Already ripped DVDs to MKV... with no quality loss?

[smackyourfupa]

I'm looking to convert my already ripped collection of DVDs to MKV without losing any quality whatsoever so I can save HDD space. Currently I use Handbrake, MakeMKV or Xmedia recode. I'm familiar with all of these programs but do not know what settings I should use or which program is ideal to achieve what I am trying to do. Can anyone give me some advice? Thanks.

[guns1inger]

MakeMKV is probably the simplest in that it is designed to do exactly that - copy the contents of your DVD video files into an mkv container. No quality loss. You can do the same thing with XmediaRecode by going into each tab and setting everything to Copy (Video, Audio and Subs). Don't think handbrake can do it without re-encoding.

However you will not gain any space unless you re-encode. In which case you will risk quality loss. MakeMKV is not the right tool in that instance, as it does not re-encode. XmediaRecode can do it. Use Constant Quantizer encoding with a value of 20 to start with. You have no control over the file size, but you should have minimal quality loss.

[smackyourfupa]

MakeMKV is probably the simplest in that it is designed to do exactly that - copy the contents of your DVD video files into an mkv container. No quality loss. You can do the same thing with XmediaRecode by going into each tab and setting everything to Copy (Video, Audio and Subs). Don't think handbrake can do it without re-encoding.

However you will not gain any space unless you re-encode. In which case you will risk quality loss. MakeMKV is not the right tool in that instance, as it does not re-encode. XmediaRecode can do it. Use Constant Quantizer encoding with a value of 20 to start with. You have no control over the file size, but you should have minimal quality loss.

Thanks for the info. I'm assuming I should encode using h264? I've seen 1080p/720p mkv/mp4 movies with 5.1 audio as low as 2GB. A 480p DVD rip of a movie with about the same running length should be even lower than that right?
BTW, Handbrake rencodes, so do you prefer Xmedia over Handbrake?

One more question. When using handbrake, should the anamorphic setting be on strict or loose?

[guns1inger]

If quality is your priority then size should not be a high consideration. I tend to go for something between 1.5 -2 GB for DVD rips, including 5.1 audio where available. I also resize to 1024 width for PAL widescreen material (854 for NTSC) and encode with a 1:1 PAR. So far the results have been pleasing.

Sorry, but I can't help you with Handbrake. Could never get good results out of it, and it's settings always gave much slower renders than other tools.

Plenty of Handbrake users around though, so I'm sure someone will drop by with an answer soon.

[smackyourfupa]

I'd like to reencode with h264 so i'll probably have to go with xmediarecode or handbrake being that makemkv doesnt reencode. Do I have to merge together all the vob files before using xmedia or hbrake or does it do it automatically?

[jagabo]

I encode lots of DVDs with x264 with CRF=18. I keep the original frame size, or only crop away black borders, and use PAR signaling to maintain the aspect ratio. Most of my encodes come out between 800 and 1500 kbps. About 1 to 2 GB per movie. Quality is pretty good but if you look closely at enlarged still frames you can see the difference between the x264 encode and the original VOB. You have to go down to about CRF=10 before it becomes hard to tell the difference with enlarged still frames. At that point the bitrate is almost as high as the VOB files so there's no point in reencoding.

[guns1inger]

XmediaRecode will open a DVD folder and list the titles, so no need to join vobs.

[smackyourfupa]

There's alot of options for video codec. I'm not sure of the differences between
H263,
H263+,
MPEG4,
MPEG-4 AVC / H.264.
Which one do you guys get the best results with?

Also, what's a good res for DVD's (widescreen)? 852x480?

[smackyourfupa]

I encode lots of DVDs with x264 with CRF=18. I keep the original frame size, or only crop away black borders, and use PAR signaling to maintain the aspect ratio. Most of my encodes come out between 800 and 1500 kbps. About 1 to 2 GB per movie. Quality is pretty good but if you look closely at enlarged still frames you can see the difference between the x264 encode and the original VOB. You have to go down to about CRF=10 before it becomes hard to tell the difference with enlarged still frames. At that point the bitrate is almost as high as the VOB files so there's no point in reencoding.

I'm using v 2.3.0.9 and don't see CRF. Is this the same as Rate Control Mode: Constant Quality?

[garryward]

Life is too short just get a bigger Hard Drive

[jagabo]

There's alot of options for video codec. I'm not sure of the differences between
H263,
H263+,
MPEG4,
MPEG-4 AVC / H.264.
Which one do you guys get the best results with?

MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 will give the most compression while still retaining reasonable quality. Ie, at any particular bitrate, it will give better results than the others. Conversely, for any particular quality level it will give the lowest bitrate.

Also, what's a good res for DVD's (widescreen)? 852x480?

Every time you scale an image you lose a little quality. Leave them at the original resolution and use PAR or DAR flags.

I'm using v 2.3.0.9 and don't see CRF. Is this the same as Rate Control Mode: Constant Quality?

I don't use xmediarecode but that sounds like the right setting.

[smackyourfupa]

Life is too short just get a bigger Hard Drive

I have 6 TB worth of HD space. I want to make the most of it. Thanks for nothin.

There's alot of options for video codec. I'm not sure of the differences between
H263,
H263+,
MPEG4,
MPEG-4 AVC / H.264.
Which one do you guys get the best results with?

MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 will give the most compression while still retaining reasonable quality. Ie, at any particular bitrate, it will give better results than the others. Conversely, for any particular quality level it will give the lowest bitrate.

Also, what's a good res for DVD's (widescreen)? 852x480?

Every time you scale an image you lose a little quality. Leave them at the original resolution and use PAR or DAR flags.

I'm using v 2.3.0.9 and don't see CRF. Is this the same as Rate Control Mode: Constant Quality?

I don't use xmediarecode but that sounds like the right setting.

thanks for all the help... i dont see PAR or DAR in either handbrake or xmedia though.