Xilisoft Ultimate DVD Ripper profiles question.

[mtdg]

If I record stuff on a set-top-box and then rip it after, which profile (or setting of there is not a default one) will rip the data so if I write it back to a DVD later is is the same quality as the original recording?

Also will it make a difference if the original disc is recorder at 1,2,3 or 4 hours per disc to the profile settings?

[guns1inger]

How do you get the files form the STB to your PC ?

What format is the source ? (mpeg-2, h264 etc)

What is the running time ?

What profiles are on offer, and do they really mean anything ?

A more detailed description of your process (or intended process) is required here, as there may be a better overall workflow that you can use.

Disclaimer :

I personally think the xilisoft range of products is on par with the hundreds of other cheap, no-name, over simplistic payware tools on offer on the internet. They have limited options, usually use poorly configured versions of freeware software in the back end, or have half-baked encoders of their own development.

While they tend to look prettier than the freeware tools - nice big smooth buttons and lots of colours - they almost always, without fail, produce far inferior results because they are not built from a strong knowledge of encoding.

I do not believe that freeware is necessarily the only option, and in some cases using freeware won't produce the same quality results or will complicate the process of getting results. If the quality of the outcome is demonstrably better then this may well be justification for it's use. However when it comes to cheap and cheerful converters there is only one worth paying for (ConvertXtoDVD), and many good free options that will produce far better results than Xilisoft - AVStoDVD, DVD Flick, FAVC to name a few.

[mtdg]

I record then on a DVD+RW then put the DVD in my PC

Usually I convet then to watch on my PSP but some programs I want to keep and collect all the episodes together and write them back to a DVD.

Format - I am not sure what does a standard DVD recorder use in the UK
Size - well if set to 4hr per disc its 1GB per hour of recording.

[guns1inger]

If quality is of an concern the 2 hours is about the maximum you want to put on a single layer disc. After that you start to compromise quality.

That said, some people don't rate quality over quantity. Each to their own.

There is no place for Xilisoft in your process.

Copy the Video_TS folder to your HDD using windows explorer. It is not protected, and therefore does not need to be ripped.

Use VOB2MPG to extract the titles to mpg files. These are the files you want to keep.

When you have enough episodes, use DVD Styler to create a new DVD with menus. If you are sensible, you will stop when you reach capacity and not force the files to be re-encoded and again reduce the quality. If you must force more content onto the disc, let DVD Styler create an oversized DVD structure, then use DVD Rebuilder with HCEnc do the reducing. Use of Xilisoft will produce very sub-standard output at this stage.