[olug] DVD Ripping

[T. J. Brumfield]

I have about 400 or so DVDs sitting on shelves behind me.  A long time
ago I ripped all my music and just got rid of all my CDs.  Given that
I can stream video wirelessly from my PC to either my hacked XBox, or
even better my PS3 and watch them on my big screen, do I need my DVD
collection anymore?  When I'm less broke (perhaps in the spring with
my tax rebate helping) I want to build a new gaming PC, but throw in
as many 1.5 TB (or 2 TB disks if they have them by then) disks as I
can afford, and my case/power supply can handle into a RAID.  After
than I'd like to rip all my DVDs to that RAID.  I currently dual-boot
on my gaming rig (for gaming obviously) so I can do this in Windows or
Linux.  Since I have to rip about 400 movies, and several TV sets, it
would be nice if I can make this fairly simple.  I don't want to have
to change codec settings with each disc, ripping each disc repeatedly
to try and get a decent rip.

I'd like the rips to be smaller than the 4.7 GB your average DVD is
sitting at, barely crossing the single/dual layer line.  However, at
the same time I want the quality to be pretty decent, so I don't
regret getting rid of the physical discs.  With a decent sized TV
(56") flaws are more apparent.  Obviously, quality is somewhat a
matter of taste, but I'm looking for recommendations on what programs
to use, which codecs to use, and which settings.

Thanks!

-- T. J. Brumfield
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