Hi all, I am new to encoding videos and i would like to create digital copies of my DVD collection so that I can stream them through my xbox. I am using claddvd.net to rip the dvd which leaves me with my VIDEO_TS folder and IFO,BUP,VOB files. Then I use VirtualDub to convert these to avi format that is readable by the xbox. I am also using the AC3 audio codec so that I can retain teh 5.1 surround sound. My problem is that everything i have tried applies huge compression to the VOB (mpeg-2 container) files. So if I start out with a 5GB rip of the main movie, I end up with a 1.3GB avi file. Obviously the picture quality is not great. I don't care about the size of the output, digital storage is cheap, i would like to retain close to the same quality but be able to stream the video to the xbox360 which means it has to be in avi/divx/wmv format. Can anyone help me find a way to encode in these formats without losing a lot of quality?
VirtualDub only saves in AVI format and lets you save as uncompressed RGB, but realistically that one avi would fill a hard drive. Try selecting the Huffy lossless codec.
Just get AutoGK. Very simple and very good results. With about roughly 4 simple clicks you will have a perfect DVD to Xvid conversion. It can also preserve your AC3 sound or encode to MP3. Choosing MP3 will alot more space for the video then AC3, so if your going AC3 you may consider going up to the 2 CD method(2-700 MB avi files) for better quality.
I've been using DVDFab Plat. for converting vobs into avi. In the configure screen, it lets you increase the FPS you want which then increases the file size. I just put it all the way to 5000FPS and get around 4-5gigs of avi.
