A few more for your list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...oring_software
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari..._media_players

Heyyo Les

I wonder where this idea came from? Just kidding. I think most people know where i stand. If not then they need to do some searching.

I don't think this thread will last long but i hope i'm wrong...

Where do you stand? And Im not searching.
You either want us to know, or you dont.

@ Blutach,
I agree with the thrust of what you say.
Also think its agreat idea to have a thread for this topic, so as to stop cluttering up other threads.
Personally, I dont think one should be villified for using freeware, despite what some others might opine.

Maybe if i mention i changed my nic from rolling56 refresh your memory

Personally I think this thread is a great idea, & I look forward to reading everyone's input into it. I might even add my own input, you just never know.

I recommend quite a lot of freeware apps, including a few not on blutach's list, like FAVC, AVI2DVD and GUIforDVDAuthor. As he pointed out, its hard to list them all, and even harder to keep up with new ones as they appear. I don't know many of the programs coming out to work with HD material for example, and I keep discovering new ones over at videohelp.com

As to paying for the programs that are offered, I agree that if you can afford a few dollars, send a donation to the authors. I've paid small amounts over the years for DVDDecrypter, ImgBurn and DVDRebuilder, among a few others. I would have paid for DVDShrink, but the author refused donations.

But I don't see this as a subject of controversy. Why should it be controversial to use freeware instead of payware or visa versa? Use what works for you.

My main tools working with video are fairly expensive, obtained over years and cost a fair amount to update. For a hobby, that adds up. So I don't look down on anyone who chooses freeware to accomplish these same tasks. In fact, many of them know the ins and outs of video better than I simply because they have had to learn how to use Vdub, VobBlanker or AviSynth to meet their objectives.

And neither should anyone be vilified for using commercial software. Whatever works for any individual user.

Attention all:

This thread will not be permitted to descend into a slanging match where users of freeware/payware applications abuse one another for their choice. If it does, it will be closed without further notice.

I just answered the question and posted my opinion and you trimmed it up.

I will not post in this thread again if i cannot express my feelings. I have been vilified enough by people here and nothing happens by post trimming.

Yes i know there is a forum for this > http://club.cdfreaks.com/f20/

Could not agree more.
I am a big believer in whatever works for you is fine by me.

Hey Rolling. Did not recognize the new you. How ya doing?

off topic:

i thought my avatar and post count would have given me away but i guess not

Les and i discussed this last night and took it to pm's. Great guy.

oops last post

This thread is a good idea, but everyone will be respectful of others here and all will be well, everyones opinions should be respected and treat each other like we would like to be treated, and all will be fine. There is a place for freeware and a place for commercial software, people will choose what they want. So discuss this with that in mind please.

Checked out what programs were mentioned & didn't see this program that I have started using recently, MultiShrink, just set it up as instructed, go to bed & when you wake up it's done. A quick question, if we have links to the programs & or to the readme files for the programs being discussed, should we post them?

Removed double post

That is exactly why I started using Linux, it's not for everyone but I like being able to open the hood and see what makes it run.

This is a list of all my favorite Programs I have been able to get running on Linux using Wine

DVD Decrypter
RipIt4Me
FixVTS
ImgBurn
PGCEdit
IfoEdit
VobEdit
VobBlanker
DVD Fab HD Decrypter
DVD Rebuilder Pro
Cinema Craft Encoder
HC Encoder

There are also a ton of great native Linux app's out there. All of these software developers have my respect and thanks for the hard work and great programs!

Nice thread Les.

I have a lot of guns in the cabinet, but tend to use only a handful of them and have recenlty freed up some resources from ones that I don't use on regular occasion.

DVDFab HD Decrypter
DVD2One
Imgburn
ConvertXtoDVD

The above are my four most used programs. Two pay and two free, they each do the job they are designed to do.

Other frequently used programs are as follows (both pay and free)...

DVD Shrink
Recode
DVD Rebuilder
VobBlanker
FixVTS
DVD Flick
AviMux GUI
VirtualDub Mod
CD/DVD Speed
AnyDVD

I think it's sad that I own the most popular payware decrypting program on the market and choose to use the freebies instead. To each his own, if it works for you then great. If not, then try something else. There are plenty of avenues to venture down on this virtual highway.

The discussion about DVD-Video standards and applications that comply with them reminds me of the relationship between railways and passengers. The railway thinks its timetable is there for the benefit of passengers, but they don't see it quite so clearly when the doors slam in their face because the train has to leave on schedule. In the end, both are right but it only works well most of the time.

Personally I have more input problems with DVD Shrink than any other freeware application, yet I can see why DVD Shrink in particular was designed to be very careful about this. By its nature it is small, fast, efficient, and yet has to give a fully compliant output and so the easiest thing is to not let anything get in which will screw up the process. It's a shame that it is no longer being developed, because it might be possible to give some indication of a simple non-compliancy, or maybe to make some minor adjustment to compensate. For example, it will sometimes barf if there isn't an AUDIO_TS folder along with the VIDEO_TS: which I agree is a very basic test of the compliancy but the corresponding error message is pretty unhelpful in diagnosing the problem. Sometimes it will work on an ISO image built from the same folders that were rejected, for which reason completely escapes me.

I guess all we can say is that we're seeing a legacy aspect of DVD Shrink - although still a superbly relevant piece of software - from the days when DVD-Video specification was more important than it is now. Unfortunately things have moved on, and we are most of the time usually working well outside the DVD-Video standard and like the trains we only use them at the beginning and end of each day. For the real work we have DVB transport streams, DVD recorders and players which play back bare MPEG2 files, XviD/DivX, H264, .avi containers etc: and in fact where would we be without standalone DVD recorders at all? They do not adhere to the DVD specification - in offering more than one title per disc, different screen resolutions on one disc, setting chapters post-recording etc - and if you have a recording made by that route then it can easily be rejected by processing applications when trying to edit and reauthor. Worse still, there are payware applications like Ulead Movie Factory which pretend to adhere to DVD-Video spec for importing, but some re-encoding clearly takes place if it detects even the slightest deviation from the standard.

I understand why these standards are there, and that it is an important anchor point in the development of consumer entertainment worldwide, but personally I wouldn't use it as a sole benchmark these days for assessing whether an application is good or not. Much of the recent progress in bringing digital broadcasting has involved using 'non-standard' resolutions, and if there is an application that will allow us to non-destructively edit and reauthor that piece of video, and author it to disc that can be played back on the majority of DVD players, then that is more a helpful marker of what is useful or not. After all, whether the railway is good or not usually depends on whether you are lucky enough to be on the train that is leaving, or left on the platform and cursing because you missed it.

On a different note, and just to resonate with what blutach and Kerry56 said, I also learned most of what I know from using freeware apps. In the end, using a chain of freeware can be more flexible than a single payware program which has a myriad of options yet always seems to be missing the very one you want (or does something you didn't know). Sometimes even a month's trial isn't enough to get to know the program's idiosyncrasies or general behaviour. Eventually though some payware does mature and becomes worth buying, but my experience has been that adopting early in some areas of video editing or authoring can leave you quite frustrated. Anyone who is naturally inquisitive will learn a lot from understanding what you can achieve with freeware, but equally there are those who can't be bothered with messing about and just require guidance on the best payware prog to buy. For me it's been a gradual process from freeware to payware, since I progressively knew more about what I should be looking for when forking out for something.

My three most often used payware programs:

• MPEG Video Wizard DVD (editing, reauthoring)
• VideoRedo TV Suite (editing, reauthoring)
• DVB Viewer (for viewing and recording FTA digital broadcasts)

My three most often used freeware programs:

• ImgBurn (no explanation necessary )
• DVD Decrypter (ripping at chapter and audio stream level)
• Project X

...the latter of which to my knowledge is the only - never mind the best - application outside the professional industry for cleaning up elementary and packetised MPEG2 transport streams, and achieving some degree of DVD-Video compliancy. It also works great on resynchronising audio with video.

I like having a choice between freeware and paidware of the same application. To me it makes sense to go this route. The author/s get more feedback and the application gains more popularity. I also like it when that application keeps within a compatibility standard. Some programs just do somethings better than others and I want to be able to modify the output to how I want it. Not restricted to a certain program and a new format. When others can open and work with the output it sparks off more development. In regards to this specific forum of software, we would not have seen so many available DVD media applications if it were not from the open source that kicked it off.

I'm interested in what everyone thinks is an acceptable price for software and how many computers it may be installed on for personal use. I look for an application to cost between $20 - $40 and if I can install it on more than one computer in my household. For personal use I like the idea of per household. The higher prices we are seeing with per computer licensing has me looking more towards freeware applications. It just seems to me that software has been over charged lately. Sometimes the upgrades are more than what you paid the first time.

Anyway, I am glad there are developers out there that keep freeware going. I went from the thought that expensive commercial ware was always better. Moved toward the freeware that does what I need. To the paid version of the enhanced freeware for something that does what I need and want. I agree that with the freeware that has been listed in this thread, you learn a lot more on how things work. Which I enjoy doing.

I just wanted to reiterate what Philamber said. So far so good. Stong opinions will be tolerated as long as they are in the correct context. Polite and respectful. That said my favorite freeware program is Imgburn and if it was Payware I would buy it, no questions asked.

I'm a relative noob lol, but can't do without Imgburn & the others mentioned in my signature

Want to try vobblanker.

Bless Blutach who recently introduced me to the following golden software:

PgcDemux
BeSweet/BeLight
Muxman
PgcEdit (havent gotten the hang of it yet, i'm very interested in getting to know how to though)
Ifoedit (another 1 i'de like to get familiar with )
videocalc

I like DVD-RB Pro trying to learn how to use the matrices/filters

ImgBurn is a great piece of work and LIGHTNING UK! has excellent support over at his forum. He is also one of the developers that I have been willing to look at running his program with Wine on Linux.