VOB vs. DIVX dependability/error recovery

[losher]

I hope this is the right place to post this:

This question came up in one of the DVD distribution groups I'm a member of.
We have a single DVD currently in VOB (mpeg2?) format that we are planning to distribute. Members then make copies and forward the copies to other members.

Is there any reason to think that converting the DVD into DIVX format will confer any advantages in terms of dependability of the final result, e.g, ease of copying, likelihood of errors due to scratches or other physical damage (which I'm assuming is our major cause of re-sends) resulting in having to re-issue copies etc.?

My guess is it shouldn't make the slightest difference, since it's all error corrected DVD data in the end and in either case, in this example, everything will fit on a single DVD.

But doesn't the smaller size of DIVX imply that, for the same sized scratch on a DVD disk, potentially
more data would be obliterated using DIVX vs VOB, making recovery easier with the less compressed format?

On the other hand, since DIVX is more compact, isn't there more chance that a random scratch will be on a part of the disk which doesn't affect the material?

Comments anyone?

Cheers,

Losher

[jagabo]

Divx usually also has longer GOPs -- typically set a a max of 300 frames. So a scratch in a Divx file can potentially have a much longer effect (as much as 10 seconds) than with MPEG2 DVD (typically 1/2 second).