# DVD Recordings



## sbturner (Jul 24, 2002)

I am getting a DVD burner on a new Sony Vaio computer and was wondering about possible encryption problems copying DVDs. Also which format should I record in DVD-R or DVD+R. the system will do either.


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## cclement (Mar 22, 2004)

To answer your first question, DVD's are encrypted, so you can not just put in your DVD and a blank and click on copy. Will will need to decrypt the encryption first and then you can burn it to a blank disc. 2 things you'll need to keep in mind.

1- Make sure you buy the blank DVD's that will work in your burner, - or +. If your burner can do both, burn one of each and see which one will work in your standard DVD player. If both will work, pick a format, I use +, never have had a problem. 

2- Most DVD's are dual layered, meaning they hold about 9 gigs of info. Your burner wil only burn about 4.5 gigs. So not all movies will fit onto a blank DVD. (FYI- The new dual layer burners are supposed to start selling this summer, we'll see. Plus they'll be spendy!) So to get a 2.5 hour movie onto a blank DVD, you must do 1 of 2 things. A: Compress the movie into 4.5 gigs or B: cut it into 2 parts without compression.

I personally use two programs, DVD Shrink and Nero. DVD Shrink is free, Nero is not, you can download a demo version that works great to try it out. I bought Nero, I use it for all my burning now.

I hope this sheds a little light on the subject. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

Get on doom9.net and you can find a lot of programs to use for "archival" purposes-personally I use the dvdr-format on both my pc and panasonic home burner...


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## sbturner (Jul 24, 2002)

Thanks, but how do you decrypt the encryption?


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## sbturner (Jul 24, 2002)

Also another question. Does the 5.1 audio record to the disk? Have you copied any tv programs hooking the sat connection to pc and does the 5.1 record there? If you compress the video onto one dvd how bad does it hurt the quality?


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

doom9.net... dvd shrink, dvd decrpyter... and no 5.1 from tv programs


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## cclement (Mar 22, 2004)

sbturner said:


> Also another question. Does the 5.1 audio record to the disk? Have you copied any tv programs hooking the sat connection to pc and does the 5.1 record there? If you compress the video onto one dvd how bad does it hurt the quality?


With DVD Shrink, you choose the audio track you want burned, DD 5.1, DTS, DD 5.1 in Spanish, your choice. I have not copied any tv programs to DVD. I have compressed a movie to "78%" (if you use DVD Shrink, you'll know what I mean) and it looked pretty good.


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## CoriBright (May 30, 2002)

The latest version of DVD Shrink (3.1.7, I think) is reported in the newsgroups NOT to decrypt. Google for v3.1.6 or DVD Decrypter.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

Doom9.org is a very valuable resource. Also dvdrhelp.com is another great resource. Both have very extensive guides to help you.

I use a combination of DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink to make backups of my DVDs. My burner will do both - and + discs but my player (a Pioneer model) will only read the - discs, it chokes on any + disc, so that is what I use. I get excellent results, barely distinguishable from the originals.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

Here is a good procedure to follow:

1) Rip to ISO image with DVD Decrypter (this removes encryption) and provides an ISO on the drive that can be watched as is with several DVD Software Players via computer. DVD Decrypter has a better ripper than any version included in DVDShrink.

2) If DVD image fits onto DVD-R as is, use DVD Decrypter or Nero to burn it back

3) Otherwise load ISO with DVDShrink to try and cut out various parts and compress, then burn it.

4) If DVD Shrink can't get compression better than what you consider acceptable (I prefer no more compression than 80%), mount ISO image with DAEMON Tools.

5) Use DVD X Copy to split up DVD into 2 disks with full menus

6) On the rare DVD that has problems with the above steps, use IFOEdit to recreate the VOBs and reindex after DVD X Copy has split the disk and then burn with Nero.

Best to have ~15 GB of free disk space before doing any DVD manipulation.


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## MikeSoltis (Aug 1, 2003)

Danny R's is good, but here's what I've been doing...

1)DVD Decrypter in 'file' mode, selecting only the main movie files.
This decrypts the movie and puts all the VOB files on your hard drive in an un-encrypted state.

2)IFOEdit, use to 'strip streams' to eliminate the language and subtitle tracks you don't want. If your movie is too big and you think you want to split it instead of shrink it, you can split the movie to fit on two discs right out of IFOEdit.

3)Once you have the bare streams, you can then shrink them down using DVD Shrink if necessary. If not go to 4

4)Image tools to make a new ISO file.

5)Daemon Tools to mount the image file (you can also have a virtual drive using Alcohol or Roxio, and wouldn't need Daemon Tools, but it does a fine job)

6)Mount the ISO you made in step 4, your PC should autoplay it so that you can verify it will play before you burn it.

7)Burn the ISO to DVD.

It's a little longer process, but I've done it a couple of times to make copies of my own movies before they walk away 

The newer version of DVD Shrink (3.1.7?) while not having decryption has an 'Auto' compress selection to compress the files as little as possible to fit on a single disc. Older versions were none, 5%, 10%, 15%, etc.

Don't waste $$$ on DVDXCopy, this is just a slicked up packaging of freeware utilities which any fool can find (I found them!).


ymmv


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

the new version of shrink does decrypt


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

_It's a little longer process_

It certainly works. I used to do things that way. But DVDShrink has automated most of the process so I rarely use IFOEdit nowadays.

_the new version of shrink does decrypt_

I've read that its not quite as comprehensive as DVD Decrypter yet. And of course I primarily like to rip to an ISO and not files, and DVDShrink doesn't do that.

_Don't waste $$$ on DVDXCopy, this is just a slicked up packaging of freeware utilities which any fool can find _

Very true, however splitting DVD's is much easier with it in my opinion. One button convenience. But as I said, I only use it for splitting. I prefer DVDShrink for most applications.

But I agree with your advice and didn't spend any money on my copy anyway.


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## mainedish (Mar 25, 2003)

Enjoy this while you can. They are coming out with a DVD this year that will not allow you to "Back it up" anymore. And it works.


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

Which copy protection scheme are you refering too? 

I know everytime a new format appears (such as the blue laser HD DVD) on the horizon it will have a new scheme, but I don't see how they can protect current DVD's today without forcing users to buy new DVD players.


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

Danny R said:


> _It's a little longer process_
> 
> It certainly works. I used to do things that way. But DVDShrink has automated most of the process so I rarely use IFOEdit nowadays.
> 
> ...


i burn image files with shrink and have never had any problems with encryption as long as i leave the region code alone


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

mainedish said:


> Enjoy this while you can. They are coming out with a DVD this year that will not allow you to "Back it up" anymore. And it works.


for a while like evrything that is software it can be hacked


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## kwajr (Apr 7, 2004)

by the way godbless netflix


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## Danny R (Jul 5, 2002)

_i burn image files with shrink _

Ah, I didn't realize it could do that. Just found the option.

_by the way godbless netflix_

hehe... Do people really copy movies they rent from netflix? I've done so for a Blockbuster DVD to avoid the late charges, but why bother with netflix? You can return it anytime, and get it again if needed later on without an increase in your monthly fee. Its not as if having a collection of copied movies is as impressive as having the real thing.

Protecting my investment is why I've copied. I am my family's netflix equivalent, the cheapskates! No way I'm letting my extended editions of The Lord of the Rings out the door, or my boxed sets of Stargate, etc. or any of my Criterion disks.

Likewise its amazing how many times a 3 year old niece can sit through The Lion King. :eek2:


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