A tool to analyse commercial DVDs on the Mac?

[phase52001]

Yes, I have had a look through the tools list but couldn't see anything.

What I'm looking for is a software tools that will analyse a commercial DVD to tell me if there's anything wrong with it. eg; bad sectors.

I know "Mac the Ripper" etc will do this, but read on to see why I don't want to mention it.

I still buy many commercial DVDs for my (expanding) collection and from time to time I get a bad one. I take it back and the replacement is also bad. Sometimes it's a battle to convince the store it's the disc at fault.

"Yes, I've tried it in 4 different players and it fails in all of them, and I don't care if no-one else has compalined". That sort of situtaion.

I'd just like to be able to show them a printout that says "the disk is at fault".
Anyone know of anything for the Mac? (OS10.3.9)

Thanks all.

[chikanakan]

Is the disc actually bad, or is it one of the new copy protections like RipGuard or ARccOS. My guess is that is the problem.

[phase52001]

Is the disc actually bad, or is it one of the new copy protections like RipGuard or ARccOS. My guess is that is the problem.

Hi Chikanakan;

I didn't mention it but I ran the lastest disc through "Mac The Ripper" and it came back with lots of "Bad Sector" error messages, so in this case it's definitely the disc.

I was hoping that their might be some software "out there" that might return such a report without all the legal and moral issues of "making copies" of DVDs.

[terryj]

Unfortunately no.
And most studios will tell you to upgrade your DVD Player,
if you want to stop the problems you have with Commercial Discs.

See, Everyone at every level is in on the joke but you:
The Studios, the retail chains...they all know about Copyguards
they set on these discs, and they know that they can cause
problems with Older Set top Players.

StarWars Trilogy, The Flash TV Series, even Star Trek Season
sets have all been prone to have a problematic DVD in
their sets that have been at the root cause, bad mastering
of the copyguard to the disc, which in turn causes it to
not play correctly on older machines.

I do not know the age of the machines you tested on,
but one thing
you can try in your defense is when you take the discs back,
take them to the ELECTRONICs section of the store, and ask
them to play it to determine what the problem is.
The downside to this is, if it plays on the newest on the shelf
player, then you know its time to upgrade your machine(s).

[phase52001]

Unfortunately no.
And most studios will tell you to upgrade your DVD Player,
if you want to stop the problems you have with Commercial Discs.

They can tell me but it won't be happening.

See, Everyone at every level is in on the joke but you:
The Studios, the retail chains...they all know about Copyguards
they set on these discs, and they know that they can cause
problems with Older Set top Players.

Don't DARE to assume that I don't know whats going on in the world.
That somehow I'm some idiot who's out in the cold being laughed at.
I take offense at such remarks regardless of whether or not they were
made in "fun". It seems to me that you're just trying to show off when
you say something like that.

And exactly how do we define an "older set top player"?

StarWars Trilogy, The Flash TV Series, even Star Trek Season
sets have all been prone to have a problematic DVD in
their sets that have been at the root cause, bad mastering
of the copyguard to the disc, which in turn causes it to
not play correctly on older machines.

"Bad mastering" means the product is faulty and is being sold
under false pretenses. Every DVD sold today should play in every
DVD player made in the last 5 years.

I do not know the age of the machines you tested on,

No, you don't, do you.
One is 3 years old, one is one year old, the other test was
preformed using Apples DVD Player Version 4 with a Pioneer
A08 drive. It all cases the disk froze at exactly the same spot.

And then I ran it through "Mac The Ripper" which reported
BAD SECTORS, which explains why it won't play.

but one thing
you can try in your defense is when you take the discs back,
take them to the ELECTRONICs section of the store, and ask
them to play it to determine what the problem is.

which is the very first thing that happens when I return a disc.
the staff immediately want to prove the fault is mine and play
the disk in their lastest DVD Player. And the disc fails ...
I don't return a disc unless I'm certain it's faulty.

The downside to this is, if it plays on the newest on the shelf
player, then you know its time to upgrade your machine(s).

No, it's not time to junk one piece of equipment to buy another.

Its time we all started insisting that the companies that make these
discs do a proper job and ensure that even a disc with the latest
copyguard/encoding/authouring techniques can be played on ANY
dvd player designed to play an MPEG2 DVD.

Here in Australia we've had whole lines and boxed sets RECALLED
because the multi-national companies that released them had the
discs made by the cheapest second rate organisation they could
find, while charging the consumer FULL price.

It's not good enough and you shouldn't accept it. (Rant over).

[terryj]

See, Everyone at every level is in on the joke but you:
The Studios, the retail chains...they all know about Copyguards
they set on these discs, and they know that they can cause
problems with Older Set top Players.

Don't DARE to assume that I don't know whats going on in the world.
That somehow I'm some idiot who's out in the cold being laughed at.
I take offense at such remarks regardless of whether or not they were
made in "fun". It seems to me that you're just trying to show off when
you say something like that.

And exactly how do we define an "older set top player"?

dude, slow down and don't get so huffy.
The "joke" I was referring to is that in the name of the almighty
"copyright law", the studios have been given carte blanche to
stick it to the consumer, and with this, they get to dance
around issues like "technological advancement"
and "consumer rights." I was NOT implying that people
are laughing at you/or with you...I wouldn't know what specifically
goes on in the corner of your world. BUT IN THE BIG PICTURE
of the USA, big business, and their lobbyists, get to make the rules
of the game, we're all lucky as consumers, just to get a piece to play on the board.

as to how to define an old set top....if it can't play a new commercial
disc, it's old.
STF for the gazillion posts where others are in the same boat as you.
Even me, my main two players were manufactured in 2002, and
I know it won't be long before I run into discs that will give me fits...
so far,only the Flash TV Set snafu has personally caught me.

StarWars Trilogy, The Flash TV Series, even Star Trek Season
sets have all been prone to have a problematic DVD in
their sets that have been at the root cause, bad mastering
of the copyguard to the disc, which in turn causes it to
not play correctly on older machines.

"Bad mastering" means the product is faulty and is being sold
under false pretenses. Every DVD sold today should play in every
DVD player made in the last 5 years.

and with the metal they make the space shuttle out of that can withstand the
heat of the sun, GM should be able to make a car where the bumper doesn't rust,
and Dodge should be able to make cars with rotors that that don't warp
"from extreme heat caused by wear."

your point?

They have to make things like they do, so they can drive sales of new machines.
The studios get a benefit (think kickback) if you buy a new machine,
the machine manufacts get
a boost to their bottom line. Why did our President sign a bill to cut off on
Feb 19th, 2009 all analog tv signals, leaving many of Americans forced to dump
perfectly good tvs that normally otherwise still work? So that big business
can push the "HD" and "Digital" innovations that benefit them.
There's really NO BENEFIT for the consumer, as they have to pay the price
of getting a new tv, set by the manufacturers, or be faced with NO TV at all.

I do not know the age of the machines you tested on,

No, you don't, do you.
One is 3 years old, one is one year old, the other test was
preformed using Apples DVD Player Version 4 with a Pioneer
A08 drive. It all cases the disk froze at exactly the same spot.

And then I ran it through "Mac The Ripper" which reported
BAD SECTORS, which explains why it won't play.

ok, I can see your a little hot about this.....

but one thing
you can try in your defense is when you take the discs back,
take them to the ELECTRONICs section of the store, and ask
them to play it to determine what the problem is.

which is the very first thing that happens when I return a disc.
the staff immediately want to prove the fault is mine and play
the disk in their lastest DVD Player. And the disc fails ...
I don't return a disc unless I'm certain it's faulty.

The downside to this is, if it plays on the newest on the shelf
player, then you know its time to upgrade your machine(s).

No, it's not time to junk one piece of equipment to buy another.

Its time we all started insisting that the companies that make these
discs do a proper job and ensure that even a disc with the latest
copyguard/encoding/authouring techniques can be played on ANY
dvd player designed to play an MPEG2 DVD.

Here in Australia we've had whole lines and boxed sets RECALLED
because the multi-national companies that released them had the
discs made by the cheapest second rate organisation they could
find, while charging the consumer FULL price.

It's not good enough and you shouldn't accept it. (Rant over).

no you shouldn't,
but here, with our American President bought and paid
for by the Manufacturers, what can you do? *shrug*
until an American President that cares about the consumers over big
business takes office, big business makes the policies.
Big MULTI-NATIONAL business who use an American President
to set the intial precendent, that all the world has to follow.

Last I looked, Warner, Paramount, ABC/Disney and NBC Universal
are American Companies.
If American law sets the precedent, why should they change?
Look at what France is going through this week with Apple....
something similarto what you are preposing, but only with music...
It's nice to see them try, but Apple will end up pulling out of
Europe over it, before they give up DRM.

sorry.....I don't like it either, but for now.....it's how it is.