I think I’ve mentioned this before, but there are special edition discs of movies that have such nicely produced menus, it’s a shame to lose them in the process! Like the Panic Room 3-Disc Special Edition DVD menu. These are very, very rare though of course.
My advice would to be transcode to the highest possible bitrate you can handle. When you reduce bitrate you throw picture information away, and you don’t get it back.
Transcoding/Re-encoding is an information destructive process.
@jjrjr1 @cayars @OttoKerner
Considering that I already use MakeMKV and Handbrake, is there anything that the DVDFab package does that the former two tools can’t? DVDFab has a 50% lifetime summer promotion, but since I already own MakeMKV and Handbrake, do I really need DVDFab? Thanks for your advice.
@aeonx, since you seem to be eating this stuff up and willing to learn at a quick pace I’d suggest you learn how to use ffmpeg. Forget GUIs but learn what it can do from the command line. There is very little it can’t do (that we need for Plex use). I’d never go back to using DVDFab or Handbrake again.
Handbrake to me is “stupid” in it’s decisions. For example it will always reprocess the video even when it shouldn’t. It could simply remux (copy) video when doing something with audio but NO, it will reprocess the whole file and you get a video quality loss plus it takes much, much longer.
DVDFab can be thought of as a ripper and encoder with presets. Again, many times it does “dumb” things that don’t need to be done.
Both programs do very odd things at times especially when you are downscaling files (1080 to 480 or 720).
If you can learn to use ffmpeg at the command line you have a very powerful tool at your disposal that lends itself very well to scripting which allows you to batch process files.
If you want a tool a bit more powerful and puts you in the drivers seat with a GUI on Windows then check out XMedia Recode. It allows you to do things like copy audio, add additional audio tracks, keep other audio tracks, remove tracks, de-interlace video and choose what filter to use. It’s much more powerful than Hand Brake but has a bit more learning curve to understand what you are doing. It’s a great stepping stone to go from Handbrake to ffmpeg since it helps you learn and play with different things regarding the tracks. You’ll understand once you start to play with it. Recode and MakeMKV will most likely handle all your needs and give you more fine grained control.
Thanks, @cayars! 
Good advice.
@aeonx
Well DVDFab is much more than a ripper encoder…
I have used ffmpeg for over a decade in my web sites and even created several youtube type website converting all formats of input videos for insertion into an FMS for varying application types. (Hell in those days you had to get ffmepg source, track down all the codec libraries you need, and compile ffmpeg yourself… LOL).
I have grown up beyond the need for ffmpeg switches and commands just to accomplish that for my own media…
DVDFab also provides a complete GUI for managing the encoding process for just about any desired output along with real-time preview. You can edit in a WYSIWYG panel to modify your output media format.
Additionally it provides a player that can preview any detected title contained on the DVD. This is handy for ripping episodic type DVDs such as multiple episode TV series disks.
It can create SRT subtitle files, embedded sub-titles, and burned in subtitles.
Supports just about any container you want and even can create ISO rips of a DVD or Blu-ray. It can also take ISO images as input.
It also works as a simple video file re-encoder and will master DVDs/Blu-Rays from video files.
It also can make a direct Image copy of a DVD
If so inclined, it can re-encode 2D video into 3D and does a much better job than most TVs built in 3D simulation. (you can also make 2D file from 3D if needed)
It also can Up-Convert DVD to Blu Ray or Blu Ray to 4K (As well as down convert). All without messing with esoteric switches with trial and error.
If I had any criticism of DVDFab it would be the ability to create 2 separate audio tracks formats within a file. It will do multiple tracks such as different languages or channel layout but they will all be in the same selected codec.
It truly is a set and forget application and I do not have to mess with all those ffmpeg switches directly…
All it’s output files are just fine with NO technical problems that I have found and I have been doing this type work for over 12 years.
But if you prefer the bytehead approach, as many do, better learn what all those ffmpeg switches do and have fun. I did till I just got tired of it, especially since there is a no-fuss no-muss alternative such as DVDFab.
I have forgotten more about ffmpeg than a lot of folks know and am glad to be able to say that LOL.
It really is just an all-in-one tool kit for media
BTW… This is just my opinion.
