2010-12-01, 09:28
NOTE: Wasn't sure where to post this thread. Sorry if this is the incorrect subforum. The XBMC forums were the most fitting, in my opinion, for this question.
I am moving out-of-province, and won't be able to take my large collection of standard-definition DVDs with me. They're going to be placed in storage locally, with my relatives. I am going to create backups of the titles I wish to keep, and carry a portable HD during the move.
I don't exactly care about (most) special features or access menus, so keeping the structure of the disc or preserving it's contents entirely is not needed. Also, size isn't a HUGE issues in some ways. I won't be sharing or streaming any of this content, so they won't have to be 700MB or less. At the same time, the point of this is to maximize storage capacity without much quality loss. So I wouldn't want to turn a 6GB feature film .vob into a 5.5GB encode. Not much point.
I used HANDBRAKE in the past, with the AppleTV preset (H.264 and AAC) and some customization. I limited the file size to 1.4GB. The results were okay. I didn't notice a huge loss in quality or resolution. But I'm wondering... can I do better?
Willing to use either the WINDOWS or MAC OS X platform, as I have access to both. Any programs, as long as the learning curve isn't too harsh... price is not an issue (within reason...)
I will be playing these on a HTPC equipped with XBMC, so PS3-compatibility or the like is not needed, either.
I am moving out-of-province, and won't be able to take my large collection of standard-definition DVDs with me. They're going to be placed in storage locally, with my relatives. I am going to create backups of the titles I wish to keep, and carry a portable HD during the move.
I don't exactly care about (most) special features or access menus, so keeping the structure of the disc or preserving it's contents entirely is not needed. Also, size isn't a HUGE issues in some ways. I won't be sharing or streaming any of this content, so they won't have to be 700MB or less. At the same time, the point of this is to maximize storage capacity without much quality loss. So I wouldn't want to turn a 6GB feature film .vob into a 5.5GB encode. Not much point.
I used HANDBRAKE in the past, with the AppleTV preset (H.264 and AAC) and some customization. I limited the file size to 1.4GB. The results were okay. I didn't notice a huge loss in quality or resolution. But I'm wondering... can I do better?
Willing to use either the WINDOWS or MAC OS X platform, as I have access to both. Any programs, as long as the learning curve isn't too harsh... price is not an issue (within reason...)
I will be playing these on a HTPC equipped with XBMC, so PS3-compatibility or the like is not needed, either.