Hi all! I'm working to upload videos on DVD to youtube of priceless theatre performances. Quality on the recordings themselves is not great so the last thing I want is further quality loss.

ddrescue looks like the best way to copy the 4.7gb DVDs over to iso9660 image. What kind of buffer do I need for a dvd sized image? The regular CD buffer, which is all I've found information on, is not enough.

Is an ISO not the best file format to have some basic editing done to? I just need to insert a title card and other small additions. Not sure whether to use ffmpeg/mencoder, avidemux, or something like virtualdub.

I'm hoping to add black bars to the videos and keep them in their original 4:3 format, while having them playable at "1080p" quality on youtube. Anything I should know on converting on flv format?

Thanks for reading!
Your help will be rewarded with links to the awesome videos!

use webm not flv