upgrade from IC 7 is the latest (.267) and most trouble free build. It's a shame Pinnacle does not make this version available to all.

[SlyOne]

I hate having two dvds. I don't mind if the movie has to be compressed as long as there's not a TON of artifacts in the movie. Like I asked earlier, is there a way to compress CERTAIN parts of the movie (intro, credits, etc.) without degrading the overall quality of the main movie? Thanks.

[ViperXT]

DVD shrink gave me great results. Even on my slow old p3 600 the encoding only takes 1 or 2 hours. I've nver noticed any compression except on one movie. When I compressed Black Hawk Down I made the xtras and menus into still pics and dropped all audio except the 5.1 track. I noticed some light macroblocking in scenes with lots of sand and debris flying around but that was it. Of course this is with a long movie too.

[ddlooping]

is there a way to compress CERTAIN parts of the movie (intro, credits, etc.) without degrading the overall quality of the main movie?

DVD Shrink in Re-author mode.

http://www.dvdshrink.info/mixed-compressions.php

I use it most of the time to apply "Still-pictures" to the end-credits.
This method doesn't guarantee the movie will then not require compression, but it can increase the movie "Ratio" by a few %s.

You can also use the Re-author "Start/end" feature to crop start/end credits too.

[Gazorgan]

T2
DVDShrink
Movie Only Backup
Trim Intro and Credits

I believe Shrink was at 65%. Did Deep Analysis. It looks pretty dam good. Artifact here and there, but I'm the only one that notices (which brings up the point that are we the only ones that see these artifacts because we know what to look for??? I'm tired of looking at backgrounds for crawl :P ).

If i'm doing for a perfect experience, I'll watch the original, as it is now I don't notice on the smaller TV's.

[SlyOne]

is there a way to compress CERTAIN parts of the movie (intro, credits, etc.) without degrading the overall quality of the main movie?

DVD Shrink in Re-author mode.

http://www.dvdshrink.info/mixed-compressions.php

I use it most of the time to apply "Still-pictures" to the end-credits.
This method doesn't guarantee the movie will then not require compression, but it can increase the movie "Ratio" by a few %s.

You can also use the Re-author "Start/end" feature to crop start/end credits too.

How were you able to use the Start/End feature? Everytime I attempt to use it, it's greyed out and won't allow me to select it. I tried to be sneaky but I guess it didn't work. I attempted to compress certain scenes with dvdshrink and then use Instant Copy to compress the overall movie as I know it yields good video quality but that didn't go too well (movie screws up in certain spots). Ugh!! No matter what I try I can't get this beast (main movie) to go any higher than 53% in compression which yields a semi-horrible picture. Thanks.

[ddlooping]

"How were you able to use the Start/End feature?"

SlyOne, "Start/end" is only available in Re-author mode.
Remember you have to select a title to edit for the button to be operational.

[SlyOne]

"How were you able to use the Start/End feature?"

SlyOne, "Start/end" is only available in Re-author mode.
Remember you have to select a title to edit for the button to be operational.

I'll try that again. I usually use re-author mode and open the .VOB files that I want to compress, however, when I do so and select the title(s) it's still greyed out. But I'll give it another go around when I get home. Thanks.

[ddlooping]

"I usually use re-author mode and open the .VOB files that I want to compress,..."

That might explain why the button is greyed out.
If you prefer working from ripped files, you should rip all of them, then use "Re-author" to choose which title(s) you want to keep.