I bought a DVD player and want to back up my movies. Only some of them are over 6GB, so do I need dual layer? I have Nero 6, and DVD-R DVD's, which are of course only 4.7GB. So do I need to buy bigger DVD's? I'm obviously a newbie, and miffed as a muppet! Thanks for any help... Snapper
Hi there snapper, welcome to aD, Here's everything you need “Uncle” ScubaPete’s step by step, easy-as-pie, “Newbie Starter Recipe” for DVD Shrink 3.2.0.15 and Nero Ultra Edition 6 - We will start our dish with a main ingredient of DVD Shrink 3.2 ~ It's FREE, can do almost everything you could wish in as few as 3 steps - It will rip your movies (gets rid of that "pesky" copyright protection thingy ;-) and it does it in generally 1 to 3 minutes. It can be used for your smaller DVD-5's (<4.36GB) and it also allows you to compress your larger DVD-9's (>4.36GB) to the necessary 4.36GB in order to insure a nice burn without encroaching onto the very edge of your DVD disc. The finished product is sure to please with no significant loss of video or audio quality. "But wait there's more - " (as the late-night info-mercials always say - - For those who like the backups "Their way" (a US colloquium, referring to a hamburger from Burger King) it also allows you to tailor your DVD's however you wish. To keep in or remove foreign audio streams, i.e. Subterranean Morlock Mush-Mouth, Siberian Rumble-Rut or Eastern Himalayan Yak language selections, Director's comments, extras or trailers, all that is required, should you wish to do so, is to click and drag a line in Re-author, it couldn't be easier. It's your choice, backup your entire DVD or just parts of it. PLUS, if you have Nero somewhere on your PC, DVD Shrink will work behind the scenes hooking up with Nero and then burning your files to your blank DVD "automatically" while backing up everything you do to your Hard Drive and there it provides you with a nice, neat VIDEO_TS folder for you, perfect to have Nero burn. The above-mentioned software Nero OR CopyToDVD may be used as default burners, either will allow DVD Shrink to control your burn your DVD "automatically". Make a note: Nero is also an excellent software program with many extras you are sure to use in the near future. Consider it seriously for a software purchase after your free trial expires. CopyToDVD is an exceptional burner that may also be used, hand-in-glove, with DVD2One, a great joining and processing program. A complete, FREE, DVD Shrink program download and step-by-step guide can be downloaded from - Shrink download - http://www.dvdshrink.org/ To get you going with that "Automatic DVD writing thingie" that DVD Shrink is capable of doing for you, may I offer you Nero Ultra 6. I suggest you download the guide in case you wish to use it for the many other things Nero Ultra 6 is capable of doing for you A 30-day, free, fully functional Nero 6 download can be had here: http://www.nero.com/us/631939541422774.php A Great Nero, step-by-step guide can be downloaded from – http://www.dvdshrink.info/nero-video.php (Always check with us before purchasing Nero as we come across “Specials” from time to time that can save you some dough. ) To make sure we have a perfect burn today may I strongly suggest that you PRINT THIS GUIDE OUT NOW so that you won't miss a single step - HINT I create a folder on my Desktop named " All DVD Work" and before ripping my DVD's I create another sub-folder with the name of the movie I'm backing up. (i.e. "All DVD Work\Kill Bill does the Limbo 2.") Let's go over our settings for DVD Shrink. When we open DVD Shrink, go to "Edit," check to make sure that "Full disc Backup" is checked. Next, go to "Preferences," where is says "DVD Target size" I select "Custom" and in the size box I put 4300MB. That allows you a bit of wiggle room on your disc so that you're not writing to the very edge of your disc. NOTE: A 4.7GB disc only holds 4.36GB of data. I like a tiny bit of room when I burn hence, the 4300MB instead of 4360MB. Make sure the "User preferences" boxes are all "ticked". Under the "Preview tab" be sure the "Enable video and audio preview" is "ticked". Under the "File I/O tab," - "tick" "Enabled overlapped I/O" and "Check RPC drive region code".Under "Burn settings," "tick" "Enable burning with Nero." NOTE: When you wish to have Nero do it's "Automatic burning thingie" make sure this box is "ticked." Tick this box now ! DVD Shrink can also burn an ISO image with DVD Decrypter, when you wish to use DVD Decrypter as your burning engine, make sure this box is "un-ticked." When you are finished, click "OK." Well, Alrighty then, are you ready ? Good ! Let’s do us an entire DVD backup - - The proper discs are extremely important and can make the difference between a good backup or a "Coaster". (A coaster is a disc which didn't burn correctly and therefore is good for nothing other than a beer coaster. Lol) For starters, here is some recommended media, RiData, Sony, TDK, Ritek G04, Verbatim DataLife, Verbatim DataLife Plus media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO", Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi are excellent bets. Other media could very well cause errors, only the very best media should be used for DVD Video backups. Now is defiantly not the time to put your, "Boy did I save money buying this crappy cheap stuff." in – ") Place your original in your DVD ROM drive (if you have 2 drives) and put your blank in your burner's drive tray. If you only have the one drive - put your original there and continue on - when your blank is needed, that is the time to swap discs. Click "Open Disc" - find your drive and click "OK," - DVD Shrink is now ripping your DVD - Cool Huh ? If you want an entire disc, which we do today, everything is completely "Automatic" - (Just to make sure, check the top of the window, "Full Disc" should already be "depressed" - Now don't get upset, it likes being depressed, I just don't want you being depressed - ) - (lol) OK, then, moving on - - When you click "Backup" in DVD Shrink, a box will come up saying "Backup DVD." Under the "Target Device" tab where it says "Select target device" choose your burner's drive. Where it says" Target Folder:" click "Browse" and trace your path back to "All DVD Work\ Kill Bill does the Limbo 2 ". Under the "DVD Region" tab, make sure "Region Free" is "ticked". Now, under "Quality Settings", if it's SPEED you're after, "un-tick" the box which says, "Perform deep analysis" and "un-tick" the box for "Compress the video with high quality adaptive error compensation". This will give you acceptable DVD backup. If it's QUALITY you're after and have some extra time to spend, "tick" Perform deep analysis" before backup to improve quality AND "tick" "Compress video with high quality adaptive error compensation." There you may adjust quality enhancements. Practicing with the settings can produce even better end products. For a no-frills DVD's like "There's something about Mary" I like Extra Smooth BUT for DVD's with a lot of special effects, I use the Extra Sharp setting. That's for me, you'll have to decide what you like If all the boxes are "grayed out" that's OK, it means your DVD is small enough that little will be lost from the original. While we're in the neighborhood, let's go to "Options" and "tick" the "Run backup in low priority mode" box. Good, now click "OK". - Guess what, we're done and done !! DVD Shrink will place a copy of your DVD's files in a folder named VIDEO_TS and a folder named AUDIO_TS. This last one is empty so you need not worry about it. When all the compression etc. is finished DVD Shrink will open Nero and use it's burning engine to burn your backup to your disc. You won't see it, you'll just see DVD Shrink's preview window on your desktop. Feel free to minimize it if you wish BUT, use your PC for nothing else until this work is done. Last step: “STEP AWAY FROM THE COMPUTER !” Clear the room then, clear your throat and yell, “Burn Baby BURN ! ” Do not fold, spindle, mutilate, molest nor fondle the keyboard. GO AWAY ! Ms. Computer will let you know when she is finished, everything is good, don’t mess with it now ! Now when DVD Shrink is finished, it will give you a VIDEO_TS folder and an AUDIO_TS folder in your "C:\All DVD Work\ Kill Bill does the Limbo 2" folder. Now, if you need to burn a second DVD copy, days down the road, all you have to do is give that folder to Nero or any burning engine and nothing needs to be done, it can be burned directly to disk. At one point in time I had 23 movies sitting there, just waiting for my shipment of blank DVD media to arrive. My suggestion would be, – after you have checked to make sure your copy is fine and you're through making more, delete the movie from your HD. They can build up rather quickly and overrun your PC (Lol). Of course you can always do as the ScubaPete does and buy another Hard Drive (Heh, heh.) Remember, when you're lQQking for a guide with a demented twist, shop ScubaPete. Enjoy your ScubaPete backup, Oooohh yea, we are expecting you to stop back to the forum and tell us how this guide worked for you – We'll be a'lQQkin for you Cheers, Pete
Er, right. So someone tell me what the hell else I can say other than thank you! That has to be the most comprehensive and quick reply I have EVER had on ANY forum! I have just saved the page, and of course have it book-marked too. And guess what, I have a DVD burning RIGHT NOW! Awesome Pete, simply awesome!!! I'll get back in 20 minutes when the burn has finished and I've started to watch the DVD, fingers crossed!!! You bloody star! Darren - AKA Snapper )
Success!!! Thanks for the last. Looking at the fact that you run an NEC burner, you may be able to help me again. I have just inserted Clockwork Orange, and Skrink is asking what DVD region I want to select and tells me I can select the DVD region 5 times. Is this a problem? I am English but live in NZ, don't want to not be able to play region 2's... I have also flashed the burner tonight, does flashing it wipe any region settings, i.e. can I flash it every time I run out of those 5 settings? Very VERY chuffed to have burnt my first DVD man, thanks so much! Darren
Hi Darren, I'm glad I could help - First off, when DVD Shrink asks you that question, just answer it on the page indicated. (Sorry, I don't know what region you're in.) DO NOT CHANGE THE REGION ON YOUR DRIVE ! "Flashing" your drive is like giving it an education. It's teaching it to "see" more media, write faster, and stuff like that - There's no way to change your drive's region more than 5 times that I know of - You might want to lQQk into a proggy like AnyDVD. It's a program that works in the "background" making your DVD's region free and removing encryption before DVD Shrink or anything else gets hold of it. By running it you'll never see that "region question" again. It is doing the same initial job as DVD Shrink by ripping the DVD. If you're going to "get into" DVD backups it's a great program that works with many other programs BUT if you're doing just your own backups, stay with what you have now and forget it. - No sense in spending $$$$ when you don't have to. (Huuuummmm, I think that's all. If you need anything else, drop back and ask - Let's not think about saying "Goodbye" just yet - We'd still like you to stop by and visit even when you don't have problems you need help with - "Pop" in when you can and cruise around the different forums. You never know when we might have something that can make your computer work a little easier. You might pickup some valuable tips to boot. Checkout the "Safety Valve", it's a place where we "Chew the fat" on just about every topic under the sun. As an extra added bonus, when you see another person with a problem and you feel you might know something that could help, join in. As the Ogre said to the Cyclops, " Three heads are better than two." (Lol) You'll then see how much fun we have helping others. As a current member of our little club you can welcome the new guys in - We'll look forward to seeing you. "Me ?" You'll find me hangin' out over there by the water cooler, sittin' under the potted palm with my feet propped up, sipping on a "cold one", waiting for the next "Newbie" with a problem that I can help them with - maybe you'd like to join me . . . ? I'll be lQQkin for you - - Cheers, Pete PS Sorry about that one link on my first post - I fixed it now - and BTW, If you bought Nero, fine BUT if you're using a 30-day demo, let me know as there's a way to still do everything without buying Nero - Cheers,
Good funny guide Pete. Btw, I may be different but I remove all english audio files (they are too big) and keep the Subterranean Morlock Mush-Mouth, Siberian Rumble-Rut or Eastern Himalayan Yak language selections. It adds spices to life:->
scuba pete says... NOTE: When you wish to have Nero do it's "Automatic burning thingie" make sure this box is "ticked." Tick this box now ! DVD Shrink can also burn an ISO image with DVD Decrypter, when you wish to use DVD Decrypter as your burning engine, make sure this box is "un-ticked." When you are finished, click "OK." So - my question - which is better? #1 Burning with ISO image w/ decrypter or, #2 non-iso image / nero. I'm setting up a fresh machine just to do my back-ups and I always use full automatic... So i need your help to choose which "burning" software I should install with my new shrink setup. Thanks! (I currently have both Nero and decrypter installed, but I bever checked to see which is actually doing the burning!)
I would recommend not using your computer for anything while you are encoding & burning your movies. Just something as small as opening an internet page can cause some freezing or pixelation on your new movie backup. Alot of people have quality problems with their movies and this is one reason why. I prefer Nero for about everything. Just sometimes decrypter is more convenient if the movie is small enough to fit on one disc without compression (bypass shrink).
hello scubapete....you #1.hope i don't sound so lost(NEWBI).........but i was wondering,reason being(i don't have a printer hooked up right now could you post a seperate guide(noy using any bought Software) for dvd shrink and dvd decrypter such as to do: 1.????2.???????.with out any extras.so as i can save them to my desktop on notepad.ect as said before your the man. thanks to everyone on here. this a great thing going on here...........
Hey there joe5, The choice is yours my friend, BUT Nero costs $$$$ and DVD Decryptyer cost NOTHING - - - IT'S FREE ! ! ! cheers, Pete kckev, So right you are. I tell'em but they don't listen Listen to kckev, Iffin Ya don't mind, you'll pay the price - (LOL) (yep, Now I feel better, Cheers, Hey Plywood9, Here ya go Buddy, check it out, it's about 1/2 of the way down the page - and, IT'S ALL FREE ! ! ! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2/74599 When you get to "Backup" choose "Hard Disk Folder" and then Browse to where you want the finished files to go - Cheers, Pete
THANKS......... AGAIN "UNCLE PETE". I would also like to thank everybody aswell. "I'M DOING IT..............PETE..............THIS IS A GREAT THING>>>>>>>. Y'all have tought me a lot in the last few days. There's still a lot of great people left in this CRAPY WORLD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Plywood9, Hey, hey there fine friend, It's not time to leave just yet, hang out iffin you have the time, snoop around to some of the other forums, checkout the "Safety Valve", there's usually something in the "Wacko" category going on there - Always feel free to stop back here at "Newbie Central" and pickup a few more pointers or tricks to make your computer work a bit easier - (NO, somebody isn't coming by your house to type for you. He's booked up until June, 2009) I was suggesting something in the line of a shortcut we may have come up with (it happens from time to time) OR a new proggy you might want to try - Ya never know . . . . We'll lQQk for you later, OK ? Till then, Sea Ya - - - Pete )
ok pete i'll do that. i haven't let yet i'm a........still working on it.thanks again,you guys.>>>>>>>>>>>>>
