Lord of the rings help

[mdubnik]

Hey guys--

Need some help on this one...just got a new burner (Pioneer A05), and have put my hands on all the "frequently mentioned" software...DVD2One, DVD Shrink, DVD decrypter, DVD Info, Smart Ripper, DVDFab, and CopytoDVD.

I have spent Lord knows how many hours reading on here for the last 3 weeks trying to learn as much as possible on this site before I started burning. Decided that Ritek media was the way to go, so I ordered some. Obviously, I couldn't wait for it to get here, so I went and bought some Optodisk 1X and TDK 2X, figuring that I could stand to make coasters to improve my learning curve (if necessary).

Burned Days of Thunder with no problem. Burned Final Destination 2 with no problem (onto Optodisk), watched the whole thing, no problem. Burned Spider-man on TDK, and it worked good, too.

So, I got brave. Decided to burn Lord of the Rings, normal edition. Nothing fancy...no extras or anything. Ripped to HD with DVD Decrypter. Then tried to compress with DVD Shrink at Level 8 (I know, I know, this is probably too much). But I figured, what the heck. Compressed it and then used CopytoDVD to burn onto 1 TDK. Popped it in the standalone player (Pioneer DV525), and was amazed at the good quality. Decided to advance through chapter by chapter and see how it looked. Got about 80% through (around 160 minutes), and it basically just froze. So, stayed up late last night and got up early this morning, and decided to make 2 discs. No big deal...I'm not a stickler for perfection. This time, put the ripped files through DVD Fab and split to two disks. Worked fine, burned to Optodisc this time. Popped in disc 1, and about 80% through it, it started pixelating so bad and sound was out of whack and all that good stuff. So, no luck.

I know I've said a lot here, and I'm banking on the fact that this is an issue with bad media (please GOD let this be all it is). I have read a bunch of stuff on here, but can't find a definitive answer. Just wondering if someone could offer me a good solution on how to shrink down bigger DVD9s to 1 DVDr. Also wondering if anyone could offer some specific advice on LOTR backups.

Finally, will some one please ease my nerves and tell me that you honestly think this may be due to bad media (which I'm afraid may not be the case since I got two other movies to work first...)

[Gurm]

Pretty much SOUNDS like bad media. I'm gonna go out on a limb and reassure you that it probably is.

I don't think you've done anything else all that wrong.

As for LOTR, I have a (PERFECTLY LEGAL) academy screener of The Two Towers, which I managed to get down onto one DVD-R without losing TOO much quality. Fellowship has a lot more color variation though. I've never tried to compress it, seeing as I have the extended edition and there's just no way I could justify trying to squeeze two completely packed discs onto one DVD-R... unless... you know, I might just try it for fun to see how terrible it ends up!

Now I have a project for the weekend. *grin*

- Gurm

[mdubnik]

I appreciate the reassurance!!

Like I said, I don't mind putting it onto 2 disks, I just thought I would give it the old college try and compress it as much as possible and see how it turned out. Like I said, I was SHOCKED at how good it was. I couldn't tell a difference on my 27" flat screen.

Anyways, the point is, I feel like everything I did was right since the rip worked fine, the compression worked fine, and the split worked fine. I know my standalone player will play the movies fine, cause like I said, I watched Spiderman and Final Destination 2. So, I'm just hoping that I need to wait on my Ritek G04's to get here and then all will be well.

If anyone has another opinion on this, I would greatly appreciate your input. Maybe I could try it a different way...

Thanks to everyone who posts to this forum...you guys have made my life a little easier in starting this new hobby.

[Gazorgan]

Yep, bad media.

Invest in some RW's during your 'learning curve' and you will have a lot less stress :P

[mdubnik]

Okay, I will try some RWs...I assume that I do everything the same and then stick the RW into my standalone and see if it errors there?

On the bad media issue---is it common for some discs in a pack to work and others to not work? I ask this since I pulled the disc for Spiderman out of the same TDK batch that I pulled the now-coastered-LOTR disc....

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that second part...
1 batch media=some good discs + some bad discs

Like I said, just hoping to find a process that is consistent and works for me with the least amount of technical editing as possible. I'm trying, I'm learning, and I just need some more advice from all of you guys to get me over the curve

[jarvis1781]

Pretty much SOUNDS like bad media. I'm gonna go out on a limb and reassure you that it probably is.

I don't think you've done anything else all that wrong.

As for LOTR, I have a (PERFECTLY LEGAL) academy screener of The Two Towers, which I managed to get down onto one DVD-R without losing TOO much quality. Fellowship has a lot more color variation though. I've never tried to compress it, seeing as I have the extended edition and there's just no way I could justify trying to squeeze two completely packed discs onto one DVD-R... unless... you know, I might just try it for fun to see how terrible it ends up!

Now I have a project for the weekend. *grin*

- Gurm

you are privy to academy screeners eh? what is your affiliation?
I ask because you say (PERFECTLY LEGAL), and your previous posts of piracy lead me to believe otherwise.

[DeadLamb]

sounds like bad media but it might just be a picky DVD player.. Try them out in the cpu and see if they lock up and maybe take them to someone else with a DVD player and test them..

your DVD player might play DVDr stuff find but it might not "really like" them.. For example my friend has an older Sony DVD player and while it will play dvd-r stuff, it's still picky.. Like you put a disk in and nothing.. then you put it in and it will give you a "chapter 13" error, then some times it plays 100% fine.. This all being the with the same DVD-r disk and again, most of the time it plays stuff 100% fine.. So picky is a good term for it...

[Raen]

Pretty much SOUNDS like bad media. I'm gonna go out on a limb and reassure you that it probably is.

I don't think you've done anything else all that wrong.

As for LOTR, I have a (PERFECTLY LEGAL) academy screener of The Two Towers, which I managed to get down onto one DVD-R without losing TOO much quality. Fellowship has a lot more color variation though. I've never tried to compress it, seeing as I have the extended edition and there's just no way I could justify trying to squeeze two completely packed discs onto one DVD-R... unless... you know, I might just try it for fun to see how terrible it ends up!

Now I have a project for the weekend. *grin*

- Gurm

you are privy to academy screeners eh? what is your affiliation?
I ask because you say (PERFECTLY LEGAL), and your previous posts of piracy lead me to believe otherwise.

Who the heck are you to care? The copyright police? Are you gonna make a citizen's arrest? I dont see your name in blue.. oh I see you're one of those, 'I try to spot anything wrong so I can run to the moderator and get brownie points and feel better about myself' people. Ask yourself this.. why do you care if he has a legal or illegal copy of the the Two Towers? You caring isn't going to change a thing. Its not like he's suddenly gonna throw it away if you say you do care.

So why even ask?

oh ya

Brownie pnts

[jarvis1781]

Pretty much SOUNDS like bad media. I'm gonna go out on a limb and reassure you that it probably is.

I don't think you've done anything else all that wrong.

As for LOTR, I have a (PERFECTLY LEGAL) academy screener of The Two Towers, which I managed to get down onto one DVD-R without losing TOO much quality. Fellowship has a lot more color variation though. I've never tried to compress it, seeing as I have the extended edition and there's just no way I could justify trying to squeeze two completely packed discs onto one DVD-R... unless... you know, I might just try it for fun to see how terrible it ends up!

Now I have a project for the weekend. *grin*

- Gurm

you are privy to academy screeners eh? what is your affiliation?
I ask because you say (PERFECTLY LEGAL), and your previous posts of piracy lead me to believe otherwise.

Who the heck are you to care? The copyright police? Are you gonna make a citizen's arrest? I dont see your name in blue.. oh I see you're one of those, 'I try to spot anything wrong so I can run to the moderator and get brownie points and feel better about myself' people. Ask yourself this.. why do you care if he has a legal or illegal copy of the the Two Towers? You caring isn't going to change a thing. Its not like he's suddenly gonna throw it away if you say you do care.

So why even ask?

oh ya

Brownie pnts

Oh yeah dumb@ss. You obviously aren't aware of the conversations that Gurm and I have had in the past. You can go piss off for all I care. As far as brownie points I never once reported anything to anyone. I was merely hasseling Gurm in the same manner that he was doing to me and other posters when discussing the Big 3. I can see you like to stir up wonderful conversations yourself you pissant. So like you said "who the heck are you to care"??? Now if you don't mind, I have real work to finish.

[Raen]

You have earned 3 more browne points!!

Is yer name blue yet?


Maybe a few more brownie point

Lets harrass Gurm in a thread that has nothing to do with piracy and sidetrack it!!

That's why I care. Take yer personal vendetta to PM's if you wanna harrass someone

[mdubnik]

Thank you for your comments, Raen. I was trying to get some help and you guys turned this into a personal war. This website and more specifically, this forum, are about helping people with DVD related issues, not getting into a pissing match about someone having a copy of a movie.

Try to stick to the rules of the forum.

[jarvis1781]

You have earned 3 more browne points!!

Is yer name blue yet?


Maybe a few more brownie point

Lets harrass Gurm in a thread that has nothing to do with piracy and sidetrack it!!

That's why I care. Take yer personal vendetta to PM's if you wanna harrass someone

"yer" ah her dey her her
what is this? anyway, that is exactly what Gurm did before, sidetracked the thread. he wasn't punished for it either. as far as brownie points you don't get any for one of these Raen

[poopyhead]

@Raen,

i'm guessing you're new here, but i hope you do know that it is illegal to talk about warez..including pirated movies here...

it most cases of "ripping" we assume it is for "backup" purposes and the person owns a legal copy of the work.

since, screeners are usually available to download, illegally might i add, jarvis1781 was just making sure how a screener could be legal for someone...since most of the time, they are downloaded (or bought) illegally.

--------

side note, when quoting...plz just quote the applicable text...some of the quotes in here take up half the screen :P

[ebenton]

Hmmmm. I was able to burn the entire Disk 1 of "Lord of the Rings- Fellowship of the Ring" Widescreen Edition with menus on one Princo 1X DVD-R from Compusa ($9.99 per 10-pack) using my Sony DRU-510A with Firmware 1.0A and SVDShrink and Nero. Go figure.

[poopyhead]

Hmmmm. I was able to burn the entire Disk 1 of "Lord of the Rings- Fellowship of the Ring" Widescreen Edition with menus on one Princo 1X DVD-R from Compusa ($9.99 per 10-pack) using my Sony DRU-510A with Firmware 1.0A and SVDShrink and Nero. Go figure.

heh....try doing the same for the extended version (w/ 4 discs) ... each disc being dual-layered

[housepig]

since, screeners are usually available to download, illegally might i add, jarvis1781 was just making sure how a screener could be legal for someone...since most of the time, they are downloaded (or bought) illegally.

I agree in general, but here's a grey-area example. I have a screener of House of 1,000 Corpses. Am I an academy member*? No. Do I work for a studio? No. So I got it from a download?

No. A good friend of mine works for a major record label, he got it through studio connections. He watched it, then gave it to me. Should I have it? Probably not. Did I break any laws to get it? No.

I think unless it's explicit in the post, we need to treat this like we treat Maestro or Scenarist questions... if they don't explicitly hang themselves, we should assume positive intent.

(*as if it would be considered )

[jarvis1781]

just for your own information:

although you may not have broken any laws to get it, if caught you will still incur the same punishment for copyright offenders

you, of your own will, admit that you are in possession of illegal material, which is against forum rules. so although you say we should leave this other guy be, you have now brought yourself into the realm of what you term an "explicit" offense

[housepig]

perhaps... although I'm looking at it right now, and the only comment it seems to make on legal matters is the following, on the cover:

"Screener / Trailer Not For Rent Or Sale".

Likewise, the watermark in the movie says "Property of Lion's Gate Home Entertainment, Not For Sale Or Rental".

I didn't steal this from the studio - it was a promotional item given out to someone who passed it along to me. The cd's I get from record labels for the zine I used to run have more stringent warnings on them.

I didn't rent it, and I didn't buy it. It was given to me freely by someone to whom it was given freely. If that hangs me as a pirate, I'll take my warning and my yellow card.

[housepig]

FYI, I just reported myself to the mods, in hopes of getting an official ruling on this.

[poopyhead]

@jarvis1781,

housepig was just making a point....and he was very considerate at doing so, unlike someone else...hrm...Raen...hrm...

neither Gurm nor housepig need to be singled out and presumed guilty of "warez".... a simple question or inquiry should suffice. they should be given the benefit of the doubt if their explanation makes sense. "errr...i downloaded it from online" of course doesn't

@housepig,

screeners are still very suspect....i'm sure there are legal copies, but it's very hard not to wonder how someone would be able to get a screener legally under most circumstances...

a question or two about how a person on the forum received a screener, especially if claimed in ALL CAPS done legally, shouldn't be too big of a deal for that person.

[Raen]

New?

ROFL

Been here quite awhile. Have helped many people as I was helped as a newbie


But the person stated his copy was LEGAL. Its not discussing warez if he says its legal. Jarvis, by his OWN admission, said he wanted to harrass the other person, and then says later that he's doing to this thread(purposely) what Gurn did to the other thread.

So why jump down my throat about 'warez' crap? No one was talking warez, Jarvis was taking the thread off topic as PERSONAL REVENGE. And even states so. I just hate when people have to nit pick people and derail a thread. I wasn't going to let Jarvis be a dick(if he can give me the finger in a thread I can call him a dick) without calling it on him. Gurm said it wasn't an illegal copy or warez. If anything it's a MODERATORS job to decide if what he's talking about is warez or not. It's not Jarvis's job to derail a thread. And had ANYONE else but Gurm made the same comment he wouldnt have said anything. He wanted to strike back at Gurm for another thread.


Its just bad manners.. and I was just calling him on it. I know Warez is against the rules here(its not 'illegal' here, there is nothing illegal about talking about things---there's a difference between something that is illegal and something that is merely against the rules) Yes warez is against the rules. And yes screeners are 'borderline' consideration of that rule. But NO it's not Jarvis's job to nitpick/question and derail a thread about it. Thats something for a moderator to decide. Agreed?

[poopyhead]

@Raen,

the mods can't check every thread.... perhaps jarvis1781 method wasn't the greatest, but the intention was correct.

screeners are very suspect...it would be wise to not mention you have any of those. 90+% of the time, a person with a screener aquired it illegally.

seeing Gurm say he has a screener (LEGALLY) in all caps made me wonder. i prolly would've asked Gurm about how he aquired it as well, if jarvis1781 didn't do it first. i prolly wouldn't have phrased it that way, but the idea would be the same.

-----------

the main reason i would at least be curious is because i would assume that if Gurm indeed got the screener legally, he must somehow have "connections" with the movie industry. next logical step...so someone with the movie industry involved in these forums???

as housepig said, he received a screener throu a friend, so housepig himself prolly doesn't really have movie industry "connections," but who's the say for sure how Gurm could've gotten the screener legally. for all i know, he could work for and/or be involved with the movie industry.

[pacmania_2001]

Come on people, keep it on topic. Remember, hijacking a thread is also against forum rules.

If you want to discuss the legalities of screeners and whether people have 'connections' in the movie business then start another topic.

[Gurm]

you are privy to academy screeners eh? what is your affiliation?
I ask because you say (PERFECTLY LEGAL), and your previous posts of piracy lead me to believe otherwise.

Actually, I have a family member in the academy, thanks for asking!

Additionally, all of my posts have been of the *wink wink nudge nudge* variety.

And last but not least, I probably have more actual, legally licensed software sitting right next to me on the shelf than 5 other average users.

I'll take this as good-natured ribbing and not get offended.

- Gurm

[Gurm]

And now that I've had a chance to read the entire topic...

I didn't hijack the other thread. Tex did that ALL ON HIS OWN, I simply made a few valid points in a manner that was easier to discuss (or argue with) than Tex's.

I appreciate the humor (or sardonic irony) of jarvis' initial question, so let's all let it drop.

------------

Other topics:

"Screeners" are a very interesting grey area. Hundreds of copies of each new movie go out as "screeners". Some, like the ones I happen to have access to, go to members of the academy. They, and their families (although care and discretion are supposed to be exercised to make sure that the general public doesn't get their hands on them - no handing it to a friend and saying "here, have fun") get to see these movies and then they vote on them.

Other screeners go to reviewers. Many reviewers get screeners before the movie even hits theaters. Another friend of mine... her dad is a movie critic. You should SEE this guy's movie collection. He has stuff going back through the 90's (laserdisc) and 80's (BETA) to the 70's (on REELS!). All perfectly legal, although I'm sure it's a bit of a grey area for his daughter to be having friends over for movie parties for stuff that's not even out yet!

Yet other screeners go to video stores. Any employee of the video store can legally watch these, although once again they're not supposed to leave the store.

MOST of the illegal screeners tend to come from this third source, although some others come from within studios themselves. There are also some unscrupulous members of the academy who... as a previous poster said... "give away" their copies of a movie. I knew one guy who did this simply because he got everything on DVD and VHS and didn't own a DVD player. Lots of DVD's getting tossed out to family and friends there, too.

So there we have it.

Now, to get this thread back on track.

-----------------------

I took a first pass at LOTR:Extended, and the quality was POOP. Yuck. I'll be playing with it a bit more, but it looks like this might be one that I really do need the "Big 3" for, since I had to use WAY too much compression with a transcoder.

- Gurm

[jarvis1781]

hey thanks for the reply Gurm

indeed, i meant no harm by the question, I was just curious and giving the usual nudge nudge wink wink as Gurm so wonderfully stated.
that is most excellent, I must say, for you to be privy to such releases!

[Gurm]

Well, excellent is a relative term.

You know how family can be. You have NO idea how much groveling that screener required on my part. *sigh*

- Gurm

[gizmofanv]

@mdubnik

This is my personal experience. Some may not aggree and the same time I would like to know others opinion on it. I had similar problem (pixalating) but I overcome by rebooting pc after each step (ex: ripping, shrinking,splitting, burning). Since then I did not have any problem. I think, by rebooting I'm clearing the RAM, cache as well as temp directory(s) as well. I read this in a manual came with some software.

This happend before I joined as a member. Until I joined as a member I did not know that there is problem with media too.

Thanks!

[jarvis1781]

rebooting after every step is way overkill I think

i do several in a row sometimes as i haven't rebooted my machine in over a month and i dont get any pixellation

[spiderman2k1]

Try backing up the hole DVD with dvdshrink or DVD2one some movies are buggy when you just back up the movie part. Get your self a DVD-RW