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Daniel Pfeffer12-Dec-20 6:12

Daniel Pfeffer

12-Dec-20 6:12

I use a program called DVDFab (www dot dvdfab dot cn). It's not free, but does a decent job of copying and ripping DVDs. I have just verified that it creates MP4 files with multiple audio streams, multiple subtitles, and chapter marks.

Note that all of the above must be in the original stream. AFAICS, it provides no methods for incorporating additional streams into the output MP4, nor can it create additional chapter marks.

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Johnny J.11-Dec-20 0:43

11-Dec-20 0:43

trønderen wrote:
[Bonus question 2: When DVDs were introduced, the option to provide multiple camera angles, aka parallel video tracks, was heavily boosted in marketing.

I've heard, but believe me or not, I have never seen for myself, that this feature was mostly used in the pr0n business when it was invented. Just because they could, I'd imagine. Blush | :O

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modified 11-Dec-20 6:52am.

trønderen11-Dec-20 4:43

trønderen

11-Dec-20 4:43

So maybe I should get hold of some pr0n movies ... Smile | :)

Johnny J.11-Dec-20 0:49

11-Dec-20 0:49

I'm almost done doing the same thing, actually.

The last weeks, I've ripped all of my DVD's to ISO files and thrown away most of the physical discs (saved a few of my favourites, though).

I must have ripped around 1500 discs, and the problem with that is of course that it takes a LOT of harddisk space. I've bought myself two 10Tb discs, one for movies, and one for TV series.

I have yet to decide what to do about the Bluray discs. I haven't got quite as many of those, but if ripped, they would obviously take up a whole lot more space per disc than the DVDs.

A curiosity: I activated disc compression on the two drives, because I wanted to save as much disk space as possibly. But lo and behold: The amount of space used before and after compression was pretty much the same. Seems like the DVD format is already compressed almost to the max.

modified 11-Dec-20 6:55am.

dandy7211-Dec-20 3:21

dandy72

11-Dec-20 3:21

Johnny J. wrote:
A curiosity: I activated disc compression on the two drives, because I wanted to save as much disk space as possibly. But lo and behold: The amount of space used before and after compression was pretty much the same. Seems like the DVD format is already compressed almost to the max.

I hope you're not surprised by this. Video compression is the holy grail of video storage and distribution, so if you could simply compress video by running it through WinZip and gain significant savings...that would mean codec developers have seriously dropped the ball.

I feel your pain re: ripping Blu-ray discs. I don't have many - and of those, there's maybe 12-15, max, that I want to keep backed up to a drive. They're all dual-layer, so you're talking about a minimum of 25 GB each. Many are closer to the disc's 50GB capacity.

And then, I just bought the full Game of Thrones series in 4K. I don't even know how much space a single disc might take - I don't imagine the "old" Blu-ray drive hooked up to my system could read them even if I tried.

Johnny J.11-Dec-20 3:47

11-Dec-20 3:47

dandy72 wrote:
I hope you're not surprised by this.

Not as such, but it may or may not have surprised me that somebody had actually had luck in developing something that both worked and was efficient at the same time... Laugh | :laugh:

I may have worked with computers for too long... Sigh | :sigh:

dandy7211-Dec-20 9:53

dandy72

11-Dec-20 9:53

Johnny J. wrote:
both worked and was efficient at the same time...

I guess that's an iterative process. MPEG-2, in hindsight, is probably considered to be horribly inefficient if you compare with H.265 files. Much smaller files, yet many times the resolution. But try to zip either, and you won't gain anything in any appreciable amount.

trønderen11-Dec-20 3:55

trønderen

11-Dec-20 3:55

To echo what dandy72 says: Modern video compression is extremely well tailored to that specific use, and there is no way that a general method (such as zip) for 'any' data format could do a better job. If you manage to dig up an extreme example where zip reduced the file size by half a percent, the savings would be in the metadata of the file, not in the video content.

I've got 'enough' disk space to rip even BD disks. But I encountered a problem when I wanted to take a BD movie to a friend to play on his smart-TV: It didn't fit on my old 32 GB memory sticks, so I had to buy a new 64 MB memory stick. ... And later, I brought that memory stick to another friend, but his smart-TV was so old that it only supported USB sticks up to 32GB size!

Bonus comment, now that we are in season: That BD movie not fitting on as 32GB stick was the Finish "Rare Exports" Christmas horror comedy. We view that on every winter solstice. It is just a great movie! Be prepared for getting a different view on St. Claus after watching it Smile | :)

(Rare Exports - IMDb[^]

Jörgen Andersson11-Dec-20 1:32

11-Dec-20 1:32

X-Media Recode[^] and Handbrake[^] both do what you want.
X-media has more setting but is quite finicky to use. Handbrake is easier.
Subtitles are quite overlooked in both, but they work after some fiddling about. (needs conversion or burn to the image, personally I don't care for them)
Both are completely legal so neither of them handles encrypted media.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger

Johnny J.11-Dec-20 1:44

11-Dec-20 1:44

In Handbrake, subtitles only work for me if I choose to burn them in. Is it better in X-Media? Confused | :confused:

Jörgen Andersson11-Dec-20 2:47

11-Dec-20 2:47

Not really, in my limited experience one needs to convert the subtitle format to one that's supported by the container AND the player, both must support them. <edit>and the server if you're streaming</edit>
Personally I can't be bothered with the fuzz.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger

modified 11-Dec-20 9:03am.

Jörgen Andersson11-Dec-20 5:44

11-Dec-20 5:44

If it's vobsub from DVDs it's because it's a graphical layer, not actual text.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger

trønderen11-Dec-20 4:08

trønderen

11-Dec-20 4:08

My first problem is to decide on a format that we can expect to be long-lasting, and handled by the majority of viewers ten or twenty years from now.

The question of rippers/converters that will produce those long-lasting formats come next.

Maybe X-Media Recode and Handbrake are suitable tools, but for ripping to which (long-lasting) formats- A couple of years ago, I looked at Handbrake, but at that time, there were alternatives I found more suitable. but I don't remember the arguments. Is it so that Handbrake can handle multiple audio tracks, multiple subtitle track and title/chapter information? In which formats is it capable of storing this information? Which players allow me, at playback time, to select a given audio or subtitle track, or navigate by title or chapter?

Jörgen Andersson11-Dec-20 4:59

11-Dec-20 4:59

Well, then we need to differentiate between the container and the encodings they contain.
The container can quite easily be swapped using any of the tools, while retaining the encoded tracks/streams.

So the question is rather which video and audio formats we can expect to survive for a longer time.
If you play your movies on a computer there probably won't be any problems, vnc and similar players will support almost anything you throw at them for the foreseeable future.
Streaming is a different question though.
If you're using a Plex server for example it will also work with most files, but the recieving end won't.
MPEG2 (DVD-video) is already dead, seemingly on purpose. Neither Chromecast nor Apple-TV will accept that.

The only format that's supported on both is H.264
And HEVC/h.265 works on Chromecast Ultra and the newest AppleTV
For the future you probably want h265, but it won't work with everything today. So my answer for now will have to be H.264 video with AAC for sound.
Haven't a clue what to use for subtitles at the moment.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Never stop dreaming - Freddie Kruger

Is Being a Full Stack Developer Right for Me?

Jacquers11-Dec-20 3:09

Jacquers

11-Dec-20 3:09

These look like nice options:

BD Rebuilder 0.61.18 Free Download - VideoHelp

MakeMKV 1.15.4 Beta Free Download - VideoHelp

Triton31810-Dec-20 14:57

Triton318

10-Dec-20 14:57

I am looking to switch careers at age 58. I have worked as an instructional designer/curriculum developer for the last 20 years. In the late 1990s, I taught myself Cold Fusion and SQL to create a project management tool for a company I was working for at the time. Around the same time, I taught myself HTML and JavaScript and built websites for fun. Recently, I learned some Swift and created a couple of simple iOS apps.

I am looking at a couple of online programs (Trilogy/University of Arizona 24 week Full Stack Developer and Emeritus/MIT 32 week Full Stack Development with MERN). Before I pull the trigger, I want to make sure this is really what I'm looking for.

I've enjoyed coding--the problem-solving, detail-oriented work. But in most of my "hobby" coding experience, I've had an idea for a web site or web-based application or mobile app and then I've designed the site or app and then did the coding.

As a full stack developer for a company, what are the chances that I will be involved with the actual design of the product, as well as the implementation of it? Because, as much as I enjoy the coding, I want to also be involved in the design and functionality of the site, program, or app.

Am I looking at the wrong job for what I want to do? To be clear, I'm not a visual designer, graphic designer, UX/UI designer, or animator (although I do have a good sense for visual design). Is there another career path for someone who enjoys and wants to do the up-front design work for websites and web-based applications, as well as the coding?

Richard MacCutchan11-Dec-20 0:20

Richard MacCutchan

11-Dec-20 0:20

Triton318 wrote:
what are the chances that I will be involved with the actual design of the product, as well as the implementation

Probably not very high, unless there are only one or two developers. Any large company generally splits things into teams and will likely separate all the functions, so you would be doing one or the other. And given your commercial experience is not that high you would probably struggle to find a job at the level you are looking for. A good first step would be to talk to some of the local recruitment agents to see what is available in your area, or even try approaching companies direct.

DerekT-P11-Dec-20 1:35

DerekT-P

11-Dec-20 1:35

Ten years ago (and/or possibly if you were ten years younger) I'd have said yes. Now, I'd be less inclined to do so - certainly without knowing how good you are / how hard you want to work / how quick a learner you are / how much money you need to make.

Getting any work in your late 50s can be difficult - more so in the tech industries, and more so when you've no commercial experience in the field.

The difficulty these days (as compared to 30 years ago) is that there are now so many frameworks, IDEs, toolkits, languages, methodologies etc that the chances of even ticking all the boxes on a recruiter's wishlist are minimal, much more so when going "full stack". True, in practice if you have similar experience a quick learner can migrate their skills quickly - but recruiters don't think like that, especially when there's a 20- or 30-something already with the experience.

If I were in your situation (I'm only a few years older than you) I'd be concentrating on back-end - that's where the architectural design decisions are made, and you can still do the back-end coding. In many organisations you'd have the opportunity, once established, to dabble in front-end stuff too later on, if you wished.

Alternatively, if you're doing this to "keep you occupied" and already have pension / income sorted out, consider going freelance and working with small companies. You become their "one-stop-shop" and get the opportunity to directly benefit their businesses by bringing the right solutions to their problems. Choice of tech is then more determined by what you know / have access to / enjoy, you can get really hands-on at every stage. On the downside there's no-one (CodeProject excepted!) to bounce your ideas off and turn to when you're stuck.

Whatever you decide, good luck (you will need it...) and have a blast!

#realJSOP11-Dec-20 2:45

#realJSOP

11-Dec-20 2:45

DerekT-P wrote:
The difficulty these days (as compared to 30 years ago) is that there are now so many frameworks

I think the biggest hurdle is getting paid for your level of experience. Today, there are a lot of much younger people that are much more willing to relocate, work longer hours, *and for less money*, and that don't enough time in the industry to argue against pointless tech stack choices that management almost always gets wrong.

I'm in my mid 60's, and I honestly feel like I'm probably in the last job I'll ever have in the industry. I have over 40 years of experience, and demand a salary commensurate with that level of experience, and realized a long time ago that there's no point in even feigning anything resembling loyalty to a corporate overlord that would fire me in a hot minute if they saw it as politically or financially beneficial to them.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013

rnbergren11-Dec-20 13:17

rnbergren

11-Dec-20 13:17

This is very true. You either become a manager and never code again. Or you open your own consulting business and eventually spend more time looking for work than coding and when you do get a gig you outsource it to someone else while you go search for the next gig.

I still get to code sometimes. But not as much as I want. But I do get paid fairly well and I really like my new job. sooooo,

To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer

GuyThiebaut11-Dec-20 2:54

GuyThiebaut

11-Dec-20 2:54

Triton318 wrote:
As a full stack developer for a company, what are the chances that I will be involved with the actual design of the product, as well as the implementation of it? Because, as much as I enjoy the coding, I want to also be involved in the design and functionality of the site, program, or app.

I can't speak for the industry or every job out there, but as a 50 year old "full stack" developer working in an agile environment I definitely have input into the design as that's part of agile.
Generally if the role is full stack, I imagine you would have input into the design simply because in a full stack environment I imagine it's unlikely that you would get a very specific specification for anything up to and including the UI.

“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”

― Christopher Hitchens