RatDVD for compressing KDVD backups
 

@All,

Just came across a program for DVD compression to store and expand
when needed DVD backups.

http://www.ratdvd.dk/

D/L'ed this test version and the compressed file plays back using WMP 10.
Seems like an interesting and useful tool for archiving DVD backups.
Has anyone tried it :?:

-BP

Sounds interresting but what about the quality ?

IMHO this should replace ugly Divx by something that, at least, had all the features of the original DVD (menu and so on...). But I won't do any "DVD backup" with is : DVDDecypter ISO is far better.

@BP

Hi, mate ! I've seen the announce of it right now at Doom9 forum. So, I went to its website and readed about that. I'll guess very interesting, because of the developer seems to have done a new codec and a proper transcoder engine. I'll downloaded and will give it a try asap.

See ya !

I heard about this tool via danpos and I find it very interesting, I have to do some tests but I like the idea behind it. :D

Very cool :!: :D
Thanks BP :cool:

-kwag

@Kwag,

Thanks :)

Checking AfterDawn's forum and D9, some are using VLC in place of
WMP 10. WMP 10 is only used with XP and I like others have W2K.

Here's an interesting use for ratDVD. Suppose you compress a KDVD
backup (movie only) and then ratted to fit a CD-R. Would this play
on a PC with VLC decoding the compress rat file. :roll: The compression
for RatDVD defaults at 95% and some have experienced macro blocking
in the compressed playback. More testing needs to be done for an optimal
compression vs movie size. This is only the first version of RatDVD and
it's already showing good promise. :wink:

-BP

For that I will remind that DIVX 6 is coming out and it will support all authoring features that exist on a DVD.
I don't like divx for the moment, but compared to a new codec, I figure the quality should be better.

Or ratDVD has discovered how to perform a miracle :D

Hi BP,

The way I see it, the guy wrote a wrapper to the internal DVD API structure, so the flat file looks like a DVD structure when opened with a software player. Similar to how MakeAVIS, VFAPIConvert, etc. work, which make the file look like an AVI. DVD2AVI project file does this too.
This way it should play with any software player, because the players think that they are reading a real DVD structure.
But this won't work for VCD/SVCD formats, because it's a different disk structure.

-kwag

@Kwag,

Kwag wrote:
You mean KDVD is mpeg-2 (SVCD) and not a true DVD structure :?:
Then only a transcoded DVD has a true DVD structure, such as one
created by DVDShrink, DVD2One, etc. Still, they can create files that
fit DVD-R (4.3GB) or DVD+R(4.6GB) in size and RatDVD could reduce
this to a size that could fit CD-R (800MB). The players for DVD would
see this flat file as a DVD structure. I'll try one of my backups to test
this and report later. :wink:

-BP

No. I was refering to regular KVCDs which are "VCD" structure when burned as VCD :) Or a re-encoded DVD, such as one proceessed with DVDREasy and Notch matrix, which produces a KDVD ;)
That should of course work correctly with Rat I see what you mean :)
Let me know the result. But the site mentions that it "transcodes", so I assume the quality will be very poor when it transcodes a full DVD down to ~800MB ;)

-kwag

@Kwag,

I referring to movie-only DVD. Let's say DVDREasy creates a backup
DVD+-R of 4.6GB and RatDVD compresses this down to 800MB or less.
This target size is what I'm interested in just like calcmatic predicts the
Q to obtain a file size to fill a CD-R. I'm curious as to how good the results
will be played as a compressed file to fit a CD-R. If it's lousy, I can surely
store multiple RatDVD file movies on a DVDR for compressed play back
with good quality. :wink:

I'm also concerned with the hardware and software requirements to
use RatDVD. It would be nice to include Windows 2000 as an OS with
some flexibility in using VLC to playback compressed files. I'm not
a big supporter of XP and it update(s) compatibility issuses. I have a
trial version of Server 2003 and will be testing RatDVD using this OS.
If you have any experience with Server 2003 vs XP, please let me
know. RatDVD user guide says it uses XP or greater :roll:

-BP

@All,

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5731042.html

This link was supplied by Doom9, MrBass.

-BP

For sure. Neither am I :lol: Sadly, I'm using Windows 2000 with SP4 and all service cratches. I MEAN, :arrow: "service patchs" :mrgreen:
So it doesn't run on my machine :roll:

-kwag

We have a saying in spanish: "El que da primero, es el que da mas duro"
It means that the first one that hits, is the one that hits the hardest.
These people just hit harder than DivX and others, so I wouldn't be surprised that "RatDVD" will soon be the top movie distribution format for just about every shared movie on the net :!:
Because DivX is not as flexible as DVD specs, it was doomed from the beginning, so it will never catch as "standard" dvd players supporting regular MPEG-2 DVD types.
Now, just think about it for a moment, if some DVD manufacturers decide to support "RatDVD" option on their firmware :idea:
Do you know what that will do to the DivX industry :?:
I'd say BYE BYE DivX, welcome RatDVD, with full menus and director cuts :mrgreen:
Time will tell :cool:

-kwag

The sad thing is that RatDVD will undoubtedly be used for piracy it is a fact of life. KVCD itself it used for such purposes as is DivX and XVID.

These groups will always take advantage of new compression tools I can certainly understand why Hollywood and the MPAA are panicking a bit.

However for legimate usage I think this is a great tool, I mean you could compress several of your DVD's onto say your laptop's hard drive and go on a holiday and watch your DVD's with all the features intact without having to worry about scratching or losing your precious DVD's.

I think this is a great idea, I hope this software doesn't disappear as it can be used for good as well as bad.

But those wrapers need original avi, isn't it?
He need without doubt, to use any type of compression. In that case that can not to be good. Or yes?

No. The single file that is created looks just like a DVD when played on any software player.
Just the same way if you open a .d2v file with TMPEG, it "looks" like an avi, but it's not.It's a transcoder, but I don't know what compression is done internally.
But it really doesn't matter, because the stream looks just like an MPEG-2 stream, because the CODEC (wrapper) they wrote does that automatically.

-kwag

HI Karl,

So is this a transcode in a similar vein to say DVD Shrink using a similar compression method?

If that is the case I would use DVD-RB using the KVCD matrix to backup my DVD then just use RatDVD to make it into a single file for viewing on my laptop if I wanted to watch the movie without having to bring the actual DVD along with me.

Or use DVDREasy :)

-kwag

Lol yes indeed, you know I still haven't got round to installing and testing this software I have read good things about it on this board.

I must do this next week. :D