Ok. I'm spoiled. I bought DVDXCOPY Express and have had ...fair results with it. Now that it's gone (and with it, the TDF file archive) I need another stragety. I've picked up AnyDVD so far. My question is A) DVDXCOPY Express copied movies in less time than it took to watch them; why can't other programs? B) Someone told me (b4 123 went under) that there was a TDF editor in the works. I'm (generally) happy with DVDXCOPY Express but am having trouble with some title sets. Is there an editor? C) Once deCssed, can I just use Nero to burn my disks? and finally, If a movie came out on one DVD (let's say, oh, The Return of The King, for example)can I assume that it's copy will fit on one DVD? I'm going on a long road trip in October - with kids - and I'm not taking ANY originals with me. If anyone can help ...
Hi Brutus1, Welcome to AD, Let's start you off with this (for FREE) program since you already have Nero follow these directions to the letter and you'll be off like Man "O" war – It's “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, since 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. (Kweel Beans, Huh ?) A complete, FREE, DVD Shrink program download and step-by-step guide can be downloaded from - Shrink download - http://www.dvdshrink.org/ 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 4260MB. 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 4260MB 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". Under "Quality Settings", "tick" "Perform Deep analysis" (it takes longer but with your longer pictures, it makes the picture quality Ooohh so much better You may also choose DVD Shrink Quality Enhancements- I usually set mine at "Maximum Sharpness". You may wish to leave it at Sharp (default) or to experiment with it. 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 looking for a guide with a demented twist, shop ScubaPete. Actually No and then again Yes - The DVD's you purchase are dual layered, what XCopy did and what the above does is to compress the movie a little so that it does fit onto a single disc. The difference with this free proggy is that it has adjustable Quality Enhancement features which XCopy didn't have (and what the "Heck" is he talking about ?). IMHO (in my humble opinion) DVD Shrink does a better job at producing a copy that XCopy did when you use the quality Enhancements. If you want the the copy fast, un-tick the Quality stuff and the "Deep Anylsis" and the copy will be OK for the "Kids" but if you have a Plasma TV the quality will be more like a VHS tape (Uuuuggg, I can't believe I used to be happy with that.). Anyway, the price is right. As long as you have AnyDVD (a good proggy, that) you might look into CloneDVD 2. A 1-click type of program which you might like, it runs about $50.00(USD). here's a link for that - (I'd try the above first as it took me a long, long time to write (Lol) http://www.elby.ch/en/products/clone_dvd/download.html Let me know how you made out - Cheers, Pete _X_X_X_X_X_[small] The “old man” Pete (ö¿ô) Compaq 8000, Pent IV CPU 2.84GHz, 1024MB RAM, 520GB HD. Pioneer 107, 8X R/W , Nec R/W ND-1300A, JLMS DVD ROM. 128MB GeForce4 TI 4200, O/S XP[/small]
