Free convert DVD to AVI software

alferret · 11-01-2012, 10:28

I'm looking for a free DVD to AVI converter which will allow me to choose the bit rate it rips to so I can achieve a file size around 1-1.2gb allowing for slightly higher quality than std 700mb AVI's

I have tried some free ones (but not all) & have found them to be tediously slow or have sync issues & I'm also looking for a quick conversion time, would be nice to see less than 1hr per DVD as I have about 600 I want to convert & store on HDD so I can box up & store my originals (some of which are collectors items) for safe keeping.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Al

**Rob** · 11-01-2012, 11:26

Speed of conversion is likely to be affected by your hardware especially the CPU and RAM.

Jameseh · 11-01-2012, 11:39

Any reason why your using AVI? Converting to H.264 mp4 would leave you with better quality and a smaller filesize.

alferret · 11-01-2012, 11:42

My trusty media center which will be used for the converting has a C2D 7400 OC to 3.2 with 2gb ram (not a lot I know but should be sufficient I would have thought) could add an extra 2gb but as XP will only see 1gb of that which is why I haven't added any more.

**Rob** · 11-01-2012, 11:44

I've found Handbrake to be quite good with a number of options. It's open source so free to use, but doesn't support your AVI format, just MP4 & MKV.

alferret · 11-01-2012, 11:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Any reason why your using AVI? Converting to H.264 mp4 would leave you with better quality and a smaller filesize.

Not looked at MP4 as an option but open to other formats other than AVI as all playback will be on a media center I guess it doesn't matter what the container is.

Jameseh · 11-01-2012, 12:07

Yeah use Handbrake with H.264/MP4, great results. I encode at 3000kbps and use about 1GB per 45 minutes of video.

mark1234 · 11-01-2012, 12:11

I'd second the use of Handbrake. I use it to convert DVDs to mp4 to play on my Media Centre. With XP you'll need an appropriate h.264 codec installed. I think I used to use ffdshow-tryouts. Win7 saved me from having to deal with codec hell.

Conversion speed is dependent on what encoding settings you make and then CPU grunt to churn through all the maths involved. My Media Centre CPU is lower spec than yours and with the settings I use it takes about double real time to convert a DVD. But as I let it run at low priority, and don't sit waiting for it, it doesn't matter.

alferret · 11-01-2012, 12:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jameseh

Yeah use Handbrake with H.264/MP4, great results. I encode at 3000kbps and use about 1GB per 45 minutes of video.

Just downloaded handbrake & have set it off on its merry way.
Converting a 1.45 film to 1.2gb as opposed to bitrate & single pass. Will check quality and adjust as needed.
Many thanks for the input.

---------- Post added at 12:22 ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark1234

I'd second the use of Handbrake. I use it to convert DVDs to mp4 to play on my Media Centre. With XP you'll need an appropriate h.264 codec installed. I think I used to use ffdshow-tryouts. Win7 saved me from having to deal with codec hell.

I'm hoping I have the right codecs installed, I should have & I'll find out in about half hour

Mick Fisher · 11-01-2012, 12:52

For making avi, AutoGK will give excellent results on output file sizing. For best results choose the 2 pass option where you just need to specify the output size you require in MB's which will save you the job of bitrate calculations.

Make sure to use the bundled xvid codec. In case you have an xvid codec already installed, make sure to uninstall it before installing autoGK. In other words NEVER overwrite the xvid codec.

On a quality vs size basis I see little if any difference between mp4 and avi when dealing with standard definition movies. IMO avi is easier to edit using, among many other editors, avirecomp and/or virtualdubmod and so gets my vote over mp4 or mkv.

For HD it is a different story although there is an HD Profile in xvid that gives good results.

alferret · 11-01-2012, 15:38

I'll take a look at that mick if I have no real joy with handbrake.
Just finished hostage @ 1.2gb which took exactly an hour, quality isn't that great so now trying constant quality RF19 & high profile but obviously its donnas take a lot longer. After that I'll see about trying avg bitrate @ 3000.

---------- Post added at 15:38 ---------- Previous post was at 13:59 ----------

RF19 seems to be the one for me, obviously takes a bit longer but happy with the results. SD DVD's @ 1hr40min come out at 1.4gb
Done Hostage again & Ghostbusters.
Many thanks for the input guys

Hom3r · 11-01-2012, 16:10

DVDShrink might be a good thing, I used it to rip my DVDs to a USB HDD to watch on my netbook at work.

alferret · 11-01-2012, 16:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hom3r

DVDShrink might be a good thing, I used it to rip my DVDs to a USB HDD to watch on my netbook at work.

I've only ever used DVDShrink to shrink DL to 4.x gb to burn onto single layer discs. Would still need to convert to single file container.

cookie_365 · 11-01-2012, 18:21

AutoGK is great for converting to specific filesizes to fit on a physicial DVD, otherwise Staxrip

alferret · 27-01-2012, 02:50

Just a quick thanks to those that helped in my quest

Handbrake works superb although the files are generally a little bigger than I expected\would have liked (using MKV over MP4 for media player compatibility) & the time to convert also a little longer.
But still I'm getting 3 DVD's converted a day & I should be done by the end of June

Thanks again