New Tool called DVDFab works like DVDXCOPY

[FulciLives]

Hello

I was over at the DOOM9 website and they mentioned this new program called DVDFab so I downloaded it and tried it out.

It works like DVDXCOPY (which I admit never worked on my computer) in that it will make a perfect bit-for-bit copy of a dual layer DVD and split it out over 2 DVD-R discs.

I tried it with BATTLE ROYALE (NTSC Region 3 Korean release) and it seems to be working. First I did a complete disc copy where it keeps everything. Disc one had the menu and all the extras on it just like the original DVD but the movie (which is just over 2 hours) ends at around 35 minutes and a message pops up to put Disc two in. Starting up Disc two it starts at the same point ... just goes straight into playing. There is no menu on Disc two but you can change the audio and subtitles using the remote control.

I then tried again but this time kept just the movie and only one of the audio tracks and one of the subtitle tracks. I also selected both of these to be the default. Again it split it just fine (and this time you get to pick at what CHAPTER point you want to split) and this method is better to me because now when you insert the discs they default to the English subtitle track whereas on the full backup I had to select the English subs on Disc 2 using the subtitle button on the remote.

Nice to have something like this that works unlike DVDXCOPY which ruined my computer by deleting my DVD and CD burners. I had to go to Microsoft.com and find a fix (thank god there was one) and change the freakin' register so I got back my DVD/CD drives.

No such problem with DVDFab.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I have played the DVD files from my computer using WinDVD and my Hollywood Plus card. Both played the DVD fine form the VIDEO_TS folder/files that DVDFab created. I haven't actually gone ahead and burned them though to test in my stand alone.

*** EDIT ***
The link to DVDFAb is:
http://www.dvdfab.com/

[BJ_M]

thats from DVDToolbox (great program)

[mkelley]

I downloaded this yesterday and was going to try it tonight. Unlike you, I've had excellent results with DVDXCopy, but the only thing I'm not crazy about is the "Insert Disk 2" slide and it looks as though you can put your own into DVDFab (at least they have samples of different ones on the site, so perhaps I'm assuming too much).

One thing I *really* like about DVDXCopy is the ability to preview your split, but I'm guessing DVDFab doesn't do this. Oh well, you can't have everything (if you did, where would you put it?). I also really like the speed of DVDXCopy -- with my 16x ROM it can do both disks of a long movie in about 30 minutes total (not counting burning time). It would be nice if DVDFab can match this.

Always good to have more tools <g>.

[BJ_M]

i am trying it out -- crashed first time but seems to be working time 2 ..

i gave it a tough one , dvd contains both ws and fs versions and rated (where red blocks cover up parts and such) and unrated options in the menu ..

plus it is both interlaced and film (20 / 80) ....

(storytelling)

this disk is a real tester for any back up method ..

[BJ_M]

ok gave it 4 tries on two different disks and it failed everytime for different reasons ..



looks like a good app - but needs work ...

(then again it is a beta 1)

[mkelley]

Thanks for the feedback on the tests, BJ_M. I wasn't able to test myself last night, but I also don't have a lot of time to fool around (I'm still in the middle of my "convert and backup everything to DVD" 10 year project :>) so perhaps I'll just stick with DVDXCopy and live with the "Insert Disk 2" slide (it's not that it doesn't work -- it's just so *ugly*).

Here's hoping they get the bugs/problems worked out -- we need as many tools as we can get.

[Faustus]

First program to do DVD splits of all the different types of Eps. disc has my money.

[mkelley]

Ummm, have you tried DVDShrink? In particular the 2.x versions?

It's not exactly a "split episode disk into 2 by pressing one button" process, but for *every* episode disk I've tried (and I have a lot of them) it has worked flawlessly, and takes only a few seconds to set up (basically you turn half the episodes on the disk into still images and remove their sound -- this results in a perfect 1:1 copy of the remaining episodes. Then you turn around and do this for the other episodes on the disk. Voila! Two disks of a perfect backup).

The only time DVDShrink can't work this way is if there are three episodes per disk and the episodes are on a DVD9. This happens, for example, on my Avenger's disks. I could make three disks out of those and keep 1:1 copy, but in those cases I just shrink them down to fit on one disk and live with the (slightly) less quality -- still DVDShrink remains the one-stop solution (since it does the shrinking perfectly).

The new version has a preview so you can see exactly what episodes are what, and since all the menu stuff is intact it is pretty slick. I can hardly think of a better way to do this (even if DVDFab worked it would have problems on 3 episodes as well -- you'd have to split *somewhere* in the middle of an episode).

You can't beat the price.

[FulciLives]

*** UPDATE ***

I double checked the files that DVDFab created.
Disc One seems to be fine but ... Disc Two is not!

Disc Two starts playing where Disc One ended and you can change the audio and subtitles with the remote (there are two choices of each) but the movie plays fine for a good bit of it then all of a sudden ... well before the end of the movie ... it starts playing from the start of Disc Two!

Looking at the files it doesn't go back in time ... for some reason DVDFab created a VOB layout for Disc Two that only the first part of part 2 then repeats.

So it look likes this:

Disc One ends 35 minutes into the movie.

Disc Two starts 35 minutes into the movie and goes for about an hour or more then repeats from the 35 minute mark until the "end" of the movie (the movie is just over 2 hours).

Disc Two is one long continues video file so just to clarify ... it starts where it should ... end before it should ... then starts again at the same "start point" and ends a few minutes latter.

Oh well ... it is a BETA version.
I'm still looking forward to this once the bugs get worked out.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[BJ_M]

yes - it has great features ... certainly bears watching ..

im sure the devolopers would like creative feedback -- they are putting a lot hard work into it ..

[FulciLives]

Well ...

I tried BATTLE ROYALE with the BETA 3 version of DVDFab and this time it worked A-OK

I AM A HAPPY CAMPER

- John "FulciLives" Coleman