Dvdshrink Vs. Clonedvd2???

[so2315]

OK, quite some time ago I compared the movie Gladiator in quality using Dvdshrink and Clonedvd (older version).
It was very apparent that Shrink did a better job at that time. With all of the new protections coming up AnyDvd is looking to be a vialble option. Purchasing CloneDvd2 is only a couple extra bucks.
My question is this: Has anybody switched from Shrink to Clonedvd2? Is the quality up to par with Shrink? I really like compressing the extras to make more room for the movies, and will Clonedvd2 do this too??
Please help me decide as I have a large project (27 dvd's) coming up and want the best quality.

[guns1inger]

No transcoder is good for large jobs. The method they use will always lead to artifacts and lower quality. If you want to keep extras etc then re-encoding is the only decent option. Yes, it usually takes longer. But there is no comparison between the quality of output. I use Shrink to shave a % or two if a movie doesn't quite fit once stripped down to essentials. Anything larger than that goes through DVD Rebuilder. You can also cut your extras to half-D1 to give you more room for the main movie.

If quality is the main consideration, do not transcode.

[Soltaris]

That's total propoganda. Encoding isn't always better than transcoding.

One example I can cite is Storm of the Century. I combined both discs into one, then compressed with DVD Shrink 3.2. I was unhappy with some of the compression artifacts (keep in mind that's 240 min on a single disc) so I decided to try DVD Rebuilder with CCE 2.69.

I was surprised to see that 90% of the frames in a side-by-side comparison looked much better when DVD Shrink was used.

I then tried various avisynth filters to improve compressibility like undot, convolution3d hiq, mipsmooth, etc but nothing could get it looking even close to as good as DVD Shrink using the "sharp" quality mode.

On top of that DVD Shrink was a whole lot faster.

[fritzi93]

I agree with guns1inger. Transcoding throws out DCT data, that's how it works.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?&threadid=63587

And I should think almost anything approaching 4 hours at full D1 (on single layer disc) is gunna look like crap.

[laspis59]

DVDShrink is a VERY popular tool,so I guess most people would recommend it over CloneDVD2.
I think Shrink is more widely used because its freeware.Everyone likes freeware.
I dont think there is very much difference in quality between the two but Shrink gives you the option to transcode with "adaptive error compensation" therefore giving slightly better quality.but taking a LOT longer to process.
I'm still not sure myself which one is better.CloneDVD doesn't need to do analysis yet seems to give parallel bitrate compression to the original,so therefore is a lot faster.Shrink is slow.

[vitualis]

Shrink can be just as fast as CloneDVD if you don't use the advanced features which DO improve the end quality.

DVDShrink also gives you more options to keep / remove unwanted content of the DVD.

Regards.

[NiteLite]

Is the quality up to par with Shrink?

With my setup and my eyes...a big NO.
On my episodic backups which usually come out around the 60% mark there is a big difference in pic quality between the two. Using Shrink with DA and AEC (sharp) delivers much more quality and worth the time.
Try the trial vs. and make a highly compressed copy using each and see if you agree.
Clone DVD (older version) is/was a good writer with an easy setup.

For a different view check out the latest comment from this link. While I honor the poster's comment I totally disagree from my experience.
https://www.videohelp.com/tools?tool=CloneDVD

[lacywest]

Isn't that why Sony and their protection schemes are focused on DVDShrink ... because it's freeware

Are they eventually going to aim their guns at AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 ???

[dvdguy4]

Shrink works out for me all the time that I use it. Just need Anydvd along with dvd decrypter or dvdfab decrypter and it will work.

[lacywest]

Shrink works out for me all the time that I use it. Just need Anydvd along with dvd decrypter or dvdfab decrypter and it will work.

Interesting ...

Do you keep the menu also ... and what movies have they been ...

Some movies are a real bitch to rip ... Stealth ... gave me a headache.

I don't have kids in my house but I've got to small dogs [Pugs] and a cat ... and if I don't make backups ... they will get pooped on ... pissed on ... and clawed on.

And I've woke up and found our brand new "Stargate Directors release" case chewed on ... oooh weee ... my wife was really upset ... she had barely bought it at Target and was not happy. The DVD Disk was else where and wasn't inside the case.

I am a licensed owner of AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 ... both have been updated in last few days ... AnyDVD now has a Ripper in it and CloneDVD2 has also added some new features ... too.

It's too bad ... CloneDVD2 can't include the same method DVDShrink uses.

[Soltaris]

I've never used DVD Shrink to decrypt discs which has worked out well because that part is obsolete now. AnyDVD and DVDIdle Pro look to be continually updated to keep up with Sony. Both programs come with free lifetime updates once purchased.

DVD Shrink really is a terrific program when combined with one of the above. It's easy to use, has many ways to customize your disc, has very impressive video quality compared to other transcoders, and best of all it's FREE! If I owned CloneDVD I'd still probably use DVD Shrink instead.

[lacywest]

I've never used DVD Shrink to decrypt discs which has worked out well because that part is obsolete now. AnyDVD and DVDIdle Pro look to be continually updated to keep up with Sony. Both programs come with free lifetime updates once purchased.

DVD Shrink really is a terrific program when combined with one of the above. It's easy to use, has many ways to customize your disc, has very impressive video quality compared to other transcoders, and best of all it's FREE! If I owned CloneDVD I'd still probably use DVD Shrink instead.

CloneDVD2 ... when in a hurry ... comes in handy ... 35 minutes ... is usual time ... where if DVDShrink is used ... I expect 90 minutes ... at least.

but I still use CloneDVD2 to remove the trailers and the other bull crap on DVD Disks and then I use DVDShrink ... by it self ... or I have DVDShrink make a image and I have ImgBurn make a image to burn to a Dual Layer DVD Disk.

But because Sony likes to put that layer break flag in wierd places ... DVDShrink is not always the program I can use .... DVD Rebuilder Pro ... works great for this situation.

Needless to say ... lots of way to make an extra copy ...

[cyflyer]

Dvdshrink is still a terrific little program which allows some editing and a preveiw screen to see whats going on. Still my primary tool. Hey, but why has it been removed from the "tools" listings and all postings about it on another thread have been blocked or deleted ? Whats going on ? Luckily I saved it to disc.