Question about archiving
#11
Thanks for all the info everyone, I guess I'll have to get me a DVD spool like Blyss Sarania suggested so that I can consolidate and recover some shelf space. As far as my question about a new superior imaging format, I had another question: Is there a way to turn mdf files into iso files? I ask because my very first PS2 rip ever was Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time and I ripped it using Alcohol 120% (I didn't know any better at the time), which imaged the discs as mdf files. I know I can just re-rip the game discs so I get .iso files, but that would take a long time compared to how fast my computer could convert (if it actually IS possible) them.

Thanks in advance!
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#12
I'm pretty sure pcsx2 supports mdf files
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#13
Yes it does, it just bothers me to see a whole bunch of iso.gz files and two .mdf files XD

Which brings me to another question, can I compress the .mdf files using gzip? Or is native gzip support only available for .iso files?
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#14
(09-17-2014, 05:27 PM)karasuhebi Wrote: Yes it does, it just bothers me to see a whole bunch of iso.gz files and two .mdf files XD

Which brings me to another question, can I compress the .mdf files using gzip? Or is native gzip support only available for .iso files?

Can't speak to how well it works but: http://mdftoiso.com/
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#15
(09-17-2014, 07:40 PM)Blyss Sarania Wrote: Can't speak to how well it works but: http://mdftoiso.com/

Thanks for the link, I'll try it out. In the mean time, I decided to just re-rip the game discs and when I did, I found something interesting: The .mdf files are smaller than the .iso files! I'm not sure why this is (better compression, maybe?) but here are some stats:
Disk1 as ISO - 4.695.853.056 bytes (4.37 GB)
Disk1 as MDF - 4.658.429.952 bytes (4.33 GB)

Disk2 as ISO - 4.695.853.056 bytes (4.37 GB)
Disk2 as MDF - 4.658.692.096 bytes (4.33 GB)

Interestingly, gzipped .iso files are smaller than gzipped .mdf files:
Disk1 as gzipped ISO - 3.891.515.081 bytes (3.62 GB)
Disk1 as gzipped MDF - 3.903.600.484 bytes (3.63 GB)

Disk2 as gzipped ISO - 3.926.191.549 bytes (3.65 GB)
Disk2 as gzipped MDF - 3.933.345.694 bytes (3.66 GB)

Also I confirmed that gzipped .mdf files are indeed supported by PCSX2.

___EDIT___
I tried the software you found, didn't work. It said my .mdf files were corrupted. Maybe it's because I deleted the .mds files? Who knows. Didn't work for me. Thanks anyway!
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#16
Interesting. ISO is definitely not compressed. I don't think MDF is either: (Wiki: Unlike an ISO image, a Media Descriptor File can contain multiple layers (as used in dual-layer recording) and multiple optical disc tracks. Like the IMG file format, a Media Descriptor File is a "raw" image of an optical disc. The word raw implies that the copy is precise, bit-for-bit, including (where appropriate) file-system metadata.) (Although I should note that this is wrong, ISO CAN contain multiple layers)

The difference may be in how the actual data structure, metadata, folder information, etc, is stored in MDF. That part MAY be compressed. I don't know for sure. But if it is, that also explains why it compresses less than ISO.
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