Hello,

I'm in the process of converting my DVD collection so it can be stored onto an HTPC. I was using 'Dr Divx' but it's not all that stable and I was told that I shouldn't bother with it... And I've been having mixed results with it.

So I'm looking for a new encoding software that I could use to convert my dvd collection to some other media (avi, mpeg, ect.). I don't mind paying for the software as I'll make good use of it. But there seems to be just so many out there it's hard to figure out which one is worth investing in. So I'm hoping I can use other peoples experience and knowledge to point me in the right direction.

Any Recommendations for DVD conversion software?

Thanks.

I use an OpenSource program called Avidemux. (http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/) I use the linux version, but I assume the Windows version should be similar. It will allow you to transcode videos to whatever format you wish, to whatever size you want.

Thanks, downloading now.

I'll check it out.

This is a common question, so search the forums and you'll find some other suggestions.

Why not just copy the DVD files (VOBs etc) onto the harddrive of your HTPC, then you won't loose any quality as there is no conversion.

Ideally I would like to just copy the dvd's over, but that also takes up a lot of space, and I have over 200 DVDs. Although I'm not sure if I'll put them all on the HTPC or not. And the ones that I am concerned with quality loss I will probably transfer as a whole. But certain stuff like tv series of Futurama, which has 4 seasons with a total of 15 disc I think, would be quite the hit on the hard drive if transfered as a whole.

I've tried searching but never sure what to search for and most of the search words get removed for being to short. (dvd to avi) for example won't work. But
I shall try harder.

I am also interested in this topic as I have a collection that is approaching 500 retail discs and only some of them need to be in full 8GB rips.

I have tried many things in the past and they have not worked out too well. I will also be trying out that suggested app.

And Morilibus, I agree with you on the searching thing. It is hard with the fact that 3 letter words are not allowed.

Please post your progress and I will do the same.

Thanks.

Heres a question thats related. When you convert a dvd (8gb) to avi, is anything lost in the conversion. IE.. video quality, 5.1 sound etc.

is anything lost in the conversion.

Yes, but ultimately, it is all up to you. If you want the DD5.1, it can be preserved. If you want more video quality, go ahead. Just know that it will cause the file to be larger.

Ultimately, a well done MPEG 4 of a DVD can still look pretty good and be half the size.

One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the downloadable content from Bit Torrent sites is actually reduced in resolution to further drop the final file size so unless you go that far to reduce file size, you can't use those files as a reference.

In search of a program I've tried AutoGK(freeware), which I came across googleing randomly. So far I've only used it to convert tv series like futurama into avi files. So far the program seems to do what I need it to do, but I do get some artifacts while playing back the files, but I don't think its the file I think its my computer. As it's present in other video files not created by me, but it's not always present, and I'm thinking it may be due to the fact I don't have a dedicated Graphics card right now. So further testing is required.

But I did manage to shrink a 1 gb episode of futurama into a 150mb file with not much quality loss. Although it's just a cartoon show so any quality loss wasn't a huge deal, or as noticeable as a movie might be.

But so far I've just been going through my collection and transfering the movies over as a whole. My main reason for doing so was just the amount of time and pain that would be involved in compressing.

fwiw, I've got 2TB on a fileserver almost full of DVDs and TV that I've converted to DivX wtih AutoGK

if you're able to watch it side by side with the original you can detect the downgrade in quality, but if you just walked into the room mid-movie you'd never suspect that you were watchign a DivX version, as opposed to the original DVD

big differnce is that a movie is now 1.5ish GB rather than 5-9GB

I just thought I'd throw in the comment that AutoGK development apparently stopped earlier this year, so it might not be the best application to begin using going forward.