If you are simply ripping and going, you shouldn't have a problem with the processor you have now. The processor aspect will start coming into play when you go to compress and do format conversions (Xvid or Divx)
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Need Super Fast DVD Backups - What Min Specs for PC do you Recommend?
I'm looking at 350 DVD's in my collection and want to backup each and every one to a server for distribution throughout the house. I'm concerned about the time necessary to do this, especially with my current server (2.4mhz pentium).
Can someone comment on ways to dramatically speed the time it takes to produce high quality dvd files for my server? I would imagine that there are two considerations, the first is hardware related. How much influence does CPU, MOBO, HD and DVD have on overall raw time required to read, transcode and burn the DVD files?
Secondly, from reading all the online guides, it appears that the various software utilities involve a moderate amount of human intervention during the process. Has anyone come up with slick way to script this process?
Lastly, is it possible and more importantly, practical to build a box that could literally process to DVD's at the same time (could a dual core CPU help here).
All Sogo's appreciated!
Thanks,
bradesp
Can someone comment on ways to dramatically speed the time it takes to produce high quality dvd files for my server? I would imagine that there are two considerations, the first is hardware related. How much influence does CPU, MOBO, HD and DVD have on overall raw time required to read, transcode and burn the DVD files?
Secondly, from reading all the online guides, it appears that the various software utilities involve a moderate amount of human intervention during the process. Has anyone come up with slick way to script this process?
Lastly, is it possible and more importantly, practical to build a box that could literally process to DVD's at the same time (could a dual core CPU help here).
All Sogo's appreciated!
Thanks,
bradesp
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Hi, Bradesp!
As Mojo says, the transcoding process is what can kill you. If you're just after fast rips, the most important factor (by far) is the DVD-ROM drive. Buy a 16X drive, and rips can fly. I'm in the middle of ripping my complete library to a big (4.8TB) fast RAID6 media server, and on single-layer discs, the process takes between 4-5 minutes. On dual-layer discs, it generally takes 6-7 minutes, though you'll occasionally encounter discs that your drive must read more slowly. Even then, the slowest I've seen takes about 20 minutes.
Those times are based on ripping the movie only, without menus or additional content, using CloneDVD to write the files across the network directly to the media server via Gigabit Ethernet. Of the ~440 DVDs I've ripped so far, I've needed to resort to DVD Decryptor on four discs, which generally takes about 20 minutes on my setup.
By the way, Gigabit Ethernet is also worthwhile - I monitor network throughput while ripping, since it actually tells you about the type of disc that you're ripping! On single-layer discs, I've seen network utilization peak at 180M bps on single-layer discs, and have seen peaks of about 140M bps on dual-layer discs.
Cheers!
MarkF
As Mojo says, the transcoding process is what can kill you. If you're just after fast rips, the most important factor (by far) is the DVD-ROM drive. Buy a 16X drive, and rips can fly. I'm in the middle of ripping my complete library to a big (4.8TB) fast RAID6 media server, and on single-layer discs, the process takes between 4-5 minutes. On dual-layer discs, it generally takes 6-7 minutes, though you'll occasionally encounter discs that your drive must read more slowly. Even then, the slowest I've seen takes about 20 minutes.
Those times are based on ripping the movie only, without menus or additional content, using CloneDVD to write the files across the network directly to the media server via Gigabit Ethernet. Of the ~440 DVDs I've ripped so far, I've needed to resort to DVD Decryptor on four discs, which generally takes about 20 minutes on my setup.
By the way, Gigabit Ethernet is also worthwhile - I monitor network throughput while ripping, since it actually tells you about the type of disc that you're ripping! On single-layer discs, I've seen network utilization peak at 180M bps on single-layer discs, and have seen peaks of about 140M bps on dual-layer discs.
Cheers!
MarkF
Hi, Bradesp!
By the way, if you had dual DVD-ROM drives, it should be very straightforward to do two drives at once - you'll just need different ripping programs. At that point, you would want to move to a dual core CPU if you're after maximum throughput (I'm personally running an Athlon X2 4200 on my ripping machine, FWIW). One point to keep in mind, though, is that the files will wind up being fragmented if you take that route, if that's something that you care about.
Have Fun!
MarkF
By the way, if you had dual DVD-ROM drives, it should be very straightforward to do two drives at once - you'll just need different ripping programs. At that point, you would want to move to a dual core CPU if you're after maximum throughput (I'm personally running an Athlon X2 4200 on my ripping machine, FWIW). One point to keep in mind, though, is that the files will wind up being fragmented if you take that route, if that's something that you care about.
Have Fun!
MarkF
Hi, Bradesp!
To give you an accurate estimate of the amount of storage that'll be required, ripping just the movie plus the primary DTS or Dolby Digital soundtrack, without anything else, is averaging ~4.34GB/disc here. With transcoding to AVC or WMV, you could obviously reduce that significantly, but the amount of time to do the rips+transcoding would be dramatically longer!
FYI!
MarkF
To give you an accurate estimate of the amount of storage that'll be required, ripping just the movie plus the primary DTS or Dolby Digital soundtrack, without anything else, is averaging ~4.34GB/disc here. With transcoding to AVC or WMV, you could obviously reduce that significantly, but the amount of time to do the rips+transcoding would be dramatically longer!
FYI!
MarkF
Hi, Bradesp!
Sorry to keep going on about this, but this is obviously a big project that I'm spending a lot of time on, so it's something I've been thinking about for quite a while. If you can afford the storage to rip everything without transcoding, it's really far faster. My intention is that after I've ripped my entire collection, I can take the time to experiment with different coding schemes. If I'm able to find one that satisfies my need for video quality (I'm a picky SOB), then I'll eventually use a batch process to slowly move the entire collection over to that new codec. That'll then make more storage available, but only if I can find a high-enough quality codec. In the mean time, I'm able to get the entire collection online in a matter of a couple of weeks of part-time effort.
Cheers!
MarkF
Sorry to keep going on about this, but this is obviously a big project that I'm spending a lot of time on, so it's something I've been thinking about for quite a while. If you can afford the storage to rip everything without transcoding, it's really far faster. My intention is that after I've ripped my entire collection, I can take the time to experiment with different coding schemes. If I'm able to find one that satisfies my need for video quality (I'm a picky SOB), then I'll eventually use a batch process to slowly move the entire collection over to that new codec. That'll then make more storage available, but only if I can find a high-enough quality codec. In the mean time, I'm able to get the entire collection online in a matter of a couple of weeks of part-time effort.
Cheers!
MarkF
Mark, I would love to know what DVD-ROM drive you have that will rip a 8.5 gig (dual layer) pressed DVD to the HD in 6-7 minutes.
Hi, Stereodude!
Note my specs earlier - I'm ripping just the movie plus the primary soundtrack, which is averaging 4.34GB/disc. The DVD-ROM is a Sony DRU-810A. I get very similiar times with a Pioneer 16X drive, but that drive needs to shift into "slow" mode with too many discs, so the Sony's working out best for me. As I'm typing this, I just finished ripping Splash in 4:34 - these are honest numbers!
Cheers!
MarkF
Note my specs earlier - I'm ripping just the movie plus the primary soundtrack, which is averaging 4.34GB/disc. The DVD-ROM is a Sony DRU-810A. I get very similiar times with a Pioneer 16X drive, but that drive needs to shift into "slow" mode with too many discs, so the Sony's working out best for me. As I'm typing this, I just finished ripping Splash in 4:34 - these are honest numbers!
Cheers!
MarkF
Quote:
Mark, THanks for all the comments. I have a few questions.
First, assuming I don't care about the cost of storage, is there ANY reason to NOT rip without transcoding. The only one I can think of is the limitation of playback by MCE. BTW, when ripping in this fashion, what file types do I end up with?
Second, What tools do you personally use for ripping?
Thanks!
bradesp
| Originally Posted by Mark J. Foster Hi, Stereodude! Note my specs earlier - I'm ripping just the movie plus the primary soundtrack, which is averaging 4.34GB/disc. The DVD-ROM is a Sony DRU-810A. I get very similiar times with a Pioneer 16X drive, but that drive needs to shift into "slow" mode with too many discs, so the Sony's working out best for me. As I'm typing this, I just finished ripping Splash in 4:34 - these are honest numbers! Cheers! MarkF |
First, assuming I don't care about the cost of storage, is there ANY reason to NOT rip without transcoding. The only one I can think of is the limitation of playback by MCE. BTW, when ripping in this fashion, what file types do I end up with?
Second, What tools do you personally use for ripping?
Thanks!
bradesp
Quote:
Hmm... My NEC 3540A and Lite-On 16P9S both take ~ 11 minutes to rip a full 8.5 gig disc. They both get up to 12x at the middle of the disc (fastest part).
| Originally Posted by Mark J. Foster Hi, Stereodude! Note my specs earlier - I'm ripping just the movie plus the primary soundtrack, which is averaging 4.34GB/disc. The DVD-ROM is a Sony DRU-810A. I get very similiar times with a Pioneer 16X drive, but that drive needs to shift into "slow" mode with too many discs, so the Sony's working out best for me. As I'm typing this, I just finished ripping Splash in 4:34 - these are honest numbers! Cheers! MarkF |
Hi, Bradesp!
When you've got a big collection and you don't want it to take forever, straight ripping is the only way to go. The tools I use are CloneDVD+AnyDVD, which are much faster than DVD Decryptor on my system. As I mentioned, though, CloneDVD's gotten confused on a few discs (The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kama Sutra, etc), and for those few discs, I use DVD Decryptor.
The output of this process is a conventional DVD structure, with IFO, BUP, and VOB files located in a VIDEO_TS subdirectory. TheaterTek plays them just as it would with any other DVD, directly from the network. Though I personally don't use them other than for testing, Windows Media Player and WinDVD work with these files just fine, as well.
The nicest thing about a straight rip is that you know that the quality is perfect!
Cheers!
MarkF
When you've got a big collection and you don't want it to take forever, straight ripping is the only way to go. The tools I use are CloneDVD+AnyDVD, which are much faster than DVD Decryptor on my system. As I mentioned, though, CloneDVD's gotten confused on a few discs (The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kama Sutra, etc), and for those few discs, I use DVD Decryptor.
The output of this process is a conventional DVD structure, with IFO, BUP, and VOB files located in a VIDEO_TS subdirectory. TheaterTek plays them just as it would with any other DVD, directly from the network. Though I personally don't use them other than for testing, Windows Media Player and WinDVD work with these files just fine, as well.
The nicest thing about a straight rip is that you know that the quality is perfect!
Cheers!
MarkF
Hi, StereoDude!
I'm really not kidding.
Here's a rip of National Lampoon's Vacation (20th anniversary widescreen S.E.):
http://www.talix.com/Pix/RIPPING.PNG
Some disks are a bit slower (the longest I've seen in the absence of disk errors is about 9:30), but most of my dual-layer discs really are in the 6-7 minute range.
Have Fun!
MarkF
I'm really not kidding.
Here's a rip of National Lampoon's Vacation (20th anniversary widescreen S.E.):http://www.talix.com/Pix/RIPPING.PNG
Some disks are a bit slower (the longest I've seen in the absence of disk errors is about 9:30), but most of my dual-layer discs really are in the 6-7 minute range.
Have Fun!
MarkF
Howdy!
Whoops - I missed the fact that I forgot to strip out the Portugese soundtrack and subtitles! The neat thing about building up a fast server with a true H/W RAID controller and Gigabit Ethernet is that everything's done in one step - there's no need for subsequent copying or messing around. It isn't the cheapest way to go, but it's certainly the most convenient!
Cheers!
MarkF
Whoops - I missed the fact that I forgot to strip out the Portugese soundtrack and subtitles!
The neat thing about building up a fast server with a true H/W RAID controller and Gigabit Ethernet is that everything's done in one step - there's no need for subsequent copying or messing around. It isn't the cheapest way to go, but it's certainly the most convenient!Cheers!
MarkF
There are DVD-ROM formware patch tools to remove the read speed limit on most drives by default for DVD's.
I found a site that included my BENQ writer and one for my LiteOn DVD reader. Now most discs copy off much faster. There were choices for 10x 12x and 16x if I recall.
I generally use DVD Shrink and strip out the foreign languages. It also removes phobited operation and region coding too.
I also used DVD Decrypter in the past, but that is no longer freeware, but still downloadable. I'd say that is the fastest way to rip without any transcoding as it just goes without the up-front short analysis that DVD Shrink needs.
Let me know if you want me to find the direct link, but I just did a google myself.
regards,
Rob
I found a site that included my BENQ writer and one for my LiteOn DVD reader. Now most discs copy off much faster. There were choices for 10x 12x and 16x if I recall.
I generally use DVD Shrink and strip out the foreign languages. It also removes phobited operation and region coding too.
I also used DVD Decrypter in the past, but that is no longer freeware, but still downloadable. I'd say that is the fastest way to rip without any transcoding as it just goes without the up-front short analysis that DVD Shrink needs.
Let me know if you want me to find the direct link, but I just did a google myself.
regards,
Rob
Quote:
Mark,
Great stuff! BTW, I was under the impression that CloneDVD would have difficulty with encrypted DVD's, is this not the case?
Also, I'm curious, I've read other threads where a plug-in (my movies?) allows TT to be invoked and used as the DVD player within MCE, hence the ability to play these ripped files from MCE. My kid just acquired an xbox 360 for xmas and I'm now curious to see how this thing performs as a media extender. As a Media Extender, any idea if it "cares" that MCE is using TT to play a DVD in the library? If it's ignorant of this detail, then clearly it would be useful as a cheap way to have kids, etc. serve up content from the server.
Bradesp
| Originally Posted by Mark J. Foster Hi, Bradesp! The output of this process is a conventional DVD structure, with IFO, BUP, and VOB files located in a VIDEO_TS subdirectory. TheaterTek plays them just as it would with any other DVD, directly from the network. Though I personally don't use them other than for testing, Windows Media Player and WinDVD work with these files just fine, as well. MarkF |
Great stuff! BTW, I was under the impression that CloneDVD would have difficulty with encrypted DVD's, is this not the case?
Also, I'm curious, I've read other threads where a plug-in (my movies?) allows TT to be invoked and used as the DVD player within MCE, hence the ability to play these ripped files from MCE. My kid just acquired an xbox 360 for xmas and I'm now curious to see how this thing performs as a media extender. As a Media Extender, any idea if it "cares" that MCE is using TT to play a DVD in the library? If it's ignorant of this detail, then clearly it would be useful as a cheap way to have kids, etc. serve up content from the server.
Bradesp
Hi, Bradesp!
As long as you run CloneDVD with AnyDVD, it works for ~99% of the DVDs I've tried so far. As I mentioned, DVD Decryptor's handled the rest. You absolutely can use TheaterTek as your DVD player in MCE, and you can also build a file server on the MCE platform, and deliver the same content to an Xbox 360. However, the Xbox 360's currently a little problematic. While it's possible to rename the .VOB files to .MPG, the Xbox's decoding is currently rather broken, so it'll work on some movies, but not others. If you have to deliver the same content to both platforms seamlessly right now, the only way to do it is to transcode to WMV.
Personally, I'm watching to see how Microsoft updates the Xbox 360, and hopefully we can come up with a solution for both PCs and Xbox 360s soon.
Good Luck!
MarkF
As long as you run CloneDVD with AnyDVD, it works for ~99% of the DVDs I've tried so far. As I mentioned, DVD Decryptor's handled the rest. You absolutely can use TheaterTek as your DVD player in MCE, and you can also build a file server on the MCE platform, and deliver the same content to an Xbox 360. However, the Xbox 360's currently a little problematic. While it's possible to rename the .VOB files to .MPG, the Xbox's decoding is currently rather broken, so it'll work on some movies, but not others. If you have to deliver the same content to both platforms seamlessly right now, the only way to do it is to transcode to WMV.
Personally, I'm watching to see how Microsoft updates the Xbox 360, and hopefully we can come up with a solution for both PCs and Xbox 360s soon.
Good Luck!
MarkF
Quote:
I sped up my Lite-On to 12x from 8x. The NEC defaults to 12x.
DVD Decrypter is still freeware, but it's not updated anymore.
| Originally Posted by RobScreene There are DVD-ROM formware patch tools to remove the read speed limit on most drives by default for DVD's. I found a site that included my BENQ writer and one for my LiteOn DVD reader. Now most discs copy off much faster. There were choices for 10x 12x and 16x if I recall. I generally use DVD Shrink and strip out the foreign languages. It also removes phobited operation and region coding too. I also used DVD Decrypter in the past, but that is no longer freeware, but still downloadable. I'd say that is the fastest way to rip without any transcoding as it just goes without the up-front short analysis that DVD Shrink needs. Let me know if you want me to find the direct link, but I just did a google myself. regards, Rob |
DVD Decrypter is still freeware, but it's not updated anymore.
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