I am backing up my DVD collection to a home theater computer and want to know whats considered the best format to rip to. The video will be played on a big screen TV so I am scared to do any compression (and maybe thats unfounded). At this point I have been ripping into ISO's with no compression.
@MsBrooke
Welcome to aD!
Ripping in iso mode should be fine. Depending on how big those files are will depend on if you need to burn to a single layer or dual layer disc. 4.38gb and under can go on a single anything above that to 7.95gb you'll need dual layer and a burner that supports dual layer burning. Compression will cause some loss of quality so keeping it minimal to none at all is best especially if playing a a big screen.
I am just ripping to hard drive (I have a 2TB drive). I can keep any size (but I am taking out everything but the movie). Just wasnt sure if down the road somewhere I will find out ISO rips are bad. I like them better because they are all in one file.
Is there a program that will convert DVD rips that are in folder form to ISOs?
i've done the same thing you have. i rip all my dvd's to my hard drive using dvd decryptor, then autogk to make an xvid/ac3 encoded AVI. you'll find avi's are much easier to work with, rather than .iso's. this allows you to set up a library with whatever media player you use (i just use windows media player).
i have all my television shows, and movies play randomly. it's kinda like my own tv channel, that plays only the things i like, and without commercials. it also just makes everything easier to find, and make playlists.
using autogk and an .AVI format will also allow you to shrink them to any size you want, while retaining a good picture, as well as retaining the full dolby digital surround if you wish.
i'd recommend using an LCD projector rather than a big screen, if you can swing it. projectors have larger screens, they are cheaper, and and play higher resolution (since it's coming straight from your computer) than anything else out there. there is NO reason to use a big screen/LCD screen/plasma screen these days except maybe the noise a projector will create.
p.s. dvd decryptor is becoming out of date, so you may need to use AnyDVD instead.
