Hello All This is my first post here, although I have lurked here on occasion. Here is my situation: My boss just bought me a new office computer, a very loaded Dell 8400 with a 16x dual layer DVD+/-RW drive. I would like to use it to back up my store bought DVD movies. Now, my only previous experience with this type of copying was using the older 3.2.1.0 version of DVD XCopy on my Sony Vaio home computer (It worked fine on my early model 2X DVD-R burner do I never even bothered upgrading it). I thought about installing my old XCopy software on my new Dell, but I don't even know if I can activate it anyways, so I was thinking it's time to graduate to a new way of doing things. I would still like to keep things as simple as possible though, as I am not really all that tech saavy. So, all that said, I did some searching on here and I think I have a good solution, but I just wanted to verify if I am on the right track. If I were to invest in AnyDVD and DVD Copy 3, would this be a good set-up for directly copying CSS discs? Also, the info on the DVD Copy 3 says it will burn any type of video file to DVD easily - is this true? Because I have a lot of Mpeg and other movie file types I would love to burn to DVD, and the only way I have been able to do this before was through a very long and cumbersome, hit and miss process using the Movieshaker and DVDit software that came with my Vaio, and then I could only do it with certain Mpeg files...Anyways, sorry for the verbose first post, and any input woulf be greatly appreciated.
Better be sure your boss is okay with what you're doing on the computer he bought for the office, being as it's illegal to even make a backup copy of a DVD.
My boss (of the 4 person company I work for) would like me to back up some of his DVD's for him as well. That's why he sprang for the upgraded DVD writer ;-) And, as I hope I made clear in my post, I am only asking about backing up DVD's that I purchased. Is that not an appropriate topic for discussion here, in a Fair Use kind of sense? Thanks
Just wanted to be sure your boss was okay with it. You could start by trying DVD shrink and/or DVD decrypter. Both are free and you can find links to them on the software section of this website.
Brobear, an aD addict talks very highly of DVDCopy3 and most everyone here would also agree with your choice of AnyDVD. You may want to converse with BroBear or PM him about DVDCopy3 since I also believe there have been some minor issues associated with it and it might be a time saver for you if any of those issues did arise.
Other users have also been touting the quality of clonedvd2. It appears to be very user friendly. I think you can get it for $39. You can also get a deal if you buy both anydvd and clonedvd2. I think you can get them both for like $59 or somewhere in that neighborhood.
That's cool. I was concerned that I might have broken a posting rule. I have looked up DVD Decrypter, and from what I have read it appears to support dual layer writing, but it looks loke it might be a little complicated for that purpose. Plus, isn't it more for ripping to files, whuch you then must burn? And I would assume, that given the nature of the software's purpose, that DVD Shrink would not be appropriate for DL copying. Am I correct in these assumptions? This is why I was looking at the solution I mentioned in my OP. I would like to just to disc to disc dual layer cloning, if it's doable. thanks
If you're only interested in making 1:1 copies, you really only need anydvd or the free DVD decrypter. Once the original isn't encrypted anymore, you can use pretty much whatever burning software you want. You can even use Nero by itself. Just be sure to burn ALL the files from the original, as they give the dvd player the structure of the disk. DVD shrink will work for this purpose also. It will burn a DL disk if I'm not mistaken. If you're doing dual layer burning, you really don't need to be concerned with the quality of individual software because you're not encoding anything. Nothing is getting compressed, so the original quality will be intact, no matter which software you opt to use. But dual layer burning is expensive now. The cheapest disks I've heard of are about $4.00 each. You can buy single layer media for as cheap as 30 cents/disk.
If I'm correct, even DVD decrypter can write your disk, so you don't really have to spend a cent on software. Just decrypt the dvd to your hard drive using ISO read mode. Once it's decrypted, use dvd decrypter in ISO write mode to write the disk. It's really simple.
I second Sadsac all ya really need it DVD Decrypter. It Rips and burns in ISO mode. Don't need anything else. Unless you run into somthing it can't handle then Anydvd my be useful with DVD decrypter.
@ danulhart : welcome to the forum. Just remember that not every program is going to backup every disc so having a few different progams is quite good. SHRINKdvd clonedvd dvd decrypter (already mentioned) the above ones are pretty easy and straight forwarfd one click tools.You will need Slysofts anydvd or dvd43 for example to running in the background to bypass the css encryptions located in most commercially made dvds. Tmpgenc tmpgenc dvd author divx to dvd avi2mpeg dvdsanta Good converting tools to transfer your avi/divx/xvid /mpeg4 files to mpeg 2 compatible format before you use a burning agent (in my case nero) to get it to disc (dvd -/+ r)
Thanks to everyone for all of the replies. I think I will go ahead and download the free stuff (Decrypter and Shrink) as well as purchase AnyDVD and DVD Copy 3 and just play around with them a bit and see what works best for my needs. I am interested in seeing how the DVD Copy 3 works at burning all of the various video files I have stored on my HDD and on CDR. I think I will aloso try and jump through the necessary hoops to upgrade/activate my DVD XCopy as well, as it is a breeze of a program (when it works) and I'd love to use it for compressed material at 16X. Thanks again,
Just as a further note: If you're planning to use dual layer media, if you aren't dead set on making 1:1 copies, you could use the media to backup 2 or 3 movies (depending on their size). You could use DVD decrypter to get the movies on your hard drive, then use DVD shrink or some other program to shrink them down. You wouldn't initially be able to keep the menus, etc. functional, but I presume that if you use a program such as Nero Vision Express, you could probably make a "main" menu in order to select the movie you want to watch. This menu could direct the dvd player to the movie menu you want to watch. This may be a complex process though.....but it would be nice in the end. When and if the new Blu-Ray technology comes into light and becomes a standard(blu-ray single layer holds 25gb and dual layer holds 50gb), this will become the standard for backing up your disks. On one dual layer disk, you could hold anywhere from 5 to 10 movies on one disk (more if you don't mind more compression). Then, you will have to have some sort of "main menu" system in order to select the movie you want to view. Anyway, enough about blu-ray because who knows when/if it will become the main stream standard.......just something to ponder. Back to your dual layer disks: You could probably also backup your TV series dvds to less disks. If you weren't all that concerned with quality, you could potentially put 3 disks onto one if you're planning to use dual layer media. Of course, you will have to use the software you mentioned to shrink your files. You may also consider downloading the free trial of clonedvd2. I haven't done it yet, but a member named bbmayo, who seems to be very knowledgeable, touts its effectiveness and ease of use. I'm going to download it soon. It appears to be VERY user friendly.
Just use AnyDVD in the background with Nero Recode2, select Remake a DVD and when prompted, just drag the Main Movie title over. It will give you movie only with working chapters and hardly a hair of compression with most movies.
You could potentially fit 3-4 movies on one dual layer disk with compression. Of course, it depends on the length of the movie and audio you opt to keep intact.
http://www.dvdplusvideo.com/tutorial007.html http://home.comcast.net/~bbmayo/index.html Here are a couple of links from aD Addicts with very useful guides, pictures and other helpful links to assist you along the way. Great reference tools at your fingertips!
Just as an update, and not as a request for help (I have already requested assistance on the appropriate board) - I downloaded a trial version of DVD Copy 3 but it doesn't work on my home computer - some sort of compatablity problem. I'll try downloading it to my work computer on Monday. Thanks again for all of the helpful input.
