DVD TV Show menus don't function

[Krispy Kritter]

I have run into an issue recently when backing up TV shows. For the record, I'm using DVDFab Decrypter (latest version) and DVDShrink. I RIP the disc to the HDD, then open the files in DVDShrink. I am performing a full disc backup and burning onto Verbatim DL media. The issue is that the main menus often don't function. Using House Season 1 as an example. After inserting the disc into the DVD player (Oppo 971 and a Philips 642), the intro plays (Universal animation) and then the screen should transition into the House main menu. What actually happens, is that the screen stays at the last frame of the Universal animation (Universal logo is displayed on the screen) and the default button highlight appears (for House and most other TV shows, the default button highlight is on "play all"). So basically, I see the Universal logo and a underline in the middle of the screen. If I press play, it begins the first episode. All of the episodes and data are there on the disc, but the menus don't function. Using the same tools and process, 4 of the 6 discs of House Season 1 suffer from this problem. Any ideas?

[jman98]

Not really much help, but I can tell you that some Universal DVDs are authored about as badly as DVDs can be. I've mentioned this before, but the DVD of "The Office Season 1" (NBC show - NOT the original BBC show) is amazingly badly authored. There's all kinds of craziness in it. I think there are actually some duplicate VOBs in it where the author was too stupid to author the DVD with an audio commentary as a selectable secondary audio track, so he simply duplicated an episode completely and set it up with the only soundtrack being the commentary.

You might try starting the disc and while it begins, pressing the remote control button to get to the main menu. That often allows my DVP-642 to play discs that it otherwise barfs on.

[Krispy Kritter]

I've tried going direct to the menu, I just get a blank screen with the highlight. I've had it happen on Law & Order Season 1 also, which I believe are A&E. I'm assuming there is just something that I've have checked or unchecked which is actually causing the problem, I just can't figure it out.

I've come across a new issue also. Bones Season 2 asks for a password before it will open the menu.

[stiltman]

What do you get if you rip it to an ISO and then burn it to a DL disc?

Not sure why you're running it through shrink?

Also do you get the same problem using RipIt4me going to ISO?

[oldandinthe way]

I can't see any reason to use DVDShrink in this case.

I can see how using DVDshrink with Nero burning the media will screw up the menus. I have encountered many DL DVDs whose menus don't work if the layer break moves.

Definely follow stiltman's advise rip to ISO and burn to DL with Imgburn.

[orsetto]

This is one of those trick tasks where CloneDVD2 and AnyDVD often come in handy, even if you prefer DVDshrink or other backup software most of the time. People dis CloneDVD2 as having "crappy" compression quality, but for backing up TV shows especially I'll take "looks average but works" over "looks perfect but don't work" any time . If you're using dual-layer discs, so much the better: you can take advantage of CloneDVDs superior menu backups with no compression worries.

As others have pointed out, the authoring on many TV show season sets is from hunger. There are shows like "Twin Peaks" which have been remastered three or four times and STILL have random glaring menu issues. The CloneDVD2/AnyDVD combination seems to tackle these backups better than anything else I've tried. My suggestion: if you haven't already downloaded the trial versions of CloneDVD2/AnyDVD, do so, and see if it solves your backed up menu issue. If it does, you have 30 days before it expires to back up your other stuff. (Unfortunately, like most trialware, if you've already experimented with it in the past it hides a flag in your registry that prevents you from ever trying later improved versions- you have to buy it instead.)

[guns1inger]

Why do people use Shrink for burning ? It doesn't burn anyway - it uses other tools. There is no benefit to using Shrink as an intermediary, and when working with DL source to DL media it can make life difficult. One of the things it does by default is remove the layer break info, for starters.

[Krispy Kritter]

It's just a matter of habit and with the exception of random TV show discs, it has never been an issue for me. I'll bypass DVDShrink if I need to backup another TV show and see what happens.