How can I backup my DVDs for quick & easy access?

Arc said:

If you have to create a single .vob file, you may try this :
VOB Joiner - join VOB files, merge vob merger, combine vob combiner, Camcorder, MiniDV

I guess if I plan on usin Media Center more, there really isnt a reason in going through all of tha trouble to merge them into one file is there?

What file do I click on to make sure that dvdshrink copied the entire dvd properly and I'm good to go?

So even with DVDshrink I need to locate the movie poster online?

Why doesnt it pull all of the posters/images that are on the dvd itself?

JohnnyScience said:

What file do I click on to make sure that dvdshrink copied the entire dvd properly and I'm good to go?

So even with DVDshrink I need to locate the movie poster online?

Why doesnt it pull all of the posters/images that are on the dvd itself?

Why don't you reecode the files to matroska and x264/aac? The films will be tiny - 300mb+.

Frostmourne said:

JohnnyScience said:

What file do I click on to make sure that dvdshrink copied the entire dvd properly and I'm good to go?

So even with DVDshrink I need to locate the movie poster online?

Why doesnt it pull all of the posters/images that are on the dvd itself?

Why don't you reecode the files to matroska and x264/aac? The films will be tiny - 300mb+.

Uhh what?

What for? I'm not familiar with what you're talking about?

You want to back up your files - why are you backing up the discs to 4GB+? You have the originals, and if you encode them this way, you can stream them from a server and easily back them up. The quality is fine if you know the settings.

Frostmourne said:

You want to back up your files - why are you backing up the discs to 4GB+? You have the originals, and if you encode them this way, you can stream them from a server and easily back them up. The quality is fine if you know the settings.

because I want to easily view them on the computer. I've got a 500g media hard drive, so I'm not worried about space

4GB+ each film so if you have over 150 films you will begin to run out of space, the quality will be fine. Do you want me to walk you through it?

Frostmourne said:

4GB+ each film so if you have over 150 films you will begin to run out of space, the quality will be fine. Do you want me to walk you through it?

Ehh I dont think I'm going to have that many films. Plus HDD is pretty cheap these days.

There has to be quality loss if you go any smaller than what DVDshrink puts it at?

You could try ripping each movie to .avi format instead .. here's a guide which uses free software to do the job!

.. AfterDawn.com: Guides: Converting DVD movies into .avi using AutoGK ..

Try experimenting a bit and see which format you prefer .. each has it's merits.

Several sites do some excellent guides for all the basics .. afterdawn , doom9 , videohelp ..

JohnnyScience said:

Frostmourne said:

4GB+ each film so if you have over 150 films you will begin to run out of space, the quality will be fine. Do you want me to walk you through it?

Ehh I dont think I'm going to have that many films. Plus HDD is pretty cheap these days.

There has to be quality loss if you go any smaller than what DVDshrink puts it at?

The quality loss is not what you would expect.