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[jleerigby]

I've only ever bothered with audio in the past but just started experimenting with ripping a music video (U2 Rattle & Hum to be specific!) and playing them back with MC.  This is what I managed so far:

• Used DVD Decrypter to rip and split each chapter into a separate .vob file
• Renamed all the .vobs to mpeg
• imported, tagged and played the individual tracks.

So far so good.  The only problem is that the 20 mpegs use over 4 Gig of HDD space.  Can anyone tell me whether it's possible to compress them and still play them in the same way?

(Oh - and thanks to Uwe for setting me off on the right track with the suggestion of using Bsweet which in turn led me to DVD Decrypter).

[Valissystem]

Well the mpegs are already compressed, so if you want to compress them further, that is really about transcoding them.

The way that this is often done is to transcode them using the divx codec.

The easiest way I have seen to do this, is to look at some software called Gordian Knot which is a bundle of stuff that will do that (and other related things) for you.

[Rizlaw]

The only problem is that the 20 mpegs use over 4 Gig of HDD space.  Can anyone tell me whether it's possible to compress them and still play them in the same way?

Another suggestion: you might try Nero 6 Recode. Recode has the ability to transform VOB/mpeg into Mpeg4 files (a la DivX). You can also look into DVDShrink at www.dvdshrink.org. Shrink is, by far, the best free transcoder available. Compression will not prevent you from playing the mpegs in MC, but I'm not so sure about changing to mpeg4 or DivX formats; i.e. I don't know how well MC10 handles mpeg4.

[jleerigby]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm still a bit confused though:

Well the mpegs are already compressed, so if you want to compress them further, that is really about transcoding them.

So ripping to .vob using DVDD gives you a compressed file?  I thought these were uncompressed?  If the fact that they are MPEG makes them compressed, well that doesn't make much sense as they only became MPEG when I changed the .vob file extension.

Compression will not prevent you from playing the mpegs in MC......but I'm not so sure about changing to mpeg4 or DivX formats; i.e. I don't know how well MC10 handles mpeg4.

OK so you are saying that compression will play in MC but mpeg-4 might not?  So how do I achieve a compressed file that will play?  Are you saying that DVDShrink is the answer to this?

I looked at Gordian Knot and DVDShrink but these programs just seem to go on about creating backup copies of DVD moves so you can fit them on a DVD-R.  I've no intention of keeping the moves as DVD's I just want to keep them as individual video clips like they are now.

What's the difference between .mpeg, mpeg-2 and mpeg-4?

Sorry for all the questions but this topic is a minefield - far worse than when I started researching audio and mp3's all those years ago!

[Chris Shaw]

.vob files are MPEG-2 compressed video. They didn't become MPEG when you renamed them, they were just renamed. DVD-Decrypter doesn't recompress video, it just, surprise surprise, decrypts it. This bypasses the CSS encryption which is supposed to stop you from ripping CD's.
To give you a sense of proportion, a two hour film uncompressed is approximately 200Gb.

There are various different implementations of MPEG-4, but all can achieve a much greater compression for the same quality than MPEG-2. Quicktime .mp4, DivX, and XVid are all based on MPEG-4, and MC9.1 certainly handles them all fine. You're probably best using DivX since it the most widely supported in other software and OS's. You could try something like IMToo DVD Ripper which should allow you to go straight from DVD to DiVX AVI. For good quality, you should aim to end up with a file size of about 1.5Gb.

If you want an in depth discussion on the differences between MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, there are plenty of answers here
http://www.mpeg.org/MPEG/video.html
but they're pretty technical. Basically, they use increasingly sophisticated methods for spotting redundant date in the video stream, so each can achieve better quality in the same file size.

[Uwe]

you're welcome  

[jleerigby]

Thanks cjdshaw for an excellant explanation.

You mention a file size of 1.5 GB.  What sort of length DVD are you referring to.  Is there a particular bit rate that I should aim for as I need it to be reasonable quality.  For example I rip my MP3s at 192 kbps.

Thank again for your help.

[Rizlaw]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm still a bit confused though:

Compression will not prevent you from playing the mpegs in MC......but I'm not so sure about changing to mpeg4 or DivX formats; i.e. I don't know how well MC10 handles mpeg4.

OK so you are saying that compression will play in MC but mpeg-4 might not?  So how do I achieve a compressed file that will play?  Are you saying that DVDShrink is the answer to this?

I looked at Gordian Knot and DVDShrink but these programs just seem to go on about creating backup copies of DVD moves so you can fit them on a DVD-R.  I've no intention of keeping the moves as DVD's I just want to keep them as individual video clips like they are now.

JLee,

Yes, IMO DVDShrink is your best FREE answer, but not the only answer. Nero6 Recode and DVD X COPY Express, both cost money, do the same thing, but IMO no better. It is claimed that Nero Recode is written by the same programmer who gave us free DVDShrink - he's affectionately referred to as Dr. Shrink.

While you are correct, that DVD Shrink is primarily intended to fit DVD9 movies (read movies that are over 4.5GB in size) on to DVD5 (read dvd-/+r) blanks, it is also very useful in reducing a movie's size on HDD by transcoding the original mpeg video/audio ----

(definition: "Transcoding or more specifically Compressed-domain Transcoding means normally a re-encoding process that changes the video or audio features, such as resolution or bitrate, by changing parts of the a/v content, but not by reconstructing the content again (which is the case in encoding process). Compressed-domain transcoding also maintains the format of the file same as in the original file.").

Once Shrink has transcoded the original movie files into a new set of files, you can delete the original larger video files and simply copy the new smaller files to the same VIDEO_TS folder.  Now you have the movie in <=4.5GB instead of the original larger size. This can save quite a bit of HDD space if you intend to have several movies on your HDD.

You might want to check out http://www.doom9.org for further info and Guides on the entire subject and the DVD Shrink forum at: http://forum.digital-digest.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=48.

Hope this helps.

[jleerigby]

I just had a recommendation from a friend to use something called Clad that (like ImToo DVD Ripper I presume) will change a .vob into an directly into a DivX AVI.  I don't have a link to this yet but I'm also going to take a look at ImToo.

[pat1066]

I read this lot and even though I did not understand much I thought I would have a go. Downloaded this:   http://fairuse.free.fr/
which ripped a video from the Red Hot's Greatest DVD in a total of about 40 mins producing a DIVX AVI about 10 times smaller.
Seemed rather embarrasingly easy. Seems to do whole films or bits. Think you need the DVD not copied VOBs

[jleerigby]

I read this lot and even though I did not understand much I thought I would have a go. Downloaded this:   http://fairuse.free.fr/
which ripped a video from the Red Hot's Greatest DVD in a total of about 40 mins producing a DIVX AVI about 10 times smaller.
Seemed rather embarrasingly easy. Seems to do whole films or bits. Think you need the DVD not copied VOBs

Seems like a great little program, pcorker - thanks.  

Now, while I'm waiting the estimated 1hr 27 minutes for it to create the video I'll ask a question:  Have you found anyway to use this program to create separate files from each chapter of the DVD?  That's what I really need for music videos as I want to add them to my library alongside regular MP3s.  Judging by my progress through the wizard I have a feeling that it's about to make one big file!  

I guess I'll find out in an hour and a half!  Time to order Pizza.

[Deivit]

Hi JLee,

Just to let you know that I'm following with enormous interest your investigation ... I too would  like to rip my DVD Concerts into single tracks that I could play together with my mp3 in Media Center.

In the worst scenario that you get one only large file, perhaps you could split it into tracks using Media Editor in Media Center?

-----
Listening to: 'Splitting Up' from 'Doctor Syntax' by 'Edwyn Collins' on Media Center 10

[kiwi]

You could probably rip to iso image (instead of vob) and then mount that image.

kiwi

[Rizlaw]

Hi JLee,

Just to let you know that I'm following with enormous interest your investigation ... I too would  like to rip my DVD Concerts into single tracks that I could play together with my mp3 in Media Center.

Deivit,

Just saw this shareware posted on Betanews. Haven't tried it, but it claims to rip dvd video to mpeg. Costs $24.95. The link: http://www.dvd-ripper.biz/dvd-to-mpeg.htm

Here is what they claim:

"Since the advent of DVD , it brings up the brand-new enjoyment of movie entertainment .In response to RegionCode restriction that prevent people to copy their favorite DVD , many softwares of dvd decoding and dvdhack were developed. You can make use of DVD copy software to copy DVD which rip and decode by dvd ripper and dvd decoder , but sometimes the quality is awful . Even if with the help of DVD burner , you still could not be able to copy the whole dvd due to the limitation of capacity . Firstly , we can use DVD ripper and DVD decoder to make the copy easier , secondly use MPEG encoder to convert DVD to MPEG format . Then we can copy the whole DVD to CD-ROM and remain the dvd-quality . Usually we can find many softwares have such function, however , most of them are complicated , inconvenient, low-efficient and take much space . Therefore , we urgently need a powerful , convenient , and high-efficient software to convert DVD to MPEG . So it is DVD-TO-MPEG . which integrates DVD copy , DVD decoder , DVD ripper with MPEG encoder and crack dvd . A powerful and high-efficient software to copy and compress DVD to MPEG format . Easy to use !

Features of DVD-TO-MPEG:

High speed .A two hours long DVD movie can be convert into a MPEG movie with high quality within 5 hours .
Save space. Make a two hours long Movie of DVD quality with 750MB.
Easy to use. Do not worry about the complication of DVD copying. Just click it once , everyone can become the master of DVD TO MPEG.
Support many formats . Finally, you can save the favorite DVD movie into your HD. Also you can save MPEG files in CD-ROM with other software .

The "DVD to mpeg" requires the following minimum configuration to run:
* Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
* Pentium-II 450 MHz or faster processor
* At least 64 MB of RAM
* 3 GB free hard drive space"

[Deivit]

Thanks for the tip, Rizlaw. I'm gonna take a look at that page too.

[Rizlaw]

Thanks for the tip, Rizlaw. I'm gonna take a look at that page too.

I told a friend of mine about this software. He downloaded the demo and tried it. He says it worked on a dvd he had previously ripped with DVD DeCrypter.