Originally posted by jasperbox: is there any difference between DVDshrink and DVD-RB/CCE in video quality WITHOUT compression?
As long as neither program touches the video (i.e. no encoding) they will have the exact same video output.
If you are not compressing a video you can just burn the Video_TS/Audio_TS folders with IMGBurn.
If you are looking to avoid compression of a DVD you can use DVDReMake to strip out the menus, FBI warnings, etc. and, in a lot of cases, the result will be small enough to fit a DVD-R without any compression.
Sure they can minus my rep. The reason I asked the question is because I see the same question posted all the time. If a movie will fit without an encode or a transcode then why do you need to use either program?
For further information:
Transcoding (DVD Shrink and other one click programs): creates generation loss in the lossy process that is used. Now in DVD Shrink or other transcoding programs if the percentage is 70% or higher then the generation loss is not really that noticeable on a 50", but larger TV's will show more of the generation loss. This loss is generally noticed in fast action flicks. Because of the digital generation loss in transcoding it is normally not recommended. However, people love the one click programs!!
Encoding (DVD-RB with CCE or HC Encoder or other encoding programs): It is difficult to explain, but you may use multi-pass encoding for both variable and constant bit rates. So to conclude, Encoding with DVD-RB will give you a far better movie backup than DVD Shrink will.
Now as Pop_Smith pointed out about the fact that removing items from a movie before encoding or transcoding, yes, it does save an incredible amount of space. I also use DVDReMakePro, but there are a couple of free programs that may remove items as well. They do not offer the same benefits that DVDReMake does, but you may download them, and read some directions on using them. They are not as friendly a program for use, but they are powerful once you learn to use them. Just click the name and it will take you to the location: