Best Transcoding Software: My Results

[ROBERT BLACK]

Also, Intervideo DVD Copy gave me little SKIPS (like frame was dropped or something) in certain spots on the final video. No thanks to that either!

Same here. I read that comparison test on the mainpage as well. I was surprised they didn't mention the skips with regards to Intervideo's DVD copy. EVERYTIME I used that prog to copy a DVD it had several very noticable skips. Now I use DVD Fab 1.65, or DVDXCopy Express. No skips, and Fab has better video quality than Shrink,Nero recode,
Instantcopy and DVD2One. No playback issues at all. However,animation is still better with DVD2One.

[MediaMonkey]

Now, DVDSHRINK gave me some interesting BUGS. First of all, after I burned the new disc with DVDSHRINK, I played it and noticed that about 45 mins into the DVD, at one scene, the video started to pixelate for about 3 seconds

did you check the original disc? this doesn't sound like a dvdshrink issue to me, especially for just 3 seconds. if it was a dvdshrink issue, it would pixelate noticeably more frequently in the final backup.

[MediaMonkey]

The article found at this link is very in depth and I am appreciative of the effort but I am dismayed to find the results from DVD shrink being so unfavorable. His results show all sorts of pixelation and blurriness in the backup.

In my own backups, I cannot tell the difference from the orig. and backup. Does anyone else use DVDShrink and get results these good ?

Also, how would I go about setting up screenshots to compare original with backup ? Would a screenshot of the 2 discs suffice?

For those that missed the article, here's the link:
http://dvd.box.sk/articles8.php

[Vanderlow]

I did screenshots of CloneDVD 2 to Recode 2 to Orginial in this thread:


https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=208119&highlight=

With my very limited testing I prefered at this point Recode 2 to CDVD 2.

[ricky1756]

i hope this gets dr. shrink back to the drawing board, to once again take the top spot

[shelbyGT]

if I recall correctly, the website that compared all of the software (the one where shrink pixelated a lot) was kind of biased. (I am speaking of the one where they used the Matrix as their example, haven't seen any other comparisons).

It was done on full disk backup (not movie only) and I don't think deep analysis was used. Even if it was used, the matrix is long, and was probably compressed significantly.

In this case, I'd take movie only. Or, if it is still going to be compressed a lot, I simply use DVD Fab to split it to two discs, no compression at all.


There you all go

[cybertlc]

Now, DVDSHRINK gave me some interesting BUGS. First of all, after I burned the new disc with DVDSHRINK, I played it and noticed that about 45 mins into the DVD, at one scene, the video started to pixelate for about 3 seconds

did you check the original disc? this doesn't sound like a dvdshrink issue to me, especially for just 3 seconds. if it was a dvdshrink issue, it would pixelate noticeably more frequently in the final backup.

Yes MediaMonkey, I actually had the ripped source on my hard drive, so I went back and played THAT from my hard drive and it had NO errors whatsoever. That's how I knew it wasn't a media error from the source or destination. I'm not new to copying, I know the common issues, but a bad source wasn't the problem here, it was in the program ITSELF as IC8 used the SAME ripped files I had on my hard drive, and it gave NO pixelation.

[cybertlc]

if I recall correctly, the website that compared all of the software (the one where shrink pixelated a lot) was kind of biased. (I am speaking of the one where they used the Matrix as their example, haven't seen any other comparisons).

It was done on full disk backup (not movie only) and I don't think deep analysis was used. Even if it was used, the matrix is long, and was probably compressed significantly.

In this case, I'd take movie only. Or, if it is still going to be compressed a lot, I simply use DVD Fab to split it to two discs, no compression at all.


There you all go

Except MANY people actually want FULL DISC backups, including menus and bonus content. Not everyone wants just the movie, nor does everyone want to back up ONE DVD to TWO DVDs just so you can have A+ quality in the end. For many, it's about backing up a full DVD9 to a DVD5, all menus and bonus features.......but giving you the BEST POSSIBILE output on one disc. I think the article was great.

By using a Full Disc Backup, you're actually pushing the program to its limits because it has to transcode a 9 to a 5. The results show you just how good the program is. Of course when you're only compressing by 10% almost all the programs are going to give great outputs! That's why you compress a full DVD9 to a DVD5, and THEN compare the outputs between the programs - when they've actually been put to the test!

[bugster]

With respect to the artical at http://dvd.box.sk/articles8.php and other similiar comparisons of DVD Backup software, they all appear to have one major flaw that signficantly reduces their value, at least as far as I am concerned. They all do their comparisons using still frames. What we are encoding, transcoding or shrinking is video, not still pictures. So just selecting a single frame (possibly an I-Frame?, who knows) for comparison purposes is misleading.

As DVD video uses Mpeg compression, which contains several different types of frame (I, P, and B) it is quite possible that one transcoder would look great if you chose only I-Frames for comparison where another transcoder would come out on top if you chose always B-frames. As I, and I guess everyone else reading this, do not have access to the inner workings of these programs this is just supposition. Even so, I still maintain that a single still frame is not a valid way of comparing VIDEO quality.

Just a thought

[BJ_M]

it can be -- and we (and many other companies) grade mpeg compression the same way - if the tool you are using constructs the video properly -- i.e. windvd frame capture as one example ..

[BJ_M]

in fact - very high end mpeg editing equipment (25k and up) work the same way .. they use double buffers and first buffer just plays the video and reconstructs the video and feeds into second buffer which is a frame store and just holds frames .. broadcast systems also work the same way when importing say a sat feed , which is not is sync with house sync . but are broadcast in mpeg -- it is feed into a frame buffer which is locked ot house sync and is frame only feeding..

[mmasw]

Except MANY people actually want FULL DISC backups, including menus and bonus content. Not everyone wants just the movie, nor does everyone want to back up ONE DVD to TWO DVDs just so you can have A+ quality in the end. For many, it's about backing up a full DVD9 to a DVD5, all menus and bonus features.......but giving you the BEST POSSIBILE output on one disc.!

yes....and MANY people used to think the earth was FLAT

It's also true, that MANY people (me) think that most of the 'extra' content on dvd's is a waste of space. I may think that Matt Damon is an ok actor but I don't need to burn 17 minutes of him describing his artistic process. Nor do I need 15 minutes of previews of Earnest Scared Stupid. And if I don't want that crap, then I certainly don't need a way to negotiate thru the stuff I don't want.

I know there are "purists" who like to 'back-up' the entire dvd, but IMO backing up the dross that constitutes the majority of dvd's extra content at the expense of quality is a little foolish.

to each his/her own of course

and then there is the factor of this "review" you're citing as gospel. I don't know....maybe it is a totally scientific and objective review with pure empirical results. Or maybe the guy got a kickback from Intervideo. I tend to take any website review of tech stuff with a grain of salt. Ever read any of Tom's Hardware Reviews of Intel Processors?....

You said it yourself: MANY people tend to split a dvd if the compression falls below a certain level, so the review, while possibly accurate and informative, isn't that relevant when it comes to the uses of a program such as DVDShrink.

I read the review with some interest by the way

[cybertlc]

That's fine and dandy. But why not have a program that performs well both for FULL copies and MOVIE ONLY copies? Seems a no brainer there. Many of the programs are only good for MOVIE ONLY copies, but when it comes to a lot of compression for a full disc copy......they fail. Why use a program that is great in MOVIE only mode, but sucks in DISC mode? I guess I'm just silly for wanting one that works well for BOTH

[northcat_8]

That's fine and dandy. But why not have a program that performs well both for FULL copies and MOVIE ONLY copies? Seems a no brainer there. Many of the programs are only good for MOVIE ONLY copies, but when it comes to a lot of compression for a full disc copy......they fail. Why use a program that is great in MOVIE only mode, but sucks in DISC mode? I guess I'm just silly for wanting one that works well for BOTH

You're not being silly, you're being impatient...you could always write a program yourself that could do it....

[LRD]

I have used them all. InterVideo DVD Copy is the best. I have never encountered the skips others have noticed. You can get a copy at Sam's Club for $17. It does not decrypt, so you will need DVD Decrypter.

LRD

[cybertlc]

How is wanting a program that copies BOTH full discs as well as movie only with GREAT quality, and no skips or pixelation being 'impatient?' Some of you seem to think that since you do MOVIE ONLY backups and it gives you good quality, that it is a great program. Try using those programs to copy a FULL DISC DVD9 to a DVD5 and tell me how great your quality is using DVD2ONE or DVDSHRINK. You had better hope you don't get pixelation issues when going to the 50% compression level as well.

Bottom line. If you want no pixelation, no skips, and wish to copy a FULL DVD9 to a DVD5 with GREAT quality......Pinnacle Instant Copy 8 is the best way to go from my experience.

[northcat_8]

You are the one that said:

But why not have a program that performs well both for FULL copies and MOVIE ONLY copies? Seems a no brainer there. Many of the programs are only good for MOVIE ONLY copies, but when it comes to a lot of compression for a full disc copy......they fail. Why use a program that is great in MOVIE only mode, but sucks in DISC mode? I guess I'm just silly for wanting one that works well for BOTH

So apparently you are....

Don't you think if it were such an easy task to write a program that would do both at 100% quality that someone would have done it by now??

Matter of fact I garuntee that someone somewhere is working on that thing at this very moment.

DVDshrink does do both effectively, but as already mentioned sometimes shrinks quality is questionable.

You know, just to get it straight....backing up a DVD in the first place requires you to break encryption and protections that the industry has spent millions developing...requires the program to take video in an already compressed finalized format and squeeze 8 GB down to 4.3 GB, almost a 50% reduction right from the start and you want 100% quality or close enough to it that you can't see the difference and you want it yesterday. So basically you are trying to shove 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag and make it look like sugar.

I think you should be more thankful for the programs that have been written, Decrypter is one of the best ever, DVDshrink is great....OH...now you may not like shrink but it is free...and it is pretty good. Anything under 90 minutes you can't tell a difference between a shrink and instant copy on a 48" plasma flatscreen. And if yours pixelates...well then it sucks to be you...I've never had pixelation problems with shrink. I don't use DVD2ONE. And I typically use IC7...not 8 for reasons mentioned before.

So if you aren't patient enough to wait until SOMEONE ELSE writes a comprehensive program FOR YOU to use....then write it your self since its such a "no brainer".

[mmasw]

And if yours pixelates...well then it sucks to be you...

LOL.....lyrics by Mel Torme?

[cybertlc]

Actually, you must not have read what I said. IC8 does exactly what I need it to do. It creates amazing MOVIE ONLY backups, and it creates AMAZING FULL DISC backups. I'm very pleased.

However, DVDSHRINK creates amazing MOVIE ONLY backups, but VERY POOR FULL DISC backups when the compression is at 50% or so. I was asking why YOU would choose to use a program that does only MOVIE ONLY backups well, but falls short when it comes to FULL DISC backups, when you could use a software such as IC8 that does them BOTH well???

[jbenj01]

I opt for IC (7 or 8), as well, for full-disc backups. But I am using trial version of InterVideo DVD Copy (Platinum version) currently and am impressed with quality and its speed..

But a drawback (a slight one) is that IV limits you to either a full backup or to keep only 1 audio track and 1 subtitle when you choose 'Customize'. So let's say you want to keep the English DD 5.1 track plus a commentary track but want to strip the DTS track and the French audio, you MUST do a full backup in order to keep only the 2 tracks that you really want..

But now with DVD-Rebuilder under construct (by jdobbs over on doom9), which uses either CCE or Rejig to re-encode/transcode, I believe this discussion/conclusions will be moot.. (or is it 'mute' ??).

[shelbyGT]

i like northcats reply


plus, i'm big on the free aspect. Sure, I could spend some money and perhaps get marginally better results on the bigger file sizes, but I'm not up for that. I don't do this enough to go and spend money on it.

[cybertlc]

i like northcats reply


plus, i'm big on the free aspect. Sure, I could spend some money and perhaps get marginally better results on the bigger file sizes, but I'm not up for that. I don't do this enough to go and spend money on it.

Well, they always say, you get what you pay for. DVDSHRINK is great for MOVIE ONLY backups, or ones that only require a minimal amount of compression.....but when you start compressing by a large amount, you're going to notice that not everything is what it seems.

[powaking]

What you could do (and I just did this last night with Red Dragon) is with DVD Shrink select what you want to keep (main movie only and what ever audio track you want) and have Shrink save it to an ISO file.

Then have Nero ImageDrive mount that ISO file.

Go into IV DVD Copy and select that drive and make it fit to one disc.

There, now you hvae a movie only shrunk using IV's transcoding engine rather than Shrinks.

I didn't watch my copy yet to see if there are any frame drops but the process was really smooth.

[noki]

cybertlc
maybe i misread your posts, and if so forgive me. why are you checking the RIPPED (not transcoded) content on your hard drive for pixelation when you should be checking Shrink's TRANSCODED output for it? maybe there's a (intermitten) problem with your burns. if Shrink's output on your hard drive has this 3 second pixelation then of course you can place tne blame on it. now if you are already doing this again forgive my ignorance.
OPPS...sorry, re-read a post of yours and you are checking Shrink's output. can't say i ever have a similar problem. butr then i rarely fo FULL backups. i already get rid of audio stuff and still-frame extras if i need the menus. with the exception of my PBS Gold Ken Burns Baseball series of 10 DVDs. i did FULL backup of those and have no pixelation issues. bu then again the "videos" are made up of still images

[cybertlc]

cybertlc
maybe i misread your posts, and if so forgive me. why are you checking the RIPPED (not transcoded) content on your hard drive for pixelation when you should be checking Shrink's TRANSCODED output for it? maybe there's a (intermitten) problem with your burns. if Shrink's output on your hard drive has this 3 second pixelation then of course you can place tne blame on it. now if you are already doing this again forgive my ignorance.
OPPS...sorry, re-read a post of yours and you are checking Shrink's output. can't say i ever have a similar problem. butr then i rarely fo FULL backups. i already get rid of audio stuff and still-frame extras if i need the menus. with the exception of my PBS Gold Ken Burns Baseball series of 10 DVDs. i did FULL backup of those and have no pixelation issues. bu then again the "videos" are made up of still images

Actually, the pixelation occurred in the TRANSCODED output from DVDSHRINK. I thought "OK, maybe it's a media issue." So I checked the transcoded files still on my hard drive (I hadn't deleted them yet)......and noticed that the pixelation occurred there as well, thus ruling out a burnt media issue. So, I then checked the RIPPED files from DVD Decrypter (also still on my hard drive) to see if the pixelation occurred there. It was a perfect copy, no pixelation. So OBVIOUSLY it was an issue within DVDSHINK itself, not with any media. Follow me?

[shelbyGT]

i like northcats reply


plus, i'm big on the free aspect. Sure, I could spend some money and perhaps get marginally better results on the bigger file sizes, but I'm not up for that. I don't do this enough to go and spend money on it.

Well, they always say, you get what you pay for. DVDSHRINK is great for MOVIE ONLY backups, or ones that only require a minimal amount of compression.....but when you start compressing by a large amount, you're going to notice that not everything is what it seems.

To each his own. I have done plenty of backups with Shrink in the 60-70% range and have been extremely satisfied with the results. Are you sure you aren't on the payroll of some of these companies you keep putting on a pedestal?

[MediaMonkey]

To each his own. I have done plenty of backups with Shrink in the 60-70% range and have been extremely satisfied with the results.

same here. no problems with shrink

[northcat_8]

DVDSHRINK creates amazing MOVIE ONLY backups, but VERY POOR FULL DISC backups when the compression is at 50% or so.

50% seriously???

Hell, take a 720x480 picture in photoshop and shrink it down 50% and the decrease in quality is going to be obvious.

IC8's quality will drop by a noticable margin at 50% also. The difference is that with IC8 you can actually take all the extras all the way down to 30% letting you keep your main movie % higher than you can in Shrink.

[cybertlc]

i like northcats reply


plus, i'm big on the free aspect. Sure, I could spend some money and perhaps get marginally better results on the bigger file sizes, but I'm not up for that. I don't do this enough to go and spend money on it.

Well, they always say, you get what you pay for. DVDSHRINK is great for MOVIE ONLY backups, or ones that only require a minimal amount of compression.....but when you start compressing by a large amount, you're going to notice that not everything is what it seems.

To each his own. I have done plenty of backups with Shrink in the 60-70% range and have been extremely satisfied with the results. Are you sure you aren't on the payroll of some of these companies you keep putting on a pedestal?

LOL yeah, I'm employed by Pinnacle to spread the joys of illegal copying using DVD Decrypter as well as IC8. I guess you caught me

[cybertlc]

DVDSHRINK creates amazing MOVIE ONLY backups, but VERY POOR FULL DISC backups when the compression is at 50% or so.

50% seriously???

Hell, take a 720x480 picture in photoshop and shrink it down 50% and the decrease in quality is going to be obvious.

IC8's quality will drop by a noticable margin at 50% also. The difference is that with IC8 you can actually take all the extras all the way down to 30% letting you keep your main movie % higher than you can in Shrink.

Yes, it was seriously 50%. I kept everything. And to be very honest, it LOOKS GREAT. I can't complain one bit. As I said, with DVDSHRINK at 50%, it gave pixelation issues. DVD2ONE had horrid quality. IC8 gave me great quality, a lot higher than VHS quality even, with no noticable pixelation issues.