DVD encoding question

[rique]

I've been making SVCD's for years...Xmas...got an early present..a DVD Writer. I probably know the answer to my question but just to be sure I thought that I'd ask the experts.
DVD Decrypter can make images of DVD's that can fit on a single DVD(dual layer too) So, if the image fits on the DVD-R,, would I get a better picture if I ripped the VOB files then did a 4 pass encode with cimemacraft or TMPGENC? My thoughts are that you can't make the picture better than the original..kinda like that junk in, junk out thing.
So, do i re-encode the video or just use the image file that DVD Decrypter makes? Thanks

Rique

[redwudz]

If the DVD is a DVD-5, you would just decrypt it and burn it for the best quality. No need to encode or shrink. However, if it is a more common DVD-9 you would either have to shrink it or re-encode it. You would get better results (IMO) with a re-encode but at the expense of a lot of time and more effort.

[ZippyP.]

DVD Shrink is a common "re-coding" program for putting dual layer disks onto one DVD-r. It's fast and if you select re-author and lose the menus and extras, you can sometimes burn to a disk with little or no compression involved. For longer movies and higher compression requirements you're better using an encoder or splitting to two DVD-r's. As for when you switch from DVD Shrink to an encoder...well that would be for you to test and decide.