Video Format and Converter. Please, need advice. Thank You.

[shapper]

Hello,

I am planning to convert my DVD movies collection to digital format and have then on a Hard Disk.
I would like to have high image and sound quality and preserve the DVD features like menus and subtitles.

I am planning to see the movies using a PlayStation 3 or a MediaCenter, ...

For example, PS3 supports the following formats:

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/video/filetypes.html

I have been reading a lot about this and I think the best options would be:

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC) (It seems to have high quality)

DivX

Could someone advice me what support should I use?

And could someone suggest me a good software, even if not free, to make my conversions?

Thank you,

Miguel

[guns1inger]

Are your computer specs correct ? If so, forget it. H.264 takes a lot of computing power to encode/decode. If your specs are correct then you would be looking at over-night encoding for a single movie. Even converting to Divx/Xvid would take 4 - 5 hours per movie.

If you want to explore the Divx/Xvid route, look at AutoGK.

For H264 you might try AutoMVK, then use GotSent to repackage the file for PS3 playback. Be prepared for a very long wait though.

[redwudz]

You're not going to preserve DVD menus in much of anything but the DVD format itself. But subs and audio tracks you can do. If you wanted all that and good quality, keep it in the DVD format and just rip the DVDs to the hard drive.

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (AAC LC) will take a lot of CPU power to encode or otherwise take a very long time. It also takes a fair amount of CPU power to play back, or a higher end video card that can take on some of the play back processing. Divx is quite a bit easier, or Xvid.

One of the easier programs for H.264 is FairUse Wizard.

Most times, I would rip the DVD with DVDFab HD Decrypter to the hard drive. Then use FU or AutoGK for conversion of the main movie to Xvid or Divx.

Alternatively pick up a 500 or 1000GB hard drive and just rip the DVDs in whole to the drive. Much faster and no quality loss.

And welcome to our forums.

[shapper]

Hi,

I have another computer so I just updated my computer specs.

What I have are the Audio and Video folders with the vob files and so on in an WD 500 GB Hard Drive.
I was just looking to create a Single File with good quality that I could see in my computer or in my PS3.

I would like to keep subtitles and sound ... of course.

Can I define the quality level with DivX? What is Xvid? An improved version of DivX? I think it is not available in PS3.

About H.264/MPEG-4 AVC I read it was the format with better quality.

Basically I would like the movie to be in a single file if that's any possible ... and if the 4.5GB would be compressed to around 3GB that would be great ...

Thanks,
Miguel

[shapper]

By the way, for a 4.5GB movie what would be the approximately size in DivX, XVid and H.264/MPEG-4 AVC?

Just to have an idea.

Thanks,
Miguel

[Soopafresh]

Depends on what you choose as the output dimensions and bitrate. As low as 700MB, and as high as 2GB

You can get a slightly smaller file in h264 than Xvid or DivX, but the difference is the quality is a bit better in h264

[jman98]

Can I define the quality level with DivX? What is Xvid? An improved version of DivX? I think it is not available in PS3.

About H.264/MPEG-4 AVC I read it was the format with better quality.

Basically I would like the movie to be in a single file if that's any possible ... and if the 4.5GB would be compressed to around 3GB that would be great ...

Some encoders will let you define the quality level of Divx. I think Dr. Divx will let you do this.

Xvid is a free version of Divx (you have to pay for Divx). Some people would say that it is an "improved version of Divx" but I think that is debatable.

The best quality is to NOT encode to any other format but to rip your DVDs to the hard disk. All encoding to other formats will degrade the video, but if you do it carefully you may not see it, but still it will be at least a little worse than the original.

You can get quality on Divx equivalent to DVD at about half the bit rate. So if you have a DVD with an average bit rate of 6000 Kbps, a Divx encode at 3000 Kbps should be very close in quality to the original.

I don't encode to H.264 because my PC is not powerful enough, but you can get equivalent quality to DVD at a little less than half the bit rate of DVD.

[shapper]

The best quality is to NOT encode to any other format but to rip your DVDs to the hard disk.

Yes, I understand that ... But when you rip a DVD is that just a copy to a Hard Drive or do I get a single file?

I have a few movies where all I have is the movie folder with the Audio_TS and Video_TS folders.

Is this what I get after ripping the DVD?

Thank You,
Miguel

[shapper]

One more question ... after ripping to a format as DivX how can I add other language subtitles to a movie?

Thank You,
Miguel

[redwudz]

You could rip it to one large VOB file with DVDFab or use a program like VOB2MPG and convert the main movie DVD to a single MPEG file, usually 4-5 GB, compared to a full DVD of maybe 7 - 8 GB. No compression there, just using the main movie, no extras.

That same file could also be run through DVD Shrink to reduce it further before conversion.

Next, Divx or Xvid are mostly interchangeable, depending on the settings. I find Divx/Xvid conversions of the main movie to about a 1.5 - 2 GB file give good quality, H.264 will be close to the same file size, but the end quality may be a bit better. But you are not going to get a average 5 GB DVD down to 700 MB without losing quite a bit of quality, using most any codec. JMO.

EDIT: Most times with Divx/Xivd the subs are in the same folder as the video. You can have several different lanquage subs. Of course your software or set top player has to be able to select the one you want.

[shapper]

Hi,

2 GB for me is quite ok ... and if it has good quality so I think DivX is a good option.
As far as I know H.264 has better quality then DivX ... but DivX seems to be much more common.

This is why I am a little bit undecided ... I will pick one of the 2 and rip with the best quality available.

I didn't know subtitles would be aside files from the DivX file! I though it was integrated.
Where can I find such files?

I also found 2 softwares that might be interesting:
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/gb/en/Product/1184603817968
http://www.avs4you.com/AVS-Video-Converter.aspx

They seem ok. Allow many audio formats and prepare movies for PSP 3 and other hardware.

Thanks,
Miguel

[shapper]

I am ripping my first movie. I am trying to keep high quality.

I am using the following definition using AVS Video Converter:

HD Video 1080p. H.264/AVC - 4200 kbps; Audio: MP3 - 256 kbps

More details:

Frame Size: Custom
Frame Rate: Original
Width: 1920
Height: 1080
BitRate: 4200

Audio Codec: MP3
Channels: Stereo
Sample Size: 16 bit
Sample Rate: 44100Hz
BitRate: 256 kbps

Do you think I should tweak something in my definition?

Thanks,
Miguel

[guns1inger]

If your source is DVD then you gain nothing by doing a simple conversion to 1080 resolution. You are better off simply keeping the current DVD resolution. if you really want to go to HD resolution, then you should look at some of the super resolution products such as VideoEnhancer or Red Giant's Instant HD. Both will slow your encoding down a great deal, but the quality will be far greater than a standard resize when you are going to HD resolution.

[shapper]

So you think something as follows would be more appropriate:

Video:

Codec - H.264/AVC
Frame Size - Original
Frame Rate - Original
Bitrate - 1200

Audio:

Codec - Mp3 - 192 kbps
Channels: Stereo
Sample Size: 16 Bit
Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
Bitrate: 192kbps

Is this ok? Any improvements to this?

Other option:

Video:

Codec - MPEG (Divx/Xvid Compatible)
Frame Size - Original
Frame Rate - Original
Bitrate - 1500

Audio:

Codec - Mp3 - 192 kbps
Channels: Stereo
Sample Size: 16 Bit
Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
Bitrate: 192kbps

I think that the reason why H.264 has a lower bit rate is because it can achieve the same quality with it when compared with the DivX as I interpreted from some answers here.

Sorry for so many questions but I am just learning the best way to do this.

Thank You,
Miguel

[guns1inger]

If file size is not the driver then you can use a quantizer to base your bitrate on quality. For Xvid a value of 2 will be close to the original, usually at around half the file size of a DVD source.