Gladiator on 1 cd?

[mrBullseye]

I have recently ripped gladiator, and decided to make it a 2 cd rip! therefore i used a resolution of 640 by 480, a video bitrate of 1000, 2 pass encoding and audio at 160 kbps.
It went in accordance with my expectations and the final filesize were 1,21 Gb. The only problem I had was audiosync, which, by my understanding, is pretty usual when using flask 0.6+ on longer movies. (gladiator 2h 30 min) I corrected this in virtualdub, and was pretty satisfied with the final result.
To my question. I have been playing with the idea to make gladiator a 1 cd rip. Is this possible, still providing a watchable result? If i lower my audio bitrate to 124, and lower the video resolution to 400 by 300 (or higher, I don't know, never tried it before) ,lower the video bitrate to somewhere around 700, and finally apply a filter to make it even smaller! Is this worth the effort? Are my new settings acceptable if I want the movie to have reasonable quality?

[setarip]

I don't believe you'd be pleased with the results...

[mrBullseye]

So I should leave the pleasant idea of having gladiator on 1 cd, with a reasonable quality. Otherwise, what settings should I use?
Generally, at what lenght of a movie should I draw the limit between 1 or 2 cd:s, if I want to have high quality??

[UncasMS]

a giant step towards a better quality would be CROPPING!

640 x 480 is most definitely not the best resolution for gladiator;)



in addition to cropping you should give nandub/gordianknot a try.

there will be no such thing as async avi no matter how long the title is!

[Enchanter]

I believe the Gladiator movie has an aspect ratio of 16:9, instead of the 4:3 you have indicated.

I would suggest that you use 512x() or just slightly higher. An MP3 bitrate of 128kbps would be ideal. If your ears aren't that sensitive, slightly lower audio bitrate would give you more space too. Lastly, if you used 1000 for your video bitrate in 2CD rip, logically you can only use about 500 for a 1CD rip. :)

Nandub would be a great encoding tool, but if you're not quite willing to learn its intricacies, Virtualdub/Flask + 4.12 will provide great results too.

[Echo147]

Yep, I'd agree with Enchanter on the resolution, 512x--- gives good results even up to 3 hour movies (no frameskips or blocky pixels). Leave the audio as it is :)

Before you resample, add a null transform filter in virtualdub then click cropping. Removing the black borders will help slightly with filesize, but more importantly looks a lot more professional when playing back. Also make sure you crop before resizing - filters at the top are performed before those under it, as you probably know.

[mrBullseye]

Okay, yhe reason for me saying that I encoded gladiator in 640 by 480 is that I chose that resolution before I cropped the movie (to include subtitles in flask) In the end it became like 640 by 3xx something, I just don't remember, that is the reason why I wrote 640 by 480! But changing the bitrate to 500, won't that decrease quality to a grade of almost unwatchability?? Otherwise, I will give it a go!

[Enchanter]

A bitrate of 500 is still pretty good, provided it is in VBR mode that will make maximum usage efficiency at this low a bitrate value. However, as I stated earlier, a resolution of 512x() or just slightly higher should be used. There will hardly be any difference between this resolution and the 640x() one at this bitrate and also there is the bonus of lower CPU usage required at a lower resolution.

[mrBullseye]

Ok thanx! I'll just give it a try!
The idea of having gladiator on 1 cd really appeal to me!! =)

[Enchanter]

Remember not to use too high a resolution. :) I would recommend the use of bicubic resizing filter, instead of bilinear too.

[andreaskorth]

Just for curiosity:

Does anybody in this forum ever BUY DVDs? (Of course we all do, otherwise it would be illegal to rip them) :D

But seriously, if I really like a title I simply buy it instead of spending my precious time to make the perfect rip.

Gladiator is a perfect candidate since it comes with lots of bonus material: director's comments on the movie, interviews, trailers, removed scenes, etc. It's worth the money and very appealing to the movie enthusiast. And hey, after all, it fits on one disc ;)

Or is ripping merely a sport for you that ends in itself? Can you possibly not afford to buy DVDs? Is society to blame?

Come on, share your thoughts, I'm REALLY interested.

[Enchanter]

The problem with me is that once I'm finished watching a movie, I tend not to watch it again and anymore. Hence, it's kind of pointless to buy the DVD which will just become another decoration on my shelf.

Yes. I rip DVDs mostly for the sports and learning of it. :) No harm intended. I usually rent a certain DVD and encode it again and again with different methods just to see how each of it works out. I probably have only ripped 10 DVDs for the past 6 months. I'm kind of bored looking at the same set of VOB files truly. :)

[andreaskorth]

The problem with me is that once I'm finished watching a movie, I tend not to watch it again and anymore.

It's the same with me. However there are a few movies so brilliant that I could watch over and over again (or at least let's say once a year). Pulp Fiction, Bladerunner, Dr. Strangelove, Harold and Maude, Fawlty Towers just to name a few.

If I'm unlikely to watch a movie more than once where's the point of ripping it?

I usually rent a certain DVD and encode it again and again with different methods just to see how each of it works out.

OK, well, sometimes admittedly it's just too tempting. :D

[Enchanter]

If I'm unlikely to watch a movie more than once where's the point of ripping it?

Let's just say that when you rent a DVD, you want to be able to keep parts of it, instead of just returning it and not having any possibility to rewatch it for free again. :) Much like recording TV shows to video tapes, back in the past, so that you can rewatch it when the mood comes.

The ripping and encoding part, though, is the most interesting part. It is always a joy to discover something you never thought was there, simply said. :)

[gchester]

i agree with the above, whats the point of buying a dvd just rent it out and rip, yes this is illegal but thats whats it all about isnt it?
or are we just doing this because were bored? not likely there are plently of things i would rather be doing than watching my computer take 3hrs to rip a dvd and another 2 converting to VCD
i rest my case

[Batman]

For some reason, getting (most) movies on the computer is actually better than watching them :bglaugh2: ?

[mrBullseye]

This disscusion more than anything applies to videogames aswell! If I like a certain game, I buy it, no disscusion! Its just that feeling of having a legally bought game, and its box, thats the great thing about buying! But I'm not that into buying a dvd-movie for almost half the price, with a lifelengt that is soooooo much lower than that of a game! So usually i rent the movie instead, and rip it, or copy it, if it is a vhs! In this particuar case (gladiator, remember) I borrowed the movie from my brother and ripped it, so I would have a copy aswell! Ripping is also a great way to not scratch your dvd-disc! Scratches is the most annoying thing about cd:s and dvd:S so thank god for burning and ripping!! :cool:

[Enchanter]

Exactly. The ripping and encoding part is really fun. Watching the move is good, say, if you need to return the DVD the next day and you haven't got the chance to watch it.

Take this one example. I had to return a DVD, which I hadn't watched yet. I got it ripped and encoded into DivX the following day and watched it. I found the quality to be good and nothing to complain about (Except for it being oversized by a mere 3MB so that the burner refuses to start). However, on a second very close look, I found parts of it being unsatisfactory. This shows that first-time viewers are not really that critical of perfect quality. :)

Lastly, I don't distribute my rips like Dominion and what's-the-other-one's-name do. I keep them as personal collections and lend them to my friends only when they ask for it (I never make the offer). This is too small a case to be a direct threat to the movie industry.

[Batman]

In many cases, the technical work associated with ripping is better than the actual movie. :D In other words, people get a "kick" out of taking the movie from dvd to divx---except the RIAA, that is.

If there's a real cool movie getting a dvd legal version, is a great "symbol".

[[H]arbinger]

Well for me it is really like this .
I bought a DVD the other day the name of it is Robin hood prince of thieves the one with Kevin Costner . This DVD really upset me .
As it was a two sided DVD when the movie could have been put on one side . So I ripped it and joined the two parts and put it on my media pc that I have hooked upto my TV :) Problem solved . I am fixing to do Dances with wolves because it was done in the same way . :(
Oh and the only reason any of us do DVD rips is for backup purposes which is legal if you own the movie . (wink wink )
Backups ! Yeah thats it lol :bglaugh2:

[Batman]

Right...umh...back ups...exactly!:biglaugh:

[Baca]

:) , I did convert this movie to VCD 2.0 (PAL 352x288, I got 2 CDs). Quality of video was very good a sound too.
I think it is possible to convert it into 1CD in DivX format at about
860 kbps.

bye, Baca.