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DVDs are usually more than a single, linear movie. By using ratDVD you can retain the following all in one file:
- Multiple movie versions like "Directors Cut", "Theatrical Cut" or "Uncut Version".
- Multiple parental levels for people with kids - not tested ;-)
- Some movies offer alternative story endings, sometimes even random (e.g. Stigmata).
- Some DVDs have an interactive story (e.g. Dragons Lair).
- Allowing sharing of Quiz DVDs (e.g. Rambo - First blood, Trivial Persuit).
- Interactive "making of" or explanations (e.g. Matrix, Hellboy).
- Visual directors commentary (e.g. Ghost Busters).
- Additional features like making of, Actors, Trailers, etc.
Content :
DVDs are usually more than a single, linear movie. By using ratDVD you can retain the following all in one file:
- Multiple movie versions like "Directors Cut", "Theatrical Cut" or "Uncut Version".
- Multiple parental levels for people with kids - not tested ;-)
- Some movies offer alternative story endings, sometimes even random (e.g. Stigmata).
- Some DVDs have an interactive story (e.g. Dragons Lair).
- Allowing sharing of Quiz DVDs (e.g. Rambo - First blood, Trivial Persuit).
- Interactive "making of" or explanations (e.g. Matrix, Hellboy).
- Visual directors commentary (e.g. Ghost Busters).
- Additional features like making of, Actors, Trailers, etc.
Video :
DVDs usually contain true anamorphic video. This means that the DVD Player (who knows the aspect ratio of the TV) prepares the signal for an optimum viewing experience:
- Support for 16:9, 4:3, Pan/Scan, WideScreen, Letterbox based on just one encoded video signal.
- Seamless branching for interactive content.
- Multiple video angles.
- Reliable high quality encoding (of course XviD, DivX, etc. can also be high quality - unfortunately for historic reasons such as a long version history and other goals beside high quality, one can't rely on it)
- Very fast and high quality video engine - optimized for DVD input video and transcoding.
- Special video encoding format allows free binary distribution (no licensing issues with typical MPEG-2, MP3 patents)
Audio :
For me the sound is a very important part of every movie which I want to preserve in a very high quality:
- ratDVD allows for keeping the original 5.1 soundtracks or transcoding it into multiple channel virtual surround (which comes very close to the original but uses only half the bitrate - Thanks to Dr. Evil for letting me use his Audio stuff!).
- Support for multiple Audio tracks (e.g. listening to Chinese or English - possibly combined with subtitles).
- Transcoding of PCM audio to Dolby (Again thanks to Dr. Evil).
- Defined audio format (Personally I often had trouble to find the right audio codec and when I finally got one it was often not synchronous, the audio lead or fell behind the video very badly).
- By staying with Dolby no deterioration loss when rebuilding the DVD because no additional de/encoding is needed (of course it is also faster).
Subtitles :
ratDVD (optionally) preserves the full sub pictures of the DVD:
- Up to 32 sub picture tracks for different languages and hearing impaired.
- Visual commentary features (e.g. Ghost Busters).
- Animated anecdotes (e.g. Back to the future).
Navigation :
I guess people like DVDs mostly because of the enhanced navigation features. Unfortunately this is exactly what you are missing when you convert it to some linear format. ratDVD preserves:
- Support for all menus (Root menu, Title menu, Audio menu, Subpicture).
- Retaining of random playback and user interaction (e.g continue after menu).
- Direct title and chapter selection .
- Seamless branching, alternating stories, etc...
- Parental levels.
- User prohibitions - if you want them ;-)
- Call functions.
- Making of (follow the white rabbit, etc.).
Features of ratDVD 0.78 :
Usually a DVD is much more than just "the movie":
- Making of
- Cut scenes
- Trailers
- Cast&Crew
- Actors
- Other bonus material...
Compatibility :
All of the cool stuff above matters only when you can use it. ratDVD is designed to offer the highest possible compatibility:
- ratDVDs can be converted back to full size, full featured DVDs compatible with ANY player. No fancy MPEG-4 functions needed and you have a real DVD for your "physical archive".
- Double clicking a ratDVD file allows playback in Media player or or other compatible players - with the complete DVD feature set.
Sharing :
ratDVDs are encoded in just one file. A checksum ensures that the file is valid.
- No more "broken streams". Every sharing software can validate the ratDVD file to be valid.
Tagging [New] :
When I look at my (rather large) collection of DVDs, I was always missing a meaningful, standardized meta data system like ID3 for MP3s. Therefore I included it into ratDVD - and I am sure that you will value it, once your collection is big enough ;-)
- Retrieve the complete tagging information online from imdb.com
- Get info on titles, tag lines, year, director, genre, plot outline, outline, writing credit, cast, rating votes, DVD cover
- Windows displays ratDVDs with the associated DVD cover
Changes in ratDVD 0.78.1444 :
• Features:
- MediaPlayer now supports ratDVD files in the video media library
- MediaPlayer now supports direct convert and burn of ratDVD files
- Added convert/burn option in navigation menu of standard direct show players
- Added "/burn" command line option
- Added support for ShowCommand in StartupInfo when started from another process
- Added movie name recognition into ISO import plug-in
- Added translation support for playback navigation menu
- Updated danish translation
- Updated codecs for higher performance
• Bugfixes:
- Fix for Media Player seeking issue
- Fix for starting playback quickly after ending playback issue
- Fix for stop/restart problem in Media Player
- Fix for some Subtitle/Audio display/selection issues in navigation menu during playback
- Fix for a problem that a DVD to ratDVD profile could have consequences when converting ratDVD to DVD
- Fix for access violation during repeated starting and stopping of preview in converter
- Fix for some playback errors
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