Is MPG the best format for saving DVD recordings?

[sldvd]

I am just beginning to mess around with editing videos. I have a Magnavox DVD recorder and I want to transfer some recordings onto my PC. Someone said that VideoReDo is a good program to use. I noticed that VideoReDo only lets you save to MPG format.

That's one of the novice questions that I have. I don't want to lose any quality when I save the recordings onto my PC. Is MPG the best format to use? I've seen plenty of videos on the internet in various formats - MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, etc. Just wondering what exactly is the difference between all those formats. What if I find another video editing software that let you save to MPG, MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, etc. Which would be best, or would it not matter?

[hech54]

DVD is MPEG2.

[DarrellS]

Videoredo is the route that I would go. Your DVDs are mpeg2 so using Videoredo will save you from having to recode to something else and the quality will remain the same.

If you are worried about disc space then DivX or XviD AVI would be an option since the file size would be cut in half and H264 in an MP4 or MKV would make even smaller files but would take a lot longer to encode.

Another problem you run into a lot with DVD recorders is sync issues and Videoredo has an option called QuickStream Fix which takes care of that. It's well worth the $50. The new version handles H264/AVC.

[jagabo]

I've seen plenty of videos on the internet in various formats - MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, etc. Just wondering what exactly is the difference between all those formats.

Those are all containers, "boxes" that hold audio and video. They use different methods of organizing data within the file. Most of them can contain audio and video compressed (or not) with any of a number of different codecs (compression methods). VideoRedo simply takes the MPEG2 video out of one container (VOB, VRO, etc.) and puts it in another (MPG).

What if I find another video editing software that let you save to MPG, MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, etc. Which would be best, or would it not matter?

Again, most of those containers can hold audio and video compressed with a number of different codecs. Converting to another codec will not improve the quality of your MPEG 2 video. Some other codecs can get you smaller files but the quality will only get worse. Good codecs like x264 (h.264/AVC) can get you smaller files without degrading the picture by too much. But what container and codecs you want to use depends on your goals for the video. For example, if you want a video that will play on a Divx/DVD player you need to use Divx (or another MPEG 4 Part 2 encoder like Xvid) in an AVI container.