[Apologies for double posting, but it looks like my questions are being lost in the crowd. First is an update and background from my posting yesterday, followed by a few questions at the bottom] Thanks to all who piped up. All very useful. When I got home, I uninstalled Roxio and Nero, then wiped them using the programs suggested. Then I updated my firmware for both drives. Then I downloaded and installed AnyDVD and dvdclone2. AnyDVD 's installation prompted me to uninstall DVD43 ....sure, it's free if I want to reinstall. Restarted. Re-installed Nero (I have so many copies, I just used the disk from my recent Memorex burner purchase - I might have a non-oem version somewhere). Restarted. Now, with everything in place and the little gew-gaws checked (thanks, ScubaPete!) and all other programs closed, I was ready to roll. Test subject: Public Enemy, Cagney's starmaking film - under 90 mins, plus several extras for a total of just over 2hrs. I used DVD+R and a combo of TDK and Maxell's...not the best, but not the worst either. Should I be using DVD-R? (looks like FUJI is the best media that's easy to find) 1. Started with Dvdclone. Error in writing. I didn't write down, but essentially: "this file is too large, use dvdclone "x" or "y" option" (I thought I did! I used the option to record all files, including menus and extras, then I x'd out the unneeded ones. At least I thought I did.). Somewhat discouraged by the failure of the most heralded software, I moved on... 2. Just the Nero OEM. Again, using the option where you can pick and choose what extras you want, I then used "Advanced Burn" for the cleanest copy. Again, failure. I didn't write down the error message (sorry!), but I had several other burning methods to research. 3. Using DVDShrink, I got further, but in the end failed...this time I DID copy the error message (yay for me). Using google, I searched the error message, and ta-da Afterdawn forums struck again with the answer: my installed version of Nero needs to be upgraded. So I uninstalled Nero again, wiped it, then went to the upgrade link. Apparently Nero 7 costs like $80.00. Since I have an OEM, I could get a $15.00 discount. 4. Not so happy about spending $65, I tried Dvdclone once again,this time using the option that just records the media (in this case the entire film, without menus). And it worked...but I used the previous files from the dvdshrink attempt and for some reason, sound didn't work. 5. Final go: using the option to copy all the menus, etc (and leaving off a few extras)...Success! Pristine and pretty. The crowd goes wild. My money is on its way to AnyDVD and CloneDVD for full versions. As I sit here not working, my home computer is testing another dvd: this time a long one (Pride Fighting Critical Countdown 2005), where dvdclone says the end result will be 53% quality. Fingers crossed for that one. Quality isn't the issue. I just want to see if it works. Now the questions: 1. On dvds like this longer disk, I think that I'd like to split them (to be uniform, lets say right in half). As I recall, dvdshrink has that capability. But man, I'd rather not shell out $65 for the new Nero. Any alternatives? Is there a way to split using dvdclone or use it with dvdshrink? 2. Can I just install the non-dvd bits of Roxio to use the cd building software that I like so much? What if I decide not to reinstall Nero? Does Roxio conflict with dvdclone? 3. Why did Dvdclone fail the first attempt? There's not a lot of options to mess with on it. The software is VERY streamlined. I'm still puzzled by it. Thanks again for help PS- for the newbie board, alot of the posters ask some purty advanced sounding questions. I feel outclassed on the newbie board.
You can split a DVD with CloneDVD. They have some information on how to do this in the help manual that comes with the program. You can even have a menu. From the CloneDVD help file: Roxio has been known to interfere but I've had it installed without problems. Try it and see. If it causes problems you can always remove it. As far as why your first attempts failed with CloneDVD, it could be that the thing was just to big to squeeze onto the blank. I generally only copy the main movie to avoid size issues. Media is important. I use Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim only. + or - doesn't make much difference. Some DVD players are more compatible with one or the other. If your player is playing the +R media then there is nothing wrong with using it. You can "Booktype" +R media if you have a burner capable of doing so. This changes a few bits on the copy and fools the DVD player into thinking it's a DVD-ROM disc which are the most compatible.
Brilliant, Fasfrank....extremely helpful. I'm just starting to realize what exactly is necessary and what is not. Looks like Im going to be very happy with my dvdclone purchase. I'm home now and it looks like dvdclone did a great job on copying that long media - 3.5hrs worth. The quality is only 53%, including menus (no extras) but is actually quite watchable. For something like a long fight event, this might hold me pretty well until dual layer media comes down in price (currently just under $30 with tax for a Verbatum 10 pack). As always, I'm thrilled at how helpful and knowledgable the afterdawn community has been. crumbles.
