[patm95]

I prefer isos because I like keeping the whole disk. Every once in awhile I will want to see a bonus feature or something. HD space is not an issue for me either.

[sickpuppies]

I prefer isos because I like keeping the whole disk. Every once in awhile I will want to see a bonus feature or something. HD space is not an issue for me either.

Same here. I used to rip/re-author using Shrink just to get the movie file cause my PS3 wouldn't work with menu structures etc, but I always lamented the fact that I couldn't (easily) maintain director's commentary, or easily get to the special features.

Recently however I have discovered the beautiful XBMC so now I will only rip whole dvds (I usually compress them to about 60% using Shrink or Fab), and now I can get everything

I don't even mind when the FBI warnings and trailers come on cause, for me, that is all part of the whole movie experience.

[qlum]

whatever format I "obtain" the video in be it avi mkv or iso though I do prefer better quallity often I dont really have any more choice than 720p vs 480P which is quite an easy choice.

[cfg9000]

My CouchPotato is set up to look for 1080p/720p rips first, since XBMC can't fully use BD ISOs, and then DVD ISOs. DVD rips are a last resort. For all quality levels, DTS sound is preferred, with stereo sound a last resort.

That's basically how I try to maximize the quality of my collection. If I can't have HD visuals, I'll at least have special features.

[bluray]

since i'm a fan of dts-hd and truehd audio and 1080p video, iso is my preferred format. all the other less than 1080p is stored in the background somewhere!

[JustinAiken]

Full ISOs for the Criterion Collection or other sets full of nice menus and special features...

MKV/x264 for most everything else.

Full Bluray ISO's for great movies eventually, when XBMC can fully play unencrypted blurays with menus and all, sometime in the future...

[MidnightWatcher]

+1 for MKV. Handbrake is great.

[BamBam1963]

What do you guys prefer and why?

would i get better quality from an ISO (direct rip of a DVD) or say a recording converted to AVi?

also what happens with the scrapers if its a tv show, as a tv show season 1 would pottentially be like 3 discs?

Thanks for your opinions in advance

I am a fan of .mkv. Not crazy about .avi.

[hafr]

I generally don't bother making my own rips. so that is why.

Also I like to follow the scene rules when doing my own rips, so all my stuff follows the same standards.

if it ain't broke, don't fix it

Ripping your own stuff in XviD because it follows the set rules for the scene is just plain stupid. Unless you're planning on releasing it, or if you have a very, very weak computer that you use for watching movies.

[hafr]

MKV is my preference. I do not favour the quality of .avi (XVid). I suppose XVid may seem more appropriate for mobile devices, due in part to the smaller screens, but I have XBMC to enjoy my movie collection in full blown HD at the highest quality compressed format possible.
It can be a matter of personal taste.

The size to quality ratio is better in h264 than in XviD, and given the fact that mobile devices have very limited storage... Well... Yeah

[gabbott]

MKV is my preference. I do not favour the quality of .avi (XVid). I suppose XVid may seem more appropriate for mobile devices, due in part to the smaller screens, but I have XBMC to enjoy my movie collection in full blown HD at the highest quality compressed format possible.
It can be a matter of personal taste.

Just want to note that a container (.avi) has nothing to do with video or audio quality. Xvid can just as well be put into a .mkv container and the video/audio quality will be identical. Codecs and containers are NOT mutually exclusive.

[schneidz]

i use iso if i want to retain the dvd menus, previews (so it feels like it is playing from a stand-alone dvd player).

but most things i rip into 5.1 ac3 - xvid / mkv.

check out h264enc or xvidenc.

[taalas]

I would chime in in voting for h264 (in any container format you like)...and ISOs if you _really_ need menus/specials for something...

[mwkurt]

The size to quality ratio is better in h264 than in XviD, and given the fact that mobile devices have very limited storage... Well... Yeah

I have to ask since most of my stuff is in avi format and not knowing very much about h264....

with everything being equal...given an XVID movie of 800MB. How many MB's would the h264 have to be to get an equal quality?

Thanks,
Mark

[taalas]

I am afraid that is a little hard to answer and depends very much on your definition of quality.