DVD Ripper file size

[ram1009]

Well, Gregiboy's tutorial worked perfectly. Only problem is the end product is a Divx/avi file 2.6GB in size. There are easier ways to get good quality files that size so what's the point? Complete movie Divx files I've seen are under 1GB, usually around 700MB. Why must FAB produce such a large file?

[GregiBoy]

I usually end up with a file just over 1Gb for a 90min movie containing the DD5.1 soundtrack.

What profile/settings are you using?

[ram1009]

I usually end up with a file just over 1Gb for a 90min movie containing the DD5.1 soundtrack.

What profile/settings are you using?

The only thing I changed from what popped up was the frame res to 800 x 450. The bitrate was 1725 but changing it to 1100 only reduced the file size to 1.8GB so I didn't bother. If I can't get these on a CD it's pointless for me. I'll say one thing though, it was fast, only about half an hour once I got a good RIP which was another half hour. This 4 core Phenom II is pretty good.

[GregiBoy]

If you want to get a filesize down to 700mb, you need to adjust quite a few things.

Firstly the resolution neeeds to be smaller.
The bitrate needs to be smaller.
The audio needs to be downsampled to 128kb MP3

Most 700Mb files that you see on the torrent sites will have resolutions of ~640 x XXX, a video bitrate between 700-800Mb and a 128k MP3 audio track.

[ram1009]

I tried your settings. It's a 2:41 long movie so I had to set the bitrate at 550 to get a 750MB file. Audio was fine. The quality is not bad even on the 46" except action scenes which are noticeably degraded. The process produces 3 files. The .AVI, of course, plus a small .IDX file (no idea what this is) and the .SUB file which I guess is the subtitles. Is there a way to reintegrate the subs into the movie? My hearing is bad and I miss a lot without them. BTW, for the record, I am not a torrenter or P2P person. Also, I took your advice and bought a WD media player. I like it but I doubt it will replace disks outright but I'm sure you don't want to discuss that here.

[IPopov50]

Also, I took your advice and bought a WD media player. I like it but I doubt it will replace disks outright but I'm sure you don't want to discuss that here.

Hmmmmmm GregiBoy rocks!!!!

[GregiBoy]

The SUB & IDX files contain the subtitles and all the players that I have will play them.

The WD should be able to play them. Have a read through the manual.

I do think that the self-imposed size limitation that you have set yourself is too low for good quality. Hard disk space is cheap.

I honestly cannot remember when I last burnt a disk.

I don't think players such as the WD will ever replace disks as the distribution companies are totally against uncopyprotected distribution but from a convenience factor point of view and backup of your valuable media, they rock.

I have seen an enormous growth in this class of device, especially over the last two years.

[ram1009]

The SUB & IDX files contain the subtitles and all the players that I have will play them.

The WD should be able to play them. Have a read through the manual.

I do think that the self-imposed size limitation that you have set yourself is too low for good quality. Hard disk space is cheap.

I honestly cannot remember when I last burnt a disk.

I don't think players such as the WD will ever replace disks as the distribution companies are totally against uncopyprotected distribution but from a convenience factor point of view and backup of your valuable media, they rock.

I have seen an enormous growth in this class of device, especially over the last two years.

The "self imposed space limitation" has nothing to do with HDD space. I agree, it's too cheap to worry about, however anything that spins is less reliable than anything that doesn't for long term security. The ultimate answer is cheap SSD. The coolest aspect of the media player is streaming HD over my WLAN anywhere in my home, however navigating the OSD is no joy. You must view one icon at a time sequentially which ( I can already see) is going to be prohibitively time consuming as my library grows. I do hope my player will be able to hook up with more websites over time. The only thing I'm interested in today is YOUTUBE. You're certainly correct about the media distribution people and their attitude toward DRM. I often wonder if they actually know how easy it is to circumvent their encryption schemes.

[GregiBoy]

I've been doing this for over 8 years and have everything stored on Network Attached Storage units with mirrored disks and also an effective backup strategy, and I have never had a problem losing any data.

This said, I do not regard SSD's as a cost-effective solution at the moment as I can just add another terabyte for under $100, another NAS for under $150.

[ram1009]

I've been doing this for over 8 years and have everything stored on Network Attached Storage units with mirrored disks and also an effective backup strategy, and I have never had a problem losing any data.

This said, I do not regard SSD's as a cost-effective solution at the moment as I can just add another terabyte for under $100, another NAS for under $150.

There are two kinds of computer users: those who have lost data and those who will lose data. It doesn't matter how much or little you spend for HDDs or NASs they are all subject to failure without notice as are your backup HDDs. I said, and agree with you that SSDs are NOT currently a cost effective solution for large volumes of backup. BTW, I've been building computers for about 15 years and have never lost data (that I didn't cause) either, however I appear to be more aware of the risks than you. Also, I hope you never have to deal with a data retreival service as I have at work.

[GregiBoy]

Nope, I've been in the IT Industry for over 40 years and fully understand that a good backup strategy & discipline is required.

As I said, I have NEVER lost any of my data and I think that this is because I have a strict regime in place.

[ram1009]

Nope, I've been in the IT Industry for over 40 years and fully understand that a good backup strategy & discipline is required.

As I said, I have NEVER lost any of my data and I think that this is because I have a strict regime in place.

Sorry, but all the strategizing on earth cannot prevent a mechanical failure, only improve the odds.

[GregiBoy]

The odds of 2 x mirrored drives that backed up to 2 x mirrored drives and a weekly off-site backup all having catastrophic failure at the same time is very, very small.

[ram1009]

You're obviously very proud of your system and justifiably so, however what your suggesting is far beyond the scope and capabilities of today's average computer user who just wants to archive a movie now and then as he acquires them. It's much simpler to just burn a disk and place it in a sleeve in a 3 ring binder. It's also more secure since the 3 ring binder is not subject to mechanical failures. Also, you mention offsite backup. I don't know how you accomplish this but for the average person this would probably require the use of a "cloud" service which introduces all sort of privacy issues and IMHO is an insurmountable obstacle to widespread acceptance of cloud computing. So, while I understand your advocacy of your security system I think that system is impractical for the current average computer user.