[peaktime]

for even better quality re-encodes do it like this though:

Originally Posted by peaktime

imo, use handbrake to convert to x264 @ about 1800 kbps in an .mkv container using the same frame size and frame rate as the dvd. For ac3 (dolby digital), use the ac3 pass through. If dolby digital, vorbis, or aac is the audio you want, you could also use the .mp4 container. For lpcm use vorbis @ 320 kbps and if you want lossless audio, demux the dvd (with project X) to wav and then convert to flac, then add this flac to mkvmerge gui and get rid of the lossy audio. For mpeg1 layer 2 use vorbis at 320 and if you don't want double-lossy audio, demux to mp2, then add the mp2 to mkvmerge gui and get rid of the vorbis track. For DTS use vorbis at 320 with dolby pro logic II mixdown, and if you don't want double-lossy audio, demux to .dts, then add the .dts track to mkvmerge gui and get rid of the vorbis track.

this way you're still using the 720 x 480 @ 29.97 fps resolution, and can use the original quality audio, while still reducing the file size a lot. For 2 hours, depending on the audio, it would be about 1.5 GB.