Can I do it for FREEEEEEEEEE?????

On my PC I can burn dvds with DVDSHRINK and DVDdecrypter.... these programs are all free and its AWESOME!!!

On my mac.... MacTheRipper is free, and that is cool... and I can burn files to a dvd just fine.... but its the shrinking process I can't seem to do for free.... DVD2ONEX costs like 70 bucks.... and ffmpeg doesn't seem to be the type of program i want, but even if it was, it costs 15...


Is there any way i can achieve what i want (backing up a dvd) with free software on a mac? In other words.... are there any free programs that can replace dvd2onex???

Thanks.

 

as far as compression go... its hard..

last i checked... ffmpegx was free...
you have options... you can get popcorn and that will compress and burn.

dvd2oneX to compress--> dvdimager to make an iso. --> burn with disk utility

the new toast 7 apparantly will compress and burn as well..

but as of right now... popcorn would the be fastest and easier one

with dvd2oneX you still need to make an image and then burn that.. few more steps.

thats what i can come up with..

hey macman.. does sizzle actually burn the dvd? and would that compress?
that may be your other option..

i have sizzle but i havent messed with it.

 

ROXIO POPCORN sounds great but it costs 50 bucks. I'm trying not to drop any money, like i didn't have to do with dvdshrink on my PC.

ffmpegx asks me to register everytime i start it up... Is this just a donation? Will everything work the same if I "try it for free" ? if so..... can you tell me (or send me a guide) on how to use it to compression and make my 4.7GB Video_Ts and Audio_Ts files? I've always had trouble because there are all kinds of different settings that confuse the hell out of me, dvdshrink made it so easy.... a monkey could do it.

As far as your comment on DVD2oneX... are you saying that even if I buy it, it still won't get the WHole job done? and by "whole job" i mean compress my already ripped files so its ready to be burnt? Would FFmpegX get the whole job done?

My goal is to back up a dvd as easy as possible (even if that doesn't necessarily mean "easy") and to do it without buying any programs. And, of course, not pirating software.

 

with ffmpegx... it is a donation...

the thing with mac.. the easiest and simplest one would be popcorn...
dvd2onex will just compress it for you, but like i said before.. you need to make the iso and then burn with disk utility.

ffmpegx wont get the whole job done. there is no "all-in-one" or something after you rip. that's free anyways

your best bet is just to spend the money on popcorn... it is cheaper than the dvd2onex.. and it would do more for you..

i havent been a huge of popcorn at the beginning.. but it does make it a lot easier..

with dvd2oneX, you have a few more options... but you can just do the whole disc.

i have used dvdshrink... you know... when i was on the "dark side".

just different options.

 

Okay so.... back to my original question... I understand that there is not one program that will get the whole job done.... but are there combinations of FREE programs that will allow me to backup a dvd without buying software?

 

no... not as of yet..

if there are any other views on this.. please contribue..

 

Okay then.... since there is no way to do it for free.... would popcorn be my best bet? i want to use as little amount of programs as possible, but still have acceptable results.

Whats the ideal setup?

And whats the easiest setup?

And whats the cheapest setup?

 

And here are two very stupid question concerning Popcorn...

1) Is there a trial version I can try out?

2) i saw the preview viideo and would it sort of looks like you have to have the dvd in the computer at the same time you're burning it.... is that right? because i'm on a powerbook and i have a superdrive and both the dvd and blank dvd can't be in the computer at the same time (I know thats a stupid question, but i think i'm about to drop 50 bucks on this and that is big for me)

 

ok

i did some searching on google but didnt find any trials..
the best thing i found is that they have a demo on the roxio site.

it wont do copy protected dvds but you can burn from Video_TS folders. so of course you are going to need just one drive. rip with MTR and choose "video_ts". it will compress it if needed... it will also give you the option of extracting just the movie.


FYI:
now that i think about it.. there should be a forum just for popcorn like the have for NERO... i've made suggestions before.. i've even made a short mac guide for conversion to psp and nothing. no support for mac.
maybe those nice mods can help us out.


anyways... i know its $50... but it is worth it.. i have actually compressed down a full 7gb dvd to a 4.7gb disc.. quality is pretty damn good.. of course you do lose some.. but it is still good.
i do mainly my dvd series ones.. the mulitiple episodes, which i can split but i dont.

it is a good program... well worth it... it has grown on me..
what OS are you on? and just make sure you're there with the minimum requirements... it runs fine on my mac mini.

hope that helps

 

I think I might just go for it... Can I buy a hard copy in stores or do I HAVE to download it.... also.... just to make sure.... if i buy this will all i need to burn a dvd is Mac The Ripper (free) and Popcorn?

I have a powerbook G4 and my OS is Mac OS X 10.3.9 512 RAM

 

you can get the hardcopy at the store.

 

GOT IT!! And I backed up a season of Seinfeld and it worked great!!

I am a bit concerned about one thing though... the amount of time it took... Listen to this...

On a 6.7GB DVD...
It took me about an hour to Rip it.
It took about 30 minutes to compress it.
And about 30 Minutes to burn it.

A 2 hour process.... Does this sound right to you?

I am running a Powerbook G4 : MAC OS X 10.2.3 : 512 MB RAM : Superdrive

Do these times sound right?

Also.... How important is choosing to verify the disk when its done burning?

 

what else were you running? and what is the processor speed? i know its a g4 but whats
the machine speed.
i did also realize that my simpsons back-ups take about that long.

that actually is pretty dang good.. not bad.. it is compressing to almost half...

that is a bit slow.. i think the superdrive is an 8x burner. you can get the 8x media but
burn at 4x... it should take you about half the time

your other thing may just be more ram needed.

glad you like it...

we got another convert!! muahahahah... jk.

 

I'm going to burn another seinfeld disc and see how long it takes. I never run any other progams when i do the process..... My G$ is 1.5 GHZ....

Does anyone know if I can add Ram to a Powerbook? I know you can with a desktop, but how would that work for a laptop?

 

of course you can add more ram. its a 1.5 powerbook... if that's the 15 or 17 inch... i think that uses pc2700 184 pin. dont quote me on that.. i sell this stuff all the time.. i'm just not sure.... i'd have to verifty when i get to work tomorrow. i have a spreadsheet with all the apple systems and what ram they use.

if it is a 12inch one.. then that one has a chip that is soldered in.. which means of course that it want be taken out.. so then the biggest extra chip would be a 1gb. so ur max would be 1.25 gb.

not sure what the screen size is... but that should still be pc2700...

 

Its a 15 inch Powerbook..... How easy is it to ad more ram.... I'l like to maybe take my 512 MB of ram to 1 or 1.5 GB.... oh man.... that'd be sweeeeeet. I'm at college right now majoring in film andi'll be making a lot of movies and stuff and I have Final Cut pro and DVD workshop... so I think I probably need it anyway. Is it easy to install?

Also... So I've been burning with ppopcorn pretty well.... but there are two things I'm concerned about.

1) when i tried burning a seinfeld disc, I got an error.... now i wish i remembered what the error said, but i dont and i can't bring it back. It happened with 1 minute left to burn. What coould this be? It happened on the last dvd I made, so i'm trying to burn another and see if the problem continues.

2) My old PC that i used to burn dvds on with dvdshrink is 933 MHZ and has 128 mb of ram.... its old.... but i seem to burn a dvd in the SAME amount of time as my MUCH MORE POWEFUL powerbook.... why? That is why i feel as though the times it takes MTR and POPCORN is slow in comparison..... DVDSHRINK seems as though it RIPPS AND COMPRESSES at the same time.... That is why i think it goes faster (well, faster for a weaker machine).... can popcorn rip and compress at the same time like DVDSHRINK does? Am I even right about that? Does dvdshrink rip and compress at the same time?

Thanks

 

Also.... How important is it to Verify my disk when its done burning? Is it essential? Do i run any risks or lose anything by skipping the process?

 

sorry to get in this late, but there is a way to do it for a little less. ffmpegx is free, but you can pay 15 dollars and register it and get two new options: dvd9 to dvd4 and svcd to xivd, or something like that.

lox i don't think u can compress with sizzle, but maybe u can? also have u ever had audio sync problems with it?

 

Well... too late.... i already bought Popcorn...

Question about POPCORN: how do I make labels? It told me that when I buy it also came with the feature of being about to make labels and print them.... but i can't find where that feature is.... I just have a dvd burner.

 

i havent used sizzle.. i have it but dont know of all the things that it does