MTR (extract complete disc) then shrink how?

[cookieme]

Hi

I'm using mac os 10.3.3 and after using DVDBackup for sometime I just downloaded MTR 1.5.6 and tested it and IT'S AWESOME! I plan on making complete disc extracts with MTR as I did with DVDBackup and storing them on an external firewire harddrive rather than burning lots of DVD-Rs! Therefore, due to the large size of each extracted DVD i.e. ca 4GB and above I'd like some way of compressing each folder, but I'm not sure what method to use as I don't want to degrade the quality too much and don't want to compress and decompress when I want to view a DVD! What should I do?

Cheers!

[Direwolf]

DVD2one seems to work best. You can shrink your dvd rip to any size you want. Of course, don't shrink it too much or else you might notice a degradation in video quality.

[WiseWeasel]

DVDRemaster also works, and has different modes to try if the quality degrades too much in one mode. Don't try going below 4 GB, though, as the quality will probably be pretty bad in most cases. If you keep them under 4.37 GB, then you could easily burn them to DVD-R discs and use them as regular DVDs.

[cookieme]

What if I don't need to burn to DVD-R can I shrink even more but keep special features, bonus material etc?

[Direwolf]

You can shrink it by as much as you want with either program, but I probably wouldn't shrink it by more than, maybe, 50% of the original size or else you'll get poor quality video.

And, if you did an "extract complete disc" in MTR, you'll keep all your extras from dvd.

Of course, it depends on what's more important to you ... smaller size (thus more movies), or better quality (and fewer movies).

[WiseWeasel]

If you don't need to make DVDs from the content ever again, you can compress to divx format. You would have to individually compress each track, though, and so you would have a separate movie file for each feature on the DVD. For doing this, I would suggest skipping MTR altogether, and instead using Forty-Two DVDVX to go straight from DVD to divx format. Divx is best played back using VideoLan Client, or VLC (available at www.videolan.org).

[cookieme]

Sounds complicated WiseWeasel! What if I skip the extra material and just want the main feature! What method and software should I use and if you could outline the steps from inserting the actual dvd into the drive!

Thanks

[galactica]

you want just the movie? or movie and the menu?

if you want just the movie, just extract main feature.
If you want movie and menu [with no extras] look to my website, under DVD to DVDr advanced tutorial

[WiseWeasel]

And if you just want the main feature, and you never want to make a DVD from it in the future, try Forty-Two DVDVX, and it will go straight from DVD to Divx, no muss, no fuss. It's very easy to use, and comes with a manual.