Newbie Question: Anyone using DVD Rebuilder or Scenarist NT?

vbimport
#1

I’ve read a number of posts here regarding DVD backup using various software (CloneDVD, DVD2One, ShrinkDVD, Nero Recode2, etc) and each user satisfied with their backup.

After many months of debating whether to buy a DVD burner or not, I finally got one yesterday to back up my DVD collection. Being a total newbie at this, I am trying to find out which is the best backup software for me, before I purchase anything.

My requirements are: … Best quality as possible.

As I understand, CloneDVD, DVD2One, Shrink DVD, etc …all do the entire decoding/encoding/burning etc…in 1 pass…at the press of 1 button.

I’ve heard about other software like DVD Rebuilder, Scenarist NT, and a few more…that does a better job than the 1 pass backup software…but take a lot longer time cause its more than 1 pass (upto 5).

Time isnt a factor for me or money. I just want the best quality for my DVD+R.

I am using Lite-On SOHW-812S burner and RICOHJPNR01 media.

Any DVD Rebuilder users care to shed more light on this issue?

#2

Mmmh, if your main aim is best quality: Why don’t you split the movies over 2 DVDs. You will get 100% picture quality then.
I don’t know the progs you mentioned, but CloneDVD2 is said to have execellent movie quality. BUT, none of the progs is a wizard. If you have to compress the movie, you lose quality. So it’s up to you: Compress the whole DVD, or leave out the extras or split the dvd…
But as I said, if you just want pure quality, you have to split the DVD9 to 2 DVD5.
Allthough, IMHO you can hardly see any difference between 100% and 80%, surely depends on the quality of your player and the size of your TV/Beamer or whatever.

Regards, Monty

#3

I use DVD Shrink. Only keep the movie itself, with one audio stream (English 5.1), English subs and that’s it. I also cut the end credits as they usually take anywhere from 8-15 mins. I’ve got a 46" wide creen HDTV and I notice no loss in quality when using the above method as long as the compression is no lower than about 75% (and I use Deep Analysis which is important). If I have to go lower than 75% or so I’ll split the DVD as mentioned above across two discs.

There are other methods, but this is what works best for me.

Most software has a trial period available for you to play around and find what you like best. So overall your best bet would be to experiment for youself and see what you like, it’s your own eyes that will be the judge in the end.

#4

Well, I use CCE to re-encode my DVDs and don’t have any problems with resulting quality… I don’t think any experienced user can argue the fact that CCE beats any transcoder when trying to bring bitrate below 65% of the original. When above 65% is possible, some people say transcoders win, some not. I stick to CCE though. Best way to test is to do the same DVD both ways and see which you prefer.

/MLS

#5

If time is not an issue, DVD-Rebuilder and CCE deliver much better results than any transcoder for high compression backups (it also works quite well for converting 4:3 letterbox to 16:9 format. Something no transcoder can do). I’ve been using Rebuilder + CCE-Basic for anything more than 20% compression and am quite impressed (eventhough Rebuilder is still in beta).

Download CCE-SP trial and Rebuilder and give it a trial for yourself.

#6

If quality is your main requirement, then you really need to use CCE to do the encoding. DVD ReBuilder is fantastic but does the whole DVD, movie & extras. If you want just movie only, then read the tutorial section on using DVD2SVCD w/ CCE.

#7

I’m going to try the demo version of both DVD Rebuilder/CCE as well as CloneDVD or DVD Shrinker.

Couple more questions:

  1. How do you figure out that compression % ?? how do I know that a certain DVD requires more than 15-20% compression?

  2. For a typical 140min movie…what is the approximate time required for backup (decode, encode, burn) using CloneDVD or DVD Shrinker…and how much time for a 2-pass DVD Rebuilder??

Thanks for all your replies

#8

An easy way to get the compression percentage is to open the disc in DVDShrink. It will give you the percentage.

As far a times go, it depends on your computer/processor. For me, on a 2.4G P4 (non HT) w/ Plextor 708A and 4X medai, it takes about 1hr from inserting the target disc until I get a burned DVD with Shrink. With DVD-Rebuilder, from 4-5 hrs for 2 pass (it takes about 15 min to rip the DVD with DVDDecrypter). Be sure you install DVDRebuilder properly (you will need a few extra things, Avisynth, decodfix110.zip, etc.), check out the readme that accompanies DVD-Rebuilder.

#9

i was reading the DVD Rebuilder guide at doom9 and for a newbie, that guide is still a little intimidating. I wish there was a IRC channel or someplace where us first timers could bother the backup gurus :bow: :smiley:

Thanks for all your valuable assistance. This should definitely get me started on the right track.

More questions to follow later, as I begin to understand the backup process

Thanks again

#10

Read the sticky on the doom9 forum

DVD ReBuilder: Installation, Setup, and Usage

That should get you on your way.