How to convert DVD TV series to individual High Definition Episodes?

[nsctsunomi]

Tools i'm currently using;

1. AnyDVD HD v6.7.2.0
2. HandBrake v0.9.3 or RipBot264 v1.16.3


DVD TV Series:

I bought all of Dragon Ball Z DVD's from my local retail store, but since i have a big collection i have no room at home because I have other DVD collections as well. So this is why i have decided to back all my DVD's onto my HDD.

I only have problem with Dragon Ball Z because these DVDs which I bought are in Full HD, and the other DVDs are just standard quality which was easy for me to convert.

I have already used AnyDVD to backup the DVDs to my HDD, i don't know what settings to choose for "resolution" and "bitrate" and to choose the right audio with the right English subtitles to convert them to mkv or avi.

I have all the Dragon Ball Z series from 1 - 9 all in digitally remastered Full HD.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Season-Vegeta-Saga/dp/B000KWZ1TI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&...9873745&sr=8-1

If anyone has the same DVD's, then you would know what i am talking about when i say in each DVD it has 3 audio options

1. English with Japanese Mono
2. English with US Mono
3. Japanese with Japanese Mono

And 2 subtitles options (but really only 1 option because the English with English doesn�t work.)

I want to back the Dragon Ball into individual episodes and convert them into mkv (high definition and reasonable size = 150mb-200mb � 1gb is it the limit).


Can somebody here please help with step 2 and help choose a suitable resolution and output size. I also want the output container to be either mkv or avi and in High Definition because the DVDs are in Full HD.

For step 2 convert DVDs to individual mkv (HD) episodes what programs would you recommend and how do I use them correctly?

I have sort of tried RipBot264 but when I saw the output estimated time which was around 1hr 30mins I canceled it.


I mean 1hr 30mins for a 22mins episode sounds wrong when AoA DVD ripper and HandBrake can do it around 25mins.

[lowellriggsiam]

My suggestion would be to use makemkv to break the dvds into individual episodes and then use handbreak to compress the mkv files into reasonable file sizes.

[intracube]

I have all the Dragon Ball Z series from 1 - 9 all in digitally remastered Full HD.
http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Season-Vegeta-Saga/dp/B000KWZ1TI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&...9873745&sr=8-1

Despite what the product details say on Amazon, the DVD isn't 'full HD' - it's very much standard definition. Also, on the customer reviews, someone mentions that the 16:9 format is mostly achieved by cropping the top and bottom off the original 4:3 cartoon.

When you convert, you don't need to encode to a resolution much above 720x480 as it would be inefficient.

I'm not familiar with the programs you list, so I'm unable to help directly there.

How long is each cartoon? You should be able to compress a 20/30min episode to under 200MB at a reasonable quality using the h264 video codec.

This thread discusses how you can add subtitles to mkv files:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/287579-How-to-attach-subtitle-to-mkv

[manono]

Yeah, as intracube mentioned, they may have been remastered in Hi-Def but if on DVD they're the same old standard-def. There's no point at all in reencoding them to Hi-Def. Sometimes this point has to be emphasized when someone gets it into his head that the DVD they own is different from every other DVD ever made in that this one is really Hi-Def.

English with Japanese Mono
English with US Mono
Japanese with Japanese Mono

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but you have 2 English dub tracks (DD 5.1 and 2.0 (dual mono)), and one Japanese language track (DD 1.0 (single channel mono)).

[nsctsunomi]

"How long is each cartoon? You should be able to compress a 20/30min episode to under 200MB at a reasonable quality using the h264 video codec."


Each episodes is around 22mins + ending credits = 23 or 24mins.

What is a good setup (what resolution, to achieve a really good video quality along with a 200mb or 250mb file size.

I just tried with "HandBrake" and it came out around 540mb for an 24mins episode.

Can someone please show a link to a guide for converting to h264.


Isn't h264 mp4 files?


Thanks everyone for your help

[manono]

I just tried with "HandBrake" and it came out around 540mb for an 24mins episode.

Since file size is entirely a function of the bitrate used, you lower the size by lowering the bitrate. Of course, when using that bitrate the higher the resolution the lower the quality. Another reason not to upsize it. I don't and won't use Handbrake so I can't help you there. You might give XviD4PSP a try. I don't see any guides for its use, but it's pretty intuitive to use.

[intracube]

What is a good setup (what resolution, to achieve a really good video quality along with a 200mb or 250mb file size.

Either leave it at the original DVD resolution - 720x480 or 720x576 depending on whether your DVD is 'NTSC'/'PAL'. Or go for a resolution with square pixels like 854x480. However, my version of HandBrake seems to have a bug that limits the horizontal size to 720px - this is something I'm looking into.

If you have the same problem and want a custom resolution, just before you encode you'll need to:
- click on 'Picture Settings' in the toolbar
- in the popup window change Anamorphic to 'off', untick both 'Optimal for source' and 'Keep aspect', type in 854x480 for the storage width and height.
*Trying to save the settings as a preset messes up the resolution.

You haven't said where you want to playback the converted video. Are you intending to view the videos on your computer, or a portable device like a PSP, etc?

I just tried with "HandBrake" and it came out around 540mb for an 24mins episode.

In HandBrake, click on the Video tab, then select 'Target Size' and type in 200. This should make the filesize around 200MB.

Another important factor is taking '2:3 pulldown' into consideration. It's only an issue in countries that use the NTSC TV system, and doesn't apply to all DVDs.
http://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/Telecine
To try and work out if this appies to you, download mediainfo, open one of the original DVD files, select View>Text and copy and paste the details here.

Isn't h264 mp4 files?

Yes, and no. MP4 can mean several different things:
h264/avc - codec (MPEG-4 Part 10) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC
mp4 - also a codec (MPEG-4 Part 2) but older than h264. Related to DivX, Xvid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_2
mp4 - container format (MPEG-4 Part 14) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14

[intracube]

I don't and won't use Handbrake so I can't help you there.

You won't use HandBrake? Any particular reason?

I've only installed it this morning, and apart from a few quirks it seems reasonable.

[manono]

I don't like the guy that made it. He makes everything seem unnecessarily complicated, invents new terms for already named and defined things, and steals terms already in use for something else.

[nsctsunomi]

"In HandBrake, click on the Video tab, then select 'Target Size' and type in 200. This should make the filesize around 200MB."



I have tried using the target size, 150mb and 200mb and even 300mb all seems to come out less quality meaning the picture quality isn't as vibrant and detailed as the original DVD.

I know when you rip, convert anything from the original the quality always goes down, but the quality went down to a level i cannot accept. Especially when you see other videos of the same kind can do around 150mb and the quality is like High def.


Those people that can convert these videos into a file size of 150mb must be pro, right? I have tried using;

- AoA DVD Ripper = the quality came out worst out of all of these programs.

- HandBrake = is probably the best and easy to use, still trying find out how to convert too 150mb size without loosing too much on the quality.

- DVDfab Platinum 8 = for some reason the the output file only plays on "PowerDVD" and doesn't play in GOB Player"

- Convert DVD = Doesn't matter what i try in the settings the output file always seems to be larger without any noticeable quality chances.

And i have wasted a lot of money buying those programs, trial version is useless.

The best i can do 547mb for a 24mins episode with very good quality. So basically what i am asking how do i achieve a very good quality with only 200mb is the output limit.

Just like above i have said i have used the target size, but quality came out a little dull.



You haven't said where you want to playback the converted video. Are you intending to view the videos on your computer, or a portable device like a PSP, etc?


Sorry, the playback is intended for computer use which is why i choose mkv or avi.


"Another important factor is taking '2:3 pulldown' into consideration. It's only an issue in countries that use the NTSC TV system, and doesn't apply to all DVDs."


My country uses the PAL so i'm fine.

[intracube]

I have tried using the target size, 150mb and 200mb and even 300mb all seems to come out less quality meaning the picture quality isn't as vibrant and detailed as the original DVD.

If you can post before/after stills from the video to highlight what you mean.

I know when you rip, convert anything from the original the quality always goes down, but the quality went down to a level i cannot accept.
Just like above i have said i have used the target size, but quality came out a little dull.

I've just done a test encode of a DVD, and to my eyes the differences are small. The type of video you're trying to encode can sometimes show up flaws in the encoding process.

One criticism of HandBrake is it doesn't have a sharpening option. Here's some examples - all have been re-sized to 1024x576 just before uploading here.

Example from the DVD (720x576):

Example from HandBrake at 1.3Mb/s (854x480):

Same example as above, but sharpened on playback:

Of course, video with fast movement would show up the limitations of the encoding more, but the examples are representative of 'typical' content.

My country uses the PAL so i'm fine.

You should be ok, but occasionally PAL transfers of films have the field order shifted by one field:
http://neuron2.net/LVG/telecining5.html
Be on the lookout for that, as a bad telecine will give poor results on a computer screen and won't encode as easily.

[intracube]

Two more examples.
Original DVD (720x576) up-scaled to 1024x576 (no sharpening):

HandBrake converted video 854x480 up-scaled to 1024x576 (sharpening applied on playback):


A bit of edge enhancement is key to giving the images some definition.

[manono]

I know when you rip, convert anything from the original the quality always goes down, but the quality went down to a level i cannot accept. Especially when you see other videos of the same kind can do around 150mb and the quality is like High def.

At what resolution are you encoding? You're not still trying to make these things Hi-Def, are you? Try doing them for 624x352 (if 16:9 originally) and the size you want and see if there's any improvement.

And i have wasted a lot of money buying those programs, trial version is useless.

Yes, you did since freeware is usually as good or better than the payware which usually uses those same freeeware apps bundled with a shiny GUI.

...but quality came out a little dull.

That could be easily explained if you're upsizing to Hi-Def (don't) because you didn't do a colorimetry conversion.