|
|
|
Help with reauthoring using DVD Shrink
|
|
|
pltran03
Newbie
|
10. March 2004 @ 08:52 |
Link to this message
|
|
I just started using DVD Shrink to backup my DVDs, but am finding it incredibly difficult to get the movies under a reasonable video compression %. For example, I used the reauthoring mode and dragged only the main movie title ("A Simple Plan") to the left-hand side panel, and then clicked on the compression setting and selected the automatic option. It shows that the compression % is at 54.2%. I then unchecked the AC3 2-ch English box and now the % increased to 56.7%. There is nothing else that I can remove to increase the % further, because this is only a barebone DVD without any special scenes or trailers, and without subtitles. So I'm curious as to why the compression % is so, so low? I've heard from people saying that usually if they only backup the main movie the % should be around at least 80% and most of the time much higher. Is this true? I also backed up a couple other movies (e.g., "Startup.com"), and again, backup the main movie only increased the % from the original 68.7% to a final of 73.9% (after removing the AC3 2-ch Engl and AC3 2-ch Engl Director's comments). This is also strange because again, this movie also does not contain any special features, trailers, etc. So why am I not able to get the % to be around 80% or higher? I noticed in one of the guide that with the example dvd Pirates of the Caribbean, the author was successful in getting the final movie to 83% compression, which he said is excellent.
Also, after I've burned out one movie ("Startup.com")using Nero Ultra Ed 6.3, the movie started to freeze up in certain places (only!) toward the end. I tried it three times now and the end product still shows the same freezing effect, albeit in different places. I'm not sure why this is the case? The movie plays fine throughout on PowerDVD and Windows Media Player. I'm using the Liteon 411S updated with the most recent firmware, and my DVD media is the often-praised Ritek 4X, and to be safe, I even burned the movie only at 2X speed instead of at 4X. I have plenty of hard disk space, 1.5GB 3200 RAM memory, ASUS A7N8-Deluxe MB, and AMD 2600 XP+ Barton CPU. I shut down every application before ripping and burning, even the Norton Antivirus was disabled for good measure. I also turned off the screen saver feature as well. I did not go on the internet while it was burning, and as a matter of fact, didn't even touch the mouse or the keyboard at all until the burning process is complete.
I already went through about 4 guides on dvd shrink on the net and could not find any other hidden advice that I might have missed out. DVD shrink seems simple enough to use and instructions are very straightforward, so I don't think I've messed up on any of the setting selections. I've also ripped hundreds of dvds into SVCDs before using Nero and Alcohol, so I'm not exactly a novice with this ripping stuffs.
Thank you so much in advance for your help.
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
|
ScubaPete
AfterDawn Addict
|
10. March 2004 @ 14:02 |
Link to this message
|
|
pltran03,
I'll divide your Novel into 2 parts if I may - The first dealing with % and the second dealing with your "freezing".
I had much the same experience with % as you did with your DVD's. Mine, unlike yours dealt with Chocolate Cake.
I had 1 Chocolate Cake that fed 8 people when we got it about Thanksgiving time and when I got a Chocolate Cake last week it fed only 4 adults. "Why", said I, thinking that something truly horrible had happened, "does a Cake differ so much ?" Then it was explained to me that the difference was in the size ! One Chocolate Cake was larger than the other -
pltran03, I put it to you, the same may well be the case with the DVD's. One DVD at 6.9GB will require much less compression than a 7.8GB DVD in order to fit on the same 4.36GB DVD disc :-)It is something over which we have no control :- As was told to me - "ScubaPete, learn to live with a smaller Chocolate Cake !" I'm not at all happy about it, but I guess I'll have to deal with it (I'll deal with it like H@*% I'll deal with it - I'll order 2 Damn Chocolate Cakes !) Too bad you can't solve your problem as easily, pltran03.
Anyway pltran03, for part 2, I have to ask you, are you using Ritek G04's or are you using Ritek's cheaper stuff ?
Yes, they do make cheap stuff, that's why we specify "G04". Using Ritek in general doesn't mean a lot, remember they make 50 % of all the discs on the market, good, bad and yes, the ugly !
Try Verbatim - their AZO metal dye is, as Tony the Tiger would say, "Grre a t !!"
Try a change in media, it may help, One thing for absolute positive, "It can't hurt" !
Pete-
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 10. March 2004 @ 14:07
|
|
pltran03
Newbie
|
11. March 2004 @ 13:52 |
Link to this message
|
Thanks for your advice. You are right that some movie are just bigger than others. The movie that I referred to, "A Simple Plan," is just plain huge. Just the main movie itself is already 7.7 GB, so that probably explains the high compression %. So what I ended up doing is splitting the movie into 2 dvds. I also did that for "Startup.com" even though the main movie is only 6.3 GB because I can only get the final quality % to 73.9%. BTW, I used the Ritek GO4's which is sold by Newegg, so I don't think it's the media that was the problem. After I splitted up the movie into 2 dvds, the freezing goes away and the quality becomes exactly like the original dvd. And instead of burning it immediately with Nero, I spent an extra step to create an iso image with img tool and then burn the image using DVD Decrypter at 4x. I have since ripped two more movies and the quality is also excellent.
I have a question for you. Do you think the "freezing" is due to the fact that the movie was compressed almost 30%? From your experience, what do you think should be the minimum % one should strive to get to? Should something around 80% be good enough? The reason why I asked is I really don't want to be splitting every movie into 2 dvds except only when necessary. So should I be happy with a single dvd backup if I can manage to get the % to be around 80% or higher?
Thanks again.
|
|
ScubaPete
AfterDawn Addict
|
11. March 2004 @ 14:59 |
Link to this message
|
pltran03,
I don't know about an EXTRA step did you configure DVD Shrink like this -
Personally, I create a folder on my Desktop, in there I create a sub-folder with the name of the movie I'm working with at the time - then you'll want to go into DVD Shrink, click ?Edit?, then click ?Preferences? under the ?File I/O Tab? un-tick ?Enable burning with Nero? then click ?OK?.
Analyze your next DVD in the usual manner, do your editing (or re-Authoring) and do your compressing THEN when time comes to select ?Backup?, take just a second and under ?Target Device? go to ?Select target device? once there, select ?ISO Disc Image?. NEXT tick ?Launch DVD Decrypter to burn the output image? box. Finally, where it says ?Select target image file?, browse till you find your created folder for your Backup and place it there :D
As far as what percentages ? - I usually use DVD Shrink (free) in the re-Author mode, rip out all the ?Extras? and burn the movie to 1 disc. The percentages vary greatly - when all is done and I play the DVD backup, if looks bad, then I might split it if I can?t live with the quality. That has happened only a few times in 5oo backups. I find that, for the majority of the times, the backups are pretty good.
Another option, if you?re really picky, Rip with Decrypter (free) in the ?file? mode and process it with CloneDVD ($) OR with DVD2One ($) + CopyToDVD ($) - (the 2 work together :P)
If you want to spend even more money, let AnyDVD ($) do the ripping ?on the fly? for you.
Any and all of these programs are, in my opinion, are better than DVD Xcopy ($)
As you can see, I don?t deal in what percentages, I deal in quality. (BTW, glad to see you?re using excellent media.) In my opinion, DVD2One ($) is better than DVD Shrink (faster too).
They all offer trial versions - if you don?t care about money, give them a shot. To be truthful, the vast majority of members here like the free stuff, me too - it?s a mental thing :D)
Pete
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
|
drchips
Senior Member
|
11. March 2004 @ 15:49 |
Link to this message
|
|
Hiya Pete,
The "Chocolate Cake" was brilliant ;)
Your posts can be so entertaining at times...
I just want to express my appreciation for that.
Cheers mate,
Byeeeee...
Life is just more of the same:
|
|
