Target sizes when ripping DVD to digital files?

[d000hg]

Just in case it's helpful to anyone, I have ended up using 2 tools:

1)Use MakeMKV to obtain very high quality versions of the video files from the DVD. No options for quality, it just does it so I was looking at 2Gb/hr.

2)Use HandBrake to convert to something more manageable. I used the default profile to convert to MP4. I changed the main X.264 quality from 20->21 and applied a de-interlacing video filter on "fast" mode... without the latter it looked very liney for some reason. Reducing the quality meant 500Mb rather than 700Mb per 45min episode, from a 1.7Gb original MKV.

I was also going to try AnvSoft Any Video Converter but HandBrake worked pretty well so I never got round to it.

I am slightly confused why videos are classed as 720x576, this seems a very odd resolution, but it appears to play alright.

[doodab]

I am slightly confused why videos are classed as 720x576, this seems a very odd resolution, but it appears to play alright.

This is the resolution of SD video as found on DVDs, DVB-x and DV (i.e. SD camcorder footage) although DVD and DVB can be lower resolution I think. The 576 comes from the # of scan lines that contained actual picture data in days of analogue TV.

[Spacecadet]

I'm putting some DVDs into digital form to watch on laptop/iPad. We used some MKV tool to rip episodes from the DVD (Handbrake couldn't do it) which ended up with files of ~1Gb per 25min episode... basically I think just a direct copy of the DVD in full-quality.

However I'm sure we should be able to get a lot smaller even before we start sacrificing quality, with better codecs. But I don't know what to aim for so I know when to be happy... any suggestions on Mb/minute I should be hoping for?

I do know that my Humax PVR can store HD TV at something like 1Gb/hour, and when I downloaded a F1 race I missed the whole thing in crystal clear HD was 1-2Gb so I'm guessing a ballpark of 250Mb for a 25min episode, maybe?

Last time I tried this I gave up and torrented the TV series instead. DVDs are at in a box on a shelf in my study still unused