DVD Rip Using DVDfab and FairUse Wizard

Any DVD ripping software may be used, as long as it is able to produce an ISO file. FairUse Wizard needs to receive an ISO file for the version used in this guide, as the software will not decrypted. The DVD will be backed up to a video file in the MPEG-4 H.264 format.

In this guide a DVD is backed up and encoded using the impressive H.264 format. Note that both Handbrake and FairUse Wizard can produce XviD and H.264 output.

DVDfab versus SmartRipper

Either software is able to accomplish the task. DVDfab is a stripped down free version of commercial software while Smart Ripper is an absolutely free application. DVDfab has a simpler interface, however, Smart Ripper has a lot more features and functionality as both free versions are compared.

Versions

The versions used in this guide:

• DVDfab -
• FairUse Wizard -

Rip DVD to ISO With DVDfab

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Constant Quantizer versus 2-Pass

When dealing with H.264 video, 2 pass is recommended when targeting an output size. It is also believed to produce a superior quality output stream. Some argue the output is nominally better or the same.

The MEncoder documentation says The problem with constant quantizing is that it uses the given quantizer whether the macroblock needs it or not. That is, it might be possible to use a higher quantizer on a macroblock without sacrificing visual quality. Why waste the bits on an unnecessarily low quantizer? Your CPU has as many cycles as there is time, but there is only so many bits on your hard disk.

akupenguin, the x264 author: "CRF and 2pass are at the same point on the CBR-to-CPSNR continuum, because they have the same target bitrate distribution. 2pass just ends up slightly closer to that target.)"

"benchmarking the existing implementations of crf vs 2pass on several movies. Result: 2pass was better by anywhere from .01 to .12 dB (equivalently, up to 2.5% bitrate at the same psnr). This includes both the effects of ratecontrol (smarter I-frame qp decision) and the fact that direct=auto only really works in 2pass."

"x264 keeps track of the "complexity" of each frame, and then determines quantizer from that using the ratecontrol equation (rc_eq) and a quantity called "rate_factor". Assuming an ideal rc_eq, then constant rate_factor would be optimal perceptual RD (not constant quality, but allocating a little more quality in places where it doesn't cost much). ABR and 2pass use the same rc_eq, the primary difference is in how they determine rate_factor. In ABR, we only have statistics about the past frames, so we continually update the estimate of the rate_factor needed to meet the target bitrate. In 2pass, we have all the stats, so we pick the right rate_factor to begin with. To make a 1pass encode that is nearly identical to a 2pass, you'd need to specify rate_factor instead of bitrate or QP. (There will still be some differences: 1pass uses SATD for complexity, 2pass uses 1st pass's bitsize; I-frame quants are selected differently.)"

For a full discussion, see xvid: constant quantizer or 2 pass? on doom9, where xvid and h.264 are both discussed.

Recommendation: For H.264 it is recommended that you use 2-pass as described in the encoding process of this guide.

DVDfab: Troubleshooting

Determining which Title(Angle) to rip

Some DVD have 2 complete movie tracks, often a "rated" and "unrated" version. Typically the longer one is what you want, but not always. Sometimes it has been observed that the more desirable "unrated" version was a minute or more shorter. DVDFab seems to favor the first of the two occurrences without regards to size or which version. The point was originally with DVD to have 2 different camera angles but that is less common. Sometimes you have to use the Internet search to find out which is the correct angle. A list of Movie Censorship information sources is also useful to determine which track you want to make a backup of.

There are online resources to locate information about your DVD and which track is the unrated version.

1. http://www.movie-censorship.com/
2. http://www.cduniverse.com
3. http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43598/hot-tub-time-machine/
4. http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD/Hot-Tub-Time-Machine/John-Cusack/e/883904206040#TABS

Error while reading! Please choose what to do? retry, abort, ignore, ignore All

1. Clean this movie disc and your drive tray first, and then insert the disc in to see if DVDFab can read it successfully;
2. Open "Common Settings" window, click on "Read", select "Ignore all the reading errors automatically", then try again to see the result;
3. Go to "Common Settings/Pathplayer" setting panel, deactivate pathplayer to copy this DVD again to see if this works.

How to copy scratched movie with DVDFab

Choose "Full Disc" mode for backing up a scratched disc. This mode will skip all the sectors which can't be read, and fill the gaps with empty sectors.