DVD9 to DVD5 with menus, best method?

[Jackpumpkinhead]

I have a DVD9 (Star Wars: Revisited) that I am wanting to get all on a DVD5, including motion menus and extras. I have seen many of the guide on the main site and it looks like DVD Rebuilder is the best way to go, however I don't have CCE and seeing as how the latest guide that I could find on how to accomplish what I am after was written back almost 10 years ago I didn't know if this method was still the best.

[mail2tom]

I use DVD-Rebuilder with HC Encoder. Works fine for me.

[jman98]

DVD-Rebuilder comes with an old version of HC-Enc that you can MAYBE use. Depends on your version of Windows. The old HC-Enc that comes with it doesn't work at all under Win 7 64 bit. I don't think it works under 32 bit Win 7 either, but I don't remember. It is possible to replace the HC-Enc in DVD-RB with a newer one, but you'll have to do a web search on the process. I don't remember what you do but it wasn't difficult. If you run XP then the HC-Enc that comes with DVD-RB should be OK for you.

Nothing has ever surpassed DVD-RB in all those years, by the way. It's still the best program out there from shrinking DVD from DVD9 to DVD5.

[manono]

DVD9 to DVD5 with menus, best method?

Manually.

[Jackpumpkinhead]

How about the quality though. I did a disc with DVD-RB and selected steal from extras and the quality of the main movie was kinda crappy in my opinion. So I am thinking of going with just doing the main movie. Is using DVD-RB still the best route, or should I use another method, ie, DVD2One, DVDshrink, CloneDVD?

[manono]

DVD-Rebuilder is way better than the other three you named. Those three are transcoders while DVD-RB does full reencodes. It still can't beat doing it manually, if you know how and want to take the time.

Sometimes, though, so much compression is needed when also trying to keep the extras that the resulting movie doesn't look so good. Check the log to discover the compression percentage used.

[louv68]

How about the quality though. I did a disc with DVD-RB and selected steal from extras and the quality of the main movie was kinda crappy in my opinion. So I am thinking of going with just doing the main movie. Is using DVD-RB still the best route, or should I use another method, ie, DVD2One, DVDshrink, CloneDVD?

My question to you is, how does the original "untouched" DVD look compared to the re-encoded version you say looks crappy?

[lantern]

DVD-RB is the best way for dvd9 to dvd5, re-encoding will take a lot longer than transcoding.

[Jackpumpkinhead]

I went ahead and got DVD-RB PRO, and was glad to see there was and option to rebuild with menus but with blank extras. Now my question is is having more then 2 passes using CCE better?

[louv68]

Star Wars: Revisited looks like a fan edit to me, and probably won't have the best quality to begin with. Without knowing for sure, I think your best bet is to do a dual layer burn or movie only rebuild if you choose to do DVD-9 to DVD-5

[lordsmurf]

DVD Shrink is good for most discs.

Best method = DVD-Rebuilder
You may need to convert the 720x480 to 352x480.
This is best for DVDs where DVD Shrink cannot compress without artifacts.

Or just use a Verbatim DVD+R DL. No shrinking needed.

[manono]

I went ahead and got DVD-RB PRO, and was glad to see there was and option to rebuild with menus but with blank extras

You could (and should) remove any unneeded extras as well as such things as warnings and other useless crap before even sending it to DVD-Rebuilder. You could have done all that (PGCEdit and/or VobBlanker) without buying the pro version of DVD-RB. But it's probably still a good investment for you.

Now my question is is having more then 2 passes using CCE better?

Yes. But if you only have the basic version you don't have that choice.

This is best for DVDs where DVD Shrink cannot compress without artifacts.

What's "best for DVDs where DVD Shrink cannot compress without artifacts" is not to use DVD Shrink. It uses the same quantization matrix when transcoding and one answer when shrinking the size drastically is to, first, make sure to remove all the unnecessary garbage (extras, unneeded audio and subtitle tracks, logos and warnings, etc.), followed by choosing a matrix to fit the material and its compressibility. If it's especially noisy, filtering can help as well. There is, in my opinion, almost never any valid reason to step down to 352x480 (or to use DVD Shrink, for that matter, as long as you have the time and inclination to do it right).

[Jackpumpkinhead]

So if I did have the option to do more than 2 passes, how many should I do?

[manono]

So if I did have the option to do more than 2 passes, how many should I do?

Hehe, that's a real can of worms and different people have differing opinions on that. Me, I usually use 4 or 5 (5 or 6 with the VAF pass) but some might say that's too many and the miniscule and unnoticeable quality gained by doing so many passes is a waste of time. You could always use HCEnc and its 2 passes instead.

[lordsmurf]

What's "best for DVDs where DVD Shrink cannot compress without artifacts"

Almost forget... read this: Three Important Tips for Using DVD Shrink!
Make sure to use DVD Shrink with the best settings. Most people fail to do so.

[manono]

What's "best for DVDs where DVD Shrink cannot compress without artifacts"

Almost forget... read this: Three Important Tips for Using DVD Shrink!

I was quoting someone else. If you're going to quote me use the complete sentence. You managed to change my point completely. I don't and won't use DVDShrink. Even with the 'best settings' DVDShrink often produces crap while a well done manual encode can produce decent video, as you agree in your '3 tips' article.