Looking for an alternative to Nero Recode

[masu]

Hello,

is there a good alternative to Nero Recode?
I like the straight forward design of Recode. I already tried Gordian Knot, but this tool sometimes crash on my PC.
Therefore I am looking for an alternative.

Any proposals?

[Carol Haynes]

Depends what you want - I really like TMPGEnc Xpress 4.0

It isn't free and isn't especially cheap but it produces excellent quality output in a variety of formats. There is an evaluation version of the software you can download.

http://tmpgenc.pegasys-inc.com/en/product/te4xp.html

[masu]

thanks for the hint.
I will try it out. Are there also some freeware alternatives?

[CWuestefeld]

You probably want DVDShrink (actually, I think they're both written by the same guy). http://www.dvdshrink.org/

DVDShrink is software to backup DVD discs. You can use this software in conjunction with DVD burning software of your choice, to make a backup copy of any DVD video disc.

DVDShrink will also burn your backup DVD, if you have installed the latest version of Nero. You can also download a demo version of Nero here. If you already possess alternative burning software and prefer to stick with it, then you can still use DVD Shrink. The output from DVDShrink can be saved as files on your hard drive, which you can then burn with software of your choice.

DVDShrink is free software. You should never pay for DVDShrink.

Another alternative may be Handbrake: http://handbrake.fr/

HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

Supported sources:

• Any DVD-like source: VIDEO_TS folder, DVD image or real DVD (encrypted or unencrypted, but protection methods other than CSS are not supported and must be handled externally with third-party software), and some .VOB and .TS files
• PAL or NTSC
• AC-3, DTS, LPCM or MPEG audio tracks

Outputs:

• File format: MP4, MKV, AVI or OGM
• Video: MPEG-4 or H.264 (1 or 2 passes or constant quantizer/rate encoding)
• Audio: AAC, MP3, Vorbis or AC-3 pass-through (supports encoding of several audio tracks)

Misc features:

• Chapter selection
• Basic subtitle support (burned into the picture)
• Integrated bitrate calculator
• Picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling
• Grayscale encoding

You may also need DVD43: http://www.dvd43.com/

DVD43 is a free DVD decrypter that runs in the background and decrypts DVDs on the fly. This website gives you some basic information, like what it does, how to use it, and where to download it.  If your copy program needs a decrypter, you can use DVD43. It's free, so you won't need to waste money on a decrypter.  This website does not host the DVD43 setup file and is not affiliated with the authors of DVD43, but it does provide safe links to the program.

WHAT DOES IT DO?: DVD43 will decrypt (unlock) a movie DVD so that your copy program can read it. If the DVD structure is non standard, your copy program needs to take care of that.  I have included a list of programs (at the bottom of this page) which work well with DVD43 in order of their capability (based on my testing).

COMPATIBILITY:  DVD43 is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista (32), Windows XP, and Windows 2000. 

[Carol Haynes]

What are you trying to do Masu? For DVD ripping CWuestefeld has given some good ideas. There is also DVDFab?

I wasn't sure this is what you wanted though as ReCode does more than just compress DVD9 onto DVD5 or rip discs to images or MPEG-4.

There is a free version of TMPGEnc (I think it is version 2??) see http://www.free-codecs.com/download/TMPGEnc.htm

The free version is not as easy to use as the commercial versions of their software or as flexible (it has a completely different interface and is mainly concerned with MPEG production) but if you look around the internet there are lots of tutorials.

[f0dder]

DVDShrink (whoa, the free version is back? ) is a nice-and-easy tool, but you shouldn't use it for re-encoding in case you want quality. It's fast, but that comes at a price.

I've used the free version of DVDFab Platinum when I've needed to deal with those pesky protected discs with ARccOS or the like. (I wonder why those bastards bother - it obviously stops neither the pirate copying fabs, nor the "scene" pirates).

[CWuestefeld]

DVDShrink (whoa, the free version is back? )

I'm not aware of any non-free version. I thought that Nero Recode is essentially what DVDShrink would have evolved into as commercial software, being written (afaik) by the same guy. DVDShrink hasn't been revved in quite some time.

you shouldn't use it for re-encoding in case you want quality. It's fast, but that comes at a price.

I could not disagree more. DVDShrink is absolutely the best possible tool for the job of increasing the compression ration of an existing DVD (mpeg2) recording. That's because DVDShrink does not encode. It's just selectively removing data (key frames?) from the existing stream. Since there's decode/recode cycle, there are none of the artifacts typically associated with that process.

[f0dder]

DVDShrink (whoa, the free version is back? )

I'm not aware of any non-free version. I thought that Nero Recode is essentially what DVDShrink would have evolved into as commercial software, being written (afaik) by the same guy. DVDShrink hasn't been revved in quite some time.

After the author went to work on a commercial project (you're probably right it's Nero Recode), DVDShrink was pulled offline for a while - didn't know it was back.

you shouldn't use it for re-encoding in case you want quality. It's fast, but that comes at a price.

I could not disagree more. DVDShrink is absolutely the best possible tool for the job of increasing the compression ration of an existing DVD (mpeg2) recording. That's because DVDShrink does not encode. It's just selectively removing data (key frames?) from the existing stream. Since there's decode/recode cycle, there are none of the artifacts typically associated with that process.

You can opt to only strip stuff (foreign audio languages, extras) from a source DVD, but if that doesn't bring you to your desired target size, DVDShrink has to transcode the video data. And it doesn't do this at the quality level of, say, CCE.

[echo]

I liked
http://www.imgburn.com/

[f0dder]

I liked
http://www.imgburn.com/

They're talking about Nero recode, not the cd/dvd burning component of Nero

[masu]

You probably want DVDShrink (actually, I think they're both written by the same guy). http://www.dvdshrink.org/

DVDShrink is software to backup DVD discs. You can use this software in conjunction with DVD burning software of your choice, to make a backup copy of any DVD video disc.

DVDShrink will also burn your backup DVD, if you have installed the latest version of Nero. You can also download a demo version of Nero here. If you already possess alternative burning software and prefer to stick with it, then you can still use DVD Shrink. The output from DVDShrink can be saved as files on your hard drive, which you can then burn with software of your choice.

DVDShrink is free software. You should never pay for DVDShrink.

Another alternative may be Handbrake: http://handbrake.fr/

HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

Supported sources:

• Any DVD-like source: VIDEO_TS folder, DVD image or real DVD (encrypted or unencrypted, but protection methods other than CSS are not supported and must be handled externally with third-party software), and some .VOB and .TS files
• PAL or NTSC
• AC-3, DTS, LPCM or MPEG audio tracks

Outputs:

• File format: MP4, MKV, AVI or OGM
• Video: MPEG-4 or H.264 (1 or 2 passes or constant quantizer/rate encoding)
• Audio: AAC, MP3, Vorbis or AC-3 pass-through (supports encoding of several audio tracks)

Misc features:

• Chapter selection
• Basic subtitle support (burned into the picture)
• Integrated bitrate calculator
• Picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling
• Grayscale encoding

You may also need DVD43: http://www.dvd43.com/

DVD43 is a free DVD decrypter that runs in the background and decrypts DVDs on the fly. This website gives you some basic information, like what it does, how to use it, and where to download it.  If your copy program needs a decrypter, you can use DVD43. It's free, so you won't need to waste money on a decrypter.  This website does not host the DVD43 setup file and is not affiliated with the authors of DVD43, but it does provide safe links to the program.

WHAT DOES IT DO?: DVD43 will decrypt (unlock) a movie DVD so that your copy program can read it. If the DVD structure is non standard, your copy program needs to take care of that.  I have included a list of programs (at the bottom of this page) which work well with DVD43 in order of their capability (based on my testing).

COMPATIBILITY:  DVD43 is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista (32), Windows XP, and Windows 2000. 

hello,
handbrake is exactly what i am looking for
thanks

[4wd]

There's also the free StaxRip if you want to (re)encode to x264, XviD, DviX, etc.