To HD, or not to HD

[slackergirl]

So here is my quandary for all to opine:
I have an idea for a vid using a movie I got on a blu-ray/dvd combo pack. Now, I've not made the transition to full HD editing since a) I don't have a blu-ray drive on my comp, and b) my old-ass editing program can't handle anything over 720p anyway. However, I will soon be getting a capture device or card that can capture 720p images from my PS3, because I HAVE to recapture all the Shadow of the Colossus footage when the remaster comes out in 2 weeks in all its beautiful detail and I am SO EXCITED about that!!!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So anyway, which is preferable? Capturing higher resolution footage from the blu-ray, or ripping 480p footage from the DVD?

As a side note, anyone know of a capture device that can get 1080p? I saw one that can get 1080i on an HDMI input, but not as pass through, so you couldn't capture and play/watch at the same time. It seems the highest pass through resolution available is at 720p component input.

[BasharOfTheAges]

If you have a tower to put it in (or an external enclosure) You can buy BRD drives for like $25 now.

[slackergirl]

If you have a tower to put it in (or an external enclosure) You can buy BRD drives for like $25 now.

And I'm sure I will get one in the not too distant future, but the philosophical question still remains.
(Yes I have a tower. and $25)

[Zarxrax]

Analog sucks. I dont know why you would want to capture high definition footage with an analog capture device when a perfect copy of the footage can be obtained digitally.
But, if you are going to be getting the capture card anyways, why dont you just compare the 2 and see what looks better.

[slackergirl]

But, if you are going to be getting the capture card anyways, why dont you just compare the 2 and see what looks better.

I'm surprised I didn't think of that... I think it would be faster and less work to rip DVDs in any case. I didn't want to go through all the work of capturing footage unless it was going to be better quality. I'm lazy like that. Won't be doing anything with it until after AWA anyway!

[Mister Hatt]

I basically didn't read any of this but the thread title was "HD or not" and this forum deals with anime, so tl;dr no such thing as properly HD anime; don't go HD.

[Mister Hatt]

The EarthSoft PT2 can capture 1080p video, but it's mostly for digital TV rather than regular input. Also you have pretty much 0% of actually getting one of them, even tho they're the best capturing card on the market.

[TEKnician]

To HD, or not to HD, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous footage,
Or to take arms against a sea of pixels,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural combing lines
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mediocre DVD,
Must give us pause – there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of SD,
The compressors wrong, the VOB's contumely,
The pangs of decompressed audio, the audios delay,
The insolence of 720 width, and the 480 height
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary file,
But that the dread of something after DVD,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment,
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. Soft you now,
The fair BLU RAY! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered

[slackergirl]

I've been on facebook too much. I was looking for a way to "like" the above post...
BTW problem solved, I got a blu-ray drive too. And the cheapest I could find on Newegg was $56. Now I just have to install it. And figure out why my computer keeps blue-screening...

[slackergirl]

Computer fixed! I ripped my first blue-ray, but with DVDFab it came out blocky, like it didn't unencrypt it... It was How to Train Your Dragon, which has been out for more than a few months, so I was surprised at that. I used AnyDVD instead, and it came out normal, but ripped the WHOLE disc, which was annoying to delete all the extras. What program do you guys prefer to rip blurays?
BTW, also got the capture device and have some nice interlaced but otherwise beautiful game footage as m2ts files. I'm following other threads to get these (and the blu-ray) m2ts files editable, and I think converting to mkv files seems easiest. My avisynth refuses to recognize the dss2 command, and yes I have the avss.dll plugin in the proper directory. Trying the conversion now, we'll see how it works!

[Zarxrax]

Makemkv is another application that can rip blurays, and it rips straight to mkv. Give that one a try and see if it decrypts it ok for you.

Or, can you use dvdfab in conjunction with anydvd? I've never used anydvd so im not sure how it works.

[mirkosp]

If DVDFab isn't working as it should, I suggest MakeMKV (the beta key is here, since the program is free while it's in beta).
You can rip stuff directly or you can have it rip it in an mkv (no conversion will be going on, it will just be remuxing it in an mkv, so no quality loss).
If you do choose to get it out as an MKV, the most recent ffms2 will be the easiest solution.
Place the exe, the dll, and the avsi in your avisynth plugins folder, then drag and drog the mkv on the exe. It will index it, it will take a bit since it's a huge file. Then, make an avs with this command:

Code: Select all

FFVideoSource("C:\path\to\your\file.mkv")

And you'll be up and running.

Notice that with interlaced video, ffms2 can be bad, so if you have interlaced content, I suggest you just rip it normally to m2ts and then work with one of the neuron2 tools: DGDecNV (works on AVC, VC-1, MPEG-2, requires you to have an NVidia GPU with CUDA, you need to donate to neuron2), DGAVCDecDI (works only on AVC, requires you to have purchased DiAVC, you need to donate to neuron2), or DGMPGDec (works only on MPEG-2, it's free and has no specific requirement).
DGMPEGDec is the same exact one as you'd use with DVDs, DGDecNV can be used pretty much on anything you get your hands on (both DVDs and BDs as well as TV recordings that you might set yourself and anything else with one of the supported codecs), DGAVCDecDI works only on AVC BDs (the most common ones in my experience) and AVC TV caps (I'm not familiar with tv in the US, but they tend to be rare over here, with MPEG-2 being most common), as well as any other AVC encode you might find (I think, container limits might apply, in case you could remux).

[slackergirl]

Makemkv is another application that can rip blurays, and it rips straight to mkv. Give that one a try and see if it decrypts it ok for you.

Or, can you use dvdfab in conjunction with anydvd? I've never used anydvd so im not sure how it works.

Downloaded makemkv. I'll try it next rip, but I've got a nice 16GB converted-to-mkv file for this movie. Already opened it in virtualdub via avisynth with ffms2. Just have to now convert it again so I can use it in vegas...

Zarx, I've used anydvd and I'm still not sure how it works. I clicked on it and the bluray ripped.

And mirkosp, just to go over it in laymans terms, are you recommending not converting interlaced m2ts files to mkv files? I got a little confused with your discussion after that... I have DGMPGDec, but as I'm sure you know in greater detail than I, it won't open m2ts files. I don't know what CUDA is, but I do have an NVidia video card! Is that good? Does one of these other tools index m2ts files so I can use them in avisynth, then convert to avi's in virtualdub? I appreciate any guidance you can offer!

[mirkosp]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PureVideo# ... HD.29_GPUs

If your GPU is on this list and supports VP2 or greater, you are set (you might have to update your drivers for DGIndexNV to work).

With DGDecNV, you'll get a program very similar to DGIndex, called DGIndexNV, which will open any m2ts file you can rip from any BD, then you can index it very much like you do with VOBs from DVDs, and you'll have a .dgi file, which you can load in avisynth with the DGSource("C:\path\to\your\file.dgi") command (remember to place DGDecodeNV.dll in your avisynth plugins folder).

Now, a bit of clearance.
As I'm sure you know, container and video format are two different things. Much like mkv, m2ts is just a container, within which you can find video streams encoded in some video format. On DVDs you'll always find MPEG-2 (or, well, technically you could find MPEG-1 too, but I have never found it myself yet and I think it's been almost never done).
On BDs, you'll mostly find AVC, though VC-1 and MPEG-2 can be found too. You can check what video format is included in the m2ts you have at hand with a program like mediainfo (I suggest setting the output to text).
DGMPEGDec should be able to load m2ts files as long as the video format in the m2ts is MPEG-2, but that's a rare enough occurance. DGIndexNV will be able to deal with any format you can find on BDs.
As far as interlacing goes, it's the video stream that is interlaced, not the container itself. Changing the container to mkv shouldn't be an issue, as I think DGIndexNV should be able to load mkv as well (but I think it likes m2ts more); the issue is in ffms2, which does not always behave as intended with interlaced footage, which means that if your content isn't progressive, you will have to go the neuron2 route. Otherwise, if you don't feel like spending 15 bucks, the free solution with ffms2 is mighty fine. If you do go for the neuron2 route, though, I'd guess that it will be a lot more convenient because you'll be able to just load any m2ts without checking which format it is and if it's interlaced or not.

[slackergirl]

Wow, that really clears a lot up, mirkosp! It helps me to know the basic theory behind what I'm using. My card is on that list, and I do have $15 to spare, so I might just make my life easier and get DGIndexNV. Besides, if I get that, am I right in thinking I wouldn't have to convert m2ts to mkv like I did for this last BD rip? Once the plugin is in place I should be able to use the index file in avisynth like I did with d2v files, right? Would there be any disadvantage in just replacing DGMPGDec with it? (That's what I've been using...)
I'm off to work now, but I'll try getting it set up tonight. Thanks again for your help!