Nero Recode - best deal, or alternative?

GunsMadeAmericaFree

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2007
1,337
327
136
Several years back, I got a DVD drive with Nero (I think version 7) included, which has Nero Recode. I didn't pay a cent for it, and it allowed me to easily archive shows from my DVD's to my hard drive, to play back whenever I want, without worrying that the kids are going to snap off the DVD drive tray, or scratch up the DVD's.

I've finally got a dual core processor & Windows 7, and I need to get a new version. I bought a new burner about 6 months ago, and it came with Nero, but it turns out to be a crippled version that keeps wanting me to upgrade.

Is this the best deal out there for a full version that has Nero Recode?: ($55 shipped)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-008-_-Product

Also, are there any alternatives that are just as easy to use? I want something that:

A) can easily recognize the movie or specific episodes from a DVD ripped to hard drive
(this is the weak point with most programs I've tried, including Ashampoo Movie
Shrink & burn)

b) easily compresses to h.264/mpeg4 without any additional software

c) doesn't require downloading separate pieces of software/codecs in order to work

Big plus if it can automatically compress any programs put in a certain folder to h.264/mpeg4 in the background!

If someone knows of something better or less costly, I'd appreciate your input now - otherwise, looks like I'll be spending $55 on the new version to use in Windows 7 with my Athlon II processor.

Thanks!
 

abaez

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
7,155
1
81
I use AnyDVD to rip an ISO image of every DVD I have, so I'm not too familiar on ripping to video, but I'm almost positive there is something out there that can do what you want for free.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
38,756
19,330
146
Check out Handbrake. It will make .mkv's, .avi's. does a pretty good job converting and keeping quality. Even has some presets that are cool :)
 

Phynaz

Lifer
Mar 13, 2006
10,140
819
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eh? I've used the GUI and it was pretty straight forward. Am I doing something wrong?

A) can easily recognize the movie or specific episodes from a DVD ripped to hard drive

I am unaware of a feature in Handbrake that can do the above. If it's there please point it out because my wife wants movies on her iPod!
 

smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
3,382
17
81
DVD Shrink and Handbrake are free. Use DVD Shrink to separate the episodes or movie from the original DVD and use Handbrake to turn 'em into digital video files. Recode is nice, but if you are backing up commercial DVDs, your money will be better spent on a DVD decrypter program like AnyDVD or DVDFab (can I say that, here?).

If you want the simplest, easiest way to get a movie from any DVD into a digital, compressed format, get AnyDVD and CloneDVD Mobile. Once AnyDVD is installed, it just sits in the background and does its job. The only work YOU have to do is with CloneDVD Mobile. CloneDVD Mobile will literally ask you which part you want to rip, to which format you want it converted, how big you want the resulting file to be and where to save it, nothing else.
 
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Rottie

Diamond Member
Feb 10, 2002
4,795
1
81
55 dollars is way too cheap..I paid for 100 buck last year anyway Nero is far the best and I am not planning to upgrade.
 

EarthwormJim

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 2003
3,239
0
76
HDConvertToX is a pretty nice program for converting .vobs (dvd source files) or really anything to an .avi, .mkv or any container you want.

I used it to rip my Simpsons DVDs to .mkv (.h264) and preserved all of the commentary tracks.

You still have to actually rip the dvds first. Dvddecryptor is free, but hasn't been updated in 4 years. Might still work for you.
 

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
8,874
111
106
I will also endorse DVDFab .. an excellent program for backing up your DVD collection or for making dvd's for the kid's to use. As to Nero, while it was a nice, fairly easy to use program, it has gotten very bloated since Version 7 & 8 came out. V6 was nice and a small footprint. If all you want are burning programs you can use IMGBurn (free, very good and the suggested burn engine for DVDFab) or a paid version is UltrasISO