[mythtv-users] Ripping with MythDVD

[Doug Young]

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 11:21 AM, Jeff Clark <jeff at vacantcanvas.com> wrote:

> I've started ripping my DVD collection down to my Myth box using MythDVD.
> I am selecting "Perfect" for the quality, but this is producing files in
> the range of 4 gigs a piece, which will fill my hard drive faster than
> anything.
>
> Obviously, I'm looking for the best quality possible at the lowest size
> available.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions on how to have great looking movies with
> less space overhead?
>
> Jeff
>

Short, pithy answer:
Get a bigger drive (My current array is approximately 7TiB spread across
several machines, all network mounted).

Longer answer:
Personally, I find that about 4GiB is as far as I want to go for DVD
compression.  Most complete, commercial DVD's are in the 8GiB range.  Much
beyond 4GiB and I start to find the artifacts distracting.  Personally I
don't use MythDVD to rip, so I can't answer "what settings are acceptable",
but remember the basic rule: quality requires size.  The better quality you
want, the more space it is going to take.  You have to find the right
balance for your setup.  I suggest taking a DVD you know well and truly
enjoy*, fiddling with the settings, and ripping it repeatedly (under
different names) to see what sizes/qualities you come up with.  Then, choose
the one you find "acceptable" and go from there.  That being said, also
realize there will likely be DVD's you want at higher quality, and DVD's you
care less about.  Again, the trade-off is totally up to you, and what one of
us finds acceptable may be distracting for another and generate too big a
file for a third, so it boils down to a matter of personal preference.

-- 
Doug

* I suggest doing this with a video you truly enjoy because I find the
artifacts will be more distracting on videos I enjoy than on ones I don't
give a frack about ;-)
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