Maintaining DVD Quality

[rbxbots]

Hi. I'm a bit new to all of this stuff, so apologies if this is a simple/stupid question.

I have several sports DVD's containing clips that I like to put together into compilations. I've been capturing and editing these as I go, via a combination of DVD Decrypter and Virtual Dub. But since I reuse alot of them in different compilations I've come to the conclusion that it'd be quicker to store all the little individual clips on DVD (as data, rather than as a playable DVD), then reuse as needed without having to go through the whole ripping/editing process again.

The question is, what is the best way of doing this? What I'd like to do is store all the little clips without losing any of the original DVD quality, but also keep file size as low as possible. Is this possible? If so, how to go about it? Which programs to use, etc?

Thanks

[Lawbringer]

What you're asking for isn't possible, at least not the way you describe it.

you want:
1. Separate files
2. Small file size
3. No quality loss

Splitting up a DVD video (already mpeg2 encoded) into separate clips = re-encoding = some quality loss, varies depending on settings (unless you use a lossless codec, which will NOT result in small file size)

Also, some DVD authoring tools will re-encode video during the authoring process, even if those clips are already DVD-compliant. So, need to know what it is you're using to author the final DVD.

Bottom line - need to know what you use for your DVD compilations. I have some ideas involving AviSynth scripts, but will hold off on them until I know more

[AlanHK]

What I'd like to do is store all the little clips without losing any of the original DVD quality, but also keep file size as low as possible. Is this possible? If so, how to go about it? Which programs to use, etc?

If you use a good MPEG editor, like Womble's MPEG-VCR, you can cut and join DVD compliant MPEG video without losing quality.

MPEG isn't as compact as other formats, but to use them you'd be reconverting and lose some quality when you made your DVDs.