Best DVD to MP4 Settings

[thepreacha619]

Okay, trying to rip my dvd library to my computer so they can be played on my laptop and sometimes my tv.
my laptop is a sony with an odd resolution. its 1600X900. i think this is an exact 16:9 aspect ratio.
(also i'd like these videos to be played on my tv, its just a 26' inch insignia. 16:9 i think, but my computer is the main player)
I'd like them to be in MP4 so i can play them in WMP, and Itunes. (i do use VLC, but only sometimes.)
okay, so I'd like to rip the dvd's so i have a minimal loss in quality, space on my hard drive is no problem. 320gb on my laptop, and i'm buying a NAS like next month probably.

so my question is, what do i need to do when i rip these?
i've ran a few test runs, but the quality was sooo bad.
here's what i've got, and if you could tell me what i need to change, that would be much appreciated:
converting these as generic.mp4.h264.aac
fixed bitrate: 2000
fps: same as source
frame res: 704x396 (i'm in the US. is that right for my movies?)
sound: 128bit dolby pro logic II
(this example was monty python and the holy grail in WS.)

is that about as good as i'm going to get? is .avi better for quality?

[GregiBoy]

What was soooo bad about the quality?

The reason that I ask is that I personally have been doing this for years and the main TV that I display all my movies is a Samsung 52" HD one using it's inbuilt player and some times other brands of media players.

I generally use the generic.avi.xvid.audiocopy profile and the generic.avi.h264.audiocopy profiles at around 1100 bitrate (sometimes higher if fast action in the title).

My family and friends can not tell the difference between the files I produce and the original DVD.

[Ozzie]

I like mkv profiles, avi gives me way to much A/V sync issues.

[Complication]

The file container doesn't make much difference in quality. It is all about the type of stream and how it is encoded. You can improve the quality the profile you are using by modifying the generic.mp4.h264.aac.xml file under "Program Files/DVDFab 6/Profiles". Change the following section to bump the encoding profile from Basic to Main (see H264 in Wikipedia for more info on the difference).

<vcodec name="h264">
<generic profile="1" level="41" />
</vcodec>

FYI, this change will get overwritten when you install a new version of DVDFab.

Personally I find that an 1100 bitrate produces too many compression errors (jagged lines, dark areas that move/shimmer even though the camera is still, and other video noise that comes and goes). Maybe PAL and NTSC are encoded differently by DVDFab and that is why GregiBoy and I never agree.

I'd start with the maximum (5000) and then bring it down until it starts to annoy you. I wouldn't bother with 2-pass because that is really designed for when you are setting a specific file size rather than an average bitrate. Also, if you are not already, I recommend encoding only a chapter or two while trying to find a bitrate that works for you.