copying/saving Pinnacle-made movies

[frankj]

1. I cannot copy my Pinnacle-made movies from dvd (stx ext.) using Roxio. I get a message that these movies are copy protected.

2. I can copy my Pinnacle-made movies in avi format, but these are too large to fit on a standard 4 gb dvd.

3. I can also copy my Pinnacle-made movies in mpeg format, but these will then not play on dvd players (does not recognize disk).

4. So, am I stuck with having to save all my captures and re-making all my movies with my Pinnacle each time I want a copy? I would like to be able to copy my disks from dvd and get captures and movie files off of my hard drive.

I have been studying this issue for a few weeks now, and am up against it.

[jtoolman2000]

Have you tried to simply rip the disk to your HD and then re burning it? Just rip the VIDEO_TS folders and burn the files inside with NERO in DVD/Video mode.You can also use DVDDecrypter, DVDShrink or DVD Fab Decrypter. You should rip to and ISO and burn the resulting ISO with DVDDecrypter or ImageBurn. You really cannot create DVDs with proteection with home equipment so that cannot be the reason.
Does Pinnacle actually create the proper DVD structure, ie a AUDIO_TS and a VIDEO_TS folder including the dvd files and nothing else?

[frankj]

I do not think I have tried the ripping process you describe, so I will investigate that.
You specify Nero. I have Roxio. Are you suggesting that Nero is a better program, or were you merely indicating using any copy software?
Yes, I believe that Pinnacle does create the proper DVD structure, in that I see both Audio TS and Video TS folders for my projects. I am not sure about what those folders contain, so I will check.
As far as creating DVDs with protection, I did not do that on purpose. I was assuming that Pinnacle did that by default.
I am on an upward learning curve regarding files, and although I have checked out the definitions of various extensions, such as ISO, I get confused by some of these explanations.
So, do you mean: put the dvd in the dvd drive, bring up my Roxio program, find the Video TS file, and rip it to a selected folder in my HD? After that, do I put in a blank disk and utilise my Roxio program? I know this sounds simplistic, but I need very literal and specific explanations in this early stage of getting used to the file system.
Files are what I am having problems with. My Pinnacle works wonderfully itself and I am having no problems with the capture, edit, or movie making processes.
Thanks a lot for the response.

[jtoolman2000]

First of all I think if you ask around you will find that Roxio gets a pretty low score when it comes to Dvd work.

So let me get this right.
You have DVDs that were created from video files edited and authored in Pinnacle studio.
You have at least the VIDEO_TS folder containing .bub .ifo and .vob files?
These compose the DVD structure needed to play on a regular player as well as a PC, though a PC will play just from the vob ( the actual video file) and set top player will not. They require the complete file and proper folder structure.

Lets completely forget about Roxio right now and follow this process.

Download DVDShrink and ImageBurn - They are free!

Install and open DVDShrink. Click on the open disk tab and locate the drive your DVD is in.
Click OK
Your DVD will be scanned for readability. Once open and if the DVD you made is smaller than 4.38 gigs, it will not require anay shrinking and can be directly copied to the HD to be burned.
Click on the "Backup" tab and choose to create an ISO and point it to a folder of your choice and proceed to backup your DVD.
When it is done ripping you will have an single ISO file in that folder

Open ImageBurn and look at the area on the top where it says Source / Please select file...
and click on the folder Icon to browse for your newly created iso file. Choose it.

Where is says Destination chose your drive letter ( DVD Burner ) and if you already have a blank DVD in it the burn icon ( looks like a drive and an arrow pointing to an icon of a DVD disk ) should no longer be grayed out and will be active.
Click on the disk ICON to begin the burn.

The burning interface will come on and there are a few choices one can make there but just leave it at the default settings for now until you are successfull.

In ten to fifteen minutes, depending on media speed, you should have a perfectly playing disk.

[frankj]

Thanks a lot. I will try what you have suggested.