Panasonic DMR-85H rip settings

[chash]

Hi, can anybody advise a novice?
I have a crate of DVD-R's recorded on my Panasonic DMR-85H
What resolution, bit rate and format do I need to set in my ripping program to transfer them to PC? - I know it's like saying how long is a piece of string.
MP4 seems to work ok but I'm not sure about resolution ie 4x3 or 16x9 settings
Thanks

[Baldrick]

Use a software that fixes most settings for you like handbrake, freemake video converter(adware). Load the dvd and choose a preset.

Or don't convert at all, use for example vob2mpg to make a mpg from your dvd.

[sanlyn]

Hi, can anybody advise a novice?
I have a crate of DVD-R's recorded on my Panasonic DMR-85H
What resolution, bit rate and format do I need to set in my ripping program to transfer them to PC? - I know it's like saying how long is a piece of string.
MP4 seems to work ok but I'm not sure about resolution ie 4x3 or 16x9 settings
Thanks

"4x3" and "16x9" are not "resolutions". They are image aspect ratios. Your Panasonic cannot record 16:9 DAR.
Aspect Ratio
Resolution

The resolution of standard video recorded with a Panasonic DMR-E85H is usually 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL) at 4:3. Why would you want to re-encode from one lossy format to another lossy format, when you already have DVD-compliant MPEG2? It won't look better re-encoded and will be of lower quality than your originals.

[Chopmeister]

I have the exact same issue - a pile of (circa 1,200) recordings from a Panny EH85 and an EH68 that I want to rip, compress and make available over my network.

I was initially using Fairuse Wizard, which worked OK but was a bit tedious to use and got the DAR wrong every time, requiring manual changing of the heading using MPEG4Modifier. Of late I have ceased using it and switched to Vidcoder, which is fast, easy and works a treat. I suggest:

1. Rip the disks to ISOs using DVDDecrypter
2. Open the ISO with vidcoder, set constant quality somewhere between 18-22 (personally I am using either 20.5 for most 19 for stuff I care about, which strikes the right balance between file size and quality for me).
3. Open the preview window and crop all the black
4. Save this with a meaningful profile name.
5. Open each ISO in turn, select that profile, then click add to queue
6. When you have queued up enough, click encode. Leave the machine to it.

@sanlyn - It's true that you lose some quality by reencoding. But you get standard MP4s which are still of acceptable quality. They take up much less space, and are suitable for storing on a NAS drive and streaming over a network, placing on your phone or putting on a tablet for travel etc. This is what I am doing - networked WD Lives off a NAS for streaming, and onto a laptop of Nexus tablet for travel. One drive with all your files is much easier to manage that hunting through 1,000+ disks when you want to watch something.

[Chopmeister]

And, I should have added, make sure you select deinterlacing as a video processing option. Improves things quite a bit if the disks are recorded from a set top box.

[sanlyn]

@sanlyn - It's true that you lose some quality by reencoding. But you get standard MP4s which are still of acceptable quality.

Acceptable to you, perhaps. All that time and work, just to lower the bar. I understand it's the fashion, now that digital toys offer so many ways to get back to those lower standards we used to love with analog. But it's your product. Not for my stuff, though.

[sanlyn]

And, I should have added, make sure you select deinterlacing as a video processing option. Improves things quite a bit if the disks are recorded from a set top box.